In the previous episode of How to Get Away with Murder, Hannah pointed the police toward Annalise as Sam’s killer, but their search turned up no evidence. Meanwhile, Wes made little progress in his search for Rudy, Bonnie grew suspicious of the students and Annalise set up Nate to take the fall for Sam’s murder.
In this episode, “Mama’s Here Now,” Annalise turns to her mother for help and Bonnie has to step in for Annalise on the team’s latest case. Meanwhile, Wes finds out more about Rudy and his connection to Rebecca.
How to Get Away with Murder Recap: Who Gets Arrested for Sam’s Murder? >>>
Meet Mama
When Annalise’s mom shows up, Frank and Bonnie have no idea who she is. So that probably tells us everything we need to know about Annalise’s relationship with her mother. But to be fair, Annalise’s mother does seem to bring her some comfort when nothing else can.
Their interactions throughout the episode reveal quite a bit about both women, including the fact that Annalise’s given name is Anna Mae and she grew up very poor. We also learn that Annalise’s mother never approved of her relationship with Sam and that she has never been to Annalise’s home before now.
But the biggest reveal comes during a heated argument between the two women. Annalise asks her mother if she knew what her uncle had done to her — he raped her — and Mama’s answer reveals that she did know. Annalise is devastated. She says that the rape made her who she is today and Sam saw it the moment she walked into his office for treatment. Mama counters that she was also raped but it is not something you talk about. It is an awful, tragic thing when all two people can bond over is the fact that they were both victims of rape.
Later, Annalise’s mother tells her that the house fire that killed her uncle was not an accident. Mama made sure he would pay for what he did to Annalise. Annalise takes comfort in that and in Mama’s words that sometimes you do what you have to do.
I love this glimpse into Annalise’s world and Cicely Tyson is the perfect person to play her mother. Both she and Viola Davis give tremendous performances in this episode. Though it seems unlikely, I hope Mama sticks around for the last two episodes of the season.
Bonnie Gets a Moment to Shine
With Annalise out of commission, Bonnie takes on their new case. They are defending a nurse, Jolene, accused of raping her patient. Alas, on the first day of the trial, Bonnie makes a huge mistake and says the jury should find the defendant guilty, instead of not guilty. The hospital’s lawyer is not impressed and wants Bonnie to get the client to settle.
Luckily, Bonnie refuses to settle and manages to pull herself together. She discredits the prosecution’s main witness and proves that the bruises found on the accuser, Chad, could have been caused by a blood thinner rather than a sexual assault. But then the tech expert in the case finds a post on a porn website that their client made about having sex with one of her patients.
Jolene says the sex was consensual and continues to profess her innocence. The team thinks they caught a break when they learn that Chad is gay, but the judge rightly points out that a victim’s sexuality has nothing to do with rape. But Chad’s sexuality does lead them to learn that he is in a relationship with the hospital’s lawyer. Bonnie proves that Chad and the hospital’s lawyer conspired to bring false charges against Jolene because they knew the hospital would make a big pay-out for a rape charge. The prosecutor drops all charges against Jolene.
Will Annalise Help Nate?
At the start of the episode, we see that Nate is having a hard time of it in jail. And Michaela is having a hard time letting Nate take the fall for what they did, though the rest of the students do not seem to be that concerned about it. Michaela is so upset that she flirts with the assistant DA in Nate’s case to learn anything she can about what the police have on him. Michaela finds out that when the police questioned Rebecca, she told them that Nate threatened to hurt her when she refused to help him plant evidence on Sam. Connor argues that Rebecca’s lie helps them, but it only makes Michaela feel more guilty.
Later, Michaela is surprised when Annalise shows up at Nate’s arraignment. Nate is probably even more surprised when Annalise comes to see him. Annalise starts an argument with Nate where she asks if he killed Sam so he could have her all to himself. Nate is confused by the whole thing, until Annalise slips him a piece of paper out of sight of the camera. The paper tells Nate to fire his lawyer and lists a number for him to call.
Why is Annalise trying to help Nate now? Or was it always her plan to set him up, only to clear him of the charges later on? Will Nate trust Annalise enough to let her help him?
Wes Looks into Rebecca
After learning that Rebecca lied to the police about Nate, Wes gets more suspicious of his girlfriend. He finds Rudy’s arrest report and learns that Rudy was taken in for disorderly conduct after a drug overdose. Shortly after that, Rudy was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Wes also learns that Rudy was arrested on the same night Lila was murdered.
Wes and Laurel go visit Rudy at the hospital and they question him about Rebecca. All Rudy will say is the word “wet,” but Wes connects that to the water tank Lila’s body was found in. And with the final moment of the episode showing Rebecca tracking Wes’ phone to the hospital, it certainly looks like she is up to something.
Is Rebecca really the one who killed Lila? If so, did she do it alone or did she have help? If she didn’t kill Lila, why is Rebecca spying on Wes?
Other Happenings
— In other Bonnie-related news, Bonnie asks Frank why he lied to her about not knowing what happened to Sam. Bonnie is convinced Annalise told Frank to lie to her and Frank basically confirms as much. Also, after they win the case, Bonnie decides to sleep with Asher again. At this point, Bonnie/Asher may be the healthiest romantic relationship on the show.
— Though their official couple status remains up in the air, Connor introduces Oliver to his friends. Oliver is so impressed with this gesture that he tells Connor he wants them to be boyfriends again. Connor is all for that, but he thinks they need to have that talk again when Oliver is sober.
What did you think of this episode of How to Get Away with Murder? Are you as happy as I am that Bonnie won the case? Are you glad Annalise finally took a few days off to deal with everything that is going on in her life? The powers that be have promised that we will learn the identity of Lila’s killer in the season finale, but will the right person go down for it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursdays at 10pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
