S05.E05: Toe to Toe

[yeswedo]

When Harvey's bitter rival Travis Tanner turns up on the other side of a case, claiming to be a changed man, Harvey and Mike must decide whether to believe him - or bury him. As Harvey's sessions with Dr. Agard continue, she links his personal stake in the Tanner fight to issues from his past. Meanwhile, Jessica tasks Louis to make things right with Harvey, and with Rachel and Donna's help he devises a plan - one which could make an enemy of the formidable Jack Soloff.

[catrice2]

I am so tired of watching Harvey implode.  Everyone has problems, and there is nothing wrong with seeking help for them, but they have Harvey acting so unprofessional when he has always been a complete professional.  He may have been aggressive, confident, arrogant, but he was professional.  Now he is emoting all over the place to where all Tanner has to do is mention Donna ( or anyone else) and he is a complete mess.  If he can't do his job, then they need to put him on leave. 

 

I'm tired of the man....can't remember his name I care so little.....at the firm. They should have ended this storyline tonight, but I know they can't quit while they are ahead and he will be back. 

 

I was hoping for more of a bonding moment between Jessica and Louis.  So tired of the "repeat"of Louis charging ahead and doing something stupid, then acting like a little boy with his hand in the cookie jar.  Big Sis, Donna, has to come along and help him go and get punishment from Big Brother Harvey, or mother Jessica. 

 

I don't even know what the case of the week was really about, but it looks like Harvey is going to use what the therapist told him about herself against her...how convenient for her, of all therapist, to be involved with one of his cases. 

 

Gee whiz! 

[sluggish neko]

See what happens when Amy Acker & Amanda Schull leave? Suddenly, Harvey's back in therapy and all that maturity he showed handling the divorce case and Donna-- poof! like it never happened. His Donna abandonment issues are back, now mixed with a raging mother complex. Even worse, he's talking to that stupid psychiatrist again. The English accent doesn't fool me. Her dialogue is awful. Really? Equating Donna and Harvey's mother? Right, because what this show needs is Freudian headshrinking. Whatevs. And btw lady, you don't need to be married to value family highly.

 

I see Mike has picked up Rachel's habit of gossiping. While you're at it, why not speak up and tell everyone at work that Harvey's having panic attacks? It's not like the law firm is a real workplace anyway. With Rachel telling Louis that his plan will make Jack hate him forever and Louis hiding from Jessica behind a shelf and Tanner throwing insults about Harvey's mother, it's more like a childrens' playground. At least Jessica's around to supervise.

 

On the plus side, Gretchen is still awesome.

[Shriekingeel]

"It's not a crime if I run into her by accident". How can that--deliberately arranging an "accidental" meeting--not be a crime? Yet another committed by Mike.

This show.

I like the therapist, but mostly because she's played by Christina Cole.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I don't even know what the case of the week was really about

 

So Tanner showed up with representing a former employee of Harvey and Mike's client. This employee has invented a McGuffin while on the payroll of Harvey and Mike's client, and had signed a contract saying that anything she did while working for that client belonged to the client. So that would include the creation of the McGuffin.

 

Tanner came with a settlement offer of giving Harvey's client 15 percent of his client's business to drop the lawsuit. (Which seems like a bs settlement offer, since if Harvey and Mike are right, their client owns 100 percent of the idea. So a fair compromise would be more like 50 percent.)

 

Because of a combination of his need for dick-measuring contests, his desire to get his groove back, and his disdain for Tanner, Harvey isn't interested in settling. Tanner says that Harvey's secretary told him that Harvey wasn't going to go for a TRO (or temporary restraining order, which is basically asking a court to force someone to stop doing something. In this case, presumably to stop Tanner's client from running a business based on the McGuffin she created while working for Harvey's client) until after the meeting. (Which if it's true, Gretchen should be fired for betraying Harvey's confidence).

 

Harvey says that instead, they bought all Tanner's client's debts, put a lien on her property and got the sheriff's to shutter her doors. (Which I know it's not real world, but it would be insane if literally in one day you could first buy all this debt up, get liens filed and get the authorities to shut a business down).

 

When they go to court, Tanner reveals that his client was a minor when she signed the contract. Generally, a minor can't sign an enforceable contract because the law says that they are not mature enough to know what they are doing and shouldn't be taken advantage of. So that would make the "all your base belong to us" contract void, at least hypothetically. Harvey basically accuses Tanner of potentially forging the birth certificate revealing that Tanner's client is a minor. (A fairly big ethical no-no to accuse another lawyer of misconduct without any proof, and a tactically foolish step.) Tanner also somehow got money to pay his client's debts so the stick of padlocking her doors is also taken away from him.

 

He also reveals that he has a countersuit ready to file that would accuse the CEO of Harvey's client of sexually harrassing Tanner's client. Tanner sends a copy of the draft lawsuit to the CEO of Harvey's client directly (which violates that ethical rule about having direct contact with the other side, btw, and also seems a tactically foolish move. Without making it personal, it's a fairly easy business decision to come to some number that makes sense for both sides.).

 

CEO is furious about what the suit might do to his family and wants Harvey to destroy her. Rather than explain the other benefits of settling or pointing out the obvious fact that there's no need to spend time and resources waging a two-front war when he can win with a settlement, Harvey just wants to fight Tanner.

 

Mike thinks that the solution to this is getting Tanner's client to drop him. Which Mike plans to do by unethically talking to Tanner's client by pretending to run into her by accident. (It isn't criminal for a lawyer to contact the opposing party personally, but it is unethical.)

 

In looking into Tanner's client, Harvey (off-screen) learns that she provided the company with a fake ID to support that she was an adult who could sign the contract and attached a copy of her fake ID each year after. So he had her arrested for forgery. 

 

Since the threat of prosecution was so scary, the two sides end up settling after all after Tanner withdrew and Katrina took on the case.

[Lnmop]

I'm so sick of the goddamn overuse of "goddamn" on this goddamn show that I could just goddamn puke. First of all, it's so goddamn unprofessional. Secondly, everyone on the goddamn show goddamn uses it. Even Harvey's goddamn therapist was goddamn saying it. And now they're goddamn adding "shit" and "ass" to the goddamn. What's goddamn next?? Fuck?

Would someone please tell the goddamn writers to stop the goddamn use of goddamn and write some real goddamn dialogue? Either that, or add a goddamn swearing jar in the goddamn office.

[catrice2]

My guess is someone was behind the stack and overheard. You live together. Why discuss this at work? They are all gossips, especially Donna. OK maybe not Jessica who was half awesome. She needs to put that guy down

[PiggyRod]

I don't know if it was the crappy dialog this episode but the fake New York background was especially bothersome.

[Tarasme]

1. I'm ready for John Pyper-Ferguson to go hang out with Adam Baldwin and Rhona Mitra some more; glad he's working but watching that character is like walking over broken glass barefoot. blech.

2. How does Louis go from intelligent thoughtful man to whimpering moron in an amount of time so brief as to be unmeasurable?

3. I actually liked the mudding sub plot- it was fun. I miss fun on this show.

4. Not sure how sub section 435 or whatever was selected by Jessica as a good solution to the JPF problem; Soloff is going to spend all waking moments sharpening his vendetta against our team. This looks to not end well- I'm tired of "not end well" on this show.

5. I could watch Harvey walk away from the camera for a full 50 minutes. Walk away..., come back. Walk away..., come back. Walk away...

6. I hate Mike's hair. Glad it's finally become some boring thing for them to discuss.

7. Kinda wish that they hadn't wrapped the Tanner sub plot in one ep. I'd actually like to have seen more interaction showing that he's changed and have it be more profoundly impactful to the team. Orrrrr... maybe I just like Eric Close? 

8. Something about the characterization of Jessica bothered me this ep. Maybe it's been a season long issue or maybe not... it seems like she's ALWAYS being a hardass instead of being a manager/partner. Is this just where the plot is considering all the shenanigans? ::::shrugs::::

9. Not sure who had the bright idea to frame the entire season around Harvey's sessions but- no. No more please. Interesting though, I am both curious and repelled by the idea of knowing exactly what happened with him mom and the possibility of meeting her. Maybe she's best left unknown, obscure and hidden in deep shadow like the monsters in the best monster movies... or Tim Allen's neighbor?

Edited July 23, 2015 by Tarasme

[ElleryAnne]

I like Louis and I love Jessica.  And I don't dislike any of the others.  But I'm kinda tired of the fact that everyone's wrongdoing eventually gets "handled" because someone turns out to have been awesomely on top of the situation.  I'm not sure what kind of resolution I wanted when Jessica was speaking to Jack and Louis, but the way it played out felt like a letdown.  She was going to make things work out, because she usually does.  And if she didn't in this ep, then in another episode or two she would.  Or Harvey would.  Or Donna would.  There's something deus ex machina about it after a while.  

[MsFlibbles]

I couldn't get through the first ten minutes of last night episode. Click. I give up on the show.

[33kaitykaity]

I also hate Mike's hair.  And I find Harvey's mommy issues kind of cliche.  I hope they either hurry that up or take a new tack on it.  I can't remember anything ever being said about Harvey's mom before.  

 

On the plus side, I must've re-watched the denouement of both stories at least five times, so I guess I liked all three payoffs, Jessica thinking circles around both Louis and Jack and Mike knowing Harvey well enough to know that if he got Tanner off the case that Harvey would take the deal.  Heck, I even grinned when Louis fainted after finding out about his two mudding dates.  

[Nanrad]

kaity, Harvey's mother has been referenced at least two times and in both occasions, it was quite clear how Harvey felt about his mother. Once was during the mock trial, I think another was on the roof with Jessica, and I think another may have been with Donna. I know Tanner has definitely mentioned it.

 

I'll say this: Harvey's mother issues are slightly related to his Donna issue because of his abandonment issues. He felt abandoned by his mother--he feels abandoned by Donna. Harvey seriously hates his mother--he doesn't hate Donna, but does partially explain his visceral reaction to her leaving. Harvey's loyalty mantra is also related to his mother; she was unfaithful to his father and Harvey knew about it, but didn't say anything. BUT, I think the therapist's misstep or, one of many, was how she delivered this information to Harvey. Because that dream may have been about his mother, but it was also about Donna and his feelings for her. Harvey is a hostile client and she should've some finesse when she spoke to him about his mother issues. He lied all day about that dream not featuring not, but she thinks she can just tell him it's really about his mother and Harvey's going to just accept it. lol

 

As far a Harvey's maturity goes, I think he showed maturity as to how he's dealing with her and the departure, but that he still has other issues to work on. He is still struggling with her being going, but he's done taking it out on her. But, I did kind of side with him when he told her that she didn't get to come to him anymore like she told him.

[rollerblade]

I'm more interested in the set decoration at this point. Is there a list of what paint color was used? I loved that gray-blue wall color in Jessica's office.

[Shelby]

I'm more interested in the set decoration at this point. Is there a list of what paint color was used? I loved that gray-blue wall color in Jessica's office.

Funny how people see things differently.

I saw that color and thought it looked like the walls of the DMV, or an insane asylum. It was a depressing, sedate color you'd paint a place to keep the inmates calm.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Shelby

[Chicago Redshirt]

I'm so sick of the goddamn overuse of "goddamn" on this goddamn show that I could just goddamn puke. First of all, it's so goddamn unprofessional. Secondly, everyone on the goddamn show goddamn uses it. Even Harvey's goddamn therapist was goddamn saying it. And now they're goddamn adding "shit" and "ass" to the goddamn. What's goddamn next?? Fuck?

Would someone please tell the goddamn writers to stop the goddamn use of goddamn and write some real goddamn dialogue? Either that, or add a goddamn swearing jar in the goddamn office.

I think the swearing has been somewhat toned down from last season, actually.

 

1. I'm ready for John Pyper-Ferguson to go hang out with Adam Baldwin and Rhona Mitra some more; glad he's working but watching that character is like walking over broken glass barefoot. blech.

2. How does Louis go from intelligent thoughtful man to whimpering moron in an amount of time so brief as to be unmeasurable?

3. I actually liked the mudding sub plot- it was fun. I miss fun on this show.

4. Not sure how sub section 435 or whatever was selected by Jessica as a good solution to the JPF problem; Soloff is going to spend all waking moments sharpening his vendetta against our team. This looks to not end well- I'm tired of "not end well" on this show.

5. I could watch Harvey walk away from the camera for a full 50 minutes. Walk away..., come back. Walk away..., come back. Walk away...

6. I hate Mike's hair. Glad it's finally become some boring thing for them to discuss.

7. Kinda wish that they hadn't wrapped the Tanner sub plot in one ep. I'd actually like to have seen more interaction showing that he's changed and have it be more profoundly impactful to the team. Orrrrr... maybe I just like Eric Close? 

8. Something about the characterization of Jessica bothered me this ep. Maybe it's been a season long issue or maybe not... it seems like she's ALWAYS being a hardass instead of being a manager/partner. Is this just where the plot is considering all the shenanigans? ::::shrugs::::

9. Not sure who had the bright idea to frame the entire season around Harvey's sessions but- no. No more please. Interesting though, I am both curious and repelled by the idea of knowing exactly what happened with him mom and the possibility of meeting her. Maybe she's best left unknown, obscure and hidden in deep shadow like the monsters in the best monster movies... or Tim Allen's neighbor?

 

2. That's unfortunately Louis. He simultaneously is supposed to be this brilliant, cutthroat and tireless attorney and at the same time just wants a hug and an occasional pat on the head. Thank goodness for Rick Hoffman's ability to sell the charater.

 

4. Seems to me that Sokoloff has been pretty much checkmated, at least for now. As Jessica told him, he can at any time be fired for his involvement in leaking Harvey's salary info. The only way he can go over the top of that is getting something to make himself unfireable, or at least to make for mutually assured destruction. So if they are going to continue with this plotline, presumably he will discover the Secret and use it as a weapon against Harvey and/or the rest of our heroes. Joy. 

 

The problem with the whole Sokoloff plotline is that there's nothing understandable that motivates him. With most of the foils for our heroes, we could readily understand. Hardman didn't like being pushed out of his own firm and wanted to take revenge/control. The SEC guys suspected wrongdoing by the firm and are overzealous. Harvey's old DA boss and Tanner have a personal grudge against Harvey. The Eric Roberts character is just a skeezy manipulator who enjoys screwing people over for fun and profit.

 

Sokoloff's motive for going after Harvey in the hamfisted way he's doing just doesn't make any sense to me.  

[Tarasme]

 

The problem with the whole Sokoloff plotline is that there's nothing understandable that motivates him. 

 

Agreed but I do think they've given Soloff a "how do you like me *now*!?!" thing going. My understanding is that he's pissed at Harvey because Harvey didn't notice him/ didn't count him as important enough to think a threat. He's motivated by a need to be noticed by and taken seriously by Harvey while nurturing this wanton resentment. I have a bad feeling a lot of partners at the firm resent Harvey (Harvey's attitute, meteoric rise, connections, etc.) and would be willing to take him down for that reason alone.

[Dr.OO7]

On 7/23/2015 at 3:20 PM, Tarasme said:

Orrrrr... maybe I just like Eric Close? 

I hate it when actors are so cute that you're willing to forgive their characters anything no matter how much of a jerk they might be. 😄