Previously: Christmas break was hard and Sam’s remains were found.
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She’s a Murderer
Democracy Diva: We begin with a news report that tells us, yup, Sam Keating’s body was definitely found, because you guys are bad at getting away with murder. (M: Okay, so don’t throw the body away in a trash can. Got it.) Dumbledore’s Army debates whether Annalise ratted them out, and we play another fun round of “no, it’s your fault!”
Meanwhile, Frank is in his car, being angry and bearded. (M: A+) He’s trying and failing to get through to Annalise. Laurel calls, so he yells at her to stop contacting him and play it cool before they all get caught. He calls their group “the rat pack,” because he clearly doesn’t read our recaps. Bad move, Ben/Glory. We’re awesome.
Laurel gets back to Wes’s apartment, where the gang is continuing to freak out. She explains that they can’t be making “come save us” phone calls or they’ll get caught. Just memorize this scene now, because it’s going to happen like eleven more times this episode. Maybe we should have a fun code word to shout when it’s time for the requisite freak-out scene.
Marines: How about a gif?
Diva: Best.
12 Grimmauld Place. The cops show up and ask to speak to Ms. Keating, and Marcia Gay Harden is all, YOU’LL HAVE TO BE MORE SPECIFIC. Ugh, can you just be normal? You know they are not looking for you. The cops explain that Sam is dead. Marcia goes into immediate grieving overdrive, wailing and screaming at Annalise not to touch her. Then, as Frank shows up, Marcia orders the cops to arrest Annalise, because “she’s the murderer.”
She also screams “ARREST HER!” like forty times. They might have actually believed her if she’d just said it the once. (M: Marcia In Law is #teamtoomuch.)
CHALKBOARD OF MURDER.
Detective Abs calls Annalise and is all, um, what’s going on with this murder investigation? She orders him not to talk to the cops, and then meets up with My Favorite Detective, the awesome lady who always looks suspicious of Annalise’s bullshit. She’s curious as to why Annalise doesn’t really look like her husband just died. To her credit, Annalise is all, “You gonna arrest me because my grief doesn’t look the way you want it? Go ahead.”
Murder 101 Class, But Not Taught By Annalise. You can tell because someone not in Dumbledore’s Army is actually being called on. Annalise tells the substitute (because those totally exist at law schools) to peace out. She cold-calls the non-DA member and asks her about the 5th Amendment. Poor girl is terrified but actually correct. The DA members all give each other dramatic glances as they hear Annalise’s pointed advice to keep their fucking mouths shut and never talk to police ever.
Annalise arrives and orders Frank to get rid of the cops, swarming outside 12 Grimmauld with a BS story about keeping the press away. Bonnie tells Annalise that Leo Lombardo’s secretary wants to reschedule her meeting because, you know, Annalise’s husband died. Annalise won’t accept that, and storms off to see Leo, her client. She tells him that the worst thing he can do for his nephew’s case is to switch lawyers right before trial. Annalise reminds him that in fifteen years of working for him, she’s never lost him a case. Leo’s afraid she’s going to get locked up while his nephew’s still on trial, but Annalise insists she’s not a murderer. Another dude is impressed with her commitment to the bit – as a mobster, he’s familiar with the “I’m innocent!” story. This dude is Paul, Leo’s nephew, the one on trial, so maybe he should take all this a little bit more seriously. Annalise admits that she doesn’t have a lot of clients left, but she will not let her personal life interfere with his case. She asks Paul what he wants to do. He’s keeping her as his attorney, but probably because he’s fucking terrified of Annalise. As he should be. A mobster ain’t got nothin’ on her.
Marcia Gay Harden talks to My Favorite Detective (MFD). She rats out Annalise for lying to the cops – or at least, telling them a different story than she told Marcia. MFD is all, cool, still don’t have enough probable cause for a search warrant, tho. Marcia says that Annalise came from a violent home and is a violent person. MFD is intrigued, but knows it’s not enough to search 12 Grimmauld Place. Marcia peers inside MFD’s office and sees something that makes her gasp. She walks in, over MFD’s objections, and stares at the photos of the charred remains of her brother. Which are kind of too much for me to handle. Marcia says, “What if she threatened Sam’s life?” MFD says, if that’s true, you’d need to testify to it. Marcia assures her she’ll testify to whatever the fuck the cops want as long as it gets Annalise behind bars.
Mari: I’m not sure what I root for in this series. Like, I don’t really care if Annalise and Dumbledore’s Army get away with murder. HOWEVER, I want Annalise to beat Marcia. I don’t even know what that means, but in my perfect ending, Marcia loses.
Diva: And Oliver wins the lottery and marries Channing Tatum. Everyone else can go fuck themselves.
After the break, Frank hands out files for their new case. The DA gang is all, um, for real? NOW?! But Annalise insists. Bonnie briefs them on the case – defendant Paul Lombardo, as in the Lombardo crime family. Asher kills it with a Godfather impression – I love how good the show is at using his complete douchebaggery to fantastic and desperately needed comic relief – and Annalise explains that the charge is possession of 300 kilos of heroin with intent to distribute. She wants them to look at the chain of custody of the container the drugs were found in, and see who they might be able to pin the heroin on.
Cut to Asher, who notes that Frank has an Italian last name, and asks if he’s “connected.” Frank is all, “ok but don’t tell the others!” Annalise continues to explain what she’s trying to do with the defense – figure out how and why the police noticed the one container (that had the drugs in it) when there were hundreds of others around that, you know, weren’t filled with heroin. Cut to Michaela and Connor. She refuses to go back to the woods and get the ring, but Connor insists she has to. Anyway, they’re having this conversation in the office of a Customs & Immigration officer, because, once again, THEY ARE TERRIBLE AT GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER. They ask the officer about the container in the Lombardo case. He insists it was a random check and they just happened to pick the right container.
Back to Annalise, who tells them to look for someone with a motive. Cut to Wes and Laurel – he’s googling Rudy, explaining about how he used to live here. Laurel is all, um, I do not fucking care right now, can we work on this case? (M: Rudy better be the guy that helps them get away with murder or else STFU ABOUT RUDY.) Cut to Asher and Frank – Frank tells a fake story about how someone was killed in front of him when he was a kid, then laughs. Asher is not pleased. Anyway, they look at security footage that proves someone tipped off the cops about which container had heroin. THERE’S A RAT!
Annalise takes this news to the client. Leo insists his guys aren’t rats. Paul asks his uncle who it was, and Leo’s all, uh, he’d be dead if I knew who he was.<
<
Wes gets home and sees his landlord in the lobby. He asks about Rudy, but landlord is all, idk, ask your girlfriend, since she was the one who called the police the night the cops took Rudy away.
After the break, Wes questions Rebecca about Rudy. She insists that she stayed away from him because he was a weirdo. He was losing his mind that night, screaming and banging on the walls, so she called the cops. She realizes Wes doesn’t believe her, and tells him he can dump her if he wants. She knows he must be doubting her, now that he knows he could get caught for killing Sam. She says she can go to the cops and say she did it, but Wes won’t let her.
Courthouse. Annalise and the prosecutor walk-and-talk about how they’re going to kick each other’s asses in the courtroom.
Mari: Does this really happen in court? I want there to be lawyer-trash-talk so badly.
Diva: Definitely. Example:
The prosecutor thinks Annalise is awfully bold for someone who’s totes a murderer. He also says the cops don’t have much evidence on her, and they should probably keep it that way. As in, don’t try and prove we had a criminal informant, or I’ll put your ass in jail.
TV news still going on about Sam’s remains. They’re looking into stores that sell the particular brand of garbage bags used to hold the remains. Asher jokes about the case because he has no idea what is going on and also can’t read a room to save his life. Annalise enter-nounces that the criminal informant defense is off the table for the Lombardo case, but of course, won’t explain why. Bonnie tells Annalise that the cops are trying to get enough evidence for a warrant to search the house, because of Marcia’s testimony. Annalise tells Bonnie to challenge the warrant – Annalise can’t do it herself. She warns Bonnie not to fuck it up, so Bonnie is probably going to fuck it up spectacularly, Paris Geller-style. (M: A+)
Asher and Bonnie walk-and-talk through the courthouse. He’s willing to ask Annalise not to pair them together on cases, but Bonnie’s all, um, yeah, that won’t be suspicious or anything. Just be cool. Bonnie asks Asher if he saw Annalise’s car at 12 Grimmauld place the night of the bonfire. He doesn’t think so.
In the courtroom, Marcia testifies about how a few years back, a party at the Keating house ended early because Annalise and Sam were fighting. That night, Marcia heard yelling and saw Annalise throw a paperweight at Sam, screaming that she would kill him. Bonnie asks if she talked to Sam about that night. Yes, and Sam said it had happened before but he was trying to work it out. Bonnie asks if it was self-defense, and Marcia asks if Bonnie is victim-blaming. Marcia still won’t answer, and Bonnie tries to get the judge to intervene. But Marcia talks over them and gives the list of questions Bonnie should be asking: No, she wasn’t drinking that night. Yes, the party ended abruptly. Bonnie asks if the party attendees will actually testify that the party ended because of a fight. Marcia’s all, I can’t do your job for you, and people in the courtroom giggle. Ouch. I hate watching Bonnie be bad at her job.
Mari: Especially when a bunch of first years are constantly lucking into being good at their non-jobs.
Diva: Bonnie and Asher get back to 12 Grimmauld Place, defeated. Dumbledore’s Army stand around the property, near the cops, being sketchy, talking about burner phones and microscopic bits of Sam’s blood. They again debate about whether Annalise is ratting them out. This is why we need that code word!
Mari:
Diva: Still the greatest.
Marcia approaches and is all, omg, why are you guys always here? She wonders why such smart kids would stick around such a bad scene. Isn’t this bad for their reputations and their careers? Annalise gets home and orders Marcia off her property. Marcia is all, I can stand on this sidewalk if I want to, nah-nanny-poo-poo, so I can watch the cops drag you out. Annalise isn’t surprised – Marcia has always hated the idea of her husband’s mistress living in her parents’ Barbie magic dream house. Marcia laughs because Annalise still sees herself as the mistress. And then this awkwardness happens:
Um, seriously? Is that a saying? I really can’t imagine anyone but Cersei Lannister saying that. (M: I love you so much.) (D: Back atcha.)
Annalise walks into her house, which is swarming with cops, and the bass of this awful semi-dub-step music gets so loud it almost blows out my headphones. The cops find something under a desk – it’s the little scales of justice, broken off the murder weapon trophy. Bonnie faux-casually puts them back on the trophy. The DA continue to stand outside looking guilty as fuck, while the cops swab every surface in the house. Annalise heads upstairs and stares down at the place where Sam died. My Favorite Detective, being awesome at her job, asks the team to check that very spot. Frank looks nervous, and Annalise is barely hiding her terror. Outside, Laurel’s phone dings with the news that the cops didn’t find anything. Her relief is clear, and Asher’s like, c’mon, our prof would be way too good at murder to get caught! As the cops leave the house, Annalise stares at the floor, and flashes back to scrubbing her husband’s blood out of it.
Mari: These people are so lucky. SHE WAS STARING AT THE MURDER SPOT. WHAT IS HAPPENING, DIVA?
Diva: LEGAL MAGIC.
Post-break, Bonnie’s reading the report about Sam’s body. She tells Frank that Sam was probably hit with a heavy object made of metal or steel. OR JUSTICE. (M: Seriously, love you so much.) They also found carpet fibers and debris from the woods. The DA gang continues their group-freaking-out-paranoia stuff. Annalise arrives just in time to hear Connor say that Annalise should be grieving instead of taking on mobster clients that she cares more about than saving their asses. She calls Connor into her office.
Annalise asks him to say everything he wants to say right to her face. He can’t, but he does question whether she’s really protecting them like she promised. Nothing makes sense and they’re all just supposed to act normal and trust her completely.
She tells him that she gave him the trophy on the first day because she saw that Connor was like her. Scared, and a worrier, and also someone willing to fuck to get the job done. She tries to bond with him about how exhausting worrying is. She knows he can’t trust her, but he also shouldn’t worry. Because the odds are better if Annalise is on his side.
Frank and Laurel have some new info on Pedro, the guy who weighed the Lombardos’ shipping container. He quit two days after the FBI raid to care for a sick relative in South America, but he’s actually partying in Jersey. Annalise tells Frank to track him down.
Detective Abs calls Annalise to give her some updates he heard from his cop buddies – namely, that they’re testing the debris from the woods found on Sam’s body. He’ll keep Annalise informed about the results. She wants to know if he thinks she’s guilty, but he won’t really give her an answer. But he understands that if she stops working, Sam wins, and tells her to kick some ass with the Lombardo case.
Courtroom. Annalise questions the Customs & Immigrations officer about the decision to weight that particular container. She asks how Pedro disappeared, and then introduces Pedro himself to the court. Surprise! Paul can’t believe they were able to find him. Without any issue about there being a surprise witness that the prosecution knew nothing about, Pedro testifies that he was instructed to weigh that particular container. They promised him and his wife a green card if he chose Mr. Lombardo’s container. Pedro won’t name the man who made him this promise – he looks so terrified, the poor guy. Annalise asks if that man is in the courtroom right now, and if it’s the prosecutor. Before the judge can rule on the prosecutor’s objection, Pedro says yes, it was him. Both lawyers start yelling at the judge at the same time. Annalise gives a rousing speech that definitely isn’t allowed to happen in the middle of examination – and come to think of it, since Pedro was a witness for her side, she wasn’t allowed to ask any leading questions during direct examination, so probably everything that just happened should have been thrown out. But whatever, this is television, so laws are optional, and everyone cheers because Annalise saved a mobster. (M: YAAAAY!) The prosecutor tells Annalise to watch her fucking back, and Annalise is all, LOL, says the guy who pissed off the mob?
12 Grimmauld Place. Laurel shows up and Frank is like, ugh, can you bastards all just leave me alone so I can wear my favorite dress in peace.
Laurel wants something to do, something to make her feel helpful, because us Type A law students need to stay busy. He says there’s nothing left to do, and Laurel cries as she realizes that means they’re getting caught. Frank tries to comfort her, but she’s not having it. But she does let him be comforting by standing like three feet away from her as she cries. I guess that’s a thing.
Mari: No, that’s definitely not a thing.
Diva: The news tells us that the cops are hoping to narrow down the wooded area where Sam’s body was burned. Suddenly the murder trophy slams down on Annalise’s desk. Bonnie glares at Annalise and notes that Sam’s skull was crushed with a heavy metal object. And the scales of justice disappeared around the time that Sam did. (#symbolism) Bonnie also mentions the carpet, and the woods behind campus. She tells Annalise that she’s not going to get away with this if she doesn’t talk to the cops. Marcia Gay Harden is going to solve this. And Annalise shouldn’t let the stupid fucking DA kids ruin her.
In her kitchen, Annalise downs some vodka and flashes back to all her promises that she’ll get the kids out of this mess. She cries, and calls someone to tell them, “I need you right now,” and then hangs up. Um, I need a lot more information than that. And also, couldn’t you just have texted? Everyone in the 21st century knows phone calls are exclusively for things too long and complex to be communicated via text.
My Favorite Detective and another cop show up at 12 Grimmauld and say they found some evidence in the woods. They asks Annalise to talk to them, and she finally agrees.
In MFD’s office, Annalise confesses that on murder-bonfire night, she spent an hour with Detective Abs, then she went home. No one can corroborate that, but she did make two phone calls – one to her husband, that he didn’t answer, and one to Bonnie. MFD shows Annalise something and asks if she recognizes it.
Wes’s creepy-ass apartment. Rebecca says they found a ring in the woods, and that’s why they’re questioning Annalise. Michaela looks like she’s about to vomit all over the place. “And so it begins,” Connor says.
Annalise says yes, she recognizes the ring. It’s the one she gave Sam on their wedding day. (So stop puking, Michaela. You’re okay.) We flashback to Annalise, giving that ring to Frank, who clearly planted it in the woods. And there was a fingerprint on the ring. Annalise asks MFD who it belongs to, even though she must already know the answer. We see Frank, in flashback, transferring a fingerprint from a glass onto Sam’s ring. And we hear a knock on a door. Detective Abs answers his door, and it’s the cops. They’re arresting him for the murder of Sam Keating. Nate just turns around and lets them handcuff him with this look on his face like, “OF FUCKING COURSE.”
Mari: I’VE BEEN SAYING IT FOREVER. Detective Abs has the crappiest crap end of this entire deal. AND NOW LOOK. Who knows if he’s going to get away with murder, and didn’t even murder anyone.
Diva: At the station, Marcia Gay Harden watches the cops bring in Detective Abs. Annalise shows up a moment later. Marcia thinks that Nate killed Sam on Annalise’s orders. Marcia accuses her of dragging Sam, and everyone else in her life, down into the gutter.
The DA watches the news about Detective Abs and realize that Annalise is behind it. That this is Annalise’s way of protecting them.
Back at 12 Grimmauld, Annalise gets into bed, still fully clothed and made up, and cries. She picks up the phone, dials a number, and just says, “Mama? I need you.”
OH, SHIT. IT’S CECILY TYSON TIME.
Mari:
Diva: Amen.
I'm a J.D. by day/blogger by night who directs her snark and judgment primarily towards celebrities and their many red carpet mishaps. Blogging from the style capital of the world (just kidding - I live in DC), I rant and rave over the best and worst in fashion and pop culture.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
