How to get away with murder -S02xEp09 – What Did We Do?
Where do we even begin? Let me just begin by saying that was a very entertaining episode.
I’m tempted to recap this episode backwards and begin with the biggest bombshells, because you and I both know what we want to discuss: Wes shooting Annalise. Annalise and Christophe (who is…Wes?). Asher killing Sinclair. Frank drugging Catherine. Connor maybe almost shooting Michaela. Laurel making rash decisions. Bonnie looking under a car.
After the elder Millstone committed suicide, and Mrs. Millstone coldly disowned her son, I began to think the show was setting us up to have Asher be the one who pulled the trigger on Annalise. Instead, they had Asher snap and back over Sinclair in a parking garage. Cold blooded. From that moment on, things became chaotic, and Annalise went into full panic mode.
The thing is, I cannot really overlook the gigantic problems with all of these scenarios. I mean the D.A.’s blood is going to be all over that parking garage, where there was also a witness who got a good long look at Asher and 95,000 security cameras? It seems none of them are going to get away with this because it’s a complete mess. Asher is a complete mess, because he’s smart enough to know how all of this looks. The D.A’s bones are broken in ways that her fall won’t justify. His DNA is all over her.
“What Did We Do?” does rely on some of the character development that has been building all season, character work that suddenly becomes all the more urgent within the high stakes of what goes down in this episode. The season’s sudden focus on Asher Millstone, arguably the least compelling of the Keating Five, makes a lot of sense given that the events here revolve largely on his psychological undoing. While I was perfectly content with Asher back when he was little more than comic relief, his breaking point here does end up being effective and believable given everything he has gone through this season. Believable within the show’s constructed universe in which almost everyone is capable of murder, that is. But in all seriousness, Matt McGorry does some of his finest work here, viscerally showing how Asher gets pushed to the edge. He owns some of the episode’s most emotional moments.
The episode’s climax, undoubtedly its finest moment was the second Annalise picks up that gun and calls for help. Of course it was Annalise’s own idea to be shot to get them out of this mess. Annalise has no limits. She always has a way out. The scene turns to chaos immediately, but it’s gripping chaos that’s impossible to look away from. And again, there are emotions at play that have been building all season. Connor very seriously contemplates killing Annalise, but at the same time, he knows that pulling the trigger would just be giving into the darkness that he resents her for. His friendship with Michaela also becomes important to the scene, with Michaela literally throwing herself in front of the gun to stop him from doing it. Nobody was game, and it took her dropping some valuable information on Wes to convince him to change him mind: Rebecca is dead.
Unfortunately for Annalise, what she didn’t realize here is that this set off enough of a trigger to make him want to kill her in the flesh. He shot her, and right before he was about to kill her for good, hearing a certain name from his past in Christophe sent a trigger down his spine. This was his former name, back when he was young … and Annalise / Eve may have had a connection to doing away with his mother.
Well. in another word,It’s all done. The puzzle pieces have come together – at least some of them. Annalise told Eve “It’s him” because they met ‘Christophe’ years ago, just after his mother died. At their hands? I don’t know.
Has Annalise been getting away with murders, or at least being involved in them, for years? After this insane winter finale, we’re left to question … well, everything
How to get away with Murder – S02xEp08 – Hi, I’m Philipp
There was no case of the week, just the Hapstall case and that was fine by me. With the flash forwards mainly taking place at murder mansion, aka the Hapstall residence, we’ve know they would be involved somehow.
No matter what they do, Emily Sinclair always seems to be one step ahead. Asher is the one who puts it together: Sinclair is bugging the house. Everyone then starts to search for the bug Asher eventually finds. They spout misinformation at the bug, which sets Emily Sinclair’s case up to fall apart.
The only time we see Bonnie this episode, other than the flashforward, is in a brief scene where she is huddled on the floor of her steaming shower. Bonnie is in a very dark place. Annalise keeps setting up Laurel to be the “new Bonnie.” As for what her real motives are, no one knows, but it’s causing tension in the Frank and Laurel relationship.
It looks like Catherine actually is guilty. Wes realizes one of Catherine’s paintings was in Phillip’s possession even though Catherine claims to have never known of his existence. Caleb reveals to Michaela that he found the gun Catherine must have used.
There was no shocking flash forward ending this week, just the image of Philip and Catherine together. On a lot of shows, this revelation would piece together a lot of clues and give you that “aha” moment. But I was left with way more questions than answers.
How to Get away with Murder – S02xEp07 – I want you to Die !
Ollie sets Connor up on a Dude4Dude date to spy on Phillip, the secret child of the Hapstall twins’ racist aunt. Thing is, Phillip’s been spying on both of them via webcam, so he knows he’s being set up. Instead of meeting Connor at the coffee shop, Phillip follows Ollie home and utters the line that will haunt us all week: “How’s your night going?” …oh god ! my heart skipped a beat !.
A very drunk Bonnie attempts to stand up against Annalise after realizing Annalise shared her childhood sexual abuse with Asher. Things get very heated. Example Annalise line: “You killed a girl in my basement and put a plastic bag over her head.” Example Bonnie line: “You don’t know how to love anyone.” There’s a lot to unpack here, but essentially Annalise insists she LOVES Bonnie because she’s keeping her out of a jail cell, and Bonnie HATES Annalise for having pinched her entire existence into a tiny dark box that Annalise controls with her thumbs. “I want you to die,”
Wes is originally assigned to the case of the week, but then he gets reshuffled to keep tabs on the Nia Lahey murder case, where Nate is casually being framed for a second murder tied to Annalise. He watches the case unfold and reports back to Annalise when he suspects that Eve has thrown the case. In the end, Eve and Wes share a quick moment outside of the courtroom when Eve realizes that the person Annalise has been protecting all along has been Wes. Annalise tries to rebuff her questions, but finally gives up and says, “He’s not some student. It’s him.” HIM. It sounds like someone might be admitting to a smidgen of motherhood
Pretty simple episode this week with not many details, right? Wrong. Where did Oliver go? Could Annalise really be Wes’ mom? Was Annalise making a really passé joke about trophy Millennials by offering Laurel the trophy? So many unanswered questions and so few episodes left until we find out who shot Annalise.
How To Get Away With Murder – S02xEp06 – ‘Two Birds, One Millstone’
‘Two Birds, One Millstone,’ leaves you dizzy with the plot getting murkier than the previous one! Everyone is a suspect now for putting a bullet in Annalise. Including ever reliable Frank and new member of the ‘I-have-a-terrible-secret-and-Annalise-will-protect-me’ clan Asher.
Let’s start with the ending: The show giving us a huge fake-out when it comes to Rebecca’s body, only to discover instead at the end that the body found by the K-9 unit was actually Katherine,the remaining sibling not accounted for in the flash-forward. Annalise is still hiding the truth about Rebecca from Wes, but she probably feels as though there is no other way. She’s in now far too deep. The same goes now for Ollie given how he’s gotten himself involved in another potential connection here in Philip, a man he is tracking extensively.
this episode includes a transgender woman who kills her husband in self-defense. Her story weaves in commentary on trans issues—namely the fact that law enforcement officials are unlikely to believe trans women who act in self-defense—organically. How To Get Away With Murder has always done an excellent job of tackling issues like homophobia, sexism, racism, and transphobia within its stories in a very natural way that more closely resembles real life than when a show tries too hard to make a point.
Jill: I don’t blame myself. A good person would cry for him right now. Grieve. But I can’t. I let him win for far too long. And I believed him when he said he was the only one who could ever love me. I’m so glad he’s dead, Annalise.
Annalise: I’m glad Sam’s dead, too. He wasn’t the man everyone thought he was either, but I stayed. Who the hell knows why. It’s okay. You’re free. You finally get to be the woman you really are.
The case of the siblings accused of murder has been ramping up heavily over the past couple of weeks, and that continues in a huge way here as we approach the fast forwards. There were a lot of things that very obviously needed to happen for everything to start lining up, and it was starting to seem that there wouldn’t be enough time for all of that to take place. Luckily, though, the HTGAWM writers know exactly what they’re doing, and pieces moved around the chessboard in ways that I could have never expected.
How to Get away with Murder – S02xEp05 –
With Bonnie lying to Asher and confessing to Sam’s murder, she finally brought Asher into the fold. He may not know the whole truth, but at least he’s not completely on the outside looking in anymore. Even though his relationship with Bonnie was incredibly strange, it was clear that these two had feelings for one another. That’s why it was honestly heartbreaking to watch Bonnie lie to him over and over again.
Asher: When you came over and we…that was just for your alibi, right?
Bonnie: Yes. That’s just how we started, it’s not at all how I feel about you now.
From her side Annalise comes clean to Nate about her meeting with his wife. She shares with him that she was asked to obtain pills that would allow her to kill herself, but declined to get them. She also discloses to him new information about Sam’s death, pinning it on Bonnie (Liza Wiel) and claiming Sam tried to rape her. Nate is hurt when Annalise claims Sam was killed trying to protect Bonnie as he feels she did nothing to protect him.
Since the last episode, Connor has given up and has become suspicious of everything Annalise does. He is day drinking and wants to have a wager with Laurel to see who can bring Michaela to orgasm first. To rephrase the words of Annalise Keating, he is not the guy who first got the trophy.
Laurel finally sleeps with Frank. And instead of drowning herself in day beer, if she is going to prison, she wants to go with a bang. I guess Laurel was the buffer in this episode. Apart from this, the wager with Connor, and catching Wes, her story is still the same.
The end of the episode certainly showed that they are willing to turn on each other, given that Asher ran from Bonnie as soon as he had a chance to in the flash-forward, and promptly went to the police to deliver a statement. Yes, that is Asher: Always out first and foremost for himself when the going gets tough. Bonnie has blood all over her shirt, so if there is a way to set her up for some sort of crime, he’s got ample opportunity.
How to get away with Murder – S02xEp04 – Shanks get Shanked
Is there anyone left on Team Annalise? Was anyone ever on it? While her brand of tough love and extremely unsympathetic demeanor has always made her someone to be feared, she always seemed to get respect from those around her. And while she may still get that from the Frank and Bonnie’s of the world, her students have effectively bailed on her.
With a title like “Skanks Get Shanked”, this week’s episode of How to Get Away with Murder was sure to include some burning at the stake. As Team Keating find themselves dealing with a case of brutal murder within a clique of teenage girls, Annalise continues to feel that the team begins turning against her. With Wes already conspiring with Nate to uncover Annalise’s involvement in Rebecca’s disappearance, Connor begins to suspect the real intentions of Annalise’s mentorship.
The most engaging scenes in the episode involved the conversations between Annalise and Nia, who doesn’t have the reaction to seeing Annalise one might expect. Heavily debilitated by ovarian cancer, Nia expresses a surprising amount of sympathy to Annalise, saying she admires Annalise’s strength in being able to pursue a man whose wife is dying, despite the depravity of such a course. Even from a hospital bed, Nia manages to keep Annalise cornered and on edge, asking her if she loves Nate. When Annalise refuses to answer, Nia says it’s okay if she does. In fact, she needs Annalise to love Nate when she’s gone. She then drops the bombshell: asking Annalise to help her commit suicide by obtaining some pills for her.
There was also Bonnie claiming that she killed Sam Keating as a way to cool off Asher’s jets. To keep the focus off of him and his own mysterious history, he was willing to make a deal with would put more of the spotlight on Nate once again. Asher is a snake. That’s part of the reason we like him. However, snakes cannot fully win; if they did, would they really be that exciting.
How to get away with Murder – S02xEp03 – It’s Called the Octopus
The Utopia Circle murder case was actually a let down. Beneath the sexy veneer, it was basically the same case as the pilot episode featured: woman falls in love with a married guy who won’t leave his wife, uses her intimate knowledge of his medical history to kill him, and Annalise gets her off by presenting the wife as a viable suspect, introducing reasonable doubt. But I loved how the writers interwove them for maximum comedic effect. Also, the guy with the hot dog was just the best.
As heated an episode as this is, however, it also has its moments of frost. More so than before, Annalise is openly showing bitterness towards her clients. Learning that Tanya actually did kill her client by feeding him nitroglycerine (which can induce a heart attack when taken with Viagra) out of her love for him, Annalise dismisses Tanya’s claims that she was slut-shamed due to the nature of her job. “You claim to be free and modern,” she chides. “But you’re really just selfish. Alone and sad and afraid to put up with it like the rest of us. And the worst part is you give those of us who really like sex a bad name.” Annalise’s sexuality has proven to be one of her most interesting characteristics, and the parameters of it are still not exactly clear (we know she’s at least bisexual).
Michaela is embarrassed that she never had an orgasm because she was in a relationship with a gay man. This blinds her judgement and now she is in the sack with Levi who suspects that Michaela is involved in the disappearance of Rebecca. This is what I find hard to digest. Michaela was the one fretting over that tiny SOS call from Rebecca for that last episode of season 1 and a good part of beginning of season 2. But one mention of sex and her rationality is gone
The most intriguing thing about the Hapstall’s right now is Emily Sinclair. I’m still a little confused why she would be appointed to their case after bombing Nate’s indictment, but that’s neither here nor there. What does she have on Asher, and how does she have it? I have a feeling that whatever those answers are, they’re directly related to how she ends up dead at the Hapstall mansion.
The flashforwards are definitely working a lot better this season than last, mainly because there’s more at stake here than there was for Sam’s murder. The first season drew out Sam’s murder and its coverup for so long, and it was hard to care, because it was hard to care about Sam. He was a monster, and there was just no real reason to be emotionally invested in a lot of the show’s major reveals. But here in season two, the flashforwards provide plenty to invest in by placing Annalise’s life in danger. One could certainly argue that the stakes are lower in the sense that the chances of Annalise dying are extremely thin. But even just the fact that she comes close to dying is easier to get invested in than Sam’s murder.
How To Get Away With Murder – S02xEp02 – She’s Dying
The episode’s plot involves the Keating Team addressing the latest bump in the new case: the aunt of the accused siblings, and the only eyewitness in their trial, has been murdered. Additionally, the police manage to find the blood of the murdered aunt in the sister’s car, leading the team frantically trying to figure out how to get the blood removed from evidence.
Annalise is trying to concentrate on work while being a target for Emily Sinclair, the prosecutor on Nate’s case. Sinclair makes it clear with her questioning that she believes Annalise killed her husband. Viola Davis displays her amazing acting chops with an amazing performance during this particular scene. You can see that the experience has taken its toll on her when she breaks down in the women’s bathroom.
This pain is only made worse when Eve takes the floor and further condemns Annalise, this time for framing Nate for the crime – a secret Annalise confessed to Eve in last week’s episode – even though both Annalise and Eve know that skewing the intentions of the case is the only way to save Nate. The judge ultimately decides that because she can’t tell “who’s on trial,” Emily has to re-frame her case before they can proceed to a proper trial. Between Emily and Eve’s eviscerations of her character, Annalise can’t help but feel she’s under a microscope while on the stand.
Bonnie is still trying to get back in Annalise’s good graces after she found out that she killed Rebecca. An interaction between the two shows the mother-daughter type relationship going on here. Bonnie is indebted to Annalise and wanted to take care of her the same way she did for her. I’m sure down the line we will get some more Bonnie back story.
The episode has a particular focus on hurt and betrayal. Oliver lashes out at Connor for revealing to the rest of the Keating Five that Oliver is HIV-positive. Connor later reveals that because he’s hurt Oliver, it’s only fair that Oliver hurt him back by telling him how he got HIV in the first place. Oliver reveals that after he discovered Connor had cheated on him, during one of Connor’s many attempts to extract information for Annalise, he was so pained that he went out one night to rebound, and ended up hooking up with a stranger at a bar. Connor, realizing Oliver’s diagnosis is partially his fault, is shattered.
Laurel comes to see Frank get her some. However, Frank doesn’t want to be treated like a piece of meat. He is not that type of guy…anymore I guess. Meanwhile Wes goes home to find Rebecca’s stuff outside her apartment. He takes one particular picture for a memento, which includes a new character named Levi. This guy met Michaela and Connor at the courthouse earlier in the day. Of course, Michaela actually goes on a date with him. So now we have a connection.
In an episode of emotional moments, however, the most moving proves to be Eve and Annalise’s continuing, painful reunion. After Nate’s case is dismissed, Eve pays Annalise a visit, during which Annalise finally lashes out at Eve for eviscerating her in court, heartbroken that she would treat her in such a way. The two finally confront the feelings they’d been trying to avoid, as Eve admits that even after years apart, she’s still in love with Annalise.
How to get away with murder – S02xEp01 – It’s Time to Move On
Let’s touch on the case first because it wasn’t a one and done deal like we’ve been used to. Caleb and Catherine are adopted siblings accused of murdering their wealthy parents. After getting their lawyer to mess up in court as only Annalise and company could mastermind, the siblings finally hired Annalise as their lawyer.
How to get away with murder – S01xEp14-15 ( The night Lila Died – It’s All my Fault )
It’s the last Lesson of the season and it’s on what to do when you know your client really is a murderer. It’s one of the most interesting side cases the show had but it was hard to concentrate on that when everything else was just so much more intriguing. It didn’t get the attention it deserved. Father Andrew who killed another clergyman when he discovered he had been abusing a boy who killed himself, The client feels no remorse. He killed the man because he knew if he didn’t, more young boys would get hurt. Ultimately, he pleads guilty, but for a while there, Annalise had to try to prove he’s innocent when she knows he isn’t. Her advice: Lie to yourself. Tell yourself whatever makes the most sense to you. You tell yourself what you need to believe, you repeat it over and over again until you’re convinced, you move forward to whatever obstacle comes next.
“Annalise: I humiliated myself in court for you Father, you do not get to lie to me.
Father Andrew: Brian and I spent considerable time together. The dark room had became a place where he felt safe enough to tell me, his friend, what was troubling him. That he was being abused by someone. Shortly after his death, I came to learn that person was Father Bernard. That’s why I killed him. And I’d do it again”
That same advice she repeats to Wes when he breaks down on her lap at the end of the season, thinking that everything is actually his fault. Annalise tells him they have to believe Sam killed Lila. Even if it isn’t the truth, it’s what they have to tell themselves. She makes weepy Wes repeat the words like a mantra, “Sam killed Lila. Sam killed Lila. Sam killed Lila.” I still can’t tell if Annalise wants to be Wes’ mother or his lover — and these mixed feelings about it were the most disturbing thing all through the 1st season.
Wes, who was basically busy trying to prove that Rebecca may have killed Lila ( since the previous episode ), by retracing steps, looking at police records and re-reading statements, until Wes became pretty convinced that Rebecca was Lila’s killer. When he brought it up to the group everyone was understandably pissed and they went right to Rebecca to get her side of the story.
“No! Do not look at him. You ruined our lives, don’t you get that? I was supposed to be getting married and I’m not anymore. Aiden called off the wedding because of you. You dragged us into the horror show that is your life and now we’re all screwed forever. So you’re going to tell us the truth. Every horrible secret about that night that you haven’t told anyone. Or I swear to God, I will personally destroy you. Tell us the damn truth, Rebecca. Did you or did you not kill Lila?”-Michaela
Michaela’s scene when she meets her almost-mother-in-law for dinner was definitely so good on so many levels . Although Michaela’s Aidan storyline was kind of boring and I rolled my eyes up everytime she mentionned her wedding plans, Her attitude and the way she handled that dinner, tip-toeing around it, and then making it clear to his mother that she’s not interested in being anyone’s puppet, just when we couldn’t wait anymore for her to do so…was so freeing!
Rebecca refused to cooperate even after Annalise showed up, so she got transported back to the Keating residence- “We’re not monsters! We don’t tie people up and hold them captive against their will!” says Annalise.- Right ??!?!
But Rebecca, dealing with the situation, confused our mind with some conspiracy theory: That Wes could be actually the one. I have to agree that she almost made a point about it, and played on our nerves.She was also able to reach Michaela’s phone and texts “EGGS 911. Lawyer’s House” to an unknown number — Which gets her taped to a chair.
Well the fact is that, in the end, Rebecca winds up dead in Annalise’s basement — and the only two people who don’t seem especially surprised are Annalise and Frank, each of whom casually claims they thought the other one did it. Was Rebecca’s body moved/hidden when the Keating Four went down to the basement to look for her and realized she’d “escaped”? Or was she dead underneath the stairs the whole time — without them knowing it?
We also learn it was Frank who choked the life out of Lila Stangard on her sorority rooftop, working on direct orders from Sam and who apparently owed him a favor. So to review: Frank did it. Sam ordered it. Both guilty.
Oliver is HIV positive. Connor is not…and that information didn’t seem like a major reveal, mainly because the timing of the revelation wasn’t adequate ,still, it devastates. I just hope the writers don’t just use this as a way to humanize Connor.
Laurel had Michaela’s ring the entire time. Not that we really care now, But I think it was necessary to tie all ends.
Annalise orders a beat-down in jail, hoping it would give a bail hearing to Nate, who instead winds up in solitary. So Frank and Bonnie use Asher — getting him photographed with the judge on Nate’s case — to get a new lawyer. Out on bail (though badly bruised) he calls the mystery number suggested by Annalise.
Other Quotes:
Season of Bloom 