Suits is a fun show. If you want to watch heavy courtroom drama then you probably want to choose a show like Boston Legal. Suits, on the other hand, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and if you are okay with that then you are sure to be highly entertained.
In the cutthroat world of New York corporate law are a bunch of lawyers (and paralegals; there is a difference and I will come to that shortly) who are talented, smart and interesting. Oh and of course the best of them wear the most exclusive of Suits!
This show is high on dynamic sharp interactions between the lead characters, relying heavily on wit and verbal sparring. Very often the legal jargon makes no sense to me personally, but I am still sufficiently stimulated to enjoy the end victory.
The biggest asset this show boasts of are the characters. Followed closely by the fact that the atmosphere never gets too heavy even though we are dealing with court cases and all the emotional baggage that comes with it. The focus of the story is more on the office politics of who ousts whom and where friendships are forged and less on the actual crime.
Harvey Specter – He is the best closure in town (err am not exactly sure what that means except that he is pretty damn excellent at what he does). Resourceful, smug along with inimitable swagger. When we meet him he is closed to bored of being perfect, so decides to take on a big risk by hiring Mike into the law firm. As the story progresses, predictably we come to see he isn’t entirely ruthless . He has his own set of morals and stands firm by them. I love that he is resourceful and believes in fixing the problem instead of worrying about it. And though he tends to break a lot of rules he remains grounded throughout. Cool as a cucumber, as the saying goes. Also human enough to have his own interest at heart.
Mike Ross – Genius. Literally. He has photographic memory. He didn’t get to attend Harvard law school ( which is the only place the other lawyers from Harvey’s firm are hired from), but he can recite the law books verbatim. Genuinely good hearted and intelligent. His and Harvey’s exchanges ignite that spark within me to hang around smart people. Young and idealistic, Mike is a prodigy that Harvey was quick to spot and tries hard to protect.
Louis Litt – He is Harvey’s contemporary. The outsider who craves for attention and praise. His sense of awe for Harvey borders close to jealousy and despair. Louis can never measure upto him. The thought inspires and torments him. He has weird shenanigans from being a cat lover to smoothie maker, but give him a business problem to solve and you will see an efficient side to him. His scenes with Harvey are always to look out for. Louis is emotional and it can get almost painful to see him try to succeed.
Jessica Pearson – She is the head of the firm. Harvey’s mentor. Classy, controlling and all knowing. Her priority is clear; The firm before the individuals. She can be calculating and condescending, but surprisingly perceptive, all at the same time. The faith she has on Harvey and how smoothly she handles the eccentricities of Louis are a valuable lesson to anyone wanting to manage people. Well, you have to be good to have reached the top and continue to manage to stay there.
Rachel Zane – Mike’s love interest. She is a paralegal (she can handle the paperwork, but not practice law independently), not yet a lawyer. Pleasing to the eye, and pretty good at her work, but am not a fan.
Donna Paulsen – I love Donna. Harvey’s secretary and who probably is every person’s fantasy in terms of sheer competency. She can handle most situations and has all the answers. When Donna is in trouble Harvey gets to be the knight in shining armour. She knows how good she is and doesn’t forget to remind you of that, which is just icing on the cake. Loyal to a fault where Harvey is concerned. Forthright, ready to always tell people the truth. The more I see Donna and Harvey’s comfort and synergy together the more I ship this couple. You have to see her to understand why we all need a Donna in our lives.
4 seasons of Suits are out. 5th is currently on air. As with most shows, the first few seasons have a brisker pace and crisper storyline, but the dialogues are enough to ensure there is never a dull moment. Brush up a bit on legal jargon, suspend belief about how law works and you are sure to get high on the whirlwind snazzy, stylish and clever world of Suits.
Pic credit ABC and uploaders.
I love that you have a separate grading category for “romance”:)
I think Harvey is the best closer because he closes month or year long negotiations in a single dinner meeting. That’s what he demonstrates in the first episode (or at least very early in the first season).
You probably don’t feel strongly about Rachel Zane because she’s added sugar for a different kind of viewer… But she’s more than that, she’s the embodiment of often irrational emotions in this high-paced world of oppressed feelings. And sure, that can be annoying, but feelings can have that quality a lot of times, on top of adding color of course.
I really like your brief analysis and agree very much! One thing I miss here is the growing darkness as the show progresses. People get more and more mean and selfish and vain and confrontations get nuclear. Which might be needed to keep up the tension in the show but it also makes me assume a very dark core in people IRL :S (Of course a lot of shows do that to me…)
Hey Zsolt you watch Suits too? yayy!
Glad you enjoyed my post. Nice reasoning there about Rachel. She does feel more ‘normal’ than the others and maybe that’s why she feels paler in comparison.
I recently completed season 4 and I wasn’t entirely convinced of the need to have Mike pitted against Harvey. Felt a little forced in trying to take away the lightness. haha you end up thinking people in real life are dark? I end up thinking people in real life are boring after watching Suits. I keep imagining what would it be like if in our office we were this rude to each other.
Have you seen the show Newsroom? I enjoy the characters and conversations there too. Thoughts?
By the way thank you for coming here to talk. This is fun.
Yeah I think I’m one season behind. Probably at the end of season 4… Addictive show, probably you’re right, partially because the characters are wittier than real people. But for me “real” stays the standard, and these characters are just exaggerated dimensions of normal personalities.
I watched the first season of Newsroom and liked it a lot, too bad it’s not widely distributed. Probably I catch up on it, your review reminded me how good it had been!
If you want some really good show, which also doesn’t keep you busy too long, I honestly recommend Gracepoint. I adore the NW setting and how beautifully this show was filmed. And then since this is the crime show where they solve a single murder in 10 episodes, there is time to dig deep in the characters. (I also watched the British version, but prefer this Oregon coast version (filmed in Victoria, B.C of course).)
Gracepoint sounds interesting. Will give it a try. i generally like crime shows. Thank you Zsolt.
I figured, based on your sympathy for Dame Christie:) Probably that’s how I made that association: TV shows + some memory of your Agatha Christie post. This show has a fairly similar setting as what you mention about her books: a limited number of people (as it’s a small town), hence a short list of suspects, and as the season progresses, all of them become a person of interest…