With a wink and a nod, of course.
Suits ended its nine-season run with a finale that gave everyone a happy ending, but not every former star returned for the farewell.
Missing in action on Wednesday's swan song was Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, who left the USA Network legal drama at the end of the seventh season. Markle's presence was still felt in the episode, however, when the series paid homage to pivotal moments from all nine seasons in a montage that capped off its final episode.
Markle's character, paralegal turned lawyer Rachel Zane, was featured in several scenes in the tribute, including Rachel discovering the truth about Mike Ross' fake law degree, getting stood up at her first wedding to Mike, crying on Donna's shoulder, greeting Mike after his jail sentence and finally saying "I do" to Mike in a lavish ceremony in her final episode.
This isn't the first time during Suits' final season that Markle was given a nice hat tip. In the fifth episode of the season, which aired Aug. 14 and marked Patrick J. Adams' return, Mike was asked how his wife was doing in Seattle, Washington, after they relocated to start anew.
"If I told you how good, you probably wouldn't believe me," he marveled.
The series finale also featured a subtle joke referencing Markle's husband, Prince Harry. Right before Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) walked down the aisle to marry his pregnant fiancee, Sheila (Rachael Harris), Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) couldn't help but make a quip about Louis' formal look for his big day.
"Wait a second, are you wearing a morning coat?" Harvey asks Louis before the ceremony.
"Of course I'm wearing a morning coat," Louis replies. "Frankly, I'm disappointed you're not."
Harvey then responds, ribbing his colleague, "Louis, you're not the prince of England."
Following the series finale, Macht and co-star Sarah Rafferty spoke with ET about their thoughts on Harvey and Donna's decision to leave the firm they built for greener pastures in Seattle, essentially reuniting the newlyweds with Mike and Rachel.
"I was happy to see that Mike and Harvey would get back together. For me, I guess it felt a little abrupt, but maybe that's OK. There's so much packed into that episode, it's got to be a colossal challenge," Macht told ET. "If they end up in Seattle, great. I'm super happy for both Harvey and Donna, and Mike and Rachel."
"I hope the fans are happy... These characters are only alive because of the fans' imaginations because they went on the journey with us. I hope that it’s mission accomplished, but I think they'll be happy and they'll be able to imagine everybody happy," Rafferty told ET. "I think Donna and Harvey will come back a lot to get to know Louis' child. They'll be traveling back to New York for birthdays. All I care about is that the fans are happy and that the spirit of these characters are living on with them."
Last July, Markle acknowledged that she missed the show when asked by a fan she met in Dublin, Ireland. Markle was on Suits for seven seasons before officially announcing in November 2017 that she would be leaving after getting engaged to Prince Harry.
"I'm a fan of Suits and I said to her that I miss it and she said, 'So do I'," the fan told Hello!.
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