S05.E13: God's Green Earth

[yeswedo]

With time running out before Mike's case goes to trial, Harvey and Mike are at odds over their strategy, and just what lengths they'll go to in order to defeat Gibbs.

[jmonique]

This show is such a chore to sit through anymore. It used to be fun and clever, and now it's just an hour of people yelling at each other and the writers trying to get as many curse words in as they can to prove they're edgy. I'm far from a prude, but the cursing never seems organic.

 

And the kicker for me? Mike's guilty as sin and not worth this many people being destroyed.

[Dowel Jones]

What no one at PSL is willing to admit is that, no matter the resolution of the case, their reputation is ruined, because perception is all too often reality.  Clients will slip away, attorneys will bail, etc.  Rachel might cry her way into her dad's firm, but everyone else will have to take a big faceplant and try to pick up and start somewhere again.  Like Chicago.

[Jediknight]

I had to shake my head at Jessica thinking that they could branch out to any of the other top 20 law schools, and it would be different.  This is big news Jessica, every top law school would have heard about it, and told their students not to even think about PSL, because it's toxic, and might not be around much longer.

 

Mike is an idiot.  He thinks he should represent himself because it's his future, as Harvey said it's not just his future it's the entire firm.  You give the case to your best lawyer, and that's Harvey.  Of course none of that changes the fact that they are completely guilty.

[Good Queen Jane]

I am now convinced that the people behind the last season of Burn Notice are also the people doing this season of Suits. All the fun is gone and we just get episode after episode of angst, betrayal, previous characters showing up only to be destroyed, and no resolution in sight. No doubt the last episode will end with Mike and Rachel sitting before a fire in a cabin in the wilderness somewhere.

[l star]

For an episode that seemed to work so hard at being intense, this was really boring.

 

I didn't know about Sheila's existence until the last ep but now I really like her. Louis is right- Harvey would destroy her and he wouldn't care at all that it wasn't right or that Louis loved her. And of course if Louis didn't give him everything he had, Louis would be the one destroyed. I'm kind of hating Harvey right now.

 

I was also hating Harvey when he totally blew off Jessica's request to get him to do his job. I mean his real job, not just his personal crusade he's calling doing his real job. Heads up Harvey- the firm is going down and winning Mike's case is not going to fix it. As Jessica and Louis are finding out, this kind of damage is a lot bigger and harder to fight than that. Though Jack's plan for pro bono to build good will with their clients didn't sound like such an awful idea. At a minimum it could keep them from losing clients. Though since Mike's trial is so public, are we just ignoring that Harvey coming back to the firm is supposed to be a secret? 

Mike is an idiot.  He thinks he should represent himself because it's his future, as Harvey said it's not just his future it's the entire firm.  You give the case to your best lawyer, and that's Harvey.  Of course none of that changes the fact that they are completely guilty.

I disagree. It absolutely trickles down to the whole firm but if Mike is exonerated, the firm is safe. Mike is the lynchpin here. And while Harvey may be the best lawyer, that doesn't mean he's the best in the lead here. He's got way too much ego tied up in this, and that all ties back to Mike being his guy. If Mike is guilty, Harvey didn't just lose the case he screwed up from the beginning. Not to mention all the other people involved here that Harvey has riding on this case. IMO the best thing they could do is get someone like Louis to lead the defense and get more of a buffer between them and Gibbs but of the available stupid moves, this is not the worst one IMO.

 

I really liked the Donna/Rachel scene. I appreciate when someone can recognize that their friend was in a bad place and let it go. Not to mention the I love yous which unlike in my life, are usually reserved for romantic couples on TV. I actually liked Rachel for what might be the first time ever this ep though. She was right- she can't talk to Mike right now without him going off on her and if crying is how she deals, then give her her alone time in peace to put it away again.

 

It may be totally unrealistic but it amuses me that Donna has never gone through discovery files before. That kind of bullshit does sound like Harvey. I liked that she was making a list of what she was supposed to do too. Asking what to do, writing it down, doing it- such a novel solution for this show.

 

Finally Scottie, I thought she was Harvey's ex from a while ago? Can someone please fill me in here? I googled it since I didn't see those eps. I get the basics of she and Harvey broke up and he told her Mike's secret, so I get why she's involved in these eps from that stand point. But Harvey saying Mike went after someone he loves came out of nowhere for me. Not to mention their last scene. So not being able to make it work with her is what pushed him into therapy, and he's still holding on?

[TeapotWakeen]

 

I actually liked Rachel for what might be the first time ever this ep though.

 

Me too.  And that may be the Death Knell for me. Hating Rachel has kinda been my go-to motive for watching the show for so long that now I just don't know what I think about the show anymore. I'm not prepared to not hate Rachel!!!!

[33kaitykaity]

Louis's mock-cross of Sheila was heartbreaking, from both sides, but I never thought Sheila would break that easily.  I thought she was made of stronger stuff than that, which was why she was such a good match for Louis.  

[Chicago Redshirt]

For an episode that seemed to work so hard at being intense, this was really boring.

 

I didn't know about Sheila's existence until the last ep but now I really like her. Louis is right- Harvey would destroy her and he wouldn't care at all that it wasn't right or that Louis loved her. And of course if Louis didn't give him everything he had, Louis would be the one destroyed. I'm kind of hating Harvey right now.

 

I was also hating Harvey when he totally blew off Jessica's request to get him to do his job. I mean his real job, not just his personal crusade he's calling doing his real job. Heads up Harvey- the firm is going down and winning Mike's case is not going to fix it. As Jessica and Louis are finding out, this kind of damage is a lot bigger and harder to fight than that. Though Jack's plan for pro bono to build good will with their clients didn't sound like such an awful idea. At a minimum it could keep them from losing clients. Though since Mike's trial is so public, are we just ignoring that Harvey coming back to the firm is supposed to be a secret? 

I disagree. It absolutely trickles down to the whole firm but if Mike is exonerated, the firm is safe. Mike is the lynchpin here. And while Harvey may be the best lawyer, that doesn't mean he's the best in the lead here. He's got way too much ego tied up in this, and that all ties back to Mike being his guy. If Mike is guilty, Harvey didn't just lose the case he screwed up from the beginning. Not to mention all the other people involved here that Harvey has riding on this case. IMO the best thing they could do is get someone like Louis to lead the defense and get more of a buffer between them and Gibbs but of the available stupid moves, this is not the worst one IMO.

...

 

Finally Scottie, I thought she was Harvey's ex from a while ago? Can someone please fill me in here? I googled it since I didn't see those eps. I get the basics of she and Harvey broke up and he told her Mike's secret, so I get why she's involved in these eps from that stand point. But Harvey saying Mike went after someone he loves came out of nowhere for me. Not to mention their last scene. So not being able to make it work with her is what pushed him into therapy, and he's still holding on?

 

There is no chance of Mike being "exonerated" if by that you mean "shown to not have committed the crime he was accused of." There's a chance of him being found not guilty (i.e. the prosecution didn't put on a case showing Mike committed the crimes he was accused of beyond a reasonable doubt. But even that seems very small, since really all one would have to do to show Mike is a fake is  a) produce records and witnesses showing he never graduated college b) show that there's a complete absence of records tying him to the Cambridge area when he was supposedly attending Harvard c) produce records or witnesses tying him to New York when he was supposed to be in Cambridge d) show that he wasn't a member of the Order of the Coif and whatever other extracurriculars he claimed on his resume e) interview the teachers whose classes he claimed to take and have them confirm he wasn't a student of theirs, etc etc.

 

But even assuming for argument's sake that Harvey and company somehow get Mike off, it seems to me the damage would already be done. If you were a client of PSL and had Mike on your case, wouldn't you sue on the grounds that Mike was a fraud? It might (for the purpose of this hypothetical) be possible that it couldn't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt either that Mike is a fraud or that Harvey and Jessica knew. But by the preponderance of the evidence...that would be pretty easy. 

 

And then when you factor in that people at this firm (and its predecessors) over the last few years have been found guilty of murder, embezzlement, destruction of evidence and have been indicted for other crimes, what client in their right mind would stay with them?

 

As for Scottie, she and Harvey dated while they were both at Harvard Law and they were super competitive, yadda yadda yadda. She returns to his life while they were both bigshot lawyers. Harvey's whole "Emotions make you weak" schickt meant that while they renewed dating again, Harvey couldn't out and out say the "I love you" that he supposedly felt, and Scottie was not happy with how guarded Harvey was. At a point when Pearson Hardman was running on fumes, Harvey got Scottie to convince her firm, Darby International, to merge into a new firm, Pearson Darby, and get enough capital to continue with a lawsuit. But it turned out that the head of Darby and his no. 1 dude were implicated in a scandal where some protesters about an oil pipeline in Africa were gunned down. When both of them went to jail, Pearson Darby split into two firms, with our heroes being Pearson Specter. Scottie wanted to know where Harvey wanted her to end up, and with typical Harvey maturity basically was like "Wherever you want." Scottie whined more about Harvey keeping things from her, and in particular when he asked her to scuttle some deal to help preserve Mike's Secret. So eventually he confessed that he knew about the Secret, and Scottie peaced-out anyway.

 

Haven't yet seen the latest episode, but from my recollection, Harvey started to have anxiety attacks over Donna leaving him to be Louis's secretary and that was what prompted him to go into therapy. I think there was some more generalized discussion about people ranging from his mom to his dad to others leaving him. There may have been mention of Scottie...but I think it's fair to say that it was never presented that Scottie was the prime reason he sought therapy.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Chicago Redshirt

[l star]

Thanks for the response, Chicago Redshirt. Exonerated was very much the wrong word. I meant something that means more like 'makes this all go away'. I know a real life word for that doesn't exist, but a TV word for it. I feel like the show is going to have to resolve this in a way where it doesn't matter if Mike did it or not. I know they are working hard to ignore the evidence but the fraud is just too easy to prove. Since they brought up Gibbs' sister this ep then never went anywhere with it, I think they are going to try to prove that the case should never have been filed to start with or that Gibbs is so corrupt/whatever they choose that the case has to be thrown out without a verdict. Which doesn't solve all the problems but that's the direction this ep pointed me in.

 

The only reasoning I have for Pearson Specter Litt keeping clients is that corporate clients are primarily self interested. As soon as all this starts costing the clients money, cases or attention, or brings unwelcome outside attention to the clients, there will likely be a mass exodus. Until then, I can see enough staying to keep the firm afloat. Like you said, this firm has constant drama. At this point I'm betting clients just roll their eyes and wait it out again.

 

Thank you for the background on Scottie. I've seen all of season 5 and most of season 4 but my viewing of the earlier seasons is very sporadic. Since all I've seen her do is teary eyed whining I'm not a fan but it sounds like she does have the history with Harvey to support the drama surrounding her presence. Though girl, they are trying to drag you farther into something that cost you your career. Don't help them by showing up in Harvey's office. Twice.

 

The anxiety attacks over Donna going to work for Louis are what I remembered as the final straw prompting therapy too. I thought it was compounded by her doubting him and whatever the bullshit their I love yous that mean something but don't were (so has Harvey ever told a girlfriend he loved them? I didn't realize he was that messed up). Plus the general distance between what he thinks he is doing in his life and what his life and actions actually are and his past drama. I completely missed past romantic drama in the equation though it does make sense it would be there.

[mwell345]

 

This show is such a chore to sit through anymore. It used to be fun and clever, and now it's just an hour of people yelling at each other and the writers trying to get as many curse words in as they can to prove they're edgy. I'm far from a prude, but the cursing never seems organic.

 

This is my biggest problem with the show and I'm ok with most cursing - except for the one word they use continually.  And you're right - it seems forced. 

[catrice2]

And here comes Trevor!  I don't remember Scottie being mentioned in relation to the therapy, but I have been fast forwarding a lot.  The clothes were nothing to write home about in this episode. I hate watching Gina Torres look worried.  I don't know how she can stand to look at Harvey. 

[bros402]

Louis's mock-cross of Sheila was heartbreaking, from both sides, but I never thought Sheila would break that easily.  I thought she was made of stronger stuff than that, which was why she was such a good match for Louis.  

 

I am guessing she broke that easily because Louis just started getting at her with it - no prompting, just started to cross her

[Setra]

I am guessing she broke that easily because Louis just started getting at her with it - no prompting, just started to cross her

IMO she broke far too easily. I won't be surprised if she's not on that plane.

[CaptainCranky]

I am now convinced that the people behind the last season of Burn Notice are also the people doing this season of Suits. All the fun is gone and we just get episode after episode of angst, betrayal, previous characters showing up only to be destroyed, and no resolution in sight. No doubt the last episode will end with Mike and Rachel sitting before a fire in a cabin in the wilderness somewhere.

Same with White Collar. This seems to be the pattern for USA shows at the end of their useful life.

[vibeology]

If the big worry is about Rachel and the bar, isn't the obvious solution to have Mike and Rachel get married? Once they're married she can't be compelled to testify against him and all the threats Gibbs is making stop being problems. Like Mike, I'm not a lawyer, but this seemed to be soooo much angry, yelly, drama for what is an easy solution.

 

Also, why is Gibbs even playing these stupid games? She should have a pretty solid case without them. Mike didn't graduate college and that should be very easy to prove. Mike never lived in Cambridge- also easy to prove. And I get that she also wants to take down Harvey or Jessica so she wants Mike to testify against one or both of them, but the way to succeed is to lay out her evidence and then offer a deal. All this back and forth going after people stuff is just less effective than actually doing the work because Mike is guilty and its easy to prove that.

 

The swear jar must have been full after this episode. So much goddamn shit in the first few minutes. I don't notice it as much as some people here, but it really stood out this time. One Jessica scene had a goddamn or a shit in every line.

[bros402]

Same with White Collar. This seems to be the pattern for USA shows at the end of their useful life.

 

To be fair, White Collar had a decent final season.

 

Especially when compared to Burn Notice.

 

Psych and Monk both had odd final seasons, too.

[Chicago Redshirt]

If the big worry is about Rachel and the bar, isn't the obvious solution to have Mike and Rachel get married? Once they're married she can't be compelled to testify against him and all the threats Gibbs is making stop being problems. Like Mike, I'm not a lawyer, but this seemed to be soooo much angry, yelly, drama for what is an easy solution.

 

Also, why is Gibbs even playing these stupid games? She should have a pretty solid case without them. Mike didn't graduate college and that should be very easy to prove. Mike never lived in Cambridge- also easy to prove. And I get that she also wants to take down Harvey or Jessica so she wants Mike to testify against one or both of them, but the way to succeed is to lay out her evidence and then offer a deal. All this back and forth going after people stuff is just less effective than actually doing the work because Mike is guilty and its easy to prove that.

Marital privilege doesn't apply to conversations before the marriage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spousal_privilege

 

The real world reason Gibbs is doing all this is a) because the writers want to make her out to be a bad guy so they have her go over the top with all sorts of schemes and b) because Gibbs playing things straight would not stretch out the drama.

 

I mean, as far as we've been shown, investigators have not interviewed either Harvey or Jessica about Mike. Locking them into whatever story they want to tell would be the best way to start going after them. 

 

I hope Gibbs gets Louis for witness tampering for giving Sheila the ticket to Argentina expressly so she would not have to testify.

[Roseanna]

On ‎11‎.‎2‎.‎2016 at 8:01 AM, Jediknight said:

Mike is an idiot.  He thinks he should represent himself because it's his future, as Harvey said it's not just his future it's the entire firm.  You give the case to your best lawyer, and that's Harvey. 

Even if Harvey were the best lawyer, he isn't a criminal layer. Even if he were, this case would be too emotional for him. Even if it weren't, Harvey is a part of the case and his and Mike's interests aren't the same. Mike's best means to save himself is to inform about Harvey whereas Harvey should chose between strategies that are best for Mike and best for himself, Jessica and the firm.     

[Roseanna]

On ‎11‎.‎2‎.‎2016 at 4:59 PM, l star said:

I didn't know about Sheila's existence until the last ep but now I really like her. Louis is right- Harvey would destroy her and he wouldn't care at all that it wasn't right or that Louis loved her. And of course if Louis didn't give him everything he had, Louis would be the one destroyed. I'm kind of hating Harvey right now.

Harvey only did his job or rather, Louis showed how Harvey would have done it. 

Until now, Sheila is the only person who have refused to do morally bad things because of personal relationships. Although she sincerely loved Louis, once she knew that Mike hadn't gone Harvard, she informed about him. When Louis first visited her, she refused his request. 

It was only now when the job she loved was threatened by Louis, she gave in - but only travel away in order not to testify, not commit a perjury.