Harvey (Gabriel Macht) tells a shrink (Christina Cole) an incomplete story in the beginning of “Suits” Season 5, episode 1. The first scenes are from Harvey’s inaccurate recollection of the past six weeks. The shrink later forces Harvey to tell the truth; when he refuses, she rectifies the details herself. The complete picture then shows a whole new layer of Harvey Specter.

Spoiler alert: This review recaps the highlights of “Suits” Season 5, episode 1. Read on at your own risk.

Denial is typically the first in five stages of grief, according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who wrote about dealing with a loved one’s loss in the context of death (“On Death and Dying,” 1969). The other stages are anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Harvey goes through all five in this week’s “Suits” Season 5 opener.

In fiction and as often seen in real life, denial is the first stage of a person’s coping process after a significant loss. Acceptance is usually the last stage; others call it closure. Toward the end of the episode, Harvey shows he is at least getting ready to accept that Donna may not come back. He makes a symbolic act to show he wants to overcome his grief. Still, the “Suits” Season 5 premiere seems to suggest another round of the stages for Harvey. It means more sessions with Cole's shrink character, Dr. Paula Agard.

A person in grief could go through a series of emotions even after some sense of acceptance. Harvey’s anger and depression may not be over. Every day, he would come to work. Donna will not be seated outside his office. She will be outside Louis Litt’s (Rick Hoffman) office instead.

For Harvey, losing Donna is a lot worse than losing Dana Scott a.k.a. Scottie (Abigail Spencer). Jessica (Gina Torres) makes this clear in a one-liner. It is also important to remember that Scottie and Harvey lived together at one point.

Donna is far more important to Harvey than Scottie ever was. Donna leaving certainly broke Harvey. That his ego got bruised because Donna is now with Louis is probably not even a big part of his ordeal.

Gabriel Macht successfully let the audience in into a more vulnerable, more damaged layer of Harvey – someone so hurt that he could not even operate even when the world depended on it. Macht is tearing Harvey open, and he is not yet done. “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh wrote the script of this season’s stirring premiere, which was directed by Anton L. Cropper.

Let us know your thoughts on “Suits” Season 5. You may email your comments at a.paredes@ibtimes.com.au.

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