Kickstarting the Suits franchise again with the Los Angeles-based Suits LA has been tricky for everyone involved.
The series premiere threw many plots at viewers, as though it was desperately trying to find storylines that stick out.
Suits LA Season 1 Episode 2 was more of the same, but there were some standouts, and some fantastic characterization to boot.
The flashbacks are the weak link because the episodes are already bursting at the seams with tension.
It doesn’t stop for a beat, making it one of the faster-paced broadcast dramas on the air nowadays.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a better tactic would have been to leave why Samantha now despises Ted up to question.
They have such a fantastic dynamic that there’s a lot to be gained by leaving these questions up in the air, only for everything to come to a head midseason, which could be a flashback-heavy hour to reiterate why they’re now so divided.
Flashbacks Are Bringing Down Suits LA
Flashbacks are difficult to weave into many shows, but they don’t belong on every episode of Suits LA because there’s so much great stuff happening in the present.
Some TV shows struggle by telling viewers about pivotal off-screen developments, making them feel like they should have watched it play out.
Suits LA is doing the opposite and showcasing too much, and given the vast array of characters, it doesn’t land as well as the creatives intended.
It doesn’t help matters that the situations Ted got into in New York, 15 years ago, feel more like make-believe than real life because they’re so freaking ridiculous.
Yes, we know that Ted will go to the ends of the earth to get the job done, but I’d love to have been in the writers’ room while they were breaking these flashbacks.
I understand that we’re supposed to believe that Ted pushed the envelope to get results and somehow felt invincible in the earlier years of his career.
Maybe his cockiness comes into play, but at least he owns it. Many people on these shows, particularly in the Suits universe, have characters that don’t own up to their actions.
Ted is refreshing for that reason alone, and with a bit of fine-tuning, I think he could blossom into one of my favorite TV characters.
He’s a flawed man trying to keep his personal and professional lives from spiraling too far out of control, but he’s failing miserably at it.
Maybe Harvey Specter can reach out to him and reiterate that he can work through these deeply rooted issues and chart a new path forward.
If anything, Ted will hit the breaking point fairly soon, and maybe that will bring Harvey into the mix.
Perhaps Ted won’t be able to attend court, and lures his old — and cockier — friend to Los Angeles to help him out of a pickle.
The Spinoff Doesn’t Need Harvey Specter… Yet
I’m still not convinced Suits LA Season 1 will benefit from Harvey because the series is already doing a relatively good job of keeping its cast busy.
Do we really need to take valuable screen time away from them for a character we watched for nine seasons?
As a diehard Suits fan, I’m not convinced. Maybe that will change in the next few episodes, but we’ll see.
Ted seemingly has a new ally for now in Amanda, thanks to Elizabeth ranting around the office about how she’s going to bury Ted’s client.
Amanda will be crucial to this case because of her history with Elizabeth. She should be able to help Ted form a plan of attack that Elizabeth won’t see coming.
For Amanda, this is personal because her previous client died, and she blames Elizabeth for it.
Drama is brewing for the trio, and something tells me Ted will play them off against each other to get the result he wants and needs, which will rub Amanda the wrong way.
As for Erica going to war with Rick, it made for some excellent scenes that really highlighted that they have a lot of history that we’re not privy to.
But I can’t believe Erica signed the waiver for Dylan in the first place.
We’re supposed to believe that she’s driven by competition, but with Black & Associates in such dire straits after losing pretty much everyone, this was a battle she didn’t even have to fight.
All she had to do was contact Dylan and show her that she was the right talent agent for her.
Throughout the installment, Erica learned many lessons, but she should have learned the most important one: never underestimate someone who knows her more than she thinks.
What Is Rick and Erica’s History?
It’s evident that she and Rick share a romantic history that didn’t end on the best of terms, but they’ve put it aside while working together.
But now that Rick is working for Samantha and Stuart, they don’t need to play that cordial dynamic; at least, that’s what I’m taking from Rick storming out of her office.
Speaking of Stuart, he’s slowly but surely manifesting into Ted in terms of making unilateral decisions that don’t consider the full picture.
It made Samantha standing her ground about not making Rick the head of entertainment off the bat so satisfying because why should someone she barely knows get such a coveted job?
Had she rolled over and allowed Stuart to take charge, it would have set a worrying precedent for the rest of their business relationship.
My best theory is that they will have a major blow-up at some point this season, and her parting shot will be that Stuart is just as bad, if not worse, than Ted.
We need some reflection from Stuart about his actions because he’s acting hypocritically right now.
Despite Suits LA’s flaws, it is very watchable, and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes next.
What are your thoughts on the flashbacks? Do you think they should be used more sparingly? What’s your take on Ted potentially joining forces with Amanda?
Hit the comments below.
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