Where force fails, cunning prevails
Yeah, but you believed in Tarrlok being a good guy! 
Seriously though, he does have a good rhythm to him. With his delivery of it all, I actually don't believe him all the more. Especially with his reputation for being a snake in the grass.
And hmm... can't see how he's benefit Hartman besides one obvious which he most likely won't do now since certain threat in play, but... huh, this is getting good to speculate on.
edited 15th Jun '12 2:19:24 PM by Prime_of_Perfection
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
I believed that it was possible, and was sort of hoping it would be. I never once thought he definitely was!
Yeah, but he got me going, and he's certainly going to get some of the characters going.
I think that he's not going to be entering the fray until late in the series, at which point he'll use the threat of revealing Mike's secret to Hartman to his advantage.
Where force fails, cunning prevails
That would require him knowing about it, not being afraid of consequences, etc.
In any case though with new episode, not all that surprised to see Louis looking into other options. Really, I can't blame him for not siding with Jessica at all seeing the way she treats him at times. Besides, a part of me can understand not wanting to side with someone who only cares now for self-serving reasons.
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
...My theory is that he's going to find out what's happening, but not until late in the season.
...What confuses me about the latest episode is why Rachel immediately assumed that Mike thought he was too good for her... Like, did she not consider any other possibility?
edited 22nd Jun '12 8:30:48 AM by deathpigeon
Do Not Go Gentle
Rebecca? I do believe you mean Rachel, in which case, I think it's fair; Mike acted a lot like Harvey in that scene, and that's very much what you might expect from him.
It's your God, they're your rules, you go to hell." - Mark Twain
Rachel, Rebecca. Both start with an R... Plus, it was late when I was posting that...
Anyway, while I get her seeing him acting like Harvey, that still doesn't explain her conclusion. If anything, her conclusion from him acting like Harvey should've been, "You're just doing this to save your job!" because that is why Harvey would do that...
Do Not Go Gentle
That's entirely subjective, so yeah, fair enough you came to that conclusion. Considering there's no reason to believe that the two being together seriously impedes their job security (from her point of view), I'm fine with her reaction. Though it was late when I saw the episode, might have missed something.
It's your God, they're your rules, you go to hell." - Mark Twain
...Really, I'm not surprised she thought he was being a sick to her, just that she came to that particular conclusion...
Also, I should note, I didn't see him as acting too Harveys, I was just taking that conclusion you made, and making a conclusion from that...
Where force fails, cunning prevails
Yeah, claiming this guy as anything but villainous is crazy.
Yeah, this guy is full of bullshit.
On an unrelated note, Mike's mom is Batman.
Would that it were so simple.
God, Hardman's face screams "I truly am a gargantuan douchebag" every time he enters a scene. 
edited 28th Jun '12 10:45:01 PM by CrimsonZephyr
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Mike should just sick Batgrandma on him, and she can deal with the problem in a way the law cannot because she's the Batgrandma. The dark knight. She's the grandmother this city deserves, not the one it needs.
![[awesome]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minis/award_star_gold_3.png "[awesome]"){kind=small}
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Do Not Go Gentle
"Pierson and Hardman is ranked second to last in quality of life for Associates." "Who beat us?" Say what you like about Louis, but he is committed.
It's your God, they're your rules, you go to hell." - Mark Twain
Would that it were so simple.
It takes dedication to be that much of a jerk.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."Not just that, but how he showed the associates how he can do their jobs better, and his whole speech. That was awesome.
You lost!
Need to wait til Channel 5 shows the second series. If Sky gets it, like they stole House, I am going to go postal.
Where force fails, cunning prevails
This next episode looks like it is going to be a dozy.
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
Where force fails, cunning prevails
Have to ask if this is just me or not. Throughout this season, more and more I've began to see Jessica as a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and overrated in how brilliant she's supposed to be. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's good at what she needs to do, but she seems greatly overrated and far more of a self-serving bitch than she's made out to be.
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
It's possible but one of the recent episodes makes me think that I know why, she's had to adopt this persona. Jessica is good at what she does. Very good. Perhaps not as good as she thinks but damn good. Still, she pointed out that she was one of very few black women who were partners in a firm as powerful as Pearson Hardman. Nobody else in the entire show has brought this up. She did. This leads me to believe that she feels she's got a target on her back and she has to be more ruthless than usual to not be seen as weak. Regardless of whether that's true or not within the firm, if her character believes that she'll act accordingly and it would be in line with what we know of her historically (the whole setting up her rival thing) and it would also make sense with what we saw of her past association with Hardman. She was ready to believe the story he fed her. She was ready to trust him and let her guard down. Then it turned out he was snowing her. She probably doubled down on the ruthless after that.
Add to that we know that Harvey hates being seen as weak Jessica could sympathize with Harvey there adding another layer to why she went so far to help him and why they're so close.
Would that it were so simple.
Eh, Jessica and Harvey's stories kind of deconstruct the kind of ruthless, anything to stay on top attitude because, for all their chessmaster shenanigans, the only reason they haven't been able to kick Hardman to the curb is because neither of them managed to connect with Louis on an emotional level.
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Where force fails, cunning prevails
For me, the moment when Jessica was setup to hit Louis' emotional buttons and failed to because she took things personally, putting her own ego before the objective, was moment she proved herself to not be as good as she's made out to be.
Don't get me wrong, I'm actually all into being a chessmaster & such. Though I prefer to be a realistic one. It's Jessica's inability I've seen to put her ego aside when it's threatened and lack of caring about other's emotions that make me believe her not even that great a chessmaster. Besides, that's a perfect personification of what I see as an amateur chessmaster: One unable to truly understand the value of emotion.
A truly great Chessmaster would recognize fact that humans are emotional creatures and to disregard this role in things is to disregard the power of the fire that motivates people. One has to motivate through emotion and has to pick the RIGHT emotions. Louis' weakness is so freaking obvious in his need for respect that it makes Jessica appear all the more weaker to me by fact that she became emotionally wounded in a heated exchange instead of getting the job done. And yes, while I think it is a reasonable thing to become that, it doesn't change perception it gives. One of the things that make the best the best is discipline, which in that moment she showed a lack of to me.
To note, that's not only incident I have to call her on it. Mainly whole story with what she did to her only rival to get ahead, lied about it, then when finally forced to stop lying, admitted she didn't care whatsoever what she had to do and would do it again. The sheer Lack of Empathy and audacity of Jessica to think anyone should support her after that turned me off to her character. This coming from someone who is a black guy who loves success and pragmatic about it. Just there are certain ethical lines I have in doing so and that's one of them.
Toppled on her poor treatment of Louis - who I recognized as not the best of guys, but still has sympathetic qualities too - throughout thing and his legitimate points about her only giving a damn about him when it's to her end. Toss in the backstory work that got her position was all done by Harvey, so I can't say I much care for that either. Really, to take Harvey's analogy, maybe she's playing chess, but she got stupid and didn't take an obvious checkmate for petty reasons.
edited 23rd Aug '12 10:04:11 PM by Prime_of_Perfection
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
Where force fails, cunning prevails
Was first going to edit this into the above, but change of mind there.
Loved the finale! Also, Hardman found an effective way to make me dislike him all the more. What with masterminding all of the season's turmoil. Will give him props as a great Chessmaster and probably one of the best Villain with Good Publicity around, especially with fact he invokes The Atoner every single time.
edited 23rd Aug '12 10:08:02 PM by Prime_of_Perfection
Improving as an author, one video at a time.
...So I was reading through the WMG page, and one of them stuck out, to me. It was the following one, which was posted on the 18th, five days before the finale:
The first thing he did after coming back to Pearson-Hardman was ordering Rachel to summarize all the cases he missed while he was gone, so he noticed that one case four years ago and planned his Xanatos Gambit to take down Jessica and Harvey using it. He was probably the one who gave the tip to Tanner's firm (or he is behind Tanner himself; remember Tanner came completely out of nowhere in Season 1, for some mysterious reason completely hell-bent on destroying Harvey? Who knows if he wasn't working for Hardman already?), and had that document planted with Donna's time stamp. That way he'd get Harvey disbarred and Jessica discredited or at least damn sure the latter.
Sound familiar?
Also, Jessica has once again beaten Hardman, and it was once again because of Harvey.
edited 24th Aug '12 7:52:12 AM by deathpigeon
Trevor is going to get involved as a Wild Card, or working with Hartman.
It's true he gives off a bad vibe, but he's at least a convincing enough liar that I started to doubt the allegations against him pretty much every time he started to talk about how he's a changed man, then question those doubts the moment he stopped talking.