Warning! Spoilers ahead for Suits LA episode 4, “Batman Returns.”
As promised,Suits LAepisode 4 brings back Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter, but his initial appearance is understandably disappointing, considering all the hype surrounding it. Series creator Aaron Korsh has already laid a good chunk of the spinoff’s premise, in a way that viewers are well aware of primary story of the show. Despite his consecutive losses from the get-go, which included being cut from the merger, Stephen Amell’s Ted Black remains theSuits LAcastlead, as his story continues to be the legal drama’s central focus. However, there’s one other benefit to him being the offshoot’s protagonist.
Originally a prosecutor in New York, Ted is alsoSuits LA’s main link to the original show. It’s worth noting that the NBC spinoff is born fromSuits' unexpected streaming resurgence in 2023, which has led to a few cast reunions off-universe. Instead of doing a straight-up revival that would simply continue the stories of the beloved Pearson Hardman characters. Unfortunately, that is impossible to do in terms of logistics. So the best NBC can do is offer cameos by familiar faces, starting with arguablySuitsposter character, Harvey. Unfortunately, hisSuits LAappearance leaves a lot to be desired.
Harvey Specter Makes His First Appearance In Suits LA Episode 4
As Promised By The Trailer
It’s no secret that thefirst few episodes ofSuits LAwere divisive. The comparison to the original show was expected, since the series' birth stemmed from its newfound success on streaming. However, knowing that Korsh is also behind the spinoff gave viewers hope that it could recapture the magic of the original legal drama. While it wasn’t and hasn’t been able to do that,Suits LAhas pockets of potential, especially as it moves on from its overstuffed pilot, focuses on its actual cases and tackles the characters' true personal and professional relationships.
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While the show settles into its story, NBC is finally able to bring in cameos, starting things off with Macht’s return. Harvey’s appearance was confirmed in theSuits LAepisode 4 trailer, which primarily showed him and Ted in the past while both were still in New York. It’s unclear when exactly this happened, but with Eddie still alive, it was around that time that Ted was deep in his complicated case in the Big Apple. This effectively ties Harvey to his friend’s past, which is expected to factor inSuits LAin a more prominent way moving forward.
Why Harvey’s Suits LA Debut Is Disappointing
It’s All In The Past
As great as it is to see Macht back as Harvey inSuits LA, his appearance in “Batman Returns” is far from a satisfying return. Considering the chances of doingSuitsseason 10 and the actor’s recent comments about revisiting the legal drama franchise, the spinoff is the best that Korsh can offer when it comes to new stories about New York’s former best closer. Sadly,Suits LAepisode 4’s scenes with Harvey are all from the past. They even precede the events of him meeting being a senior partner and meeting Mike Ross inSuits.
While these flashbacks are done to establish Ted’s overall story, and Macht’s primary reason for coming back as his capable lawyer is to serve that, it wouldn’t have hurt the show to shine a light on how he is doing right now in episode 4.
It doesn’t help that a significant chunk of Harvey’s screentime inSuits LAepisode 4 takes place in the bar, which was already revealed in the trailer. While these flashbacks are done to establish Ted’s overall story, and Macht’s primary reason for coming back as his capable lawyer is to serve that, it wouldn’t have hurt the show to shine a light on how he is doing right now in episode 4. Perhaps, instead of only showing him through sequences from the past,Suits LAcould have gone back-and-forth in the timeline, starting with Harvey’s life now afterSuitsended.
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In any case, the spinoff is already doing this for Ted, Stuart, and Sam’s collective and respective stories. The NBC series would have arguably been better off tracking Harvey’s ties to his long-time friend and supposed Hollywood counterpart backwards. That way, fans are treated to a proper return from him, instead of being offered snippets of his life that didn’t really have any bearing on his arc in the originalSuits.
Harvey Will Return, But It Will Likely Take A While
Suits LA Appears To Be Stretching Out Harvey’s Arc
The good news is that this is not the end of Harvey’s role in Suits LA. As previously-reported, Macht is confirmed to be part of a three-episode arc, which means that eventually, the spinoff will see the fan-favorite lawyer in present-day, as he lends a helping hand with his struggling friend in California. Ahead of the Suits LA’s premiere, it was also confirmed that the reason why Harvey appears in the show is because Ted calls him for help. This is further backed up by asocial media post by Machtabout the matter, showing Harvey getting the signal from Seattle.
What is currently unclear is when this is going to happen.Suits LAseason 1 is confirmed for 10 episodes. This means that NBC and Korsh can stretch out this arc to keep people hooked. Since the offshoot is already going back and forth with regard to the stories that it is telling,it’s possible that Harvey’s proper appearance is saved for the latter half of its run, with his final cameo set for either the penultimate episode or the finale. This can be more frustrating, but ultimately sensible forSuits LA’s storytelling strategy.
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Suits LA Is About To Get Litt Up
Harvey still has 2 more confirmed episodes to be in. It’s safe to say that by then, Korsh and NBC will finally bring the character to the present-day as he personally works with Ted in Los Angeles for whatever crisis his friend is facing. Beyond him, however, another character from theoriginalSuitscastwill be involved in whats happening in Los Angeles —Rick Hoffman’s Louis Litt. No information as to when he will actually make his cameo, but unfortunately, his role won’t overlap with Harvey’s, which means that there won’t be a reunion between the pair.
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This raises questions as to how Rick is tied to whatever is happening to Ted in Los Angeles, since Harvey’s history with him didn’t come up during the Suits' nine-season run. One would assume that it would be easier to explain an appearance from any of the characters who are now based in Seattle. Perhaps Korsh and NBC are saving them ifSuits LAgets renewed for season 2.
