Part of the Suits universe also includes plenty of relationship entanglements outside the civil war that is clearly coming to a head at Pearson Hardman. Rather than focusing on the legal matters that have come up, the show also addresses the friendships and near miss relationship between Rachel and Mike as well as Rachel and Donna Paulsen played by the lovely Sarah Rafferty.

There are three moments in total that elevate the entire episode in a multitude of ways, the simplest of which is Rachel and Donna pretending to be Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter, a pseudonym for the complicated men in their lives. The two women also get rare and valuable screen time together, just being two girls out on the town living out the dream of being lawyers rather than a paralegal and legal assistant respectively. Sarah Rafferty herself possesses such talent that a single raised brow says volumes about her intentions while Meghan Markle’s voice comes through confident and sexy. The energy this scene brings to the episode is much needed fun when compared to the next set of scenes where Rachel and Mike are featured alone.

If the bar scene between Rachel and Donna was fun, the two scenes between Rachel and Mike turn up the angst and heat for the entire episode. In one, Mike helps her write the ‘who are you’ paragraph for her new dating profile and reveals his thoughts of her and the depth of emotion that he still feels for her. Unmistakable is the respect and admiration Patrick Abrams portrays for his character Mike, adding touching, if general, compliments that turn into a revealing set of emotions that Mike tries to hide.

The second scene is more unexpected and full of emotion. Some men like surprises at their door late at night, but Mike isn’t so sure having Rachel make a surprise visit is a good idea. Her voice, full of emotional anguish, nails viewers to their seats as she pours out her heart to Mike about how he could possibly feel what he clearly feels and yet not be with her. Mike made his choices earlier in the season to keep his secret safe during the brewing war at Pearson Hardman, but is suffering for that choice as each episode progresses. Fans have been eager for more Rachel and Mike interaction and they certainly get it here.

Episode Three of Suits Season Two has so far been the best of the three aired this season. This one may end up a fan favorite with its surprising twists and turns between Harvey and Daniel as well as Rachel and Mike. Louis Litt’s part in the episode shows viewers another more welcome side of the junior partner’s persona, and yet it is the ending which surprises fans as Rachel conquers her fears and takes the LSAT exam once again. A sneak peak at the end episode three talks of a war that is brewing, but whether this is about the established war within Pearson Hardman or the entire firm banding together to face an outside threat remains to be seen.

Rating: 4.5/5 for an excellently crafted episode that only misses the mark with Mike and Harvey’s too traditional banter.

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Suits episode 3, titled ‘The New Boss,’ deals directly with Daniel Hardman’s return. Unlike with episode 2 where Hardman’s presence is an ever present shadow, the boss himself is back at the firm and throwing a wrench into the waterworks with boastful abandon. Daniel is more old school, coming from the belief that since his name is on the door of the firm, he can insert himself happily into any case he so chooses. It just so happens that he chooses a case that has been assigned to Harvey. As the Specter vs. Hardman battle resumes, Mike and Louis are caught in the cross fire and takes a few punches themselves. Between the brewing war and Mike’s affection for Rachel, nothing is safe at Pearson Hardman and the ending will come right out of left field to surprise viewers.

However, right off the bat, the tried and true formula where Mike does something good but messes up Harvey’s master plan is still too much like the misinformed teenager getting scolded by their parents. This routine is just that, routine. It’s getting old and while they’ve tried to leverage this with more screen time showing Mike doing great things on his own initiative to solve a case, it still backfires somewhat. If USA Network wanted to make the show more real by adding a dash of repetitive formulaic arguing that has a predictably happy resolution, they’ve succeeded.

That aside, this is a wonderfully tense episode in the developing arc of the storyline at Pearson Hardman and the Suits Universe. Overdue for some positive screen time is Louis Litt, played by Rick Hoffman, the man in charge of the associates. This is the kind of man who has a method to his madness, his years of experience influencing his Associates in unknowing ways. When a bad review of the firm lands in his lap Louis musters his best effort to prove to the Associates that not only is he the master of their quaint little universe. He challenges each and every one of them to gamble their careers on switching firms to see if there are better opportunities than those at Pearson Hardman. It cannot be said that this aspect of Louis’ character is such a departure from his usual sly apathetic facade and it further opens dimensions of his personality to viewers.

As the two most visible Senior and Junior partner respectively, there is a healthy give and take rivalry between the two that Harvey seems to just barely edge out over Louis. The so called ‘best closer in the city’ does have that visible edge over Louis and soon Jessica needs to see Louis’ value or lose him for good. Louis gives Jessica a verbal notice that just like he gives the associates a chance to rise to the occasion and do well, Louis would love the same chance to do that for Jessica. It’s a heartbreaking moment between one person and another, where Louis seeks Jessica’s approval and favor but rarely seems to get it.

Louis and Harvey themselves have a brilliantly sculpted moment together in a scene not often shot between the two bantering rivals: this episode features the bond rather than the rivalry that these two men have. Forged together by long nights as Associates themselves when they were younger while being hammered with work that the current Associates would never have imagined, Louis and Harvey remark on their own careers and Louis inadvertently gives Harvey the smoking gun that Harvey needs to win his case.

Harvey Specter, ace closer of the city, continually butts heads with returning founder Daniel Hardman in a civil war that is fast spilling out of the small trenches and into the open fields of the firm’s bullpen. Hardman’s character has recently lost his wife, as she was incidentally being used as leverage to keep Hardman away from the firm due to his extramarital affair. This was covered earlier in the season premier but bears repeating because, although Hardman claims he’s a changed man from before, he is hardly the push over that Jessica and Harvey hope he would be upon returning.

Like his name, Hardman’s personality is hard to deal with, and Harvey is seen in a rare moment upstaged by Hardman in a courtroom due to an old connection from Daniels past. Daniel Hardman is the kind of guy who will gleefully wave good bye at you as you slip off a cliff side rather than help you. He is a man who is more at home as a snake in the grass; he and Harvey have wildly different approaches to dealing with the current case that is on the table during this episode.

Stay tuned as part 2 of our review covers more of the romantic entanglements in the Suits Universe.

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An episode of revealing “Choices”, Episode 2 of ‘Suits’ Season 2′s very appropriate title kicks off the war between returning firm co-founder, Daniel Hardman, played by David Costabile and co-founder, Jessica Pearson, played by Gina Torres. As we now know Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, gets to keep his job because Harvey Specter, played by Gabriel Macht, bargained them both in a heart stopping gamble with Jessica in Episode One. Now, episode two opens with Mike wanting to see Rachel, but running unexpectedly into Jessica. Will the hard-nosed co-founder indulge in Mike’s apology, or will she steam-roll Mike’s apology with a scathing rebuke of her own?

The feeling of the episode is hopeful from the start but does nothing to hide the growing tension that is ramping up at the Pearson and Hardman firm. Lines will be drawn in this episode and so far the cards will fall predictably until the appropriate build up for the coming third episode. A lull in dramatic tension this is not, as the episode starts off rather steamy.

Revealed in the first episode of this new exciting season, Rachel, played by Meghan Markle, left Mike that rather revealing voice message that lingered as one of the cliffhangers from season One. Fans eager for a resolution certainly get what they want, just not how they want it. As the episode is about choice, Mike decides to make his feelings known to Rachel in a rather well executed, if ill timed, kiss. If fans think this is enough to drive the story forward, they’d only be partially right.

The next aspect of this episode features the repercussions from episode one. Fans will recall that Harvey gambled both his and Mike’s job on a bluff to Jessica, mostly because Jessica needed every key player in her corner and couldn’t afford to lose Harvey just when she needs to fight her hardest against Daniel Hardman. Thus, Mike keeps his job because of Harvey, but now Mike wants to tell his deep dark secret to Rachel because he can’t stand to lie to her. This is an excellent catch-22 scenario where Mike is stuck between two equally damning consequences.

Yet in the end Mike does lie to her, an ironic twist of his own because in order to keep his job he can’t tell Rachel that he’s not a real lawyer and gives the reason that he can’t be with her is because he loves his job too much to jeopardize things. This isn’t a full untruth but is accurate enough to placate fans. Still, this part of the story is brittle at best and teases fans with a Mike and Rachel relationship for all of one episode before yanking viewers in another direction. This does heighten drama to a degree, but doesn’t feel as organic because Mike and Rachel haven’t had time to fully understand their relationship at the start of the new, previously uncomplicated, season.

On the other side of the war, Mr. Hardman himself isn’t actually in the episode but makes his presence felt like a dark shadow, casting doubt and dissent amongst the employee’s at Pearson Hardman. Everything about this episode permeates Hardman’s goal of winning over Associates and partners alike, from something as simple as a fruit plate for the Associates to show his appreciation, all the way to unilaterally making changes to the firms’ structural layout.

Harvey is given an assignment by Jessica and he completes the task in his usual fashion, by steamrolling everyone in his way. The consequences of his actions, though, worry Jessica since Harvey’s one hammer to every nail approach isn’t the most subtle of gestures and earns Harvey plenty of enemies left and right.

Deserving of amazing praise is the role of Louis Litt, played by Rick Hoffman. It cannot be said enough that Hoffman is a talented actor, providing the slightly evil overlord feeling as he controls the Associates with an iron fist. In this episode his loyalties are divided as he overcomes confusion in the chain of command. Now that Hardman is back, Louis needed confirmation that he was still a valued asset to Jessica. Having sought her praises earlier in the first season, he finds himself with the considerable task of securing his job at Pearson Hardman. The tension in this character stems from his insecurities and his need to be valued, a feeling where many viewers will sympathize with Louis’s character.

In the past, Louis may have willingly followed Jessica, but now he grudgingly seems to do so, having come into a confidence that he didn’t have earlier in the series. His insecurities done with, Louis Litt seems to be on the rise within the Suits universe as he takes on the role of becoming Daniel Hardman’s right hand man. There is little known about Louis’ past, but merely that there are some skeletons in his closet just like anyone else.

This season of Suits so far seems to be a soaring rollercoaster of events that transpire quickly and in unexpected ways. As many second seasons of a great show proceed, more back-story on some of the more popular secondary characters comes to light. In this episode alone, something is revealed about Donna that adds a great deal of depth and history to her character. It is these little morsels of information that bring the characters to life, making fans all the more involved in the show through the knowledge of intimate secrets.

Rating: 4/5 for great drama that felt only a tad rushed

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The first season of USANetwork’s Suits ended on a cliffhanger. Having started with 12 amazing episodes, the first season was conservative in length, preferring to pack each episode with as much drama, suspense and witty banter as possible. The first season set up mentor Harvey Specter and associate Mike Ross in the Pearson Hardman lawfirm, both as lawyers. Specter’s character, played by Gabriel Macht, is one of the city’s best lawyers while Mike Ross, played by Patrick Adams, gains the unlikely position of associate in the law firm thanks to a photographic memory. The only catch? Mike Ross isn’t a real lawyer and eventually someone was bound to find out.

Season 2 picks up where the first ended, with Mike’s former best friend, Trevor, casting suspicion upon Mike’s good reputation to Jessica Pearson, the managing partner and founder of Pearson Hardman. Mike’s current girlfriend, Jenny, used to go out with Trevor and as revenge, Trevor went to Jessica Pearson. If that were not enough, Trevor also made sure Mike never got the messages from his real love interest, Rachel.

In this case however, information comes to light for everyone except Rachel and all cards are face up on the table. Mike finds out about Trevor’s betrayals, Jenny finds out Mike’s real feelings. Mike threatens Trevor with his financial stability and Rachel spurns Mike’s company. This specific aspect of the show could have been done with more suspense, but this legal drama focuses on a much more controversial topic-Mike’s status within Pearson Hardman.

The discoveries of Mike’s real credentials by Jessica as well as the return of firm co-founder Daniel Hardman, played by David Costabile, are the two focal points of this episode. While all of the legal proceedings take place for Mike, as his mentor and boss Harvey gives him a special multimillion dollar case to handle on top of the huge caseload he has as a regular Associate. The commander of these Associates is the unpleasant Louis Litt, fantastically acted by Rick Hoffman.

Mike himself doubts Harvey’s support at Pearson Hardman, but both come to the realization that they need each other, though Harvey never says those actual words. Mike and Harvey, the two stars of the show, still have their consistently witty banter, but this season makes things more serious. This is a pleasant aspect of the show that was also seen during the first season but this time the stakes are higher, more real. Fans will catch onto this quickly as tempers flare in the show, with strong facades coming to the fore.

Harvey risked a lot to keep Mike with him as an Associate during the first season and the same can be said for this season as well, putting not only his partnership at Pearson Hardman on the line but his entire career as well. He brilliantly shows his loyalty to Mike and to Jessica in a lesser extent, gathering them in a unified, fully informed defense against their common enemy as he comes to play ball after being exiled for a number of years from the firm.

The return of Daniel Hardman, much like his name attributes, is anything but soft and smooth for Co-founder Jessica and Senior Partner Harvey. While no other partners were featured in the show in this episode or last season very often, more may come up in the future. This will leave some fans wondering if there are outside players that are yet to be revealed, adding to the sense of mystery in this episode.

In the meantime, Daniel Hardman’s dastardly return will cause a much anticipated civil war between all the key players in the firm. Known for his unscrupulous dealings in the past and apparently turning a new leaf ‘for the good of the firm’, Hardman’s return spells disaster. Harvey and Jessica were the ones who blackmailed him into exile ‘for the good of the firm’ as well.

Beyond the morale challenges and the civil war, the writers of the show are smart to tie in back story created from Season One to further the storyline in the Season Two premier. Case in point, Mike’s digital fingerprint inside the Harvard Law database is squeaky clean and 100% falsified. A hacker from one of Mike’s cases in Season One set up his entry in the database.

The bad news, though, is the hacker didn’t go into the undergraduate degrees and do the same. This saves Mike on the surface just like it did in the first season, but now with Jessica digging into his past, she knows about Mike’s missing credentials and is on the warpath. Including the Harvard Law Alumni database was a stroke of genius as far as credentials goes and their existence says more to Jessica than their absence does. This clues her into the fact that Harvey himself may have known all along that Mike Ross wasn’t a real lawyer. The writing for this part of the show was seamlessly integrated with the rest and intelligent to boot too.

Confronting Mike at the end of the episode, fans are wondering if Jessica Pearson, who is much younger than co-founder Daniel Hartman, has a photographic memory just like Mike does. Could that have been the secret to her success? She starts quizzing Mike about how he impressed Harvey. This is an excellent tie in with Jessica’s past and opens doors for more character exploration. Her conversations with Mike reveal more of his past as well, an excellent way to frame both histories.

An excellent beginning for the second season of a great show, Suits appears to be heating up more than ever with lines in the sand being drawn in the near future. Who will fall on the side of Daniel Hardman vs Jessica and Harvey? The answers will surprise us all, with at least one anticipated surprise addition to Hardman’s team that no one will see coming. Suits airs on USA Network on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern Time.

Rating: 4.5- Excellent but lacking a few expanded elements

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