Written by Matt Taylor
Parent/child relationships were put under the microscope on this week’s How to Get Away with Murder, to varying degrees of entertainment. The show has always tiptoed around the Oedipal complex that defines Annalise and Wes’ bizarre relationship, but the theme was more thoroughly explored by all the characters this week, providing some insightful character development and giving most of the cast some time in the spotlight. And while “It’s a Trap” wasn’t perfect, the ending is bound to get fans excited.
Much of the episode involved Connor, Asher, Michaela and Annalise trying to respond to the ransom video that they believe Phillip sent to them. This subplot was easily the weakest of the night, mainly because the resolution was somewhat anti-climatic. But my main issue with the subplot is that Phillip seems like a red herring, and I wouldn’t be surprised if another person was revealed to be behind the video message. The show is usually unpredictable, and it’d be a huge disappointment if Phillip were actually the criminal mastermind. But it’s also annoying to see them spending so much time on this subplot without revealing any sort of twist. But, on the plus side, this subplot did give us a nice scene between Annalise and Nate.
The best subplot of the hour came from Wes and Laurel, who flew out to Ohio to further investigate the death of his mother. The writers are now starting to fill in the blanks, and the tragic story of Wes’ mother is shockingly emotional and compelling. As with last week’s flashbacks, it is also a lot of fun to see how the characters grew over the past decade. And, unsurprisingly, the actors are strong as ever. But the best part of these scenes was watching how Laurel and Wes became developed. After being teased for over a year, we finally found out about Laurel’s mysterious father, as well as his creepy connection to Frank. It’s also worth nothing that Karla Souza had one of her best scenes on the series. And, in one of the funniest moments of the year, the show briefly teased that a relationship might be blooming between the two characters, only to suddenly make a hilarious joke before it went too far.
Unfortunately, thanks to an incredible cliffhanger, the most memorable part of the episode was the teaser for next week, but longtime fans of the series will certainly be excited. Part of How to Get Away with Murder’s appeal is the way it constantly surprises viewers with twists about their favorite characters, but always having the storylines make sense. This week’s cliffhanger was no different, with a true game-changer of an ending that doesn’t feel too outlandish or over the top. While this episode was relatively light on information, next week will more than make up for it.
With only three new episodes left, How to Get Away with Murder is speeding towards its finale. Next week’s episode looks dramatic enough to close out the season, and I can only imagine what the final episode of the year will hold on March 17. This episode wasn’t their best, but there is still a lot to be excited for.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10
