Suits returns for the final six episodes of season two this week, and things are heating up inside and outside the walls of Pearson Hardman.
The USA Network drama left off with faux law associate Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) grieving over the death of his beloved Granny by getting into bed with a married woman, Tess (Elisabeth Hower), before paralegal Rachel (Meghan Markle) unexpectedly showed up at the door. "Mike will have to deal with the consequences of his bad decisions," Suits creator Aaron Korsh told The Hollywood Reporter. And the first case back, which strikes Mike particularly hard, won't help much. But he won't be the only one dealing with potential game-changers.
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The firm's newly-minted senior partner Louis (Rick Hoffman) found himself on the outs when he sided with Daniel Hardman (David Constabile) in the civil war against Pearson Hardman heavyweights Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Jessica (Gina Torres). That is quickly addressed within the first two episodes back, with Louis facing a big decision that could change the face of the Manhattan firm, weakened after the internal battle for power, and his future for good. Of course, Harvey -- who can hold a grudge -- will play prominently into Louis' decision. "Like Mike, Louis made questionable choices," Korsh said. "After Hardman took over and tried to get Harvey fired, that is beyond the tail for Harvey and Louis is going to deal with the consequences."
Korsh talks to THR about what the next six episodes will look like, new additions to the Suits universe and whether Mike will "get his shit together."
The Hollywood Reporter: A lot went down in the midseason finale last year. Where do we see the characters when season two picks back up?
Aaron Korsh: Mike will have to deal with the consequences of his bad decisions. He’s going to have to decide whether he’s going to continue making them or not. He didn’t quite get to finish mourning his grandmother because of the situation with Pearson Hardman and ousting Daniel Hardman; that’s going to rear up in the first episode back. As far as the firm itself goes, in the aftermath of the civil war, there is an open spot at the top, which is going to cause some political ramifications. Pearson Hardman is in a weakened position and other New York law firms are going to take advantage. Daniel leaving leaves opportunity for conflict around who’s going to replace him. Like Mike, Louis made questionable choices. After Hardman took over and tried to get Harvey fired, that is beyond the tail for Harvey and Louis is going to deal with the consequences.
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THR: There are many great Harvey-Donna interactions in the first two episodes. Where are they headed in the final batch?
Korsh: Their relationship does not progress significantly in the last six, in terms of them being together. In the first episode back, Zoe (Jacinda Barrett) returns and Donna (Sarah Rafferty) senses it. We’re going to explore Harvey’s personal life a little bit and through exploring that we will learn more about Donna and Harvey’s relationship. What you see in the first two episodes is continued further through the season where Harvey has things happen to him that cause Donna to comment on his life and we get a sense of her take on his growth.
THR: Since Zoe is back in the first episode, will we see other familiar faces returning before the season is over?
Korsh: [Aside from the return episode,] Zoe does not return [before the season finale]. We will see Scotty (Abigail Spencer) in the last two episodes. The return of Scotty in episode 15 will be shaded by what happened to Zoe. It is spoken to a little bit but it’ll be colored by what happened.
THR: Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull) is also a new addition to the Suits universe. How does she enter into the Pearson Hardman world?
Korsh: She recurs in the last six and we didn’t want to make a huge deal at the firm about it. Mike obviously isn’t happy about the circumstances whereby she got hired. Ironically Louis is going to have some problems with her coming. He takes it out personally on Katrina, but from her perspective it wasn’t personal, it was just the circumstances that made it that she got hired. Her coming to the firm is not well-received by Mike and Louis. She plays a role and she’s used to expand the flavor and scope of the firm.
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THR: Will her extensive knowledge of Harvey's career play a role?
Korsh: She doesn’t actually have interaction with Harvey. She was a fan, she knew he was a legend. For her, Harvey is this guy who jumped from D.A. to Pearson Hardman, "I want to do what he did." It’s not necessarily that she wants to work with or for him. We made it such that she gets hired under specific circumstances but once she’s in the firm, she’s working on her own.
THR: Mike has grown a lot over the course of two seasons. He’s fighting back a lot harder and we’ve seen him more vocal about his stance in certain situations, especially in the midseason premiere. What can you say about his evolution and whether he'll continue to be more aggressive?
Korsh: He’s gone through a lot of loss in the course of the first two seasons. A lot of his progression in the last six is dealing with and reacting to those losses. In addition, his relationship with Rachel is going to go through an evolution from her seeing him sleeping with a married woman. If you look at the first episode back, he’s showing some naïveté and a little bit of a lack of acknowledgment of the fact that he’s not really a lawyer. In the course of the last six, he becomes a little less naïve I would say.
THR: As Harvey puts it, how successful is Mike in getting "his shit together"?
Korsh: He goes about getting his shit together in the second episode back. The answer to “get your shit together” is him cleaning the weed up in the beginning [of the episode]. He goes through a progression of somewhat getting his shit together more and more but also because of the larger power struggle going on in the firm, he’s caught in a rock and a hard place with a very difficult decision to make. He makes a decision and it leaves him in a position of a very different spot in the end of season than he was at the beginning.
THR: Perhaps the biggest mystery of the show: When does the can opener make its reappearance and will there be another person let in on the joke?
Korsh: [Laughs] I honestly do not know when or if we will ever reveal what the can opener is because we've really made such a big thing of it that we've put ourselves between a rock and a hard place. If we don't do it people will be upset but if we do it and it's not satisfying, people will be upset. I'm pretty sure we do not mention it in the last few episodes. Sorry.
THR: What is a scene or episode we should look out for?
Korsh: Episode 216, hands down, has the most packed into it absolutely from a "things you don't want to miss" perspective. So many things hit the fan. In 213, we meet Rachel's father, which sheds some light on her and allows for some different dynamics. Daniel Hardman returns in some of the later episodes.
Suits returns 10 p.m. Thursday on USA Network.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
