Supply closet?

AND we’re back! After taking a week for the the Fourth of July holiday here in ‘Merica, Suits has returned to our TVs and the break has only proven just how much stronger it has become in its sophomore year. Last night’s episode, “Discovery,” was by far my favorite of the season for a slew of reasons. I’ll get to those reasons eventually but the biggest reason has to be because Travis Tanner (aka Danny Tanner’s deviant illegitimate spawn who never got to experience Papa Tanner’s weekly moral lesson spiels) returned to entice Harvey into a clash of the slickest hair in the city. Y’all, I make no qualms about my undeniable love for Tanner. He might be a scumbag with unscrupulous morals but I’ll be damn if Eric Close doesn’t play him with such fucking smarmy perfection that I’ve caught myself missing him multiple times since his introduction last season. But enough about Tanner for now because we’ve got an awesome episode to discuss. Shall we?

As just discussed, Harvey and Tanner are heading into the Thunderdome for round two but that’s only part of what went down this week at Pearson Hardman. Louis, yes Louis, got substantial airtime this week when he cashed in a bet he won with Harvey and requested Mike’s assistance for the duration one case. Why Mike? Well, Louis, with his chipmunk detective senses, could deduce that Mike has become a pawn piece in the game of chess that is the Pearson Hardman power dynamic after Hardman requested Mike’s help for a case. Or it could be that Mike has just become THAT girl. Stop letting them degrade you like that Mike! Anyway, Louis straight up lied to Hardman and said he couldn’t give him Mike because he and Mike had been busy on some Smart Water type false claims cases for a month now and he just really needed him. Thus the whole cashing in on his won bet for Mike. Of course Harvey doesn’t go for it at first because Mike is his person but after Mike fondles the vinyls without permission AND bad mouths some of pop music’s finest, like Hanson and The Spinners, Harvey allows Louis to have him as punishment.

Mike naturally wasn’t too enthusiastic about being loaned out to Captain Mixed Metaphors at first but eventually ended up enjoying it after seeing how Louis was a fucking boss at the legal game. He even admitted that he enjoyed working with Louis to Louis! That’s progress, you guys. Just as past aggressions were being forgiven and a new bromance was blossoming it soon soured into a bad bromance after Louis tried to offer an olive branch to Harvey and told him he could trust him with whatever secret they were hiding from Hardman. (TRUST YOU GUYS! More on that in a minute though.) Harvey, not caring, threw it back in his face leaving Louis once again feeling used and unappreciated. Louis being the sneaky bastard he is, left that ol’ important dictaphone hidden and recording which caught Mike and Harvey discussing how they can’t trust him because he has no allegiance to anyone but himself AND Harvey’s fraud lawsuit case. Alas, the Ross/Litt friendship bracelets have been disregarded and sent to the incinerator.

Y’all, I’m glad that Louis finally got a main storyline that gave the character plenty of screen time. I know a few of you aren’t big Louis fans but fleshing out the secondary characters and giving them complexities will only make the show richer in terms of storytelling. Louis is no longer just an office foe of Harvey’s that occasionally becomes a pain in his ass. He’s, of course, still that but he’s also now established himself as a bigger player at Pearson Hardman. Make no mistake, the mentions of him being passed over for senior partner will more than likely play a BIG role in terms of the character’s future at the firm and his relationship dynamics with other characters. By the way, does anyone else think Rick Hoffman just kills as Louis? I think it’s because he plays Louis with the best Mean Girls persona I’ve ever seen.

ANYWHO, let’s talk about my favorite aspect of last night’s episode- Tanner and Harvey, obvs. As I already stated Travis Tanner was my favorite guest character last season (besides Lola who I’m still waiting on to return) so I loved every second he and Harvey engaged in foreplay wordplay. So what brought Tanner back? Well, he and his new employer, but mostly him, had decided to sue Harvey and Pearson Hardman for fraud regarding a case Harvey had previously won for his client. The smoking gun being an interoffice memo explaining how Harvey’s client knowingly sold cars with a front fender defect which has caused the death of a man whose family had previously sued and lost. As it turns out Harvey never saw the document but still settles the lawsuit despite being fired by the client. Harvey ALWAYS closes the deal, you guys. Tanner doesn’t care because he’s not in it for the case. He’s in it for blood. Harvey’s blood specifically and even though the lawsuit was settled Tanner and his company still plan to go after Pearson Hardman with everything they have. Time to pull those American Gladiator unitards out the from back of the closet.

This episode, and this case specifically, was just to set up for next week which I, for one, am looking to forward to because MORE TANNER hopefully. Now, I’m sure y’all are wondering why I love a character who is such a fucking jackass. Besides the fact I can be a giant jackass too, Tanner is such a perfect foil for Harvey. Basically, they’re Two-Face from Batman if Two-Face was split into two separate people. Harvey would obviously be Harvey Dent of the Jekyll & Hyde combo while Tanner is Two-Face. Duh. These two characters are cut from the same cloth in terms of drive and competitiveness. However, when it comes down to morals these two couldn’t be more different. Tanner represents who Harvey could have been if he had stayed with the DA’s office and engaged the corrupt practices that plagued it in order to win cases. It is THAT reason why I love Tanner as a character and why it makes their dynamic my favorite on the show when we’re privy to it. After Harvey and Mike’s, of course. Also Eric Close is just really pretty to look at with his suit on and I secretly want Hardman to hire him on at Pearson Hardman so I can continue watch Harvey and him battle it out on a regular basis.

Once last thing before I get to my other observations and quotes! Y’all, I think I’m getting too good at this whole TV recapping/reviewing shtick. Just last post I mentioned how I thought trust was going to be a major story arc for this season and you know what the fuck happened this week? Trust was brought up repeatedly and played a HUGE role at the end of the episode! First, with the whole Louis/Harvey/Mike dynamic and then again when Hardman called out Harvey and Jessica for not trusting him enough to let him know about the fraud suit that could ruin them all. I mean, Harvey even asked Jessica  “You trust him?” after Hardman basically told them they have to if they want to beat this suit. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the increased consumption of veggies that have made my perception skills better or perhaps I really do have some sort of mind connection with the writers. Either way, I’m starting to scare myself with how perceptive I’ve become with this show. Now I know trust is a general concept and is used all the time to propel stories. But you guys, just let me have this please?! Actually, I should probably just go back to making snarky remarks only so you guys aren’t disappointed when my I lose my special perception powers at the next full moon. Anyway, just prepare yourselves for the eventual, “I think something is coming up that’ll put Harvey and Mike on edge.” You know, general observations that show I really am the Arnie Grape of TV recapping.

Other thoughts/observations:

• Instead of a dictaphone to record Harvey and Mike, Louis should have totally used a Talkboy.
• I didn’t talk about her role in the whole fraud case but Donna has a shit storm coming her way.
• Why was Rachel even present this episode? Her screen time just felt like filler and I could have done without.
• Harvey’s record collection still fills me with SO MUCH envy. What I wouldn’t give to have a collection like his.
• Speaking of music, Mike needs to step off Hanson. They WERE pivotal to the music landscape of their day. NSYNC and Backstreet Boys seriously have them to thank for their careers. Bieber, on the other hand, needs to fucking disappear already especially now that he’s invoking Vanilla Ice as his fashion spirit guide.
• Louis’ Chariots of Fire yell gave me secondhand embarrassment. Never. Again.
• I literally don’t know what to say about the whole fake Donna giving Mike a blowjob scene except typical Donna. Always a fixer.
• I have a distinct impression that Harvey isn’t going to come out as victorious as he suspects. (Oh look a general observation. I KNEW it’d happen.)
• Louis is SO dressing up as Spider-man at the next company Halloween party. Or Lex Luthor at Mike’s suggestion.
• Mike claiming Harvey reconnected with his first on Facebook might be my favorite thing Mike has said about Harvey.
• The pop culture references slay me every time!

Top Quotes:

• “Why don’t you check out the corner of 81st & kiss my ass?”
• “Team Litt-Ross!”
• “And most importantly: no sex. Weakens your legs, clouds your judgement. We clear? No sex. NO SEX.”
• “You guys thinking of moving in together?” “Jealous?”
• “Oh, I think you’ll find nothing is beneath me.” So Louis likes being the bottom, huh?
• “What, you got Bieber Fever?”
• “Yeah, I can keep it real.”
• “You gotta quash that shit!”

What did y’all think? Do you love Tanner despite him obviously learning hairstyling from Uncle Jesse? Do you think Harvey will win next week? Has Louis turned you into pro-Team Litt-Ross? How much do you believe I actually know what I’m doing here? Talk to me below!