How to Get Away With Murder Review: Don’t Tell Annalise (Season 3 Episode 4)
Only four weeks left until the Keating house arsonist is revealed, and the pace is picking up as Annalise’s unraveling begins.
I have to say, I’m enjoying this season of How to Get Away With Murder immensely with each passing episode. I know I talk a lot about how last season dragged, but this season really is a breath of… well, moderately clean air. It’s a return to the feel of the first season, but this time, we’re traveling with characters we’ve already gotten to know pretty well.
There are still skeletons lurking in closets, sure, but rather than focusing on the past, with scandalous flashbacks and convoluted personal histories, How to Get Away With Murder has opted to stay firmly in the present, to keep an eye on what’s happening now.
Case of the Week
Tristan Fullerton and the Missing Money
Character of Focus
- Annalise
Unlike with the previous three episodes where Annalise was a character of focus amidst a bevy of continuing storylines, “Don’t Tell Annalise” keeps a strong focus on our complicated lawyer lady.
We see the return of Omega-level Famke Janssen as Annalise’s erstwhile paramour, Eve. She’s back in town to help Annalise cope with the Freaky Flyer Menace and find a way to tell Annalise that she’s moving to the west coast.
Eve is undoubtedly a healing presence. Annalise is at her best when Eve is around.
She’s open. She’s honest. She’s vulnerable, and it’s such an amazing thing to watch. Annalise is an indisputably broken individual, but when Eve’s in the room, that all fades away and we get to see one of the most tender relationships on this show, devoid of baggage or lies.
Just compare Annalise’s interactions with Eve to her interactions with Nate. Can you imagine Annalise calling Eve a bitch or egging her on because she’s too weak? Annalise respects Eve far too much to push her away so aggressively whereas Nate is, unfortunately, just a piece of meat.
Imagine the heartbreak, then, when Eve finally admits that she’s spoken for. Just one more straw on the aching camel back that is Annalise’s crumbling life. Nothing is perfect. Life is awful, and don’t you forget it!
Sheesh. No wonder she became an alcoholic.
Annalise’s admitting her alcoholism to the University Board (if not to herself) is a culmination of the last two seasons of unrelenting drama. It was unrealistic to show that Annalise could continue taking hits and keep on moving. This season is seeking to rectify that.
Speaking of people trying to right wrongs, what is up with Frank? He’s been stuck in Nowheresville twiddling his thumbs since the season premiere, and suddenly, he’s infiltrating prisons to kill monsters?
Don’t get me wrong. There are no complaints here. Since the Season 2 finale, Frank’s intentions have been aggressively unclear, and for a moment, I was questioning if the writers knew what to do with him at all.
Now, with one bottle of hydrogen sulfide, everything is made clear. Frank: the Atoning Avenger.
Will that make up for his involvement in the death of Annalise’s child? Doubtful. But anything that brings him back into the core group is a good thing.
Murder of the Week
Mr. Winterbottom by Frank.
Swipe Right
- I’m wondering if it’s a goal of the writers to casually drop social issues in each episode. The microaggression behind the lawyers assuming that Eve, the white woman, had just made partner while her black friend was just there to celebrate is one women and people of color deal with all the time. Recently, a doctor on a Delta flight was denied the opportunity to help a sick passenger because the flight attendants couldn’t fathom the possibility of a black female doctor. It’s 2016. Get it together.
- Along that vein, the conversation about teacher-student statutory rape is short but important. Toxic hypermasculinity assumes that the male is the one that wanted the sex, even when he’s clearly the victim.
- “Be on your A game because my brain is steeped in vodka.” Girl, we’ve all been there.
- Again, Doucheboo proves he’s an idiot with a heart of gold. Don’t just drop sexual abuse in the middle of a hallway, ya moron, no matter how much you care.
- Yikes. Wes is intensely possessive of Laurel. In a past review, I theorized that he might be a Virgo, based on the timing, but that’s definitely some Scorpio shit right there.
- Connor is returning to his hoeful ways, but this time in an effort to get Oliver back. Hm. Seems counterintuitive, but what do I know? I’m just a reviewer. At least he’s playing it safe. Season 1 Connor’s mouth would have been too full to ask for IDs.
- Frank meets the shirtless quota for the week.
- Weeks later, and Laurel is still lying to everyone as she tracks down her homicidal hunk, Frank. #couplegoals
- This week’s big question: Is Laurel’s baby Frank’s or Wes’? We’ll find out in 4 weeks.
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.
James A. Windley
James A. Windley, Writer, Virgo, Loaded couch potato. James' love of television began at the intersection when Saturday morning cartoons met to Xena: Warrior Princess syndications, and his head has been a mess ever since. He loves superheroes, drama (in life, not television), and misses when very special episodes were a thing.