S06.E14: Annalise Keating Is Dead

[Cranberry]

Quote

Annalise's murder trial has arrived, but Tegan's history complicates her role as counsel. While Nate visits Jorge Castillo in prison with a proposition, news breaks about Xavier. Bonnie works to help Annalise use Hannah Keating's past as blackmail.

Airdate: May 7, 2020

 

[Lady Calypso]

Well, Laurel comes back and...is surprisingly more chill? I can buy her turnaround to try to be a better mother to Christopher than her parents were to her. I'm glad she decided to be truthful.

Michaela got a better deal than Connor, who just barely got immunity for Oliver but would go to jail himself. Not too surprising at all. But man, Michaela tore INTO Laurel and completely lied about Annalise/Wes. I didn't expect her to go that far.

Connor's testimony....was surprisingly tame. Not that much was learned, besides his lie of an essay, but really, he didn't provide much that was new. I'm not really sure where his story is heading. 

I figured Hannah would end up dead by the end of the hour. Nothing can go Annalise's way, it seems. 

Oh, and Frank knows about who his real parents are. But no way did he kill Hannah. I don't buy him doing that. It was either Birkhead or Nate, at this point. Or, hey, maybe it was Tegan to protect Annalise!

Tegan's excitement over Annalise possibly winning her case was great to watch...but girl, chill OUT. Your crush is showing.

Nate...yawn. Unless this ends with him going to jail or dead, I DO. NOT. CARE. Cool, he manipulated Jorge into probably testifying against Birkhead. Either Nate goes to jail or he dies, at this point. I don't see him escaping the series alive and free. 

[stonehaven]

These last few episodes don't feel like the epic build up to a series finale. They feel like the writers went "Oh Shit, we forgot to tie up this loose ends..and wait..what was that twist that was cool sounding?"

(...and speaking of swearing, they actually allowed Viola to say "assholes" on the air at ABC???? George Carlin must be so proud...)

So, what was the reason Bonnie just had to tell Frank who his real parents were? There was no reason to and it wasn't her place to. So, my guess is she hurt him back...

This show is making me hate all the characters except Annalise and Tegan. Maybe AK hoped by signing that deal, she could run away with Tegan and start over.

I did find it interesting that she signed it "Annalise Keating" when that isn't her birth name so that voids the NDA...

..but my final thought is AK better win...and fry everyone who ever tried to get her. I won't really miss this show as my love for it faded years ago but I will miss having Viola Davis on my TV screen every week...

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Michaela got a better deal than Connor, who just barely got immunity for Oliver but would go to jail himself. Not too surprising at all. But man, Michaela tore INTO Laurel and completely lied about Annalise/Wes. I didn't expect her to go that far.

Nor did I. The Annalise/Wes thing...damn. 

Quote

Connor's testimony....was surprisingly tame. Not that much was learned, besides his lie of an essay, but really, he didn't provide much that was new. I'm not really sure where his story is heading. 

His testimony wasn't that shocking, but watching him and Annalise go at each other was pretty intense. The bit about the conversion camp was a curious revelation. I just wonder how this will affect him and Oliver in the end. 

Quote

Oh, and Frank knows about who his real parents are. But no way did he kill Hannah. I don't buy him doing that. It was either Birkhead or Nate, at this point. Or, hey, maybe it was Tegan to protect Annalise!

Oh, I like the Tegan theory. I can totally see that. And yeah, I'm not so sure Frank killed her, either. He'd definitely be furious about the revelation regarding who his mom is, but if he didn't kill Xavier, I doubt he'd do this, either. 

Quote

Tegan's excitement over Annalise possibly winning her case was great to watch...but girl, chill OUT. Your crush is showing.

If Annalise does manage to fake her death and run next week, I'm guessing Tegan's going to help facilitate that...and possibly join her. Either her or Bonnie. I can see one of them sitting by Annalise's side at the end of it all. 

So. Next week is the end. I can't even begin to imagine how they'll wrap this all up. Bring it on. 

[Dancingjaneway]

I have to admit I didn't see that ending coming. I'm so pissed at Bonnie right now. She KNEW what was at stake. I hate all the kids yes ALL of them. I don't care that Laurel ended up telling the truth. She didn't give a shit about the woman who saved her child(Annalise) & protected her from her dad. Also throwing Tegan under the bus gets you a lifetime membership to my shit list. I wanted someone to smack Michaela so hard. She is the absolute worst of them all. Nate and his inspector gadget BS is a plotline I didn't want or need. I don't think Frank killed Hannah because he knows that Annalise needed her to testify. I think it's either Birkhead or someone in the FBI. At this point I just need Tegan to make it out alive for it to be a good ending. She is just too good for this shit & I adore her.  I can't believe next week is it. I also can't believe we aren't getting a 2hr finale. 

[rur]

34 minutes ago, stonehaven said:

So, what was the reason Bonnie just had to tell Frank who his real parents were? There was no reason to and it wasn't her place to. So, my guess is she hurt him back...

 Frank told Bonnie that he didn't want to hide anything from her anymore, so that's why he told her that although he still loved Laurel, he loved her more. My first thought watching the scene was that Bonnie then decided that she shouldn't be hiding information from him, either, so she told him. 

But now I'm wondering if it's because his admission sounded more like "Laurel made me a better person; with you I can be the rotten person I am," and that stung Bonnie enough for her to want to sting him back. 

The look on her face made it clear she was definitely processing something while she listened to him, but I guess we'll never know what unless  she explains it next week.

[Curious22]

This show hasn't been as riveting since season two. And this episode was a bit of a bore for me. It's like Nowalk only has one real trick up his sleeve and it will only take 10 minutes to produce. So this is all filler.

Theories/questions -- multiple.

1. Given there has been media buzz about who would return for the final episode(s), I knew Hanna would be dead as Marcia was never mentioned. 

2. I have always been suspicious of Laurel. Laurel may have been a real mastermind of a lot of things. Season 1 Annalise said to watch out for the quiet ones. Laurel's father always deemed her smarter than Xavier. Did she set up her father to obtain the ultimate take over? Did she work with Teagan who owns shares of Laurel's company? Does Teagan trade the shares for the more effective testimony to win Annalise's heart--to only get played in the end?

3. I think Michaela and Connor end up with perjury charges and Ollie leaves Connor. Michaela and Connor were the two who ALWAYS wanted to go to the police and held the deepest anymosity against Annalise. Asher was always a mole, he was giving Annalise and the gang up in Season 1 and I think in Season 2.

4. Wes...did Annalise hide Wes???? Seasons 1 & 2 and maybe 3 but, I grew bored of the show Annalise's world was protecting Wes. And she wasn't all that hurt about his death. Wes Gibbons wasn't his real name either, has he moved on as Christophe?

5. Bonnie probably told Frank about his parents to form a stronger bond about their lousy childhoods. They marry and can't testify against each other.

6. Nate...Where does this guy work? I almost think, that after all Nate and Annalise have been through--they end up together on some beach and Teagan cries her eyes out. Nate has always taken care of Annalise and she has never been as equally good to him.

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Annalise comparing herself to Joan of Arc, MLK, and Harvey Milk was a bit much, IMO.

Wait, what? Anna sleeping with Wes? Oh come on. That doesn't make any sense. The FBI should've come up with a better lie.

Meathead, Stinkeye, and Plumber. A new punk band called The Jurors.

So why did Laurel flip in the middle of her testimony?

Wow, Bonnie. Guess at that point she hated Frank more than she loved Annalise because Frank killing Hannah is not good. Assuming he's the one who did it. Tegan would be decent twist I guess. Eventually everyone around Anna murders somebody it seems.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Joimiaroxeu

[NUguy514]

Boy, have I not missed Laurel.  At all.

When Gabriel walked into that courtroom, I quite literally said aloud, "God damnit."  I honestly thought he was gone after the last episode.  He's probably the one who shoots whomever next week (if there is a "shocking" shooting death).

Oliver basically being like, "Cool, so, you're only going to jail for five years, which is, like, so fine, and I'm not – yay me! – and then we can totally start our lives together!"

I swear to fucking god, if Connor is the only one who either ends up dead or goes to jail to save that psycho's ass, show...

Michaela was being super shitty this episode, but I still understand why she and Connor took deals.  I don't know why Annalise doesn't seem to understand or care because I think they could've actually figured this out together if they'd tried.

At this point, I don't even know if I care that Annalise goes free, but if everything is pinned on (dead)Wes, Nate, and even Frank, in addition to Governor Laura Innes, fine, I don't care.  This whole road to the finale feels very capriciously thrown together, and I'm having very ominous feelings headed into next week's finale.  Which, as I said last week, is happening on my birthday.  During a pandemic.  Bring it home satisfyingly, show, or...

Good luck,

Edited May 8, 2020 by NUguy514

[Marley]

I hate Michaela and Connor now so good job show. Ungrateful jerks. Was Wes mentally ill? Or was that all made up? I’m honestly starting to forget. I don’t think he was lol. Wes and Laurel were like the worst couple ever. Seeing her again and his face made me remember their dumb relationship.

When Gabriel showed up I was like wtf. Why are we wasting precious time on this loser.

Is Nate going Annalise with all this stuff?

It better be a satisfying ending but I don’t know I’m having doubts lol.

[Lady Calypso]

6 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Wait, what? Anna sleeping with Wes? Oh come on. That doesn't make any sense. The FBI should've come up with a better lie.

To be fair, it's not completely far fetched. I remembered way back when, when we thought Wes was Annalise's kid because she was favouring him so much. It's actually not too out of the realm of possibilities that Annalise/Wes could have been sleeping together. WE know it's not true, but it's a more believable lie than the other shit they were saying.

6 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

So why did Laurel flip in the middle of her testimony?

I think it was because she let Annalise's words before her testimony get to her about being a better person than her family. I can't recall what was being said at the time, but it seemed to push her to telling the truth.

6 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Oliver basically being like, "Cool, so, you're only going to jail for five years, which is, like, so fine, and I'm not – yay me! – and then we can totally start our lives together!"

I HATE that this show likely ends with Oliver/Connor still together, even if Connor is the only one in jail (luckily, I think Connor won't die....I just wish Oliver died instead). 

6 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

At this point, I don't even know if I care that Annalise goes free, but if everything is pinned on (dead)Wes, Nate, and even Frank, in addition to Governor Laura Innes, fine, I don't care.  This whole road to the finale feels very capriciously thrown together, and I'm having very ominous feelings headed into next week's finale. 

Yeah...I feel like there's still a lot left open and I don't think they can cover everything in a final hour. They should have wrapped up the trial in this episode, to be honest. 

[Happytobehere]

Well, as the series winds down, I take comfort in the fact that I never liked Nate, Michaela, who I always thought was the absolute worst (except when she was with Asher) and Connor. 
 

I only care about Annalise, Bonnie (I’m glad I was wrong in my initial dislike of her), Frank and Teagan. Everyone else can burn and in hell. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

This whole road to the finale feels very capriciously thrown together, and I'm having very ominous feelings headed into next week's finale.  Which, as I said last week, is happening on my birthday.  During a pandemic.  Bring it home satisfyingly, show, or...

I stuck with Scandal to the bitter end so I'm prepared to be disappointed. Shonda stays letting me down. (And frankly, I would not be surprised if Olivia Pope struts into the court room in the finale. That might be the least of the WTFery.)

[Chicago Redshirt]

The trouble with this trial is that both sides seem to me to be pulling their punches and not using information that they have that is undisputable.

The prosecutors, for example, should know about the Wes/Christophe thing and that AK and Sam tried adopting Wes. They should know about that because Birkhead knows and (we are being led to believe) is pulling the strings. It would be a far more effective thing to use that true fact, and that AK got Wes off the waitlist, into an argument that Wes killed Sam at AK's behest than it is to use a lie that AK and Wes were boning. 

The biggest problem was that the prosecution apparently wanted to confine Connor and Michaela to their preconceived notions of what the case against AK should be that they never seemed to bother to interview them to find out what it really should be, or to find the wealth of evidence that would corroborate AK's actual role in covering up the various crimes. Like it is inconceivable that the FBI didn't also go after Frank and Bonnie for the shady stuff that Asher, Connor, Laurel and Michaela would collectively be able to point them to. 

As far as AK, she should have absolutely destroyed Michaela and Connor. She knows them inside and out. She knows the true facts of the events and she knows how much they are lying. Her crosses were largely draws when she should have knocked them out. Trying to bring Nate as a prosecution witness is crazy because the first thing to point out was that he himself was suspected and tried for Sam's murder. The second is that he is biased against AK for breaking up with him. The third is that he actually killed DA Miller.

As far as we know, the feds don't have Rebecca's body. They have no motive for AK to want to kill her. They have no forensic evidence tying AK to the supposed disappearance or death. They do know Wes is a killer and he was dating her. 

I wish that they had worked with more/better actual attorneys to write better versions of the cases.

[jaigurudeva]

Wish they'd throw in some actual (falsified by the FBI, obvi.) physical or even circumstantial evidence to show that there's a some semblance of a case against Annalise. So far everything hinges on the testimony of a group of intimate accomplices who have admitted to committing the actual murder, who have motive to come up with an elaborate lie and implicate Annalise as "the mastermind" in order to save their own hides. And instead of pointing that out, and dismantling the witness' credibility, Annalise goes for a crazy-sounding "The FBI and governor of Pennsylvania is conspiring against me!" defense?

The FBI basically have shaky testimony at best (saying "The mentally ill dead guy told me he was sleeping with Annalise. You can't cross-examine him, and I don't have proof, though." is total hearsay and inadmissible) that isn't corroborated at all to implicate Annalise in any of the murders. Why are they even trying to pin every murder of the past five years all on Annalise (she doesn't even have motive for most of them)? I can't believe this is presented like a closely contested case or something, this wouldn't have even made it past the grand jury. Can they not hire any kind of legal expert to run this over with to see if it all sounds the slightest bit dumb?

[Gloriosa]

I'm thinking this show should have ended a couple of seasons ago.  They just keep piling it on until nothing makes any sense.

[SnarkEnthusiast]

Wow, I didn't think Michaela and Connor would be that slimy. The lie about Annaliese/Wes made me laugh because I remember in the early seasons, it was a running fandom joke that you cringed your way every Wes/Annaliese scene praying they didn't fuck. IMO the writers told Viola to keep their chemistry ambiguous and decided on the (half assed) Christophe twist later - all that drunken sensual chest rubbing in S1 did NOT read maternal.

Laurel still sucks, even though she randomly decided to be a marginally better person because it suited her. This episode reminded me of The Laurel Show era, a callback I did not enjoy. At least they were finally forced to retire Frank/Laurel. I've never forgotten the time she coerced him into car sex and the show just...didn't care. I thought Karla Souza was taking a season off to have a baby, but then she never came back. I wonder if that was planned. It feels like she's been gone for years. It's awkward to throw her back in. Michaela was harsh but accurate - Laurel uses motherhood to virtue signal and grandstand when convenient.

I'm guessing Gabe shot Hannah in revenge for taking Sam from him, because this show has to shoehorn every irrelevant character into the plot.

Hopefully Teagan getting kicked off Annaliese's case means they can kiss. Bonnie/Frank continue to be joyless and exhausting as always.

Feels a little late in the game to reignite the old Connor/Michaela feud.  They were the last good relationship besides Annaliese/Teagan.

Come on Gucci Wes! Yeah yeah, it's probably older Christopher or a dream, but it feels lazy to cast Alfie Enoch to play his own adult son. Surely there had to be an easier way to invite him to the wrap party. It must suck to watch all your friends continue to work on the same project for years after you were killed off.

[wanderingstar]

27 minutes ago, Gloriosa said:

I'm thinking this show should have ended a couple of seasons ago.  They just keep piling it on until nothing makes any sense.

Exactly.

It's become so stupid and unfun. When the show first started, it was what one television writer referred to as bonkers-awesome. And the twists didn't feel silly.

So much of this episode was just corny and silly. I felt no investment in any of the action. I don't care about Laurel being back. Didn't miss her when she was gone. And she has nothing to add to the story with 2 episodes left in the series.

The writers have been flogging this Castillo family/Gov. Birkhead connection but despite being mentioned often these characters are rarely seen, so it's hard for me to feel the stakes of their involvement in the story. Adding in Hannah and an incest story just piled on the stupid.

One last comment: it's really bothering me how casually everyone is talking about the FBI coercing people to lie. Not that I trust the FBI at all, but you'd think Annalise and/or Tegan would send Frank to track down proof of the coercion.

ETA:

Are we going to ever find out what Maybe Wes was doing at Annalise's Maybe Funeral?

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Gillian Rosh

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

Wish they'd throw in some actual (falsified by the FBI, obvi.) physical or even circumstantial evidence to show that there's a some semblance of a case against Annalise. So far everything hinges on the testimony of a group of intimate accomplices who have admitted to committing the actual murder, who have motive to come up with an elaborate lie and implicate Annalise as "the mastermind" in order to save their own hides. And instead of pointing that out, and dismantling the witness' credibility, Annalise goes for a crazy-sounding "The FBI and governor of Pennsylvania is conspiring against me!" defense?

The FBI basically have shaky testimony at best (saying "The mentally ill dead guy told me he was sleeping with Annalise. You can't cross-examine him, and I don't have proof, though." is total hearsay and inadmissible) that isn't corroborated at all to implicate Annalise in any of the murders. Why are they even trying to pin every murder of the past five years all on Annalise (she doesn't even have motive for most of them)? I can't believe this is presented like a closely contested case or something, this wouldn't have even made it past the grand jury. Can they not hire any kind of legal expert to run this over with to see if it all sounds the slightest bit dumb?

In fairness, the theory would be that AK is the mastermnd behind these killings, so there should not be any forensic evidence connecting her directly. 

Wes's supposed statement could potentially be considered admissible non-hearsay under the Federal Rules of Evidence as the statement of a co-conspirator during and in furtherance of the conspiracy.

But part of the cross-examination of Michaela that was missed would involve pointing out how stupid Michaela's story was on its face. AK is by all accounts a genius in criminal law and teaches a class nicknamed "How to Get Away With Murder." Michaela's testimony is that of all the potential times that AK and Wes could have plotted to murder Sam, they chose one where at least Michaela and Connor were at the house as well (It wasn't clear to me if they are going with Laurel and Rebecca being there too). You don't have to be a criminal law mastermind to know that makes no sense to involve unnecessary people in your murder plot, or to kill someone in front of witnesses who might report you and at the very least might flip on you down the road.

Which again is part of the cross that AK should have done: So you expect this jury to believe that you witnessed a murder that you were completely innocent of. And you decided not to report it to the police. You decided not to report it to anyone. And that you went on to be guilty in committing four more murders, all at my behest. You're that weak-minded that you just did whatever I told you to?"

I don't think Michaela could just sit there and passively accept that version of herself. And even if she didn't take the bait, there would be a ton of witnesses who would be able to cast doubt on that characterization of herself.

1 hour ago, Gillian Rosh said:

One last comment: it's really bothering me how casually everyone is talking about the FBI coercing people to lie. Not that I trust the FBI at all, but you'd think Annalise and/or Tegan would send Frank to track down proof of the coercion.

They literally have a recording of Michaela saying that they have been coerced by the FBI, IIRC. It was used an episode or so back to establish that AK shouldn't be subject to the death penalty.

That too should have been part of the cross-examination of Michaela, but I guess we should accept it happened and was cut since we the viewers already saw it.

[Jeopardy15]

2 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

The FBI basically have shaky testimony at best (saying "The mentally ill dead guy told me he was sleeping with Annalise. You can't cross-examine him, and I don't have proof, though." is total hearsay and inadmissible) that isn't corroborated at all to implicate Annalise in any of the murders. Why are they even trying to pin every murder of the past five years all on Annalise (she doesn't even have motive for most of them)? I can't believe this is presented like a closely contested case or something, this wouldn't have even made it past the grand jury. Can they not hire any kind of legal expert to run this over with to see if it all sounds the slightest bit dumb?

This!!!  The FBI has no actual evidence against Annalise. Just the lies told by Connor and Michaela. I now hate all of the Keating 5 and Michaela is the worse. How does Annalise “deserve this” when she hasn’t actually killed anyone???  

[wanderingstar]

32 minutes ago, Jeopardy15 said:

This!!!  The FBI has no actual evidence against Annalise. Just the lies told by Connor and Michaela. I now hate all of the Keating 5 and Michaela is the worse. How does Annalise “deserve this” when she hasn’t actually killed anyone???  

That line was total WTF from Michaela. I can only assume that now that she's met her father, she's convinced herself that she's good and never did anything wrong (I was so glad when Annalise brought up her calling ICE on Simon. That still ticks me off), and she can then swan off and have a nice life with her rich daddy.

Annalise has risked herself so many times for these people, the idea that they're the ones in thrall to her is laughable.

[helenamonster]

I'm so underwhelmed by how all this is wrapping up.

In theory, all of the various interlinked crimes catching up to these people is the inevitable conclusion of this show. So is the remaining K5 turning on Annalise. There is a way to do this that is compelling and brings the narrative full circle, but this ain't it, chief.

Also, it is fascinating what they've managed to do to Oliver in six seasons. I remember being excited when he was made a part of the main cast, but now I'm thinking that was a mistake. if they wanted to keep him around as Connor's endgame, they still could have done that, but letting him in on everything has brought out an unpleasantness in him that I would never have thought possible when he was first introduced. Would things have been better if he'd been kept in the dark until the last second? I know that probably would have strained credibility, but there could have been something to him learning all at once how much he didn't know about Connor that could have been more interesting. Instead, he's actually the least bothered by any of this! Even Connor had to explain his guilt to him this episode.

I had to laugh when Michaela scoffed at that pink sweater, since it's exactly something "Prom Queen" would have worn in early season one.

Nate and Gabriel! Still here! Incredible!

Next week better be absolutely bonkers off the walls bananas. In a fun way, not the weird boring way it's been for a while. I think we deserve that.

[secnarf]

23 hours ago, stonehaven said:

I did find it interesting that she signed it "Annalise Keating" when that isn't her birth name so that voids the NDA...

It is her legal name, though. We have seen her sign legal documents with that name before.

My favourite part of this episode was Tegan's doubt song-and-dance.

I have hated Oliver since he deleted Connor's acceptance email and didn't tell him. Did Connor ever find out about that?

[NUguy514]

57 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I have hated Oliver since he deleted Connor's acceptance email and didn't tell him. Did Connor ever find out about that?

Connor did find out and forgave Oliver because, as I recall, Oliver turned it around on Connor and made him feel guilty.

[wanderingstar]

Quote

I have hated Oliver since he deleted Connor's acceptance email and didn't tell him. Did Connor ever find out about that?

I think it was a mistake to have Connor forgive Oliver so readily for this. It conveyed to Oliver that doing the most rank shit was totally ok and wouldn't have significant consequences - which, I guess in this circle is par for the course - but still...it started Oliver down a bad path.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Gillian Rosh
Edited to separate quote from my comments

[tvfanatic13]

Cannot see how they possibly finish this in one hour, but here is my dream ending:

AK is found not guilty but we learn that she had indeed planned out everything from the past 6 years, together with Tegan (don’t ask why- this is a dream!) At the end they are on a beach with champagne and after they clink glasses AK says “and THAT is how to get away with murder” and they live happily ever after. I don’t give a shit about the rest of them or how their stories end. 

[Elbow]

It was so nice for Laurel to have screen time again. The show has been anemic without her.

Michaela and Connor and Oliver are so revoltingly cowardly and so naturally inclined to be self-satisfied. I can't stand them.

I still feel like Bonnie has something up her sleeve and has been playing a long game. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've just never believed she's as straight forward as she seems.

Tegan's crush has entered a danger zone that's clouding her logic.

Could not give less of a fuck what happens to Killed My Pops. Completely space out when he comes on screen. Maybe if he started taking his shirt off again…

Frank being an incest baby seems totally absurd and unnecessary. 

No idea how they'll wrap this up.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Elbow

[tennisgurl]

This episode is such a mess, just like all of these back episodes have been, and not in the fun madcap way that this show is at its best. The twists are no longer shocking, they're just stupid, the characters are no longer morally ambiguous, they're assholes, and maybe even worse, they dont seem smart anymore. Michaela and Connor are being so obviously jerked around by the FBI despite their very questinable evidence against them, and Tegan and Annalise seem to be ignoring the obvious ways that they could win this case beyond yelling about how its all a conspiracy against Annalise by the entire freaking government. Which is probably true, to be fair, but a jury will find it easier to buy that some of her former students are just bitter towards her and making crap up than a vast conspiracy to fuck with this one lawyer. They seemingly have no evidence that Annalise was involved in any of this, its all circumstantial at best, and they're whole case seems to be based around testimony by people that clearly have personal beefs with Annalise and are clearly sketchy in their own rights and hiding things, so why arent Annalise and Tegan really pushing that angle instead of this one?

Also, did Annalise just compare herself to MLK Jr? AND Harvey Milk AND Joan of Arc? Did that actually just happen? This is one of the many reasons why Tegan should be doing this, she could probably get away with comparing her client to MLK, but when Annalise says it about herself, it sounds like a bit much. 

All of this seems like it should be working, the whole house of cards that Annalise and her crew and the K5 have built, all the murders and crimes and cover ups, all crumbling down around them as everything starts catching up to them, going all the way back to the first season as we close the show up, but...it just so isn't working. Not only are all of the characters just getting more and more horrible (especially the surviving K5, who have really just become horrible in the last few episodes) but the story itself just seems to be going in circles. It doesn't help that the show seems to think that certain plots and characters, like Sam and his weird relationship with his sister and his boring son and Nate, who has somehow become the biggest asshole on a show full of assholes, are WAY more interesting than they actually are. Both have long since moved past their narrative importance, and yet they are still freaking here, and we even get Laurel back, a character who basically took over the whole show for a season with her baby/boyfriend/family drama, and Wes, the character who was the most important character of the K5 who somehow managed to have the least amount of personality. I never hated Wes or Laurel (well, I got really sick of Laurel, but I liked her fine at first) but their returns dont seem to mean much so close to the ending. We already have a billion characters here, do we need to spend time on ones who already left? I dont even dislike Wes being alive, but why are they putting off his return to the last freaking minute? Just get on with it, you dont have time to really make this story happen! 

Michaela throwing out the "Annalise was boning Wes" thing was hilarious considering the weird chemistry between them way back in the day, and also in how hilariously false it is. It seemed like before Michaela and Connor were more or less saying what happened just told from an angle that laid most of the blame on Annalise, which is also lying but less blatantly so, but this is just straight up making shit up wholesale. I really hate that they are making me hate Michaela and Connor, and that they are throwing their friendship, one of my favorite relationships on the show, down the drain. 

Its sad that at this point, I just want this show to be done. 

Edited May 11, 2020 by tennisgurl

[Lady Calypso]

9 hours ago, Elbow said:

Michaela and Connor and Oliver are so revoltingly cowardly and so naturally inclined to be self-satisfied. I can't stand them.

I think Connor has come out slightly better than the other two. Michaela wasn't going to tell Connor about the probation deal she negotiated, and Oliver didn't seem to give a shit that Connor would still be going to jail while Oliver gets off 100% scot-free. I don't think he got angry at the reveal that Michaela DID get a better deal, either. As long as he didn't go to jail, I guess.

That being said, these three are still trying to protect themselves, just like Annalise is doing. We may not agree with the methods, because they are bad methods to allow the FBI to manipulate them into telling lies on the stand. Of course they need to be called out. But they're doing what Annalise has done as well: self-preservation. 

Honestly, every single one of these people SHOULD be in jail, Annalise included. All to varying degrees, whether it's just conspiracy or aiding and abetting, or actual murder. 

But, this show is called How To Get Away with Murder, which means that it's likely for them to actually get away with murder...or, at least some of them will. And I'm fine with that, because it's a TV show and I'm rooting for certain characters to get away with the crimes they've all committed (some worse than others, obviously). Annalise, Connor, Bonnie, Tegan, and Michaela are literally the only ones I hope do get away with it (though Tegan is more innocent than the others). Everyone else? Meh. 

[jaigurudeva]

On 5/8/2020 at 2:45 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

In fairness, the theory would be that AK is the mastermnd behind these killings, so there should not be any forensic evidence connecting her directly

Yes, but there should at least be other evidence that she actually masterminded the killings, not just baseless testimony. Phone records, emails, texts suggesting that Annalise knew Sam was having an affair, or communications with her students indicative of psychological manipulation (reviewed by a psychiatric professional, of course); a recently changed life insurance policy (if memory serves, Sam's sister was the one who got everything, including the house); any kind of evidence for means and motive on the other killings (are they suggesting her students also killed all those people at her behest? obviously they aren't charging Frank or Nate with the other killings, who else do they think she ordered as a hitman?). If it were so easy to just point a finger at somebody and say, "Yeah, I killed somebody, but only because I was ordered to!" without any corroborating evidence, and then get a massively reduced sentence (which isn't how it works in real life for contract killings anyway), it would be the most popular defense.

[alexvillage]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Honestly, every single one of these people SHOULD be in jail, Annalise included. All to varying degrees, whether it's just conspiracy or aiding and abetting, or actual murder. 

But, this show is called How To Get Away with Murder, which means that it's likely for them to actually get away with murder...

They should all be in jail. This show baffles me on its absurdity. Annalise, the control freak now afraid of losing control. The former students really bad at what they became because they don't even understand how weak the FBI case against them is. 

As to your second point, I agree that the writers are going to end the show with the premise of the title, which is an attempt to being "cute", as in bad writers are going to write bad stuff. But I would add that some will get away with murder but most of them will be actually dead.

The Frank incest child is so ridiculous. They keep saying he is a sociopath and that's a result of the environment. And incest offspring are not necessarily psychopaths so the whole story was just an attempt to throw some extra "drama" for no reason at all.

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

Yes, but there should at least be other evidence that she actually masterminded the killings, not just baseless testimony. Phone records, emails, texts suggesting that Annalise knew Sam was having an affair, or communications with her students indicative of psychological manipulation (reviewed by a psychiatric professional, of course); a recently changed life insurance policy (if memory serves, Sam's sister was the one who got everything, including the house); any kind of evidence for means and motive on the other killings (are they suggesting her students also killed all those people at her behest? obviously they aren't charging Frank or Nate with the other killings, who else do they think she ordered as a hitman?). If it were so easy to just point a finger at somebody and say, "Yeah, I killed somebody, but only because I was ordered to!" without any corroborating evidence, and then get a massively reduced sentence (which isn't how it works in real life for contract killings anyway), it would be the most popular defense.

Some of the issue is that TV in general does not do a very good job of writing the courtroom parts of courtroom dramas. Just for example in this episode, the prosecutor makes an objection like "badgering the witness" after one question and the judge cuts off a cross-examination after like 5 questions and threatens to admonish AK. That sort of stuff would never happen in real-life courts. It would have to be a lot of questions and a lot more harassinig for a judge to sustain an objection for badgering the witness, and cutting off a cross after just a handful of questions would be grounds for a mistrial because the accused has a constitutional right to confront their accusers. Not to mention that a judge would call the parties to the side and do it rather than in full view/hearing of the jury.

Some of it probably is the TV writers think that presentation of evidence of that sort would be more boring, as well as the time constraints of TV. A real life witness testifying about just the Sam killing would take at least 15 minutes for the direct version of the testimony, and probably at least another 30 minutes to cross. For the purposes of TV, the scene of a single witness is likely to be a total of five minutes, if that.

Some of it is that the showrunners probably do not have a very good grasp on their own show's convoluted history. Some of it is probably shortcutting to avoid telling us things we already know.

Do we strictly need to be reminded that Sam was a cheater and AK knew about it? (Or, for that matter, that AK was a cheater too)? I can't remember the order of what she knew when, it being so long ago too. But I think it would be fairly easy to establish and indisputable that AK and Sam were having marital difficulties. There was a voicemail that AK recorded to Sam referencing them having had a fight right around the time of his disappearance. In a real trial, that would have been thrown in her face. Here, it's forgotten.

Some of it is that some of the things you talk about wouldn't necessarily exist, or if they exist, they wouldn't necessarily show guilt. There presumably are hundreds of calls, e-mails and texts between AK and the K5 over the three years that they have been involved. It would be stupid for any of them to be on their face incriminating. The fact that they talked so much in general can be explained by them working on so many cases together. 

In real life, it probabl is pretty common where there are multiple alleged killers for the evidence to primarily be the testimony of one against the other(s). Most people are going to be smart enough to not put something incriminating in a permanent form like a text or an e-mail where it can be retrieved and used against them.

If this was real life, the feds no doubt would have gotten authority to tap AK's phone and the K4's phones to have incriminating evidence about what was done in at least some of the cases. Asher's half-assed effort to record people using his phone would have been done with a lot more sophistication, both in how he went about it and in the equipment used. And the feds would not have stopped with just Michaela and Connor. They would have tried to flip Oliver, Frank and Bonnie as well. Especially since Oliver and Frank would be able to provide more concrete evidence of wrongdoing that was done at AK's behest, through their hacks, intimidation and other shenanigans..

Notice with one episode to go, there has not been any evidence presented linking AK to anything but Sam's murder. No motive or even perjured testimony from Connor or Michaela that AK killed or prompted anyone to kill Rebecca, ADA Smugface, DA Denver, DA Miller, or Caleb Hapstall. Nothing about the mechanics of how  the K5 or anyone supposedly killed these people, or in fact, in the case of Rebecca, that she's dead, or in the cases of Caleb and Smugface that those deaths were anything more than the accident and suicide that they appeared.

Now if in the final episode, they present a taped statement from Asher where he "admits" that he ran over Smugface at AK's behest or something, then at least that's something.

But so far, the prosecutors (and by extension, the writers) have done a really subpar job.

Re: the house, I could be wrong too, but I think that the house went to AK. Normally married couples share their real estate, and one best believe that if Hannah was at all entitled to the house, she would have kicked AK out of it. I think part of the feud was that this was the house where Hannah and Sam grew up, which also makes the incest issues farfetched. They could have sold that house and lived anywhere else in Philly if it had such dark and painful memories for Sam.

[Coxfires]

I don't know, I'd be bummed if Connor got all the brunt. He wanted to confess back in S1 but Annalise sweet talked him into not doing it because she was protecting Wes. Then she reeled the gang in to cover for Asher. He wanted out and Oliver screws him over. He wasn't there when the Simon fiasco happened. 

Now he has a whole investigation on his neck and is involved in far too much which could have been avoided if he didn't listen to Annalise back in the days, and she leaves for Mexico. I don't know, I have a hard time faulting him, really.

[SunnyBeBe]

I think the prosecutors case is very frazzled. I would think the jury would be confused. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me and I know all the players.

[darkestboy]

You think with all the murders and back stabbing we've had in six seasons that Annalise getting to say "Assholes" wouldn't shock me but it did.

I actually loved this episode. Annalise's analyzing of how to present herself at court, representing herself, tearing Connor and Michaela apart, getting Laurel on side. 

It was almost going so well and then Hannah got killed so that's made things messy. Gonna go with Frank here. Seriously, Bonnie could've waited until after the trial to tell him that bit of news.

Laurel, Connor and Michaela all turning on each other while Oliver remains unscathed. Just nope to that.

Tegan's got it bad for Annalise. Chill, Tegan, chill.

Zoned out with the Nate and Gabe scenes, but ooh, they found Xavier's body. Send Nate to jail please show, 9/10