When a teenager is found murdered in the woods, Annalise and her team are hired to represent an unlikely suspect named in the case. Asher comes across a shocking confession. Wes learns new information about Rebecca's disappearance.
"Skanks Get Shanked" is an unfocused, chaotic and messy episode of How to Get Away With Murder. Some intriguing and emotional moments happen in the end. But the rest of the hour just muddles its way to get to them. It softens the impact of those big moments because it doesn't feel like this episode was really about anything other than advancing the plot forward. That's always the struggle with this show. It has always been about the plot. It's flash-forward narrative makes sure that that is the most important thing going on - especially in these early episodes. When truly emotional dynamics happen for the characters, the show is capable of being very entertaining and compelling. When it's not sure what it wants to do, it falters.This is the second episode in a row to feature a standalone case. Whenever the show tries to balance one of those with its many ongoing stories, it's a clunky mess. The case this time features a young student being blamed for the murder of her best friend while Annalise tries to claim that the other two girls in this clique brainwashed her into doing it. All of the action and mystery is built around whether or not the client is a sociopath. The characters go back and forth on it. And yet, the mystery isn't all that compelling. It's simply something for the characters to do this week. It does create interesting things for Connor. But that's about all this story does. All of it is meaningless because Annalise's client has a big outburst in court. Annalise was distracted for most of the time but was still doing a decent enough job with the case. But it's ultimately worthless because the client blows up and destroys the case herself.
The only thing of remote interest in this story is the fact that Connor takes action regarding his belief that Annalise is doing the same thing that the other girls allegedly did in this case. Connor has always been the most interesting character of the Keating 5. Him dealing with the emotional ramifications of killing Sam last season was the best of any of those characters reactions. The show has a strong sense of what to do with his character. He doesn't just feel like excess. That's what Wes has become. His investigation into the death of Rebecca just has no stakes to it because the audience knows exactly what happened to her. Sure, it's still a mystery with what happened to her body. But that's not really important in order to tell an emotionally driven story. It's just a plot to establish growing tension between the students and Annalise. At least Connor is able to act on said tension in a meaningful way. He goes against Annalise in order to expose their client as the killer she is. He may not be able to safely leave this job but he is able to make a difference from the inside. Annalise may have so much power and control over all of their actions. But he sees her for what she really is: the villain in all of their stories. That isn't something she's unaware of. The show has always painted her as a more complex woman than that. But Connor is entitled to this opinion.
The Connor story works so well because he does have a life outside of the office. His relationship with Oliver is the one stable thing on the show right now. It has nothing to do with the messy plot histrionics. It's a complicated relationship but it has a purity to it as well. It hasn't been corrupted by Annalise and the tricky legal situations all of the characters find themselves in. It has been impacted by the big murders of each season. But it's a sense of normalcy that Connor is striving to have. No one else has that. Wes and Michaela are both connected to Levi which is all about Rebecca's death and the hand Annalise had to play in it. Asher was dating Bonnie, Rebecca's killer, until Sinclair coerced him into informing to her about Annalise. Laurel is still just developing a crush on Frank, who was many bodies on his conscious at the moment. There was the hint that Annalise could escape this life as well for a more normal and better one with Eve. And yet, that has been completely forgotten about in these past two episodes to build up her dynamic with Nate.
Speaking of Nate, Annalise visiting his sick wife in the hospital was the episode's most consistent story. And yet, it was relegated to the background by the more pressing episodic concerns. It was something to distract Annalise with for the week. It is an emotional story that can hold major consequences for the future. Nate's wife wants Annalise to help her die so that Nate can have a better chance of being happy in life. Annalise stews over the decision. Her contemplation is overplayed as well - with close-ups during court that show just how distracted she is by this agonizing decision. The best part of this story is the end where Annalise admits to having suicidal thoughts in her life as well. It's not treated as some big reveal that surprises the audience. It is told matter-of-factly. With everything the audience knows about her past, it's not all that surprising. And yet, it does help inform this personal decision of choosing not to assist this woman with her suicide. That was a strong moment that was almost lost because the show was too cluttered in this hour.
The show is definitely establishing motives for various characters to want to shoot Annalise in the future. Wes is slowly learning the truth about Rebecca's death while Connor is furious about how much control she has over their lives. And yet, the plot of those sequences feels way too complicated for it to be as simple as that. These regular characters are allowed to feel these big emotions and betrayals. But when it coms to that fateful night in the future, the blame will likely be placed on one of the recurring characters in order to keep the show as balanced as possible. That's the whole reason why people like Caleb, Catherine, Sinclair and Levi have been introduced this season. They can easily take the blame and not have it mess up the core dynamics of the show. As much as it would be interesting to see someone from the main cast be guilty of the crime, that just doesn't feel like the direction the show is going in at this moment.
Some more thoughts:
- "Skanks Get Shanked" was written by Angela Robinson and directed by Stephen Williams.
- Is the show really trying to establish a romantic spark between Michaela and Caleb simply by having other characters note how attractive they on? It makes no sense - especially when she's the one later forced to deal with him on the night of Annalise's shooting. That scene also plays way too similarly to the flash-forward reveal of Wes and Rebecca last season.
- Caleb and Catherine can't be having an incestuous relationship because she is still a virgin. That does better build trust of those characters but it doesn't completely discredit this rumor either.
- Annalise spots Nate and Wes talking. She knows that she is losing her control over her students. That will only intensify once she learns what Asher has done.
- Speaking of Asher, he is largely sidelined this week in order to deal with the legal specifics of this new arrangement with Sinclair. It does lead to Bonnie confessing to him that she was the one who killed Sam. That story could go any number of ways in the future.
- Wes should totally tell Michaela about Levi, right?
