Summary
Suits LA pays tribute to John Amos in Episode 7, which is nice, but everything else feels a little adrift after the culmination of Lester’s trial.
I mentioned last week that Suits LA felt like it was over. The end of Lester’s trial had a climactic feeling to it. And while Episode 7 obviously continues the story, it does seem to be a bit of a reset, a transitional episode where everyone figures out what they’re going to be doing for the remainder of the season. But it’s also something else, a tribute to the late John Amos, who passed away in August last year while the show was in production. That fact gives a somewhat directionless outing a different quality, making me less inclined to criticize it despite a lot of it – some stuff between Erica and Kevin, Stuart’s case, the flashbacks – feeling somewhat less than stellar.
The John Amos stuff brings Ted and Rick back together again, while Stuart defends a Hollywood fixer named David Bowie – cue the obvious jokes – and Kevin prepares to leave L.A., his work for the firm complete. Leah also gets a bit of welcome focus in “Good Times”, and Ted’s career takes a predictable hit in the torpid flashbacks. Never has the term “mixed bag” been more appropriate.
A Welcome Tribute to John Amos
Anyway, John Amos. Early in Suits LA Episode 7, Ted’s victory tour over the Lester victory is derailed by the news that the late, great actor has passed away, so Ted and Rick get together to brainstorm some ways of properly honouring his legacy. What they come up with is getting John a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Outside of being a nice homage, this is mostly just an excuse to have Ted and Rick work together again, especially while under the influence. It only takes a few cocktails to loosen the tongue, and Rick’s starts wagging about missing Ted and Erica, perhaps the latter especially. It’s a very interesting approach this show has taken by deliberately dividing the cast in the premiere and then consistently coming up with new ways to bring them back together and reinforce the impermanence of the arrangement. In hindsight, it seems like Ted getting stabbed in the back by Stuart and Samantha was just a way of ensuring that we could have constantly rotating character pairings throughout the season.
Oh, part of this subplot is also present-day Ted realizing, by means of past Ted, that he’s still being impossible in many of the same ways. This leads to him falling out with Rick and then kissing and making up with him, which is somewhat predictable, but one can only hope that the number of times stuff like this happens to Ted is helping him to actually learn his lessons. Otherwise, we’re in for a long few episodes.
Still, the Amos tribute is nice.
Kevin Is Leaving For Now
I mentioned at the top that Kevin’s work for the firm is done for the time being, now that Lester’s case is over with, and that means he’s heading back to the East Coast. For some reason, this becomes a subplot all of its own in “Good Times”, with Erica, of all people, trying to convince him to stay.
This subplot does shine a light into Kevin’s personality (according to Erica’s mother, Anita, Kevin is mourning the loss of his wife) and backstory (Kevin still runs an investigation agency left to him by his father) while still more or less kicking him out of the door, albeit leaving it open for him to return at any point. I’m not sure why Erica got saddled with this responsibility, given I don’t recall them meaningfully interacting much prior to this, but whatever. You have to get the necessary information across somehow.
Also of note: Kevin got kicked out of the FBI, and it’s strongly implied that it was something to do with Ted’s approach to the Pellegrini case. Is there anybody’s life Ted hasn’t ruined? It’s a wonder anyone works with him at all. I’m team Stuart.
Stuart Is Still On the Defensive
Josh McDermitt in Suits LA | Image via NBC
Speaking of Stuart, his case with David Bowie requires him to once again defend his chosen line of work. It’s weird how much of a crusade Suits LA seems to be engaging in when it comes to criminal defence work. Ted has already railed against it multiple times during the Lester trial because the concept is appalling to him – because it reminds him of his father, in his case – and here in Suits LA Episode 7, Samantha refuses to do Stuart a solid with Bowie, who wants her to publicly endorse him to protect his reputation, because she doesn’t work with criminals.
This causes Stuart to get all defensive about working as a defence attorney, and he attacks what he perceives to be Samantha’s self-righteous grandstanding (probably because she’s reminding him of Ted). For a guy who seems pretty okay with the moral implications of his job, he seems to spend a lot of time explaining himself. Still, his accusations about Samantha being a shoddy partner are accurate. If she can’t come to his defence when it’s both of their names on the wall, then he can scarcely justify abandoning Ted to work with her in the first place.
This subplot allows Stuart and Samantha to become more of a united front, which is good – all Stuart wanted was a little support. I just hope they get something better to do together soon.
Leah Learns A Lesson
Leah has floated in and out of subplots throughout the season, but in “Good Times” she gets her own. She has secured her first client, but is given a misguided brainwave when she reads her script – she reckons she could write a better one.
Rosalind rightly cautions Leah that she needs to decide what she wants to do with her life, because being a writer and a lawyer are two very different things. There’s a hopeful quality to Leah’s own writing pursuits that feels a bit naive, and having this dream dashed is probably important to her, but it’s pretty brutal in how it plays out either way. Leah takes her script to Rick, pretending it’s the work of a new client she’s trying to find representation for, and Rick essentially says that it’s garbage.
This reality check tells Leah she probably isn’t going to be a renowned writer, but it also leads her to a realization that she doesn’t have to be a generic entertainment lawyer either. The best position for her is perhaps a hybrid of the two, a lawyer who can go above and beyond for her clients, not just legally but in helping them develop their work and take it to the next level. Everyone’s a winner.
Ted’s Father Is Back In Suits LA Episode 7
And so we come, inevitably, to the flashbacks. Once again, Ted’s father is in play to function as a kind of dark mirror for him, reflecting his potential future if he doesn’t put moral responsibility first. Interestingly, the dynamic is inverted now, with Ted’s father coming to him for help after being handed over to the Feds by Pellegrini.
In case we needed a reminder, Ted’s father is a coward, so he isn’t willing to follow Ted’s advice and testify against Pellegrini to secure himself immunity (rescuing Ted’s career and reputation in the process). He’s too worried about being in a mob boss’s crosshairs, which is understandable given how comfortable he seems to be with knocking off anyone who threatens him.
I wish I cared about all of this stuff, since I can tell that Suits LA would love me to, but it just isn’t doing it for me. Ted’s father is deplorable, but Ted’s also an idiot, especially in this phase of his life, so learning how that clear recipe for disaster inevitably leads to Eddie’s death and Ted’s escape to the West Coast feels dull. We know what’s coming, and it’s easy to see why, even if the precise circumstances still remain elusive. Now that the Lester arc has concluded, what this show really needs is a coherent throughline to keep all of its characters busy in the present day.
