Episode Title: 'Break Point'
Writer: Ethan Drogin
Director: Christopher Misiano
Previously on "Suits":
Story:
A sport's agent friend enlists Harvey (Gabriel Macht) to file for teen tennis star, Marco Mendoza's emancipation. Marco tells Harvey that his father won't let him go pro and he's afraid he'll have be past his prime by the time he turns eighteen.
At the office, Donna (Sarah Rafferty) arrives early to shred the Coastal Motors memo, but Mike (Patrick J. Adams) walks in on her in the file room. Jessica (Gina Torres), Harvey and Hardman (David Costabile) meet with Allison Holt (Diane Neal), the lawyer Hardman's hired to defend the firm against Travis Tanner. She's convinced Harvey buried the memo and requests that he not interfere with the case. Afterwards, Harvey goes to see the Randall widow and informs her that it was he who donated money to her family but she's not interested in what he has to say.
Harvey and Mike meet with Marco and his father to discuss his emancipation. Mr. Mendoza says his son isn't ready to be on his own and with that, the boy storms out of the meeting. Harvey wants to move forward with the case, but Mike thinks the father is just looking out for his son's best interests. Later, Mike finds Donna in the file room again and confronts her about the memo. She tells him she doesn't know what to do. Mike insists she tell Harvey before he does.
Donna tries to come clean about the memo, but she's interrupted by Hardman and Allison, who are irate about Harvey's visit to Mrs. Randall. Mike tries to talk Marco out of emancipating himself, but Marco claims his father is prone to violence. Back at the office, Allison pre-deposes Donna and demands to know what Harvey did with the memo.
Convinced Harvey didn't bury the memo, Jessica asks him to sign an affidavit at Allison's request. In order to stop Harvey from purgering himself, Mike spills coffee on it. He then tells Harvey about Donna. Harvey confronts Donna and explains that the memo could work in their favor, as it demonstrates he didn't bury it. However, Donna tells him she shredded the document in a panic after her pre-deposition with Allison.
In light of the news, Allison tells Jessica they need to cut a deal immediately. Harvey insists they fight on but Jessica agrees with Allison. At court, Mike infuriates Mr. Mendoza and suggests he caused his son to go the hospital due to dehydration from running. He wins the case, but later learns that Marco lied and his father kept quiet in order to save his son from purgery charges. He brings the emancipation papers to Marco's agent, who was aware of the lies, and rips them up.
Rachel (Meghan Markle) comforts Louis (Rick Hoffman) who is grieving over the loss his beloved cat, by giving the avid tennis fan a signed ball from Marco, which she got from Mike. Allison tells Jessica the terms of the deal with Tanner will cost the firm five million dollars and Harvey, who they must report to the bar. Meanwhile, Harvey speaks with Mrs. Randall again and apologizes for his mistake, but she's still unwilling to budge.
Jessica brings Hardman into her office and tells him she won't take the deal. She plans to fight the case with Harvey and calls him out for making indirect threats towards her.
Later, Jessica fires Donna. She collects her things and walks past Harvey, who is silent, on her way out.
Breakdown:
Harvey was supposed to fix things, but some things can't be fixed. Or can they? We'll have to wait and see over the course of the next few episodes, but for now, Harvey's greatest supporter, Donna is gone. And as she made her exit, walking past Harvey to the elevator, Mike and Rachel appeared stunned. Not only by her firing, but by Harvey's stoic demeanor.
It was another one of those moments that makes our feelings about Harvey lukewarm, at best. His apology to the Randall widow was a rare instance of humility and heart, but Harvey isn't one to let emotions dictate his behavior. He may care for Donna, but he's not going to put himself out there unless he knows he can "win" so to speak. And fighting for Donna might not be that kind of situation.
While Harvey and Jessica duke it out with Hardman and his hired gun, Allison Holt, Mike takes the lead in a teen tennis star's emancipation case. However, in the end it's Mike, not the teen who's emancipated, in a sense. Mike's not letting the fact that he isn't actually an attorney stop him from coming into his own, both at the firm and in the courtroom.
We also learned a little more about Louis in this episode. At first, the cat subplot seemed silly and pointless – another punchline involving Louis and clueless associate, Harold. Instead we saw a very real and human side to the firm's hardest working yet most under appreciated employee. And Rachel's gesture with the autographed tennis ball was a sweet moment for both characters.
Now that Donna's gone, the atmosphere in the office is going to shift. Will his co-workers resent Harvey for not sticking up for Donna? And with the divide between the firm's founders deeper than ever, sides will be taken.
That is if Pearson Hardman survives the Coastal Motors debacle. The title of this episode wasn't just a reference to the tennis star's emancipation case. We saw Jessica fight for Harvey and draw a line in the sand with Hardman. No matter who ends up on top, it looks like someone's name is going to get scraped off a door before the season's over.
-140x79.jpg)
