Toe To Toe
S5 episode 5 Aired on July 22, 2015

Harvey’s fragile mindstate takes another hit when his nights are interrupted by a dream of Donna in bed with a familiar face – his old nemesis, Travis Tanner.  Ever stubborn, Harvey won’t admit that thoughts of Donna are robbing him of sleep.  Of course, his therapist knows he’s lying.  The question is, why? 

It all starts when Tanner pops up as opposing counsel on behalf of a young woman being sued by her former employer for control of her new business.  With all that has happened lately, Harvey is itching for a good distraction, and an all out slugfest with his frequent rival certainly fits the bill.  But instead of coming out swinging, Tanner offers up a generous settlement and a line about being a changed man.  

Of course, Harvey and Mike don’t believe in Tanner’s new leaf for a second, and things quickly escalate to an all out war that threatens to ruin lives on both sides.  But as the hits keep coming, it’s Tanner who continues to push for a settlement – leading Mike to worry that Harvey is so focused on the fight that he’s forgotten about the possible cost 

Meanwhile, Louis tries to find a way back into Harvey’s good graces by overturning the new compensation structure, but Jessica warns him against any further underhanded dealings.  Of course, Louis can’t seem to help himself, and his latest plan backfires, further solidifying Jack Soloff’s newfound power within the firm and leading Jessica to wonder just how many more of Louis’s screw-ups she is willing to tolerate.

Gallery Recap

  Actors Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty have known each other for more than 20 years, which is a big part of the reason their characters have such amazing chemistry. But because of their “brother/sister” relationship, romantic moments between Donna and Harvey can be a little awkward. When shooting the episode’s opening dream sequence, Macht insisted on keeping Rafferty – who was lying naked in his bed – out of his line of sight until the last possible moment. Guest star Eric Close, on the other hand, made no such request.
Toe To Toe
  Director Kevin Bray has been shooting episodes of Suits from the very beginning (quite literally, as he directed the pilot) and always brings a special visual flair to the production. For Harvey’s second scene with Dr. Agard, Bray brought out a technique usually reserved for scene with actual pyrotechnics, rather than verbal ones – the jib crane. Gently swooping the camera down into the scene and around the actors, Bray creates a sense of unease as Harvey tries to regain his emotional equilibrium.
Toe To Toe
  It’s not uncommon for the writers and production design team to slip references to their own names or those of friends and family into the show; in this instance, Rachel finds a merger involving “Arkin Financial,” so named for Executive Producer Dan Arkin. Not to mention that nearly every office nameplate at PSL is named for a member of the crew. And Paula Agard, Harvey’s therapist, is also the maiden name of Showrunner Aaron Korsh’s friend – real-life clinical psychologist Paula Durlofsky, PhD. 
Toe To Toe
  Sometimes opportunities fall into the producer’s laps, like when the production office was gifted with several new photocopiers. Rather than simply use them to print scripts more quickly, the writers saw an opportunity to introduce audiences to a never-before-seen part of Pearson Specter Litt, where Donna finds Louis hiding from his troubles. In the script, the new set is referred to as the “Anton Cropper Memorial Copy Room” – in reference to our beloved Producing Director.
Toe To Toe
Louis loves his mudding. A lot. Perhaps the only thing he loves more is the thought of bringing his favorite people mudding with him, so when he learned that Donna and Rachel would be joining him for a celebratory mud, his reaction needed to be huge. In order to convey the magnitude of the moment, the stage direction in the script actually reads, “He has a heart attack and dies.”    Of course, he doesn’t actually. But wouldn’t that be a twist?
Toe To Toe

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