Suits season 9, episode 2: Special Master sets season on right course

By Brittany Frederick | Jul 25, 2019

SUITS -- "Special Master" Episode 902 -- Pictured: (l-r) Denise Crosby as Faye Richardson, Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen -- (Photo by: Christos Kalohoridis/USA Network) /

Suits season 9 got off to an uneven start, but Special Master shows what the final season has in store. Here’s our Suits season 9, episode 2 analysis.

Suits set an incredibly high bar for its final season; how do you conclude one of the best shows on television? And while last week’s season premiere didn’t meet that standard, this week’s “Special Master” finally tipped the USA show’s hand.

The title refers to Faye Richardson (Denise Crosby, who’s still best known as Tasha Yar from Star Trek: The Next Generation), who’s been installed by the New York Bar Association to seize control of the once-again-renamed law firm. Needless to say, it’s “us versus them” all over again—some familiar territory for fans.

Other officials have come at the firm over the years, like SEC investigator Sean Cahill (Neal McDonough) and U.S. Attorney Anita Gibbs (Leslie Hope). So the natural question is, what makes Faye different? Why should Suits fans worry about her? And why do another storyline that’s so similar to ones before, especially during the final season?

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Because, to put it bluntly, the characters had it coming.

Suits has had its characters cross a number of lines over eight-plus seasons. Sometimes they’ve gotten away with it, and sometimes they haven’t. But they have done a lot of things that could be considered questionable for one reason or another—and so it makes perfect sense that the Bar would finally say enough is enough.

Faye lays it out easily in her first scene: they’ve had two managing partners disbarred in two years, plus a junior partner in prison and are strongly suspected of fraud. If we weren’t fans of these characters, we’d be questioning them, too.

Aaron Korsh and his writers have set up a proper conundrum: do viewers continue to unwaveringly support characters they’ve invested the better part of a decade in, or do we look at them objectively and say that they could be wrong?

And if in so doing, we begin to distance ourselves from them, even a little bit, that allows us to take a step back and be ready to say goodbye in just a few months. It’s kind of genius the more you analyze it.

The primary subplot involves Faye digging into what happened at the end of Suits season 8, and wanting to get at Thomas Kessler (returning guest star Sasha Roiz). While the team tries to keep Thomas away from her by any means necessary, Faye doesn’t have the gravitas of prior villains. Crosby will need some time to settle into the role, of course, but she’s not scaring people the way that Leslie Hope did.

It’s also slightly frustrating that the storyline boils down to Thomas’s former relationship with Donna (Sarah Paulsen). With so much of the season premiere focused on Donna getting together with Harvey (Gabriel Macht), that creates a concern that Suits will go the way of other series and focus too much on romance. But with “Special Master” putting the button on last season’s story, perhaps that’s also going to change, too.

The “B” story features Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl), who has to help someone else from her past. The best part of this is that Lucas is portrayed by Demore Barnes, who was underrated on The Unit and is always welcome on TV. He’s similarly brilliant here, and Genevieve Sparling’s script is smart in that it tells a story about PTSD rather than just another “us versus them” case.

Last but certainly not least, there’s yet another meltdown from Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), who loses the plot and then his position as managing partner. That’s not the surprise the show wants it to be—no one really expected Louis to keep the top job. It’s also obvious that he won’t take it well. Again, when is enough enough?

Will these characters be taken down or go out on their own terms? This episode truly gives Suits the feel that it’s ending, and the viewer the realization that it’s time. Our favorite lawyers are all moving on in some way, and the show seems to be doing that, too.

Next. Why Suits had to bring back Patrick J. Adams. dark

Suits airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on USA. For more on Suits and other USA series, check out the USA category at Hidden Remote.