In the winter premiere of How to Get Away with Murder season 2, “What Happened to You, Annalise?,” we pick up two weeks into Annalise’s recovery and she is not doing well. Meanwhile, Catherine is facing a hearing, the Keating 5 are all dealing with the fallout from that night, and Bonnie and Frank are trying to hold things together in Annalise’s absence. It is another crazy episode full of shocking moments, but we would not have it any other way.
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Laurel Takes the Blame
The episode picks up where the winter finale left off, with Annalise bleeding out on the floor after Wes shot her. At Annalise’s continued use of the word “Christopher,” Wes takes his finger off the trigger and Laurel takes the gun from him. Michaela walks in, sees Laurel with the gun, and jumps to the conclusion that Laurel shot Annalise. Laurel, for some reason, decides to cover for Wes and says she had to shoot Annalise. When Michaela points out that Laurel was supposed to shoot her in the leg, Laurel explains the stomach wound by saying she has never fired a gun before.
Laurel says they all need to get out of there because the cops are on their way and Wes tells Laurel to give him the gun so he can dispose of it in the pool like she suggested. Laurel does not want to hand the weapon back to Wes, but Michaela just shoves it into his hand and reminds Laurel that they need to leave. Michaela also asks Wes to look for Connor.
We then flash-forward to two weeks later. Bonnie brings Annalise home and Annalise is not looking her best. In fact, she looks exactly like one should look after getting shot. Bonnie sets Annalise up on the couch because she is not allowed to do the stairs yet. Annalise asks about the hearing the next morning and insists that she is going to testify, no matter what. She did not go through all of this to not testify. Annalise asks after Asher and Bonnie assures her that all of the kids are okay. Annalise then kicks Bonnie out so she can have some much-needed alone time. Alas, that alone time involves having flashbacks to the night of the shooting and taking Vicodin so she can get some sleep.
Annalise’s Hallucinations
Thanks to the pills and her own fragile mental state, Annalise begins having hallucinations. She imagines a woman turning up on her doorstep with a baby in her arms. Said woman drops off the baby with Annalise, claiming Annalise is strong enough to take care of him. Annalise immediately calls Bonnie to help her with the baby, but as Bonnie sees, there is no actual baby. Bonnie plays into Annalise’s hallucination until Frank can get there with pills that will put Annalise to sleep. (These are the same pills Frank used to drug Catherine on the night of Annalise’s shooting.)
Even after Bonnie doses Annalise with the sleeping pills, Annalise continues to have these hallucinations via her dreams. She imagines needing to care for the baby but not knowing how to do so. Laurel’s arrival at the house snaps Annalise out of her hallucinatory dream and Annalise immediately asks Laurel how Wes is doing. We see that Laurel stopped by to visit Annalise in the hospital one week earlier and Annalise asked her to look after Wes. Annalise also asked Laurel why she covered for Wes and Laurel claims she did not want the others to blame Wes for shooting Annalise when they already blame him for killing Sam. I do not know if I buy Laurel’s reason for protecting Wes. That seems a bit too simple for this show. (We later learn that Laurel feels guilty about everything that happened that night, but I still think there might be something else to her concern for Wes.)
Annalise Has to Testify
Wes has apparently been hiding out in his room for the past two weeks. Laurel stops by to see him and tells him that enough is enough. Annalise is out of the hospital which must mean that she is okay. On top of that, Catherine’s about to be tried for Sinclair’s murder so everything is working out like Annalise planned. Wes isn’t so sure about that, but he goes with Laurel to the “study group.” As far as I can tell, said “study group” is really just an excuse for everyone to get together and check on Wes. Bonnie stops by to see them all and gives them an update on Annalise.
Alas, when Bonnie gets back from seeing Annalise, she tells the others that Annalise will not be able to testify. Frank decides to solve this problem by writing up a witness statement on Annalise’s behalf. The group works together to finish the statement and Bonnie hands it over to the DA. The DA still wants Annalise to testify because the judge could choose to ignore the witness statement, but Bonnie explains that Annalise is high and hallucinating so the statement will have to do.
Unfortunately, the judge does not think the statement is enough and insists that if the DA wants to use Annalise’s testimony, Annalise will need to come to court. Laurel calls Annalise and tells her what the judge said. Annalise arrives in court claiming she is ready to testify.
Caleb is Giving Michaela the Cold Shoulder
At the courthouse, Michaela tries to make nice with Caleb, but he is not having it. Apparently, Michaela had a hard time keeping her story straight when she went to see Caleb on the night Annalise was shot so Caleb now suspects that they are all lying about what happened that night. Michaela insists that Catherine did this and offers to be there for him if he will let her. Caleb is not interested in Michaela’s sympathy and thinks they all belong in hell for setting up Catherine.
Annalise Protects Catherine
When Annalise takes the stand, it is clear that she is not ready to testify. She is disorientated and has a hard time answering the DA’s questions. She asks for a recess, but even when she returns, she still seems incapable of testifying. Catherine’s attorney keeps badgering Annalise and Annalise admits that Catherine did not do it. The Keating 5 begin to freak out, but Annalise quickly corrects herself and says that what she meant was that Catherine did not kill her parents. Annalise says that Catherine told her as much when Annalise was representing her. But by saying this, Annalise has broken privilege and her testimony is admissible. As we learn, this was apparently all part of Annalise’s plan.
After her testimony, Annalise meets with Caleb and says he should be thanking her for saving Catherine. Annalise says that her testimony will make Catherine look like the victim and if Caleb can get Catherine to turn on Phillip, they can blame the entire thing on him. Caleb goes to Catherine and explains Annalise’s plan. The plan involves Catherine admitting to a shooting she did not commit, but it might be her only chance.
At her hearing, Catherine tells the judge that she has started to remember more about that night. She says she remembers shooting Annalise but that she only did so because she was drugged. Catherine names Phillip as the person who drugged her that night. Later, Bonnie tells Annalise that the DA is willing to offer Catherine a deal. If she testifies against Phillip, she will only get five years in a minimum security facility.
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Wes Confronts Annalise
After the hearing, Bonnie tells Annalise that she believes Annalise wanted to die that night. Bonnie knows that Annalise sent her away that night because she knew Bonnie would not let her go through with it. But Annalise points out that Bonnie left on her own accord so she must have wanted Annalise dead, too. Bonnie tries to get Annalise to see reason, but Annalise does not know what to believe anymore. (It is hard to blame Annalise for having trust issues when it comes to the people she loves given that one of them recently shot her.)
Later that night, Wes goes to Annalise’s home and searches through all of her files trying to find anything that hints at a connection between Annalise and his mother. Alas, he does not find anything so he waits for Annalise to come home.
When Annalise does get home, Wes asks her flat-out if she knew his mother and we see via flashbacks that Annalise did, indeed, know Wes’ mother. They met at a playground 10 years earlier where they bonded over their children. Yes, Annalise was pregnant back then and one can only assume the baby she has been hallucinating is the child she lost.
In the present, Wes continues to badger Annalise about her connection to his mother, going so far as to get in her face while yelling at her to tell him what she knows. Annalise is so frightened by his behavior that she actually picks up a weapon to defend herself. Wes is shocked that she thinks he would hurt her (did he forget that he was the one who shot her?) and Annalise says that he ruined her. She then kicks him out of her house.
Other Happenings
— Even though Annalise came clean about Rebecca’s death in the winter finale, Laurel and Wes still have doubts about whether or not she was telling the truth. When Laurel visits Annalise in the hospital, she asks Annalise if Rebecca is dead and Annalise lies. Annalise claims she lied about Rebecca’s death to push Wes into shooting her and Laurel seems to believe her. Wes, on the other hand, seems unsure what to believe.
— We find out that Asher went to the police on the night of Annalise’s shooting because he wanted to make a statement about his father’s death. Asher is convinced that his father did not kill himself and that someone staged his death to make it look like a suicide. Connor believes that Asher is just in denial, but Bonnie seems like she might actually believe that Asher is right. Are Bonnie’s feelings for Asher clouding her judgement or is there something strange about Asher’s dad’s death? Could it have been murder?
— Thanks to Bonnie, we learn that this is not the first time Annalise has had these baby hallucinations. At one point, Bonnie tries to get through to Annalise, telling her that she is hallucinating, “just like the last time.” How many times has Annalise had these hallucinations? Is Bonnie the only one who knows about them?
— Nate pays Annalise a visit after Bonnie comes to see him. Nate says he protected the kids that night because Annalise has protected him in the past. Nate also says that he wants to get the chance to know the real Annalise, but Annalise is pretty out of it so she asks him to leave.
What did you think of this episode of How to Get Away with Murder? Did you expect Laurel to take the fall for Wes? Why is she so protective of him? Are you surprised Annalise would help Catherine set up Phillip? Do you think Nate is sincere in wanting to get to know the real Annalise? What do you think happened to Annalise’s baby? Did she have a miscarriage? Did she give the baby up for adoption? And what exactly was her relationship with Wes’ mother? 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
