In the second episode of season 3 of How to Get Away with Murder, “There Are Worse Things Than Murder,” Annalise continues to deal with harassment from the person or people behind the “Killer” flyers while also doing everything she can to keep her job. Meanwhile, the Keating 5 compete for the chance to represent a woman convicted of murdering her abusive husband, and we get to eliminate someone as the dead body seen in the flash forward.
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Is Annalise in Danger?
As the episode opens, Annalise tells Nate to go take a shower so she can call her hitman back on her burner phone. Alas, it is not the hitman who answers. A tearful Frank tells Annalise that he had no choice and her hitman is dead. Before Annalise can respond, Nate interrupts her. We later see Frank stage a car accident and light the car on fire to deal with the body. We also see Annalise smash her burner phone to pieces, presumably so Frank cannot call her back.
That same morning, Annalise gets called into the university president’s office for a chat. They want her to know that they are upping security measures in the wake of the harassment she’s been receiving. Annalise continues to play off her concern, but it is obvious that she’s shaken by the whole thing. This is even more apparent when Annalise randomly tells Wes that he should leave his crappy apartment and move in with her. When Wes asks her about it later, Annalise says she asked him because she’s lonely, but Wes doesn’t believe her. (I’m not sure if it’s Annalise’s way of looking after Wes or her need to have someone watching out for her, but I imagine it’s a combination of both.)
Laurel shows up at Annalise’s place and sees that she is having her locks changed. Laurel is there to question Bonnie about news on the Mahoney case. Bonnie says they are not concerned about that case. Laurel is worried that Wes could still be a suspect, but Bonnie knows he isn’t because Eve is keeping tabs on the investigation for Annalise. Laurel then asks if Bonnie has heard from Frank, but Bonnie dodges her question. Bonnie later tells Annalise that she’ll take care of it.
That night, Annalise asks Nate to help her find Frank. Annalise says she is worried about Frank coming back and doing something. She points out that Frank is dangerous and Nate eventually agrees to help her track him down. During this conversation, Annalise reveals that Sam met Frank when Sam served as Frank’s doctor in prison. I assume we will be learning more about how Frank came into Annalise’s life as the season continues.
Connor Takes Charge
Connor and Oliver spend the morning together. Connor is looking for a new place since Oliver dumped him, but they are still living together for the moment. It is Oliver’s first day working for Annalise in her clinic so they decide to head into work together. Once they arrive, Connor informs the Keating 5 about his break up with Oliver. They all assume Connor did something to cause the split — the running assumption is that Connor cheated on Oliver — but Connor tells them it was Oliver’s idea.
When Laurel gets there, she shows them the article about the “Killer” flyers. She wonders why they are not more concerned about it, but Wes thinks it’s a good idea because a reporter might have better luck in finding the person behind the harassment. Drake-the-douche engages the group just long enough to suggest that Annalise put the flyers up herself. (It’s nice to have another reason to dislike that guy.)
Annalise tells the students about their latest case. A woman, Irene Crowley, was convicted of murdering her husband with a claw hammer. She has served 32 years in prison for the murder and has been denied parole six times. Annalise says they will fight to set her free because the client’s husband abused her for all ten years of their marriage. They couldn’t use the abuse as a defense the first time around because, at that time, the courts did not allow past abuse into evidence. Annalise says the students will all present their ideas to their client and she will choose who she wants representing her at her parole hearing. The students do just that, and the client chooses Connor to represent her.
Connor’s strategy for getting ready for the hearing is to “divide and conquer.” Connor pairs up Michaela and Asher to look into possible witnesses who can testify to the abuse. Michaela and Asher end up discussing their relationship instead. Asher wants to know if Michaela is keeping this a secret because she’s embarrassed of dating a white guy and Michaela points out that she’s the first black woman he’s dated. She says she thinks they need to be sensitive of Bonnie’s feelings, as well as Connor’s since Oliver just dumped him. They do not find any witnesses for their client, but they continue to argue about their lack of a relationship until Asher agrees to a sex-only arrangement.
Connor also pairs up Wes and Laurel to deal with the dead husband’s sister. The woman refuses to even meet with their client. She was the one who found her brother’s body and that apparently still haunts her. This team up also leads to Laurel and Wes discussing some things. Wes catches Laurel looking up information on the Mahoney murder investigation. She tells him that she just wants to be sure he isn’t a suspect and Wes asks her to let it go. He tells her that he is happy now and he’s moved on. Laurel agrees to drop it. She also tells him that Oliver didn’t find anything on Meggy — Oliver apparently did not have much to do on his first day of work — and Wes says he knows because he already looked into her. (I am pleased to see that Wes isn’t so naive anymore.)
Connor Goes to Bat for His Client
During the parole hearing, Connor gets way too passionate about the case and keeps arguing with the board members. He eventually tells his client that he did what she did — killed someone — and he knows people can tell that he’s hiding something. He advises her to give the board a reason — any reason — as to why she killed her husband in that moment.
Connor’s client takes his advice and tells the board just a few of the awful things her husband did to her. She says she planned the murder because she knew her husband would beat her for the rest of her life. She also says she doesn’t regret what she did because that decision set her free.
Alas, they still have the victim’s sister to worry about. Annalise approaches the woman and confronts her about being another of her brother’s victims. The woman basically confirms as much, but says her brother didn’t deserve to die like that. And yet, when it comes time for her to testify, she doesn’t show up. The parole board decides to grant their client’s application for parole. The poor woman is shocked, Connor is emotional, and Annalise looks on proudly.
More Relationship Drama
Though Connor and Oliver have several cute moments in this episode, they are still broken up. Connor makes a heartfelt plea to Oliver that he loves him and just wants to make him happy. But Oliver insists that he needs to be alone right now, and if Connor wants to make him happy, he will let him go. Connor packs a bag and moves out that night.
Connor then shows up on Michaela’s doorstep asking if he can stay with her for a while. Michaela hesitates because she clearly has company, but she eventually invites Connor in. Connor sees that Asher is already there and Michaela admits that they are sleeping together. Connor is too heartbroken about Oliver to care.
Earlier in the episode, Asher makes it clear that he is actually not okay with a sex-only relationship and he confronts Michaela about her reasons for not wanting to be with him. From Asher’s standpoint, they have both changed dramatically from the people they were when they first met and this makes them the same. He thinks Michaela cannot see that because she is too caught up in who they used to be. Asher’s words have some sort of impact on Michaela because she doesn’t try to explain away his presence in her apartment when Connor arrives.
Bonnie is hanging out with Laurel in order to confront Laurel about her continued contact with Frank. Laurel admits that she has been calling Frank and leaving messages for him. Bonnie tells her she needs to stop doing that. Laurel says that now that Frank is gone, she knows she really did love him. Bonnie thinks that is only because Laurel doesn’t really know him. Laurel may know about Frank killing Lila, but Bonnie points out that there are worse things than murder and Laurel doesn’t want to know about that. She tells Laurel that she needs to kill off the fantasy of Frank she keeps in her head and actually let him go.
Laurel decides to do more than that, though. She leaves Frank a sweet message telling him that no one is mad at him and they just want him to come home. She is doing this for Annalise and Bonnie so one can assume this is Annalise’s way of luring Frank out of hiding. Annalise also tells Laurel that she will need to go see her father now. Here’s hoping we find out what that is all about in the next episode.
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Can Annalise Ever Catch a Break?
Annalise gets a call that the university board wants to see her. They explain that all the press surrounding Annalise’s harassment are reflecting badly on the university so they are going to suspend her until things blow over. Annalise refuses to accept their decision. Annalise points out that she is the victim here and if they are worried about bad press, they should think about what it will look like when they go after her and she sues them. Annalise tells them they can lock her out of her classroom, but they cannot prevent her from teaching her students.
As if that isn’t enough to deal with, Nate tells Annalise that Frank is using a private network to keep them from being able to pinpoint his location. Annalise is worried that this means Frank could be anywhere, including Philadelphia. Nate tells Annalise that he will be staying with her until they find Frank. (This should probably make me worried about Nate being the dead body, but I don’t think it will be him. Nate’s only strong connection on the show is to Annalise so his death would not have the kind of impact most of the others would.)
Wes stops by later that night with dinner. Annalise thinks he is worried about her, but Wes says that’s not the case. They end up discussing Laurel and Wes says Laurel is only worried about him the same way Annalise is.
One Down
In this week’s flash forward, we see Annalise talking to the police. They ask her where she was before this and Annalise says she was picking up work from the clinic. They ask her if anyone can confirm her whereabouts and Annalise thinks they are trying to make her a suspect. One of the cops points out that her neighbors said her car was in the driveway all day. Annalise tells them to arrest her if that’s what they want.
Later, we finally see another person alive in the flash forward. So who can we eliminate as the dead body? Oliver! Yes, Ollie is still with us, and as he arrives at the crime scene, Annalise hands him a cell phone and tells him to wipe it clean. She is then arrested while poor Oliver watches on.
What did you think of this episode of How to Get Away with Murder season 3? What do you think of the Keating 5 coming up with a list of who could be harassing Annalise? It has to be someone we have met before, right? Who is your main suspect? Why does Annalise lie when Oliver asks her about the dead body in the flash forward? Is she lying? Does Oliver already know what happened and this is all for show? What do you think of Annalise and Bonnie using Laurel as bait to lure out Frank? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
