Photo: Courtesy of ABC.Two weeks after Wes shot her in the gut at the Hapstall mansion, Annalise returns home in a stupor that’s thankfully not deep enough to steer her away from aspirational purple silk pajamas. But there’s nothing glamorous about her ensuing office-bound bed rest. Case in point: Bonnie’s there. Demonstrating her signature combination of protection and sabotage (it’s how she shows she cares), Bonbon cleans out Annalise’s mirrored liquor cabinet and sprinkles extra Vicodin on her desserts. She seems to know from years of career experience exactly how to induce specific visions (Rose leaving her baby with Annalise against her will) that will keep her boss occupied/scared. Sometimes I think maybe it’s a good thing that Bonnie would rather die than betray the Lady Keating, because can you imagine her putting this on her résumé for another job?
Against all strawberry ice-cream-flavored odds, Annalise shows up to testify at Catherine Hapstall’s preliminary hearing for being the lamest painter in the world (and allegedly killing her adoptive parents). She doesn’t realize she’s still on drugs, so as we zoom in on the open wound on her abdomen and excessive blood on her hands, viewers aren’t sure if anything she’s seeing or saying is real, either — a clever though horrifying effect. As Wes stares smugly at his latest attempted murder victim from across the courtroom, Annalise suddenly changes her mind. She didn’t see anything that night. Wait, yes. No. She’s blacking out, so her official answer is she doesn’t know. Then she deliberately breaks client-attorney privilege so that her whole testimony will be thrown out.
The puppy’s ears perk up. Once Annalise manipulates the Hapstall case, Wes understands she must be on the mend toward her full-strength best possible self. So with no time to lose — a.k.a. five episodes left in the season — he sneaks into her basement to hunt for files related to the name she muttered to him at death’s door: “Christophe.” One search term on a random laptop and he’s basically done. I personally would have stuck it out and tried various spellings like “Christoff” or “Wesisannoying” before just giving up like that, but Wes is on a mission. Nothing left to do but crawl into Annalise’s bed and tell her he understands what it’s like to WANT TO DIE. They’re kindred spirits, remember. Maybe she’s hallucinating him right now. Annalise doesn’t know anything anymore.
Who is Christophe? Is it Wes’ little brother, the baby his mom maybe unloaded on Annalise years ago? Was it Annalise’s baby? Is it this never-before-seen trophy with antlers Annalise is brandishing as a weapon?! “You think I’m gonna hurt you?” Wes winces, knowing it might be true. “I think…YOU RUINED ME,” Annalise hisses. “Get out!” Wes or the vision of Wes obeys, but the baby-vision replaces him. Or IS HIM? I don’t know anything anymore.
A moment of lightness, if you please: Temporarily relieved from con-man duty, Frank the accomplice-in-chief spends the episode spellchecking Word docs and cooking up a Mexican-Italian storm for everyone able to consume solid foods. So the Keating Five, Asher, and Bonnie stuff their cheeks full of good vibes, preparing for the onslaught of emotional/professional terror sure to be unleashed once their fearsome leader gets a good night’s sleep, downs a hearty swig of vodka, and remembers she’s Annalise Keating, goddamnit!
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