‘How To Get Away With Murder’ Recap: Autumn Rock Bottom

Warning: This recap of the “It’s About Frank” episode of How To Get Away With Murder contains spoilers

Despite being one of the grimmest and occasionally nastiest shows on TV, How To Get Away With Murder is just so FUN. Obviously we thrill to its lurid decadence and twisty mysteries, but I also mean this show look so fun for the actors as well. All that dialogue chock full of zingers and hateful banter and emotional confessions. Plus, you know, the puking.

Is there a braver actress on TV right now than Viola Davis? We know she’s great and regal in an Oscar-y kind of way, but on this show, and in “It’s About Frank” especially, we saw her do the Lambada with a vodka bottle, drunk dial an ex, nearly pass out on her feet, make crazed faces at half the cast. I am not an actor but I HAVE TO assume she’s having a blast. So much more fun than speaking legalese across a desk. This week Annalise lived in the nexus between high comedy and low tragedy and Davis’ performance was a spellbinding tour de force.

Related: ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ Star Liza Weil on Bonnie’s Surprise Hookup

“It’s About Frank” was absolutely one of my all-time favorite episodes of this show. It had me laughing and crying AND it had Mary J. Blige as a guest star. Let’s talk about it!

Aside from a green-hued reminder that SOMEONE is gonna die in the future, our first real scene involved Bonnie visiting her dead father at the funeral home.

When it came to what she wanted to do with the former pedophile’s remains, Bonnie politely requested “the dumpster option” and then click-clacked her heels out of here like she was Angela Basset lighting a white Beemer on fire. Bonnie OUT. Even better, Frank was waiting for her in the parking lot and she gave him a big ol’ bear hug. She was truly grateful for his friendship and lack of moral compass. (Minutes later he admitted he definitely HAD murdered Wes’ father. Frank LOVES murdering fathers, as we’d later discover.)

I can’t waste anymore time, I need to tell you that MARY J. BLIGE was in this episode. The queen herself! Actual American royalty. She played a hairdresser installing Annalise’s new weave (take a break, wigs!) and also she was a recovering cocaine addict. This only came up after several of the beauty shop ladies chased a crackhead out of the room with a broom and they all got to talking about their various substance abuse problems, which was VERY relevant to Annalise’s current, booze-soaked situation. But as a viewer it was just plain fun to watch these ladies hanging out. And did I mention that Mary J. Blige played a recovering cokehead hairdresser? PLEASE tell me this scene was a backdoor pilot!

As you might have expected from an episode titled “It’s About Frank,” this episode was about Frank. Well, some of it was, especially the flashbacks. I meannnnn, did you see his flashback wig just now? LOOK AT IT. This is officially Frank’s best look and I will tussle with anyone who disagrees. Look how emo he was! I think he was supposed to be a teenager here, serving TOO MUCH time for attempting to murder his father (he kept committing crimes in jail so that he’d never get released) which is so emo it hurts.

As it turned out, Frank’s situation had come to the attention of Sam before he’d turned into an evil dick. Sam had decided he wanted to help free Frank from all that jail time and he enlisted Annalise to do it. She was skeptical, but something about Frank brought out Sam’s paternal instincts and maybe Annalise’s maternal instincts also. But this also tied into Annalise’s modern day drinking problems… She missed Sam, and she was still sad about her failed pregnancies.

Fortunately she began going to A.A., and as luck would have it, her boss/enemy was attending the same meeting! Ugh, classic A.A. awkwardness. Still though, it was a start.

I loved when the gang speculated about whether Annalise would ever come back, and if not, should they use the opportunity to cut ties with her finally? They opted not to, because come on. Still, it was a healthy reminder that she’d kinda ruined their lives so far.

Here was a moment in which Sam walked in on Annalise silently frowning at her toothbrush. I’m guessing the expression on her face had something to do with the miscarriage she’d had a few seconds before, but don’t quote me on that. (I am a bad person because this moment made me laugh a lil and I’m truly sorry about it. Her face!)

At one point Michaela got real sick of her mean jerk classmate and she yelled at him right in his face using a Southern accent! The rest of her friends continued to tease her about this for the rest of the episode and it was really charming. She defended herself by saying it wasn’t her fault her family was trash. It was a fair point.

Wes had his “meet the father” moment when Meggie invited him to meet the father. This dude grilled Wes so much about his family, but Wes ended up lying a bunch about how his mom had died of stomach cancer, which would only be accurate if the knife she’d stabbed herself with had ‘cancer’ written on the grip. The dinner went fine otherwise.

Even though Annalise had attempted her first day of sobriety, she was only a few unpleasant memories away from rummaging through her trash like a thirsty raccoon and downing every last drop of liquor she found. What followed was what felt like 25 minutes of Annalise gyrating alone in her bathrobe while hugging a vodka bottle tight. We’ve all been there, but Annalise was TRAPPED there. Which meant it was a good time to leave Nate a sloppy voicemail about how he was probably better off without her. Oh, girl.

In the flashback Frank sobbed because it turned out he really HAD tried to murder his father when he was 13 and his father had taken his TV away. What 13-year-old HASN’T tried to murder their father over TV privileges, though? Cheer up, Frank. Anyway, this breakthrough led to Frank accepting Annalise’s help and the rest is herstory.

I loved this moment when Frank’s nightmare about his youthful guilt caused Bonnie to get out of bed and cuddle him on the floor. He’d proposed that they run away together, start new lives away from all the murders. Maybe have some kids, go hiking, stuff like that. At first Bonnie refused to play along, but later she eventually admitted it was all she’d wanted. Then she and Frank did sex on the floor. That’s right: Bonnie and Frank GOT IT ON. But it was a lovely and sad moment between them more than a steamy one. And it didn’t help that Laurel was blowing up Bonnie’s phone wondering if she’d found Frank yet. Things just keep getting more complicated on this show.

Annalise was not in a great state when Wes came by to hang out.

I loved her drunken wobble right here. Get it together, lady! (Viola Davis is truly amazing.)

Nate seemed sad when he heard Annalise’s sloppy voicemail, but he was cheered up when this hot lady D.A. started climbing all over him. Or was he? He definitely seemed conflicted about leaving Annalise during her rock bottom phase. Or maybe he was just mentally planning his pre-dawn bodybuilding sesh. Gotta get those gains!

After a graceful vom, Annalise accused Wes of wanting her dead when he’d shot her that one time, which, duh. But he still helped her up and onto the bed. Even though their relationship was now strained, he was still the doting son she’d kind of always wanted, and that was very touching.

In a rather surprising confession, Wes told Laurel that even though he likes Meggie a lot, he’d dump her in a heartbeat for Laurel. Laurel didn’t exactly seem stoked to hear this, as 100 percent of her heart energy had been directed at Frank, wherever he was. So that’s how this show was going to be: All unrequited love all of the time. Buckle up.

Speaking of which! Even though they’d shared a heart-wrenchingly tender and wonderful floor sex moment, Bonnie was shocked to discover that Frank ditched her while she was on a coffee run. Almost everyone has broken down sobbing on a motel room floor from time to time, so no judgment here. But Bonnie was already damaged enough without seeming this tragic also. Poor lady! (Needs to be pointed out: Liza Weil was very wow in this episode. See what I’m saying about how fun it must be to play these roles? These actors get to do A LOT and they do it so well.)

The big reveal advertised in this week’s previews was the identity of the person behind those hurtful flyers the gang had seen taped up around campus. Well, it was that jerk student from their pro bono clinic! While the Keating 5 fretted about what to do about it, leave it to Annalise to take this news well… The person threatening her was just some lame student and not anybody with inside knowledge. Plus, now she could openly blackmail him to, like, share his homework with her interns. Add that to the fact that Annalise got her job back after threatening to sue the school for FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS and it was a major one-two punch for a woman who could barely walk a line.

Our end-of-episode reveal ended up being far more amazing than I expected… First of all, BRETT BUTLER. Brett Butler is on the show, you guys! And guess who she’s playing? Michaela’s MOM. So yes, now we’ve met the “swamp trash” that raised Michaela. Oh God, I’m excited about this.

As for the “who gonna die” thing, all we know is Michaela’s safe, and the body found at Annalise’s flaming abode was a male. Which leaves us with Frank, Nate, Connor, and Asher as options. (It’s totally Nate, right? Come on.)

Man, “It’s About Frank” was as wonderful as this show gets. So much good interpersonal drama, mixed with Viola Davis’ inspired exploration of hitting rock bottom, plus at least TWO incredible guest star appearances. As this show goes on its characters just grow deeper and more interesting, its relationships more complicated and heartbreaking. It’s anyone’s guess how long this show can keep this winning streak going, but I for one am excited to find out.

What did YOU think of “It’s About Frank”?

How To Get Away With Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of HTGAWM for free at Yahoo View.