How To Get Away With Murder 2×02 – She’s Dying

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been enjoying the heck out of this season so far. It’s no longer messy and disjointed, and the characters are finally becoming likable with every passing episode.

This week, I finally realized that Michaela, Connor and Oliver are very likable people. Forget the Connor/Oliver drama which was a little annoying and contrived— Connor is an ass for randomly telling Asher about Oliver’s HIV—the scene where these three people sit back and calmly hack into the Philly police database while discussing how big of an ass Connor was is a great way for the show to give us some lighthearted moments amidst all the drama. I even appreciated the way Connor was pushing Michaela to go out on a date with a guy—who may or may not be Eggs911—because, really, this show was missing this sense of friendship. It was fun, easy and entertaining.

There’s still the fact that the writers don’t exactly know what to do with Wes, Laurel, Asher, Frank and Bonnie, but that’s largely because this is a large cast and it is sometimes difficult to cram everyone into a solid storyline. That’s why Frank rejecting Laurel was brilliantly hilarious rather than sad and annoying; someone needed to tell that girl to find something better to do than show up at her boss’s door every night. And Bonnie and Annalise’s screaming match was mysterious and compelling rather than confusing and awkward, as their scenes often were in season one. We still don’t know why Bonnie owes Annalise or how these two even met, but it doesn’t matter right now because the show isn’t playing around anymore. The absence of the weekly cases has done everyone a favor, most importantly us the audience.

It’s almost a shame to be this meticulous into an episode like this without mentioning Annalise and Eve, or Viola Davis and Famke Janssen’s FANTASTIC performances. Davis continues to prove that her recent Emmy win was very much deserved after a nail-biting tough performance in the courtroom followed by a vulnerable one in the bathroom stall. And to top it all off, the show gave us another incredibly moving Annalise/Eve scene that’s easily the highlight of this hour. It’s quite shocking how quickly attached I’ve gotten to a character we just recently met, and it’ll be a huge loss if these two aren’t the endgame couple. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Eve because her presence is truly electrifying.

And then that cliffhanger! We’ve gotten used to our fair amount of shocks on this show, but the image of Wes, Laurel, Connor and Michaela running out of the mansion leaving an injured Annalise on the floor was such a jaw-dropping WTF moment. I love the twists and turns more than anything else, but this was certainly one of my favorite cliffhangers on this show. Especially when it closed out with the shot of Emily Sinclair, the evil prosecutor, dead outside. It’s the kind of “what the hell is going on” and “why the hell is this so entertaining” twist that makes HTGAWM one of the most exciting shows on the air right now.

Sneaky Courtroom Bits

– Both Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder put their female leads in the spotlight this week (Olivia Pope on the news nationwide, Annalise Keating on the stand in a courtroom) and BOTH of them worked on another case on the side. I definitely think Murder did it better though.

– I loved the development in the Nate case even if it got a little complicated with every passing second. It’s going to be interesting to see how Annalise and Sinclair bite each other’s heads off in the next few episodes and how they both end up almost dead in the mansion.

– Finally, Wes is helpful. Using his puppy eyes to get answers out of Catherine was a clever move.

– Did Annalise tell Frank that Bonnie killed Rebecca or did he come onto this revelation on his own? Maybe the show told us and I missed it with all the billion things happening at the same time.

– Loving how fast-paced this season is. Who would’ve thought we’d get this amount of answers so soon? I mean, that guy Levi has to be Eggs911, right?

– An angry Annalise at the courtroom is a terrifying thing to watch. But man is it compelling.

– Seriously, Asher really is an idiot, right?

– Liza Weil doesn’t often get credited for her performance (for lack of great ones), but Bonnie’s screaming match with Annalise (found below) is a thing of beauty. You really feel these characters’ history, despite how vague it is so far.

– Famke Janssen, don’t be gone too long, I beg you.

Amusing Keating One-Liners

Michaela: He wasn’t my type.
Oliver: What’s your type?
Connor: Gay.

Annalise: It’s always gonna be like this with you, isn’t it? You stay the little girl lost while I play the mommy, always there to clean up your mess.
Bonnie: Do you want me to go? Quit? I will if that’ll make you happier.
Annalise: You see? Every decision rests on me.
Bonnie: Isn’t that how you want it?
Annalise: No! No! I can’t trust you to do anything yourself!
Bonnie: Because you don’t let me! You say you want me to be like you, but you don’t. Not really. You want me like this so that I don’t forget what I owe you. Well, I don’t forget, Annalise. Ever. And maybe you’ll never believe me, but what I did…Rebecca…it was for you. To take care of you, the same way you took care of me.
Annalise: I didn’t take care of you. I ruined you.
Bonnie: No, you saved me.
Annalise: No, I didn’t. And the worst part is, is that you still think that I did. No, you needed to be saved from me. And that’s what you all need. So maybe today was a good thing, you know? Lock me up. That way, you can all finally be safe.

Annalise: It was good with you. And real. Too real. So I got scared and I left. But you’re the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.

Conclusion
A fantastic follow-up to last week’s stellar premiere.

Chris Rating
A-