Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture and Photo by USA Network
With the arrival of Suits’ midseason premiere, USA has hit the royal jackpot in what’s otherwise a standard legal procedural: Meghan Markle, a.k.a. Prince Harry’s soon-to-be bride, will leave the series after its season-seven finale, effectively putting her acting career behind to hobnob with the Windsors.
For royal watchers tuned into Suits for the first time to support the future duchess, here’s what you need to know: Markle plays Rachel Zane, an amiable and sharp summer associate who worked her way up the corporate ladder from a paralegal gig. She’s also engaged to the firm’s junior partner, Mike (Patrick J. Adams), after years of a slow-burn romance. To be honest, Rachel is rather … meh. Suits is good, as far as basic-cable legal dramas go, but the day-to-day thrills of a Manhattan law firm can only get so wild, which means Rachel’s stories tend to revolve around boardroom meetings, filing cabinets, and occasional showdowns between distrustful clients.
Got it? Each week, we’ll dutifully provide a recap of every notable thing that Meghan Markle does on Suits for the remainder of the season. Let’s dive into Marklemania, shall we?
Markle-cap, Week One
She flirts with her work boo.
She smooches her work boo!
She and her work boo argue about a trucking-company case.
Power-walking alert! There’s a break in that trucking-company case. Justice will be served … as the New York State law dictates.
Another smooch!
That’s all for now, folks. Come back next week for further Markle-tastic exploits.
Shane Mahood/USA Network
Ratings:
Having now aired over one hundred episodes, Suits’ continued longevity has little to do with ratings and everything to do with international and second-tier distribution.
Which streamer is going to fork over the green for exclusive rights? Which territories want more Darvey? These are the questions that need to be answered in the coming months, not “how many people wanna watch the show live in the United States?”
While it does seem fair to say this winter run of Suits has a real shot at bucking the trend of the show’s winter downturns given its publicity, it’s really a moot point at this stage of the game.
Recap:
The mid-season premiere of Suits had a lot to accomplish tonight. It had to deal with the Darvey kiss, Jessica being disbarred in NY State and set the stage for the exit of Mike and Rachel.
Without question, it can be said the episode accomplished all of those things.
There was no starring plot line in tonight’s episode. While the kiss fallout is arguably the A-plot of tonight, it didn’t feel like the story thread received any more screen time than anything else. Everything got equal time to shine.
Perhaps the biggest twist of the night didn’t come from Harvey throwing Jessica under the bus in his public statement. It came from Donna refusing to agree with a promotion to senior partner for Mike.
The reason this is so important is it sets up a reason for Mike to want to leave the firm, whether it's on good terms or not will be the mystery for the episode run.
If Mike isn’t going to move up the ranks anytime soon while also wanting to spend more time with Rachel after working a case with her, he now has the perfect excuse to leave the firm behind and do just that.
A lot of pieces were repositioned on the chess board tonight in order to set the game on a new path. Jessica is out of the firm for good. Mike and Rachel have reason to exit. Harvey is on very shaky ground with his new relationship.
The stage is being set for a very wild ride heading into the remaining five episodes of the season. But, whatever happens, it seems fair to say that we are going to get a satisfying conclusion to a variety of character arcs that have gotten the show to this point.
Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA
CLOSE The palace officially confirmed that Harry and Meghan will walk down the aisle on May 19, 2018. Time
Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane and Patrick J. Adams as Mike Ross on "Suits." (Photo: Ian Watson/USA Network)
Wedding bells are ringing for Rachel Zane in the midseason premiere of Suits (Wednesday, 9 ET/PT), but I couldn't stop thinking about the royal ones ringing for Meghan Markle.
The American actress has been playing Rachel on the legal drama for seven seasons now, but the latest crop of episodes is the first to air since she and Britain's Prince Harry announced in November that they are engaged, and the last to feature Markle and Patrick J. Adams. The royal wedding is set for May 19.
Maybe it's because her character is engaged on the show, or because Markle has been stepping out quite a bit with her princely fiancé or that the drama on Suits has grown tired, but I couldn't stop thinking about the royal wedding every time she was on screen.
I know this is problematic. Markle is a fine actress, and her worth is not limited to her engagement to a famous man. Still, it's not every day someone marries an honest-to-goodness prince, especially an American woman of color from one of my basic-cable guilty pleasures.
So when Rachel discussed her vows with Mike Ross (Adams) and said, "The wedding: It’s going to be here before we know it," who can blame me for wondering about who will design her real-life dress? What celebrities will attend? Will the Suits cast pull up to the palace?
More: Publishers rush to the altar with new books about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Rachel doesn't have a huge role in the opener, which focuses on the fallout from Jessica's (Gina Torres) disbarment and the romantic tension between Donna (Sarah Rafferty) and Harvey (Gabriel Macht). But she sweeps in to save Mike from making a bad deal for his client, and affirms her commitment to their upcoming nuptials. Because she and Adams are ready to depart, the premiere seems to set up a path for them to leave the firm together to focus on each other, mirroring her real life.
Although it's weird to see its main couple leave, Suits will go on. The Donna and Harvey drama is already more central than Rachel and Mike's. And USA has already made the high-profile move of casting Katherine Heigl for Season 8.
Soon, I'll be able to obsess about Markle's royal ventures all on their own, but I'll never forget where I knew her first.
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We should’ve known that Darvey kiss wouldn’t be the happy beginning of Donna and Harvey’s long-awaited pairing. The aftermath of the smooch played out in much harsher fashion during the Wednesday, March 28, episode of Suits, titled “Hard Truths.”
Not Just a Kiss
Harvey (Gabriel Macht) was furious with Donna (Sarah Rafferty) after she kissed him unexpectedly because he was in a relationship with Paula. His first instinct was to ask Paula to move in with him, but she declined, saying she didn’t want to rush things. Harvey proceeded to take out his frustrations on Donna at work, booting her from meetings and embarrassing her during an interview with a potential senior partner. Donna confronted Harvey and told him she felt nothing when she kissed him, but Harvey was still upset she’d made him a cheater.
Harvey decided to tell Paula — two days after the kiss happened — and she was understandably upset he’d asked her to move in with him right after locking lips with Donna. After Donna apologized and Harvey asked her for advice about making Mike (Patrick J. Adams) a senior partner, which she told him not to do, Harvey acknowledged that Donna has always put him before herself, and they hugged it out, leaving their relationship status up in the air — but what else is new? Later, Harvey told Paula about sleeping with Donna years ago, and her response was nothing but stunned silence.
Drop the Pearson
Though Jessica didn’t make an appearance, her impending disbarment was hotly debated. Harvey and Louis (Rick Hoffman) tried to stall the announcement, but ultimately, time wasn’t on their side. Louis suggested the firm put out a statement disavowing Jessica so they could get approval from a former name partner to restructure and buy Jessica out. Harvey reluctantly agreed to endorse it once he had Jessica’s blessing.
Team-Up
Alex gave Mike one of his major clients, and of course, it came with a problem. Mike asked Rachel (Meghan Markle) to help him with the case, but she said she was too busy. Mike sensed something shady was going on with the company, so Rachel looked into it further and discovered fraud. She and Mike teamed up, which led Mike to suggest they work together on cases more often. Rachel countered that they should collaborate on something else: planning their wedding.
Suits airs on USA Network Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
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