Recap/Review: How To Get Away With Murder's 2x12: It's A Trap

Sorry for the delay with this one (there may be a delay with the next one too) but I finally caught up with the latest episode and it seems that mommy issues and blackmail was the order of the day here.

Written by Joe Fazzio And Tanya Saracho
Directed by Mike Listo

1 Million In 36 Hours To Go Please: Philip didn't so much as appear in this episode but he certainly made an impact as he decided to blackmail Annalise and the Keating Five for a sweet million in exchange for not turning over an incriminating video or two of the night Annalise was shot/Sinclair died. Connor and the gang spent most of the episode panicking, Wes was out of the loop and Laurel simply didn't give a damn because other things were of a more pressing concern for her. Annalise on the other hand played it rather cool and decided to call Philip's bluff. Initially it might have looked like it worked but then another message suggested otherwise. Oh dear.

What She Knows: That is the question. We learned about the case - rich, racist white couple the Mahoneys want their son Charles not to go to prison for possibly killing his fiancee and only Rose's testimony can do that. I felt bad enough for Rose - everyone was coming at her from every corner during those flashbacks to help Charles and when Annalise wasn't dealing with casual racism and sexism in flashbacks, she also discovered that Rose might not know as much as she claimed to either. Then the ending of this episode where Christophe/Wes was holding a bloodied knife while standing over Rose's dying body. Did he actually kill her though? It certainly looks bad.

They Went There: Keeping with the present day stuff, both Wes and Laurel were primarily kept away from the blackmailing main plot (Wes because Annalise didn't want him around and Laurel because she was avoiding Frank after that truth bomb about Lila) but on the otherhand when they weren't making out (really, show?), they were uncovering bit by bit more information on Rose Edmond and the Mahoney trial as well which Laurel confronted Annalise about towards the end of the episode.

Connecting Again: This episode was an odd one for Caleb. On one hand, he probably got way too much information about Catherine's relationship with Philip that he really wanted to know but on the other hand, both him and Michaela seemed to resume their relationship once again (as did Annalise and Nate during a tense cooked meal). With three episodes left to go, I really do hope this show can end both the Hapstalls and the Rose mysteries with a satisfying conclusion to them.

Confession Boy: Meanwhile when Asher wasn't freaking out about the blackmailing plot of the week, he was actually willing to hand himself into the police for Sinclair's murder, only for Bonnie to dissuade him while remaining cold and distant. Speaking of Bonnie, did anyone else notice in the flashbacks for this episode how much she was seriously crushing on Sam? That's going to lead somewhere, right?

Next week, Eve is back and Philip ups the ante.