Suits season 4, episode 14, “Derailed,” was Patrick J. Adam’s first time out of the gate as director. So how’d he do? He had a better night than the characters on the show did, that’s for sure.
Was it just us, or did it seem like the characters wore their emotions on their sleeve more than usual tonight? Adams did do a wonderful job directing a plot-heavy episode, and we hope this isn’t the last time he steps behind the camera.
After a very cloak-and-dagger meeting with Professor Gerrard, Mike is persuaded to take on a whistle-blower case. The guy is made out to be a bit of a con-artist, having gotten in trouble for calling out old employers, but Mike believes him. Harvey argues the case is a way to bring up Mike’s parents, once again, but he disagrees.
The truth is, Mike doesn’t know how much time he has left to help people, which is a supremely ominous line of dialogue. His secret is oozing like the BP oil spill and Harvey, Jessica, Mike and everyone involved can only do so much to plug the holes before its dam breaks. Gerrard knows. Scottie (remember her?) knows. Louis knows. All these third-party people that the characters at some point wanted, or had, to trust. Now, it’s up to them to keep their mouth shut.
Mike ends up ‘winning’ the case, but he wins it with a stipulation: Donna illegally obtained documents that helped Mike and made the company settle. This is shady – especially considering Donna has had trouble with documents appearing and disappearing before – but they get away with it. Except they don’t. Cameras got her sneaking around the files, and she is in trouble next week. Donna is an incredible woman, but her questionable ethics will not be kind to her in court.
Louis meanwhile, gets sent into a tizzy during “Derailed” because Jeff paid off the firm’s receptionist to answer the phone “Pearson Specter,” intentionally omitting his name. We still haven’t completely forgiven Louis for his angry tirade over the last few episodes, and we are trying to believe scenes from tonight – specifically the one where he grabs a drink with Jeff to patch things up – was a genuine show of friendship. Could he honestly wave off the prank after a few scotches? We’re not so sure, but we want to believe!
Rachel spends most of the episode running around, putting out fires. First, with Louis who was ready to clear out the office’s administrative staff, and then with Mike, who tries to hide his screw-ups (Donna’s document) from Harvey. She wisely advises (as if there could be any other kind of advising) that if he doesn’t find out from Mike, he’ll find out from someone else, and then it’ll get ugly.
Jeff wants to take Jessica to Paris, but of course she balks at the suggestion. Later that night, they discuss the trip in more detail, and it makes us pretty envious. Taking this relationship out of the office, where it’s been lurking around for a few weeks, hidden in the shadows, “Derailed” completely fast-tracked the couple Then it, well, gets derailed.
When Jeff proclaims his love, Jessica goes to Harvey: why did he decide to tell Scottie about Mike? Because he loved her. She wants to tell Jeff, too. She loves him, she doesn’t want to lie anymore (honestly – if we had a quarter for every time these characters wanted to be truthful…) but when she goes to his house to divulge everything, he’s not having it. Jeff caught Louis in his lie about why he became name partner earlier that night, and now cannot trust Jessica. It’s a vulnerable moment for her, and something tells us her shell will become twice as strong after this episode.
Tonight we also met the female Harvey: opposing lawyer, Evan Smith. She’ll be back, but whether it’s to destroy Donna or wreck Harvey remains to be seen. Keep an eye on her.
All in all, the fine actors of Suits really hit it out of the park tonight, and it’s all leading up to two final episodes of Suits season 4. What will happen? Who will be standing in the end, and will anything happen to change the firm forever?