What Bad Blood Was Between Suits LA’s Ted Black and his Dad? Episode 7 Has Answers
Ted looks back at his past with his dad as others ponder their future.
Suits LA’s Ted Black may be fresh off his first criminal defense win, but the former federal prosecutor still can’t shake the haunting memories of his past.
Those memories were kicked up once again in Episode 7 after the death of Ted’s first entertainment client and pseudo father figure John Amos sparked painful reminders of the strained relationship Ted (Stephen Amell) had with his actual father (Matt Letscher). Fans got new insight into what caused the irreparable rift between father and son and learned just how far Ted’s father would go to save his own skin.
Meanwhile, burgeoning attorney Leah Powers (Alice Lee) made a major decision about her career, Kevin (Troy Winbush) explained why he can’t make a permanent move to LA and Stuart met with a less-than-desirable potential new client, unintentionally setting off his own insecurities.
What Happened Between Ted Black and His Father?
When it comes to Ted and his father, there’s clearly no love lost between these two. (Ted chose to let the man die alone rather than be by his side earlier this season). While it’s still not clear everything that went down between the pair, Episode 7 gave new details into why Ted eventually cut ties with the family patriarch.
Thanks to flashbacks to Ted’s life as a federal prosecutor in New York, we learn that just as Ted was set to begin the trial of his career prosecuting dangerous mob boss Pellegrini (Anthony Azizi), his dad got word that he was under investigation by the district attorney’s office. Ted’s father was hoping his son could pull some strings at the DA’s office to get him out of legal trouble, but Ted refused to put his own career at risk and suspected there was something else at play. He believed that Pellegrini likely got proof of some of his father’s illegal deeds and used the evidence to extort him into offering Ted a job as part of an unsuccessful attempt to get the relentless prosecutor out of the DA’s office. When Ted refused, Pellegrini hung his father out dry, making Ted look “dirty” in the process.
After seeking advice from Kevin, Ted decided his only move was to go to his boss and offer to prosecute his father’s case himself. He told his skeptical boss that he could prove Pellegrini tried to get him bounced off the case and extorted his father, by offering his father a deal in exchange for his testimony. Although his boss initially pushed back, Ted reminded him that he had put everything on the line for this case—even sacrificing his relationship with one-time love Samantha Railsback (Rachelle Goulding). Seeing how much the case meant to him, his boss agreed to let him try to convince his father to take the stand, but warned him that if couldn’t get his dad to agree, he’d have to resign after Pellegrini’s trial.
Ted took the offer to his dad, but, not surprisingly, his father failed to live up to his expectations. Although Ted promised to put his dad in witness protection—allowing him to skip out on any jail time for his own case and save Ted’s career—his father refused to put his own life in danger, telling him he’d “rather go to prison than die.” Could this be what caused the end of Ted's time with the DA?
What Does Leah Decide About Her Dream of Being a Screenwriter?
Back in the present day, as Ted was mourning Amos’ death and working with Rick (Bryan Greenberg) to get the acting legend a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Leah was questioning her own legacy in the industry.
She signed her first client, a talented screenwriter named Tina. But after reviewing Tina’s latest script, Leah started to wonder if she could have written something better herself and asked Roslyn (Azita Ghanizada) whether she thought the firm would let her take a “sabbatical” to let her pursue her screenwriting dreams. Roslyn was visibly frustrated by Leah’s starry-eyed pursuits and urged her to “pick a lane” by finally commiting to being an attorney or becoming a writer. While mulling the decision over, Leah gave four of her scripts to Rick, telling him they were from a promising writer her firm had a conflict with, leaving out her own connection to the material.
Rick wasn’t impressed by what he saw and bluntly told Leah that he didn’t think the author had what it took to make it in the business. It was enough to convince her that her real gift was using her unparalleled passion and understanding of the industry to help others take their work to the next level.
Why Doesn’t Kevin Want to Work in LA?
With Lester’s criminal trial all wrapped up, Kevin was thinking about his own future. The crack investigator was getting ready to head back to New York—even though he was torn about leaving Ted and his firm behind. Erica tried to convince him to stay by setting him up with a window office, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome the sentimental tie he has to New York.
As he told Erica, he always dreamed of working in his dad’s small detective agency after leaving the FBI and now the firm is the only thing that he has left to remind him of his dad. Kevin may be planning to return to New York, but is it really the last we’ll see of him?
Who is Stuart Lane’s New Client?
Over at Samantha and Stuart Lane’s (Josh McDermitt) newly merged firm, Stuart met with potential new client David Bowie—no, not the rock legend. This Bowie was a Hollywood fixer accused of getting rid of a whistleblower for a Hollywood studio.
Stuart was all set to defend Bowie in court, but the man brushed him off and confessed that the real reason he chose their firm was because he wanted Samantha to sing his praises at a press conference, hoping that some of her shiny reputation in the industry would rub off on him.
Samantha refused to play his game, making Stuart furious in the process. He accused her of holding her nose at his more deplorable criminal clients, just like Ted had once done, clearly opening an old wound. After turning to Ted for advice, Samantha realized that Stuart simply wasn’t feeling respected. She offered to meet Bowie with him to explain her refusal, but Stuart told her there was no need. He only needed to know she would be willing to go to bat for him, if necessary.
To find out what Hollywood’s hottest attorneys are up to next, watch Suits LA Sundays at 9/8c on NBC or stream it on Peacock the next day.
