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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘How to Get Away With Murder’ gears up for mid-season finale

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For eight weeks now, “How to Get Away With Murder” (2014-present) has been teasing viewers with the prospect of a major death. In addition to featuring flash forwards to a fire at Annalise’s (Viola Davis) house and a deceased, covered body on a stretcher, the mystery has been promoted with a with a ridiculous hashtag, asking, “Who is #underthesheet?” The hashtag may be stupid, but the mystery is very well crafted. Each week another character has been revealed to be alive, and now that the audience has made it to the final episode before the show takes its winter hiatus, the big reveal is tantalizingly close.

So far, it is known that the most of the show's main characters are still alive, including Annalise, Oliver (Conrad Ricamora), Bonnie (Liza Weil), Laurel (Karla Souza) -- albeit in critical condition -- Michaela (Aja Naomi King), Asher (Matt McGorry), Wes (Alfred Enoch) and Connor (Jack Falahee). Main characters aside, this only leaves the show's dull supporting characters as possibilities. Knowing executive producer Shonda Rhimes, however, there is always room for a last-minute twist.

While this season has been confusing, and it would be impossible to recap all the events that have occurred so far, overall it has been very well executed. The technique of revealing one person to be alive at the end of each episode keeps the excitement up, and it also provides a payoff. In this vein, the show kept viewers in the dark about Connor until this past episode, which was both cruel and brilliant. Yet this is complicated by Connor's relationship with his estranged ex Oliver and each episode builds up the uncertainty in how things will ultimately end up between them.

Speaking of which, the romantic relationships this season have been as unstable and entertaining as ever. Asher and Michaela’s relationship has been surprisingly sweet. It’s nice to see them balance each other out, with Asher bringing out a softer side of Michaela and Michaela bringing out a less tool-y side of Asher. Wes and Laurel finally acted on the tension that had been building between them, and their relationship has been hot and heavy, with Laurel even (drunkenly) telling Wes she loved him. But things are looking dicey for them, with the return of Laurel's ex-boyfriend Frank (Charlie Weber) and her life in jeopardy as she fights for survival in the hospital.

Besides the plethora of TV-14 sex scenes, this season has tackled some even darker material. Annalise has been trying to emotionally deal with the fact that Frank caused the stillborn birth of her child several years ago, and she also has had to start to come to terms with her drinking problem. Eighty percent of the time this show is completely unrealistic and insane, but sometimes it does touch on some real issues, portraying Annalise’s struggles in a seemingly authentic and valuable way.

Also very dark this season, but probably falling into the unrealistic/insane category, has been Frank’s journey off the rails. Maybe most extraordinary was that he shaved his beard. But he also murdered a private investigator, staged an explosive car accident to cover up said murder, killed Bonnie’s father as revenge for abusing her, slept with Bonnie shortly after only to skip out before she woke up, framed Wes’s half-brother for murder, then showed up at Laurel’s then Bonnie’s house to beg them both for forgiveness and, last we saw, he was holding a gun to his head about to shoot himself as Bonnie begged him not to and Annalise egged him on. So pretty much business as usual.

Maybe it’s Frank #underthesheet, but it also could be Annalise's cop ex-boyfriend Nate (Billy Brown) or maybe that annoying guy who has been hanging around the Keating Five all season, except that it seems doubtful that Annalise would be sobbing uncontrollably over his death, considering he put up a bunch of fliers insinuating she was a murderer. Still intriguing is the fact that Annalise was arrested for arson and first-degree murder, and apparently, it was Wes who tipped the police off about this. Their relationship makes no sense. Are they like a mother and a son or like two lovers? They have supported each other countless times, but one time he shot her and almost killed her. So really, anything goes with them. Here’s to hoping that this week’s episode will provide some answers, but here’s also to knowing that most likely we’ll just end up with many, many more questions. It’s what Shonda does best.

Summary
4 Stars