For a few months, fans of the series “Suits” will have to sit and ponder the events of season two’s finale. After an impressive build-up over a split second season, the finale of season two, entitled “War,” largely fell flat from a storytelling standpoint.
This episode picks up where the last one left off. Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) is still up in arms about Jessica Pearson’s (Gina Torres) decision to launch into a merger with another firm. Harvey attempts to thwart the merger by finding any dirt they can on this new firm.
In order to make this happen, Harvey once again calls on the young Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) for help and support. Given the tension between Jessica and Harvey this quite literally puts Mike between a rock and a hard place. On top of that, Mike makes a promise to Rachel (Meghan Markle) that he most likely cannot deliver on.
As a whole, this episode felt very rushed. There was a large merger that was going to reshape and redefine an entire firm, Harvey’s pride and various subplots; Aaron Korsh and his team of writers had their hands full. This episode probably should have been a two-hour affair in order to accommodate all of the moving pieces.
This series has received a good amount of acclaim for its ability to mix intelligent cases, character drama and humor. In this shortened second half sprint-to-the-finish it appears that the writers struggled to balance everything. The stakes were raised in seemingly each and every episode. There was no satisfying way to conclude this season’s affairs at Pearson Hardman.
On one hand, it was nice to see characters such as Mike, Harvey and Rachel receive more screen time in “War.” In this episode Mike is nearly pushed to his limits and the intensity between characters was ratcheted up a few notches. The time where Mike will pay for his lies is still on the horizon.
On the other hand, it seemed as if the character arcs and stories shifted in and out of focus. For instance, Mike’s story took a bit of a backseat in recent episodes. In addition, Mike’s story seemed to carry less weight in the final episodes.
All in all, the second season of “Suits” did an adequate job of raising the stakes with convoluting the story too much. Not everything was going to get resolved at the end of the season, but it would have been nice to see the finer details fleshed out.
USA Network has done an interesting programming with their shows. A “season” now consists in two short bursts of five or eight episodes. This latest five-episode run was essentially the second half of the second season. It was a season where the characters were nearly pushed to their moral and legal limits.
The actors all seem to have a stronger grasp on their characters as a whole. Just as the writers have raised the drama and the stakes, the actors have improved their game. This is evident in the many heated exchanges between Jessica and Harvey. The viewers can feel heat waves during these talks as both try to stake their claim for “what’s best for the firm.”
Although the story may have been rushed, the Korsh still found a way to develop these characters. This is especially evident in the character of Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). The writers made smart television writing investments by expanding a character that was largely unlikeable in the first season.
In the lateral stages of this season, the writers decided to give Louis more depth. In a way, Louis became one of the unsung heroes of season two. Hoffman always brought a strong amount of deviousness to the character, but the writers allowed him to stretch his acting legs.
In fact, each and every character now seems deeper and more vulnerable. From the standpoint of the audience, this makes it easier to buy into the crazy happenings as Pearson Hardman. Korsh and the writers are still hatching out ideas for the show’s planned third season.
This next season will consist of 16 episodes and will be the longest season of “Suits” to date. If the rising tension of season two is any indication, season three should be just as provocative and intriguing.
