As the American legal TV dramaSuitscontinues to enjoy newfound success onNetflix, viewers may notice the glaring absence of fan-favorite Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce) in the ninth and final season. In part due to his substantial character arc in Season 8, in which he makes bold power moves and strategic legal plays on behalf of the Zane Specter Litt law firm, Zane only appears in three of the final 10 episodes of the show and is hardly given an afterthought.
Suits' rushed final seasondoes its best to tie up all the loose storylines and give the characters happy endings. However, some characters like Robert Zane get shortchanged in the final 10 episodes, who had one of the most significant roles in the previous season regarding Harvey Specter and his longstanding rivalry with the Pearson Hardman law firm. Given the heroic sacrifices made to allow Harvey to avoid trouble, Robert Zane’s role inSuitsSeason 8 bears closer study.
What Is Suits About?
Set in New York,Suitsis apopular American legal TV dramalaunched on the USA network in 2011. The series concerns the personal and professional lives of Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a high-profile NYC attorney, and his associate, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a brilliant college dropout with an abnormally large memory bank. As Mike works tirelessly to keep the fact he never went to law school from the public, he and Harvey settle several lawsuits, celebrate various cases, and continue to expand their sociopolitical influence.
Season 8 marked a transition period for the hit legal drama with the departure of Mike Ross, his strict boss and law firm partner Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), and the firm’s skilled paralegal Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle). The characters were replaced by newbies Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl), Alex Williams (Dule Hill), and Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull), and allowed minor supporting characters like Robert Zane to shine. With his newfound spotlight, Zane’s actionable behavior saw a dramatic uptick in the show’s penultimate season.
Who Is Robert Zane?
Introduced inSuitsSeason 2, Episode 13, “Zane vs Zane,” Robert Zane (Pierce) is Rachel Zane’s father and Samantha’s legal mentor. The former managing partner for the law firm Rand, Kaldor & Zane left to found the competing firm, Zane Specter Litt with Harvey Specter and Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). Robert’s shrewd legal expertise, charming demeanor, parental care, and ability to close lawsuits made him a fan favorite, and his likability increased when his role expanded in Season 8.
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From Season 2 to Season 7, Zane appeared in 21 episodes and appeared sporadically to advance the plot and fulfill his character arcs. In Season 8, Zane’s role increased considerably, appearing in 12 of 16 episodes, figuring prominently in the main storyline. Between overtaking the firm, tampering with evidence, giving up his license, and taking the legal fall for Harvey, it’s no surprise Robert Zane has become one of the bestSuitscharacters despite appearing in 36 of 134 episodes.
What Did Robert Zane Do in Season 8?
Robert Zane does several things to help Harvey Specter succeed inthe legal TV show’s penultimate season. First, Zane discovers that he is being blackmailed by a trio of criminals laundering money and funneling it into Zane’s bank account to make him look guilty. When Zane identifies the blackmailers as Jarvis, Green, and Ellis, lawyers who hired him as a corporate litigator, he assigns Wheeler to help him eliminate them. Zane and Wheeler remove the blackmailers, and the firm, “Jarvis, Green, Ellis” becomes Rand, Kaldor & Zane.
Once Mike Ross resigns, Zane assumes all of Mike’s legal clients, leaving Rand, Kaldor & Zane to launch the competing firm, Zane Specter Litt. In his new role,Zane gets into a moral bind when he discovers that his protégé, Wheeler, was brutally attacked eight years earlier and that her attacker got away on a legal technicality.Crossing the legal boundary, Zane fabricates evidence that results in Wheeler’s attacker going to jail. Although Zane feels vindicated by his actions at first, he feels overwhelming guilt and remorse when he learns Wheeler’s attacker was murdered in prison.Knowing the folly of his judgment, Zane relinquishes his law license and vows to stop practicing.
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Working with Harvey Specter and Louis Litt at the firm, Zane attempts to get his old Harvard Law classmate, Daniel Hardman, to stop attacking Harvey and going after his law license. In Season 8’s climactic conflict, Harvey is put on trial during an ethics hearing to retain his law license, which he’s in danger of losing for a breach of trust.As Harvey takes the stand to give testimony, Zane decides to take the fall. Zane encourages Alex to tell the judge that it was Zane, not Harvey, who broke the trust. Since Zane had already decided to give up his law license and stop his legal practice, he absolved Harvey’s guilt and allowed him to avoid jail time.
After bearing legal responsibility for Harvey’s actions, Robert Zane was disbarred and his conscience was cleared. Feeling guilty over his involvement with Wheeler’s assailant, Zane felt the best course of action was to give up his law practice and sacrifice his career and reputation to help Harvey avoid jail time. AsSuitscreatorAaron Korsh told Distractify:
“Zane has been feeling guilty about it ever since. It just reignites these things for him, and then he uses it as an opportunity to redeem himself and take the bullet for Harvey.”
Following his disbarment, Robert Zane appeared in three moreSuitsepisodes, with the character’s final appearance coming in the series finale, “One Last Con.” Whether Robert Zane will appear inthe upcoming spin-off,Suits: L.A., is unknown.
