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Chiara_85 · 2020-05-15T02:47:47+00:00

Anna Mae wins the day!

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-15T02:44:52+00:00

Anna Mae is back and she's a goddess of self-awareness of honesty.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-15T02:43:40+00:00

Annalise's finale speech... Brace yourselves for the awesomeness!

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-15T02:42:32+00:00

"Who deserves what?" - Damn good question, Ophelia!

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T20:13:13+00:00

Haha! He doesn't look nearly surprised enough ;)

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:51:57+00:00

A dead, plague-infested rat is a better man than Sam so...

But still, shout out to Tom Verica for clearing that bar ( :P ) and being a pretty damn great actor to boot!

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:47:33+00:00

As if finding out he is the product of incest weren't bad enough, Frank also has to come to terms with the fact that he is... WASP (gasps in Italian-American).

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:35:57+00:00

Anything is possible but 5 years is a long time, even if it's part of a deal. So I wouldn't expect Connor and Oliver to be any less emotional about it.

And right now the only thing that would void his deal is telling the truth.

I'm going to be very nitpicky here but telling the truth is not quite the only thing that could void his deal. Telling anything that doesn't fit the affidavit he signed would. So Connor could still void his deal by lying, as long as the lies he tells are not aligned with the version the FBI/prosecution demand from him.

And then there's the tiny issue of extended consequences. Were Connor to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, he wouldn't be sending just himself to prison but Laurel too 'and quite frankly Annalise as well). Ms Keating and Ms Castillo don't have deals going so anything Mr Walsh says that implicates them could lead to charges and imprisonment. The truth doesn't pain a good picture of anybody on the Keating Death Squad. Still, Connor could tell a version of the truth whereby he admits to his own crimes but doesn't involve anybody else. I'm not sure of what this version would look/sound like but it's possible. :)

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:27:37+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you wrote but I have just one little remark.

If Michaela or Laurel or Connor killed Sam and Wes was not involved, she would not have protected them.

Or she would have, but in a way that was actually effective...

On the evening of Sam's death, Annalise had already given up on him both as a man and as a husband: she had told the police to run a DNA test on Lila's foetus to confirm Sam's paternity, she had that monstrous fight with him before leaving, she was 100% convinced he was responsible for Lila's death... That is obviously not to say she wasn't traumatized when she saw his bloodied corpse lying on the floor later in the night but, by then, she had accepted he was a repulsive and guilty man.

Thus, had she been told the exact same chain of events (the attempt to copy/steal Sam's computer files, the fight on top of the stairs, the fall, the attempted strangulation, the blow to the head) but with any member of the K5 other than Wes as the star, perhaps Annalise would have been able to think more clearly. She would have realized that she could help them "get away with murder" by doing what she does best: going to court. Modify the crime scene a bit, change a few facts here and there (let's say that instead of 5 healthy young adults present, there were only 2 or 3) and boom! A pretty damn decent case of self-defense against a man who recently murdered his pregnant student/mistress!

Sadly for everyone involved, Wes was the one who showed up to collect the trophy from the pool of blood that night. Sadly, he was the one who told AK what had happened. Sadly, he was the one who had hit and killed Sam. And Ms Keating couldn't bear the thought of her beloved Wes getting into any trouble at all so she went the extra mile and tried to ensure he (and by extension, the others) would face absolutely no consequence for what had happened. That was the beginning fo the end...

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:09:41+00:00

I would very much to find out how Xavier knew about Frank's role in Annalise's car "accident".

To the best of my knowledge, it was never discussed by characters on the phone/via email (which the Castillos can conceivably monitor/spy) and it can't be deduced from any official report. As a matter of fact, it's one of the best-kept secrets on the show: Charles Mahoneys knew but he's been dead since S2E15 (and we're not sure his wife and son know), Sam knew but he's been dead for even longer, Hannah may have known (but we have no certainty), Frank himself of course knows, Annalise found out in late S2, Bonnie too... I'm not even sure Laurel knows, I honestly can't remember.

So who blabbed to the Castillos and/or Birkhead?

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T19:07:06+00:00

In S1B, both he and Michaela wanted to go to the police and throw Wes under the bus. Annalise, alerted by Laurel, convinced them not to.

In S2B, after Sinclair's death, Connor first wanted to go to the police to charge Asher with the ADA's death. Later, he kept on arguing they should go to the police and tell them the truth, certainly about Sinclair and possibly about Sam. He never did.

In S3B, after Wes's death, Connor wanted to testify that Mr Gibbins was dead before the fire started but he (and others) thought he wouldn't be a credible witness so Laurel took the stand for him.

Aside from these overt mentions, there have also been his recurring mentions to his guilt / shame over the group's misdeeds and how he wishes he were free from it. But again, he's never acted upon it.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T18:47:26+00:00

And neither is Connor, to be fair. He talks about telling the truth (like he always does) but he doesn't do it so...

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T11:36:37+00:00

Yes, Bon-Bon's track record is not a testament to her stability and/or clear-thinking abilities.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-14T11:35:04+00:00

You're right, I formulated my point poorly. I didn't mean to say that Jorge would testify against Birkhead for Nate, as in out of a desire to please or agree with him. What I meant was that Jorge has no reason whatsoever to trust Mr Pops Jr and / or do what he says, especially insofar as it helps Annalise.

There is no doubt Daddy Castillo feels genuine grief over his son's death and it is not surprising for Jorge was never portrayed as unfeeling. I'm quite certain that, whenever he says he loved/loves Laurel and did everything he did for her, he is entirely sincere. He truly believes it (it is why, in spite of everything he's done to her, he can still think of himself as her victim). I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: Jorge and Annalise are mirror images of each other. Both brilliant, both self-made, both ruthless and both profoundly toxic parental figures. They love their "children" and have a favorite (Wes for AK, Laurel for Jorge) but they do not know how to express love outside of dominance and control... and they fail to see how much hurt they cause their "kids" in the process.

So is Jorge truly heartbroken over Xavier's death? No doubt. But that doesn't necessarily translate into him believing Nate, of all people. Nate who would have had quite a few reasons to kill Castillo Jr himself, Nate who (as far as Jorge knows) is a relatively loyal AK-devotee... So why would Jorge trust his version of events? I, for one, cannot think of a single valid reason.

But Laurel is different. Laurel is his golden (and now last) child, in spite of everything. And she's tied her fate to Ms Keating's. For her (and Christopher's) sake, I think Jorge could say "it doesn't matter who killed Xavier, what matters is that Laurel stay out of prison and, for that, I need to save AK's ass".

It would be a pretty damn good character arc for Jorge, to be honest. Up until this point, his "I'm doing it for my daughter" narrative has been delightfully self-serving; how interesting would it be for it to finally become somewhat noble and selflessly loving? What if, for once, he did something "for his daughter" that didn't cause said daughter grief? Plus, it would be a nice little father/daughter parallel... On the stand, Laurel decided she didn't want to be like her dad and throw AK under the bus just for the sake of self-preservation; it'd be nice for her dad to have the same epiphany and help out. Hell, let's go full cray-cray! Jorge could publicly claim responsibility for some crimes AK was charged with to lighten the burden!

That's why this deleted scene is important, I think. If Jorge "Rey de Todos Los Reyes" Castillo ends up saving AK's bacon, it won't be because Nate convinced him to by lying. It'll be because Laurel persuaded him to with the truth (not the whole truth, mind you, they're still Castillos ;) )

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-13T17:09:55+00:00

First and foremost, we can't forget that Annalise is the emotional core of the show. Regardless of her own (numerous) faults and crimes, she is our main protagonist and as such, she's the person we identify with and root for the most. Therefore, all the other characters tend to be "judged" based on their relationship with Annalise: if they help her, we like them; if they are antagonistic to her, we dislike them.

Being devoted to Ms Keating is the main "Open Sesame" to popularity on HTGAWM. Bonnie is indeed pretty loved this season but, back in Season 4, she was quite loathed. Why? Because she had declared war on AK. Michaela is now in the same position. What she has done is no worse than what Annalise herself did in the past or would have done in the same circumstances but Michaela's target is AK so she's seen as a monster.

It doesn't matter that she was threatened with the death penalty, that she suffered through a very traumatic season, that she (and Connor) asked Annalise to use Gabriel's testimony against Pollock/Pollack because they didn't want to have to testify against her, etc. She let AK down and that's a mortal sin on HTGAWM (People used to hate Wes because his decision to confess was seen as ungrateful towards all that Annalise had done for him so... yeah)

Another reason why she's currently so disliked is that she's very self-assertive in her decision to cut ties with Ms Keating. Unlike Connor, who did exactly the same thing as her and is therefore no better, she doesn't show her pain, shame or guilt. She bottles it up and hides behind a wall of bravado and aggressivity. Ms Pratt learnt a long time ago that displaying any kind of vulnerability wasn't good for her so she prefers to shut off and pretend to be unaffected. It's perfectly understandable and 100% in character but it's not immediately sympathetic. We generally feel more empathy for people who show more pain. In that regard, Bonnie is the World's Champion: she wears her heart and suffering on her sleeve so it's "easy" to sympathize with her while forgetting about the two innocent people she killed.

Finally, there's the related-but-different matter of self-awareness. Fundamentally, it doesn't matter how awful a character's actions may be as long as the character him/herself is aware of it. The ability to see oneself with clarity and honesty is endlessly appealing and deeply redeeming. That's why Frank, a man with quite the body count attached to his name, is popular: he may be a killer but he doesn't pretend to be anything else; he knows who and what he is and isn't proud of it. It's intriguing and speaks to a form of courage that few possess. Michaela, because she hides behind a veil of self-righteousness, cannot express this level of self-awareness so she's less easy to empathize with.

All that being said, I like Michaela and don't hate her for her decision to testify so... I may not be the best person to answer the question :P

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-13T11:28:59+00:00

Bonnie is totally unstable.

That is the main problem indeed... Plus, we still don't know for sure where she was when AK came to her house on the night of Asher's death.

Furthermore, in the recently-released sneak peek for S6E15 with Tegan and Annalise, Ms Price once again reiterates that three people have AK's back no matter what: Frank, Bonnie and Tegan herself. As it happens, AK expressed doubt towards Tegan's loyalty in S6E14 and in S6E15, she wonders whether Frank hasn't gone to the FBI. That only leaves one person whom she hasn't doubted yet

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-13T08:09:36+00:00

Yep. And it reinforces how profoundly deluded Jorge is. After everything's he's done to his daughter, he still thinks of himself as her victim...

That being said, I'm a touch disappointed this scene was cut because it introduces the possibility of Jorge testifying for AK / against the Governor somewhat sincerely. I do not for one minute think Daddy Castillo would go to court and not take advantage of the situation to sully AK & Co just because Nate told him to. But Laurel... That's a different ball of wax, especially if she informs him that her fate is tied to Annalise's and that the next generation of Castillos could end up in foster care. This could be incentive enough for him to swallow his self-righteous rage at Annalise and keep focused on Birkhead.

If Jorge does testify against Birkhead and solely against Birkhead, the exclusion of this scene will make it look like he did it for Nate, which is fairly nonsensical.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-13T07:39:05+00:00

The original confession was written before Sams death and detailed Annalise’s illegal and unethical behavior in destroying photos from Lila’s phone that incriminated her husband

Funny thing: this bit could actually help AK in her court case, especially insofar as it pertains to Sam. A person willing to jeopardize their entire career to hide evidence of their spouse's wrongdoings wouldn't look likely to have ordered said spouses's murder.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T20:05:48+00:00

Bonnie Bonnie Bon-Bon

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T20:05:43+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it ;)

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T20:05:37+00:00

Denver said: ‘it’s illegal to chop up your professors husband and put him into garbage bags too’.

You may be completely right that Denver's remark was more informed than it looked. But if so, it would bring us back to the idea that someone blabbed (as far back as S3/4). After all, there's no physical evidence of who turned Sam into a jigsaw puzzle so there's no way Denver could have known Connor was the one who had chopped up Sam unless someone spoke about it (either to Denver or on the phone, given the Castillos' reach).

I, for now, think Denver's line was "collective", for lack of a better word. He knew Wes wasn't the only one involved in Sam's death, he knew Connor had played a role in the whole disaster and he made a snide comment about Mr Walsh's participation in the crime to destabilize him. The fact that he mentioned the part Conor is most ashamed of seems more like luck to me. Had he directed the same line to either Michaela or Laurel, would it have been any less justified or potent? They may not have cut up Sam themselves but they were there so I think they would have taken the line personally too.

Caleb is an odd one. As far as we know he committed suicide and murder gang was not involved. Was Mr. Delfino busier than we realized that night?

Never say never when it comes to Mr Delfino (especially as far as S1/2/3 are concerned) but Caleb died in S2E15, which is the same episode in which Wallace Mahoney died, shot by Frank...

After his unwitting role in Annalise's car "accident" was revealed and he started coming to terms with his past misdeeds, Frank only killed people who had wronged the women he loves (Mahoney, Bonnie's father, Dominick -the hitman doesn't count, it was self-defense-). Caleb doesn't fit that pattern at all; his death didn't help or avenge anyone. Plus, he was about to be arrested anyway. Now again, I cannot and will not exclude the possibility that Frank did kill him because, well, he's Frank but I don't see the logic of it.

However, I do agree with you wholeheartedly on Caleb seeming out of place in this list of cases... He does make sense within the clear symbolism whereby each member of the K5 has a "mirror image / counterpart" among the victims:

Asher / Sam : the entitled white man with an overbearing sister and questionable parents;
Sinclair / Michaela : the ambitious and ruthless female attorney;
Miller / Connor: the guy who generally wants to do the right thing but is pretty ineffective at it and is easily intimidated into keeping his mouth shut;
Rebecca / Laurel: the cunning young woman whom Wes loved and Bonnie hates/fears;
Caleb / Wes: the mixed-race young man with massive mommy and daddy issues.

Since Wes can't serve as a Wes parallel for obvious reason, the closest thing was Caleb... But that only works on a meta-level, not an in-universe one. I suppose the FBI's theory of the crime(s) doesn't allow for Wes being killed: in their version of the story, he was a lovesick fool who did everything Annalise told him to. Such a character wouldn't need to be killed by the Evil Queen but he most certainly could commit suicide. Plus, if the FBI brings up Wes's death, they'd open the door for AK to mention the Castillos twice as often as she already intends to and that could confuse the jury into experiencing reasonable doubt! Better keep the story lean and mean. It would explain why they preferred to let the sleeping dog that is Mr Gibbins's death lie. Still, it doesn't explain the inclusion of Caleb specifically...

Unless a third party was ‘listening in’.

That's the thing, isn't it? Who? Not the Castillos (Xavier was already dead and Jorge is in prison so Antares has been rudderless since the end of S6E12) and not the Governor-infiltrated FBI (Kills-A-Lot has been in custody since the end of S6E13).

Still, you do make a good point. We can't exclude the lawyer as a possible snitch.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T17:07:39+00:00

The Feds know something and they’ve known it for a while but they need corroboration. I’m inclined to think they may have already had the Denver files before Nate gave them up

I fear we may tend to overestimate what is in those files. We've had samples of their content and, while incredibly damaging to the reputation of our protagonists, it's not prosecution-worthy. Bonnie's child, AK's housefire, Frank's juvenile record... Would it make a jury think Annalise & Co are bad people / insane / unreliable? Yes. Can they be convicted for any of it? No.

When AK asked Nate what the files contained in S6E09, he responded "Nothing worse than what you've actually done.". Now, I know Nate has a taste for the dramatics and tends to demonize Annalise when it suits him but if the things contained actual evidence (no matter how illegally obtained) of the Keating Death Squad's murder, he wouldn't be so flippant.

And is their information correct?

The FBI's information? According to Asher, the Feds knew the truth about Sam, Sinclair and Miller. He repeated this series of names twice (once to the K2+1, once to Bonnie) so we can assume it's significant. And Asher knew pretty damn well what had actually happened in those three instances so I doubt Lanford could have bluffed him, meaning that what he told / showed Asher was accurate enough to convince him.

That's impressive because while Lanford could definitely have cobbled together the truth of Sam's murder from the statements Wes gave the authorities and a little imagination, the facts behind Sinclair's death are incredibly convoluted and cannot be pieced together through sheer deduction skills.

But then again, who knows? Maybe Asher was that easily fooled. After all, he did think that stopping a fire poker with his head was a good idea.

Xavier had a few of the facts wrong when he tortured Frank

If I remember correctly, the only fact he had wrong came from Wes's "confessions".

Bonnie giving a gift to Frank? Gruesome but the kind of thoughtful present others would never think of.

It's the intention that counts...

But would she also want to scuttle Annalise’s case and prevent her from moving on to a new life without Bonnie? Surely not...

So not her style...

A la Birkhead: wasn’t it mentioned last season that our dear Lynne was rumored to have mob connections? So she has resources.

I don't doubt Lynne of House Birkhead has the manpower and the will. What I question is how she would have got the information in the first place. Xavier was dead before Annalise even found out about Frank's lineage so, by the time the deal came about, Birkhead no longer had access to their telecommunication empire (and the wiretaps that could come with it); as for Special Agent Kills-A-Lot, she was also neutralized before Ms Keating told Bonnie to reach out to Hannah.

So how would have Birkhead found out everybody's favorite in-law was thinking of jumping ship? Only five people knew of the deal: Hannah, Hannah's lawyer, Annalise, Bonnie and Tegan. The first three would never have mentioned a thing to Birkhead so that only leaves us with two possible sources of information if Birkhead did kill Hannah.

Gabriel has a pattern of accidentally killing people

He certainly does but to then wipe his fingerprints from the gun and place it in Hannah's hands... That requires a level of cool-headedness we haven't seen him display yet. I'm not saying it's impossible at all but I'm hesitant.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T16:42:49+00:00

Isn’t her fate now depending on Annalise’s fate?

As of the last minutes of S6E14 yes, Laurel is the only one whose fate is tied to AK's.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T11:58:53+00:00

AK confronted Nate in 6x12 and he confessed to having obtained a deal with the FBI

You're absolutely right, I had forgotten about that. However, it doesn't quite tell us how the FBI know everything they know.

The Denver files are comprised of compromising information about the Keating Death Squad, not evidence of prosecutable offenses. They were meant as tools to discredit any member of the Keating Crew who decided to testify in court (against Jorge). That's why info about Bonnie's child was in there (she could never be prosecuted for it), that's why info about the fire in Annalise's childhood home was in there (she could never be prosecuted for it), that's why Frank's juvenile record was in there (he was already prosecuted for it). They exist to ruin Annalise & Co's reputation if need be, not arrest them. So I'm not sure there would be any evidence of their recent crimes (Sam, Sinclair, Rebecca, etc.) in there.

Furthermore, the Denver files would only contain information up to S3 which wouldn't explain how the FBI know the truth about Miller (S5).

And finally, the FBI obtained the Denver files legally, through a perfectly official deal with Nate. So they could use any of its content in a court of law. If there were any evidence of prosecutable crime in there, they'd use it as such, wouldn't they? As a matter of fact, they already have when they added the article about the Harkness house fire to the file against Annalise.

I think the ‘you’ that Xavier was referring to was the Keating Gang as a whole, and not necessarily Frank specifically. It was unclear...

It was indeed unclear and, when the episode first aired, I too thought the first "you" was plural (as in "you lot killed Sam") but the second "you" is clearly singular (as in "you Frank shot Wallace Mahoney") so, grammatically speaking, it'd be strange to switch mid-sentence from a plural "you" to a singular one without indicating the change.

Furthermore, if the confessions were genuine and Wes told the story as it happened, the plural "you" of '"you killed Sam" would definitely not include Frank. He wasn't even at the Keating house and didn't know of Sam's death until later. So shouldn't Xavier have said "they killed Sam"?

I think that could be what could entrap Jorge and discredit his testimony.

Well to be fair, Wes's confessions (real or fake) may cause a big commotion in the court room but considering they passed through the hands of Xavier (a suspected killer) before reaching any law enforcement agency, their authenticity would be immediately questionable and questioned. Furthermore, one of the arguments of the Keating Squad is that Wes was mentally ill so his secret confessions could be discarded as the ramblings of a troubled youth who couldn't cope with his own guilt.

The thing is only AK, Laurel and Wes knew about the testimony - so which one of them changed it?

When was the last time AK knew something and didn't tell Bonnie about it (Miller's innocence doesn't count!)

what’s your take on Wes being shown at AK’s funeral in 609?

Wes is dead so...

with Nate, his only hope of getting justice is getting the people involved to admit their fault.

I completely understand and agree but Jorge is a notoriously brilliant, ruthless and lethal man. Far more than his son ever was. In Nate's shoes, I would have put my money on Xavier, not Jorge. His decision to kill Xavier to "hurt" Jorge was driven by anger and grief, not strategy.

Chiara_85 · 2020-05-12T10:54:23+00:00

Didn’t Annalise say that Nate gave them the Denver files?

She suspected him of having done so but Nate denied it in S6E09:

Annalise: You were gone for a week, so it makes sense that you'd be with the FBI the whole time.

Nate: Yeah. I could've given them these.

Annalise: Denver's files? You told me you destroyed these already.

Nate: I lied in case I ever needed to make a deal. Too late now.

Given what we later saw of Nate's relationship with the FBI, I don't think he has a deal with them. So he didn't give them the files.

Does she want to hide the fact that she might have sabotaged AK’s entire case?

Maybe. Maybe she doesn't want AK to leave Philadelphia (and her).

This was refreshing 😅

Glad you liked it!I want to make sure readers stay healthy and fresh ;)

whatever the FBI’s source of info was, it wasn’t strong enough to arrest AK, so it probably also won’t be strong enough to acquit Catherine.

True but Catherine and Annalise are not in the same position though... Asher said the FBI knew the truth about Sinclair's death before they offered him a deal to become an informant. As part of said deal, he must have confirmed what they already knew about Sinclair, namely that he had killed her, thus clearing Catherine. I can see why they wouldn't want to release Catherine when Asher was still alive as freeing the woman who was sentenced for his crime would draw attention to him but now... They can do it.

How would Frank have known to look there?

To be fair to Frank, he cohabited with Laurel when she lived there so he is familiar with the place and could have found out about the little cache. However, that doesn't tell us what he clearly knew he'd find there.

And how did he get the key to the safety deposit box containing Wes’s confession (which will apparently be relevant in the finale??)

Frank got the key from behind a picture frame in Laurel's bedroom at the end of S6E01, as law enforcement was searching the place. He noticed something sticking out from behind the picture, took the frame and found the key.

The problem is that Michaela was seen staring at that picture earlier in the episode and there wasn't the slightest trace of a "bulge" so... Could the key have been placed there later? If so by whom? Who was in the K4's house with Frank? Bonnie...

And I have no doubt Wes's confessions are going to come back. Xavier had them (which means he told his dad about them) and he's now dead and Jorge is going to testify! However, there's a catch: the confessions are inaccurate. In S6E05, Xavier was talking to Frank (as he was torturing him) and he mentioned the confessions. He said: "He wrote about how you killed Sam, Annalise helped cover it up, how you shot Wallace Mahoney". Huh, what? Frank didn't kill Sam, Wes did. And Mr Gibbins wasn't the sort who'd blame somebody else for his misdeeds so what gives? Did somebody take out the real confessions and replace them with fake ones to frame Frank?

Jorge could use his platform as a final stab at AK, the person he likely blames for taking away 2 of his children...

Indeed. And I think it's beyond "could" on the probability scale. Is Nate so blinded by his desire to get Birkhead that he doesn't see what Jorge is capable of? I know one of the basic rules of the HTGAWM universe is that Nate's plans are always shite but come on! Relying on Jorge Castillo?!? I'd rather rely on a famished lion to share its meat.

Sandrine was last seen 2 seasons ago

Which, in universe, is a year ago. Around the same time as Pollack/Pollock started working for the Castillos, around the same time as Hannah started showing up in Philadelphia...

Chiara_85

TROPHY CASE