Don’t Take It So Personally. Retrospective: Suits - “Normandy”

Season 2, Episode 15

Air Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“They have evaluated the situation and they know we’re bleeding.” – Jessica

Jessica and Harvey making a game plan

Pearson Hardman continues to struggle as it tries to keep its clients and rebuild its image. Daniel (David Costabile) wants to destroy his old law firm and doesn’t make things any easier when he fast tracks seven of the Folsom Foods sexual discrimination cases, in each of seven cities, as a way to stretch Pearson Hardman’s limited resources. Just when things appear as if they couldn’t get any worse, Dana “Scottie” Scott (Abigail Spencer) shows up to tell Harvey (Gabriel Macht) that she and her firm have taken ten of his clients and intend to take even more. Realizing he is at a financial disadvantage, Harvey reluctantly convinces Jessica (Gina Torres) that the two firms should join forces to beat Daniel. Jessica responds, “Don’t lose to her, but you better make damn sure you don’t lose with her.”

Mike (Patrick J. Adams) discovers Katrina (Amanda Schull) is assigned—by Jessica—to the same case he has first chair on. Katrina is a bitch who will say and do anything to get what she wants. This doesn’t sit well with Mike and he and Katrina clash from the moment he walks in the room. Both continue to express anger, not because she was hired, but the reasoning behind it.

Mike and Rachel planning how to get back at Katrina

Having the two male leads forced to work with two females they dislike on a sexual discrimination cases should be interesting to watch, but it isn’t. Over the course of two seasons, the Suits’ writers have worked very hard creating strong female characters with real substance. However, neither Dana nor Katrina’s character bring much to “Normandy” other than being an annoyance to Mike and Harvey. Katrina’s scenes with Louis in “Zane vs Zane,” and with Mike in “Normandy,” feel out of place. People may despise Daniel but it’s easy to see why he’s in the story. As I was watching “Normandy,” I signed on to Twitter and was surprised to see, a mere 20 minutes into the episode, more people were wondering, “Where is Louis?” (Rick Hoffman). You’re in trouble when people are questioning what’s not happening on screen rather than the things that are. Maybe things will change in time, but if Katrina’s character disappeared, would fans even notice?

Sad to say, Rachel (Meghan Markle) doesn’t get into Harvard, which she decides to keep secret from everyone. There is a quick, yet touching, scene when Rachel reveals her secret to Donna (Sarah Rafferty).The chemistry between the two is so powerful, you can watch the scene on mute and understand their conversation by simply watching their expressions. I also really enjoyed the dialogue between a smug Louis and Rachel as he rambles on about how much faith he has in her getting into Harvard. The look on his face when he learns she didn’t is priceless. Shocked and outraged because he believes Harvard recruiter Sheila (Rachael Harris) is behind the rejection, and is using Rachel to get back at him over their failed relationship, Louis vows to make things right.

Louis goes to Sheila’s hotel room to confront her. I must admit, I was a bit surprised at Sheila’s reaction to Louis’ sharp accusations, but I suppose she’s a woman with a mission. Following their romp, she makes Louis look through a pile of candidates, all with impressive applications, explaining, “That is my rejection pile.” And even though she admits to liking Rachel, “Sometimes good isn’t good enough.” Wow, what a hard lesson to learn. Dejected, Louis returns to Rachel, but instead of telling her the truth, he tells her it’s all his fault and he failed her. How will this play out in the future? How will things be between the two of them now that she believes he’s the reason she didn’t get into Harvard? Will Rachel confront Sheila— or even Harvard—based on Louis’ lie? The question I had was, since Rachel can’t get into Harvard, will she give up her dream just to stay at Pearson Hardman? Or will she decide to wait until next year to reapply?

Jessica and Darby confront Daniel

Edward Darby (Conleth Hill), Scottie’s boss in London, shows up unexpectedly. Or is it really unexpected? Jessica and Darby discuss the possibility of a merger, which allows Jessica—in a brilliant way—to disclose Daniel’s embezzlement of Pearson Hardman funds to Darby without breaking the non-disclosure agreement. Hardman is furious when he learns of this trick but he’s not to be toyed with so easily. He vows not to let them win—does this mean he’ll be back in future episodes? I hope so as I love Costabile’s portrayal of Hardman as a scoundrel and general all around hateful person. But the question remains, now that Jessica and Darby have beaten Hardman, will the two firms merge anyway, and if so, where do Harvey and Scottie fit into the picture?

One thing Hollywood has done with movies like The Avengers and Star Trek is to come out with a prequel as a way of setting up events and introducing characters. Suits’ story arcs usually work as standalone episodes. In many ways, “Normandy” feels less like a stand alone episode and more like a prequel whose only goal is setting up the season finale. I’m curious to re-watch “Normandy” right before the finale to see whether, in this case, the two episodes work better together.

For now, the sign in the lobby simply reads “Pearson”; the holes where Hardman’s name hung still visible. Whose name will go up there is one of many questions I hope will be answered in the season finale.

Suits airs Thursdays at 10/9c, only on USA Network.

For more on the show, go to http://www.usanetwork.com/series/suits/.

Follow Suits on Twitter as well as some of the cast: <Mike> Patrick J Adams, <Harvey> Gabriel Macht, <Rachel> Meghan Markle, and <Louis> Rick Hoffman.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.