“This is your fault…It’s always your fault.”- Conner Walsh
Wes is not the only one running away, as Annalise bleeds out on the living room floor, but Laurel and Michaela are there too. Except, “Where’s Conner,” frantically trying to stop Annalise from bleeding out, while simultaneously blaming her for their present misfortune. “This is your fault,” he cries, but is he really blaming her, or is it self-justification for him, being the one who pulled the trigger? How to Get Away With Murder episode two, Oh Death, is all about our characters pointing the finger at one another, for both their past and present day misfortunes. The main plot involves Nate Lahey’s trial, while the Keating five assist in preventing the Hapstall siblings from being charged with not only their parents’ murder, but their Aunt’s too. Even the Keating five are having trouble keeping up with all of these murder plots, as Asher asks, “An alibi for the night their parents where killed, or their Aunt? Just trying to keep count there’s so many murders today.” Meanwhile, I am just trying to keep track of all the story threads woven throughout this episode.
“You want us, the real murderers to go to the fake murderer’s trail?”- Connor Walsh
The trial of Nate Lahey, or is Annalise, really the one being prosecuted? D.A. Wendy Parks (Alysia Reiner) certainly believes that Annalise killed her husband. “There’s no need to act hostile if she stops acting like I’m the one on trial, your honor,” argues Annalise. She may not have been the one to kill her husband, Sam, but Annalise is protecting the one who did (Wes). He was just trying to prevent Sam from killing Rebecca, but Conner, Laurel, and Michaela played pars in the murder too. Again, this episode is all about fault, trying to determine who really should be on trial, for all of these intersecting murders. Annalise takes the stand during Nate’s trail. Her character is shredded, by not only D.A. Parks’ questioning, but through Eve’s very personal interrogation too, “Shame on you for using my client as a pawn in your own murder plot.” There’s the truth within this investigation, Annalise is truly at fault for setting up Nate for husband’s murder. Nothing more and nothing less; she created a good defense on Wes’ behalf. Eve’s interrogation also highlighted the faults in D.A. Park’s prosecution, leading Judge Fiona Pruitt (Barbara Eve Harris) to dismiss the murder charges against Nate Lahey.
“No you needed to be saved from me.”- Annalise Keating
One scene the stuck out from the others, is the confrontation between Annalise and Bonnie. The scene shares that same motherly tension felt between Wes and Annalise in the previous episode. Except, Bonnie is not an adolescent acting out, but an adult, whom refuses to be independent, “You play the little girl lost, while I play the mommy always trying to clean up your mess,” states Annalise. Bonnie may have taken the backseat during the first season, but since killing Rebecca, she certainly found herself taking center stage. Is that Annalise’s fault? See, as shown throughout the series Annalise manipulates others to protect those she cares about, even she’s protecting those truly at fault. While, Bonnie takes this notion one step further, “I know you’ll never believe me, but what I did…it was for you, I was taking care of you…the same way you took care of me,” explains Bonnie. Murder is definitely not the same thing as providing a strong defense. This scene also adds another question to the ever-growing list, how did Annalise take care of Bonnie in the past? Then again, this scene could be just a precursor to a more deadly confrontation between these two-taking place two months from now. Bonnie certainly is capable of shooting Annalise.
“Put together a new case where I can tell who the actual murder suspect is,”-Judge Pruitt
Unfortunately, for every new murder case, a new suspect appears, as we try to figure out who shots Annalise…and…wait for it…D.A. Parks will also be murdered too! Rewind, the murder charges against Nate were dismissed, while Annalise and the Keting five were able to dismiss the murder charges against the Hapstall siblings for killing their aunt. This victory lead to the current prosecutor’s dismissal, only to be replaced by D.A. Parks in the Hapstall case. Are you still with me? Keep in mind that D.A. Parks is currently blackmailing Asher for information on Annalise. Will a future flash-forward reveal where Asher is that night two months from now? Does he crack under the pressure and kill D.A. Parks? Now that there are two future victims, how many murderers are looking for? So many suspects, so may murders, and so many story threads; this is all showrunner’s Pete Nowalk’s fault.
Episode Rating: 8