This week’s episode revealed who was under the sheet, and it had us screaming at our TV screens from start to finish. Here are the top five moments:
1. When Annalise tried to murder Frank.
There are many ways to kill someone: with words, with weapons or by begging him to kill himself when he is in a deranged state. With Frank at his lowest point, Annalise first begged and then ordered him to kill himself. The scene was an all-out tear-and-snot fest, definitely worthy of an Emmy nod: Annalise wailed with rage, Frank cried in agony and Bonnie sobbed in fear. In the end, Bonnie gave Frank a sappy pep talk: “Live for me, please. You love me, right?” (I was kind of confused here cuz I’m pretty sure that he loves Laurel, or minimally is obsessed with her.)
Bonnie managed to slide the gun out of his hand, though. He collapsed into her lap, a sobbing mess of tears, and Annalise stormed off like a 2-year-old whose tantrum had been overruled.“You should have done it!” she yelled at Frank as she stomped out of the living room.
2. When Michaela had a catfight with her mama.
This week we learned why Michaela hates her foster mom (who’s white) so much. Her mother arrived at her house, unannounced, with an announcement: “Well, I’ve got the cancer … ” Michaela immediately flashed her a “Heffa, please” look, to which she responded, “OK, I’m lying.” There was so much backstory in this interaction, like the fact that her mother lies to manipulate on the regular. Unfazed, Michaela replied, “I know.” The conversation only worsened from there, with Michaela yelling, “You did your charity work! You saved your little black baby!”
This explains so much, like why Michaela was so upset about losing her fiance, and why she was wiling to let Asher become her family so quickly. Her birth family did her dirty, and her foster mom did so exponentially. This is why Michaela is so bent on being the No. 1 student at Middleton: She has no family support system. I’m sure that she wakes up every morning, looks in the mirror and tells herself, “You is smart, you is kind, you is important.” She’s got no one else to do it for her.
3. When Nate rejoined Team Annalise.
Annalise knew just what to say to Nate to move him like a pawn in her game: “Your new chick is investigating me. That’s why they hired you. There you go, signing up to be someone’s bitch again.” Nate fired back with: “You made your choice when you ran me away. Be drunk. Be sober. Just keep your damn mess away from me.” Annalise chose the former—a bottle of vodka, to be precise—but Nate marched his bruised ego to a confrontation with his district attorney girlfriend. Her words denied the accusation, but her eyes confirmed it. Nate broke things off and quickly started to spy on Wes in the interrogation room, signaling his return to Team Annalise.
What I can’t figure out is why he and Annalise enjoy doing this dysfunctional dance. Did Annalise put a voodoo love-potion spell on him that makes her the sun around which he orbits? Or maybe the producers just want to keep Nate around so they can keep showing off his luscious abs in as many scenes as possible. If so, I’m all for Sexual Chocolate staying around.
4. When Annalise asked her ride or die if she betrayed her.
Bonnie was undoubtedly Annalise’s first call in jail: “Bonnie, they arrested me!” When Bonnie arrived, Annalise told her that an anonymous source had tipped the police. Then Annalise interrogated her: “Is it you? Look me in the eye and say it’s not you!” The only thing worse than being locked up for murder is having to ask the person you called to bail you out whether she’s the one responsible for your being locked up. Honestly, who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like this?
5. When Annalise’s favorite died.
We finally found out who was under the sheet: Wes. His death had Annalise wailing like a wounded lioness whose only cub had been carried away by a pack of wolves. His death had Meggy and Laurel huddled in a hospital bed together, sobbing like Sister Wives who just lost their husband. It had me on the floor like the Fresh Prince, yelling, “Mama, no!” Wes’ death was unexpected because he wasn’t just Annalise’s favorite student. He was the honorary son whom she promised to take care of as if he were her own.
Many questions remain now: Who killed Wes? Why? Is Wes Laurel’s baby daddy, or is it Frank’s? Who caused the explosion in Annalise’s house?
We’ll have to wait until Jan. 20 to find out.