Suits Season 9 Episode 2 Review: Special Master
Paul Dailly
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The game has changed and the sooner our band of lawyers realizes that, the better.
Fay's grip on the firm continued to intensify on Suits Season 9 Episode 2, and the characters found it difficult to look to this new person for orders.
It's difficult to say, but Louis deserved to be fired.
Everything he was doing was wrong on so many levels, and all Fay wanted was to find out how everyone would react to her being at the wheel.
The whole purpose of her being at the firm is to steer it in the right direction.
If you watch Suits online, you know that the things she said everyone at the firm has done were just the tip of the iceberg.
Like I've said before the firm has got to be having a PR nightmare every single time something happens because all of the issues are starting to mount. If I were a client of the firm, I would be looking elsewhere.
There's a black mark associated with any company that is changing its name on what seems to be a weekly basis. There has to be change, or there's going to be no firm when all of this is said and done.
Fay: If you want me gone, convince me that you people can fly right.
Samantha: And if we don't?
Fay: Then, you'll be fired.
Fay was not nasty in her approach; she merely wanted to set expectations so that the others knew she was not one to cross.
It's easy to paint her as the villain in this scenario, but she's doing what the New York bar wants her to do:
Weed out the rot that's infecting the inner workings of the firm from the root. Louis crossed Fay one too many times, and that's why he got fired.
Donna: How long is she going to be here?
Louis: I don't know. Apparently, it's left to the bar's discretion.
Harvey: Bullshit. There is no way I am letting the bar move into my house and tell me how to run it.
Louis: What?
Alex: You know what. This never would have happened if we just ...
Samantha: Don't even say it.
Alex: You don't even know what I was going to say.
Samantha: I can take a guess. You were going to say this all happened because of what Robert did.
Fay: It happened because of your collective choices.
Louis: This is a private meeting, Fay.
Fay: It's also the perfect opportunity for me to introduce myself to the firm's leadership, such as it is.
Donna: Such as it is?
Fay: Miss Paulsen, when a firm's out of control, that starts at the top.
Harvey: If you think you can waltz right in here and start throwing around accusations...
Fay: Then how about we throw around some facts? You've had two managing partners disbarred in as many years, a junior partner go to prison, and if you think anybody believes that you weren't a party to that fraud, think again, but as of today, I'm wiping the slate clean of everything you've ever done.
His ego was more important to him than the wellbeing of his staff and clients. We've watched him be one of the most impulsive characters on all nine seasons of the show.
Benjamin is easily manipulated, and it was difficult to watch Louis tell him that he's to go to any lengths necessary to get Fay away from the office.
Louis failed to realize the error of his ways, or he was struggling with his ego, and that's why he attempted to fire Benjamin. By my calculations, Benjamin could have filed a lawsuit against the firm.
Fay stepping in to save Benjamin further proved why she's there. It's going to be an uphill battle for Louis to get his job back, but he'll likely be back in those offices in a handful of episodes.
Related: Suits Renewed for Ninth and Final Season
The big question now centers on who will become interim Managing Partner. Fay doesn't trust Harvey as far as she can throw him. The same can be said for Samantha, so the other two names are Katrina and Alex.
Out of the two, it's a really close call. Alex was offered the position on Suits Season 9 Episode 1, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was put out of the running, only for Katrina to wind up with the role.
Out of everyone, Katrina was the one who was most receptive to Fay's feedback, and that will count for something in her eyes. Now, I know many would say that Katrina does not have enough experience, but she's a great problem solver and fights for what she knows is right.
Alex: You have no proof we've ever done anything.
Fay: I have experience, and when there's this much smoke, there's fire.
If she can follow the rules, then that will be a win in the eyes of the bar. It's also possible that Fay will assume control or she'll bring back a character from the past who hates everyone at the firm just to stick the knife in some more.
Related: Suits Patrick J. Adams Returning for Final Season
There are a lot of balls up in the air right now.
Fay proved that she had a heart when Donna spoke to her off the record about her relationship with Thomas. Did she exaggerate some of it? For sure, but she got the result she wanted.
The interview with Thomas would have no doubt exposed the truth about Robert's departure, meaning that pretty much everyone inside the confines of the firm would have been fair game to be fired.
As for Thomas, it was evident he still longed for Donna, but he deserves all the respect in the world. He wasn't spiteful about the end of the relationship. He tried to work with Harvey to conceal the truth.
But it proved to be too much. Donna has way more chemistry with Thomas than Harvey, but the creative forces think that it's time to have Donna and Harvey together.
For that reason, I'm not opposed to Thomas being written out for good. We don't need relationship drama dragging the showdown, not when we're so close to the series finale.
Samantha's storyline was mostly away from the other characters, save for her sparring with Fay, and it was an intriguing one.
Samantha has been a tough nut to crack ever since her debut on the series, but she's starting to soften up as the layers on her past are being pulled back.
Related: Suits Season 9 Episode 1 Review: Everything's Changed
The way she tried to help Lucas was commendable, but she knew he had to agree to get help, or his life would be forever governed by his PTSD.
Making the company so that he gets classed as employed with an income to allow him to get the help he needs was a beautiful gesture, and one he's not going to forget soon.
It was uncharted territory for Suits to roll with a storyline like this, and it gave Samantha a platform to work her magic and prove that she's one of the most loyal people around.
Now that we're approaching the Suits endgame, it's becoming increasingly apparent that these characters are finally starting to pay for everything they're doing wrong.
For that reason, this installment was a marked improvement on Suits Season 9 Episode 1.
What are your thoughts on the episode? How will Louis get his job back?
Hit the comments below.
Suits continues Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA Network.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
