Donna & Harvey’s Relationship Takes a Backseat to the Firm’s Reputation on ‘Suits’ (RECAP)

Meredith Jacobs July 17, 2019, 10:00 pm

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 9 premiere of Suits, “Everything’s Changed.”]

The Suits Season 9 premiere picks up almost right where February’s finale left off, which means fans don’t miss a moment of Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Donna’s (Sarah Rafferty) new relationship, but there’s not much time to celebrate because the firm must do damage control.

That’s much easier said than done, between the New York Bar and Eric Kaldor. And at the center of it is a tough decision: what to do about Robert Zane’s name, because some people aren’t willing to take it down. But at least Harvey and Samantha (Katherine Heigl) let off a bit of steam in the ring.

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Darvey was “worth the wait”

We’re not even a minute into the final season when Donna, in bed with Harvey, delivers a very Donna line. “I was worth the wait,” she says when he apologizes for not coming to his senses sooner.

So, what do the two of them do the morning after they finally spent another night together? They each leave messages for Rachel and Mike. But their flirty banter about their previous time and the night before and any serious conversations about why Harvey finally came over have to wait when Louis (Rick Hoffman) stops by to discuss the Zane situation.

He’s so focused on the firm that the truth about why Harvey’s at Donna’s completely flies over his head, even with comments about them being up “banging it out” all night and both being “top notch at releases.” “How could he be such a good lawyer and not see what’s right in front of his face?” Harvey wonders after he leaves, but Donna points out Harvey didn’t see what was in front of his face for 12 years.

(Ian Watson/USA Network)

While they don’t plan on keeping their relationship a secret, they do decide to wait to tell everyone until after they deal with the blowback from the hearing.

That also means waiting to discuss what changed for Harvey until one of the final scenes of the episode, in which Donna meets Harvey at Mike and Rachel’s old apartment. While a week ago, he never would have gone over to her place knowing she and Thomas weren’t officially over, he didn’t even think about it that night, he admits. “Once it hit me that we should be together, it felt like we’ve always been together,” he explains.

Harvey has also been paying the rent for the apartment under the guise of a fake tenant named Rick Sorkin, the person who didn’t show up the day he hired Mike. And because she recognizes the name, “That’s what I love about you,” Harvey says. “You get me.”

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Damage control

Because the world thinks Robert is guilty, the firm’s reputation is on the line, and it’s losing his clients, specifically because Eric Kaldor has poisoned the well. One way to do damage control would be to take Robert’s name down, as Steven Faulkner with the New York Bar tells Alex (Dulé Hill), but no one’s willing to do that — at first.

Eric’s willing to back off stealing Robert’s clients if Harvey gives him 10 of his, and Samantha hops on board that train once she figures out that Harvey was not “alone” the night before like he claims, but with Donna. “I lost everything that night. Robert was everything to me,” Samantha tells Harvey. “And the person I lost him for was you, and instead of feeling bad about it like you said you did, you were off having a little romp with the person whose fault it really was.” He can either give up his clients, or she’ll put him through the wall.

(Ian Watson/USA Network)

While he doesn’t want to hop into the ring with her, Donna tells him that’s exactly what he needs to do. Samantha wants a fight, and he gives one to her. And after he does, they come to an agreement: They’ll try to keep as many of Robert’s clients as they can and make sure his name stays up no matter what.

But no one even wants to interview at the firm, Louis learns from Sheila and Henry, and even if Harvard does agree to let him be keynote speaker at an upcoming Ethics Conference (which it doesn’t), it won’t help. The students will respond to actions, namely taking Robert’s name down. The only problem would be getting the necessary votes because neither Samantha nor Donna will say yes.

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Alex will, however, because he’s the one who’s been dealing with the New York Bar and hearing about how the firm’s reputation has been affected. Louis finally agrees, especially after hearing that the New York Bar can make changes to leadership and wants to name Alex managing partner. Louis tries to change Harvey’s mind, but Harvey refuses to go back on his word to Samantha. Instead, he gives up his clients to Eric in hopes that making sure Robert’s clients stay helps.

But their trouble is far from over, as Louis meets another member of the New York Bar, Faye Richardson (Denise Crosby), on his way out. She has a court order granting her full control of the firm under the Bar’s Special Master provision. If he refuses, the Bar will suspend every partner in the firm from practicing law for six months.