In this episode of How to Get Away with Murder season 2, “She Hates Us,” the Keating 5 all struggle to find some sense of normalcy after recent events, but the tension in their relationship with Annalise brings them closer together. Meanwhile, flashbacks to Annalise’s past shed some light on her connection to Wes’ mom. And Annalise returns to work on what should be a simple case, but it gets complicated when the victim’s mother asks for a special hearing.
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Annalise Gets Back to Work
It’s Annalise’s first day back in court and Bonnie has the Keating 5 — plus Frank but minus Wes — all gathered to show their support. Alas, Annalise doesn’t seem to want them there, making Michaela think she was right that Annalise hates them all. Annalise thinks her first case will be easy because her client has already pleaded guilty and they have a plea agreement in place. Alas, the victim’s mother speaks up in court, saying she wants a restorative justice hearing. This apparently involves some kind of discussion between the defendant and the harmed party that lets them come to terms and can help get the defendant’s sentence reduced if the judge agrees to it.
Annalise and the A.D.A. argue that a restorative justice hearing does not apply to this case, but the judge comes down on the victim’s mother’s side and orders the hearing. Annalise tells Bonnie to work with the students and prep their client for the hearing. The students think the hearing is just a way for the victim’s mother to attack their client, but they have to go through with it. Bonnie takes Michaela to prep their client and he seems like he knows what to say, but Michaela later discovers a discrepancy in the case. Apparently, the victim’s phone was never found at the crime scene and they realize it is because their client was the last one to use said phone. He sent a text to the victim’s mother after shooting her son, meaning he lied when he claimed the shooting was an accident. Annalise tells her client never to repeat that to another person.
Yet during the restorative justice hearing, the client is so moved by what the victim’s mother has to say that he ends up confessing to everything. He tells her that he killed her son and let him die before sending her that last text message. Even though what he says during this hearing cannot be used in court, the A.D.A. revokes the plea agreement. She tells Annalise that she is upping the charge to first degree murder and going for the death penalty.
But to Annalise’s surprise, the victim’s mother still wants Annalise’s client to get a good deal. Despite knowing the truth about him murdering her son, she wants to forgive him so she can heal. She tells Annalise to do her job and make sure her client gets the original deal he was promised.
Annalise performs well in court and actually convinces the A.D.A. to back off the death penalty option. But she will only do so if the client agrees to a life sentence without a chance at parole. Both Annalise and the victim’s mother argue against this deal, but the client decides to take it. He may be a murderer, but he apparently has a conscience. The victim’s mother then reaches out to the man who killed her son and tells him that they are in this together.
Wes Ends Up in the Psych Ward
As the episode begins, Wes goes to a doctor for sleeping pills because he has not been sleeping for more than two or three hours a night in weeks. The doctor questions him about why he needs these pills and suggests that he see a therapist instead of relying on medication. Wes isn’t interested in going to therapy and the doctor refuses to give him pills when she knows she will never see him again. On his way out, Wes makes a stupid joke about shooting himself without realizing that doing so will get him admitted to the psych ward on a mandatory hold.
Wes contacts Laurel and asks her to get him out of the psych ward. Unfortunately for Wes, his doctor is not impressed with any of Laurel’s legal speak or threats to sue her, so Wes has to stay where he is. Laurel tells Annalise about Wes’ situation, but instead of doing something to get Wes out, Annalise just brushes it off and says that Wes could use the break.
In the psych ward, Wes talks about his childhood trauma as a way to get the doctor off his back, but she does not believe that is the reason he is having trouble sleeping. She knows that he works for the professor who got shot and she believes Annalise’s shooting has something to do with his sleep problems.
Wes eventually opens up to her about finding his mother’s body when he was just a child. When he found her, all he could see was the blood, and though he knew he was supposed to do something to help her, he couldn’t. She later died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Wes’ doctor says that Annalise’s shooting brought up all those old memories of his mother’s death and that is why Wes has had such a hard time getting to sleep. The doctor is apparently impressed enough with Wes’ honesty that she releases him from the psych ward.
When Wes returns home that night, he finds a file Annalise dropped off at his apartment that connects back to his mother. Will Wes be able to use said file to piece together the truth about Annalise’s connection to his mother?
The Students Band Together
Tensions are high because the Keating 5 are all getting sick of the way Annalise treats them. Connor seems fine with it, as he hates Annalise as much as she seems to hate them. When Laurel tells the others that Annalise did not lift a hand to help Wes while he has been in the psych ward, Michaela has had enough. She declares that she is done taking orders from Annalise, and the rest of the group follows her out. They all head to the pysch ward to try and get Wes out but end up just giving him a ride home because he has already been released. During the group ride home, Connor says that they should all stick together because without Annalise to rely on, they all need each other.
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10 Years Earlier
In a set of flashbacks, we get a look at Annalise’s life back in the day. Annalise is late in her pregnancy when she is working on the Mahoney case. Sam is worried about her working too hard while pregnant, but Annalise is taking care of herself and the baby is fine. Surprisingly, Sam and Annalise actually seem like a happy couple in these flashbacks.
We see Annalise meet with Wes’ mom again. Annalise has come prepared with a file of the case she is working on. When Rose reads the Mahoney file, she asks Annalise who she is. Annalise admits to being a lawyer, and Rose tries to leave. Annalise promises Rose that she can protect both Rose and her son. What connection does Wes’ mother have to Annalise’s case and how does that lead to Rose’s death?
Said flashbacks also give us a look at younger versions of Frank and Bonnie. Frank is working as Annalise’s secretary/assistant and hitting on young law students, so not much has changed with him in the past 10 years. On the other hand, Bonnie and Annalise have a much more polite relationship in the flashbacks, as Bonnie gives Annalise advice about how to ease her pregnancy pains and opens up to her about her therapy with Sam. While it is nice to see the two getting along so well, I actually prefer the brutal honesty of their present-day dynamic.
Is Philip Back?
Caleb stops by Annalise’s house because the police will not tell him or Catherine anything about their search for Philip. Annalise points out that Catherine shot her — a lie that Caleb apparently believes now — but Caleb says that Philip is to blame for drugging Catherine as well as killing their parents. (Does Caleb actually believe Philip killed his parents or is he just pretending to go along with the story Annalise came up with?) Caleb thinks thay can work together to find Philip, but Annalise has had enough of this drama. She kicks Caleb out and tells him that he is no longer her responsibility.
Later in the episode, Connor calls Annalise and tells her that they received an e-mail of a video from the night of Annalise’s shooting. The students can be seen in the video, and Connor thinks it is a message from Philip.
Frank Tells Laurel the Truth
Laurel is sick and tired of all the lies in her life and her relationship, so she comes clean with Frank about Annalise’s shooting and admits that Wes was the one who pulled the trigger. She knows Frank is keeping much darker secrets from her, and when Frank does not deny that accusation, Laurel basically breaks up with him and starts to walk out. To stop her from leaving, Frank blurts out that he killed Lila!
What did you think of this episode of How to Get Away with Murder? Do you think Laurel ever suspected that Frank killed Lila? How do you think she will handle this truth bomb? What did you think of past-Bonnie and her relationship with past-Annalise? Is past-Bonnie’s knowledge of pregnancy pains a hint that she herself was pregnant at some point? What did you think of that brutal fight between Caleb and Michaela? Michaela should be done with him now, don’t you think? Do you think Philip is the one who sent the students that video or did someone else see them at the crime scene that night? Is Caleb somehow involved? And when will the others learn that Wes held onto the gun instead of getting rid of it like he promised? Why is he holding onto it anyway? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursday nights at 10pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
