Deola’s Corner: Another Week Of TV (Edition 10)

DISCLAIMER: The following article contains spoilers from TV Shows and movies. So if you detest spoilers, then I suggest you leave while you can. If you don’t mind spoilers, feel free to enjoy, and by all means read on and lets ki-ki.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK: How To Get Away With Murder – S02E11 (She Hates Us)

We get to celebrate this week because there was no ghost baby. I am grateful to the powers-that-be that that storyline was abandoned with the quickness. This week opens with someone puking in the Keating house before walking down the stairs. And – AHA! – it’s Annalise heavily pregnant and braided! I see what this is, we are flashing back to 10 years ago. She walks in on her students from 10 years ago, and from the little we see of them, I swear I can match them to our current Keating 4.

Bonnie is Laurel obviously – quiet but dangerous and awesome. The snarky white dude is Connor. The innocent looking black dude is Wes. And the smart white girl is Michaela. The only thing they are missing is an Asher! I wonder if their schedules were anything like the current Keating 4, you know, classes, social lives, GETTING AWAY WITH A DIFFERENT MURDERS EVERY SEMESTER! Seriously, guys, I am curious about this flashback Keating 4 kids.

And oh look, Sam Keating is alive, and they are playing house and they’re all happy and aren’t trying to strangle each other, or seeing penises on dead girls’ phones. How nice.

Meanwhile back in present time, Annalise is getting herself checked up, and simultaneously Wes is whining to some doctor about not getting enough sleep. Basically Mr. Crazy wants all the pills. But wait, if he needs sleep that bad, Mrs. Nate’s magic death/sleeping zombie pills are still available and effective. Just ask Murder Sister, they’ll knock you right out.

But alas, Wes isn’t so smart and he jokingly says to the doctor, who refuses to prescribe him sleeping pills (because she is competent, duh), “Don’t feel bad if I end up shooting myself.” And the chick is so competent and serious about her job that she’s like, “Well, we joke about a lot of things here, sir. Suicide is not one of them. We’ll have to detain you.” LMAO.

Asher is still crashing at Casa De Oliver/Connor. He wakes up and is all, “Oh look I can fart.” My people, these are signs that our favourite douche-face is gonna be fine. As long as he is farting, running over an Assistant District Attorney is NOTHING!

Ah, a court scene! The kids are gathered and for some reason, they are worried about Annalise’s feelings toward them. Annalise walks past, and Michaela goes, “She hates us.” And I’m like, Hian! Has Annalise ever shown that she likes any of you? So, court begins, and – oh look, an interruption! I have just about had it up to here with this clients/randoms acting up. But oh wait, it’s character actress, Paula Newsome. I like her. Okay, I’ll allow her interruption this time.

The case of the week that she interrupts features a man who has already pled guilty to murder and has already accepted a plea deal of fifteen years; strangely however, the victim’s mother aka Mrs. Interruptor aka Mrs. Joyce Robinson wants something called a Restorative Justice Hearing, so that she can get the defendant less time for murdering her son. That doesn’t sound right, right? This case of the week really is a curious one as Mrs. Joyce Robinson is legit serious. Even after the Restorative Justice Hearing starts and Oga Defendant confesses that he didn’t accidently shoot her son, but did so on purpose, she still remains steadfast in her mission to forgive this man to ensure that this one act doesn’t ruin his entire life. She fails at this as ultimately Oga Defendant feels he needs to pay and decides to go for life in prison. Yet as he is being dragged away, she is in tears and emotional and still forgiving. It’s really an odd but powerful situation when one looks at it.

Laurel takes a call from the asylum (lol) where Wes is looking for help. Frank asks her about the call and she doesn’t tell him that Wes is in the loony bin. She lies instead that he is home sick. Laurel gets to the psych ward and pretends to be Wes’s girlfriend of 8 months. I swear, guys, this scene made me laugh hard. The doctor is all like, “You’re a bad girlfriend. How can you not see that your boyfriend is crazy?” I’d listen to this doctor if I were Laurel, because we all know Wes is mad, which is why he and crazy Rebecca made such a not-so-good pair!

But Laurel isn’t having any of Competent Doctor’s sassiness and goes all Annalise on her ass. But Competent Doctor doesn’t even budge. I like her. Naturally, Laurel goes to Annalise, who is all like, “Biko leave him there, maybe they can fix his crazy.” Laurel oversteps her boundaries by telling Annalise that she needs to forgive Wes, and Annalise turns to her, complete with her death stare, and says, “You’re fired! My old Bonnie is back, so I don’t need you anymore!” Bitchy and cold! I like!

Caleb comes to the Keating house to beg Annalise for help, something about not liking his new lawyer. LOL. See why I said these murder children are definitely guilty of something, at least your new lawyer isn’t trying to frame you, better run. He begs some more and Annalise throws him out. On his way out, he sees Michaela, who seems to be genuinely concerned about him, and what does he do? He calls her a whore. Clearly he doesn’t know who he is talking to. I mean, this is Michaela, who almost slapped her almost-mother-in-law. Gurl doesn’t play! And so, before Caleb can even finish with his self righteous indignation, Michaela is all like, “You’re the whore! You waited till after you screwed me to show me that gun.” Yassssss! Michaela, call that lil bitch out and read him his rights!!!

Flashback: Pregnant Annalise is having sciatica and Bonnie is there being helpful, telling her to lie down on her side and all that. They have this calm, sweet discussion and it’s amazing to watch. So once upon a time, Annalise wasn’t a bitch to Bonnie, and they weren’t wishing each other dead? How strange and interesting.

Annalise and Henchman Frank and Mousy Bonnie talk about finding Murder Cousin, as you know, this entire frame up depends on the court believing he is the mastermind. Annalise, still in cold bitch mode, walks in on the Keating 5 and tells them to leave her house.

Michaela and Asher have dinner at Casa de Oliver/Connor. There Oliver tries to push their house guest Asher on Michaela, telling her there is a lot of chemistry between she and Asher. Clearly Oliver doesn’t Know Michaela’s type: a bit of gay is very important in the men she is interested in. In fact, Oliver, you’re more Michaela’s type than Asher ever will be.

So Keating 5 (minus Wes) are in the Keating house talking about their case and just then, Queen Laurel reveals to the group that Wes is in the loony bin and Annalise isn’t doing anything about it. And just like that, the Keating 5 has had it with Annalise’s attitude, with Michaela being the most vocal. I told you she don’t play. They leave to go rescue crazy Wes, but he has already used his tears to get out and even get them pills he wants. All in all, a good day by Wes’ standards.

Flashback: Annalise meets up with Rose (Wes’s mum) who still thinks Annalise is just an ordinary playground, expecting mother. Annalise reveals to her that she is a lawyer and hands her a file with a news clipping that says, “HEDGE FUND HEIR CHARLES MAHONEY ON TRIAL FOR MURDER.” Another Murder! Sigh. Like we don’t have enough already. Rose tries to leave but Annalise says she only wants to help. LOL, we all know how that ends.

On the drive home from picking Wes up, the Keating 5 all get mushy and decide to become a real life Murder Club. You know, where their mission statement is to talk about all their problems, be honest with each other and shii, so that one of them doesn’t go crazy and do something…like, I dunno, shoot Annalise. Oh wait…one of them has done that already.

Back home, Laurel and Frank have an argument about her not telling him about Wes’ being in the loony bin. Frank says she should have told him. “I’m your boyfriend,” he says. Laurel replies, “You’re not my boyfriend.” Wait what! I tell you guys, Laurel is the baddest bitch on this show. Learn people, this is how you flip an accusation on your boyfriend. Take notes.

She accuses him of being shady and constantly lying to her about the stuff he does for Annalise. She even tells him the truth about Wes being the one that shot Annalise (this move was to make Frank feel guilty) Are you guys taking notes? She says they should end the relationship, and just as she is about to leave, Frank blurts, “I KILLED LILA!” *Slow Clap* Congratulations HTGAWM, on being the only show where confessing to murder wins you your girlfriend back! Just Congratulations! *Continues applause*

Oh, and Nate was somewhere in this episode doing whatever, but he still has time to bring Annalise some comfort food. Annalise is just about to settle into her munching when her phone rings. This had better not be the ghost baby calling. Nah, it’s just Connor. Someone has sent him an email from that Murder Night. Ghen-ghen! And it looks like Murder Cousin is back!

Other Tidbits:

1. Seriously I can’t stand Murder Brother. He has always annoyed me. And he is still legit my prime suspect for his parents’ and aunt’s murders. He just reeks of that murder.
2. I seriously can’t keep up with the murders on this show. Okay, let me try. First there was Lila, and then Sam, and then Rebecca. And then, the Hapstall parents and the Hapstall aunt. And then the ADA. And – wait, Asher’s father was a ‘suicide’, right? Okay. Then Wes’s mum’s death was also a ‘suicide’, yes? And lastly, a fresh new murder from ten years ago, the one that Hedge Fund heir, Charles Mahoney is involved in. Okay I think I got them all. I still have money on someone dying before the season is over though.
3. I was glad that they finally look to be addressing Lila’s murder, because it’s been bugging me how they seemed to have just swept it under the rug. While they are at it, can they tell us what Sam had on Frank that made him murder Lila?
4. I really love Laurel and Wes’ friendship. Awesome stuff. And I am glad the Murder Kids have decided to band together. At least now they can be crazy together.
5. Still marveling at how Laurel completely turned that lying accusation on Frank. I love her.

Rating: 6.5/10 – A far superior episode when compared to last week’s mess. Still not back on top form though, but I can tell the pace is slowly building toward an intense finale as next week’s preview showed. The case of the week was also a welcome surprise; for a case that was barely a quarter of the episode, it was memorable and very interesting. Four more episodes left, guys. The march continues.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF TV THIS WEEK

1.Best Season Yet? (Suits): The premise of the TV show, Suits, is one that could only be put off for so much time. At some point, it needed to be handled head on. Suits is about this really smart kid, Mike Ross, who isn’t licensed to practice law, but who is practicing law. Now much of the drama on the show has been about ‘will he or will he not get caught’. And to the writers’ credit, they managed to put it off for 4 seasons, and it was still a great show. Until now, they finally decided to tackle the issue and it’s resulted in some of the series best episodes. It’s so intense and thrilling, I reckon it’s one of the better law dramas on air currently.

2. Meredith’s Sanity (Grey’s Anatomy): I laughed when the therapist that Mer was sent to was legit worried about her. Like she said, Did he read her file at all? This woman has been through way too many traumatic things for one attack to now crack her. She’s got this! On a side note though, I do find myself feeling like Meredith did in this episode. I mean I have mastered the art of being alone and enjoying my company. Sometimes when I am surrounded by people, I get overwhelmed and I just want to be alone. And when they do leave, I sometimes find myself missing them again. Weird stuff.

3. American Crime Story and the Kardashians (American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson): This series seems like a decent drama. It’s a Ryan Murphy show, so I am not holding my breath. I have read about the OJ Simpson case here and there, but one of the reasons why I watch the show is that I am legit curious about this case. Now I know Robert Kardashian was involved and so I don’t mind seeing his character, but what’s with the Kardashian kids hijacking screen time biko? What do they add to the story? I also don’t mind seeing Kris Jenner’s character. In fact I want to see more of her as she was friends with the victim, Nicole Simpson. Yet it’s Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Rob that are getting the time. That scene where they shout at the TV when they see their dad and the one where he talks to them about how fleeting fame is? Cringe worthy. I will say this though: Kudos to the casting team. The kids really look like the Kardashians.

4. New Blood? (Scandal): Scandal has been a mess for a while. I don’t even think Shonda knows what direction she is taking the show. But then I saw a tiny spark of life toward the end of this week’s episode. Cyrus’ seems to leave Fitz for good (not like Fitz cares anyway, he is too busy being a baby), and from the looks of things, he might be running the campaign of Carlos Solis from Desperate Housewives! And then, there is poor Susan Ross who is a pawn in the disgusting game that David Rosen and Lizzie are playing. Lizzie’s attitude doesn’t shock me, she’s always been a snake. But David! WTF dude! How good is Lizzie’s coochie that it has turned you into Jake 2.0. Hian! Either way, these new developments seem like they might inject the show with some much needed life going forward.

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TV NEWS

1.Shades Of Blue renewal: Fans of the JLo cop drama can rest easy – for another season at least.

2. Trailers, teasers and release dates: Trailers for the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil dropped this week. If you’re a fan, then I suggest you check it out as it looks incredible. The Punisher and Elektra all make appearances. The entire second season drop on the 18th of March. Game Of Thrones meanwhile has been dropping teasers and set images upandan. The teasers don’t give anything away at all. If anything, it’s only confusing and intriguing at the same time. Still worth a check out. The 6th season premieres April 24th. A trailer for the 4th season of Orphan Black, which premieres 14th of April, is also out.

3. Series Regular Promotion (Scandal): For a long time now, I have cried out for this character to be written off. But just as it seems like we have seen the last of him, he comes out again like a pimple that just won’t go away! Shonda Rhimes has decided to promote Joe Morton AKA Eli Pope to series regular. What this means is that you’ll be seeing more of him both this season and the next. Basically she did the exact opposite of what I was begging for. Eli Pope was a character that was needed, even welcomed at a particular time. But that time has passed. Characters all have their life spans, and you would think that for someone who we know can kill/write off characters (Grey’s Anatomy anyone?) Shonda would know that. Eli Pope and Jake Ballard have overstayed their welcome and are now dragging this show down, as she is left with doing some serious writing acrobatics to simply have something for the characters to do.

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PERFORMER OF THE WEEK: Connor Jessup – American Crime (S02e07)

Since I started watching the second season of the show, I have come to marvel at a lot of things about it. One of which is the acting, which is no surprise seeing as a cast that boasts veterans like Regina King, Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton will most definitely deliver. While I have been impressed by their performances, it’s the younger actors on the show who have really wowed me. Seeing as they are at the center of the drama (crime) this season, the quality of this season really did rest on their shoulders. And they have all delivered incredible performances. This week, just like Ellen Pompeo from Grey’s Anatomy last week, Connor Jessup, who plays Taylor, doesn’t have much dialogue throughout the episode. Most times instead, the actor was left to communicate with his facial expressions, which he did with aplomb. When the episode finally came to a climax and Taylor had committed a ghastly crime, we don’t see or hear it at first, but the expression on his face told us everything we needed to know.

And that’s it for the week, guys. Sound off in the comments!

Written by Deola