The Most Enraging Plot Hole in Nine Seasons of 'Suits'

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 2, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 2, 2024 |

Good news, everyone! NBC has officially greenlighted a Suits spin-off, which will be set in Los Angeles and follow a new attorney, Ted Black, who “reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles.” However, as the familiar saying goes, his past comes back to haunt him.

No other details have been provided, nor has a cast been announced. No word, either, on whether any of the original series’ characters will make the transition to the spin-off. Victoria Mahoney has been hired to direct the pilot. She’s a veteran television director with episodes from a number of television shows under her belt (The Morning Show, You), but curiously, she’s been hired despite having never directed an episode of Suits.

With that out of the way, can we talk about something real quick now that everyone has apparently watched Suits in the last year? Spoilers. The thing that has annoyed me most about nine seasons of Suits is not the obvious and forced pop-culture references, the weird way the series started shoehorning profanities into the script once USA Network relaxed its standards, or even the whole manilla folder thing.

What annoys me most is that Mike was readmitted into the bar in the seventh season despite lacking the credentials to be admitted in the first place. Let me explain. Recall that, in the show’s pilot, Mike passed the bar exam (because of his photographic memory) but lied about attending law school to obtain his job as a lawyer. He fraudulently gained admission into the bar. That lie eventually caught up to Mike in the sixth season when he was imprisoned for fraud and for impersonating a lawyer.

When Mike got out of jail, however, Jessica made an impassioned appeal to a judge and got Mike readmitted to the bar. But here’s the thing: He never cured the violation! In order to be admitted into the bar and practice law, attending law school is required. This is true even in New York, one of less than a handful of states that allow someone to be admitted into the bar through a legal apprenticeship. But even in New York, one year of law school is required. Mike never attended law school. Even if you’re a great attorney and an upstanding citizen who paid their dues, you still cannot be admitted into the bar without attending law school.

This is like a 19-year-old sneaking into a bar, getting drunk, and then getting busted for having a fake ID. However, after going back to college, getting good grades, and volunteering in the community, the bar decides to let the 19-year-old return because he’s a good person even though he is still 19 years old.

What’s even more galling is that, in the 8th season, Mike moves to Washington to work in a law firm with the Duchess of Sussex, which means being admitted into the bar in Washington, even though he still has not fulfilled the requirements, namely attending law school. He is still committing fraud! WHY DOESN’T ANYONE CARE? Mike is a fraud! Suits is a sham!