Was this the best episode of any series to screen on ABC this season?
I'd say it is. How To Get Away With Murder was nothing short of phenomenal throughout its entire hour last night.
Titled "She’s a Murderer", the hour was masterfully written by Erika Harrison and incredibly well directed by Bill D'Eila.
It was an hour of non-stop drama. I found taking notes next to impossible because there simply wasn't any time to breathe, let alone a brief lull to bash some words out on Notepad.
Last week's hour concluded with breaking news of the discovery of the charred remains of a body in a landfill. It was confirmed to belong to Keating in the opening scene of last night's episode. I don't think anyone would have been caught by surprise with that revelation, but it's how this episode played out the aftermath that elevated it to masterpiece status.
The kids found out via the news, but Annalise Keating and sister-in-law, Hannah Keating had the news broken to them by a police officer late in the evening. The acting in this scene alone by series star Viola Davis and guest star Marcia Gay Harden was a very good early sign that this episode would be something special. The contrasting emotions the pair put on show were sublime, and demonstrates what years of experience in the business can add to an actors' repertoire. Hannah wasted no time pointing the finger at Annalise and demanding she be arrested. It brought out the master craftsman in Annalise, as she utilized all the tricks in the book to lead the police down the wrong path.
Annalise was harassed throughout by many people suggesting her outward displays of emotions weren't remotely close to the status quo for a grieving widow. The classroom was one such place where that happened. Annalise took over her class mid-session from a reliever, and deviated from the syllabus to give a lesson on the fifth amendment. While this would have been of interest to the majority of the students present anyway, it was actually a clever way of communicating with the panicking five under her wing, as the lesson served as a reminder for the quad to refrain from talking to the police.
Annalise's skills were heavily tested in the procedural element of last night's hour too, as she fought to get pair of gang affiliated drug importers out of trouble. Getting her team to press hard for evidence that the customs authority had been tipped off and had offered a green card to an employee to pick a specific container instead of a random one, Annalise put on a powerful performance in court as she flipped the case over and pointed the finger squarely at the prosecution. The speech Annalise gave in court reminded me of the days of Alan Shore and Denny Crane in Boston Legal, which screened on ABC in the previous decade with the talented duo of James Spader and William Shatner leading the series. Bill D'Eila directed 17 episodes of the iconic legal comedy.
But it's the serial element of Murder that places it in a league above all of the other freshman dramas put to air this season. An amazing amount happened - we even saw some flashbacks, and some important plot holes that were present regarding events on the night of the murder, were filled in beautifully.
This started with the discovery of the scales from the Lady Justice statue used by Wes to bludgeon Sam to death. It was the police who located them initially, but Bonnie hastily stepped in and placed them back where they belonged on the statue. The look in Bonnie's eyes right then and there was definitive - she had figured it all out, as we saw in her unveiling of her theory to Annalise in the hour's final minutes.
The police searched high and low for evidence to prove a crime had been committed at the Keating house but none eventuated. This despite Annalise giving away the place where Sam lay by looking longingly at the bottom of the stairs. Cue a flashback to the night of the murder where Annalise is seen in tears, scrubbing the blood off the floor.
Progress was also made on the origin of the deep scratch marks on the walls of Wes's apartment, left there by its previous tenant. Wes didn't contribute at all to the drug importing case the rest of the team were engrossed in. Instead, his mind was elsewhere, researching Rudy Walters. The building's manager revealed he had been arrested and Rebecca had called the police. Where this is headed is unclear, but I'm betting Rudy had a role to play in something dodgy.
/>The characters all underwent some fascinating development in this hour, on top of everything else that happened. The aforementioned Wes and Rebecca still seem solid, with Rebecca declaring that she is still willing to take the fall for Sam's murder. Laurel and Frank were abrasive at best, with Frank also preoccupied with ensuring Asher remains unaware of the true story surrounding Sam's murder. Frank also had to rebuff Bonnie's concerns for a time. In an interesting deviation from the norm, it was Connor getting a talking to from Annalise in her office as he voiced his doubts about whether the group would successfully get away with murder. Michaela was the only one who didn't change at all.
But the biggest bombshell since who killed Sam presented itself in the final moments of the hour. Annalise decided to talk to the police - something she had earlier lectured on to the contrary. The police revealed their final nail in the coffin - a ring - had been found in the woods where Sam's body was burned. While we saw Michaela having a panic attack when she learned of the news as she believed it would be her missing engagement ring, a terrific dolly shot revealed the ring to be Sam's own wedding ring. Cut to a flashback where Frank is seen taking the ring and planting Nate's fingerprint on it before planting it in the woods - its discovery initiating Nate's arrest for Sam's murder.
This is masterful storytelling by creator Peter Nowalk and his team, and sets up the 2 hour season finale in absolutely epic style. The news report the five students saw split them down the middle, with some immediately questioning whether pinning the murder on an innocent man is the right thing to do. It also opens up new areas to explore, such as whether Nate's print could have survived the elements and remained intact since the night of the murder, and why Nate went quietly into custody, without ushering a word. There's heaps more to touch on, but I'll leave some for your imagination.
One final word on this amazing episode is the awesome score and soundtrack selection. The powerful, bass-filled tracks added a new dimension to the whole episode. "Homeostasis" by Nostalghia and "Back To The Start" by Digital Diggers are the two newest instrumentals added to my Spotify television soundtracks playlist.
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought of this episode of How To Get Away With Murder in the comments below, and follow Murder's ratings on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/howtogetawaywithmurder. You can watch next week's episode promo here. With Annalise's mom coming to town, and Cicely Tyson guest starring in that role, this looks to be another exceptional hour, and I'm certainly not too sad about that. Bring on Thursday night!
