When Suits first debuted on USA Network in 2011, I had no idea how they would be able to make the show last too long. Mike, one of the main characters, is pretending to be a lawyer who graduated from Harvard at a law firm that only hires lawyers from Harvard. The only other people who know his secret are his mentor Harvey, and Harvey’s assistant Donna.

You would think at some point, Jessica, the managing partner of the firm, would find out and fire them all. Sure enough, that’s what happened at the end of season one. I did not see any reason for the show to go on, but it did.

And it was awesome. The entire second season revolved around the firm’s civil war, while the entire fact that Mike’s a fraud was pushed to the back corner, only brought out to play every now and then when the story needed it.

When the second season ended, many things were left up in the air: Mike and Harvey’s relationship lay in ruins after Mike kept something from Harvey (which in hindsight was a really foolish decision, seeing as Harvey already knows Mike’s not a real lawyer, and there is no bigger secret to be kept than that in the show).

Mike and another associate, Rachel, had sex in the file room after two seasons of “will-they-won’t-they” tension, and the firm merged with another firm, sending Harvey on a warpath against Jessica.

With all this in consideration, I went into season three with high expectations, and unfortunately I am disappointed. Mike and Harvey got over their spat rather quickly, something I have to say I am grateful for, seeing as they’re much better together, but the reasoning felt so rushed and contrived.

The Mike and Rachel storyline ended up stalling out before it could go anywhere. Instead of being the strong, independent woman she’s believed to be, Rachel was reduced to being nothing more than Mike’s love interest this season. This is one of my biggest ongoing issues with the show, as none of the female characters seem to have any lives outside of the men they work with.

Harvey’s planned long-con to oust Jessica went sideways in a handful of episodes when she promoted him to be her partner. There is a long running case involving a bribery case turned possible murder trial, however it paled in comparison to last year’s inter-office politics.

That is not to say there have not been some bright spots. Donna continues to be an amazing human being. There’s also a moment where Louis Litt, one of Harvey’s rivals at the firm, holds a cat that brings so much joy.

Another flashback episode was thrown in this year, something Suits does quite well, and an excellent homage to ‘The Wire’ in the fourth episode, but two characters and references to one of the greatest television series were not enough to carry the season through.

However, I will still be tuning in when the show returns for its fourth season. Why? If there is anything ‘Suits’ does well, it’s season finales. When we last saw the characters, Rachel got into law school, Louis was recovering from a heart attack, Jessica was being her amazing self, and Mike, after realizing he doesn’t want to continue his life as a fraud, decided to switch careers and work for one of Pearson Specter’s clients.

It will be interesting to see how a show about lawyers handle the fact that one of the two leads no longer works in a law firm, but if anyone can survive this switch, it is Mike and Harvey.

Hopefully.

Season 3: 3/5