Suits recap: '100'

Suits, the last vestige of USA Network’s blue skies-era programming, has made it to 100 episodes. To celebrate the occasion, Suits opted to go with an episode that brings this season’s prison story line to its apex while also pushing Louis in a very interesting direction in his personal life.

Even though “100,” which was directed by Patrick J. Adams, is mainly concerned with wrapping up the Reform Corp case, it begins with the personal. Harvey rings up Paula after disappearing for a few days because of work and agrees to let her take him out to dinner. Elsewhere, Donna, who is clearly feeling lonely, decides to give her ex-boyfriend Mark Meadows a call. Adams blocks the scene so Donna begins the phone call at one end of the hall; by the time the call is over, when she and Mark have made plans to get lunch “at the place with the thing by the thing,” she���s makes it to the other end, signifying that she’s reached her goal: reconnecting with her ex.

From there, it’s time to get down to business. Mike shows up at Harvey’s apartment looking for a classic Batman and Robin team-up to save Alex Williams. And to save their co-worker, they’ll need some outside help from none other than Robert Zane. (Do you think Robert gets tired of helping these boys out?) Basically, they just need Robert to take the case and to attend a settlement meeting with Reform Corp; he’ll leave with a cut of the settlement, and Alex will be free. Robert agrees to it, but he warns Harvey that if he takes this case, he will do it his way.

Naturally, Roger, Reform Corp’s head, isn’t too happy to learn that Robert Zane, a.k.a. Mike’s future father-in-law, is coming after them. Harvey assures them he has it handled. Surprise: He doesn’t. Robert shows up at the settlement meeting ready to declare war on Reform Corp with an ask that’s higher than they discussed. He wants to make Reform Corp pay and is willing to take them to trial since he has a killer witness: Frank Gallo. Robert decided to turn up the heat on Reform Corp once he realized that they were actively feeding into a system that negatively affects black people. It’s rare to see anyone on this show care about anything apart from winning, so Robert’s newfound passion is powerful and effective. I have to agree with what Adams said in our preview of the episode: This is some of Wendell Pierce’s finest work on the show.

While Mike and Harvey try to figure out a way to make sure Frank doesn’t testify for Robert, Louis, like Donna, receives a blast from the past. When he discovers that Columbia didn’t send any applicants for Pearson Specter Litt’s associate program, Louis flips out and heads over to Morningside Heights to give the law school’s head of recruitment a piece of his mind — but his anger dissipates the moment he barges into the recruitment official’s office and comes face to face with none other than Sheila Sazs.

Obviously, Louis is shocked to see her in New York since she was kind of reluctant to leave Harvard when they were dating. It turns out she’s engaged and her fiancé lives in New York, so she moved there for him. As the awkwardness builds, they both decide that there’s no reason for Sheila to withhold candidates, and she agrees to send over her best students as soon as possible. Louis leaves the meeting still in shock.

And Louis isn’t the only one who receives some shocking romance news. Toward the end of their very flirty lunch, Mark drops a bombshell on Donna: He’s married. Donna’s pissed, especially since they both know this was more than “just lunch.” Mark tells her he’s very unhappy in his marriage and really wanted to see her again. “I’m not going to be the answer to your problems,” says Donna, who tells Mark she’s open to going out once he and his wife are officially divorced. (Recap continues on next page)

Unfortunately, Mike has no luck convincing Frank not to testify; Frank has realized he can only win his daughter back if she sees him doing something good. Now, it’s up to the boys and Rachel, who insists on being included in this and is pissed that she wasn’t before, to come up with a new plan to shut Robert down. Thankfully, his daughter already has one in mind, but unfortunately, it means they’ll have to play very, very dirty and impugn Robert’s reputation.

The next day, Batman and Robin head to court. Harvey doesn’t want to go through with the plan, but when Bratton shows up and threatens to take over the case, Batman realizes he has no other option. When the hearing begins, Harvey argues that Frank is making Robert suborn perjury by threatening Rachel’s life. This is downright slander and is kind of despicable. Robert loses it on Harvey and Mike in the bathroom after the judge rules against letting Frank testify (God, this show loves bathroom fights). And the fact that it was Rachel’s idea doesn’t make it better — Mike and Harvey still had the option not to do it. It’s the latest in a long list of dirty things these men have done to protect the P.S.L. family, and it makes you wonder: At what point will they draw the line?

Meanwhile, Louis and Donna receive similar propositions from their exes. Both Mark and Sheila want to spend one more night with them before returning to their lives; basically, they each want to turn a hotel room into their own little Bachelor-esque fantasy suite. This puts both Louis and Donna in an uncomfortable position; they’re both feeling lonely, and a part of each of them wants to say yes, but they know they shouldn’t. Louis and Donna both look for clarity on the P.S.L. roof, which leads to a touching scene that reminds me why I love their friendship.

Given her own self-worth and her relationship with Harvey, we know Donna is probably going to say no, but then she runs into Paula leaving a note for Harvey and realizes it’s their two-month anniversary. Her sense of loneliness hits her again, and she decides to turn down Rachel’s offer for drinks because she already has plans.

The next day, Harvey receives some shocking news: Frank Gallo died in prison the night before. He obviously assumes Roger and Bratton were behind it and confronts Roger at his office. Roger claims he had nothing to do with it. Eventually, Robert shows up with a video recording of Frank’s testimony that directly implicates Roger in the guard’s murder and the other shady practices. With no other option, Roger agrees to Robert’s settlement. Harvey also makes Roger draw up an affidavit that clears Alex’s name and pins the blame on Bratton, which Harvey uses to force Bratton to rip up the affidavit Alex signed earlier in the season and resign. And thus the day is saved. As Alex and Harvey leave Bratton’s office, they share some Psych-like banter about being even now.

That night, Mike and Robert make amends; Harvey has dinner with Paula and gives her a key to his place to celebrate their two-month anniversary (which he forgot about); and Louis and Donna make their choices. Donna decides to turn down Mark, but Louis, who is still heartbroken after Tara, accepts Sheila’s offer and goes her hotel room.