Having been placed on the back burner for the last wee while, the Lila Stangard conspiracy reared its head once more in last night's penultimate episode of ABC's How To Get Away With Murder.
The thirteenth episode of the season was titled "Mama’s Here Now", and featured a fascinating array of events in conjunction with the procedural element. The episode was written by Erika Green Swafford and Doug Stockstill and directed by Michael Listo.
The title originated from the appearance of Annalise Keating's mother, with Cicely Tyson guest starring. Tyson stole the show with ease, delivering a performance eclipsing that of any other cast member - regular or guest - that has starred in the series to date. It was a true pleasure to watch one of the profession's veterans show everyone how it's done.
Despite the performance, I can't say I was overly impressed with what was actually accomplished with the introduction of "Mama". That's not to say we didn't learn anything at all - we learned in graphic detail that both Annalise and her mother had been raped in earlier years, that a house fire caused by one of those rapists - Uncle Clyde - killed him and destroyed their possessions, and that Annalise had changed her name from Anna-May.
Learning that stuff is all well and good, but the rest of the time all we saw was arguing that did feel rather dragged out. Portraying Annalise as vulnerable and broken by cooping her up in her bedroom for the majority of the episode didn't ring true to the character at all.
Fortunately, the episode made up for this mark down in more ways than one. The cases don't stop coming, and it was the turn of Bonnie to garner the spotlight as she led her firm to the successful defense of a hospital nurse accused of raping her patient. After a slip of the tongue in the early stages, we saw a master apprentice at work, as she put on a powerful display in the courtroom, tore the prosecution to shreds, and flipped the case on its head to pin it on the hospital's own lawyer.
It was powerful stuff from the character which has been a somewhat deposed background player. It's not that long ago where Bonnie was fired by Annalise, so this is a notable turnaround for her. Bonnie took complete charge from the get-go, ordering the five students around like a drill sergeant. Frank didn't escape either, though he enjoyed some time in the back seat for the most part.
But it was the Keating five that interested me the most throughout the hour, and left us with a sizable cliffhanger leading into next week's 2 hour season finale. Asher was lucky enough to score Bonnie for the second time after she was on a high from her win in court. Michaela played the sex card to garner evidence from the case prosecutor. Connor and Oliver bonded some more, with Connor introducing his boyfriend to Michaela, Wes and Laurel in a bar, having warned them only seconds prior that Oliver is under the impression Connor is a drug addict stemming from the night of the murder.
The best was yet to come, though, as Laurel and Wes formed an unlikely partnership as they looked further into the guy named Rudy Walters. The duo played a married couple worried about the wellbeing of one of their relatives and gained access to Rudy's mental hospital, where Rudy seemed to indicate he knew Rebecca from the night Lila Stangard was murdered. According to a police report Rudy was incarcerated for being heavily drugged that night, which brought on the spiral that landed him where he is now. A notable find was scratch marks above the bed, just like the ones in Wes's apartment.
This leaves Rebecca herself - the dark horse who Wes pressed Annalise to defend in court when she was arrested for the murder of Lila earlier in the season. She sensed something was up in last week's installment, and kept her guard up in this hour as she was interviewed by the police regarding Nate Lahey's arrest for Sam Keating's murder. The final scene showed Rebecca tracking her boyfriend's phone, which told her Wes knows she has been untruthful, and is investigating further. This looks to be the catalyst for next week's season finale, which I'm nothing short of thrilled about. Rebecca has long been my favorite character in the series, and with her role in the conspiracy surely set to deepen and become part of the cliffhanger, what the creative team come up with will be fascinating to watch unfold.
Last but not least is the impending fate of the man in jail for Sam Keating's murder - the arrest of whom we saw unfold in the dying moments of last week's episode. Nate Lahey's arrest has Michaela the most concerned. She has always had a moral compass somewhat more resolute than her student friends, so this is weighing heavily on her mind. Once Annalise finally got out of bed, the first time we saw her properly dressed was in the courtroom where Nate was later denied bail. Annalise kicked her student out of the courtroom, and slipped into Nate's interrogation cell, handing him a note telling him to fire his lawyer and call a number. While it's clear Annalise shares Michaela's view that wrongful imprisonment - especially of an African American - is something that should not be tolerated, how she intends to save the day is still unclear.
What is clear, however, is that Nate's fate and Rebecca's next move will be crucial to the happenings of next week's 2 hour season finale. Though I didn't care much for Annalise's mother's introduction, Cicely Tyson was sublime to watch, and the character development we saw combined to make this yet another fine hour of How To Get Away With Murder. It's safe to say that next week's 2 hour season finale cannot come soon enough. The stage is well and truly set.
Thanks as always for reading! Share your own thoughts and theories on this episode in the comments below, and check out How To Get Away With Murder on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/howtogetawaywithmurder.
Hour To Get Away With Murder's 2 Hour Season Finale airs Thursday, February 26, 9|8c, on ABC.
