We’ve come a long way with this season’s How to Get Away with Murder. We have lots of sex, lots of deception and lots of wang on iPhones. Thursday was the 2 hour season finale, so let’s hit the books, shall we?
Part I
I Have Such Doubts!
Annalise takes on the case of Father Andrew, a pious man accused of murdering a fellow priest in a church with an incense burner (sheesh, how many Hail Marys for that?). Father Andrew is played by none other than Tom Everett Scott, a guy who never reached Tiger Beat heartthrob status. Is he on trial for his participation in Dead Man on Campus? Nah, just murder. Originally, Father Andrew pleads not guilty, but he later admits that he indeed killed Father Bernard because he discovered that Bernard was molesting a young man that eventually committed suicide.
This weekly court case is interesting for two reasons. On one hand, it raises some questions about faith and the law. But more importantly, this is the second time we have Viola Davis stealing the spotlight when it comes to a plot concerning possible pedophile priests. I kind of wish Annalise would have sported a pink suit in one of the scenes in honor of her Doubt performance. When Annalise puts Agnes on the stand (the woman Andrew is forbidden to love) to lie and say they were being intimate at the time of Father Bernard’s murder, he confesses that he committed the crime in a nice, dramatic gesture worthy of John Patrick Shanley.
Annalise Keating, Puppet Master
Annalise uses a lot of pull in this episode (perhaps she does every week, but I really noticed it this time around) to get what she wants. She first asks Frank to use his “connections” in prison to get the living shit beat out of Nate. Annalise hopes it will get Nate out of prison, but he gets sent to solitary instead. If that’s now bad enough, Frank sends Asher over to the judge working the case, because she happens to be running Nate’s as well. Frank takes pictures and sends them to the DA who confronts the judge. She is taken off of Nate’s case immediately.
Honesty is the Best Policy
Laurel and Wes have been running through the events of Murder Night over and over. He steals a file from Annalise’s office and discovers that a witness placed Rebecca at the sorority house on the night of Lila’s murder even though she told everyone that she never went back. Welcome to everyone’s favorite pastime: Fast forwarding! Seriously, I don’t know how America’s Funniest Home Videos doesn’t get a serious revival from How to Get Away with Murder.
Wes comes up with a plan: simply ask Rebecca if she killed Lila. It’s that easy, no? Does this bonehead really think that would work? Of course he does. Wes and Rebecca have shared everything with each other, but everyone else thinks she will freak out. When they confront her and demand a confession, Rebecca reveals that she knows the identity of the policeman who saw them exiting Annalise’s house with the Sam body burrito (remember that…allllll the way in the first episode?) What do they do? The most reasonable thing they can think of: duct tape Rebecca’s mouth shut and tie her up until they formulate a better plan.
Part II
Let’s Put on Trial!
When you are attending a prestigious law program and get involved in a murder plot, you do 2 things: make incredibly rash decisions and call Annalise Keating. Rebecca is almost hogtied in the basement, and Viola Davis looks at everyone like she walked into a remake of Prisoners. Instead of a whiney Paul Dano with duct tape over his mouth, we have a sinister goth chick.
By this point, Annalise is through with everyone’s bull, and she instructs the law students to make their case as to why/how Rebecca could be responsible for Lila’s murder. It’s How to Get Away with Murder’s most Saved by the Bell moment to date. After a bunch of editing and monologue-ing, Annalise isn’t pleased with everyone’s cases. Perhaps this group should do a little less murderin’ and a lot more studyin’.
Oh Yeah, They Have Lives Too
HTGAWM can’t just be all gasps and penises on dead sorority girls’ phones (it should, but it isn’t), so they have to pad it with some, you know, actual human interaction that doesn’t involve muhrduhr. Both Basher and Coliver move forward in their relationships. Everyone finds out about Bonnie and Asher sneaking around (probably not in the best way, admittedly) and Connor and Oliver go to get STD testing done together. Aiden’s mom returns to apologize to Michaela, and the only thing I got out of that scene was that Michaela outed Aiden. I momentarily thought that Lynn Whitfield’s eyebrows could have been responsible for Lila’s murder, but that was just the crazy anticipation mounting.
Annalise’s odd/complicated/totally messed up/therapist’s wet dream relationship with Nate gets even more interesting when she lies to the new prosecutor and states that a drunken Sam got into a physical fight with Nate on the night of Sam’s murder.
Who Killed Lila! Who Killed Lila! Who Killed Lila!?!?!?!??!
Ok, ok, ok! Let’s just right down to the juicy business, shall we?
Rebecca admits that she gave poor, innocent Rudy drugs in order to haze his memory of her coming back dripping wet (we’ll get to that!). He freaks out, claws the walls, and that poor landlord has to scrub his blood off the walls as Rudy is carted off to a loony bin. Why is Rebecca wet? She admits that she spent time in the water tank hiding from voices she heard coming up onto the roof after she found Lila’s body.
For a while, we all thought (you know, all of us in Shondaland) assumed that Sam killed Lila. He tells her on the roof that he doesn’t love Annalise anymore, and he wants to call her before they proceed with their relationship. He leaves, and calls someone to “take care of what we talked about.” So who killed Lila?! In the most dramatic camera swivel of the season, we discover that Frank is the one that strangled Lila on the roof and threw her body into the water tank. We see several key phrases from the season that would have been easy indicators that Frank was responsible.
“Doesn’t It Feel Better?”
You think that’s it? You think that’s all HTGAWM has got in store for you? A reveal promised to us for weeks is nothing to what it has in store! Annalise finishes comforting Wes who is concerned over Rebecca fleeing the house, and she immediately goes down into the basement to meet Frank. Not only do we find out that he killed Lila, but the final shot is of Rebecca, dead amongst the boxes. Who killed her? We have all been pondering how the show would continue after the first season, and this is our answer.
Can I get two OMGs from the crowd, please? OMG! OMG!