Last week, How to Get Away with Murder returned from its winter hiatus in a huge way, so let’s jump right in and take a look at what happened in this week’s new episode (Season 2, Episode 11), “She Hates Us.”
The episode opens with a flashback to ten years earlier as a very pregnant Annalise works on getting through her life with her husband Sam and her group of interns. The exploration of this past timeline is a new thing for the show, and it’s giving us a way of experiencing things that happened in both Annalise and Wes’ pasts while also changing things up from the flash-forward structure that is so common on How to Get Away with Murder. Bonnie also takes a big role in the flashbacks, allowing for even more (very welcome) character development for one of the most complex characters on the show. Liza Weil continues to shine this season, and her heavy presence throughout the timelines of the show adds more and more layers to How to Get Away with Murder.
In the present, both Wes and Annalise attend doctor’s appointments, and the juxtaposition of these appointments show that each of the two characters are in remarkably similar emotional situations. Asher is in a bad place himself, forcing Conner and Oliver to take care of him. All of the interns, in fact, aren’t in good positions as Annalise still holds grudges against all of them as she returns to court for the first time since the shooting. All of the interns, that is, except for Wes, as a joke he made to his doctor led to him being put on suicide watch for a few days.
While Wes is away, Annalise and the interns deal with another case, returning us to the case-of-the-week format that we’re used to. This case doesn’t take up as much screentime as they usually do (largely because of the focus on the flashbacks in “She Hates Us”), but it’s still an interesting and emotional ride that serves its purpose of getting Annalise Keating back into the swing of things. We also get to see Bonnie working extremely closely with Annalise now that they’re back on good terms, and it pairs well with the building of their relationship that takes place in the flashbacks.
One of the most important things that happens in “She Hates Us” is the decision by the interns to leave Annalise because of her seeming dismissal of Wes’s current plight. As the audience, we all know that this would only be a temporary separation, but it’s important that the writers begin to really show us that the characters have grown enough and been through enough that they’re willing to go their separate ways should the time truly come. Wes’s situation also starts unfolding the mystery of his past (helped by the flashbacks), and it’s clearer than ever that this is going to be the driving force on How to Get Away with Murder through (at least) the end of the season.
I tried to keep bigger spoilers out of this review as I think How to Get Away with Murder works equally as well as a mystery as it does as a soapy drama, but “She Hates Us” was a strong episode that progressed the plot in important ways while also shaking up the formula in good ways.
What did you think of “She Hates Us?” Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
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