Season 5 | Episode 1 | "Denial" | Aired June 24, 2015
When I heard about
Suits for the first time (before it premiered in the U.S. - I'm from the Philippines), I thought it was literally about suits, so I didn't put much of attention to it. It wasn't until the first season was over that my friend told me to try and watch it. I borrowed the external hard drive from him and got hooked after just watching the first episode. I think I finished watching the whole season in three days. It was something new that I had never seen before. It gave me the chance to look at what happens inside a firm like that, how they process it, how they look at each case. I learned a lot of new words like "pro bono case," "deposition" and "paralegal." Fast track to season 5, a lot has happened, and it is getting interesting.
The show opens with Harvey (Gabriel Macht) narrating his dream to Dr. Agard (Christina Cole) to talk about "how he feels" about Donna (Sarah Rafferty) leaving him and going to work for Louis (Rick Hoffman). Harvey has a hard time sleeping since he is suffering from insomnia. He asks the doctor for prescriptions, so he can be able to sleep, but sadly the doctor won't give him any until Harvey tells her the whole story, which flashbacks to six weeks earlier.
Donna gave Harvey two week's notice to help him find a new secretary. But, of course, being a proud lawyer that he is, Harvey tells Donna that she will be back and tells her not to bother finding him one, to which Donna replies, "That is not how two adults who care about each other move on." Harvey's answer? "Two adults who care about each other don't move on at all." #Ouch
After the opening theme, we see that Harvey is washing his face in a sink, but the therapist says that he was washing his mouth after vomiting because he has been suffering from panic attacks, because his beloved Donna was not with him anymore. Needing a distraction, he agrees to help a client save his company from bankruptcy if he agrees Harvey to have 20 percent of his corporation. Sadly that didn't help to improve his mood, and he answers coldly to Mike (Patrick J. Adams) when he tells him about his engagement to Rachel (Meghan Markle). Mike later learns about the situation from Rachel, and they decide to cut Harvey some slack, resulting to Rachel doing Donna's job.
Harvey screws up the case he is handling, which makes him very angry and want to blame Rachel for not notifying him about it. Mike stands up for Rachel and tells him to swallow his pride and ask Donna for help. But Harvey already did that, but Donna doesn't want to, citing the
"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" defense. This gives Harvey another panic attack, which makes him realize he might need help, which is why he's on this therapist's couch in the first place.
With Harvey unfocused, Jessica (Gina Torres) goes to Harvey's office and asks if he would like to undo what he did. But Harvey declines and says, "If Donna wants to work for Louis, I'm not gonna force her to work for me." But Harvey still believes that Donna will come back to work for him. We can see from there that Donna and Harvey balance each other's personality. (That is why I totally love them. #Darvey)
Dr. Agard tells Harvey that she is not giving Harvey another prescription but will give him a sample packet to ensure that he will come back. She also tells Harvey that he will only overcome his panic attacks when he accepts that Donna left him.
When Donna tells Louis that she will become his secretary, Louis, being an insecure and a paranoid person, is hesitant. He's scared that Harvey might convince her to change her mind because he admitted to Donna what happened when Mike agreed to join his team but immediately changed his mind and quickly returned to Harvey, wasting the cake he was giving to Mike. Donna promises Louis that she will never leave him. Their newfound relationship of boss-secretary is put to test when Louis goes to collect some papers from Donna's old printer, which is located in her previous table near Harvey's.
In an attempt to have Donna back, Harvey tells Louis to give Donna a can opener, which is their "sacred" item. Anxiety sets in for Louis, and it worsens when he finds a list of secretary replacements with his name in it. He thinks that Donna is already planning to leave and worries even more that he and Donna will never have what she and Harvey had. In order to protect himself, he lashes out on Donna and makes her work overtime, causing her to miss a night at the theater. When Donna sees the can opener, she figures that is what made Louis snapped. She goes to Louis's office and tells him that she does not want this kind of relationship, saying that communication is a two-way street. Louis asks Donna what the can opener was for because it still very important to her. I think she didn't want to say what the true meaning of that can opener is, so she tells him that it is a ritual they do before they go into trial. Louis wants one, but Donna tells him to wait until they win a case before they think of one. When they do won a trial, Donna gives Louis a mocha fudge cake that looks exactly like the one Louis was going to give Mike back then.
Harvey's inability to focus well when Donna left him causes him to screw up a client's company. Instead of blaming Rachel, we get a glimpse of a rare moment when Harvey takes the blame and tells the client that change is coming whether we like it or not. Having that moment of clarity, Harvey makes peace with himself that Donna might not come back anymore. After talking to the client later that night in the midst of Donna-Louis winning celebration, Harvey goes to Donna and asks for the list of secretaries she was supposed to give to him. Seeing their post-happy-moment, Harvey anticipates panic attack, but when he goes to the bathroom, he flushes the pills down the toilet, thinking he will be fine without it. (But we both know it's not.)
We can see throughout each season that they are taking Louis more seriously now. Harvey and Mike still banter from time to time from movie lines to their sense of humor. After watching this episode, I felt bad for Harvey having Donna quit her secretarial job and have her go to Louis to be his secretary, but I was very happy for Mike and Rachel for getting engaged. Hopefully we get to see how will Harvey cope without Donna in the next episodes.