Heartburn

"Jessica, if you need me to sign any more checks, now would be a great time."
"It's Louis."
"Let me guess. Even though he didn't show up to the meeting, he's feeling left out and throwing a hissy fit."
"He had a heart attack in court this morning."
— Harvey Specter and Jessica Pearson

Heartburn is the fourteenth episode of the third season of Suits, and the 42nd overall. It first aired on March 27, 2014.

Overview

While Harvey and Mike have unpleasant work to do for one of their biggest clients, Louis faces a huge challenge and Rachel tries to collect on an old debt.

Plot

To be added

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Rachael Harris as Sheila Sazs
Brandon Firla as Jonathan Sidwell

Guest Cast

Rob Stewart as Tony Gianopolous
Tom Barnett as Mr. Kovacs
Anne Beaudry as Judge Fowler
Stephanie Bitten as Juror
Simone Saunders as Woman at Cab

Major/Highlighted Events

Louis has a heart attack while giving closing statements at court. After being hospitalized and coming close to death, he decides to propose to Sheila Sazs. He asks Harvey to be his best man and gets a congratulatory gift from Jessica, who tells him that she considers him family. However, he endures a hiccup in his relationship when he is unwilling to leave New York and Pearson Specter while Sheila wishes to remain in Boston and continue working for Harvard Law School. After Louis tells her that many people have trouble seeing him past his short temper and weird obsessions and that he considers his friends at the firm to be his family, he begs her not to force him to leave them; Sheila acquiesces and decides to move to New York to be with Louis.
- When Louis reveals that he wants to have kids and be a father, Sheila tells him that she has no interest in being a mother and that she does not like kids. She tearfully reminds him that she was willing to give up Harvard for him and asks why he cannot give something up for her in return. The pair then end their engagement and their relationship.
Jessica informs Harvey about her conversation with Mike, when she made it clear to him that he would be unable to advance in his career due to his fraud. During a meeting with Tony Gianopolous and Jonathan Sidwell, Mike offers a deal where Gianopolous can spin-off a company with Gianopolous owning it and William Beck, his employee, running it. However, Gianopolous states that he wants Beck's career to be crushed and that he wants him out.
- Sidwell, who is himself feeling trapped without career advancement, comes to the firm looking for Louis, who he hired as his personal lawyer in "Conflict of Interest", in order to get out of his non-compete. Since Jessica told them to handle Louis' cases during his absence, as well as empathizing with Sidwell's situation, Mike notifies him that the Michigan Court of Appeals set a precedent for his non-compete to be broken. However, when Gianopolous finds out, Mike is forced to undo his advice to Sidwell, and discovers Sidwell's algorithm, which is under Gianopolous' ownership, causing Sidwell's offer from another firm to be rescinded.
- Mike tells Harvey that he is feeling trapped in his career and that he wants to go legit, citing that he could pass the New York State Bar again, this time under his own name (as Mike had revealed in "Pilot" that he took it for someone else as a dare) or have Lola Jensen hack his name into their database. Harvey reminds him that he cannot take the Bar under his own name as he is currently passing himself off as someone who already has, and that having his name hacked in is a more serious offense than practicing law without a degree. He adds that committing a fraud to cover his own fraud would increase his chances of being caught, but that if he does want to become legitimate, he would have to move to a small town in Iowa, go to a law school there, and then open his own practice in the town where no one would have heard of him or Pearson Specter. He also informs Mike that if were to do that, he could never return to a major city like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. However, both Mike and Harvey are aware that Mike cannot bring himself to do that, and Harvey advises him to continue his fraud and enjoy what he can.
- Mike offers Sidwell a way to present his earlier spin-off idea to Gianopolous, which would involve Gianopolous creating and owning the subsidiary while Sidwell would run it, due to the fact that Gianopolous cares about losing Sidwell due to the precious algorithm Sidwell develops every day. When it succeeds, Sidwell then offers Mike a position at his company in return, leaving Mike to contemplate the decision.
Rachel, who had made a deal with Louis in "Undefeated" to have the firm pay for her law school, is blind-sided when Jessica refuses to honor the verbal agreement since it was not recorded on tape, presented in writing and not declared to her by Louis as part of her rehiring agreement. After a conversation with Donna, who reveals to her that Jessica paid for Harvey's tuition, Rachel uses him as precedent and offers a deal to Jessica – Jessica would pay her an advance on her future signing bonus as an associate while she works part-time as a law student and a summer associate, which would cover her tuition payment, and Jessica agrees.

Cultural References

Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra and Jaime and Cersei Lannister (from Game of Thrones) are mentioned.

Trivia

Goddamn Counter: 2

Quotes

Mike: You were right. This isn't about William Beck or Jonathan Sidwell. It's about me.
Harvey: Mike–
Mike: I want to go legit.
Harvey: You can't.
Mike: Harvey, listen–
Harvey: Do I need to state the obvious?
Mike: I can go to law school now, all right? Get a real degree.
Harvey: Even if it didn't matter that you've already presented yourself as having gone to Harvard Law, you'd have to take the Bar again.
Mike: Okay, I passed it once, I'll pass it again.
Harvey: Not under your own name. And if you take it now, you'll draw attention to yourself in a major way.
Mike: Then I get Lola Jensen to hack into the Bar and just put me in there, just like she did with Harvard.
Harvey: Are you insane? Hacking into the Bar is twice the crime you've been committing. And rule number one of not getting caught: you don't move the goddamn body!
Mike: You do if they're about to find it.
Harvey: They're not about to find it.
Mike: They're always about to find it!
Harvey: Mike, committing another fraud to cover your fraud isn't going legit. It's just covering your ass, and it doesn't undo the fact that you've already committed the crime.
Mike: You think I haven't thought about all of this? Harvey, I'm stuck. There's no way up, there's no way down. I can't live my whole life like this.
Harvey: Okay. You want to be legit, there's only one way. You go to a small town in lowa where nobody's ever heard of Harvey Specter, Jessica Pearson, or anybody else. You go to law school, hang out your shingle... Nobody will ever know. I guarantee you'd be king of the hill. But you could never come back to the mountain. Not here in New York, Chicago, or L.A. Someone'll know someone, and it'll all be for nothing.
Mike: I can't do that, and you know it.
Harvey: I do know it. Mike, you're in the major leagues, and you get to go toe-to-toe with the best there is. And I can't tell you if that's enough for a lifetime, but if you want to stay, there's nothing more you can do. My advice is hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

Mike: You want me to set up your new corporation?
Sidwell: I want you to join my new corporation. It's an offer letter.
Mike: I don't understand.
Sidwell: You said you know what it's like to feel trapped. I thought maybe you'd like a way out.
Mike: I also said I love what I do.
Sidwell: Maybe. But let me tell you what I once told Louis Litt. We're not lawyers, we're investment bankers. Our job blows yours out of the water.
Mike: Wait a second. You're not asking me to be your in-house counsel.
Sidwell: You kidding me? Most people don't even know what an algorithm is. You used it to strong-arm me and Tony Gianopolous. You have a mind for this.
Mike: Jonathan–
Sidwell: You don't have to answer right now. Just think about this: You're in the minor leagues here. I'm giving you a chance to play in the majors.