if only children could rule the world

Tbh, I'm kind of baffled that it's being written that it's such a big deal that Harvey didn't choose Paula. Not by virtue of Harvey and Donna's relationship, but by virtue of Harvey and Paula's. Do the writer's think they did a bang up job or something? What a twisted, dumb, and paper thin relationship that made no sense for either of them. Didn't help either that it essentially made Harvey a liar and Paula incredibly unethical and manipulative.

If everyone’s happy it’s not because Harvey actually chose Donna (we all knew it would happen) but because of the way it was written. This whole relationship between Paula and Harvey was a mess since the beginning. She knew his issues, she knew how close he was to Donna, she knew about his feelings for her, she was his therapist (!!!) and still decided to date him anyway, which is all kind of wrong. And that didn’t help Harvey who was already pretty much emotionally damaged. And, I’m not saying this relationship was the best way to write darvey finally becoming canon, but writing wise it actually made sense. 

Harvey and Donna always had a complicated relationship, their lines have always been blurry. Rules were fixed, to protect them both, but in the end, that’s not what either of them wanted. They have NEVER been on the same page when it came to their relationship. And, it was fine, at first. But, after spending all this time together, there comes a moment when you can’t pretend anymore. And the whole point of this storyline was to get there through Harvey’s transference issues.

Harvey and Paula’s relationship - as screwed up as it was - made us see how much Donna actually means to Harvey and how important she is to him. So, yeah, Harvey wanted a real relationship for once in his life, something real, something simple (because that man, right here, have been through enough in his life). Who would blame him for that? And he chose Paula, because it was SIMPLE and EASY. Because he was scared of Donna wanting MORE. And with Paula, there was no need to talk about his issues, she already knew about them. No need to talk about Donna, she already knew about that too. It was an easy way to avoid his feelings for Donna.

But, Harvey is not the only one to blame. Because, the thing is, Donna was in denial as much as Harvey was. This relationship made her realize that she couldn’t wait any longer. She figured out what her MORE was, and she went for it. But then again: they were not on the same freaking page. But that’s actually when it got interesting. Because Harvey felt something during that kiss. And his whole world started crumbling down. Donna and Harvey’s relationship started crumbling down. And we needed that, they needed that. Those walls they’ve been building up for years needed to crumble. And that’s what happened. Except that Donna lied about her feelings, AGAIN, to protect Harvey. Because that’s what she always does: she puts him first. She’s that selfless when it comes to him. And, yeah, Harvey started lying, to preserve his relationship, to keep the only “safe” thing in his life. But it wasn’t meant to last. You can’t walk on eggshells forever. And that’s what happened last night. Paula made him chose. Just like Mark made Donna chose all these years ago. And it’s interesting we finally got to see those flashbacks because it helped Donna realize that she needed to put herself first for once too. Because during all those years, she always put Harvey first, without blinking an eye. And yeah, once again, Harvey wanted to protect his EASY relationship with Paula. But he didn’t want to hurt Donna in the process and that’s why he went to Stu. Because that was easier. This way, he’d keep his simple relationship, and Donna would have a better job. And probably a chance at being happy, without him (because he still thinks she didn’t feel anything during that kiss). But it didn’t go as planned. And Donna made this choice for him. Once again, she put him first. 

BUT! Harvey didn’t let her go. He could have but he didn’t. When he saw that resignation letter, he snapped. For the first time in their relationship, he realized it was time to put Donna first. He realized that Donna has always been there for him. She’s the only freaking CONSTANT in his entire life. And no matter the nature of their feelings for each other, she’s always been there for him. She’s his other half, his good half, the only person that see right through him. This season was a constant reminder of how close and intertwined their relationship has always been. And both Harvey and Donna realized that. It took Harvey 13 episodes (more like seven seasons) but he got there. And his choice became simple. There was actually no choice to make. It has always been Donna and no one else.

So yeah, Paula is manipulative and unethical as hell. We can all agree on that. But she’s finally gone. And, of course, they could have chosen another storyline for darvey. But this one allowed us to see through Donna and Harvey and what they both needed to fix and understand - both as individuals and in their own relationship - to move forward, to realize that their relationship is more important than they wanted to admit to themselves. Donna and Harvey both grew so much through this storyline, and if you paid attention, they were a lot of parallels with previous seasons, everything is literally coming full circle because of that storyline. If you ask me, as rough and painful as this storyline was, it was also realistic and completely in character (except for Paula). And now, it’s up to them to decide where they’ll go. But for once, they’re finally going to be on the same page, and have a chance at being happy together. So yeah, if you ask me, the writers did a pretty good job.

What does she mean put Harvey above herself? Is this them saying she doesn't love him? Or is she referring to something specific!

Hey, anon! Well, I didn’t understand it like this. We know that Donna dedicated her whole life to Harvey: she wanted to be an actress yet, she stayed with Harvey all those years. She has always put Harvey first without saying anything about it. She did it out of love and friendship but, when she said that she regrets putting Harvey above herself, it feels like she finally understood that she needs to put herself first, and that she should have done it sooner. Donna has always been the one who pushed Harvey to be the best man he could ever be. And she confronted him, multiple times, about his feelings towards her. Yet, each time, Harvey didn’t fight for her. He let her go. In the end, I see it as Donna realizing that she doesn’t have to be the only one to stand up in their relationship, Harvey should fight for her and them too (AND HE BETTER DO IT SOON).