How To Get Away With Murder Review: Hi, I'm Philip (Season 2 Episode 8) | Tell-Tale TV

How To Get Away With Murder Review: Hi, I’m Philip (Season 2 Episode 8)

Jessica Kreamer How To Get Away With Murder, Reviews

This episode of How To Get Away With Murder is disappointing, especially after a stellar episode last week.

Even with a conclusion to the war ADA Sinclair has against Annalise and company, the episode fails to deliver the deep and meaningful character connections the fans are craving. 

Oliver is revealed to be alive and in the company of Philip Hapstall, while ADA Sinclair bugs the law office, and the audience is treated to a sex montage during the last ten minutes. Besides these moments, the episode has very little to offer the audience in terms of solving the season-long mystery.

The major problem is that it lacks substance. The character moments feel flat and disconnected. Oliver goes through a traumatic experience at the beginning of the episode, but he doesn’t show any emotions until his laptop is destroyed by Connor.

Annalise punishes Frank and promotes Laurel, but all they do is bicker over their upbringings and have sex at the end of the episode. Wes is sidelined along with Michaela and Bonnie is completely absent. Really, Asher is the only supporting character who has any substance with his discovery that they had been bugged and his concern over Bonnie.

How To Get Away With Murder was a show that promised us murder mysteries that would be quickly resolved within a certain amount of time along with great characters. Now, it’s failing to give any resolutions or even any feasible character motives. We’re losing interest because the writers are trying too hard to live up to last season. They can’t seem to navigate the delicate balance of giving us just enough clues to keep us guessing along with character moments outside of the mystery.

At this point, the question of who shot Annalise is the furthest thing in our minds. We don’t care because there is just too much plot to sift through. In contrast, we cared about who killed Lila and to an extent who killed Rebecca over the summer hiatus. The show worked in Season 1, because we had that perfect combination of murder mystery and character moments. But focusing on red herrings and isolated character interactions isn’t working.

The episode is only saved by the resolution of the ADA Sinclair/Annalise war. Annalise is able to use Asher’s discovery of a bugged pen to finally stop ADA Sinclair. On top of that, the moment when Annalise tells Sinclair that she’s lost is amazing. Annalise is a shark, and nothing makes her happier than winning. Her dark side is completely on display, and it’s a delicious piece of Annalise we rarely see.

The scene also showcases ADA Sinclair’s hatred of Annalise and her corruption. We as the audience tend to forget that Annalise is corrupt, and each week she digs herself deeper and deeper into a hole. We see her motives as noble, as always saving one of her students or clients. But to ADA Sinclair, her motives are corrupt, and corruption has no place within their profession.

Besides this resolution,  there are still more questions than answers, and we still haven’t seen much if any repercussions from Bonnie killing Rebecca. Maybe the next episode will tie up all the loose end,s but at the moment it seems like a lot of stories have been put on the back-burner.

Other Thoughts:

  • Bonnie is absent for the majority of the episode. Is she plotting to kill Annalise?
  • Annalise sending a selfie to her mom was one of the cutest scenes in the history of the show.
  • Caleb shows Michaela the murder weapon and we are left wondering if Catherine actually did kill her parents.
  • Speaking of Catherine, did she join forces with Philip to commit the murders?
  • Is it really that easy to change a rap sheet, and how did Nate not have to log in to do so?
  • Why does Frank keep all of his money in a suitcase?

What did you think of this episode of How To Get Away With Murder? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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How To Get Away With Murder airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

Jessica has a degree in History, an MLA is Liberal Arts, and a great desire to consume as much quality television as she can. By day, she's an office worker and caregiver. By night, she's a tea drinking television fanatic. Her current favorite television shows include: Madam Secretary, How To Get Away With Murder, Jane the Virgin, and Veep. Her greatest wish is to make tea drinking into a payable skill. Follow Jessica on Twitter: @pythiaprophet