Suits has now officially wrapped. I watched the finale and have got to admit to wiping away a tear or two. Yes, I’m going to do a whole recap here, with loads and loads of pictures (most of them my own screencaps), just so that I can relive the whole finale again and again whenever I choose to. 🙂 Click on the smaller images to enlarge them, they’re all worth it, I promise. And read on at your own peril, there will be lots of finale spoilers from here on in!

The 10th episode of the 9th season begins with Harvey Specter talking to Faye Richardson, the evil woman now overseeing the lawfirm, who has just fired one of the senior partners, Katrina. He (Gabriel Macht) comes home to Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), and she is able to distract him for the night…

The next day there’s an argument with Faye (ruthlessly portrayed by Denise Crosby) and that evening Harvey goes to see Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams, a most welcome guest-starring role!) and they concoct one last con to get rid of Faye.

Mike discusses the plan with Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl) and Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce).

Alex Wheeler (Dulé Hill) involves Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull).

Harvey discusses the con with Donna and Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) at the office.

And Louis approaches Gretchen Bodinksi (played by awesome Aloma Wright) for help.

Harvey then approaches Donna alone. He has some doubts and wants to check with her. “You’ve always been my compass,” he tells her. She says she’s with him all the way and he then tells her about an ace he has in the hole should the con not end as planned. He will only pull that ace if Donna is in it with him. What that ace is, we don’t find out yet.

The first part of the plan is set in motion, with Katrina threatening Faye, and Faye isn’t happy and threatens Harvey. Harvey tells Donna they’ll have to move fast.

The next day the showdown with Faye begins, with Mike and Samantha coming in to play their part, staging a fight with Harvey.

Faye hastily and in anger, without reading, signs a paper that Gretchen has swapped during the heated debate, incriminating herself. The team start to gloat but Faye won’t back down (man, she’s a tough cookie!).

Harvey then asks to speak to her alone and gives Donna a long look before everyone leaves the conference room. You just know he’s going to play that “ace in the hole”. We still don’t find out what that ace is, though. Not yet.

Harvey then goes to the waiting team, exchanges an “it is done” look with Donna, and assures everyone that Faye Richardson is now indeed out. When asked how he did it, he enigmatically replies that he’s the best closer in town and that all they need to know is that he closed that deal.

Donna gives a litte rousing speech about how they all love each other and are family and that they won this because they stuck together, before they all head out for celebratory drinks.

All of this is wrapped up halfway through the episode, so I’m betting on good things coming up for our main characters for the rest of the episode and I wasn’t disappointed!

So, next we see Louis at his therapist’s office. Louis asks Dr. Stan Lipschitz (really brilliantly portrayed by Ray Proscia) to stop being his therapist and be his friend instead so that Stan can officiate Louis’ wedding. When Louis says that he can find another therapist should he need one in the future Stan says drily in an aside “that’s for sure!” I just cracked up at that.

We then cut to see Louis nervously pacing on his wedding day. Harvey comes to distract him and rile him up saying Louis isn’t “the prince of England” (nice little side joke, considering both actors attended the real prince of England’s wedding a year and a half ago) and that he looks like “Mr Peanut”. Donna then comes in, asking whether the distraction worked. If Louis is worked up about something else he will more easily accept that Donna is stepping in for bride Sheila’s sister as the sister is stuck somewhere.

Louis does accept the change of sister to Donna and then Harvey and Donna walk down the aisle. As Harvey takes Donna’s arm he says in an aside to her “Don’t get any ideas about us doing this anytime soon”. Donna laughs and tells him now’s not the time as they both then walk down the aisle together, looking every bit a bridal couple. The voice-over is Dr. Lipschitz talking about how two people that are perfect for each other have found each other. He’s talking about Louis and his bride Sheila but you just know those words hold true for Harvey and Donna as well. By the way,  I just adore Donna’s dress here, it’s so beautiful!

The guests look on curiously, with Mike seated next to his father-in-law Robert Zane. Mike’s wife & Robert’s daughter, Rachel (Meghan Markle), is alas absent from the cast for this finale episode, although at the end she does pop up 2 or 3 times in flashbacks.

The wedding ceremony also has some Dr. Lipschitz versus Louis ex-therapy banter that’s so funny that Harvey and Donna exchange a grin. Louis is marrying Sheila Sasz (pronounce that out loud quickly and you can understand why that’s a funny name, portrayed by Rachael Harris) who is 9 months pregnant.

And yes, of course the wedding is disrupted by Sheila’s water breaking! They rush through the vows and then head away for the hospital.

Louis, ever prepared, had arranged an ambulance on standby.

Meanwhile, back at the wedding reception, the party understandably ain’t hoppin’. Mike joins Donna and Harvey at their table, wondering what could make the party better.

And then Harvey has an idea, so he grabs Donna’s hand.

Yes,  you guessed it, he proposes to a totally surprised Donna!

He asks her to marry him right here, right now and she says of course she’ll marry him…

… but what about their families and a dress? He tells her she already looks gorgeous and they can do it again for their families. He doesn’t want to waste any more time.

“But what about rings? We don’t have any rings?” Donna asks. We as an audience already know that Harvey has his recently deceased mother’s ring in his pocket. And sure enough, he produces that. Awwwww!

They kiss in total happiness, with Darvey-shipper Mike looking on with a smile…

… and then get up, with Harvey announcing to everyone that there will be another wedding that day!

Mike butts in to congratulate and tell them he won’t be officiating as he isn’t licensed (little joke referencing his unlicensed time as a lawyer during the first 5 seasons of Suits).

Meanwhile in the hospital things aren’t going so well. Sheila and her baby are in danger and need to be taken in for an emergency c-section.

We hear Harvey speak in a voice-over, talking about not letting chances pass you by because a loved one can be snatched away from you in a second (like his mom recently was). It’s touching how those words are both joyful (in the wedding case) as well as angsty (in the endangered life of mother and child case). We cut back to the wedding where Donna and Harvey are ready to be married. They speak of their love for each other…

… meanwhile we go back to Louis who hears he has a baby daughter and all is well after all with mother and child. Oh, the joy and relief!

Now we can really celebrate as Harvey and Donna finally say “I do” and exchange rings!

Then Harvey may kiss his bride…

They then face their guests and news is also shared that Louis had a baby girl.

Donna tells Harvey she’d like to go see Louis. Harvey says, “And we will, but right now I want to dance with my wife.”

Harvey and Donna walk to the dancefloor. In passing Harvey and Mike briefly clasp hands and that’s when the tears came for me. Even though Mike left at the end of season 7, to me he and Harvey are still the heart of the show, together with Donna.

The dance, to Ed Sheeran’s song Perfect, is just beautiful and touching and yes, perfect. You just know that these two really will be together forever. After all they have been though, in all those years, they can weather anything.

We then cut to Louis, who meets his baby girl for the first time. We learn her name will be Lucy.  Oh, so sweet!

Harvey and Donna, still in their festive clothes, come to meet the new baby. The way Donna adores the baby and Harvey and Donna share smiles, you can’t help but think this will be in their future as well!

Then we finally find out about the “ace in the hole”, the ace that helped remove Faye: Harvey and Donna are leaving the firm and moving to Seattle where Mike and Rachel live. Harvey is going to work with Mike at his firm! Harvey has sacrificed himself for the good of the firm, yet he also likes where he’s going, together with Donna. “I wanna do for the good guys for a change,” he says. It’s bittersweet. Harvey and Mike will be happily ever after together (yay!) but that means leaving Louis. But rest assured, they will always “be family” Donna says.

Now the real ending comes. We have Harvey and Donna back in the office, overlooking the ‘bullpen’ where the young and upcoming lawyers work. They are at peace with their choice to leave.

Harvey sees Mike in his office and a lovely reference is made to the pilot episode where Mike came in for a job interview with Harvey. Now the tables are turned and Harvey mock-applies for a job with Mike, using the same lines Mike had used so many years ago. Now that was just a lovely, full-circle moment!

We get to see another lovely moment where the remaining partners deservedly make Katrina the newest name partner.

And we get a brief moment of Sheila with baby Lucy.

This is the last day at the firm and Harvey is sitting pensively in his office. Donna comes in, tells him it’s time to go. He wants a few moments alone, “I’ll see you at home,” she says. He then tells her he could never had done any of this without her, Donna smiles as she leaves.

She walks to the elevator and sees Louis standing there, who is on his way to go see his wife and baby daughter.  As they get into the elevator together you see that on the wall Harvey’s name Specter has already been removed. Donna and Louis wordlessly hold hands as the elevator closes.

Harvey is still in his office, pensive, as images of former times come by on the screen.

He then picks up one of the basketballs in his office, has a last sip of whiskey…

… and off he goes into a new future.

Fade to black and this dedication…

… and I’m sitting there, blinking away a tear and very satisfied with how this show has wrapped up. Especially Harvey’s journey has been a wonderous one to me, seeing a hard-nosed, tough lawyer finding his own humanity and vulnerability. I’m totally good with this happily ever after. Thank you Suits team for this wonderful show! I’m going to miss it…