S09.E04: Cairo

[bros402]

Faye decides to take action against Harvey and Donna's relationship; Harvey looks to impress Donna's father.

[bros402]

Once again, Faye is the adult in the firm.

By this point,  I can only think of two lawyers on the show who shouldn't be disbarred: Alex Williams and Katrina. Yes, Alex messed up, as was shown in this episode, but he tried to make things right. Katrina messed up in the past, but now she is actually following the rules.

Louis is a good person when the writers permit, but he needs to get out of the toxic place that is uhhh Specter Litt Wheeler Williams (Is that the name now?) - we have seen in the past that he is an amazing lawyer when it comes to money matters, but he is constantly pressured into illegal situations by his so-called friends. He should just offer to suspend his license for a few years, be a stay at home dad, then go back into law, maybe get offered a judgeship by that friend of his if the show wants a happy ending.

But of course, this show is going to end with Faye being revealed as being corrupt somehow, then Harvey & everyone gets away with it again - *unless* they have something come up that there is no way out of, and everyone will go down unless Harvey falls on that sword, then Harvey goes to prison, and Mike is his first visitor. Fade to black, it's 5 years later, Harvey is getting out of prison, Donna and a 5 year old Harvey Jr. are there, along with Louis, Sheila, and their kid, probably the opposite sex of Donna & Harvey's kid, so Louis can make jokes about how their families will be bonded forever if their kids ever marry.

[Orbert]

Somebody years ago (I think it was on the TWOP forums) said that one way to end the series would be for the firm to finally get caught and have to pay for all the genuinely illegal shit they've done over the years.  Disbarments, fines, prison sentences, the works.  This is the final season, and Faye is in there trying to clean things up, and if that fails, to clean house.  Just a thought.

On a completely different note, this episode was all over the place tonally.  The usual angst and crap about who done who wrong, including relationship drama, but somehow it was like they went for the big everybody's happy ending.  Respect for each other, for mom or dad, yay, respect all the way around.  Did Faye almost smile at one point?  It was weird, but somehow worked for me (which I really wasn't expecting).

Yep, Katrina and Alex are the only really redeemable characters.  Gretchen too, I guess.  The others may be "good people at heart" but they've shown repeatedly that they'll do whatever's necessary to get what they want.  Sure, sometimes what they want is really what the other party wanted anyway, but they'll cross any line and not even think about it.  It bothers Katrina to cross the line.  It bothers Alex.

Oh yeah, "Cairo".  I love it when the title of the episode (this show or any other) is something you don't really get, and maybe even forget about as you're watching the episode, then someone says it and you get it.  Louis saying "I was in Cairo" cracked me up.  The payoff for his earlier freak-out.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Orbert

[bros402]

13 hours ago, Orbert said:

Somebody years ago (I think it was on the TWOP forums) said that one way to end the series would be for the firm to finally get caught and have to pay for all the genuinely illegal shit they've done over the years.  Disbarments, fines, prison sentences, the works.  This is the final season, and Faye is in there trying to clean things up, and if that fails, to clean house.  Just a thought.

On a completely different note, this episode was all over the place tonally.  The usual angst and crap about who done who wrong, including relationship drama, but somehow it was like they went for the big everybody's happy ending.  Respect for each other, for mom or dad, yay, respect all the way around.  Did Faye almost smile at one point?  It was weird, but somehow worked for me (which I really wasn't expecting).

Yep, Katrina and Alex are the only really redeemable characters.  Gretchen too, I guess.  The others may be "good people at heart" but they've shown repeatedly that they'll do whatever's necessary to get what they want.  Sure, sometimes what they want is really what the other party wanted anyway, but they'll cross any line and not even think about it.  It bothers Katrina to cross the line.  It bothers Alex.

Oh yeah, "Cairo".  I love it when the title of the episode (this show or any other) is something you don't really get, and maybe even forget about as you're watching the episode, then someone says it and you get it.  Louis saying "I was in Cairo" cracked me up.  The payoff for his earlier freak-out.

I really hope it ends with everyone in prison - and maybe Alex & Katrina opening a practice together or something.

And yeah, Faye did almost smile at one point - I believe after she asked Gretchen who he would prefer to hear the news she was going back to him from.

[nittany cougar]

I had a hard time following the Alex drama.  How come everyone on this show has a secret that can get them disbarred or put in jail?  

I agree with bros402 about Faye. I think they are telegraphing a takedown of Faye for some ethical problem involving her ex-husband.  I think Harvey or Donna will track down the ex, and the ex will show up and threaten Faye somehow.

I laughed like hell at the scene with Louis and Susan's parents.

I don't know why Donna and Harvey are already having conflict about their parents.  They just got together; meeting the parents should come later.  But the bigger problem is that they don't act like a couple, but rather mildly flirtatious friends.  I find it bizarre that there has been almost no physical affection between them.  WTF Suits producers?  They have dropped the ball on this one.

Edited August 10, 2019 by nittanycougar

[lookeyloo]

11 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

I had a hard time following the Alex drama.  How come everyone on this show has a secret that can get them disbarred or put in jail?  

I agree with bros402 about Faye. I think they are telegraphing a takedown of Faye for some ethical problem involving her ex-husband.  I think Harvey or Donna will track down the ex, and the ex will show up and threaten Faye somehow.

I laughed like hell at the scene with Louis and Susan's parents.

I don't know why Donna and Harvey are already having conflict about their parents.  They just got together; meeting the parents should come later.  But the bigger problem is that they don't act like a couple, but rather mildly flirtatious friends.  I find it bizarre that there has been almost no physical affection between them.  WTF Suits producers?  They have dropped the ball on this one.

I am guessing that it has to do with the actors. I read that they are long time“couple friends with spouses” in real life and still guessing that while they are professionals it is very awkward to do those scenes and since this is the last season they are going to do as little of that as possible. Of course I could be making this up in my head. They did better as flirters. 

[bros402]

17 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

I had a hard time following the Alex drama.  How come everyone on this show has a secret that can get them disbarred or put in jail?  

At least the Alex drama partially isn't his fault - that partner at the old firm paid Alex bonuses that were actually bribes. I dunno if covering up his suspicions about the cover-up is a disbar-worthy offense, but yeah

[Joimiaroxeu]

I think Faye had a valid point about Donna and Harvey both having board votes. What if they have a nasty break up? These people have pretty flimsy boundaries.

Have we seen Harvey's mother before? She looked a bit like Jill Biden to me.

[nittany cougar]

Harvey's mom is played by Brynn Thayer.  She was all over TV in guest starring roles in the 80's. I think she's been shown one or two times before.

Thanks for the info, lookeyloo.  I think the show should not have gone in a romantic direction if the actors could not commit to it.  It would have made more sense to me to see Donna get sick of Harvey's playboy crap and leave him for Thomas. I don't buy someone with Harvey's past suddenly settling down.

[lookeyloo]

2 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

Harvey's mom is played by Brynn Thayer.  She was all over TV in guest starring roles in the 80's. I think she's been shown one or two times before.

Thanks for the info, lookeyloo.  I think the show should not have gone in a romantic direction if the actors could not commit to it.  It would have made more sense to me to see Donna get sick of Harvey's playboy crap and leave him for Thomas. I don't buy someone with Harvey's past suddenly settling down.

Would have made more sense, I agree, but maybe they were thinking to tie up that loose end of Donna mooning over Harvey for 12 years.  He's a pretty man, but the character doesn't appeal to me at all.

[Orbert]

Did we find out why Susan's parents were there in the first place?  After Louis raved for a while, I think Dad finally sputtered out that they aren't lawyers, they're Susan's parents, and maybe why they're there?  Otherwise they were just there so Louis could be wrong, horribly and hilariously wrong, but still just a plot device.  I remember wondering if "Susan" was the same Susan that tried her little scheme to become Katrina's associate, and it seems so.  Susan was in an episode last season listed as Susan Carter, and Henry Carter and Linda Carter are in this episode.

[bros402]

14 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I think Faye had a valid point about Donna and Harvey both having board votes. What if they have a nasty break up? These people have pretty flimsy boundaries.

Have we seen Harvey's mother before? She looked a bit like Jill Biden to me.

I was half expecting the vote plotline to go to "Well, Donna, you and Harvey can't both have votes... but wait, there's a bylaw where a person with a vote can designate a Proxy!"

Then it might've gone that Donna would designate someone to vote in her stead, maybe Katrina, and Katrina would try to make the voting partners stick to the straight and narrow(ish). Or Donna would've appointed someone we had never met before, who would've ended up using Donna's vote for evil, or something. Then there would've been a Bigger Bad that Faye would have to help them dispose of, compromising Faye.

Edited August 12, 2019 by bros402

[hula-la]

On 8/10/2019 at 6:04 PM, lookeyloo said:

I am guessing that it has to do with the actors. I read that they are long time“couple friends with spouses” in real life and still guessing that while they are professionals it is very awkward to do those scenes and since this is the last season they are going to do as little of that as possible. Of course I could be making this up in my head. They did better as flirters. 

Great minds must think alike @lookeyloo, as I thought the same thing.

Edited August 12, 2019 by hula-la