Previously: Rebecca figures out that Dr. Keating is the penis on the dead girl’s phone.
–
Freakin’ Whack-a-Mole
Marines: Improbable bonfire. We cut immediately to Asher, so the improbable bonfire was just to (a) – establish that we are in the future and (b) – keep the bonfire episode opener going on forever. Asher is in his Twlight-movie-blue-filtered apartment dancing around, throwing money, drinking, gyrating, and generally being a lot more carefree than his Dumbledore’s Army counterparts in this uncertain future. He’s mid-thrusting on the couch when he gets a phone call from someone named Alicia. He wants to go to the bonfire because he has the Murder Weapon Trophy and doesn’t have to study. Except he just realizes that Murder Weapon Trophy is gone.
Democracy Diva: This is the best non-Analise scene of the entire series thusfar. I’m not going to pretend I’m not #gifstaring at that last one.
Sweeney: Cosign on this entire comment.
Mari: Cut to Asher banging on the door of 12 Grimmauld Place, demanding his trophy back. Dr. Keating is dead. The rest of the DA duck and hide. Laurel suggests letting him in so that he’ll suddenly become part of the murder. Connor thinks Papa Asher might even be able to help them beat the charges. Wes is adamantly against involving the one dude who wasn’t involved with the murder. (D: Hilarious, because most of these people will run to their significant others still covered in Dr. Keating’s blood. But involving other people is bad!) Suddenly, things go quiet. Connor leaves. Michaela stands and in the most put together moment we’ve seen from her, says that she text Asher to tell him that she was at the library.
Past. The trophy is hanging out on an empty desk. Annalise walks in and writes “habeas corpus” on the board and asks how it applies to some case. (D: They don’t know, because habeas corpus is taught in Constitutional Law.) (S: A class she told them to ignore back in week one.) She looks at the empty desk with a lot of feelings and that takes us even further in the past to the end of last episode, Wes saying that Dr. Keating is Mr. Darcy. Annalise starts to deny it, but Wes shuts that down and says that she’s disgusting. He turns and leaves, as Annalise frantically yells at his retreating figure.
Cut back to classroom where things are starting to get awkward since Annalise is still just staring at Wes’ desk. Michaela stands and answers the question, presumably to cut the tension. Annalise snaps back and asks the next habeas corpus question which I hope isn’t too relevant to the plot. Paris Gellar runs in and urgently whispers something in Annalise’s ear. She dismisses the class but tells the “Keating Five” (lame. Read our blog, girl) (D: Exactly what my notes say) to stick around. Annalise is making a call, while in the background, the rest of the DA wonder where Wes is and what that means for the trophy. Annalise hangs up and tells the DA that they have a new case-of-the-week: 21 years ago, when Annalise was a law student, David Allen was convicted, on what she calls circumstantial evidence, of killing his girlfriend. She claims this was the first case that opened her eyes to the fact that the justice system doesn’t always reward those who tell the truth. She grandstands about how angry that makes her and I can’t tell if we’re supposed to take this seriously. Even your tears lie, Annalise Keating. Please don’t make speeches about the truth. (D: I loved this overly dramatic but secretly bullshit speech. It cut to the core of me.) Anyway, they are going to work this appeal. It’s a death row case.
Sweeney: The “isn’t it awful BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE” build up on this was insanely soapy in the best possible way.
Mari: As Annalise exposits all of this, we see her signing in to visit David. He asks what her last meal would be and she tells him about their last appeal. He cries and thanks her and back in the classroom Annalise says very intense things about an actual life being on the line.
MURDER CHALKBOARD.
12 Grimmauld. The DA are reading the transcripts of David’s trial. Laurel notices that the judge was in fact Asher’s father.
Behind closed doors, Sam is pacing, wondering if Wes is at the police station right that second. Annalise tells him that people on TV don’t go to the police (unless they happen to be sleeping with a detective and not even that worked well) and some other crap about Wes being a confused child. Sam says it’s really bad timing for her to have this death row case now and she yells back that when she filed the appeal she didn’t know he was screwing “some white whore.” There is a tense stare down before Paris knocks and lets herself in. Frank called and is ready to go over something. Annalise leaves and Sam stops Paris (calling her “Bon”) and thanks her for putting up with all their crap. Paris looks at him in that super intense way she has and says she does it for Annalise. UH HUH. SURE.
Sam looks really put out, like he just can’t win with any of his women.
Wes answers the door wet and in a towel. The Internet gifed it for you in case you wanted to feel a little weird about this being Dean Thomas:
Maybe you are suddenly over that.
Diva: I for one welcome the blatant objectification of Dean Thomas’s delicious abs.
Mari: We are only human.
Annalise brings over the Murder Weapon Trophy and tells Wes about the appeal they are working while Dean ducks into the bathroom to put some clothes on. He comes back out and he’s got a shirt on, but not buttoned, and he’s still damp. Who puts clothes on while damp? Whoever just dropped in on me unannounced can wait an extra few seconds while I towel off.
Sweeney: This bothered me tremendously too and I’m relieved that I was not alone. His shirt must be so uncomfortable now.
Mari: It’s going to be damp for entirely way too long.
Wes sees the trophy and tells Annalise he doesn’t want it. She asks what he does want as she casually sits on his bed. He tells her to cut the crap. He wrote down everything he knows about the case and has another copy in a safe deposit box. One phone call and it gets sent to the police, unless she manages to bring Rebecca back. She asks if he’s in love with her or something and why exactly he’s investing so much blind faith into a girl he doesn’t know. It’s a Very Good Question, girl. I hope the show is prepared to provide better reasons than, “because.” Unless, the reason is supposed to truly be that it’s the right thing to do and I don’t see that because I’m a horrible person. I don’t know what’s going on here.
Diva: Me neither. But I have a feeling I’m Team Horrible Person too.
Mari: At least there’s a team.
Annalise says that protecting her husband and defending Rebecca are not mutually exclusive. Wes wants her to prove it by bringing Rebecca back.
Commercials. I’m not sure what Sprout by HP is, but apparently I can spill coffee beans on it and create a flyer.
After the break, Laurel is in the kitchen making some coffee. Frank comes in and they dance-flirt-pour-coffee around each other, while she says they’ll never kiss again. The audience knows that’s a lie. Paris enters on her wave of snark and Laurel takes that as her cue to leave. Frank follows, but Paris calls him back, since he forgot his cup of coffee on the counter. Paris is good. I probably just would’ve taken it for myself (to save two seconds of effort) and missed a prime moment there. (D: Also because coffee is the nectar of the gods. Throw in a bagel and I’m golden.)
Annalise walks in with Wes and tells the DA to get him up to speed. Asher asks if she knew that his father presided over the original case and he gets a door slammed in his face as an answer, when really, a “yes” or “no” would’ve been okay. Michaela asks if Wes is contagious, and Connor says it depends on if lying is contagious. Laurel thinks they are all jealous because if they missed class, Annalise wouldn’t care. They do not have key penis-knowledge, you see.
Annalise next tells Frank that “the puppy” is acting up and Frank is to find but not make contact with Rebecca. He’s holding that cup of coffee he probably isn’t going to drink. She exits her office again and tells everyone there will be no sleeping until they win. I couldn’t be a lawyer because I can’t win unless I sleep. (D: It’s certainly good advice for law school. LESSON 1: THERE IS NO SLEEP.) (S: This was also distressing. HOW WILL THEY ALL BE TV FLAWLESS AND FUNCTIONAL COME MORNING?) She assigns Laurel and Wes to go talk to David’s original counsel.
We cut there and Original Counsel says the case was unwinable and leaves Laurel and Wes with two words of advice: corporate law.
Connor and Michaela are assigned visiting ADA Vince Travers who left the case mid-trial. Annalise wants to know why. We cut there and Travers says it was just burnout. Connor makes YEAH OKAY face. Michaela is busy typing something on her phone.
Paris Gellar is assigned the eyewitness to see if she saw anyone else who might be a suspect. Asher volunteers to join her. Cut to them questioning her. She doesn’t remember seeing anyone else, though she’s tried to push the memory out of her head. Asher notices that she’s wearing glasses, but Eye Witness says she didn’t need them until a few years ago. She’s sure she saw David with the gun.
Back with Connor and Michaela, she’s all done with her Googling and it seems that Travers took on more cases during the time he claimed to be “relaxing.”
And now back at 12 Grimmauld, Michaela tells Annalise that Travers admitted that he was tipped off to there being perjured testimony in the case. Things get a little awkward as she tells Annalise that Travers sent word to Judge Papa Asher who did nothing about it. Travers was reassigned. He thought there was pressure to convict, perhaps even racially motivated pressure. Asher jumps up to defend his dad, but Annalise says that Papa Asher is the new target. Asher storms out.
Murdery Future. The DA has the body in the car and they plan to stop at a gas station. Of course, crossing the street just in front of them, is Asher. Thankfully, he’s too distracted by some girl wanting to come over to his place. Connor proclaims that this whole situation is “freakin’ whack-a-mole,” and he’s been earning the stupidest-best title starts so far. I mean, this and “smile or go to jail?” You are a Title Star star, sir.
Sweeney: He also got “Let’s Get to Scooping” making him a true champion in the star-earning category. This is his third star in six episodes! Extra champ since he snagged it right out from under Michaela and Asher in their BFD episodes. Well done! You don’t need the stupid trophy anyway, Connor.
Mari: It doesn’t glitter like our star, and our star never killed anyone.
Past. Asher lets curiosity get the best of him and heads to his father’s place. He’s caught by the house maid snooping in his father’s study. She’s black, which is only significant because he was defending his white privilege earlier. He lies about looking for some book and she leaves him to it. Asher starts looking at Papa Asher’s really fancy, encyclopedia looking journals. Do all lawyers get these, Diva? Can you send me some? (D: I use yellow legal pads because I’m underemployed.) (M: The struggle is real.) Anyway, Asher sees something in the book and looks thoughtful.
Analise visits David in prison again and he tells her about Jason Watkins, his alibi for the time of the murder. It was a kid in his volunteer program who had an interview and no clothes. He met Jason at his apartment and hung out there with him until 8. When David went back to his girlfriend’s apartment, police cars were already on the scene.
12 Grimmauld. Connor and Michaela snit at each other. Annalise arrives so they shut up and fill her in on the fact that Papa Asher appears squeaky clean. She tells them to keep looking.
Wes wants to talk about Rebecca, but ain’t nobody got time for that. Paris, meanwhile, has found Jason Watkins, but also he’s dead. Annalise sits in her office and emotes silently, flipping through Rebecca’s files as she cries. (S: They read our script notes!) She picks up the file on Griffin, Dead Girl’s boyfriend. Later, she tells Frank she needs him to do something else, just between them. She hands him an envelope.
Asher is playing video games with his dad that night and brings up the David Allen case. His father doesn’t seem too interested in discussing it, so Asher comes right out and asks if Travers came to him with the perjury thing. See, the summer after the case, he received his federal appointment, despite being an underdog for the job. Papa Asher asks totally guilty questions like, “where’d you get an idea like that?” Asher begs his father to tell him he’s wrong. Papa Asher cannot and instead kicks his son out of the house.
After a commercial break, Asher’s back at HQ. He says he’ll tell Annalise what he knows on two conditions: (1) – his father is left out of it and (2) – he gets the trophy. She agrees to both if his information is good.
Sweeney: Annalise tries not to laugh at the absurdity of the second request, and it’s great:
Mari: Cut to Annalise and Paris tag-teaming to exposit this information to the rest of the team. They don’t know who falsely testified, but they did it to satisfy Senator Art Trucco. We head into a montage of the DA all working on the Trucco lead with music and many pots of coffee. Finally, everyone but Laurel is asleep. She sees Frank leaving at a very early hour. She follows after him and tries to get information about Rebecca out of him by batting her eyelashes. Frank calls it a nice try and leaves.
Unfortunately, Paris Gellar saw it all and she has a few stern words for Laurel. Mostly, just to stop leading Frank on since rich girls like her don’t end up with
shape-shifting demi-gods
guys like him. (D: A+) Her final blow is to say she would hate for Annalise to find out Laurel is screwing with someone she considers family. Laurel and her very straight and strangely lovely eyebrows can only stare and say nothing.
Prison. David Allen knows Senator Trucco because he owned a bunch of property in Fairmont. They were trying to raise rent to get poor (black) people to move out. David’s girlfriend was leading the anti-development movement.
12 Grimmauld. Wes is trying to nap but Connor is watching him. Connor wants to know if Wes is sleeping with Rebecca. Laurel sticks up for Wes, which is becoming a thing and makes me like a future Wes/Laurel pairing or BROTP way, way more than anything with Rebecca. (S: +1) Dumb Rebecca. Wes snaps when Asher makes a smart comment on account of his corrupt father. Everyone jumps on that train, riling Asher up so much that he comes charging at Connor, but trips on a bunch of boxes. No one really reacts, but Connor looks down at him calmly and says that was the best thing he’s seen in days. I bwa-ha’d, not at the tripping, but at that line.
Annalise comes in at that moment and starts yelling at them, but thankfully, Asher tripped over a really important box of files, which really cheapens that little comedic moment. One of the papers has a logo he recognizes from when they visited Eye Witness. She lives in a building owned by Trucco so she’s probably the liar.
Court. Annalise is preparing herself when Frank comes to tell her that they are “all set” on the other thing. She thanks him. Frank notes to Paris that Annalise seems nervous, which, duh. David enters the court along with some Extended Notes of Both Suspense and Feelings. The justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania file in and are officially announced and such. Annalise questions Eye Witness and asks about an eviction notice prior to testifying against David Allen. After her testimony, she was no longer being evicted, though she never paid her rent. Annalise asks her if anyone connected to Trucco bought her testimony and the opposing counsel objects. Annalise stomps over to the judges and says she wants to subpoena Senator Trucco, who happens to be across the street in his cushy corner office.
Senator Trucco is on the stand and it’s very hard to recap how Annalise just goes ham on him. She doesn’t even really ask him questions, just starts accusing him of having Trisha killed so that his development could proceed, uncontested. The opposing counsel is objecting, the judge starts banging his gavel and Annalise just does not care. She keeps yelling about the lives Trucco has destroyed.
Diva: You’re just, like, TOTALLY NOT ALLOWED TO DO THIS. Not in an “oooh, isn’t she daring” way, in a THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN way. In our first-year legal writing and research class, we did oral arguments in front of a panel of professors, all constantly interrupting us with questions and just generally insane comments. Because half the assignment was NEVER INTERRUPT THE JUDGE. I love watching Viola Davis chew the scenery, but I was too busy screaming “COME ON!” at the TV to really take it in.
Sweeney: But also nobody slept. In order to look that good and speechify that well on an all-nighter, I imagine you have to sacrifice a sense or two, like hearing. Or common sense about how your job works. Something like that.
Mari: This all could’ve been different if only there were naps.
The judge threatens to throw Annalise in court if she says another word.
The DA wait anxiously outside of the courtroom. Michaela is in awe. Asher wants to know if it’ll go on their records if she gets disbarred. The correct answer probably is, “you are not a lawyer.”
Diva: That is also true. But they can ban you from taking the bar if you do the kind of shit that they do, like, all the time.
Mari: Good to know!
Back in court, the judge tells Annalise that her conduct was horrible and her argument is all speculation. But, I guess, like good speculation because the judge orders the DA to look into Trucco and Eye Witness. (D: “EVERYTHING YOU DID IS WRONG! Now here’s exactly what you wanted.” I hate this.) Meanwhile, the judge lets David Allen go as a free man. He breaks down in tears and it’s a touching moment until Annalise tells him to let her know what he wants for dinner that night. Too much, show. Too much.
That night, Annalise tells Wes that there’s been a break in Rebecca’s case. The police found new evidence that Griffin killed Lila because she was dating another man. Annalise plays some news footage for Wes. An anonymous tip led police to search Griffin’s car and there they found Lila’s phone. Cut back to Annalise telling Frank to do something for her. The envelope contains Lila’s phone. She asks him to get the source and identifying information cleared from the penis-pic. Back in the present-past, the news report says the phone contained a picture that confirmed an affair Lila was having, breaking her virginity pact with Griffin. I’m not sure the police could/should actually deduce all of that from one penis-pic. (S: Somewhere a fedora is crying because you questioned the power of the almighty dick pic.) Wes asks about her husband and Annalise says that’s her concern. She sends Wes to tell Rebecca to come home. Frank has the address where she’s staying. Annalise reminds Wes that he told her to do, “whatever it takes,” and he pauses to look a little like, “damn. I should’ve thought about those words.”
Laurel drops some papers and Frank comes over to help. She chooses this moment to be all, “GOD FRANK. YOU CAN’T JUST HELP ME PICK UP PAPERS. I’M NOT INTO YOU.” She even threatens to tell Annalise if he keeps picking up papers for her. He gets the message and leaves. Of course, Paris Gellar sees all and saw this. Laurel looks sad.
Wes visits Rebecca and is all, “look! Annalise put forth fake evidence. For you.” Rebecca is a less than thrilled about this and asks how Wes is so okay with it. Wes says it’s because the neighbor he had like 2.5 interactions with previously told him she definitely did not kill some other girl. Rebecca softens because no one has ever believed in her like this before. One has to wonder if she’s ever been accused of murder before and if not, well, that’s why no one has ever believed in her quite like this before.
Diva: Wes’s response to “no one has ever believed in me” was just, “I know.” I guess all the under-eyeliner and murdering tipped him off.
Mari: “No one ever believes someone who does their liner like that.”
Dr. Keating watches the newscast as Annalise casually points out the new wallpaper, the only thing that tied him to the penis-pic. Beside, you know, his penis. He asks why she’s doing all of this for him. Annalise is facing away from him as she says that even after everything he’s done, she needs him. Her face absolutely melts as she repeats it and breaks down and cries. More very nice emoting from Viola Davis. Dr. Keating stands, kisses Viola’s neck and says he loves her too. It’s so chaste, though, which only makes this scene all the more heartbreaking.
There’s a knock on the door. It’s Wes and Rebecca. Annalise invites them in to go over the next steps of her case.
Detective Abs is parked outside of the house. Someone sends him surveillance pictures of Frank, in which he is clearly planting the cell phone in Griffin’s car. For some reason, none of these brilliant people thought about something like “being seen in broad daylight.”
Asher gets home and puts his Murder Weapon Trophy on his shelf. This flashes us forward to the murdery future, with the trophy missing. Asher is going through the Smile or Go To Jail selfies, mumbling about his DA-mates going to the bonfire without him. The camera pans and we see that the girl who wanted to come over is none other than Paris Gellar. Woah. She reminds him that no one can know about them. Her phone rings and she answers. Annalise asks if she’s with Sam. Paris is not and asks what’s up. Annalise says that something terrible has happened. We pan away from her and see that Sam’s body and the pool of blood are gone.
I always had a small suspicion that Annalise would somehow be in on the murder, but it appears that she isn’t. Probably ’cause she has those weird codependency issues.
Here are some great #howtosnark Tweets from this week:
Asher getting ready is my favorite bonfire related scene so far. #howtosnark
— Jessica Smith (@antiscian) November 5, 2014
I’m so confused. The opening of #HowToSnark was just very enjoyable AND I understood what was happening. Aside from the names of course.
— Jessica Babb (@Jessicababb) October 31, 2014
The fact that they keep having all of these explosive, incriminating domestic disputes where EVERYONE can overhear is just… #howtosnark
— Ifeoluwa (@Ifeoluwahan) October 31, 2014
It is a lazy ass plot device, that’s what #MurderDefenseLawOfficeInYourHome #WhereTheyDoThatAt? #howtosnark
— Ifeoluwa (@Ifeoluwahan) October 31, 2014
“The puppy’s acting up.” Best synopsis of this episode yet! #howtosnark
— Jessica Smith (@antiscian) November 5, 2014
The best nine words of this episode: “It’s not only white people who go to Kennebunkport!” #htgawm #howtosnark
— Democracy Diva (@democracydiva) October 31, 2014
Traumateer meetup in #Kennebunkport? It’s not just for white people! #howtosnark
— Mari (@mynameismarines) November 5, 2014
Annalise Keating just be debuting a new bag every scene. I see you Ms Keating #Howtosnark
— Sabirah (@Sabirah0) November 1, 2014
Annalise and Sam have zero chemistry. #HTGAWM #HowToSnark
— Jessica Babb (@Jessicababb) October 31, 2014
Annalise just kind of mouthed “I need you” the way I used to mouth words behind my mom’s back when I was in trouble. #howtosnark
— Mari (@mynameismarines) November 5, 2014
Thank you to everyone for tweeting along! Be sure to join us next week for #howtosnark (even if you’re watching a day or so behind – we’ll keep checking for tweets until the post goes live!)
Next time on How to Get Away With Murder: Annalise yells at Rebecca a lot in S01 E06 – He Deserved to Die.
Marines (all posts)
I'm a 20-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
Sweeney (all posts)
I collect elaborate false eyelashes, panda gifs, and passport stamps. I earned my MA in Global Communications and watching too many YouTube videos. Reconciling my aversion to leaving the house/wearing pants with my deep desire to explore everything is my life's great struggle.
DemocracyDiva (all posts)
I'm a J.D. by day/blogger by night who directs her snark and judgment primarily towards celebrities and their many red carpet mishaps. Blogging from the style capital of the world (just kidding - I live in DC), I rant and rave over the best and worst in fashion and pop culture.