5 Things You Need to Know Before Watching the Season 6 Premiere of Suits

Posted on 7/12/16

[Warning: Contains Season 5 Spoilers]

It’s been a few months since the last gut-wrenching episode of Suits, and with everything that went down, we can forgive you if your head is still spinning. And if you can’t quite remember where we left off, then you should definitely go back and watch episode 516, “25th Hour” (instant classic!), but if you don’t have the time, here are a few key points to get you up to speed.

MIKE WENT TO PRISON

No sense burying the lead: after finally being arrested for fraud and slugging it out at trial against the tenacious U.S. Attorney Anita Gibbs, Mike realized that the only way he protect his friends and loved ones would be to cut a deal and agree to a two-year sentence. What’s more, Mike made sure that once he signed on the line that Gibbs couldn’t use their arrangement as a bargaining chip to snare Harvey, as he rightly suspected that his mentor would do everything in his power to save Mike. If only he had waited for the verdict to come in -- it turns out that the jury would have found him not guilty!

HARVEY COULDN'T SAVE MIKE

Harvey tried everything in his power to protect his protege: witness tampering (boooo!); falling on his sword and turning himself in (thank goodness Donna talked him out of it); and horse-trading Mike for those creeps at Liberty Rail (remember them?). In the end, all Harvey could do was be there for Mike on the long, dreadful drive to prison.

RACHEL'S HEART WAS BROKEN ONE PIECE AT A TIME

First Mike went back on his word to Rachel by making a deal with Anita Gibbs instead of waiting for the jury to come back, then Rachel learned that the verdict was going to be not guilty. Ever resilient, she shook it off to prepare for a wedding to her man, even in the face of her parents’ STRONG disapproval, only to have Mike show up at the last minute (like, a few steps away from the altar) and tell her that they can’t go through with it. Sure, it was for the right reasons (protecting Rachel’s future as a lawyer), but wow. Total gut punch.

LOUIS NEARLY SOLD HARVEY OUT

With the firm under siege and Anita Gibbs breathing down his neck, Louis technically did try to cut a deal to save himself. Problem was, he didn’t have any actual evidence that pointed to Harvey’s wrongdoing. Louis recorded Harvey basically admitting to knowingly hiring a fraud, but after a night of soul-searching, he decided to stick with his family, come what may.

PEARSON, SPECTER, LITT -- DOWN FOR THE COUNT?

The news of Mike’s trial created a scandal in the press that put the firm on the ropes. Jessica and Louis did their best to stanch the bleeding, but it wasn’t long before their rivals were swooping in to poach partners -- including Robert Zane, who was taking the whole thing rather personally because, well, Rachel. But even though Louis found a way to win that battle, the war was far from over, and Louis, Jessica, and Donna returned to the firm after Mike and Rachel’s near-wedding to find the offices eerily empty, not a single associate or partner walking the halls.

Are you ready for the Suits season six premiere Wednesday night? Tune into USA Network at 9/8c to see what happens!