Silence is golden… sometimes.
Harvey runs into his old boss and mentor, district attorney Cameron Dennis, played by Gary Cole, or, as I screamed at the television, it’s Lumbergh from Office Space! He plays I’m -better-than-you so well, and it oozes here, in the role of the corrupt attorney. Harvey is friendly enough, but clearly uncomfortable in Cameron’s presence. Cameron brags to Mike that he taught Harvey everything he knows, that Harvey is who and where he is today because of his tutelage.
Mike is, like any good little hero-worshipping puppy, suddenly vastly interested in Harvey’s time as a prosecutor, a time that has never ever come up in conversation and doesn’t even appear in Harvey’s file. He asks Donna about Harvey’s early days and she tersely tells him to drop it. On a side note, I love that Donna has been Harvey’s right-hand woman since pretty much the beginning of his career. My Donna love knows no bounds.
Harvey half-heartedly agrees to meet with Cameron for dinner where he is accosted by Alexandra Leeds. She’s investigating Cameron on behalf of the attorney general amidst reports of buried evidence and coerced confessions. Oh, and she’s subpoenaing Harvey to testify against Cameron. Have a nice day, Mr. Specter.
We have officially reached Gabriel Macht’s time to shine. We don’t often see Harvey Specter get flustered or conflicted over much of anything and from this point forward, it’s a slow unraveling to the finish line. Harvey is adamant that he won’t testify against Cameron even though… yes, okay, yes he buried evidence, but Harvey didn’t. And it was Harvey’s personal stance against the unethical practice that led him to leave the DA’s office.
Unfortunately for Harvey, by law, he was required to turn Cameron in for his corruption the moment it became apparent. Walking away was all well and good, and while Harvey’s fierce loyalty is admirable, it’s also clearly misguided. He pleads with Cameron to come clean on his own, but Cameron is having none of it. He argues that the end justifies the means. He states that Harvey is a disappointment and admits to tampering with Harvey’s cases as well as his own because as Harvey’s boss, ultimately, all of the cases were his.
Poor Harvey. I bet he felt like he needed a shower. Or several.
Meanwhile, in Mike’s love life, he and Jenny are still having naughty sleepovers, but Louis spilled the beans to her about Rachel and that not-workplace-appropriate kiss she shared with Mike, so it looks like those sleepovers will be coming to an end.
Maybe.
Mike convinces Rachel to go on a double date with him and Jenny in a disastrous attempt to convince Jenny that he and Rachel are so not a thing. Jenny is convinced for about five minutes, until Mike clashes with Rachel’s date. Jenny tells Mike that he looks at Rachel the way he used to look at her… when she was dating sucky friend Trevor. She warns him, “You can’t have both.”
I’m trying really hard not to roll my eyes every time Mike interacts with a female on this show, with the exception of Donna. Donna is awesome because she doesn’t have a crush on Mike and is the self-proclaimed office “fax whisperer.”
Donna also (awesomely) saves Harvey’s ass by handing evidence over to Jessica that presumably damns Cameron Dennis to the fiery hells of potential disbarment and saves Harvey from the witness stand… when appropriately used by Jessica in a delightfully Zoe Washburn-esque confrontation, you know, without the guns and the spaceships and stuff.
In poring over old files from his cases as a prosecutor, Harvey realizes that Cameron’s tampering led to him sending an innocent eighteen-year-old to prison. Twelve years later, that young man is still in prison and Harvey grimly resolves to clear his name. Judging by the previews for next week’s season finale, it’s not going to be a very easy task.
Some stats and info about Suits, “Rules of the Game”
TV SHOW – Suits
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 11
AIRED ON – September 1st, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – USA/Netflix
GENRE – Drama, Legal Dramas, Office Culture
CREATED BY – Aaron Korsh
CAST – Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle, Gina Torres
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.