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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The article Suits Season 2 Episode 3 “The New Boss” Review Part 2 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

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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The article Suits Season 2, Episode 3 “The New Boss” Review Part 1 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.