Deola’s Corner: Another Week Of TV (Edition 25)

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

REVIEW OF THE WEEK: How To Get Away With Murder – S03E03 (Always Bet Black)

We open with a flash forward: Oliver wiping Annalise’s phone as she told him to. Annalise is also booked by the police and has her mug shot taken.

Flashback to 6 weeks earlier, and Annalise is preparing for work. She hears some noise downstairs and goes to see what’s up. The source of the noise is Nate making a smoothie. He tells her he filed a missing person’s report on Frank to which she objects; then he offers her a smoothie. Hian, Oga Nate obviously doesn’t know Annalise has no time for all this healthy wahala, that’s not why he is here. He is here to stand, look pretty and offer the occasional usefulness as a police officer. He better watch himself. Mtcheeew! Annalise kisses him, grabs his butt (YASSSSSSS AUNTY!!!), gets to school and dumps the smoothie like any reasonable person would.

Her strut is interrupted by that Madam President who I still have mixed feelings about. I can’t decide whose side she is on. Anyway, she is there to tell Annalise to keep a low profile and Annalise is like:

Low gini? Do I look like my name and low profile are meant to be used in the same sentence? You better shift!

In her class, we are introduced to our case of the week. The client is Toby Solomon, aka The Call Girl Creeper. The man is a real estate developer and has a knack for hiring escorts; this one escort he hired overdosed and Oga Solomon dumped her body, and she died two days later. I am busy listening to details of the case when Drake the filler bitch starts talking; this time Annalise gives him a mini drag: “Don’t speak unless called on.” She says to which this was me:                                                                     A day that Drake is dragged is good day!

Anyway, Michaela gets the case not because she did something special o, but because she was the first to say she wanted it. They get to the courtroom and Toby makes his first appearance, and the first sentence he utters already makes me want to puke my breakfast. Annalise introduces him to Michaela, telling him, “You hit on her and I’ll cut off your balls.”

Okay, Annalise is already snatching me and we aren’t even 10 minutes into this episode!

In the courtroom, we are introduced to the new ADA. She seems annoying already. Not as annoying as that former ADA, but annoying still. She and Annalise go head to head on a certain piece of evidence that Annalise doesn’t want the court to see. The judge rules in favor of the ADA and what we see is a picture of the dead girl and Toby, with him smiling with his tongue out like a Miley Cyrus impersonator. Okay, did this bro seriously take a selfie with a dead girl and then drop it online?                                                                                                  Fix it, Jesus!

Michaela is now peeved and requests to be excused from the case. And what does Annalise say? No, of course! What did you think she was going to say? Biko, no time. Annalise is let in on the tea that Oliver and Connor are not together anymore, to which she asks Connor, “What did you do?” LOL! I love this running gag that everyone just assumes that Connor did something.

Annalise calls Wes aside and I assume we are about to get our first entry this week on Annalise and Wes: It’s Weird. But it turns out Annalise just wanted to ask Wes if he had heard from Laurel. He hasn’t and she tells him that she sent her to see her father.

In Miami, Florida, the headquarters of Antares Technologies, Laurel meets up with her dad. And you can already sense the tension; they go in for a hug and Laurel hugs the man as if he has Ebola. Before she mentions the reason for her visit sef, Dear Dad already knows. He is a spy like that. No seriously, he is a spy, because the man has been tapping his daughter’s phone calls. Wow! That’s not creepy at all.

They are still talking in that their delicious Spanish (Seriously, I could listen to these two quibble all day), when they are interrupted by someone called Ursula. First off, No! I only know one Ursula and she was the bad-ass Mariah Carey who tricked that stupid hoe, Ariel aka Arianna Grande by giving her legs in exchange for her voice so the mumu girl could go chase the dick of some human boy. This Ursula I know is iconic and I refuse to recognize anyone else with that name. But anyway, Ms. Trick comes in all smiles and positivity, and I am like:                                                              Who are you? And what’s your purpose?

She says she is the “In House Executive Coach” aka a referee. Ursula just wants to feel important, throwing all that oyibo around. I see you, Ursula. I see you! Apparently she is there to resolve the conflict between Laurel and her father. Okay o, let’s see how good she is as a mediator.

Annalise whines about the fact that Nate threw away all her junk food. “I hate him,” she says to Bonnie. But Bonnie, being the real MVP of this entire show, responds, “Don’t worry, sista. I hid it for you.” And I am like:                                                     Bonnie actually did that?! That’s real love right there, fam!

They chat and Bonnie suggests Annalise take a plea deal. Annalise agrees and says she’ll talk to the DA.

Meanwhile, remember Aiden – Michaela’s gay-but-not-gay fiancé? Well, looks like he has found a beard – I mean, wife. Asher tries to prevent Connor from showing her Aiden’s engagement pictures but Connor does so with glee. The woman is a speech writer for the governor of Connecticut or something; point is, I already don’t like her. Toby the creep enters the conversation and says Michaela is “way hotter” and calls her “a 9 or 8 if I am being picky.”

At this point, I look to the heavens and say a little prayer:

Asher, being the talkative that he is, calls Michaela his boo, and of course Bonnie hears him. Asher tries to explain to her but she’s not having it, she has more things to worry about.

Back at Casa de Castillo, things are getting interesting. Laurel is spilling tea and her father is whipping out defenses. And what is Ursula doing? Just oscillating her neck from one side to the other. Laurel mentions her father leaving her mum in the middle of a mental health crisis. Does Ursula interject? No. She mentions being kidnapped when she was 16 and her father’s refusal to pay the ransom. Does Ursula interject? No. Instead she says, “I find focusing on the immediate problem to be the most effective solution.”

Me:                                       Really, girl? That’s the best you can come up with? This bitch is officially over.

Laurel’s father apologizes but she isn’t having it.

Annalise goes to meet the new ADA, her name is Renee Atwood. Before Annalise even talks sef, Miss Thang tells her she isn’t offering her any deal. Hian, aunty wa, shey you wee calm down small? The woman even takes it further by telling Annalise that she shouldn’t expect any deal from the District Attorney’s office EVER! Annalise calls her out on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct and Miss Thang tells her with the most condescending tone she can muster, “No, no, just pay back for years of bad behavior. Are we done?”

As Annalise gets up to leave, the following transpires:

Annalise: “…such confidence.”

ADA Renee Atwood: “Another move I stole from you, I guess.”

Annalise: “Except I don’t have to fake it.”                                                 BLOOP!!! Your edges aren’t safe, my dear. I’d back off if I were you.

Meanwhile Meggy and Wes are doing love again:

She wants him to celebrate his birthday but he doesn’t want to because he hates birthdays. For once, Wes and I agree on something. Laurel’s call interrupts (thank God!) and Meggy goes away (hopefully to never return). Laurel and Wes talk, and it’s sweet. Before their kiss last season, I was okay with these two as just close friends, but now, I see the chemistry and I don’t know…should they get together? I’m conflicted. Anyway, their call is interrupted by Papa Castillo. He brought her dessert and a contract to sign (some investment he wants to put under her name) in exchange for information on Frank’s whereabouts. She doesn’t sign and tells him to leave.

Back at the Keating House, Nate walks in all sweaty and talking about making dinner. This one still doesn’t get it. Just stand there, be pretty and keep quiet. Oliver, Bonnie and Michaela walk in, and in that moment, Oliver is all of us. He stares at Nate, looking thirstier than Lindsay Lohan in rehab. Dude is speechless probably because this is what is going on in his mind:

As if Nate senses the effect he is having on Oliver, he mercifully decides to leave to save the poor man’s life.

So the tea they are there to deliver is that Toby the creep withdrew $200k from the bank. Annalise and Bonnie go to confront the mumu and he reveals that his former lawyer is blackmailing him. Why, you ask? Because homeboy killed a girl. Through a chilling flashback, we see exactly how it went down and it’s just disturbing. He says he got “triggered” and killed her. So she said mean things to you and refused to have sex with you and the solution was to play baseball with her head and then put her in a broken freezer.

Me:                                                                                  Seriously, dude is a creep

Since Annalise dismissed Michaela and Oliver, they decided to go to a casino in Atlantic City. Miss Michaela Pratt “borrowed” out of Toby’s $200k. Oliver says something about being happy that he and Connor are friends, and Connor rightfully dismisses him. Michaela uses the borrowed money to bet. They seem to be having fun.

Who isn’t having fun? Annalise and Bonnie. They have a discussion about what to do with the information they have. The case is especially touchy for Bonnie because of her past. The scene is great.

Back at the casino, the children are still having fun. Oliver meanwhile is flirting with some dude (let’s call him Douchebag). Asher sees this and like the good bro that he is, he tells Connor, who isn’t worried about it. Asher hugs him anyway. These two are adorable.

Douchebag then tries flirting with Connor, but Connor tells him that Oliver is the better guy, and Douchebag goes, “Asian guys aren’t really my type.” Connor goes ballistic, calling the dude out on his bigotry, showing that there is a very thin line between preference and discrimination. His anger is definitely misplaced, but it doesn’t take away from the point he is making here.

Michaela meanwhile has lost all the money that she brought. SMH, these children! They leave the casino to go pawn off her engagement ring. And while she and Asher are in the pawn shop, Oliver and Connor have a heart to heart.

Meanwhile since Nate will not let somebody rest, Annalise tells him about the dead girl in the freezer, which sets the stage for Annalise’s next defense.

Frank calls Laurel. Dude is drunk and vomiting things he shouldn’t be saying, so Laurel hangs up, knowing that her father would probably be listening.

Back in court, Toby is testifying. Guided by Annalise, he uses some weak-ass story to bring the dead girl in the freezer into the trial. New ADA tries to object but Annalise calls her out on the conduct at her office. Try again next time, Miss New ADA.

Annalise presents a plea deal to Toby: 3 years imprisonment if he pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter. But Toby isn’t satisfied. He objects. Annalise mentions the fact that he is responsible for the death of two girls; he left one to die in the street and the other to rot in a freezer. Toby replies, “But I hired you because you said you’ll get me NO Jail Time!” And Annalise unleashes this:                                                                        The Slap heard around the world

I actually felt that slap. Even Bonnie flinches at the slap. “Say you’ll take the deal!” she yells at Toby the creep, and he wisely capitulates.

Laurel goes to meet her father. She has signed the contract and in turn, he gives her the details she wants: Frank’s location. Before she leaves, he genuinely apologizes and their relationship looks to have taken a positive step forward.

President Whoever (I can’t be bothered to learn her name yet) takes a call from some dude named Barry while looking at the headline news about Annalise helping to find the dead freezer girl. From this call, it’s safe to say that President Whoever isn’t on Annalise’s side.

Wes meanwhile leaves a message for Laurel, which rubs Meggy the wrong way. She thinks Wes is in love with Laurel. He tells her he isn’t. She buys it…for now.

Laurel meets up with Annalise and lies that her dad gave her no info on Frank’s location.

Flash-forward: And who is up next on the saved list? *drum roll* It’s Bonnie! Annalise sent her to come find Oliver to help him plant the phone back at the scene, which they do. While that goes down, a fireman declares that the house fire has a survivor.

Rating: 8/10: A good episode, weighed down by an uneven COTW (Case of the Week).

Other Tidbits:

1. We all know that Aiden and his fiancé will show up at some point, so I am officially going to start hating on both of them on Michaela’s behalf.
2. I actually love that the showrunners didn’t make Laurel’s father some stereotypical sketchy drug dealer. Making him a skeevy weapons/tech manufacturer is better. Not every skeevy dude of Spanish decent has to be into drugs. That’s too stereotypical.
3. I want to see more of Laurel’s father. I’d like a back story on him; Laurel and their family in general just seem like there is so much material there.
4. Whatever it was that Laurel signed is going to come back to haunt her. It’s inevitable.
5. Also you just know Laurel is going to pull Wes into this web of lies she is spinning.
6. Laurel’s voicemail alert is hilarious and sounds like something I would do.
7. Ursula is the worst.
8. Viola Davis and Liza Weil always bring it whenever they share a scene. Impressive stuff.
9. Can we talk about how irritating Oliver is being? No, seriously. He breaks up with Connor for his own reasons and then somehow wants to be friends, but then flirts with some guy in Connor’s presence (Connor who by the way handled that with such maturity). And then when the bros that he was flirting with acts like a jerk and Connor calls him out on it, he assumes that Connor was sabotaging him. I like how Connor didn’t even bother to defend himself, because it wouldn’t have mattered.
10. The strength of a case of the week usually hinges on the performance of the guest actor, and Austin Basis was perfect as a creep. The case itself was neither here nor there, but his performance made it enjoyable. Also that slap helped a lot too.
11. I wish Bonnie had taken Annalise up on her sleepover offer. I’d love to see what that looks like.
12. ‘Fat, Femme and Asian’ is a dope KimChi song. A nice bop. Connor using this line made me giggle.
13. I can’t tell if Peter Nowalk was kidding or not, but he tweeted that the Slap was actually real. If so, then Damn, Ms. Viola Davis, I raise my hat for you oh!
14. Based on the previews for next week’s episode, it looks like Annalise might be in trouble for that slap.
15. #WhoIsUnderTheSheet: With Bonnie safe, I am left with Nate, Eve and Ophelia as my remaining suspects.

*

ON TV THIS WEEK

Madam Secretary: The way this episode was set up definitely took me by surprise. Opening the season with the revelation that President Dalton had lost the primaries was a bold move, but one that, by the end of the episode, I think paid off. I’m frankly just happy that the McCords are back. Based on this season opener, it looks like we are set for an even better season. President Dalton is going to be running as an independent, Henry is back doing his espionage, and Elizabeth is going to remain the Secretary of State, having stepped down from the Vice Presidential ticket so Dalton can have a stronger choice for VP. Frankly, I am very happy with this development. The VP is a position that is infamous for having very little actual power. Remaining Secretary allows her the opportunity of continuing the good work she is already doing. She will always have more power than whoever is VP because she has the president’s ear. Also they have history, so that means something.

Finding Prince Charming: Before I even delve into anything, I just want to say that isn’t it silly that Oga Prince Charming is constantly asking these men to be “vulnerable” with him (and in fact this week involves the suitors sharing their secrets with him), while he, Oga Prince Charming, has no plans whatsoever of letting any of these men in. Here is a bold idea: why don’t the producers let Robert actually, you know, open up and be vulnerable? Like have him share something personal with even one of the suitors.

This week, Eric shares that he is HIV positive and it’s handled with about as much sensitivity as one can expect from a Reality TV show. But what annoys me here is that, in a week where the suitors revealed things about themselves, Prince Charming shared nothing. We are 5 episodes in and frankly, what personal thing have we learnt about the dude? This season would have been the perfect opportunity to shine light of Robert’s past as an escort (and the stigma that escorts/former escorts face), or anything really. But once again, it’s a missed opportunity. So what we are left with is a Bachelor with the personality of dead wood. I resigned myself to the fact that this show won’t be anything deep or meaningful right from the first episode, but I expected the “Prince Charming” to be, I don’t know, Charming. Huge miss with Mr. Robert Sepulveda Jr.

Also I have to constantly remind myself that Lance Bass is a host here and not some creepy dude who just pops up from nowhere. He is really bad at this; part of it has to do with the material he is given to work with, but Lance himself just isn’t fun to watch. This show could go an episode without him and you wouldn’t even notice.

Robbie’s exit this week isn’t shocking. We all saw it coming. It’s sad really, seeing as he was the fun one in the house. I’m curious as to how enjoyable the remaining episodes will be without him around to lift the show up. With Chad, Eric, Justin, Dillon and Brandon, my money is on Brandon winning.

Strut: Strut is everything that Finding Prince Charming missed the opportunity to be. I mean, it’s obviously still a reality show, so the tropes of the genre are still there. But they never lose sight of what’s important here, not a single episode goes by where you don’t come out without learning something new about the transgender community. It’s something of an education with the added bonus of the fabulousness and drama of the modeling world. It’s well produced and I’ve enjoyed all the episodes so far. While I think Laith is gorgeous, I have enjoyed Ren’s storyline more so far. She is stunning, and there is a certain way she carries herself that I find to be adorable and relatable. Dominique and Arisce are entertaining. Isis is still the weakest link among the cast. Her storylines don’t really resonate and she isn’t as entertaining as Arisce. Hopefully that changes in the coming weeks.

Drag Race:

Well it would seem like it is. Miss Roxxy Andrews has been in the bottom FIVE times and somehow Miss Thang made it to the finals. Thanks to the efforts of Alaska and Detox. Alaska in particular has been very shady in the way she’s gone about her eliminations. Both times she spared Roxxy, she said it had nothing to do with their friendship and wasn’t a Rolaskatox thing. The third time she saved her, she said something along the lines of “Roxxy lent her a shirt”!!! I cannot even.

This week, Roxxy wasn’t the weakest, but based on the amount of times that she’s been in the bottom, she really should have been sent home, but Detox sent Alyssa home instead. At least, she was honest about her reasons. Under her fake tears, she admitted she couldn’t send Roxxy home because she was her best friend. It’s obviously the same reason why Alaska keeps saving her, but she is too chicken to admit it.

Alaska had an ugly meltdown backstage. It was rather painful to watch. Alaska is a brilliant queen and she is the most consistent, and if she won, she would definitely deserve it. But her attitude this week also showed that she is a sore loser. The bitch even went as far as offering Detox $10k not to eliminate her.

Katya and Rolaskatox are the final four. I would have been happy with an Alaska or Katya win at the beginning of the season; now I am indifferent towards Alaska and rooting for Katya to win. Fans on the social media think so based on the overwhelming support that she has received. Here’s to hoping she pulls a Jinx Monsoon and somehow manages to take down Rolaskatox.

Other TV shows this week such as Pitch, Designated Survivor, WestWorld and Frequency have all had very strong episodes this week.

That’s it for the week, guys. SOUND OFF!

Written by Deola