Suits Season 9 Called Out Harvey & Mike For Something We All Chose To Ignore For Too Long

Suits season 9 called out the show’s main characters, particularly Harvey and Mike, for their behavior throughout the show after we, the viewers, chose to ignore their flaws for too long. Suits was very different from the usual legal dramas, focusing more on the power dynamic between lawyers during a settlement than in courtroom battles or criminal cases. Suits’ best episodes combined character development with high-stakes lawsuits, many of which were only won by the protagonists because they were willing to cross some lines.

The fact that Harvey Specter hired Mike Ross as his associate was a clear sign that the “best closer in the city” did not play by the rules. Harvey loved to say that “life is like this,” but that he liked to operate “like this.” While it was fun to root for Harvey and the rest of the main Suits characters, I cannot deny that they were often not the “good guys.” Funnily enough, Mike’s return in Suits season 9 following Patrick J. Adams’ exit from the show in season 7 acknowledged Harvey and the firm’s issues.

Suits Season 9 Called Out Harvey & Mike For Always Breaking The Rules

“Anything that would get us in jail or disbarred is off the table”

Patrick J. Adams reprised his role as Mike Ross for three episodes of Suits season 9, the first of which was “If the Shoe Fits.” This was the first time in months that Mike visited Harvey, but the former wanted more than just catch up. For the first time since the beginning of the show, Mike Ross and Harvey Specter were on opposite sides of a lawsuit as lawyers. Although Mike wanted what was best for his client, he also saw this as an opportunity to have a friendly “match” against his former mentor.

However, once things started to escalate, they decided to lay out some rules. Mike and Harvey agreed that they had to be on the same page and play by the same rules during this lawsuit. Mike proposed that anything that would get them in jail or disbarred would be off the table this time, all but confirming that this was their modus operandi during most of the show. Both Harvey and Mike knew what the other was capable of, almost as if Suits was telling us that the show’s heroes were actually in the wrong a lot of times.

Harvey & Mike Should Both Have Been Disbarred Several Times

Harvey and his protégé crossed too many lines.

While I am no legal expert, there were a lot of times in Suits that Mike and Harvey should have been arrested or at least disbarred. Both were very smart lawyers and knew how to use rules and legislation to win cases, but they were also willing to cross lines to get the job done. From compulsively lying to their clients and bosses to colluding with a federal agent to get someone out of prison, there was nothing Harvey and Mike were not willing to do. Still, they always believed they were doing the right thing.

That is not to mention the very premise of Suits – Mike Ross was a fraud. Once Harvey Specter was willing to hire someone who did not have a law degree in the first episode of the show, I knew that I could expect anything from Suits. Hiring a fraud was the first of many extreme measures taken by Harvey Specter during all nine seasons of Suits. Ironically, Jessica Pearson and Robert Zane, two of the most experienced lawyers on the show, were the ones to get disbarred for things Harvey did.

Suits Season 9 Was All About Holding Harvey & The Firm Accountable

Faye Richardson put Harvey’s firm in check.

Mike and Harvey’s conversation in episode 5 was not the only meta-reference Suits season 9 included. In fact, most of Suits’ final season was about holding the firm accountable. By the beginning of season 9, Suits’ firm had already gone through several name changes, multiple public scandals, and two disbarred managing partners. Between the Mike Ross scandal and the disbarring of Jessica and Robert, I was not surprised that the New York State Bar appointed a Special Master to oversee the firm. Faye Richardson was there to question Harvey and the firm about their way of doing things.

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I found it difficult not to agree with Faye during Suits season 9. While I love the Suits characters and was deep down rooting for them to win, Faye had a point. Harvey and his partners crossed way too many lines and were willing to do whatever it took to win a case or help a friend. Suits’ series finale was a battle for the fate of the firm, at the end of which Harvey realized it was time for a change. I’m glad that Suits acknowledged how flawed its main characters were and made it into a great storyline.

Suits

Suits follows Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who, despite never attending law school, is able to use his photographic memory to become a lawyer. The legal drama ran from 2011 to 2019 for a total of nine seasons and also starred Gabriel Macht, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, and Rick Hoffman.

Cast

Patrick J. Adams , Sarah Rafferty , Gabriel Macht , Meghan Markle , Rick Hoffman , Gina Torres , Amanda Schull , Dule Hill , Katherine Heigl

Release Date

June 23, 2011

Seasons

9

Network

USA

Creator(s)

Aaron Korsh