We are back like Annalise’s short haircut, and this week’s episode of How to Get Away with Murder is all about Bonnie.
The story opens with Bonnie serving total dramatics, running through the rain to a therapy session with Isaac. Although not instantly peculiar, I found myself questioning why she decided to brave the storm instead of just driving, pulling up to the block and walking to the door with an umbrella. Could her deciding to get drenched hint to a missing piece in the puzzle, or is it just Hollywood working overtime
Anyway, after arriving at the session, Bonnie confesses that she began therapy to hurt “her.” As Isaac finds out later, “her” is Meg, who is really Annalise. Bonnie booking time with Annalise’s therapist under an alias is crazy, borderline psycho, but other than risking embarrassing herself if caught, how exactly was she planning on hurting her? Defaming the lawyer is a dead end because it’s already public knowledge that Annalise is sketchy, and because Bonnie is using fake names, Isaac initially had no clue who “Meg” was to care enough about how horrible of a person she is. So, Bonnie, what exactly was the plan here?
Very early in the episode, we’re taken back to 2002. Bonnie is a young long-haired 20-something and she’s the star witness in putting a councilman away for rape. Bonnie had a terrible past life. Since age 14, she had been raped by “dozens and dozens” of men, including her father and the aforementioned councilman. And if that wasn’t enough, she was impregnated by one of the violators. Who the father was is a mystery, not only because of the high count of predators, but because she was passed out before having the child, and was told by her dad that it died.
Who knew Bonnie had been through so much? The sad revelation led me to think that she wasn’t going to the therapy sessions to hurt Annalise after all, but to actually get help herself. What better way to share with a stranger everything about your personal life than under the guise of a “Julie?”
Bonnie’s therapy session is the core of an episode that also dives deeper into Annalise’s past life. We experience Annalise working for a law firm, begrudgingly agreeing to tear poor, young Bonnie apart on the stand in an effort to make partner and, at home, taking hormones, (administered by her murdered husband, Sam) to assist in conceiving a baby. We also see Bonnie as a true victim, whose face is permanently joyless, numb from all the sexual assault.
After winning the case against Bonnie by invalidating her rape claims, Annalise makes two pivotal moves: she quits the law firm to become a professor at Middleton, and persuades Bonnie to become a lawyer (possibly out of guilt, as Bonnie claims).
Those two decisions set the stage for the women to go toe-to-toe in present time. Annalise, making significant progress on her civil suit, is happier than ever. She convinced over a dozen inmates to co-sign her case. Unfortunately, Bonnie blindsides her and gets most of them to drop out, offering better deals and explaining that the case is for Annalise’s own benefit.
Towards the end of the episode, Annalise confronts Bonnie in a parking garage, telling her that the class action suit is something good that is now ruined. Maybe Annalise’s intentions are pure and she really does want to break the cycle of discrimination in the justice system, but during the confrontation, she makes it easy to see Bonnie’s idea of it being a self-serving undertaking. Annalise wasn’t curious as to why Bonnie went through such great lengths to foil her plan, she just cared about striking back and making Bonnie feel terrible. And after seeing how their relationship came to be, no one is as capable of doing that in a more damaging way than Annalise.
If you thought that was a lot, the (former) Keating five are just as much of a mess. Michaela is dead set on getting files off her boss’ computer at the law firm. Oliver is supposed to be assisting, but thinks it’s a bad idea. And who would disagree? Michaela is at the edge of ruining her life to help the world’s worst friend, Laurel, crack her baby daddy’s murder case. And as I said last week, the baby may not even be Wes’ — Frank questioned that it could possibly be his (and he’s actually ready for the responsibility). Michaela, even after being gifted the hottest Christian Louboutins by her boss, Teagan, still proceeds to break into the woman’s computer, only obtaining a terrible screenshot of the needed file, with a pop-up blocking most of the info. All this shady behavior is causing her to lie to Asher about her whereabouts. He does the old school trick of calling while outside of the place he thinks she might be (it’s Laurel’s/Wes’ apartment), catching her lying about her location.
Michaela is slowly destroying her restored life for a so-called friend who could care less, and it is breaking my heart. This won’t end well.
The episode closes with a new clue to the big mystery. This week, we discover that the suspect in whatever happened at the law firm is Asher, and he has ended up behind bars. These kids will never get a break…
Before I sign off, I was excited to find out where Annalise is staying (via Connor, who Annalise asked to help with her civil suit). It’s not a brothel, but just a crappy two-star lodge called the Eastern Hotel.
Next week, the teaser promises that “all will be answered.” Interesting. We still have at least three episodes to go until the mid-season break. This is the most multi-layered mystery the series has ever presented. Will they really explain a missing baby and two possible murders so early in the game?
