'How to Get Away With Murder' Recap: The Honesty of Liars

Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch, Charlie Weber, Aja Naomi King, Liza Weil, and Viola Davis
Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch, Charlie Weber, Aja Naomi King, Liza Weil, and Viola Davis

It's only OK to populate your story with unlikable people if they suffer for their flaws. Additionally, as David Fincher proved with Gone Girl (and every movie he's ever made), visual flair goes a long way in making you forget that you're not actually rooting for anybody. If the first season of the similarly stylish-and-sociopathic How to Get Away With Murder could be fairly faulted for something, it's that most of its characters are stuck firmly in dick-mode, if only because that's the most efficient use of their screentime. To be frank (lower-case 'f'), we STILL don't know tons about these characters' lives, even after inviting them into our living rooms for the past few months. But what we do know is that even among narcissists and sociopaths there is the possibility for redemption, and therein lies one of HTGAWM's most consistent pleasures: Watching unlikable people struggle to be good.

An unofficial mantra of this week's Season 1 finale "It's All My Fault" (which was preceded by "The Night Lila Died") could have been, "Trust me, I'm a liar." Characters openly admitted to stretching or ignoring the truth altogether yet still expected the trust of those around them. Over the season many of these characters have been brought to their knees by circumstances beyond their control, so it's always great watching them resort to their less savory personality traits in desperate circumstances. Again, it's pretty much the only way to come away from these stories without the nagging sense of nihilism that plagues so many other self-conscious antihero studies. Ultimately, these people just get more likable the more f--ked up their situations, and this finale proved that HTGAWM will only get darker and more complicated from here on out.

Oh, but let's not bury the lede: Rebecca went and got herself murdered! Yes, this finale brought not only the shocking revelation that Frank had indeed been Lila's killer (albeit in a sort of hitman capacity, per Sam's instructions), but later Rebecca was murdered by an unknown killer! Did you honestly expect all these people to escape this season unscathed? (Here's my round-up of the cast's answers about how they'd like their characters to be killed off; note Katie Findlay's particularly smooth response.) Friends, a lot went down over the course of these two hours and we have no choice but to talk about it!

The first episode picked up where last week's left off: Wes and Laurel knew Lila had lied about her broken-brained neighbor, and even more suspiciously, Rebecca knew they knew. Which made Wes and Rebecca's reunion that night a little awkward. Boyfriend and girlfriend, equally suspicious of the other. That didn't mean they weren't going to have sex, though.

Probably not
Probably not

I mean, what's a more powerful aphrodisiac than suspicion of murder?

You crazy kids
You crazy kids

 

The episode's title "The Night Lila Died" sure did contain flashbacks to the night Lila died. But the biggest revelation was probably how horrible Lila apparently was? I mean, she'd been annoying in previous episodes, but in this one she revealed herself as an outright villain almost, beginning with fake-crying to Rebecca about all her problems, then blaming her for them, then pretty much laughing in her face about being a loser. At this point I'm pretty sure we were supposed to be rooting for Rebecca to off the lady finally.

Ugh, this one
Ugh, this one

 

The case of the week was notable mostly because it involved a priest accused of murder and the priest was played by Tom Everett Scott. ('90s kids will know who I'm talking about.) Anyway, again, this was technically the second-to-last episode, but since it was paired with the finale episode we were definitely not expecting to be dragged through a case of the week at this point. But here we were! At least it bore some interesting fruit, namely this scene in which Annalise had to capitalize on her woes in order to get the judge to reverse the priest's plea.

Holy killer, Batman!
Holy killer, Batman!

Ugh, the only thing more embarrassing than having your husband be the prime suspect in the murder of his girlfriend and then turn up dead himself, is having to use that as an excuse with your boss. We've all been there, Annalise.

Annalise opens up
Annalise opens up

 

I loved this flashback: Just Rebecca seducing Lila's frat bro ex-boyfriend the old-fashioned way: WITH PCP.


Wait, they still make PCP?
Wait, they still make PCP?

 

Clever minx that she was, Rebecca texted Lila from the dude's phone to ensure she walked in while they were sexin'. Yes, this was shady behavior on Rebecca's part, but it turned out she really was simply just trying to create a teachable moment for Lila. That's what friends do!


Oh shut up Lila
Oh shut up Lila
Yikes
Yikes

 

Speaking of things that friends do, Asher and Bonnie were still enjoying the afterglow of their parking structure nookie and were now openly sexually harassing each other around the home-office. Did you expect anything less?

Back that thing up, Asher
Back that thing up, Asher

 

A recurring thing from these episodes was that Annalise kept actively harming Nate somehow, but only when it was in his best interest. For example, she hired someone to BEAT HIM UP IN JAIL. That's right, it wasn't enough that she'd framed him for murder and planted his fingerprint, she was now hiring people to beat him up in jail.

Ouch, poor guy
Ouch, poor guy

And the hilarious twist? Her intention was to get him released on bail for his own safety, but instead the jail just threw him in solitary confinement! "Oh nooooooooooo." - SNL's Mr. Bill, but also Nate.

Yeah, that didn't work, honey
Yeah, that didn't work, honey

 

Also we DID get to learn much more about Connor's sexual practices than we probably bargained for. For instance, which sexual role(s) he prefers, and under which circumstances he wears condoms. This was all ostensibly part of his and Oliver's agreement to be monogamous and get tested and whatnot. Not gonna lie, this particular plotline didn't tie in too much with the rest of the storylines, but it didn't matter. It's really rare to see any of these kinds of frank discussions on primetime TV, trust me.

He nasty
He nasty

 

Oh, let's just cut to the chase with this priest thing: He definitely murdered another priest. Apparently the other priest had molested a boy and that boy had committed suicide, so this was a righteous act or whatever. But the best part was that Father Tom Everett Scott had murdered the other priest with one of those incense holders that priests love to wave around in masses or whatever. It was amazing.

Bloody hell, Father!
Bloody hell, Father!

 

Even though Annalise knew her client was guilty, she had to put it out of her head and press onward. (Theme alert!) This meant getting one of the church nuns to admit to sleeping with the priest on the stand as a sort of credibility booster or maybe just for the gossip. Who knows, Annalise works in mysterious ways!


So very Thorn Birds!
So very Thorn Birds!
That's gonna cost you a lotta Hail Marys, honey
That's gonna cost you a lotta Hail Marys, honey

 

Wes and Laurel had spent a lot of the episode looking into Rebecca's various lies and alibis, so by episode's end the Keating 4 had pretty much determined that it was go-time. Rebecca needed to be taken DOWN.

Uh-oh
Uh-oh
Someone put Rebecca in a corner
Someone put Rebecca in a corner

 

Which brought us to the first hour's cliffhanger: Annalise was summoned to the scene to assess the situation. How would she handle it? As it turns out, not well!

Mama's not happy
Mama's not happy

Annalise had had it with the yammerings of these post-teens and immediately set about trying to assuage Rebecca's fears. But how would Rebecca handle the situation now that Annalise was there? Also not well!

Where's that duct tape?
Where's that duct tape?

Frankly, I was sort of relieved that people were starting to ask Rebecca the tough questions, but nobody addressed the most important one: What was UP with all her glued-on piercings? Explain yourself, lady.

 

Oh, right, more Lila flashbacks. In fact, if we're being honest, this second episode was definitely the one where we found out the full story of what happened to her on that fateful night a sorority had all their drinking water ruined. After she'd found Rebecca enjoying an erotic embrace with her frat bro ex-boyfriend, Lila had apparently called up Sam for comfort. Next thing we knew they were pawing at each other on the rooftop. Whoops, HAD Sam been the killer after all? (Not really.)

Even Lila's sick of listening to Lila
Even Lila's sick of listening to Lila

 

Then Asher briefly implied that he suspected something was going on around the home-office that he didn't fully understand, but then he went back to inspecting Bonnie's downtown neighborhood. Which was just as well, because the home-office was currently IN USE.

You crazy kids
You crazy kids

 

Yes, like at all good law schools, the students were now going to be participating in a mock trial. It's just that this one happened to involve some very real murders and a white girl with cornrows. Stressful stuff.

Time to get to work, losers
Time to get to work, losers

 

Then the lady from Enlightened showed up and introduced herself as the new prosecutor handling Nate's case. She ended up interviewing Annalise for her official statement, and Annalise made up a story about how Nate and Sam had gotten into a fistfight the night of Sam's murder. So, again: Annalise getting Nate in deeper and deeper trouble! But in this case it was mostly to explain how Nate's fingerprint got on Sam's ring, no big deal. The bigger idea was that Annalise finally met up with Nate and convinced him to call the mysterious phone number she'd handed him in jail. Let's just get this clear now: By episode's end we still had no idea to whom that number belonged, just that Nate called it. Stay tuned for that one!

The prosecution does not rest
The prosecution does not rest

 

This was a tough scene: Feeling betrayed and cornered, Rebecca started throwing her boyfriend Wes under the bus big time. For instance, she started disparaging his dead mother, and how her suicide had probably been Wes's fault. Dang, Rebecca! See, Rebecca's problem was that even when she wasn't technically at fault for something, she was always BEGGING to be hated. Because this was low.

Pot, Kettle, Black
Pot, Kettle, Black

 

It was pretty cute when Asher finally demanded to know what was going on and threatened to fight Frank while the rest of the gang hung out in the basement waiting for him to leave. But, again, he quickly became distracted by the prospect of making out with Bonnie.

Asher is angry
Asher is angry

I guess there is still an element of this being a surprise to everyone else? Frank knows, but other than that they were trying to keep their sexual romance on the down-low. And there's no better way to do that than making out on the sidewalk in front of your boss' home.

 

Laurel actually asked Frank a question I think we'd ALL been wondering. He's kind of a hitman, right? I mean, he'd openly asked Annalise if other characters needed to be "taken care of" and he also has a reputation as a fixer and problem-solver without actually being a lawyer. For the record, he bristled at the suggestion and his feelings seemed hurt. Accusing someone of being a hitman is simply not done. It's rude and gauche and Frank was not going to stand for it!

Good Q, Laurel
Good Q, Laurel

 

Speaking of not standing for things, Michaela had a great scene with Lyn Whitfield (her ex's mother) in which the mother begged Michaela to return to her son. But Michaela sort of got all Jenny From the Block on Lyn Whitfield by taking pride in her hardscrabble upbringing and how it had shaped her. Mostly, though, she got reasonable and righteous: "He doesn't love me, but I love me." Very triumphant. (But, man, we BETTER eventually get a flashback to Michaela's previous life. Color me tantalized!)

You go on with your bad self, Michaela
You go on with your bad self, Michaela

 

Oh, as for that loose end involving the broken-brained neighbor: Here's what had happened!

Drugs are bad, mmmk?
Drugs are bad, mmmk?

That's right: In an effort to hide her suspicious behavior, Rebecca had indeed driven the neighbor mad by lacing his joint with tons of PCP and breaking his brain. That's why he clawed off his fingertips into his drywall. Also this scene was disgusting. Poor guy! But also, gross, show.

What a long, strange trip he's having
What a long, strange trip he's having

 

And here's where we received the confirmation we'd been waiting for: Rebecca had NOT killed Lila. She'd found her dead body floating in the tank, and had even briefly hidden in there while people roamed below. But she was innocent. It's just that it, uh, looked bad, so all her shadiness since then had been to throw people off her scent.

Not good
Not good

But here's where things got scary. The gang had Rebecca tied up in the basement so that she couldn't get away while Asher was upstairs. But then when Annalise went to go talk some sense into her (yet again), Rebecca was gone!

Anyone seen Rebecca?
Anyone seen Rebecca?

From there the episode slid into a very stressful, almost doom-laced montage of the characters experiencing weird vibes and bad times. For example, remember Michaela's missing ring?

Laurel had swiped it to prevent Michaela from ever turning on the group. Clever! Except, that will probably harm their nascent friendship in my opinion.

Small mystery solved!
Small mystery solved!

 

And, uh oh. Despite an earlier report to the contrary, Oliver informed Connor that he had tested positive for HIV. Who knows whether Season 2 will immediately write this off as a false positive or will actually see this plotline through, but for now this was just a plain bummer.

Sorry dude
Sorry dude

 

And then, oh yeah, we FINALLY learned who killed Lila!

Oh hi, Sam
Oh hi, Sam


Finally!
Finally!

It was Frank! On Sam's instructions! (The phrase "you owe me" was uttered.) So yeah, remember how we'd always been kinda joking about Frank being a hitman basically. Frank is a hitman basically. The classic non-twist twist! Still, though, at least Sam was still technically the instigator of Lila's murder. That's something, right?

Frank finishes the job
Frank finishes the job

 

This was pretty powerful: Wes began to blame himself for all the bad times they'd been going through, and Annalise cradled him like a child and assured him that everything would be fine, and all they had to do was repeat this lie over and over until it became true. What a truly powerful yet grim message about surviving!

Should have dropped her class, buddy.
Should have dropped her class, buddy.

 

And then, of course, the final kicker:

Well that's a surprise
Well that's a surprise

Rebecca hadn't run off. She'd been murdered and stashed away in the basement!

Annalise and Frank immediately accused each other (which leads me to believe they both have been involved in killings in the past and each knows about the other's), but after two hours it became clear that pretty much EVERYBODY had reason to want Rebecca dead. Between some very compelling motives and tiny suggestions and hints peppered throughout the episodes, I think we can expect Season 2 to be just as twisty as this one. In the meantime, let Rebecca's mistake be a lesson to you: If you're going to hide a murder with four of your friends, maybe come 100 percent clean about any other murders you might be suspected of as well. Just a tip!

Here we go again...
Here we go again...

Seriously, this was a surprisingly dark and beautiful episode of television, not to mention highly satisfying pay-off for Season 1. Can you believe we have to wait eight months for more? Rude, right? Not as rude as correctly calling someone a hitman, but rude nonetheless. HTGAWM is a truly special show and if it's a hint of what's to come from network TV then we have much to be excited about. Well done, everyone.

Friends, thanks for following along with me these past few weeks. Let's do this again sometime!

What did YOU think of the Season 1 finale?