Suits LA premiere ending explained: Why did Ted take Lester Thompson's murder case if he hates criminal law so much?
With the Suits LA premiere making its debut on Sunday, February 23, 2025, fans were excited to see the spinoff of their beloved series Suits, which concluded in 2019. Suits LA premiere saw the introduction of a new cast and a fresh storyline in the first episode titled Seven Days a Week and Twice on Sunday. The 40-minute episode saw plot twist after plot twist.
The episode saw betrayal when the main character, Ted Black's long-time partner, Stuart Lane went through a merger without him. Shortly after, Ted discovered that the entire 25th floor was gone. As he was still reeling from the betrayal, by the end of the Suits LA premiere, Ted decided to take on Lester Thompson as a client. Although Lester was accused of murder and Ted hated criminal law, he took him as a client to stick it to Stuart.
The Suits LA premiere introduced the spinoff's main stars with Stephen Amell playing the role of Ted, Josh McDermitt as Stuart, Lex Scott Davis as Erica, and Bryan Greenberg as Rick. The first episode of the spinoff was directed by Victoria Mahoney.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the Suits LA premiere. Reader's discretion is advised.
Suits LA premiere ending: Ted gets even with Stuart by taking Lester as a client
The Suits LA premiere saw Ted Black take on a case that he promised not to. He agreed to take on Lester Thompson's murder case despite having promised to steer clear of doing criminal law. Initially, he said that he believed Lester who said that he hadn't committed the crime. It is worth noting that Lester was Ted's client in the entertainment division of the firm as well.
It is unclear whether Ted took on Lester as a client just because he believed in his innocence or if he just wanted to stick it to Stuart. After Stuart's betrayal—starting a new firm with his ex Samantha and taking almost all of his and Ted's firm's clients in the process—Ted wasn't going to take anything sitting down. He wanted revenge and wanted to make Stuart sweat.
Ted also seemingly wanted to prove that he was better than Stuart, which is what he tells Lester while convincing him to drop Stuart and hire as his lawyer. He tells the client that there was "nothing in this world Stuart Lane" was better at than Ted.
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Early in the Suits LA premiere, the reason behind Ted not wanting to take up criminal law cases was shown. It focused on how his last criminal law case went wrong and an explosion killed his witness.
With him now taking on Lester's criminal case, Ted will take cases that Stuart is supposedly "great" at and there is a chance that they will come head-to-head as the series goes on. This sets up a premise where there might be a bitter rivalry between Stuart and Ted, who were former partners.
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Why did Stuart betray Ted?
Stuart Lane's betrayal in the Suits LA premiere came as a surprise for some as the two had a close and amicable relationship. However, it turned out that Stuart was harboring ill feelings against Ted for what he did a while ago.
After the betrayal, during a confrontation, Ted went to Stuart's house which was where Stuart admitted that it was always his plan to leave Ted out of the merger and take away all the clients. This was because a while ago, during a negotiation, Ted called himself a lion and called Stuart a flea in front of everyone.
This led to Stuart feeling left out in the firm and that he had had enough of Ted feeling that the firm only succeeded because of him. In the Suits LA premiere, Stuart also told his former partner that Ted didn't respect what he did, which was heading the criminal law department. He added that this stemmed from Ted's dislike of anything related to criminal law.
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Rick leaves Ted to join Stuart's new firm in Suits LA premiere
Stuart's betrayal isn't the only thing that hit Ted in the Suits LA premiere as his mentee, Rick also left to join Stuart Lane's new firm. Apart from being Ted's mentee, Rick was also an ambitious lawyer who was in the running as the Entertainment Director of the firm.
As the episode began, after Stuart betrayed Ted, it seemed like Rick was one of Ted's only allies. Despite having some disagreements, Rick seemed to hold Ted in high regard.
However, after his mentor took up Lester's case, Rick seemed to make the last-minute decision to leave Ted's firm and join Stuart. He leaves a letter for Ted, telling him that he couldn't stand his mentor's decision to take Lester's case, which included criminal law that Ted hated.
In the beginning, during the aftermath of Stuart's betrayal, it appears like Rick is one of Ted's remaining allies. Despite their sometimes disagreements, Rick holds Ted in high regard. However, after Ted takes Lester's murder case, Rick makes the last-minute decision to leave. In the letter he left Ted, Rick says that he can't stand Ted taking on Lester's case, a case he despises just to save his firm.
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Ted gets a new partner in Erica in Suits LA premiere
With Rick also having left Ted's firm at the beginning of the Suits LA premiere, the Entertainment Director Position was open for the taking. Although Ted was initially thinking of making Rick and Erica co-heads of the department, without Rick, Erica was the only one left and Ted offered her the position. However, it wasn't enough for her to stay and she asked Ted if she could become one of the partners, instead.
She asked Ted for the position because she knew that she would have more work as Ted would be taking on criminal cases. Ted agreed with her and made her his new ally in the series.
However, the new partnership between them came with a few trust issues as Stuart had tried to poach Erica and make her his spy for six months. He did so before he offered her the Entertainment Director position at his firm.
However, Erica declined it, and one of the reasons was the conversation she heard between Stuart and Ted. She said that while Stuart only wanted to give her diverse clients, Ted saw her and her potential.
Being loyal to Ted and what's left of his firm after Stuart's betrayal turned out to be a good thing for Erica, especially career-wise. She was named a partner, which was much bigger than her pipe dream of being the Entertainment Director was still a pipe dream she was fighting for in the beginning.
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Catch the Suits LA premiere streaming on Peacock starting Monday, February 24, 2025, one day after its television premiere on NBC.
