Suits (season 6) - an overlong, predictable slog

TV series review

Suits
Season 6 (summer season)

Starring: Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, and Gina Torres

USA Network’s legal drama Suits’ mid-season finale reminded viewers why the series has successfully been on air for six seasons, and has already been renewed for a seventh one. In a touching, poignant episode, the finale bids goodbye to a beloved regular character while gazing at the uncertainty and promise of the future. The series clearly knows how to offer some engrossing, moving drama, which is why it was frustrating to watch it deliver much less for the first nine episodes of the season.

With the reveal of Mike’s secret (Patrick J Adams) throwing Pearson Specter Litt into jeopardy, it was up to Harvey (Gabriel Macht), Jessica (Gina Torres), and Louis (Rick Hoffman) to buckle down and face the daunting task of rebuilding their firm. So they ‘obviously’ decided to spend the season doing other things instead.

The primary focus of the summer run was on Harvey’s mission of getting Mike out of prison, where another inmate – Frank Gallo (Paul Schulze), a criminal who has a vendetta against Harvey – threatened Mike’s safety. Things quickly went from unrealistic to preposterous, and Suits turned towards a predictable conclusion. With Harvey bending and even breaking the law in his bid to get Mike released, it was obvious from the get-go the series did not want Mike to face the aftermath of his mistakes, learn from them and seek redemption. Instead of character growth, we were given an unconvincing and an uninteresting plot, offering us little to empathise with.

Elsewhere, Jessica got roped into taking on a pro-bono case by Rachel (Meghan Markle). But it was flabbergasting how Rachel’s character remained so grating even when she was given the promising story line of defending a death row inmate. Louis fell for a random woman we hardly know, making it one of the least convincing romances the series has ever subjected us to. And with no real story line of her own, Donna’s (Sarah Rafferty) character was lost in everyone else’s chaos.

Exciting cases and interesting legal battles were no where to be found. Suits gave us an overlong, predictable arc that wasn’t nearly as thrilling as one would have hoped. The writers didn’t do a good job in character developments and, for some odd reason, couldn’t find anything substantial for Donna to do, making her feel underutilised.

However, the summer finale was (almost) everything a Suits fan could hope for. The 10th episode, which felt more like a series finale than a mid-season pause, tied up loose ends, bid an emotional adieu to a character without whom the series won’t be the same, and gave us compelling legal and emotional drama. For once we were given the chance to root for the characters, something we missed doing throughout the previous episodes.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune website - 3rd October, 2016 *