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"How to Get Away With Murder" 1.10: Wigging Out

Welcome back to “How to Get Away With a Primetime Show Featuring a Well-Rounded, Complex Black Woman and Gay Man Both of Whom Occasionally Have Sex,” the show that had old fogies clutching their pearls, and paved the way for every single straight character on television to discover assplay. I’ll have a lot more to say about all this later in the recap (I have nothing more to say about this), but first let’s dive into the premiere of Season 2!

Wait, this isn’t Season 2??? But hasn’t this show been off the air for like three months? Huh. Well, anyway …

In an opening scene I absolutely LOVED, one that directly recalls the show’s most-talked-about scene when Annalise (Viola Davis) stripped off her wig and makeup, we now see the reverse process as she armors up. Subtle symbolism alert! Gone is the chic, ballbusting succesful law professor wig that screamed, “Look, bitches, I’m in charge and I know exactly how to get away with murder,” replaced by a softer, more delicate wig that whispers, “Who, me murder? Yuck.”

And confirming what we all suspected after the last episode, we also see that she clearly coached Wes (Alfred Enoch) about what to do in the aftermath of the murder. Although she does initially show shock and grief at discovering his body, she quickly gets herself together and assures Wes that Sam killed Lila and deserved to die for it. She promises that if he does exactly what she says he’ll get through this, and advises him about hiding the body and getting rid of the remains (which explains much of Wes’ behavior the night of the bonfire, including lying about that coin toss).

What’s more, we see her getting herself a nice little alibi with her visit to Detective Downtown (Billy Brown) and calls to Sam’s mobile phone and to Bonnie (Liza Weil).

Solidifying her alibi, Annalise even goes ahead and admits to the police that she was with her LOVER the night Sam went missing, and that he happens to be an ex-detective they all know. While I question the wisdom to admitting you were cheating on  a husband who may soon turn up murdered, Annalise is way smarter than me and knows what she's doing. Plus Detective Downtown indicates later on that he's willing to back her up.

The next morning, we see the kids gathered on the porch of Annalise’s house waiting to be questioned by the police and looking like they’ve collectively crapped their pants. In particular Connor (Jack Falahee), is pacing with this hunched over Groucho Marx look that screams I’m totally guilty of something and/or experiencing a severe back spasm. Dear Show… THIS NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR HIM! Please make it better.

Connor is freaking out about all the ways they might be caught, and wonders what’s stopping one of them from going to the police and throwing the others under the bus.  Laurel (Karla Souza) responds that then the others would throw the throw-bus-underer under the bus in return. Sheesh, she is cold.

Annalise returns and – hilariously – Michaela (Aja Naomi King) asks if they’re still going to have to take their final exam. Way to get your priorities straight. Annalise shuts that down fast and asks to speak with Wes in private.

In her office, Wes tells Annalise the others are freaking out and he thinks if they knew she was on board with helping them they might feel better. She says they can’t know that she knows anything about Sam’s murder because they might screw up their police interviews. She’s worried that if the police learn she was anywhere near the vicinity of her cheating husband on the night he disappeared, she’ll be their main suspect.

Then she does that fondling thing with Wes that’s either sweetly maternal or disturbingly gropey. She promises him that it will be OK and that she’ll get the charges against Rebecca (Katie Findlay) dismissed.

As a token of good will, Wes then gives Annalise SAM’S WEDDING RING WHICH HE REMOVED FROM THE BODY!!! And Annalise keeps it!!! Sigh. I’d expect him to do something as dumb as holding onto evidence of a crime but Annalise? Really? There’s no way this isn’t coming back to bite her in the ass, right?

Much of the episode then focuses on Annalise’s determination to make good on her promise of exonerating Rebecca. And her plan is to pretty much to paint Sam as the likely murderer. First up, she wants proof that Sam not only wasn’t at Yale when he said he was but had returned to Philadelphia.

This inspires Connor to visit Oliver (Conrad Ricamora) – Yay Oliver! – who uses his sexy hacking skills to track Sam’s electronic toll booth usage. This winds up being a bust, but the two make nice chit chat. Oliver asks Connor which drugs he’s currently on … Adderall, Heroin, Flinstones Chewable Vitamins. Connor says he’ll quit right after finals, and hahahahahaha about that, like if he were a drug addict there’d be any reason to believe him.

Then Connor probes Oliver – heh heh, “probes” – about that studly guy who answered his door, and Oliver admits they’re no longer dating. Whew! Now that that’s all cleared up, you two may commence boning. #teamConniver

When Connor’s toll both effort fails, there’s a whole lot of business about getting the D.A. to release Sam’s laptop, and when they finally get their hands on it, it shows via Sam’s phone tracking that he was at the sorority at the time of the murder.

Annalise also has to line up motive. Part of this is getting a DNA test done to prove Sam was the sperm generator behind Lila’s pregnancy. When Frank (Charlie Weber) gives Annalise the test results, she opens the envelope and bursts into a smile, announcing, “It was his.” Frank is all, “WTF Annalise? No woman should be so happy about her husband being a cheating horndog.” He tells her she’d better fess up to what’s really going on so he can help her. She agrees.

But this leads Frank to confront Laurel, with whom he’d previously been happily flirting. He says she has a lot of nerve to be pissed about him not mentioning his girlfriend after “WHAT YOU DID!!!”

Back to Annalise’s plan to get Rebecca off … although Sam is confirmed as the father, that’s not enough of a motive alone to murder Lila, but they determine it would be if Lila had threatened to keep the baby. Annalise petitions to get medical records from a clinic that Rebecca remembers Lila had visited, likely to get an abortion. Annalise’s petition is denied because of confidentiality laws, but Michaela discovers a legal precedent where waiting room surveillance tapes are fair game.

Watching the tape of Lila’s visit, they hit paydirt … there’s Lila with Sam having a heated argument. They then question the clinic receptionist who, confidentiality be damned, is only too happy to confirm he seemed to be pressuring her and she was fighting back.

All of this is enough to make Sam, presumed missing, suspect number one, and charges against Rebecca are dropped. Happy day! Happy except for these two catty mean girls in the ladies’ restroom talking about how anyone who would set up her own husband this way to win a court case is a monster, not realizing Annalise was inside a stall and heard the whole thing. Annalise comes out and gives them the VIOLA DAVIS DEATH GLARE which is enough to reduce them both to helpless puddles of their own urine.

Meanwhile, throughout the episode, we also see the police questioning each of them about their knowledge of Sam’s actions prior to his “disappearance” and his relationship with his wife. Most of them stick to their story of being at study group and then the pep rally, while flashbacks amusingly show that THEY LIE!

But each of them also puts their own spin on events. Wes casually mentions to the police that Rebecca is also his girlfriend. When the police question if that’s OK given she’s his client, he says he’s just a student not her lawyer, which is hilarious because usually the students on this show are doing the work of Supreme Court justices and no one seems to care.

Later on, Wes and Rebecca are lounging in bed and she wonders why he isn’t freaking out, and he’s all, “Because I’m too dumb to freak out,” and they seem happy.

Asher (Matt McGorry) is questioned by the police as well, and even though we know he had nothing to do with the murder, he provides important information, saying he came to Annalise’s looking for the statue but no one answered the door even though Connor’s car was parked in the driveway.

Asher then says he spent the rest of the night with a sexy older woman named Bonnie. When Bonnie is herself questioned about this, she throws up in her own mouth and tells the police it was a one-night act of desperation. Afterward, she tells Asher to knock it off with the lusting after her, because it is never, ever, EVER going to happen again, and he’s all, “I like those odds!” I just love that loveable goofball. Bonnie should grab him before someone else realizes his potential.

When Laurel is questioned, she casually mentions that Sam used to give her the horndog, lusty, perv-eyed, once-over, which proves how clever and ruthless she can be in that it provides more subtle evidence condemning Sam for Lila’s murder.

Michaela proves clever as well… when the police ask her why she claimed Connor drove them to the pep rally when, per Asher, his car was parked in the driveway, she quickly comes up with a plausible explanation. Although this is certainly going to come back to bite her in the ass and gets her even more panicky.

Connor is surprisingly sweet during his questioning, pointing out that he sees a vulnerable side to Annalise behind the steely exterior. Yet outside of this scene, he is clearly unraveling.

At one point he breaks into a random discussion of Crime and Punishment and at the mention of Russian literature I fell asleep instantly like those narcoleptic puppies. But it was OK because it showed he has a literary side, and that makes him even more sexy to me.

But Connor’s panicked/ruthless side comes through. Arguing that they weren’t the ones who committed the murder and weren’t thinking clearly in its aftermath, he talks Michaela and eventually Laurel into turning in Wes and Rebecca in exchange for lighter sentences.

But when the three of them get to the police station to rat out Wes, they’re in for a surprise. Because heading them off at the pass is none other than Annalise, with Wes in tow. Connor quickly figures out that Laurel must have told them what he was up to. She says that when Frank confronted her about WHAT SHE DID, she realized the only way he could have known was if Annalise knew about the murder and had told him.

Annalise then does the fondling thing with Connor and soothingly says she understands that he’s scared but assures him that she’ll take care of everything.

Exam day! Annalise tells the class that their essay is to find a plausible defense for a group of clueless first-year law students who got themselves wrapped up in the murder and body-disposal of their professor’s husband – although she cleverly disguises this by giving all the defendants names from Clue and setting the murder in a Seven Eleven.

Meanwhile, we get a montage that shows how happy everyone is … Laurel cozies up to that hot legal aid guy … Michaela tries on a gorgeous wedding dress … Wes gets drunk about exams being over.

Then Connor calls Annalise to say, “OMG, Annalise! Marcia Gay Harden is on our show! I’m so excited. LOVE her!” That’s right, Marcia Gay Harden has arrived, and she’s playing Sam’s sister, who tells the D.A. that when it comes to whatever Annalise is saying about Sam, SHE LIES!

End of Episode.

The Verdict: Wow, a lot happened in this episode. But also nothing happened, if you know what I mean? It moved really quickly, and all the characters had their moments. But there were no huge twists or revelations as we’ve come to expect to really move the plot forward. Sure Sam’s sister arrived, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how that plays out, but for now we don’t know why she should be perceived as such a threat.

I did like seeing everyone in panic-backstab mode, but I also missed some of the more playful banter that lightens the mood usually. A.k.a. Asher-Connor bro-flirtation. It’s not fun seeing Connor in perpetual freak-out mode. I want fun, funny, flirty Connor back. In the meantime, I’ll be over here reading and/or writing Asher-Connor porn fiction.

What did you think? Oh, and Sam’s sister totally killed Lila, right?

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