Last Week, ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ concluded its second season with “Anna Mae”, with some shocking revelations, and of course, another murder. Preparing for a third season, let’s recap on those shocking, final moments!
As the Keating 5 think Annalise is missing, Oliver is drawn once more, into the fold to track her down, as Laurel confesses to Frank, that Annalise knows he killed Lyla; through her drunken stupor the night before.
Yet to be finished with the past, we travel back 10 years, to learn Frank’s side of the story.
Having hooked up with the Detective, he is surprised to have been as much her mark, as she was his. With a tonne of cash on the table, for Annalise’s scrappy rescue – far from the clean-cut Frank of present day, he is offered the opportunity to become more than Annalise’s ‘bitch’.
As Oliver manages to track down Annalise, we’re welcomed into Memphis, Tennessee, as she awakens in her childhood bedroom.
Ignoring calls from Bonnie; and her own drama in general, we discover Annalise has a sister (and later, a brother) who has their own drama to deal with.
As her Mother informs her that the family is gathering, we’re taken back to the sole comfort of her Mother’s tough love in season one, as she is instead, overwhelmed by her family, this time around. Shocked to see her estranged family; including her estranged Father, Annalise leaves the party.
Back in the past once more, Frank bugs Annalise’s hotel room; on behalf of the Detective, having feigned a confrontation with her over her martyrised attitude to saving him.
Brushing up against the Law in Present day, we learn that there is an arrest warrant being drawn up for Annalise. As Laurel urges Wes to await her return, he tells her that Wallace Mahoney is his father. Wanting to go and find him in New York, Laurel is the first to question the truthfulness of Annalise’s confession. Worried by her confession, Frank is panicked to learn that the ghosts of the past have arisen again, through Wes’ paternity.
Back in Memphis, Annalise is confronted by her sister Celestine; who argues whether her drama was worth abandoning the care of their mother to her; with no right to dispute their own Father’s return; and subsequent help.
Meanwhile, Annalise’s two lives align, as Nate shows up to warn Annalise about the warrant. Wanting her to return home, he thinks running away is uncharacteristic of the Annalise he knows.
Back in the past, we learn that Frank’s hush money; intended for Rebecca, was the blood money of his deal with the Detective, 10 years prior. Shoving it back into his closet, with the rest of his skeletons, Bonnie warns Frank against doing anything stupid, as we move forward to a lighter note as Asher and Michaela struggle to resist one another following their hook-up.
Meanwhile, as Oliver continues to look into Annalise’s arrest warrant, he learns that it’s redacted; revealing that an informant has been providing evidence against her. Suspecting one of their own, the team look into the CCTV of the police station, to locate the rat.
Elsewhere, at the Harkness family gathering, Ophelia expresses her dismay at the lack of grandchildren from her 3 children. For some reason it shocks me that Annalise has siblings; I question whether they are able to lead normal lives; or if they will ever find themselves tied up in Annalise’s drama. As tensions flare up at the table, Ophelia calls Annalise selfish and self-centred, citing this as the reason she never had children with Sam.
Tragically confessing to the loss of her only child, Ophelia relents her anger, counselling a heartbroken Annalise; whose darkness is tied to her loss.
Admitting that she wanted to get shot because things are too hard, Ophelia tells Annalise that it’s hard because she’s fighting her issues alone. With the union of the past and present, will season 3 see the third evolvement of Annalise Keating? as she reunites with the Anna-Mae Harkness of her past, that lived successfully aside her achievements, and failures.
Flashing back to the past, the bug planted by Frank reveals Annalise’s conversation with Eve, in which she ends up in the accident, following her assertiveness. Tragically, Frank has played a hand, as the Detective informs Wallace Mahoney of her actions, who orders her to be taken care of.
Waking her in the middle of the night, Ophelia seeks closure for Annalise as they bid farewell to her child; Sam, in a letter buried and figuratively sent to the heavens. Finally given the opportunity, to be able to seek comfort in the arms of her mother, Annalise is ready to face the present. Akin to her Father, who seeks the reminder of his identity through Ophelia, she is able to return to Philadelphia.
Returning upon the warning that the Tennessee police would arrest her; should she not hand herself, she learns that Caleb was never missing, and was in fact, the rat.
Perhaps far from ever being too fragile, Annalise brings the Shondaland thunder; in a well-rounded conclusion to last week’s TGIT, with a plan to save herself and the Keating 5.
With Nate’s help, Annalise goes to meet the DA with her defence. Warranted on the obstruction of justice, and hindering of the Hapstall case, we’re shocked to learn that, “Caleb Hapstall is a serial killer”. Killing Eleanor Hapstall and his parents; framing Catherine and Philip for it by stashing the gun, we learn that Philip Jessup’s stalker actions were necessary for him to provide Annalise with the evidence she needed. With Catherine’s testimony and the evidence from his GPS tracker, Caleb’s motive was desirous of his need to be the sole heir of the Hapstall fortune.
To seal her freedom, Annalise has Phillip Jessup – now innocent – willing to turn himself in. Perhaps, overwhelmed in her sheer brilliance to solely save the Keating 5 once more, Oliver is the first to acknowledge the power our long-missed, brilliant lead. As he deletes Connor’s acceptance email to Stanford, is Oliver on his own mission to become the one member of the Keating team to not resent Annalise?
Seemingly bidding farewell to Kendrick Sampson and his incredible portrayal of Caleb Hapstall, we see a dying – or dead – Caleb in a bathtub of his own blood, as the news of his guilt is aired on TV.
Returning to Keating HQ, Bonnie races to defend Frank to Annalise; revealing his role in her accident in the meantime. As a flashback reveals Sam’s acknowledgment of Frank’s actions, we learn that a guilty Frank is silenced by Sam, and indebted to him for preserving
Annalise’s guidance. Unwilling to lose his wife alongside his Son, it is this reveal that reveals why Frank killed Lyla on Sam’s behalf.
Remaining optimistic, despite his exit towards the episode’s end, perhaps Frank isn’t as Huck-like as we first thought, with his now, seemingly obligatory act of murder.
Seemingly, asking the same question, Wes’ confrontation with his Father is cut short as Wallace Mahoney is shot dead in the streets of New York, by an unknown killer.
Whilst it would be too obvious to assume it was Frank, we’re left to wait until Season 3 to get any answers.
Replacing its slot in the TGIT line-up,The Catch airs tonight at 10|9c:
How To Get Away with Murder returns later this year for its 3rd season, on ABC!
[Featured Image courtesy of ABC, Source Content for Gif: ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ ABC 2016 ]