Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers from Season 5 of “How To Get Away With Murder”.
With only one episode left before the season ends, HTGAWM is definitely bringing up the heat! This week’s episode was a tense, high stakes one that left me at the edge of my seat. A promising change of pace from last week’s sluggish Christmas special, this week brought excellent twists and some astounding scenes!
After the Governor’s shocking claim that Emmett is the man behind Nate Sr.’s death, Annalise brings Tegan up to speed. Tegan echoes what most of the viewers are thinking: that Emmett is not the kind of man to do something like this. However, that’s not enough for Annalise and the two women devise a plan to get Emmett to spill. What is that plan? Well, it’s the classic trick of Annalise “using what your mama gave you”. That’s right, Annalise is going to seduce the truth out of Emmett. However, it’s not going to be that simple. Midway through the episode, Emmett reveals to Tegan his plans to run to be the new District Attorney! I’m sorry…What?! No matter how innocent Emmett may seem, it looks awfully convenient that he has this sudden wish.
So, they killed Miller for nothing? Smh. #htgawm pic.twitter.com/NqG5ub7GaU
— michy (@michyb33) February 22, 2019
Meanwhile in the episode, we see Bonnie return to her former glory, and it is so amazing to watch. Bonnie has been through so much this season, and seeing her character learn to process and deal with her grief has been touching. Liza Weil did a phenomenal job showing the weight of Bonnie’s emotions, and I really appreciate that the writers didn’t rush her mourning. The realism of Bonnie’s struggles is so touching, and it added a nice layer of emotional depth to each episode. However, I’m also glad to see the writers showed her recovery because make no mistake, Bonnie is a strong woman and she is back in business! First order: retrieve Oliver’s laptop.
Bonnie also roused all of the Keating gang, as they’re all hard at work doing what they do best: meddling. After the first court hearing for Oliver’s laptop was a flop (sorry Connor!), Oliver catches the judge on a potential issue of ethics. There’s another court hearing, and this time Oliver alone was able to persuade the judge to give his laptop back due to potential image issues. Kudos to the writers for making this subplot neat and concise, something that’s been lacking in past episode’s. Laurel has her meeting with Telesco, who preys on Laurel’s fears in order to weasel out information against Annalise. While Laurel doesn’t seal the deal, it seems likely that she might due to some terrifying developments later in the episode. Gabriel and Michaela continue to get a lot closer, and while I’m not sure what significance their bond may have down the line, it feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
Image Credit to HTGAWM Official Twitter
Back at Caplan & Gold, Annalise has scored her date with Emmett, however, Tegan approaches her with startling news: she’s positive that Emmett killed Nate Sr. Why? Well, Tegan cross-referenced Emmett’s call records that the Governor gave Annalise with ones Tegan obtained from her friend. And they matched exactly. Furthermore, Annalise finds out from Nate that his father wrote about one slimy lawyer trying to persuade him to drop Annalise and hire him instead. Nate gets a photo from security footage, however, it only shows the back of the unknown lawyer’s head. Annalise runs with the assumption that this is Emmett and leaves for her date proclaiming that she wants to make him sweat (which means he’s really in for it).
https://twitter.com/alchmy7/status/1098798015618473984
The date between Annalise and Emmett was probably my favorite part of the episode. The writers did such a phenomenal job creating sharp, quick, and intense dialogue for both characters. Annalise spoke in double-meanings that were full of dangerous wit, and Emmett’s true colors started to show. Seeing a different side of Emmett in this episode was a little daunting, however, it added so much more flavor to his character. We see a man who is much fiercer and determined under the surface than he’ll let other people know. Ultimately, this makes him someone who Annalise can’t play, thus creating a very interesting dynamic between the two. As it turns out, Emmett is much smarter than he lets on, and already knew about Annalise’s suspicions due to a bug in Tegan’s office that revealed their earlier conversation.
The result is that their date goes down in (spectacular) flames, however, Emmett pursues Annalise afterwards where he angrily admits that he knows that Annalise thinks he killed Nate Sr. They resume their earlier argument, and it soon escalates into both of them hurling insults at each other. (Best quote of the season: “Game over. The world doesn’t belong to you and your good old boys. It belongs to me.” YES ANNALISE!) Amidst all of this, Annalise gets a shocking call from Frank revealing who the mysterious lawyer is — it’s Laurel’s brother! The Castillos are back in the game but they certainly aren’t here to play around as they send Laurel her mother’s SCALP in the mail! Her. Scalp. With a reunion like that, who knows what else they have in store?
#HTGAWM has been blowing my mind since 2014, but last night’s episode LITERALLY scalped me! 😂😳 pic.twitter.com/OsUQrhu71r
— Matt Clipp (@MattClipp016) February 22, 2019
Overall, this episode was a nail-biter and was extremely well-written. Furthermore, this episode was scored really well. The music was a constant agitated thrumming of beats, which created a phenomenal atmosphere for the viewers and elevated the tension. Next week is the finale, and I’m going into it half ready to have my mind blown and half scared at how messy it may be. Let’s be frank: HTGAWM has introduced a lot of loose ends and plotlines this latter half of the season. With the sheer volume of evidence uncovered, I don’t know easy it’ll be to tidy it all up. Nevertheless, I cannot wait for the shocking end of Season 5. Get ready, because there’s only one more episode!
Featured Image Via HTGAWM Official Twitter
