Ava's Trial Comes to a Dramatic End on 'Suits'

Donna tends to Harvey's wounds from his bathroom brawl with Stephen Huntley, who was revealed last week to be a traitor slash murderer slash generally not a great guy. Huntley's friend-with-benefits is disgusted that her Creep-O-Meter didn't ping before she, well, pinged him. Girl, we've all been there. Hell hath no fury like a Donna scorned—she's more than happy to personally deliver the news that he's been fired.

Despite Mike's eagerness to nail their British colleague, Harvey insists they wait until they have some actual proof to back them up. Edward Darby, Ava Hessington's old friend (and her father's undercover lover), admits he knew of Huntley's crimes. He'd only kept quiet in the interest of protecting her. As you can imagine, she's not super-pleased to hear this.

Mike talks his way into a meeting with Colonel Moriga, the key witness against Hessington, brandishing the incriminating rugby team photo that shows him palling around with Huntley. But, to be clear, that's not actual proof. Meanwhile, Harvey tries to make nice with skeevy D.A. Cameron Dennis, his one-time mentor. He tells him that it's Moriga who's complicit in the murders, not Ava, but Dennis refuses to budge without (see a pattern developing here?) actual proof.

Donna wants to see Huntley punished, but Harvey isn't ready to put him on the stand... at least until he sees how well the trial is going for Dennis. It's then that the defense unexpectedly calls Huntley to testify. Disclaimer: I am not lawyer (not even a little bit), but I'm pretty sure that randomly accusing a coworker of murder mid-trial is not a widely accepted legal practice.

This goes poorly. Huntley coolly pleads the Fifth, then confirms Ava's attempted bribery of witnesses when Dennis cross-examines him. It's far from the satisfying comeuppance Donna was gunning for.

New plan: Convince Cameron of Huntley's guilt. Mike asks Clifford Danner, an innocent man Dennis once put away, to try persuading the DA himself. His words have some effect, at least. The prosecutor offers to settle if Ava will accept an eight-year prison sentence. Sure, that's better than life behind bars, but it's still not great. The situation looks dire—until Darby steps up and agrees to testify on her behalf. Finally, dude.

He's prepared to accept responsibility for his part in Huntley's wrongdoing, plead guilty to obstruction of justice, and testify against his former right-hand man—in exchange for Dennis dropping the charges against Ava. Interestingly enough, the terms of the paperwork Darby's forced to sign also stipulate that he can no longer practice law in the United States. Hmm...

Goodbye, merger. Well played, Jessica.

Oh, Huntley. Huntley, Huntley, Huntley. You didn't think he was getting off that easy, did you? Donna tracks him down to a swanky bar, with a half-dozen FBI agents in tow. This probably isn't the first time she's seen Huntley in handcuffs, but it might very well be the last.

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