When Suits bids farewell with its series finale on Wednesday, September 25, the show will do so without original cast member Duchess Meghan (née Markle). So Us Weekly is remembering her best moments as Rachel Zane ahead of the last episode.
The retired actress, 38, made an excellent first impression on viewers when the USA drama premiered in June 2011. Her character immediately put Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) in his place when the paralegal thought the firm’s newest employee was trying to hit on her.
From there, she only continued to stand her ground, whether she was teaming up with Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) to free a wrongly imprisoned man or justifying her desire to pursue her career as a lawyer before getting married.
Meghan left the show after season 7 in April 2018 ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry. (Cast members Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Torres and Adams traveled to Windsor, England, to attend the nuptials.) The couple welcomed son Archie in May.
Suits was renewed for a ninth and final season in January. Speculation immediately began about whether Meghan would make one more appearance before the show wrapped. “Meghan is not coming back,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “USA would love to have her back obviously, but no, she’s not going back.”
Creator Aaron Korsh somewhat shot down the idea of a cameo in June. “You never know,” he told Deadline. “There is always a chance she is going to pick up the phone and call me and say, ‘Can I come back?’ And if she did, she would be welcome back here with arms wide open. But no, I don’t see that happening.”
Adams, for his part, returned for multiple episodes in season 9, and will appear in the series finale. His character mentioned Rachel — his onscreen wife — here and there to make up for her absence.
The show even made light of Meghan’s rise in stature during the August 14 episode, with Mike assuring Katrina Bennett (Amanda Schull) that Rachel is thriving offscreen. “If I told you how good [she’s doing], you probably wouldn’t believe me,” he noted.
Watch the video above to see Meghan’s most badass moments on Suits!
