'Suits L.A.' Episode 10 Review: “Slugfest” Delivers an Emotional, Ethically Charged Episode
- Kae
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
In this latest episode of NBC Universal’s new law drama, we finally get to witness the meat of what the “Suits L.A.” series could be — an intense exploration of the ethics of law, friendship, and ambition.
Ted Black, played by Stephen Amell, is former federal prosecutor-turned Hollywood entertainment attorney who continues to run headlong into the complex personal and professional relationships that shape his myopic world. Though, the NYC Pelligrini mob case that dominated the season’s backstories was put to rest with a conviction in the penultimate episode, the series continues to employ flashbacks to reconcile Ted’s past with his present.
However, this go-round, the trip down memory “lane” focuses squarely on Ted’s long-time best friend and former law partner, Stuart — all puns very much intended. For the first time this season, this episode delves deeper into the former law partners’ shared history as they are pitted against each other in a mock trial during their final days in law school, for, of things, to determine who truly has bragging rights to being top-of-the-class. The scenario mirrors the high-stakes drama of Stuart Lane’s present-day case involving a non-musical David Bowie, whom Stuart now has growing doubts about, on trial for murdering a movie studio whistleblower.
The episode opens with a series of flashbacks that take us back to the days when Ted and Stuart were overly confident law students sharing the same dreams of professional dominance. This setup provides a fascinating look at their camaraderie, ripe with competition. The mock trial serves as a litmus test for determining not just their academic prowess, but who will ultimately come out on top in their personal and professional lives. It quickly becomes clear that the stakes are higher than just grades; their friendship and integrity are on the line, we find, at times, more so for Stuart than Ted.
What makes this episode one of the more palatable this season is the more effective use of the timeline volley to understand the dynamics of this particular relationship for Ted, transforming of the mock trial into an arena where personal battles unfold.
As Ted and Stuart adopt their roles for their final school assignment — one as prosecutor and the other as defense attorney—their strategies reveal deep-seated insecurities and rivalries, even from the standpoint of what side of the law each chose to sit on. Dragging their respective social circles into the fray, using their friends and family as fodder for ruthless cross-examinations, the real-to-life assignment takes a rather personal turn. Stuart, embodying a looser interpretation of win-at-all-costs approach to arguing the law, begins to weaponize personal vulnerabilities, turning the fictitious trial into a vicious contest rather than an exercise in legal acumen. This dynamic hits a tense nerve that resonates with viewers, especially as Ted grapples with the realization that his moral compass, particularly, as it relates to his most precious relationship is at odds with the cutthroat tactics Stuart employs.
Fast forward to present day, and we see Stuart using similar strategies to defend Bowie in his murder trial, resorting to leveraging a key witness's personal privacy and vulnerabilities to sway the judge. In doing so, Stuart also goes back on a promise he made to fellow attorney Erica Rollins (Lex Scott Davis), another friend who becomes a sacrifice to his to be right.
The parallels between Stuart’s past and present actions create a rich narrative thread, illustrating how the lessons learned in law school still influence the attorney’s current life, but more importantly, how he, like so many of us flawed humans can find ourselves mired in the trauma of our younger selves. Nevertheless, the episode successfully brings forth questions about the ethics of lawyering in a system that often rewards manipulation over truth, and it does so by returning to the foundation of the characters' motivations. That point is unexpectedly punctuated by a final conversation Stuart has with his current partner and, ironically Ted’s ex-girlfriend, Samantha Railsback, at the close of the murder case.
Despite the episode's unusually compelling narrative, it suffers from a few pitfalls that while not undermining the positives of the episode, do hinder the series’ overall impact for its debut season. Coming late in the season, “Slugfest,” the episode, cannot fully escape the baggage of earlier episodes that struggled with pacing and character development, outside of Amell’s Ted “It’s my world and we are all living in it” Black.
While the flashback sequences are engaging, they have up until this point distracted from the urgency of the present-day narrative, leaving viewers yearning for more depth in the ongoing B plotlines and character arcs in this timeline. Stuart's unyielding desire to win becomes almost cartoonish at times, diluting the moral superiority that he initially lauded over Ted at the start of the season.
Josh McDermitt, as the overly sensitive criminal defense attorney, adeptly balances Stuart’s self-serving traits with moments of vulnerability and growth. And, while there are other moments where Stuart is unbelievably petty and whiney, given his stature as a high-profile defense attorney, McDermitt has a knack for portraying the character with complex motivations and emotional depth. Outside of Ted, Stuart is the only other character we get to see a full range of those emotions — from fear and courage to hope and despair in a manner that is both humble and relatable.
Additionally, while the exploration of Ted and Stuart's friendship adds layers to their characters, why did we have to wait until nearly the end to understand what exactly we have been missing? The episode hints at a larger commentary on friendship and ambition in the cutthroat world of Hollywood, yet it does not capitalize on this potential fully. Just think of the stories that could have been told through the dynamic entertainment industry and its lens of moral ambiguity.
What will remain the greatest disappointment for the series is the treatment of its intertwining narratives and supporting storylines. Throughout the run so far, audiences were teased with learning more about the other attorneys on canvas — often dropped in as one-off lines in the script and even onscreen elephant-in-the-room tensions, such as the past, nearly-rekindled, romance between former colleagues Erica and Rick Dodsen (Bryan Greenberg), only to leave us desperately on read and a calvacade of thoughts and prayers for a continuation of their story. While I am all for cliffhangers, the fact that most of the potential for these two characters, in particular, came in minuscule minutes in just three viable episodes, the angst for more comes not in what could be, but more in what could have been.
And, so here we are at the beginning of the end. And, as the curtain begins to fall on the debut season for Suits L.A., it remains to be seen if the series will be renewed for a sophomore season. No announcements have been made, as of yet, from the network, though I firmly believe there is still a lot of compelling story that could be told from the perspective of entertainment law. If you would like to revisit Season 1 on Suits L.A., to see if you agree or disagree, episodes are streaming now on Peacock. We have a few more episodes left but I am doubtful these issues will be resolved.
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