How did Harvey’s conversation with Paula about sleeping with Donna 12 years ago go? Not great Bob!

“Bad Man” wastes little time in revealing that Harvey and Paula are on a mini-break of sorts. Harvey hoped that Paula would just yell at him for a bit for lying and then they could move past it, but that’s not what Paula needs right now. No, she needs space to process this information and demands that Harvey gives it to her. Which he does. So, when the episode opens, Harvey is boxing his troubles away, but that’s barely getting the job done since he can’t stop thinking about their conversation.

Thankfully, our lord and savior Jessica Pearson appears to Harvey (via a phone call) with a problem that’ll help keep his mind off of his relationship issues. Jessica, who is totally fine with the harsh press about the newly named Specter Litt released, asks Harvey to divert $2 million of the money he’s giving her to an untraceable account. Obviously, Harvey’s first thought is that she’s trying to do something illegal, but she assures him she isn’t yet refuses to tell him why she has such an odd request.

This is a money issue, so Harvey turns to Louis for help, but Louis doesn’t have the “emotional bandwidth” for this problem because he’s dealing with his own issues: Sheila. Earlier that morning, Sheila interrupted Louis’ mudding session and tried to seduce him with some below-the-mudd action. The scene made me feel very uncomfortable. Louis tries to resist her, but Sheila ignores him and simply gives him a burner phone that she will call to set up their next rendezvous in the next few days because she’s certain he’ll change his mind and embrace being a bad boy.

Dr. Lipschitz says what we all want to tell Louis: Being a “bad boy” isn’t his thing and he shouldn’t do this because Sheila, like most of the women he pursues, can’t love him the way he wants/needs to be loved. (In case you forgot, which I did, Louis and Sheila broke up because Louis wants a family but she doesn’t.) But Louis being Louis refuses to get over the idea and continues to pursue Sheila. He tries to convincing her to leave her fiancé, but she rebuffs his sweet declaration of love because he broke her heart once before and she knows neither of them will change their minds about what they want out of life. So for now, Louis’ options are mistress or nothing at all.

As the episode unfolds, the series treats us to flashbacks to Louis’ high school years when he was “dating” a girl, who was only dating him as a cover because her parents wouldn’t approve of her actual boyfriend. Louis eventually learned what was up, but it took him a long time to put an actual end to it. In fact, one day Lil Louis overheard this girl telling her real boyfriend that she can’t actually be with Louis because he’s not a bad boy. Back in the present, Dr. Lipschitz reminds Louis again that it’s true, being a “bad boy” is not in his nature. But Louis decides that a tiger can indeed change its stripes. So, he shows up at Sheila’s office and declares that he’s ready to be a bad boy, because making the right decision is so damn hard for this man. (But hopefully this is the last time I have to use type “bad boy.”)

Continue reading Suits Recap: ‘Bad Man’

The first half of Suits’ seventh season ended with Donna planting one on Harvey and walking away, leaving us to spend the next six months wondering what this meant for their relationship. Well, the show’s midseason premiere gave us yet another Donna-centric cliffhanger — and one, frankly, that I didn’t think was necessary, but I’ll talk about that a bit more once we finish going through the episode.

“Half Truths” pick up immediately where last season left off, with a confused Harvey frozen in Donna’s office post-kiss. How does Harvey react to the news? Well, in the most Harvey way possible. Avoidance! He tells Louis to tell Donna about Jessica’s disbarment and then heads home where he finds Paula — you know, his girlfriend — waiting for him. Harvey impulsively asks her to move in, but she politely declines because she doesn’t move too quickly, which is more than fair.

Harvey continues his avoidance strategy at work the next day when he finds Donna waiting for him in his office. She wants to talk about the kiss, but Harvey refuses. So, she decides to change the subject and suggests they hire a new senior partner in order to show the world they can still recruit top talent without Jessica’s name on the door. But, Harvey cruelly shuts her down, saying she’s not a lawyer and thus shouldn’t be involved in this decision. That’s when Louis comes in, and Harvey kicks Donna out so the men can discuss how to handle the situation. Louis wants to dissolve and restructure the firm so they can pay Jessica her money without having to worry about Jack Soloff, who I forgot was a thing, and the other senior partners coming after them. However, in order to restructure the firm, Harvey needs the permission of one of the old named partners; you know, one of the guys Jessica got rid of when she ascended to the throne. Continue reading Suits Recap: ‘Hard Truths’