'How to Get Away with Murder' Review/Recap: "He Deserved to Die"

Nora Dominick ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

How to Get Away with Murder continues to stun viewers week after week. With only two episodes left before the explosive mid-season finale, the heat was turned up on the Lila Stangard case with the episode entitled “He Deserved to Die.”
This episode continued to follow Rebecca’s (Katie Findlay) involvement in the mysterious murder of Lila Stangard. With the evidence stacking up against her, this is one of the biggest cases Annalise (Viola Davis) and her students have taken on so far. In one of the major court scenes in this episode, Griffin (Lenny Platt) and his lawyers motion to have Lila’s body exhumed to further investigate. In the end, it looks like Annalise has lost this battle when the judge rules to exhume the body. In the thrilling final minutes of the episode, Bonnie (Liza Weil) reveals to Annalise and Sam (Tom Verica) that the medical examiners missed something during the 1st autopsy: Lila was six weeks pregnant! Sam and Annalise clearly have some issues to work out.
The flashforward sequences this week deal with Rebecca and her involvement in the night of Sam’s murder. In the first one, Rebecca appears to be the murder considering Wes (Alfred Enoch) is seen dragging a blood covered Rebecca into a shower to wash off. Could she really have killed Sam? Only time (and the finale) will tell. Things aren’t looking good for our favorite drug dealer. Fans already saw the moment when Wes drops Rebecca off at a sketchy motel so she can hide, but this week viewers saw exactly what Rebecca does with that free time. Rebecca has an unclear past and Findlay does an incredible job portraying the many layers to Rebecca’s character.

This episode also showed the growth of Wes and Rebecca’s relationship. From day one, sparks flew between Wes and Rebecca and this week their relationship finally took flight. In present day, they finally kissed and learned more about each other. Wes opened up to Rebecca revealing that he was born in Haiti, he is allergic to peanuts and his mother killed herself when he was just twelve years old. Does anyone else just want to give Wes a giant hug? Week after week Enoch has been able to develop Wes into a full blown character. In this short scene between Wes and Rebecca, fans learn more about their favorite law student as he reveals little details about himself. Talk about character development. Enoch and Findlay have amazing chemistry and viewers should plan on seeing more scenes between them.
Although this episode centered around Wes and Rebecca, other minor characters stood out this week as well. Laurel (Karla Souza) is offered a job at a competing law firm and contemplates taking it, until Frank (Charlie Weber) professes his love for her and they make out on the front porch of Annalise and Associates. Is that porch the equivalent to the elevator from Grey’s Anatomy? We see what you did there Shondaland. Also, everyones favorite bad boy, Connor (Jack Falahee), showed a softer side when he tried to win his ex-boyfriend back. Connor has become a fan favorite and seeing a softer side to this character was refreshing.

Has anyone been wondering where Annalise’s lover, Nate (Billy Brown), went? Well this week viewers see him in the thick of the Lila murder case as well. It turns out he has been following Annalise and her firm’s less than lawful deals. He reveals to Annalise that he knows they planted Lila’s phone on Griffin O’Reilly. And if this wasn’t bad enough, at the end Nate follows Rebecca and reveals that he knows who really killed Lila. Crazy stuff. Nate has slowly slipped into the background of How to Get Away with Murder but like Bonnie, he seems to be pulling more strings than Annalise knows. Viewers should keep an eye out for Nate and his stellar detective skills.
How to Get Away with Murder continues to pack a punch each week. Although this week mainly focused on the Lila Stangard case and tended to drag on in some places, it acted as a perfect set-up episode for the final two episodes prior to the midseason finale. How to Get Away with Murder continues to turn up the heat and viewers should be prepared to be face down on the floor weeping when it continues its reign next week.
How to Get Away with Murder airs on Thursday’s at 10/9c on ABC.
Overall Episode Grade: B+