The last two seasons of Suits were significantly different from its first installments, but the legal drama’s downfall began way before Patrick J. Adams’ Mike left the show. For five seasons, Mike Ross and Harvey Specter were the beating heart of Suits and have gone down as one of TV’s best duos. Their banter and mentee-mentor relationship provided some of the show’s best moments, and the series couldn’t quite recover with Mike’s departure.
Suits‘ premise centers around Mike Ross, a college dropout who pretends to be a lawyer after getting hired at a prestigious law firm by Harvey Specter. Though Harvey knows Mike’s secret, the law firm of Pearson Hardman did not, and much of the show’s engrossing drama was in making sure nobody found out the truth. Once that inevitable bubble burst, it was only a matter of time for Suits‘ quality to decline, and it happened sooner than you think.
Mike Ross Got Out Of Jail In Suits Season 6, Episode 10
Mike Was Supposed To Be In Prison For Two Years
There’s only so long that one can fake being a lawyer, and Mike always knew the day would come when he would have to face the consequences of his actions. In Suits season 5, episode 10, titled “Faith”, Harvey’s right-hand man was arrested for conspiracy to commit fraud after his secret was revealed. However, he didn’t actually serve his full two-year sentence. In true Mike fashion, he cut a deal with Sean Cahill and put William Sutter behind bars.
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This, in turn, resulted in the college dropout only being in jail for three months. By Suits season 6, episode 10, Mike had his freedom back. But just because he was no longer behind bars, it didn’t mean that he could dive right back into his old life. Mike struggled to find his footing in the world as a convicted felon, especially because very few people were willing to give him another chance after what he had been caught doing.
Mike Getting Out Of Jail So Fast Lowered The Stakes
Suits Wasn’t The Same After Mike Was Released From Prison
Given that Suits‘ narrative was dependent on Mike’s secret and whether he would be caught, the show completely changed when he got out of jail so fast. For five seasons, Suits skirted around the ethical problem of Mike practicing law without a degree or license, but his arrest and subsequent release altered that. Mike’s facing his consequences negatively impacted Suits. Granted, he had it coming, and he had to face the music sooner or later, but that didn’t necessarily make the legal drama better.
Its narrative hook was no longer available, and so the rest of the legal drama wasn’t the same.
However, only spending three months after defrauding his clients for so long was anticlimactic. When Mike returned from jail, he was a significantly different character, and that made Suits lose steam. Since Mike was no longer practicing law illegally, nothing made him special. Suits might have benefited from Mike being in jail longer, and he and Harvey trying to figure out a way for him to be released in a manner that could have shown more of their dynamic.
Suits Lost What Made It Special Once Mike Got Out Of Jail
Mike Became A Regular Guy After He Got Out Of Jail
The reason Suits was such a revered and popular legal drama was because of Mike’s secret. Mike not being a lawyer, gave Suits an edge, and the fear of him being discovered caused dramatic tension in the show. When the cat was out of the bag, Suits lost what made it special, more so since Mike was released from jail pretty fast. So, it didn’t come as a surprise that Suits season 7 through 9 was a tad bit boring compared to its previous installments.
So, it’s totally plausible that the TV show could have concluded without his being caught or arrested.
Suits never tried to be a realistic legal drama, as is proven by the fact that it took five seasons for Mike to get his comeuppance. So, it’s totally plausible that the TV show could have concluded without his being caught or arrested. This would have meant that Suits kept its hook instead of dying a slow death as a shadow of itself. That’s not to say that the rest of the series after Mike was released from prison was terrible — it’s just that Suits became a regular legal drama after the fact.
