Saturday, February 07, 2015

Recap/Review: How To Get Away With Murder's 1x11: Best Christmas Ever

Erm, it's February last time I checked. Sitting through a Christmas episode isn't exactly high on my list but the festivities were largely in the background while the cases of the week returned and the show's knack for a good cliffhanger continues to impress.

Written by Tracy A. Bellomo & Warren Hsu Leonard
Directed by Michael Katleman


Worst Dinner Ever: Maybe not but I get the impression that part of the reason why Annalise doesn't cook often is because it's not her speciality. Hannah being added to the show has been a bit of a godsend really. I like that she's a sympathetic antagonist and despite her strained relationship with her sister in law, her main priority is trying to find out what has happened to Sam. It's why I liked her not taking Annalise's initial story at face value or even the way she made four of the Keating Five a little uncomfortable by simply introducing herself to them or the way she tried to get Bonnie on side as well. As for the dinner scene with her and Annalise - some utterly superb acting between Marcia Gay Harden and Viola Davis. The show has finally found someone whom Annalise can't take down so easily and it makes the character all the more compelling to watch, even to the point where Annalise admitted to Hannah that she knew more than she was letting on in relation to Sam and Lila and of course her relationship with Nate. Hannah could very well be Annalise's undoing after all.


Woolly Hats & DVD Nights In: Connor and Oliver are back together but not really back together. I love that Oliver came clean about how he truly feels about Connor, as the latter had a similar epiphany during Christmas time with his sister and extended family in Michigan- yes, we met Connor's family and they're great. In fact, every scene with Connor and Oliver was absolutely golden this week - whether it was getting Oliver to wear a rather cute woolly hat or Connor agreeing to watch The Thornbirds (if this show ever gets Richard Chamberlain like Brothers & Sisters did, I'll be pleased) or that beautiful kiss between the pair of them, there wasn't a moment I wouldn't happily rewatch again. I love that the show isn't rushing with them as well, which makes a lot of sense and outside of the Oliver situation, it was amusing that Connor had to tell everyone else about Hannah while Laurel and Frank plotted to have his car stolen to get rid of more evidence relating to Sam's death. Guess Frank must know that I thought he did. Speaking of which ...


Diva Behaviour: Laurel's quite the little madam, isn't she? After being somewhat of a quiet character at the start of the season, the last few episodes have revelled in showing a rather ruthless and mercenary side to the character. When she wasn't stopping Connor and Michaela going to the police or planting the idea for the former's car to be stolen, she seemed to take a macabre pleasure in irritating her family during Christmas while trying to her classmates to open up about what they were feeling. That led to Connor mistrusting her all the more, Wes opening up about having nightmares and Michaela admitting that her engagement to Aidan was off as well. Laurel is definitely someone I think we all need to keep an eye out for the remainder of the season. Keeping the Christmas stuff - Annalise spent most of her time getting wasted in a hotel and Frank and Asher formed some sort of bromance while we were possibly told (as a point perhaps) nothing about what Bonnie got up to over the festive break.


Rudy Who: I'm going to be honest - I completely forgot about the guy who used to live in Wes's apartment even though recently rewatching the pilot episode made me curious about the scratches on his wall. Seems the guy's name is Rudy and his family (who sent him a Christmas card of cash, well his granny did) are unaware that he's not living there and given those scratches, I'm wondering if Rudy's disappearance/death/whatever is being set up as the next mystery after the whole Sam/Lila stories come to a head. Rebecca seemed a little cagey about it too and while her and Wes as a pairing will never intrigue me in the same way Connor/Oliver do, I do like them a little more than I did at the start of the season. Oh and Sam's body was recovered at the end of the episode, so Frank's attempts of throwing Hannah offtrack turned out to be for nothing after all.


Various Twists & Turns: After having two episodes not focusing on a particular case of the week, this episode also opened with Annalise telling us that it was the second semester of how to get away with murder and the case of the week was pretty interesting too. At first I assumed that Jackie too was a victim of her husband's manipulation (he kept two women locked in a basement) but as the episode unfolded, things got a lot more complicated and Jackie was revealed to be quite the monster herself. I liked that Annalise ended up betraying her in the end and I love the various twists and turns the case ended up taking. Definitely one of the most interesting cases the show has tackled so far and as a Christmas episode, it wasn't exactly the most festive but it definitely made for some truly gripping viewing though.

Next week, Hannah seems determined to get her sister in law sent down as news of Sam's body being found spreads.

1 comment:

ihRtmr said...

Liked this ep. The wooly hat? Awe. Can I say that that was the most adorable moment ever??? Seriously. I mean, he did regift, but it wasn't in a 'this is hideous so maybe you can have it' way. He even wanted to take him out and show him off in his new hat. So friggin cute. OMG. Cant say enough about the impact of that scene.

Laurel - Yes she was a diva, but at the same time this is where I start liking her. Her and Micheala both, are in somewhat a doe-eyed state of shock after recent incidents. I guess, who can blame them? But here, though unrelated to the murder, she snaps out of it and stands up for herself. Her spanish accent is undetectable when she speaks english, so I was surprised to learn her heritage. I love it. I just think her nationality and family dynamic adds a dimension to the character and am really interested to see where her story line goes.