The Can-Opener Special

Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast

Hosts Patrick Adams and Sarah Rafferty dive into a collection of fan-submitted theories regarding the mysterious 'can-opener scene' from the

Key takeaways

• One theory suggests the can opener acts as a 'mystical tuning fork' or timing device for Harvey and Donna's high-stakes decisions.
• Fans proposed a connection to the movie St. Elmo's Fire, involving a specific chant and mimicry of pulling a wishbone.

Main topics

• Can-opener scene theories
• Suits Season 1 finale lore

Notable quotes

The can opener isn't just a quirky tradition. It's their way of consulting fate.

Conclusion

A community-focused episode that celebrates show lore and provides a f

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) I was talking to Patrick on the phone yesterday and I was like, I don't know if I'm getting sick. He was feeling sick and I was like, I might be getting sick, but everything aches. And then I was like, or we went bowling. Speaker 2 (0:11) Are you still hurting? Speaker 4 (0:12) That's definitely what it was. There's a lot of pain. You Speaker 3 (0:14) roll hard. Speaker 2 (0:16) A lot of people know that about you. It wasn't even a one arm situation. Speaker 3 (0:20) Your whole body was in it. Your whole body. I mean, the first thought that came to my mind when I saw you do this was. What a lovely plie. That's exactly what it looks like. Hi, Speaker 2 (0:59) I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Speaker 4 (1:00) Sarah Rafferty. And Speaker 2 (1:01) this is Sidebar, a Suits Watch podcast where we watch episodes of the show and discuss. Speaker 4 (1:07) But this week, it is all about you, friends. We asked for your can opener theories and you absolutely delivered. We're so excited to get into that. Speaker 1 (1:17) But first... Speaker 2 (1:20) Let's just give an official happy birthday to our very own Kiki Schrader. Speaker 4 (1:25) Happy birthday, Kiki Schrader. Thanks, Speaker 3 (1:27) guys. She turned Speaker 2 (1:28) 24. I did. Again. And she has her whole life out in front of her. Speaker 1 (1:35) Thanks, Patrick. Speaker 2 (1:36) Truly, Kiki, what a gift you've been to this process. Again, for those of you who don't know, and it bears repeating, Speaker 1 (1:43) this Speaker 2 (1:44) would not happen without Kiki. Speaker 2 (1:48) She's been a dear friend for a long time. She worked on Suits for years as a publicist. Then she got out of that game, smart. Then she became my publicist. Terrible idea. Stop doing that. And then now we decided to all do this together. And it's been wonderful. So thank you. Happy birthday. Thank Speaker 3 (2:06) you. I'm so happy to be here. Speaker 2 (2:08) Also, you and I were at a book release last night. Maybe a shout out for our friend, my dear friend. Speaker 2 (2:15) one-time talent manager. Andrew Corrin has written his first novel about his mom and the passing of his mother. It's a beautiful book. It's called Dirtbag Queen. And we were both at the book release party last night. So exciting. And it's worth shouting out. If you're out there in the world, pick up a copy. It's a beautiful book. Yeah. Dirtbag Queen. Dirtbag Speaker 4 (2:35) Queen. Andy Corrin. Speaker 2 (2:37) But other than that, you good? Where are you at? Should we just Speaker 3 (2:41) touch the tips? Speaker 2 (2:43) You good? I Speaker 3 (2:45) need there's something I need for my birthday. Speaker 2 (2:46) What's that? Speaker 3 (2:48) So I got my first fan letter. Speaker 1 (2:52) Oh, Speaker 3 (2:53) yes, you did. So I'm going to read it to you Speaker 2 (2:54) guys. Yes, please. Speaker 4 (2:56) You did? Speaker 3 (2:56) Yeah, this is what I want for my birthday. It's to read you my fan letter. And it says. Just wanted to say I am enjoying the pod and love hearing Kristen's name each week, as that is my name as well. And my nieces and nephew call me Kiki. So it just makes me feel happy to hear a Kristen getting recognized in the world. Keep up the tidbits, chats, counts, and insights. I was a fan of the show from the pilot on and thrilled to have a relook at it with your pod as I further delve into Suits life. And that's from Kristen in Chicago, who was listening during a four-hour delay at O'Hare. Speaker 4 (3:29) Thank you for listening, Kristen. Thank you for sending our beloved Kiki the wishes and the love. Speaker 3 (3:34) I feel special. You should. Speaker 2 (3:37) I actually wrote that. This is awkward. It's Speaker 3 (3:41) so weird. Speaker 2 (3:43) I'm glad you got a piece of fan mail. You deserve it. You deserve more than one piece of fan mail. Speaker 3 (3:47) You Speaker 2 (3:48) get my fan mail. Speaker 3 (3:50) I do get your fan mail. I actually really do sometimes get your fan mail. About once a year on your birthday, you get it written out of the cart. No, I get it. Oh, you literally physically get my fan mail. I actually get Patrick's fan mail. Speaker 2 (4:02) Oh, that's good. Speaker 3 (4:03) In the mail. Speaker 2 (4:07) Anything else? How are you? I'm good. I'm good. Getting back into the swing here. Nice. I'm excited to have this very special episode because you and I, who would like to prepare for this show, Speaker 1 (4:18) are completely unprepared. This is Speaker 2 (4:21) fun. We have not looked at this document. We talked last week. I threw out to the audience to give us their ideas about what the can opener was about. I had a lot of questions. I did not understand the finer points of the can opener. I understand that we are not here to solve the can opener, but I thought for years we've been asked what it is and what happened and what it could be. And the answer is always the same. The whole point is that we don't know. Speaker 4 (4:48) But Speaker 2 (4:48) then we threw it out to our fans and said, but what do you think? What could it have been? Speaker 4 (4:52) And so anybody listening to this should know that we haven't read. This, we will be discovering it in real time with you. We will dig into the enduring legacy of the can opener. Speaker 2 (5:06) Let's start with Alicia from Spain. Speaker 4 (5:09) Oh, hi, Alicia. We Speaker 2 (5:10) know as Speaker 4 (5:10) M. Speaker 2 (5:12) Moores Rafferty. How do I put it? M. Moores Rafferty? Speaker 4 (5:16) Mandy Moore. Speaker 2 (5:17) Mandy Moores Rafferty? Yeah. Mandy Moore's. I like having Speaker 4 (5:21) my name like right up there next to her. Mandy Moore. Speaker 2 (5:24) OK, well, Alicia from Spain says Harvey and Donna's can opener ritual is actually their secret code for making high stakes decisions that could change the course of their lives or careers. Just think about it. Harvey is all about calculated risks and Donna has an almost supernatural intuition. The can opener isn't just a quirky tradition. It's their way of consulting fate in moments when logic and gut instinct collide. Instead of flipping a coin or drawing straws, they use the can opener as a symbolic gesture to unlock the best possible outcome. The process. Donna, this is great, I can't wait, Donna holds the can opener and Harvey has to make his choice before she pretends to open an imaginary can. If he hesitates or second guesses, they know the decision isn't right. But if he sticks to his answer with confidence, it's a go. Speaker 4 (6:19) The can opener is mystical. The love is mystical. That was a great needle drop once on Suits. We'll get to it. But the can opener is a mystical tuning fork here. It's like a magic eight ball, but better. I'm into this. That is cool. Speaker 2 (6:34) Yeah, I'm way into it. I love the idea that it's that it's like I'm imagining you doing it. I'm imagining you in the room and just turning this like imaginary can, which also feeds into the like, it's not that embarrassing. Like you could have, remember we talked about how you guys were about to do it publicly and then you sort of decide to do it privately, which says whatever it is can't be that weird. Right. While this would be weird, it would also be a Speaker 4 (6:59) person just sitting there turning a Speaker 2 (7:01) thing. Like you could get away with doing that at your desk. Speaker 4 (7:04) Yeah, it could be super groovy. It could just be like a little like. Groovy baby, we're just playing can opener, you know what I mean? We're just can opener groove it. We're slow jamming with the can opener. I Speaker 2 (7:13) like this. It's like a move. Speaker 4 (7:13) It's like when you dance and you're doing the like. sprinkler or you're doing the like i don't know the pudding there's a dance Speaker 2 (7:21) involved Speaker 4 (7:21) in this too Speaker 2 (7:22) yeah yeah no no no i'm gonna just continue please oh Speaker 4 (7:27) are we rolling do we have it tight yeah just make sure you're not rolling mark that edit machine um No, I'm just saying, you know, like you can do the dance, like the walk in the dog dance. I'm walking my dog. I'm taking the groceries and putting them in the basket. Right. Like so you can be doing the can opener. Harvey and Donna can just be like slow jamming can opener dance. That's my Speaker 2 (7:46) question to you without making fun of you. Are you saying that you think there's a dance in this world where it was this? You're asked to shoot. I might be building. Great question. Hold on. Hold on. Speaker 4 (7:54) Hold on. What Speaker 2 (7:56) we've just read here from Alicia from Spain is in the script. And now you have to shoot this scene. What we're learning here is that you would come into this scene and your inclination, your instincts as a world-class, wonderful actor is that you'd add a little dance to it. Speaker 4 (8:15) There would be, okay, you know how we talked about Rick? Speaker 2 (8:17) You're dancing right now, so you can't, you can't not. Speaker 4 (8:20) You have to embody it, baby. Speaker 2 (8:22) Do you think Gabriel would have met your dance with his dance? Speaker 4 (8:25) Oh, I mean, look, nobody can meet a dance better than Gabriel. That guy has serious talent when Speaker 2 (8:31) it comes Speaker 1 (8:31) to dancing. Speaker 4 (8:33) So I like to think he would. I don't know if Harvey Specter would meet Donna's. I know Gabriel would meet Sarah's. But would Harvey Specter meet Donna's? I mean, maybe. I think so. Speaker 2 (8:46) Because Speaker 4 (8:46) it's a safe space. Speaker 2 (8:48) I love this. I love the idea of whatever we're about to read here. We have to actually imagine it in real time that it was shot. Speaker 4 (8:57) Okay. And the last button that I will put on this thing that Alicia said is Speaker 3 (9:01) that Speaker 4 (9:01) she said it's their way of consulting fate. So she just made the can opener an oracle. Speaker 2 (9:09) Well, I'll push back a little bit on that because the can opener is not revealing anything. The can opener is a timing device. Speaker 2 (9:18) which is what's neat about it. It holds no wisdom. It's not as if you're like worshiping at the feet of the can opener in this idea. No, but when you go Speaker 4 (9:25) to the altar of it, you get some messages. Yeah, but not, but I don't Speaker 2 (9:29) know if that's actually, that's actually what I think is kind of cool about what Alicia is saying is that really it's just there as a timer. You're holding it. Without you turning it, it is meaningless. You're turning it so that by the time you've completed the opening of this theoretical can. He has to have made his decision. So it's really just a way to put you both in a zone where there is a amount of time, a limited, finite amount of time in which you guys need to decide if his idea is one that his gut truly sticks to or if he's waffling. Speaker 4 (10:03) I'm going to say something. Speaker 4 (10:07) This is the first time I've been mansplained that I've liked it. Speaker 2 (10:11) I don't know if that's a mansplain. My Speaker 4 (10:14) friend who's a man just mansplained me a thing and I'm down. I don't know. Did I just mansplain? Speaker 3 (10:21) Is that a Speaker 4 (10:22) mansplain? I might be. No, that is not a mansplain. I Speaker 2 (10:25) got Speaker 4 (10:25) a Speaker 2 (10:25) lot of nods. Speaker 4 (10:26) Is that a mansplain? There's a lot of women in the other room. I didn't Speaker 3 (10:30) get Speaker 4 (10:30) mansplained. That was not. I was just giving you. Speaker 2 (10:33) I want to be hyper. I've only got women in my life, so I need to be very sure that I'm not mansplaining. Speaker 4 (10:39) No. Speaker 2 (10:40) Really, that's what I'm actually just, I wanted to point out, that's what makes me actually amazed by this idea is that the can opener is just like, it truly is just a tool. It's the magic of you two. It's your strength and his strength coming together and just using this as a way to time it. I think that's pretty cool. Speaker 4 (10:57) Love it. Love it. Thank you. Patrick, Jennifer has a clarification. She says, Patrick, you did not, capital letters,