Suits Season 4 Finale Review: What's Love Got to Do With It?

Suits S04E16: "Not Just a Pretty Face"

The long slow crawl toward the inevitability of Donna/Harvey continues! Oh, sure, Suits' latest cliffhanger would have us believe that the Donna is collating for Team Louis now, but I think we all know that's just one more snag on the way to Harvey and Donna getting their crap together and actually getting together.

(Right? Pleeeeeeeze?!?)

The flashbacks required to explain Harvey and Forstman's history—with a side of Harvey/Donna goodness—were seamlessly integrated into the present-day storyline. Welcome to the early 2000s, kids. And before we all mourn Donna and Harvey's unfortunate hair, let's all be honest about how we were doing our own 'dos back in the day and accept the fact that the only character on this show who gets to remain flawless forever is Jessica, because even when Gina Torres was stuck rocking the tragic wardrobe choices in Cleopatra 2525 (ah, the future according to the year 2000), she was divine.

So, wait—is there really a lawyer in New York City who Forstman hasn't taken horrible advantage of in actual supervillain ways?

Actually, yes: Cahill. Strapped for time, Harvey's former headache reached out to Harvey and his wunderkinds to build a case against Woodall and Forstman, because after three months, he still couldn't find the money that connected the two. There's nothing like waiting until the last possible minute, right? And thank goodness for Rachel being able to out-think the sausage fest with her girl-feelings; although, honestly, she raised a brilliant point about family trees failing to address the complexities of the relationships we'd die or commit fraud for.

...and then Suits went ahead and added Rachel to Mike's family tree. Congrats, I guess? I always found Rachel's story more interesting when it focused on a young professional woman successfully proving her worth in the shadow of Harvey's favorite, and I'm worried that tossing an engagement into the show's current mix is just going to result in more heated versions of some of the same conflicts we've seen before.

Which is why, as much as it pains me to admit it, Donna's move to Norma's vacated desk (R.I.P., Norma!) is ultimately going to be a good thing. Right now, Donna and Harvey are in a painfully bad, unhealthy place. Those two are so stymied by their respective ideas of professionalism—which aren't exactly wrong, but are very rigid, and clearly making them both miserable—that I don't think they could possibly work all of their issues out as long as Donna is Harvey's employee.

Working with Louis will also gives Donna the opportunity to soak up some of the reverence and appreciation she's been missing out on at Camp Harvey lately. Harvey habitually represses and represses and then explodes with the right words at the wrong time (which is usually too late), and Donna is the one to pick up the pieces. The problem right now is that the pieces Donna needs to pick up are her own. Her relationship with Louis has been mostly positive throughout Suits' run. Louis and Donna support one another, and they can certainly help each other heal from their respective losses. Just please, for the love of Donna and Harvey's can-opener thing, don't turn it into a romantic storyline, Suits.

With Forstman and Woodall off the board, Cahill appeased, and, Mike's secret not threatening to destroy everything in its immediate vicinity (for once), Suits' slate has been wiped completely clean, giving the series free reign to do whatever it wants when it returns for Season 5. For all of its downer moments, Season 4 was ultimately a high point for the show, highlighting a return to the character-driven stories that made Seasons 1 and 2 so phenomenal. We'll just pretend that Season 3 never happened, okay? Okay.

CASE NOTES

– Rick Hoffman killed it as a Louis in subudued mourning. So did Torres as a Jessica whose confidence was shaken.

– Is there any hope for Jessica/Malone?

– Well, at least things worked out for Harvey's degenerate gambler of a brother.

– Flashback Harvey might be my favorite Harvey. Like, I get him.

– How insufferable is Mike and Rachel's engagement going to be?

– What's on your wishlist for when Suits returns for Season 5?

What did you think of Suits' Season 4 finale?