'Suits' season 6 summer finale recap: Shocking twist surprised viewers with surprising exit

The summer finale of "Suits" season 6 presented a shocking twist that fans and viewers weren't prepared for. Instead of showing how things panned out for Mike after his prison storyline ended, the episode titled "P.S.L." saw one of the show's major characters saying goodbye to the firm.

Much of "Suits" season 6, nine episodes to be exact, focused on Mike's (Patrick J. Adams) time in prison, from the moment he set foot in it to the time he was let out ahead of his two-year sentence. While episode 10 could have focused on what will happen to him now that he's a free man once again, the summer finale saw Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), the P in P.S.L., leaving the business she built.

She took on one last case along with Rachel (Meghan Markle), that of death-row inmate Leonard Bailey (Glenn Plummer), which she successfully defended. However, her fight for Bailey reminded Jessica of why she became an attorney in the first place – her desire to help people.

So she decided to leave everything behind and move to Chicago with Jeff Malone (D.B. Woodside), but not without an emotional goodbye to her partners first.

"I have decided to step down. Somewhere along the way, I forgot why I became a lawyer in the first place and it wasn't just a fight for money and power, it was to fight for something more," she said.

Surprisingly, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) took the news well and supported his mother figure/mentor in her decision. Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) protested, but not after Jessica told him that he and Harvey will continue with the firm; it's just Jessica that they had to let go.

Of this surprising exit, "Suits" showrunner Aaron Korsh told Deadline that it was something Torres talked to him about at the beginning of season 5.

"She had some things going on in her life, and she wanted to discuss a graceful exit from the show for her to be able to live primarily in Los Angeles versus Toronto [where Suits is filmed]," Korsh told the outlet.

Apparently, Torres' character was supposed to be killed off, but USA will have none of it. Hence, they thought of a more graceful exit for the actress. Nevertheless, Korsh told TV Line in another interview that he doesn't "think it is the last we'll see of Jessica," which means Torres could return to the series, albeit in a recurring capacity.

Meanwhile, there was a hopeful Donna (Sarah Rafferty) and Harvey moment at the end of the episode where the two were see holding hands. According to Korsh, "it was definitely a development in their intimacy. Whether it's going to mean a development in their romantic life moving forward remains to be seen..."

In related news, the last six episodes of "Suits" season 6 will air in January 2017, as per Markle's Instagram post. They are currently in production for episode 11, which will be directed by Adams.