TV Show Review: Suits - Season 4

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Twists, great characters, compelling drama

Cons: A few minor niggles, but nothing major.

The Bottom Line:

Twist on the premise

Keeps show fresh and engaging

Can’t miss a second

“This Firm is Changing Names More Often than Prince.”

I never saw the cliffhanger of the previous season of Suits coming.  Considering the premise of the show is about people who work in a law firm, I never expected one of them to leave.  But I trusted the writers to keep me engaged with this latest twist on the show, and they did in spades.  In fact, season 4 was another strong season.

Yes, the season picks up with Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) starting his new job away from Pearson Spector.  He’s now working in the world of high finance as a takeover artists for businesses helping with mergers and acquisitions, some of them friendly, some of them not.  One of his first clients is desperately trying to hold on to the business he’s spent this entire life building against people who want to take it over.

And the lawyers working for the other side?  You guessed it, it’s Mike’s old friends and co-workers from Pearson Spector as lead by his mentor Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht).  That just complicates life for everyone as they already know each other’s moves.  Caught in the middle is Mike’s girlfriend Rachel (Meghan Markle), who also happens to be an associate working under Harvey.  Harvey’s secretary Donna (Sarah Rafferty) is still attempting to keep all the friendships from going nuclear.  Also this season, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) gets a love interest who wants to work for the firm and Louis (Rick Hoffman) makes a decision that might destroy his life.

They actually played out the Mike as corporate raider story longer than I thought they would.  But that didn’t dampen the season at all.  This show is always high stakes high drama, and that was the case again.  And since we saw both sides, it was hard to really come down on one side or the other, which was nice for a change.  Well, until the back half of the season, which picks up a new story arc from the back of the first half.

I actually did have an issue with a character in the back half.  Yes, I could see where they were coming from, but their actions were so self-destructive it was hard to watch.  Likewise, I’m really over Mike’s secret and hope they give that a rest for a little while.  Yes, I know that is the premise of the show, but I’d like it to play a backseat to some other story line again for a while.

Having said that, yes, I did still love this season.  I can’t turn away when this show is on the air, and the twists and surprises just keep coming.  I never know where a story is going to lead, and I love that.

And the actors are still in top form.  They know these characters inside and out and hit every note demanded by the scripts.  That’s not an easy task, and I’m sure the actors are exhausted at the end of a day or work.  The results for us are completely worth it.  Plus they make their characters likable.  It would be easy to hate these characters at times because of what they do, but we always see the humanity behind their choices, especially as they deal with the consequences.

As usual, the season consisted of sixteen episodes, and they are presented here in their native wide screen and full surround.  Extras are light with just deleted scenes, a gag reel, and an extra called Suits Recruits: The Paper Trail.

Once again, the season ended with a surprise, so I am anxious to see where things go from here.  But in the meantime, I will continue to enjoy sseason 4 of Suits.  It’s compelling drama done so well.

Season 4 Episodes:

1. One-Two-Three Go…

2. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

3. Two in the Knees

4. Leveraged

5. Pound of Flesh

6. Litt the Hell Up

7. We’re Done

8. Exposure

9. Gone

10. This is Rome

11. Enough is Enough

12. Respect

13. Fork in the Road

14. Derailed

15. Intent

16. Not Just a Pretty Face