Suits Season 8 Episode 11 Review: Rocky 8
Paul Dailly
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Well, that was more than a little disappointing.
Suits Season 8 Episode 11 served as the midseason premiere, and it lacked the spark some of the earlier episodes of the season had.
Maybe it's the constant battling between each of the principal characters or the fact that there's a severe lack of communication between the characters.
Could you imagine a Suits in which the characters communicate, so they didn't have to hurl insults because they were backstabbing each other?
God, that would be the dream at this stage.
Louis as CEO was always going to come with some teething issues.
He's a manchild, and his opening number solidified that. It was perfectly Louis to strut around the office inappropriately touching people and dancing to the beat in his head.
Louis has struggled with getting people to follow his orders in the past, so this was no different for him.
He's a meddler, and he needs to understand that when he delegates something to one of his staff, he needs to allow them the courtesy of using their unique skillsets to solve the problem at hand.
The firm was supposed to find itself on solid footing with Louis at the helm, but the ship continued to sink during "Rocky 8," and I can't be the only one starting to get tired at the lack of communication between the staff.
Donna has long been the voice of reason and the resident problem solver, so I was glad she gave Louis a verbal beatdown about the way he was acting.
His response was about what I expected from him. He thinks his title gives him the keys to the kingdom and the power to talk to people as though they are something he scraped from the bottom of his shoe.
Now that he's apologized to Donna and Alex, and made things right with Robert and Harvey, we best see some more positive results before his reign gets called into question.
Louis is in shark-infested waters, and the head of the snake is continually changing at the firm so that he could be in for a rather short tenure here.
Related: Suits Season 8 Episode 10 Review: Managing Partner
In an ideal scenario, Jessica would be coming back to save everyone, but that's just not possible now that she's been disbarred and the Gina Torres-fronted spinoff is in the works.
Louis: You are a wild stallion and I am not going to ride you hard.
Harvey: Louis, I'm really not comfortable with where this conversation is going.
That said, Jessica is getting dangled like a carrot in front of the audience. A lot of the recent plots have centered around a character we will probably never see on the show again, and it's rather tiring.
Harvey's revenge mission against Malik lacked the sizzle it should have had. If there was another phone call thrown in there somewhere between Harvey and Jessica, I could have gotten on board with it.
But the show needs to stop wallowing in the past and think about the here and now because these silly plotlines seem like fan service.
It's no secret that ratings have been declining for the last few seasons, and that could be attributed to characters like Jessica, Mike, and Rachel bidding farewell to the show.
The only characters who were legitimately looking to the future on "Rocky 8" were Katrina and Donna, and I'm happy at least those two were.
Related: Suits Season 8 Episode 9 Review: Motion to Delay
Katrina being put on blast by Samantha because Alex failed to keep her identity a secret was predictable and could have been more interesting if Samantha wasn't so mean about it.
Harvey: I had a nightmare last night that we made Louis managing partner.
Donna: That wasn't a nightmare and you know it.
Katrina's back was against the wall, and she was urged to do something she didn't want to do, but the only silver lining in all of this was that it helped her realize what kind of lawyer she wanted to be.
She's one of the few characters on the show that still manages to light up the screen, so the increased focus on her has been one of the strongest point of Suits Season 8's strongest points.
As for Donna, she was all about securing the future of the firm, all the while flirting Thomas. We already know that he's the new man in her life based on recent reports.
There was a severe lack of chemistry in their earlier scenes, and it made me wonder just how long it would be before their connection flatlined.
Have you heard the news? You're just looking at the newest managing partner in the city.
Louis
By the end of the installment, though, Thomas oozed charisma to the point that I was fully sold on the prospect of Donna dating someone who is not Harvey.
I've been vocal in the past about Darvey being dragged out too long to the point that I don't give a damn about them as a couple anymore.
"Rocky 8" was a mediocre return for Suits. The creativity is fading fast, and the show is fast becoming a shell of its former self.
We need more meaningful arcs for these characters before every viewer ditches the show.
What are your thoughts on the direction of the show?
Hit the comments below.
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Suits continues Wednesdays on USA Network.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
