If there’s one thing to take away from Suits’ summer finale, it’s that there’s always another war coming around the river bend. As one war ends, another one begins at the end of the episode. And, I’m kind of excited to see where it goes, because I didn’t see that ending coming, although it makes sense in hindsight.
The theme of this season—family and all the responsibilities that come with being a part of one—came to a head in Suits’ summer finale. There are some parts of this flashback heavy hour that don’t necessarily work, but it’s easy to understand and appreciate whatSuits was trying to do.
This recap will be structured slightly differently. We’re going to start with a dive into the character work done on Mike and Harvey, and then, we’ll move onto the plot stuff/power struggle.
Mike Ross
Tonight’s episode finds Mike trying to make a decision about his future because now he not only has to think about himself, but also Rachel, his fiancée. For most of this season, the price of keeping his secret has been weighing on Mike, and being promoted to junior partner and Claire and Trevor’s counsel are only magnifying Mike’s worry. Through flashbacks to his childhood (which don’t exactly work), Suits is trying to show everything that’s informing his decision-making.
Last week’s episode ended with Trevor telling Mike he needed to go talk to someone; well it turns out that someone is Mike’s childhood priest, Father Parker. Via flashbacks, we find out that Father Parker knew Mike when he was a little boy and when he was a moody teenager. Let’s just say, Mike was a pain even back then. So, not much has changed.
Like this episode, Mike has family on his mind. Through Mike’s conversation with Father Parker, we learn that he’s still scarred by losing his parents at such a young age. He’s not scared of giving up this fraudulent life because he likes the money, he’s scared that Rachel will leave him, because so far everyone he has ever loved has done just that. It’s a fear that makes sense and is in line with what we’ve seen before. Losing his parents informs a lot of the decision he’s made throughout the series. However, Father Parker urges Mike to have faith that Rachel loves him and will stay by his side.
Harvey Specter
Harvey turns to Dr. Agard for help in deciding whether or not he should leave the firm to save Jessica. It’s a tough decision for him to make because not only is being part of the firm important to him, but he also views the firm as his family. He’s worried that by quitting, he’s tearing this second family apart, just as he did his first family.
Through flashbacks, we learn that Harvey, when he is in the middle of his clerkship and living at home, caught his mother cheating again. Unlike the first time, he refused to keep her secret and was determined to tell his father. At first he doesn’t as his father, a jazz musician, seems happy because he’s decided to come off the road and return to his family. This is a good thing that Harvey doesn’t want to ruin by telling him, but his father notices something is up and confronts him in a boxing ring. Their boxing match is a well-done and emotionally heightened sequence that eventually ends with Harvey, not being able to hold in much longer, revealing to his father what his mom did as he’s wailing on him. The reveal leads to the Specter family disintegrating as his mother leaves the home, his father locks himself in his room, Harvey’s brother is left without anyone, and Harvey moves to the city because he’s ashamed of breaking up his family.
Dr. Agard, who kind of looks like Harvey’s mother, talks Harvey through his decision and helps him realize that making this sacrifice for Jessica won’t tear the family apart. It will keep it together. She’s confident that Jessica will manage without him because of the way he has described Jessica to her.
Source: http://www.ew.com/recap/suits-season-5-episode-10