Aaron Korsh’s legal drama Suits, starring Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, and Meghan Markle, ran from 2011 to 2019. This means that this year, the show’s very first episode is celebrating its 10th birthday! The pilot episode is one of the highest-rated episodes of season 1. It introduces the exhilarating and competitive world of New York lawyers, one of the best ones being Harvey Specter, the show’s antihero.
The hero is of course also one of the most likable characters, Mike Ross. As he’s running from the authorities, he finds himself in Harvey’s office for a job interview. And while he doesn’t have a law degree, he certainly knows the law to perfection.
Mike’s Grandma Makes Mike Promise To Do Better
The show’s writing is not exactly subtle: Mike’s first words are that he needs to get his act together, which is something that is echoed to him by his grandma as well. She makes her genius grandson promise that he will start living up to his potential.
It could be argued that Mike wouldn’t have applied himself at his new job as much if it wasn’t for the promise to his grandma that kept him going.
Harvey Didn’t Even Want An Associate
When Harvey Specter is first introduced, he is just about to become a senior partner at the firm. And every senior partner needs an associate!
If it was up to Harvey, he wouldn’t have to hire anybody, but Jessica insisted. He thought that all new Harvard graduates were incompetent douchebags – with the exception of him, of course.
Mike Decided To Sell Drugs To Pay For Grandma’s Housing
Some might be forgetting why exactly did Mike agree to take Trevor’s offer and sell a suitcase worth of marijuana. He didn’t do it for his friend nor out of foolishness, but because he didn’t have a choice. See, the bills for grandma’s retirement home were due and Mike found himself $25,000 short.
Mike and Harvey always made it out as if Trevor was the villain because he steered Mike off his track in life. Realistically speaking, though, Mike is the only one responsible for his actions.
It Was Donna Who Let Mike Have The Interview
The fact that Mike Ross got into an interview with Harvey by sheer coincidence is one of the most memorable things from the show’s pilot. Many forget, however, that it was Donna who decided who gets to talk to Harvey and who doesn’t. Mike told her he was running from the police and rather than turning him away, as she usually does when approached by people, she lets him in.
What follows is their infamous interview where the first bromance sparks started to fly. It cut right to the part where Mike has brought Harvey up to date with his misfortune, never explaining what exactly Mike said to him and more importantly, why Harvey listened in the first place.
Mike’s First Words To Rachel
“You’re pretty,” were the only words that Mike managed to utter when he first laid eyes on Rachel Zane.
After some playful banter, he realized that she’s also really smart, which made him whisper “I love you” under his breath. It was clear from the very start that these two would eventually get together and live happily ever after.
Harvey Lost A Huge Client
Harvey is introduced as the best closer in New York City, but how great is he really considering he lost a major client half an hour into the first episode?
Mr. Specter seems to be walking on thin ice throughout the entire episode, but he refuses to show it. He keeps getting away with things because he is charismatic!
The Chain Of Threats
When Mike showed up for his first day of work, Harvey fired him instantly because Jessica just told him that he was supposed to be as straight as an arrow. Hiring a fraud unfortunately didn’t comply with her demands. Mike got to keep the job, though, because he threatened Harvey that he would expose the truth – much like Walter White threatened Jesse Pinkman in the Breaking Bad pilot.
Harvey then used the same tactic on Jessica. He told her that if she was ever to put him in front of the bar association, he’d take her down with him. It turns out that Pearson Hardman, as glamorous as it might seem, has quite a toxic work culture.
Mike’s First Case Was A Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
One of the things that the audience chooses to ignore about Suits is that it objectifies women, reduces them to their good looks, and only gives them depth in relation to male characters. The first episode did redeem itself a little bit, though, as Mike’s first case is a sexual harassment case.
Unlike Harvey, Mike shows that he genuinely cares about the client who was fired after taking her boss’s inappropriate behavior to HR. She won in the end as she got her job back as well as $250,000.
Harvey Owes Everything To Jessica
One of the biggest themes that were explored in the pilot episode of Suits is Harvey’s personality and lack of empathy. His huge ego irritated Jessica, who by the end of the episode, had to remind Harvey that he was nothing before she took him under her wing.
She was the one who got him a job at the mailroom, paid for his Harvard education, and hired him as soon as he graduated. It turns out that Harvey is not a self-made man, which is a storyline that the show seemed to have dropped after.
Mike Quit The Job & Changed His Mind
Because he failed at some point during his first case, Mike threw a temper tantrum and quit the job. Harvey had to chase him down the hallway and the two had a heated argument. He changed his mind, though, and Harvey was clearly happy about it.
It’s also worth mentioning that the first episode of Suits really emphasized just how great Mike’s memory is. From navigating the Harvard university to getting away from the cops, it looked like his superpower will be central to his character arc. Unfortunately, his genius was only rarely applied at work in the rest of the season.
