Let’s not forget Meghan Markle has another wedding coming up.
Oh, sure, you may have heard about how Markle is getting married to Britain’s Prince Harry.
But even before Harry popped the question, Meghan’s Rachel Zane was planning nuptials with Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams on the USA drama Suits that returns Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
That’s not the central drama in Suits. It does underscore, in the middle of the show’s seventh season, relationships and romance have at least temporarily pulled ahead of legal dramas as the dominant storyline.
Fans will remember that the tightly wound alpha lawyer, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht, left), finally had seemed to find a stable relationship with his former therapist, Dr. Paula Agard (Christina Cole).
Then his long-time associate and soulmate Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), who in many ways is the heart of the show, kissed him.
Both start this episode by insisting that’s all there was to it. One and done. Don’t bet the ranch on that.
Wednesday’s episode doesn’t get heavily into the tough romantic road of Harvey’s legal partner Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), though that’s presumably because this episode didn’t have time. Louis is never shy about sharing his neuroses.
Rachel’s and Mike’s romance is better established and thus seemingly more stable than those of the other characters. But we’re still reminded that love can be a fluid thing when Mike gets a tricky new case on which he can use some support.
Relationships have always been a front-burner theme in Suits, just as humor has always been a prominent element in the writing. It may be a little more noticeable now that Suits is the last survivor of USA’s old “Characters Wanted” lineup.
And yes, the show still includes legal dramas, though Wednesday’s mostly involve cleaning up a loose end. Harvey and Louis’s old boss and senior partner Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), who had left the firm, has been disbarred. So they have to find a way to get her the money she is owed without damaging the ongoing viability of the firm.
In any case, both the romantic and the personnel aspects of the story do need to be sorted out, because changes are in the wind at Suits.
Jessica Pearson (left) will resurface in a USA spinoff show, which will be set in Chicago instead of New York. The season finale of Suits, on April 25, will be its launching pad.
Suits itself has been renewed for an eighth season, but it will have a much different lineup. Harvey, Donna, Louis and others will be back, with Dulé Hill’s Alex getting promoted to a full-time role and Katherine Heigl joining the cast. Mike and Rachel, however, are leaving.
Since Mike’s story – practicing law without a law degree – is one of the foundations on which the show was originally built, that’s a big change. Markle has also become a major player in the ongoing story, though becoming part of the Royal Family apparently precludes further commitment here.
Her choice. She’ll just have to live with it.
But now matter how things roll, Suits fans will always know that she got engaged here first.