By Monique
What can I say about this How to Get Away with Murder Season 2 premiere that hasn’t already been said? My jaw literally dropped when I saw the ending. These #TGIT nights are some gag-worthy nights, I tell ya.
So, just who wants Annalise dead? Who would try to kill her? That’s going to be the mystery going forward. I can tell you right now that I don’t know who’s going to do what and why, but if you’ve got any ideas as to who might want Annalise dead, take my poll! It’ll be up all season, and at the end, we’ll see how close you and I came to finding out the potential killer.
There’s a lot of stuff that happened in this episode, so let me go to my tried-and-trusted “bulleted list” method of recapping.
• Bonnie’s Rebecca’s killer! Rebecca didn’t make a lot of friends while she was alive, particularly with the audience, but it was pretty awful to see how she went out. Suffocated with a bag? How terrifying.
Also terrifying was how calculated and cold Bonnie committed the crime. She definitely seemed to know what she was doing, too. I wonder what else is in her past. Would it explain why she’s in a strange relationship with Asher? Why she’s so obsessed with Annalise? I need answers, since it seems like Bonnie’s only motive for killing Rebecca was not, as she said, to protect Annalise, but to “fix” something bad that happened to her in the past. She was clearly reliving a moment and trying to fix it in the present and, thankfully, Annalise said as much. I don’t know why Annalise would tell Bonnie she’s a monster, since now Bonnie might want revenge. Sometimes Annalise’s less-than-smart.
•Eve is someone we’re going to have to keep an eye on. She’s Annalise’s frenemy-with-benefits, and she also has the ability to change Annalise’s life for the worst, aka ruin her career. Someone would say that Annalise’s career needs to be ruined so she can wake up from whatever nightmarish world she’s created for herself with her deception and lies. And honestly, if Eve did reveal Annalise’s secrets to the world to send her to jail, I wouldn’t be mad. Annalise is a complex character, but just like I wanted Don Draper to get found out, I want Annalise’s life (as she currently lives it) to blow up in her face. She’s done a lot of covering up, and eventually all that covering up won’t work.
Since I’m mentioning Eve and Annalise’s relationship, I have to comment on how nice it is to see more bisexual relationships on television. I don’t think we’re still at the watershed moment of everyone being like “Oh, bisexuality is a real thing!” but seeing Emmy-winning Viola Davis play a black bisexual woman is a powerful thing. If anything, it should make TV studios realize that it’s not taboo to show bisexuality on television (or that you always have to show it from a skewed male fantasy perspective).
• Oliver and Connor are back together. I, like many viewers, think that Connor is one of the least deserving people of patient Oliver’s love. But Oliver, miraculously enough, seems to be the one person that grounds Connor. I did find it heartening that Oliver was finally convinced of Connor’s love for him when Connor moved in with him, despite Oliver being convinced that Connor might come to view him and his HIV diagnosis as a hassle. I’ve had my side-eye on Connor since he got back with Oliver, and seeing him move in made me change my own viewpoint of how serious he is about the relationship.
It’s also long since due for the TV-viewing public to see an HIV-positive person live their life like everyone else, not like the tragic stories of yesteryear. Both Connor and Oliver are being responsible about Oliver’s illness, and just in the act of showing responsibility, it proves to the audience that a person who is HIV-positive can live a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.
•I don’t know what exactly the sibling murder case has to do with this season or how it ties in, since it seems to be a big factor this season, but it is fascinating and impressive how the two adopted people were played by non-white actors. Even though there are transracial families across the country, they still aren’t represented enough in TV. Yes, this particular family is involved in a murder case, but movement is movement, and true representation shows people of all stripes acting good, bad, and in between. Kudos to the casting department (and whoever forced the issue) for wanting to represent all families.
• WTF is “Eggs911”? Why am I supposed to care about this? Another one of this year’s mysteries.
• Once again, we come to the ending of the episode, and how someone wants Annalise dead. We see Wes running out of the house, but it looks like he’s trying to get help. Or he could be scared about what he’s just done. Who knows. But Wes is a great candidate for committing Annalise’s attempted murder, since it seems he and Annalise will have a much more contentious relationship this time around. Wes going after Annalise like that in class was quite gutsy (and probably stupid, if you ask some viewers). It also seems like it’ll be a lot more lustful.
Last year, it seemed like Annalise was trying to get her cougar hooks into him, probably to manipulate and control him. That plan seemed to get less and less…dangerous (for lack of a better word), the longer the season went on. This year, though, with taking the Keating 5 to a club, wearing her Sassy Club Wig, and dancing suspiciously close to Wes, it seems like Annalise has kicked up her manipulation-through-lust plan up a notch.
Could Wes have done it, though? Could someone that’s not even on my radar have done it? Write your opinions below and make sure to leave your vote in the poll!
Julian 