Mike Ross is a lawyer with nine lives. After being hired at Pearson Hardman law firm without passing the bar or even completing an undergraduate degree, Mike (played by Patrick J. Adams) spends much of the first season of Suits dodging that secret coming out. But when his old friend Trevor finds out Mike is dating his ex-girlfriend Jenny, he outs Mike to named partner Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres). 

So, will Mike be able to continue working as a lawyer? What blowback will Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) receive from hiring Mike knowing his lie? Will Mike and Rachel get together? Will Louis stop scheming? The last one we can answer right now: no. But for all the rest, read on for our Season 2 recap of Suits.

Cut to the chase: Does Mike get fired?

After Jessica learns that Mike doesn’t have a law degree, she gives Harvey the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t know. But she tells him that he has to be the one to fire Mike. Harvey tries — and fails — so he decides to create some backup plans instead. 

First, he tells senior associate Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) that Jessica is taking a liking to the new associate. This will ensure that Louis gives Mike grunt work for a case; if Jessica were to pursue firing him after that, it would lead to too many questions.

But then, another situation presents itself. After the wife of Daniel Hardman (David Costabile), the other named partner, passes away, Daniel makes a play at returning to the firm and pushing out managing partner Jessica. Five years before, she and Harvey had pushed Daniel out with… you guessed it, blackmail. He was having an affair while his wife was sick with cancer. 

So, Harvey makes a proposal to Jessica: He’ll blackmail Daniel yet again and threaten to out his affair to his grieving daughter if Jessica will let Mike continue working. She agrees. However, Harvey isn’t able to stop Daniel from returning. Jessica is furious and wants Mike gone regardless, but Harvey says he will expose the fact that she knew about Mike’s lack of a law degree — that would definitely get her ousted as managing partner if Daniel returning doesn’t. In the end, Mike lives to fight in court another day.

So… what else happens in Suits Season 2?

Daniel may have been gone for five years, but he hasn’t forgotten who pushed him out of Pearson Hardman — and he’s back for revenge. He secretly works with rival counsel to sue the firm for fraud, while blaming Harvey. Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Harvey’s assistant, finds a memo she signed that could indict her boss. She has no memory of it, and attempting to save Harvey, she shreds it. Mike finds out, then Harvey finds out, then basically the whole firm finds out. Harvey tries to keep her safe, but Jessica insists on firing her. 

Daniel briefly rallies the other partners and takes over as managing partner, but it doesn’t last long. Harvey is able to prove that Daniel was responsible for creating and planting the fake memo and orchestrating the fraud case against the firm. In the end, Daniel is fired, Jessica is brought back as managing partner, and Donna is reinstated as Harvey’s assistant.

Throughout all this turmoil, Louis is becoming more and more unhappy with the firm, going so far as to meet with partners at rival law firms. But he’s not the only one looking for a change. With financial struggles and the Daniel Hardman drama not quite behind her, Jessica considers an offer to merge with a British law firm, Darby International. She believes this could help the firm move forward, but Harvey is strongly against it. So much, in fact, that he puts his associate, Mike, up against Darby in three separate lawsuits. 

Jessica and Harvey make a deal. If Mike wins, the merger won’t happen and Harvey will become a named partner. If Darby wins — by way of their counsel Dana Scott (Abigail Spencer) and Harvey’s ex-girlfriend — the merger goes through and Harvey will accept it. The twist is that Jessica threatens to expose Mike’s secret if he wins the cases. So Mike is forced to lose the cases in order to keep his own job. Harvey gets so angry that he fires Mike from the firm. Luckily for the lawyer who isn’t actually a lawyer, Jessica vetoes the firing.

While things aren’t necessarily better for Mike professionally, they’re getting better romantically — or at least more complicated.

But also, do Mike and Rachel get together?

After Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) reveals her feelings to Mike in a drunken voice mail at the end of the Season 1 finale, Mike is excited to let her know that he heard what she had to say. Finally on the same page, they go on their first date. Except they aren’t on the same page. 

It’s killing Mike that Rachel doesn’t know the truth about him not going to Harvard. He tells Harvey he wants to tell her the truth, but the senior lawyer points out that if anyone else found out, it’s not just Mike’s job that would be on the line. Even Donna is behind Harvey on this one: She tells Mike that he has to break up with Rachel in order to keep everyone safe. He begrudgingly does, but Rachel is confused and thinks it’s because Mike thinks she isn’t good enough for him. 

Eventually Rachel realizes that Mike still likes her and is just keeping something from her, but he asks her not to push it since he doesn’t want to lie to her. They are cordial in the office, but keep things professional — that is, until the merger. With tensions running high after Mike’s blowup with Harvey and Rachel finding out she didn’t get into Harvard, Mike finally tells her the truth. And then they have sex. Finally.

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