'Suits' season 9 episode 2 review: Faye makes Louis unravel, Harvey bites more than he can chew and Samantha treads carefully
After a season premiere tailor-made for fans, ‘Suits’ returns with season 9 episode 2 on Wednesday, July 24, to amp up the action and we aren’t disappointed. The episode focuses on how the arrival of the unwanted guest that is Faye Richardson (Denise Crosby) affects our protagonists at Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams, and how they are reacting to the inconvenience caused by her.
As one would expect, Louis (Rick Hoffman) is the one to break first, going fully berserk and taking out his frustration and pent up anger on those who work under him. However, what he doesn’t expect is for Alex (Dulé Hill) to offer his companionship so he can let some steam off.
Despite his apparent sore thumb situation in the firm, Alex feels like he can be the perfect person to show Louis a good time, and he does it with no hesitation, even going as far as to share a bit of his own personal life with him. Even though it helps cool Louis’s anger a little, Faye proves soon enough that she is not going to let anyone breathe easy as long as she is in the building.
The situation is somehow worse for Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Donna (Sarah Rafferty), who haven’t really had time to enjoy their love bubble. Their love story is eleven years in the making, but the first few of days of being a couple has been marred by one bad news after another – culminating in them having to convince the man Donna left to be with Harvey, that he is better off continuing to be a client of Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams.
Even though he agrees to do so initially, Thomas Kessler (Sasha Roiz) realizes that he is still carrying a torch for Donna and cannot work with the firm anymore, much to the Harvey and Donna's chagrin, as they really need a break from Faye’s demands. Even though the entire firm sees Faye as a stone-cold b***h, which she proves by being more or less chill about Donna’s update regarding Thomas, she can be understanding.
She proves this yet again by confronting Louis inside a car after he tells her off for berating him in front of his associates. Faye, unlike the people at Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams, is prone to introspection, and improvement, despite the fact that she is going after the men and women we have loved for many years.
Yet another one writhing uncomfortably because of Faye’s demand for fair play is Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl), who wants to help out an old friend, but is compelled by her sense of attachment and responsibility to play dirty. She is furious that Faye now gets to decide what happens within the four walls of the firm, and is in no mood to bend over backward to prove that she respects the legal system.
It takes Katrina (Amanda Schull) to convince her that there are other methods to win than just bending the rules. It may be a tough pill for Samantha and the others at the firm to swallow, but Faye is here to ensure that they do. It is evident that the showrunners are pushing the people at Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams further and further up the wall, until they have no option but to call up Mike for help.
The bigger picture, however, is to provide closure for the fans with each individual character, and the writers are doing an impeccable job, so far, of doing it.
The tone of the show is still the same, and so is the inherent theme. There is no urgency to finish – up until now – and we are comfortable pacing towards the series finale at the pace that we are.
Season 9 episode 3 of ‘Suits’ airs on Wednesday, July 31.