HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (S5E5): A Powerful Episode Is Season’s Strongest Yet

Ah, now we’re going places. After a handful of meandering episodes that have weighed season five down, “It Was The Worst Day of My Life” delivers an emotional, intense and somewhat experimental How To Get Away With Murder episode that brings into focus two of the more interesting narrative strands of the series.

Having previously battled with an abundance of unfulfilling plot strands, “It Was The Worst Day of My Life” cuts some of the dead weight, focusing on Nate Sr.’s (Glynn Turman) retrial on the grounds of insanity and Bonnie’s (Liza Weil) spiral into depression after discovering more about the child that she believed had died years ago. The enigma that is Gabriel Maddox (Rome Flynn) is incorporated into the main arc a lot more satisfyingly, as he grows closer to Laurel (Karla Souza) and butts heads with Connor (Jack Falahee). All round, it’s a tighter, more streamlined episode that allows Murder to circle back to what it does best: landing the punches and providing the drama.

We’re used to Murder’s non-linear step-up, with the trademark flash-forwards typically bookending each episode, but the latest hour takes it one step further. We begin not with a meaty #WhoDiedAtTheWedding sequence but mid-flow, Annalise probing the students to explore their – nay, her – failures with Nate Sr’s case. Connor’s all too happy to oblige in breaking it down for them, leading to some flashbacks at various, critical moments in the trial preparation to illuminate their mistakes.

“Four hundred and ninety-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty minutes”

Tensions are still flaring between Annalise (Viola Davis) and Connor, leading to an especially fraught confrontation between Oliver’s (Conrad Ricamora) boyfriend and Gabriel, who was replaced as second chair after last week’s heated debacle. While the resentment between the former develops more organically and works effectively – particularly considering that Connor and Annalise have never really grown close in a way the others have – the latter is a little more awkward, rather forced in the ‘big’ showdown (occurring surprisingly early on into the episode).

With a character like Gabriel coming in to shake up the group dynamic, the show has struggled to know where best to place him, or what to present him as given how mysteriously he has been painted; as such, he hasn’t earned the nerve to go up against the more established characters and come away looking good. It’s a weaker facet of the episode, highlighted more by how much stronger the rest of the episode is.

Nate Sr’s case has been slowly building since the middle of season four, and it is granted an appropriately momentous conclusion of sorts here. Ending on a compelling moment of silence and reflection, and granted a rare ‘fade-out’ – particularly notable given the series’ otherwise quick-fire editing and pace – for us to ponder, it is a moment that supersedes simply the scope of the show. Murder has always been good, if sometimes heavy-handed, in sending a message out about the wider world – be it the justice system, prison reform or the role and perception of black people in and by society – and it does not pull its punches here. It’s a bold thing really: leaving audiences facing over a minute of pure, uninterrupted silence – but it’s damn powerful.

“You did what you did. And now I’m left with it”

Viola Davis sells the moment for all its worth, reliably riveting once more. This week’s highlight comes when she delivers the testimony for Nate Sr, a stirring moment which Davis packs with anguish and tenderness, well and truly hitting it out of the park. Michael Russo’s script deserves credit for giving Davis such a moving monologue to perform, one that is superbly-written and goes beyond the show’s narrative with deft, profound results. Let’s hope the show can maintain this momentum heading forward; season five would truly benefit from the tighter focus and pacing displayed in this episode.

Liza Weil is tremendous once again, perfecting a physical and mental deterioration following last week’s distressing baby revelation. While the storyline hasn’t fully captivated yet – there’s still a long way to go for answers and it is only now getting the attention it needs – Weil’s performance is utterly fantastic and she makes the future of this storyline all the more promising. She documents Bonnie’s spiraling depression while giving direction to the season moving forward. In an especially devastating two-hander scene opposite Billy Brown, Weil pours her heart out and captures the pain and trauma of Bonnie’s life so emotionally; time and time again I’ve said it, but it’s a relief that Murder is finally capitalising on her brilliance and talents.

Surprisingly, if anything lets this episode down, it’s the flash-forward. Contained to less than a minute of screen-time, it is a disappointingly inconsequential stretch. With one more episode to go until it all begins to unfold, the #WhoDiedAtTheWedding narrative thread sputters out, with this week’s ‘reveal’ feeling tonally jarring compared to the emotionally-driven episode that came before it. It’s bound to be packed with more twists and turns in the remaining two episodes before this half-season wraps up, but this addition ends an otherwise strong episode on a weaker note.

In Conclusion: Murder‘s “It Was the Worst Day of My Life”

How To Get Away With Murder delivers its strongest episode of the season to date with “It Was The Worst Day of My Life”, a powerful hour that tightens its focus and propels us forward by streamlining its numerous narrative threads into one more cohesive piece. It finally feels like it is heading in one clearer direction, a relief after last week’s disparate, disjointed effort gave cause for concern. It’s back doing what Murder does best and, for the first time this season, I’m looking forward to whatever comes next.

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How To Get Away With Murders air on ABC on Thursday evenings.