Written by Pete Nowalk
Directed by Stephen Cragg
Annalise (to the jury): "Who I am is a 53 year old woman from Memphis, Tennessee named Anna Mae Harkness. I'm ambitious, black, bisexual, angry, sad, strong, sensitive, scared, fierce, talent, exhausted and I am at your mercy."
Six seasons, 90 episodes, an unlikely chance of a movie (had to throw in that Community reference) and it came to this. I could've quoted that entire courtroom speech but the tail end really drove home everything we've known about Annalise over the last six seasons.
I don't think it's a shock that Annalise got off free and nor is it a bad thing. In spite of her cover ups, she's never killed a single person on the show and she certainly didn't deserve prison. Annalise's empowered speech along with several things falling into place (Nate's change of heart, a certain flashdrive and Wes's testimony falling into her hands) all played their part along with the jury showing mercy as well.
Annalise being free though didn't mean there weren't consequences for everyone else. Someone important had to die in this last episode and it seemed only appropriate that both Frank and Bonnie would end up dead trying to protect Annalise and each other. Their deaths got to me, but at the same time I don't hold it against the show for doing it.
As for Connor - he came close to avoiding actual prison time but his conscience got the better of him and he refused to let Oliver go against Annalise. A good thing as Annalise would've eviscerated Oliver on the stand. It's also nice to see that the relationship survived as the last few minutes pushed things into the far future.
Michaela on the other hand - she avoided prison time, but lost her friendships even if she did go on to have a career and children. Not much was revealed about Laurel post trial, but it seems that Alfred Enoch was playing an older Christopher after all and he ended up assuming Annalise's former position with a lovely last scene that echoed the first ever scene of the scene.
The flashforward method seems to have become a very popular series finale staple since Six Feet Under did it back in 2005 and while some of the makeup on the cast looked dodgy, the funeral scenes for Annalise (who lived a mostly good life, post trial, even having Tegan at some point) were beautifully done.
I'm glad that we got to see the likes of Ophelia, Celestine and Eve once more in the series and while I wished the show had properly gone there with Annalise and Tegan, I am glad that they stayed in each others lives. I'm not gonna lie, I did tear up a little during the final few scenes. Annalise might have been a messy character, but isn't that why we loved her so much? Viola Davis nailed this role from start to finish.
- Apparently there was meant to be a scene with Asher in this episode, but it was cut for time.
- We didn't find out what happened with Gabriel after he took the money Frank gave him. Both Nate and Tegan were at the funeral but their scenes were also cut.
- Standout music: Matt Maeson's Dancing After Death during the last moments of this episode.
- Chronology: A three day period over the trial scenes before jumping over thirty years into the future for Annalise's funeral.
Stay definitely has earned a place for me as one of the strongest series finale I've seen on. It's not new in terms of it's use of flashforwards, but it's affecting in the right moments and offered a more than satisfying conclusion to this show, with all it's imperfections and twists and turns. Ending it here was the right thing to do. It's been an interesting journey but this is the perfect end for it.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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