Suits LA Fans May Have Missed These Clever References to the Original Series in Episode 9
Episode 9 — "Bat Signal" contained a number of subtle Easter eggs for longtime fans of the Suits universe.
Suits LA Episode 9 was one for the books with the return of Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) in the present day. Fans got a look at what the top lawyer has been doing in the years since the original show's 2019 finale and his new adventure alongside Ted Black (Stephen Amell) was obviously chock full of references to the original show as a special treat for fans.
That said, things move pretty fast in the world of Suits, so we wouldn't blame you if you maybe missed some of the original series references lurking in the plot of Suits LA, Episode 9. Luckily for you, we broke down some of the more noticeable ones you may have missed below.
SPOILER ALERT for Episode 9 of Suits LA.
Daniel Hardman mentions his ailing wife
At the top of the episode, when Ted gets Daniel Hardman (David Costabile) to unknowingly break privilege against his own client in a flashback sequence, the latter mentions that he "hasn't practiced in several years" because his wife's been ill. This is, of course, a reference to the fact that Hardman was strong-armed out of his own firm by Harvey and Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), who threatened to tell his dying wife, Alicia, about an extramarital affair unless he stepped down. Hardman did capitulate and used his wife's poor health as a cover story to leave the practice with some dignity. Harvey and Jessica subsequently took control of the firm, rebranding it to Pearson Specter.
Donna's sweatpants
In the present day, Ted and Harvey conspire to keep crime boss Pellegrini (Anthony Azizi) behind bars over a cup of morning coffee. During this conversation, Harvey ridicules Ted's sweatpants, to which Mr. Black replies: "They're Donna's." It's a quick, yet significant, nod to the one and only Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Harvey's longtime secretary, confidant, and red-haired miracle worker who eventually became his wife in the Suits series finale.
Mississippi Burning
According to Ted, Harvey once told him: "Sometimes good guys have to do bad things to make the bad guys pay." That's verbatim what Harvey said in Season 1 of Suits while he and Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) worked to get the wrongfully convicted Clifford Danner (Neil Brown Jr.) out of prison years after Harvey helped put him away as a member of the DA's office. Harvey brings up the case to Ted, noting how he and Mike took a strategy from the classic film Mississippi Burning. If you recall, the duo cleverly played the weaker of the two guilty defendants against his friend — exactly what FBI agents Anderson (the late Gene Hackman) and Ward (Willem Dafoe) do in the aforementioned movie — and successfully cleared Clifford's name.
"Your guy Cahill"
After convincing Pellegrini's underling, Vinnie Santoro (Alexander Bertrand), that his boss wants him dead, Santoro agrees to flip on his boss in exchange for immunity. Ted then tells Harvey, "We take Santoro to your guy, Cahill, and we put this to bed." While Harvey states that they can't go down that particular route, the name-drop is a significant nod to Neal McDonough's Sean Cahill of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The recurring character started out as an adversary of Pearson Specter before turning into a much-needed ally, especially in Season 5 when he helped get Mike a deal that would commute his prison sentence.
RIP Marcus Specter
With their mission to keep Pellegrini locked up for the rest of his natural life completed, Harvey and Ted go out to celebrate over a meal, during which Harvey mentions he lost his brother to cancer a few years back. Harvey's little brother, Marcus (Billy Miller), appeared several times throughout the original series, most notably during the storyline when Harvey began to patch things up with his mother (Brynn Thayer) after years of estrangement. In the world of the show, Marcus was a restaurateur, recovering gambling addict, and in-remission cancer patient. Miller sadly passed away in 2023 at the age of 43, which is why Episode 9 was dedicated to his memory in the credits.
New episodes of Suits LA air on NBC every Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stream all available episodes on Peacock here.
