S02.E15: Anna Mae

[tennisgurl]

That was a solid final episode, with a few possibilities for new mysteries for next season. Also, is it me, or did this season go by really super fast, as well as seeming to go on forever? How does that even happen?

 

Oh Oliver. What what WHAT are you doing? Well, I do think I know what he is doing. After getting the diagnosis, he wanted to start living a more exciting life, and life with Connor and the Keating 5 is, if nothing else, quite exciting. From what he has seen, working for Anna is exciting and glamorous and kind of sexy, and now that he has quit his job, he is all free to work cases and crack codes and be with Connor. But, Connor moving would ruin all that, so he got rid of it. He could probably even rationalize that he was doing this for Connor too. After all, why would Connor want to throw away the life they have there? So I get his thought process, and its pretty consistent with what we have seen of Oliver this season. Ironically, of all the Keating 5, Connor seems to be the one who wants to just be a normal law student the most of any of them, and even more ironically, some of that is probably because of the domestic bliss he is experiencing with Oliver. This is going to end so badly, because this with inevitably come out, at the worst possible time, and Connor will be crushed. Not looking forward to that upcoming sadness. 

 

I was so convinced that Laurel was going to find Franks dead body. She seemed to be pretty sure she was going to as well. 

[Tiger]

Did they establish a timeline for this episode?

Because it definitely started at some point during their 1L spring/second semester, and for Connor to have applied to transfer means they must have at least gotten their grades for the semester. I guess they are doimg their summer internships with Anna Mae?

Did they establish a timeline for this episode?

Because it definitely started at some point during their 1L spring/second semester, and for Connor to have applied to transfer means they must have at least gotten their grades for the semester. I guess they are doimg their summer internships with Anna Mae?

[J-Man]

I'm just glad that CR has made it to the main cast. He's terrific.

 

 

He's still billed as a guest star each week. And next season, when Connor throws him over for Annalise's "confirmed bachelor" brother, he might be gone altogether.

Edited March 18, 2016 by J-Man

[Grace19]

Bye caleb, will miss your beautiful face. Someone called it last week, once michaela and asher slept together I knew caleb would end up dead or bad. So the actor playing oliver was promoted to series regular, what a shame. Connor will be stuck in that boring relationship forever and never get developed outside it, eva's actor would have been a better series regular, whatever. Michasher might be interesting, the irony is that asher might end up being the best guy for michaela, he is a nice guy under all that ducheface. The show runner said they might look into laurel and michaela's family, please do, that will be great, and while we are at it, can we get bonnie's too? I love wes and really feel for him, that he is still standing shows a lot of strength, wes and laurel might be cute too. Annalise and her family are entertaining, more of that please, more eva too. I can't wait for next season.

[KaveDweller]

Did they establish a timeline for this episode?

Because it definitely started at some point during their 1L spring/second semester, and for Connor to have applied to transfer means they must have at least gotten their grades for the semester. I guess they are doimg their summer internships with Anna Mae?

 

They haven't established a timeline for most of the season.

[RedheadZombie]

 Why would you slit your wrists at the doorway and then get in the tub?

 

I'll have to go back and look.  My impression is that he slit both wrists in the tub.  His right arm bled into the tub, and his left was on the edge of the tub, and drained out onto the bathroom floor. 

 

 

I agree with this. I think this season they bit off more than they could chew. The Hapstall case didn't have that overwhelming arc-y feel that Sam's death had, and after they tied it up with explaining who shot Annalise, I thought we were done and on to the Mahoneys. Every time Philip would come up, I'd be like "Not this again!" And correct me if I'm wrong, but when was the last time we saw Caleb? Two...three episodes ago? The reveal didn't have nearly the impact it would have if he'd been a regular onscreen presence (like in the first part of the season) compared to the Rose/Annalise baby/Mahoney case. It felt like a "Uh...we need a big surprise -- here you go!" moment. This was, to me, the perfect illustration of why you shouldn't do surprise just because you can. The show is so good at shocking surprises, but this just felt rushed and lazy.

 

My own personal opinion is this - they painted themselves in a corner by casting a model as Caleb, instead of an actor.  He was really bad.  He was incapable of emoting anything.  The woman playing Catherine wasn't much better.   They had no chemistry - sibling or otherwise, and Caleb's romance with Michaela fell flat.  So they simply tied up loose ends so they could move on.

 

Her stuck-in-the 80s room was everything. Except it didn't quite square with the notion that they'd been basically poverty stricken if this house was where she was in the 80s.

 

Sis sleeping in the bed with AK was a little creepy. I wonder if Uncle Molester went after her too or was roasted before he got the chance.

 

I'm also a little confused by Mama's circumstances.  I didn't care for CT's character last season.  It seemed like a stereotype, and it was very reminiscent of her Sipsey character in Fried Green Tomatoes.  Mama seemed semi-literate, and gave the impression she was living in a shanty with an outhouse in the back.  Now we see Mama has a nice house, and the entire extended family is dressed to the nines, like they're headed to the local Baptist church Sunday morning.  And while Anna certainly overcame her childhood abuse, it doesn't seem like she had to dig her way out of the gutter.  All the family Anna's age and younger seemed to be well-educated and relatively successful.  It leaves me a little confused, but I'm going with the writers decided to take the character in a new (and better) direction.

 

As to Anna sharing a bed with Celestine, my high school best friend was one of five children in a three bedroom house.  She shared a bed with her little sister until she left for college.

[skotnikov]

Oh well. Another show that had a brilliant premise and turned out to be confusing, pointless mess with horrible, sloppy writing and the showrunner has no clue what to do next. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by skotnikov

[Panopticon]

 

I was so convinced that Laurel was going to find Franks dead body. She seemed to be pretty sure she was going to as well. 

 

She sure did. I must admit that I was very sympathetic to her when she pushed the bathroom door open like she was bracing for slit wrists in the tub; looked relieved for half a second; and immediately started bracing herself again in case she found him hanging in the closet.

[Happytobehere]

Surely there will be flashbacks with AA next season, otherwise I don't know why he would accept such a small role.

I hope and suspect you are right, but established actors will often take roles because they are fans of a show or an actor on the show that they would like to work with, sometimes they are friends of showrunners and appears as a favor. In the most basic reason, in order to qualify for hollywood's version of medical coverage, you have to work a set number of days each year (learned this from when Beverly McKinsey from AW and GL fame appeared on GH a few times in the last years of her life so she could qualify for coverage, of course, the rules may have changed since then).

[SoapDoc]

 

Surely there will be flashbacks with AA next season, otherwise I don't know why he would accept such a small role.

 

I figure he will show up next year like Tom Verica did this year. Being dead on this show does not mean that you will not be back onscreen (hopefully except for Caleb -- while he was pretty, he was a bad actor)!

[project90]

I'm bit disappointed on way ended

I started watching season 1 on the day if the final so got watch whole show in one hit when it ended had me yelling you can't end like that!! And had me wanting more for 6 months the Lila plot just had a lot twists to it and was the season focus

This season just did not seem focuses on the Hapstall case that much not many twists in it than after winter brake felt like was forgotten than quickly wrap up in last 10 minutes of this episode

Even the mid season brake had me yelling for more and hanging out for it return

I'll be watching season 3 when comes out but not hanging out for it like was at end season 1

[vanarnd1]

I am in agreement with other people in this thread who have said the best part of the episode was Annalise and her mom interacting. I was wondering how they were going to wrap up the Hapstall case and it just felt rushed. They had set up so many red herrings that any of the Hapstalls could have been the killer and there were going to holes in the story. Like if Philip was innocent of all the murders, why did he not come forward with the evidence against Caleb sooner and why did he blackmail Annalise? And like others have said having Caleb off screen and than all of the sudden revealing him as the murder and having him die took some of the drama out of the reveal. I suppose they needed to get closure and wrap things up, which is the end is better than stretching it out any further.

 

I thought they really did a good job on the emotional beats with the other story lines, and how the loss of Annalise's baby had so many repercussions. I am interested in seeing how happens with Frank/Wes regarding the Mahoney murder as well. Cicely Tyson was amazing and I appreciated how unlike what might happen in most shows, Annalise didn't reconcile with her father. The family moments in Tennessee felt very realistic and conflicted like a large family gathering would have.

 

The one thing I am hoping for is next season there is more character moments and less focus on an overarching plot. I think there is still so much more room for development and backstory with many of the characters that can carry episodes more than the next murder mystery.

[possibilities]

I loved that this season focused more on character and plot. I thought they did have quite a few plots going on, so many that sometimes I had trouble keeping track of them all, so it wasn't feeling stagnant to me either, but the background on Frank for instance was really great for me. The actor did a great job (I feel like an idiot because I can't remember who he is and I admit I'm too lazy to look it up right now). I also really enjoyed seeing Young Annalise and Young Bonnie. I hope next season they develop Bonnie the way they did with Frank, so we understand her relationship with Annalise. And I want more of the Annalise/family of origin, too.

 

And I think they did answer a lot of questions that have been hanging around since the beginning of the show, like "what is Anna's deal with Wes??" and "What the hell was the backstory between Sam and Frank??" I think the show has a choice: they can either drop all the many plot points they dangled before us so far, and move ahead with new stories, or they can pick up the loose threads and give us a lot of background, flashbacks, and character work. I like that they are picking up the threads and filling in a lot of character stuff along with the plots.

 

I admit it's convoluted but I kind of like that they are somehow simultaneously doing the obvious (Mahoney ordered the car accident) and managing to make me gasp (multiple times this week) anyway.

 

I think what Oliver did in declining Connor's Stanford admission behind his back is unforgivable in the course of any normal and/or healthy relationship. It's not as horrible as murdering Lila, but it's still really, really bad. On the other hand, in this particular relationship it kind of puts Oliver and Connor on a more even field. Connor has lied to and used Oliver for his own comfort and stability and now Oliver is lying to and using Connor for his own gratification and excitement. They may be adorable, but they haven't really been healthy. I don't know where they're headed, and I don't think I want the show to break them up, but I don't know how they can keep the charade up much longer, now that Oliver is no longer willing to let Connor keep work at a distance. And surely Connor will find out about Stanford. If he never gets a letter saying yes or no to being admitted, he will make an inquiry and then Oliver's betrayal will be out in the open.

 

I wish Eve was made a regular, too.

 

I have no idea what the truth is about Caleb, Phillip, or the sister whose name I forgot. Like others have said, we did not see an actual flashback, so all we have right now is the conflicting statements of three siblings of unknown character, and a lot of yarn-spinning by Annalise. We've seen over and over on this show that Anna can sell any narrative she wants, and there's enough lying going on to make any testimony from any person dubious.

 

I have thought all along, though, that the assumption that Phillip is the one sending them those videos is unfounded. He's certainly a possible source, but I didn't think they really had shown any proof.

 

I love the show and I loved this episode. I am surprised to see so many people are disappointed. Usually I'm the crankiest person in almost any room, but I guess there are always exceptions and this must be one of them!

[secnarf]

It was such a nice touch that Frank kept the money all these years, like it was blood money that he didn't want to profit from.

But wasn't that the suitcase he put Rebecca's body in? The one that Annalise said was Sam's?

[helenamonster]

Agree on all the love for the scenes of Annalise back in Memphis. Cicely Tyson is amazing.

 

Aw, Oliver, why'd you have to go and do that? And I've been wanting them to bump up Conrad Ricamora to a main cast member for a while, and of course now when they finally do I'd be fine to see the back of Oliver. However, I must say that there are endless possibilities for this fallout so storytelling-wise it was actually a great move. Cuz Connor will find out, one way or another. And then what? Will he reveal everything about working to Annalise to Oliver to explain why he wanted out? Or will Oliver become more embroiled in the K5 nonsense and find out for himself, then tell Connor what he did out of spite? I have no idea how it's going to shake out and I like that.

 

I actually wasn't afraid of Laurel finding Frank's body but of Frank jumping out from somewhere and killing Laurel. Karla Souza had an Instagram post the other day and the caption was worded in such a way that had me worried that Laurel would be one of the bodies found at the end of the episode. Glad that wasn't the case, cuz she's my fave. I do think that one of the K5 will be killed off eventually. My money's on the S3 finale. It seems like a very S3 thing to do.

 

The reveal of Frank being responsible for Sam Jr.'s death was amazing, I thought Charlie Weber did a great job with his guilt and I found it believable as something he would "owe" Sam for that would get him to kill Lila.

 

Wasn't stoked about the Hapstall reveal (if it even is the real one). I agree that that mystery lost serious momentum once they introduced the Christophe stuff. Maybe once this season gets put up on Netflix and I can breeze through it I might appreciate it more.

 

So S3 premises: who killed Wallace Mahoney, who killed Caleb Hapstall (if it wasn't a suicide), the search for Frank, Connor/Oliver drama, the Michaela/Asher relationship...are they ever gonna reveal that Bonnie killed Rebecca or have they dropped that thread?

[Dowel Jones]

He called Stanford pretending to be Connor, and declined his admission into their law school.

 

In real life, for this very reason, wouldn't a highly desired academic program require some more substantial proof of someone declining their offer of enrollment?

 

Whoever killed Mahoney, it wasn't likely Frank, at least directly.  If they framed the scene correctly, there is no one standing on the sidewalk or nearby in the street with a pistol with which to shoot him.  There's only one car there, and I think that was Mahoney's town car.  Also, Wes did not turn in the direction of the shot, as would be the normal reaction.  Ergo, the shot came from some distance, implying a sniper.  To the best of my knowledge, that isn't in Frank's skill set. 

 

I'm not surprised that the ADA could be taken in by Caleb's testimony.  The entire staff seems to be somewhat less than competent.  The entire city PD is on the hunt for a suspected killer, and there he is in your office, and no one notices.  Hmmph.

 

They haven't established a timeline for most of the season

 

One would think that news coverage of the Hapstall murders and ensuing investigative ups and downs would have at least clued the rest of the class that the K5 were involved in something really big.  Yet we never see any classmates talking to them or even acknowledging them.  Is this all during summer break?

 

And, finally, who manufactures a listening device with a flashing red light?  As soon as you turn the room lights off, there it is, waiting to be noticed.

[Fredward]

I have to disagree with Annaliese being a victim; her need/want to protect Wes set this whole mess in motion. I get tired of her acting as though she had no choice in any of this when she did, she knew what Wes did and made the decision to protect him rather than turn him in, she's just as much, if not more, to blame than everyone else

 

THANK YOU!

 

So tired of hearing about long suffering Annalise having to deal with those 'ungrateful brats' she 'sacrificed everything for.' No Felicia. AK left a woman to bleed to death on her kitchen floor after she pressured that woman into suicide through forcing her to testify against an incredibly dangerous man who raped her, not even counting the 'threatening her with deportation' bit. And SHE was completely responsible for that decision, we see a lot of compulsion in this show via blackmail or whatever and while I do not think that clears you of what you as a person decide to do it's still a mitigating factor. Annalise didn't have that, it was pure ambition and desire/need for recognition that had her working for Daddy McBigbucks.

 

Can you imagine a world where if any student but Wes had confessed to killing her husband that she'd have made herself complicit in covering it up? Nyet. She would've told them to confess and given them an astonishing defense (or gotten Eve to do it cuz conflict of interest but w/e) maybe but I think it's only her layers of compounded and intertwined guilt when it comes to Wes that had her react the way she did.

 

Now ultimately I think the blame wagon goes nowhere, too many people on this show have done morally reprehensible things and at some stage you need to stop passing the buck to someone else and just own your shittiness but Annalise Keating, to my eyes, is most certainly not some well meaning/innocent bystander doing the best she can for her ungrateful murderous students out of altruism.

 

 

Moving on!

 

I feel like the Hapstall was sloppily wrapped up but w/e, just glad that grinding shit is done. So, ultimately, the Hapstall Kids were murderous incestuous types. Go figure. Does this mean Catherine was involved with both her brothers? Guuuuurl. And I like how the inbred one wound up being the least fucked up. Mostly. When they didn't show the conclusion of him attacking Annalise I knew he'd show up in a plotwisty fashion at some point.

 

I totally feel AK's pain around her extended family. Quite aside from her the whole father thing.

 

Oliver is a shitturtle. He has NO idea what he's getting into. Also predicting him and Laurel collectively fill Frank's shoes in S3.

 

I wonder how it feels working in a legal circuit that has AK in it? Being outmaneuvered and shaded consistently must get pretty tiresome after a while.

 

Wes the Bland continues to be boring despite the best efforts of the plot. \o/

 

EDIT:

 

Also, nice to see Sam's throttle fetish is longstanding.

 

And also also, I feel like we're still missing a rather large chunk of Frank's story. He clearly knows how to do some shady shit, where'd he learn? Before or after Sam picked him out of the gutter?

Edited March 19, 2016 by Fredward

[jjj]

In real life, for this very reason, wouldn't a highly desired academic program require some more substantial proof of someone declining their offer of enrollment?

Actually, no proof of identification is needed (I don't do admissions for Stanford Law, but I see how acceptances and declines roll in via computer).  The presumption is that the person in charge of the email account is the person responding, plus there is almost always an applicant's password used for each admissions file, so you would not just say "no" to an email, but to the official database.  The idea that Oliver could respond to an email without doing the official rejection of the admission is flawed, for anyone who has been through an online admission recently (undergrad and grad!).  Also, if someone (Connor) called and said "where's my decision?", and it was discovered that someone had intercepted it, the school would find a way to reinstate the admission.  Stanford Law staff are no dummies, and would be rightly suspicious of someone saying on the phone "I decline" and whispering "and don't sent any follow-up emails, either!"!  

[Ms Blue Jay]

He's still billed as a guest star each week. And next season, when Connor throws him over for Annalise's "confirmed bachelor" brother, he might be gone altogether.

 

No.  As vixenbynight stated, Conrad Ricamora has officially made it to the main cast as of yesterday.

 

I don't understand the plotting of this show.  The inconsistency about this show is the weirdest thing about it.  The Hapstall murders were a mistake for this show; they just weren't treated correctly from jump.

 

I thought that the finale was amazing, but there were so many episodes in the middle of this season where I just didn't care.  My relationship to this show has become very strange in Season 2.  It has all the elements of a show I should like (.... like Nate, for one...) and yet, it's really hard to care a lot of the time.

 

I don't blame them for hiring the actor who played Caleb because he's extraordinarily beautiful and he's good for diversity (this has got to be one of the most diverse American shows, if not the most.)  But yeah, his acting left a lot to be desired and the show didn't even really care to compensate it.  It's like the writers are yawning at him, too.

 

1.  Does Laurel know Frank's involvement with Annalise's baby or anything about that?  If not, what does she know?  About him killing Lila for Sam, right?

2.  Did the show depict Michaela being even the slightest bit upset about Caleb betraying her / being a murderer?

3.  People assume Frank killed Mahoney (Is that Wes's father's name?)  If so, why would he?  He knows about Mahoney?

 

Thanks.  I don't dislike them at all, but I think it's hard for me to pay attention to Bonnie and Oliver stuff so I miss a lot.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[darkestboy]

That was a great finale.

 

It felt a little odd the amount of time that was spent with Annalise and her family but they were easily some of the best scenes of the whole episode. The scene in the back garden with Annalise and her mother was powerful stuff.

 

I do wonder if they're pushing for Annalise/Nate end game. I also wonder if Eve will reappear next season.

 

The Hapstall mystery was solved well enough but it slightly felt like an afterthought compared to everything else that happened here.

 

Oliver did a bad thing with messing with Connor's career prospects there. Laurel/Wes meh and same with Asher/Michaela too.

 

Frank playing a role in Annalise losing her baby was a twist I didn't see coming either.

 

I guess the death of Mahoney will set up the mystery for the first half of the next season, 9/10

[wanderingstar]

I love the show and I loved this episode. 

Same here. I've really loved season 2 and felt the writers, cast, crew...everybody ended the season with a really strong episode.

 

I really loved this assessment of the episode from Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya in her review of the finale for AV Club.

 

“Anna Mae” trades blood and twists for raw emotions, for quiet family moments, for small character shifts that say a lot without feeling overly explanatory. Okay, so there’s still blood. In the final minutes of the episode, there’s a bathtub full of it, and blood splatters all over Wes when Mahoney is shot in the head by an unknown gunman just inches away from the perpetually wounded puppy. There are twists, too. Twists that reach all the way back to season one. We now know why Frank killed Lila, why he owed Sam, why he kept it a secret all this time. We know the truth about Caleb and Catherine Hapstall, about Philip. But these twists, especially the non-Hapstall ones, are grounded in the emotional backbone of the episode. They’re not even necessarily the focus.

 

One thing I would like to see next season is Annalise and Wes hashing out his shooting her, something they never really did. Because I don't think him shooting her was just about Rebecca. For so long Annalise has kept vital information about his life from Wes. I still believe that him shooting her was just a culmination of his frustration at constantly being lied to by her. Maybe now that the truth about Wes's parentage is out, they can finally settle some of the tension between them.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Gillian Rosh

[RedheadZombie]

I don't blame them for hiring the actor who played Caleb because he's extraordinarily beautiful and he's good for diversity (this has got to be one of the most diverse American shows, if not the most.)  But yeah, his acting left a lot to be desired and the show didn't even really care to compensate it.  It's like the writers are yawning at him, too.

 

I do blame them for hiring the model who played Caleb. As you said, this show is amazingly diverse. There are already three black cast members, what about another Asian or Hispanic character? How about the rarest of all - Middle Eastern or Native American? I just don't think there's such a small pool of black actors that they had to pluck one from the modeling world. Pretty only goes so far, and in my opinion, his limitations ruined the storyline. And there's no way they "blind casted", or he would have never been picked.

Other than Annalise, Sam, and Bonnie, and maybe Wes, the acting started out on the weak side (I would argue the weakest of any SR show). K5 is getting stronger, but they really need the guest stars to be strong actors. K5 is not at a point where they elevate weaker actors.

[pennben]

K5 is getting stronger, but they really need the guest stars to be strong actors. K5 is not at a point where they elevate weaker actors.

 

That's actually a really good point about the K5 not being strong enough to elevate other weak actors, and boyhowdy, the Caleb actor was as weak as he was pretty.  Certainly, as you noted last year they needed Annalise, Sam and Bonnie to elevate the show and pull the K5 along.  One who I really think has developed this year is Karla Souza, who plays Laurel.  I thought she did some really good work this season, although that could just be linked to her finally getting something to work with.

Edited March 19, 2016 by pennben

[Joimiaroxeu]

Agree that it was surprisingly strong finale though I'm not sure I like them throwing all this backstory in for Annalise all of a sudden. What made me the happiest is that they've seem to have taken Nate and Anna's relationship up to another level now that he's met her family and gotten their seal of approval. I was dreading it turning out that he was in with Caleb on some kind of revenge trip. I just wish they'd find more for him to do than be Annalise's police department mole and fixer.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I do blame them for hiring the model who played Caleb. As you said, this show is amazingly diverse. There are already three black cast members, what about another Asian or Hispanic character? How about the rarest of all - Middle Eastern or Native American? I just don't think there's such a small pool of black actors that they had to pluck one from the modeling world. Pretty only goes so far, and in my opinion, his limitations ruined the storyline. And there's no way they "blind casted", or he would have never been picked.

Other than Annalise, Sam, and Bonnie, and maybe Wes, the acting started out on the weak side (I would argue the weakest of any SR show). K5 is getting stronger, but they really need the guest stars to be strong actors. K5 is not at a point where they elevate weaker actors.

 

Bad white actors get hired for huge parts everyday, so I like the equality of it :)  I don't need minority actors to be held to some higher standard.  (And I really hate bad acting!  I didn't think Kendrick's was egregiously bad.)  I put equal blame on the plotting.  Casting hired him and he did the best he could in the part that was written for him.

 

I'm glad you pointed out Alfred's acting though.  I love him.  I think Matt McGorry is very talented as well.  And Karla Souza is pretty good.  Really, Michaela is the weak link for me.  She's almost as bad as Kendrick.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[RedheadZombie]

Bad white actors get hired for huge parts everyday, so I like the equality of it :)  I don't need minority actors to be held to some higher standard.  (And I really hate bad acting!  I didn't think Kendrick's was egregiously bad.)  I put equal blame on the plotting.  Casting hired him and he did the best he could in the part that was written for him.

 

I'm glad you pointed out Alfred's acting though.  I love him.  I think Matt McGorry is very talented as well.  And Karla Souza is pretty good.  Really, Michaela is the weak link for me.  She's almost as bad as Kendrick.

I agree POC should not be held to a higher standard. That guy was just no good, IMO. I also thought the Catherine actress was weak. I really believe that's why the story went nowhere.

I agree on Michaela being the weakest. She and Connor are my least favorite of the K5. Wes and Laurel are my favorites, followed by Asher. He's most improved, IMO. His comedy acting is really good, and he did well in his dramatic stuff this season. Maybe the weird pairing with Michaela is to help out the character. I find her very boring. I vote for her to be the first K5 death.

[ForeverAlone]

The Hapstall case had potential at the beginning, but it was too hastily wrapped up. And it was treated like an afterthought, because over and over again Pete says they have no idea where they are going with stories. They are just making stuff up as they go along, and don't even have a basic arc for how these things are going to play out. While I can see why you would allow for some things to develop organically, some things (like the season's big mystery), should have some advance planning, so you know what you are writing towards. 

[Nanrad]

THANK YOU!

 

So tired of hearing about long suffering Annalise having to deal with those 'ungrateful brats' she 'sacrificed everything for.' No Felicia. AK left a woman to bleed to death on her kitchen floor after she pressured that woman into suicide through forcing her to testify against an incredibly dangerous man who raped her, not even counting the 'threatening her with deportation' bit. And SHE was completely responsible for that decision, we see a lot of compulsion in this show via blackmail or whatever and while I do not think that clears you of what you as a person decide to do it's still a mitigating factor. Annalise didn't have that, it was pure ambition and desire/need for recognition that had her working for Daddy McBigbucks.

 

Can you imagine a world where if any student but Wes had confessed to killing her husband that she'd have made herself complicit in covering it up? Nyet. She would've told them to confess and given them an astonishing defense (or gotten Eve to do it cuz conflict of interest but w/e) maybe but I think it's only her layers of compounded and intertwined guilt when it comes to Wes that had her react the way she did.

 

Now ultimately I think the blame wagon goes nowhere, too many people on this show have done morally reprehensible things and at some stage you need to stop passing the buck to someone else and just own your shittiness but Annalise Keating, to my eyes, is most certainly not some well meaning/innocent bystander doing the best she can for her ungrateful murderous students out of altruism.

Honestly, I agree with Annalise's decision in leaving Wes' mom on the floor and, personally, I don't know if I would've done the same or not. Rose didn't want to be maneuvered her entire life and wanted to protect her son, so Annalise could've saved her and deal with those consequences, whatever they may be, or let Rose die and protect Wes. It wasn't an easy decisions and she panicked--Annalise didn't coldly watch Rose die. Rose could leave and either remain under control of her rapist or be on the run or allow her kid to be free without her being manipulated. Annalise owns her decisions, for the most part, but I don't believe she pieced together that Rose was raped until the conversation before her death (this could be wrong). Do you think she honestly would've knowingly blackmailed a raped victim to testify on the behalf of her rapist's son's trial? She already had issues with blackmailing/forcing Rose to testify with deportation.

 

She does try to protect the k5, but they make it difficult with their meddling, drinking, panicking, blabbering, etc. I'd be pissed too.

 

Annalise covering for Wes was a mixture of her background with Wes and how far so gone her marriage with Sam was in compound with his connection to Lila and the baby. She thought he deserved to die without justice. Wasn't her place, but she didn't want them to go through the trial, especially because she might have gotten dragged into it herself.

 

Personally, I am tired of the blame game myself. Either they accept the hand they were given OR accept the blame and responsibility for their actions.

[pennben]

Personally, I am tired of the blame game myself. Either they accept the hand they were given OR accept the blame and responsibility for their actions.

 

I think this is one of the things I find interesting as this show evolves.  As someone noted upthread, we got to see the moment when Annalise/Sam/Frank broke, and were shattered, so here we are with them. We see them so many years later and what they devolved into.

 

In another world, on another show, Frank could be the Oliver we all root for as the good guy, up until he breaks at the point he does.

 

Who among the K5 will break, who will break away from this mess.  Flashing ahead, a "where are they 20 years from now" would be a fantastic epilogue for this show whenever it ends.

Edited March 20, 2016 by pennben

[project90]

I would not mind finding out about Sam and Annalise meeting

 

or to see Sam first wife if she involved in a case Annalise takes could be interesting

 

P.S what ever happen to Sam sister

[skotnikov]

P.S what ever happen to Sam sister

She found a job on other show, is a high profile doctor now and won't come back. And I doubt writers of HTGAWM remember  she ever existed. Their memory span is pretty short. 

[nutty1]

I just watched the finale last night. So much to digest.

 

Is Frank coming back? It's not like he is off the show or anything, correct?

Do the K5 ever study or go to class?

Annalise seems like a very unhappy person.

[Nanrad]

Annalise IS unhappy: her father abandoned their family, she carried the trauma of being raped by her uncle for years and thought her mom ignored it, her former clients killed her baby due to her not producing a witness (or the witness showing up), a witness committed suicide in front of her, her husband cheated on her, and then had the mistress killed after knocking her up, and her husband was killed--to which she helped cover up the murder. There is probably some other shady shit she is involved with. 

[dr pepper]

Agreed on the revelation of Phillip giving Analise the flash drive. it violates a cardinal rule of mysteries, namely that the audience should have all the clues as soon as the investigators get them. but of course, this is a hybrid show, only part mystery. still, that bit seemed like bad writing to me. agreed also on the hacking, albeit it didn't bother me as much.

[Milaxx]

Oh, the funniest was Anna's mother and sister spying on her and Nate, salivating over him as they peeked through the curtain, hilarious, pure gold.

I can't blame them. Nate is gorgeous!

 

I suppose Wes is used to seeing people murdered in front of him, but I still thought it was a little weird that he didn't seem to have much of a reaction to his dad dropping dead right in front of him from a shot in the head. 

 

I thought he looked pretty shell shocked. Mind you Wes has barely been sleeping lately so I can't imagine him having a really dramatic affect.

......

 

This Asher, Michaela thing is really odd to me. It's just pure lust and just confusing. So I guess its a pretty good representation of a real relationship I guess...

In an odd way, I think they fit. Deep down I think Michaela is just a awkward as Asher. She's just  figured out how to act more sophisticated. The more I think about it, the more I like them together.

 

So can someone clarify Frank's role in the flashback for me and why he was so guilty.... Did he just plant the bug (which gave Maloney the intel to crash into Annalise's car) or did he actually drive said car?  That wasn't clear to me given how guilty he was acting.  How would he know it wasn't an accident if he didn't drive the car himself?  I guess that scene went by too quickly for me.

 

Loved the rest of the episode - can't wait for next season.  Wonder if they'll do a DNA test for Wes to prove he's Maloney's son and cause a huge inheritance case?

 

Frank planted the bug for Mahoney who then t boned Annalise. Its his fault she was n the car accident.

.......

 

As to AK's time down south:

 

Did we know that AK has a brother and sister? 

 

Her stuck-in-the 80s room was everything. Except it didn't quite square with the notion that they'd been basically poverty stricken if this house was where she was in the 80s.

 

Sis sleeping in the bed with AK was a little creepy. I wonder if Uncle Molester went after her too or was roasted before he got the chance.

 

I knew she named her child Sam. Still, it was a powerful moment. I kind of wanted to see what she wrote in the letter to him.

 

Given Mama's mad cooking skillz, I am of the mindset that the cobbler Anna purportedly made for Nate was real...and it was spectacular.

 

When he mama came to visit she talked about packing her and the kids up when she set the house on fire to kill the uncle that molested Annalise.

He's still billed as a guest star each week. And next season, when Connor throws him over for Annalise's "confirmed bachelor" brother, he might be gone altogether.

Season 3 promotion announcement.

 

Annalise IS unhappy: her father abandoned their family, she carried the trauma of being raped by her uncle for years and thought her mom ignored it, her former clients killed her baby due to her not producing a witness (or the witness showing up), a witness committed suicide in front of her, her husband cheated on her, and then had the mistress killed after knocking her up, and her husband was killed--to which she helped cover up the murder. There is probably some other shady shit she is involved with. 

Not to mention chances are that Eve was the love of her life and she was too afraid of being labeled Gay or Bi and left her for Sam.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Milaxx

[bantering]

 

 

 

I thought he looked pretty shell shocked. Mind you Wes has barely been sleeping lately so I can't imagine him having a really dramatic affect.

In an odd way, I think they fit. 

 

 

Now that you mention it, he does come across as kind of sleep-deprived. That explanation makes some sense to me. I have nothing against the actor, and I suppose there is some appreciation for the fact that he was in the Harry Potter movies, but the character sometimes seems so bland compared to everyone else, even though he's at the heart of everything. Maybe the Rebecca infatuation kind of ruined him for me...

 

Despite the fact that Frank and  Analise and Sam had their own traumas that had a weird ricochet effect that might have led to the murder of Lila, I feel it was ultimately Wes's idiocy with Rebecca that led to the killing of Sam, and consequently Analise having to scrub a lot of floors.  

Edited March 20, 2016 by bantering

[represent]

 

Sis sleeping in the bed with AK was a little creepy.

If you mean creepy as in sexually perverted, I disagree.

 

I don't think anything creepy of siblings, especially sisters of any age, sleeping in the same bed especially if there is only one bed available.

 

I don't think there's anything creepy in a daughter laying beside her mother at any age. 

 

Now in this particular scene, it was clear that the sister was trying to spook Anna as a joke. It was obviously to me at least, that she hadn't slept in that bed and that she had come home from work or was on her way to work and stopped in to say good morning to her sister who she hadn't seen in a long while. She was wearing hospital scrubs and had this smirk on her face when the camera panned over at her laying there stiff, trying not move, so that when Anna woke up she would be spooked/surprised.  And that's what happened when Anna woke up and turned and saw her there, she started laughing.

 

And something tells me that the sister didn't suffer the same sexual abuse, she seems full of light, like her childhood wasn't robbed.  On the other hand, Anna walks with a dark cloud all around her.

[Happytobehere]

1) In an odd way, I think they fit. Deep down I think Michaela is just a awkward as Asher. She's just figured out how to act more sophisticated. The more I think about it, the more I like them together.

2) Not to mention chances are that Eve was the love of her life and she was too afraid of being labeled Gay or Bi and left her for Sam.

1) I actually agree with you this. When they got together in the previous episode, I actually Charlie Browned it, I was even on the same boat during my first watch of this episode. On rewatch, I realized how well paired they truly are, for the very reasons you mentioned. As much as them seem different on the surface, they really are similar at their cores and as such are probably in the best position to have a happy and functional relationship.

2) I also agree that Eve is truly the love of Annalise's life but her fears over the scrutiny pushed her into an ultimately miserable relationship with Sam. Can't really comment on how Nate fits in, but for some reason, I don't see those two as being end-game. Of course, they might not get FJ back, which would naturally alter my thoughts, but I hope that's not the case. Strangely, I have never liked FJ in anything I've seen her in, but she blows me away in HTGAWM. I'm sure being paired with VD elevates her, but she has to have the basic skills to hold her own, as others have noted, the actor who played Caleb was not great and his scenes with VD only served to highlight his weaknesses.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Happytobehere

[Nanrad]

Although Oliver is not terrible in the sense of the others, that's really fucked up of him. I understand that he's spiraling, but  he's aware enough to discretely ruin Connor's chances of attending Stanford. Personally, I'm indifferent to both Connor and Oliver, but Connor has been shown to be a supportive boyfriend and Oliver should've been supportive or at least voiced his reasons why he doesn't want to get up and move.

[helenamonster]

1.  Does Laurel know Frank's involvement with Annalise's baby or anything about that?  If not, what does she know?  About him killing Lila for Sam, right?

2.  Did the show depict Michaela being even the slightest bit upset about Caleb betraying her / being a murderer?

 

1. I still don't think she knows about the baby (I don't think any of the K5 know there ever was a baby). And maybe I'm forgetting a scene but doesn't she still think it was Annalise who ordered Lila's murder? If that's the case, Annalise (or Frank, whenever he comes back) needs to set her straight. I remember someone mentioning in another episode thread how fucked up everything Annalise has done since Sam's murder must seem to Laurel if she thinks Annalise is responsible for Lila's murder.

 

2. I think there was a quick moment where Asher was all "sorry about your boyfriend being a murderer, that's rough" but that was it. She didn't seem to care all that much.

 

Is Frank coming back? It's not like he is off the show or anything, correct?

 

I think someone posted here that every member of the main cast is back for season 3 (including Conrad Ricamora/Oliver, who's been bumped up to the main cast). So Frank should be popping back up. I look forward to the convoluted way they manage to keep him around with Annalise knowing everything about him now. Although wait, does she only know he killed Lila, not her baby? That convo with Bonnie at the end was kind of cryptic.

 

For people asking about the show's timeline...the beginning of this season started about a month or so after Rebecca's murder. A couple episodes ago, Michaela mentioned finals being a month away, and I think the last few episodes have only taken place over the course of a few days. So they're still in their first year of law school.

[bannana]

When Anna Mae was at her mom's house, we saw several young children, and there were references to Auntie Anna Mae.  But Anna Mae and her sibs never gave Cicely Tyson any grandchildren.  Who are these "nieces/nephews" then?

 

Re what Bonnie told AK, I think that she did tell her that Frank was responsible for her baby's death, as well as him killing Lila (how fucking stupid is that?!  but then we have like four out of five cast members murdering people, so, okay...).

 

I loved the finale.  This show is improbable but keeps me guessing and I love the twists and turns.  And I truly loved seeing Anna Mae with her family.

[helenamonster]

Some people have their children refer to family friends or (non first) cousins as aunt/uncle.

[project90]

When Anna Mae was at her mom's house, we saw several young children, and there were references to Auntie Anna Mae. But Anna Mae and her sibs never gave Cicely Tyson any grandchildren. Who are these "nieces/nephews" then?

My cousins kids called me uncle so could be same

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

The Season Finale Of How To Get Away With Murder Is Great Family Drama
The stuff about murder is (ahem) less great.

[LydiaMoon1]

Her stuck-in-the 80s room was everything. Except it didn't quite square with the notion that they'd been basically poverty stricken if this house was where she was in the 80s.

 

 

That's not necessarily the house she was raised in.  My head canon is that her mother carefully reconstructed Anna Mae's room in the new house that Anna Mae bought her. She seems to inspire that kind of devotion.

 

 

I'm also a little confused by Mama's circumstances. […..] Now we see Mama has a nice house, and the entire extended family is dressed to the nines, like they're headed to the local Baptist church Sunday morning.  And while Anna certainly overcame her childhood abuse, it doesn't seem like she had to dig her way out of the gutter.  All the family Anna's age and younger seemed to be well-educated and relatively successful.  It leaves me a little confused, but I'm going with the writers decided to take the character in a new (and better) direction.

 

 

Didn’t confuse me at all.  Why would her family still be living in squalor? Anna Mae was a teenager a long time ago, plus Annalise has been a successful attorney for quite some time and she’s also a college professor who was married to a very successful man.  It wouldn’t be a problem for her to buy her mom a nice house and send her sister to nursing school. The brother strikes me as the perpetually unemployed type though, especially considering that he was wearing Sam’s old suit that her mom took back to Memphis with her because she said he could use some good suits for his job search.  

 

 

[….] I find Laurel/Wes and Michaela/Asher really awkward. I didn't love Frank/Laurel or Wes/Rebecca (RIP) but I understood them, at least.

Agreed.

 

 

So glad that Hapstall mess is resolved. Don't even care that Caleb didn't seem to have the cunning to pull it all off -- I blame that on the actor, or "mactor", really. Dude had zero nuance, which contributed to his sketchiness. I think they would have spent more time on that murder if they'd have cast it better.

 

Agreed.

[represent]

 

When Anna Mae was at her mom's house, we saw several young children, and there were references to Auntie Anna Mae. But Anna Mae and her sibs never gave Cicely Tyson any grandchildren. Who are these "nieces/nephews" then?

My cousins kids called me uncle so could be same

 

Same here, if someone was of a certain age in my family they got that aunt/uncle attached to their name even if they were actually your cousin. It's just a sign of respect. 

There were one or two elders who were called Cousin followed by their name. Cause you weren't going to call them Mr. or Mrs., they're family. And you can't go around as a kid calling them by their first name sounds disrespectful, so...

 

I think I understood who really was an aunt/uncle vs. an honorary aunt/uncle because they were old, by the time I was seven.  If you weren't a sibling to either one of my parents nor my grandparents, I was like, this is really my cousin or some close family friend.

Edited March 21, 2016 by represent

[Milaxx]

I call my mother's cousins "Aunt & Uncle" Because they are my mother's age. 

[Dowel Jones]

My brother, who lived and worked in Lafayette, LA for several years, related a joke that the Cajuns there sometimes tell on themselves:  "Most Cajuns are related to their father, but they're not sure how."

[Chicago Redshirt]

Did they establish a timeline for this episode?

Because it definitely started at some point during their 1L spring/second semester, and for Connor to have applied to transfer means they must have at least gotten their grades for the semester. I guess they are doimg their summer internships with Anna Mae?

 

My admittedly imperfect memory has me believing that Wes and Laurel's jaunt to Cleveland took place during spring break. So I am under the impression that this is within the school year.

 

Although real-world Stanford Law apparently makes its transfer application available March 15 and accepts apps through June 15, I assume a little dramatic license is being taken by the show and we're still before June.

 

One difference between this season and last is they've largely abandoned the classes that the K5 have been going to, even AK's own. There's been relatively little talk about the this or that class, exams, outlines or any of that jazz. 

[jhlipton]

I'm sure Caleb's death uis a suicide -- no one wants to revisit the Hapstall's any more.
 

As much as [Michaella and Asher] seem different on the surface, they really are similar at their cores and as such are probably in the best position to have a happy and functional relationship.

That will never happen on this show!

 

I still think Asher is the least guilty of the K5.  His "crime" at Trotter Lake was not speaking up when he should have.  It was a mistake, but Bonnie helped him realize that it was a mistake and that there was nothing he could do for the girl now.  He killed DA Smugface in a fit of anger and was pretty quickly sorry about it.  The only reason he hasn't gone to the police is that the K5 (and Annalise) got him neck-deep in their own shenanigans.