Annalise finally transforms from more than just an "angry black woman" to a character dealing with complex, emotional problems.
In the most recent review of How to Get Away with Murder, I discussed how I wanted to see more emotional strife and vulnerability from Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) rather than the stereotypical “angry black woman.” Fortunately, in episode four, we are provided with a more emotional component to Annalise’s character that hasn’t been apparent in the last few episodes of the show.
The episode begins with another one of its recurring series of flash-forward scenes that allude to the incidents following the shooting of Annalise. Annalise is being carried out on a stretcher into an ambulance. She, of course, is losing a lot of blood and is nonresponsive to the paramedics. Within this sequence, we eventually flashback to four weeks prior to her shooting. She is in her bathtub, underwater and motionless.
Her peace is eventually altered with a phone call from Nate (Billy Brown). Sike — more like Nate’s wife, Nia (Enuka Okuma). We are shocked and left wondering why Nate’s wife is calling Annalise’s phone. Nia, why are you calling Annalise, aka the woman your current husband is having an affair with? I honestly thought she was going to cuss Annalise out, but she only calls her to ask if she could come to the hospital to see her, which is still pretty suspicious.
via giphy.com
This is the first time we see Nia and Annalise meet in person. It was pretty intense — so intense that Annalise throws on a new wig, some makeup and a nice dress to properly meet Nia. Once at the hospital, Annalise is confronted with some surprising news: Nia asks if Annalise could provide her with pills that she would then overdose on. Nia says Annalise is capable of doing this because she accuses her of killing Sam (Tom Verica). I got a feeling someone is watching someone, or doing some sort of sneaking around. Or maybe, Nate just told his wife everything because he needed someone whom he could vent with. It’s possible.
Anyway, of course, if you show up to a hospital and a lady asks if you could kill her because you have the means to do it by legal power and/or capability of doing it, I mean I would be shocked and leave that room right at once, too. I really want to know Annalise’s thought process on this entire situation. Did she think that if she kills Nate’s wife she could have him all to herself? That sounds sick, but it’s just out of curiosity.
After Annalise leaves the hospital, she walks into her house where she meets her students, legal team and a teenager named Zoe (Sammi Hanratty), who tells a story of how she accidentally stabbed her best friend to death 50 times. Honestly, I could tell that this story was full of baloney. How do you "accidentally" kill your best friend?!
via giphy.com
It’s so suspicious that it gets Laurel (Karla Souza) to investigate even further. She steals Zoe’s phone, where she finds a video of Zoe talking about her desire to kill not only her “best friend” but also a teacher who gave her a “C.” Yeah, it was that stupid.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="63aaad32-75f1-11e5-ad47-d3b81d8fd072"}}
Back to Annalise, who is still haunted by her conversation with Nia. It’s throwing her off in court, as she is zoning in and out during the case, which is showing that emotional turmoil I was asking for in last week’s review. It was a tough decision and sad news for Annalise. I’m not really sure how I would feel if the woman whose husband you're cheating with asks you to put her out of her cancer-stricken misery, and it is your choice that is the deciding factor to save her or kill her. That’s painful mentally and emotionally, and in this episode, we really get to see Annalise struggle with these emotions.
Later in the episode, we find out that Annalise decides to not help Nia kill herself (predictable). But what I did like was that Annalise showed that she does struggle with the same problem Nia does, saying how she thinks about killing herself. But she also says that if she doesn’t deserve to die than “better women” like Nia don’t either. It instantly made the whole cheating on her spouse situation a little better.
via giphy.com
Annalise sends Michaela (Aja Naomi King) to the Hapstall’s house so she can practice with Caleb (Kendrick Sampson) for the trial. But, the weird thing about this whole confrontation is that Annalise tells Michaela to “use her boobs” to test if Caleb really has an incestueous relationship with his adopted sister Catherine (Amy Okuda).
Asher (Matt McGorry) is absent from the Keating Five this episode as he asks his dad for help in making a deal with Emily Sinclair (Sarah Burns) to help bury some problem with a girl named Tiffany.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="5010cf9a-75e2-11e5-83db-83bb764f62de"}}
Wes (Alfred Enoch) shows up to the hospital where Nate and his wife are, and he basically bothers Nate to stay on top and continue to find clues about who killed Rebecca. Wes, I seriously thought you were over this girl, and now you’re just showing up to hospitals terrorizing Nate in front of his sick wife just so you can finally get some answers as to who might have killed her? Wes, how could you?
This episode is also one of the first times one of the Keating Five actually questions Annalise’s methods when it comes to her teaching and, I guess, working. Connor (Jack Falahee) slips the video of Zoe to the other prosecutors, which jeopardized Annalise’s chances of winning the case. Of course, Annalise was going to find out, and she calls him into her office, where he basically tells her, “I cannot deal with anymore blood on my hands.” Annalise fires right back and basically puts him back in his place so he won’t attempt to ever do something like that again. But something tells me that Connor will be trying another way to revolt against Annalise and her law practices in the future.
So then we reach the end of the episode, which typically features crucial details that should’ve been explained throughout the show being thrown into the last two minutes.
Wes and Levi (Matt Cohen), with Nate’s help, discovered one of the people Frank (Charlie Weber) called the night Rebecca disappeared, and that person’s brother works at a cemetery. How convenient.
Then, we get another flash-forward with Nate driving Connor, Wes, Laurel and Michaela in his police car to a specific location, where Michaela is ask to “handle” the situation. If that was a pun or joke at other shows on TGIT then that was pretty clever, HTGAWM writers.
Michaela gets out the car, enters the house and guess who’s inside?
Caleb! He asks, “How is she?”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="668bec3a-76cf-11e5-a461-ef8fbc53aa85"}}
Um, who is he talking about?! Annalise or Catherine? I don’t know, but this show is honestly getting crazier and crazier by the episode.
How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.
@its_candicew
cw873012@ohio.edu
