HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER: MAMA'S HERE NOW (TV)
Summary
One in this series of legal dramas about a hard-nosed Philadelphia law professor who recruits her students to work in her firm – leading to their entanglement in a variety of ethically questionable schemes.
Nate is arrested and strip-searched by the police. Laurel confronts Frank about planting Sam’s ring in the woods and thanks him for doing so. Connor celebrates a month of sobriety with Oliver by sharing a non-alcoholic drink. The police discover that Rebecca called Nate’s phone on the night of the murder and wish to question her. Annalise’s cantankerous mother, Ophelia Harkness, comes to the office and is greeted by a confused Frank and Bonnie. Ophelia chastises Annalise for her poor decision-making and apparent reclusiveness and urges her to get out of bed. Bonnie tells Wes, Connor, Laurel, and Michaela that Annalise is “sick” and she will be leading them in defending their latest client: Jolene Samuels, a nurse accused of raping a patient recovering from surgery. However, Bonnie proves to be not as eloquent as Annalise when addressing the court, even earning a private dressing-down from David Tucker, the hospital’s lawyer. During the trial, Bonnie raises doubt about the prosecution’s evidence concerning the nature of injuries sustained by the allegedly raped patient. She examines a witness, another patient who -- on the day of the alleged rape -- suffered from a minor stroke, which she believes affected his memory of the event.
Ophelia rummages through Sam’s things, but Annalise stops her, unwilling to part with them. Ophelia reminds her that she cared for her, even after their house burned to the ground. She confronts her about changing her first name from “Anna Mae” to “Annalise” and for seemingly forgetting her roots. Ophelia asks her if she killed Sam, but Annalise does not give an answer. During the trial, an expert witness claims to have discovered that Jolene posted on a website featuring users anonymously discussing their sexual exploits. Jolene has an emotional reaction to the text being read aloud for the court, frustrating Bonnie. Bonnie confronts Jolene about this in private, where she claims that the patient, Chad Mullins, was the one who initiated their sexual encounter. Bonnie doesn’t believe her and says the hospital wants to reach a settlement. Bonnie then changes her strategy to prove that the intercourse between Chad and Jolene was consensual. The others have reservations about this plan but Bonnie orders them to find a way to discredit Chad. Ophelia enters and manages to keep the students in line. Wes goes to visit Annalise and informs her that the police are looking to question Rebecca about Nate. She gives him advice about how to handle the matter before Ophelia gets Wes out of the room.
At the police station, Rebecca claims that she first met Nate when he “accosted” her in a convenience store. She claims that she rejected Nate's request to plant evidence on Sam. Connor has Oliver do hacking for him on Jolene’s case; Oliver then points out that Connor has not seen fit to introduce him to any of his fellow students. Connor reluctantly agrees to do so. They discover that Chad has posted pictures of himself on a gay dating website, heavily implying that he is gay. Bonnie brings this up at the trial and argues that Chad is inhibiting the case by concealing this. The judge agrees with the prosecution, calling Bonnie’s actions “bordering on discrimination,” and asks the jury to disregard her entire line of questioning. She still refuses to reach a settlement but struggles to determine what to do next. Frank finds her that night drinking. She asks Frank why he lied about Sam, and believes that Annalise instructed him to do so.
Michaela goes undercover to hit on an assistant district attorney to glean more information about Nate’s case. She discovers from him that Rebecca claimed to the police that Nate attempted to get her to plant evidence on Sam. Wes talks to the police and discovers that Rudy was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct before being sent to a psychiatric facility. Annalise finally descends from her room and discusses Jolene’s case. Ophelia believes that women are incapable of rape, although Annalise disagrees. They get into another argument, and Annalise implies that the tension between the two of them was caused when her Uncle Clyde abused her as a child; Ophelia implies that she knew about it but did nothing, angering Annalise. She says that Sam understood what happened to her and that he outlined it as the root of many problems in her life. Ophelia counters that she and other members of their family have been similarly abused over the years, and moved on. Annalise then tells Ophelia to leave.
Asher discovers that Chad was making visits to the hospital’s legal department, and this provides Bonnie with inspiration. She announces to the court that she has offered a plea deal to Chad’s lawyers to get the charges dropped to assault, and then removed upon payment. They agree, but she points out that she would like to hear from the hospital’s lawyers. David states that the hospital agrees to the deal. The judge prepares to adjourn the court, but Bonnie surprises everyone by claiming that David has given himself half of the $500,000 settlement money, claiming that David and Chad are “lovers” and producing email correspondences between the two in order to prove her assertion. She further claims that David’s position as the hospital’s lawyer afforded him insider knowledge about potentially lucrative settlement deals paid by the hospital. She also produces records indicating that the two started a joint offshore bank account. In light of this new evidence, the prosecution motions to dismiss the charges against Jolene. Bonnie and Asher end up having a sexual encounter in the parking garage, which Frank witnesses.
Connor lets the others meet Oliver, and tells them that he has lied to Oliver about having a drinking problem. Rebecca calls Wes, who claims that he is busy and will get back to her in the morning. Wes confides in Laurel that Rebecca lied to him about Rudy; she said he had a nervous breakdown but he discovered that he actually suffered from a drug overdose and was sent to the mental institution on the night Lila was murdered. He suspects that Rudy may have been involved in Lila’s murder and expresses doubts about his own actions surrounding Sam’s murder. Ophelia tells Annalise that she intends to leave the next morning, and recounts the night when she discovered Clyde molesting her. She also admits that she moved all the children from the house after Clyde passed out on the couch several nights later, leaving him inside while the place burned. She implies that the fire was a deliberate act of revenge on her part. The two then appear to reconcile.
Oliver, somewhat drunk, attempts to initiate sex with Connor, but Connor asks him to wait until he is sober. As Connor leaves, Oliver tells him that he loves him, and Connor does not respond. Wes makes a fake ID for Laurel so that they can visit Rudy in the hospital. Michaela attends Nate’s hearing and is surprised when Annalise arrives as well. She confesses that she feels remorse over Nate taking the blame for Sam’s murder. Annalise tells her that it is her responsibility to resolve the situation. Laurel and Wes visit a non-responsive Rudy and discover a series of scratch marks on his wall, similar to the ones in his apartment. Annalise confronts Nate and calls him a “liar” for pleading not guilty. He confronts her with the truth but she denies it and says, for the benefit of the security camera, that he is being delusional. She leaves, but not before slipping him a note reading “fire your lawyer” with a phone number scribbled on it. Wes shows Rudy a picture of Rebecca and he seems to recognize her, but responds only by repeating the word “wet” over and over. Wes believes that he is referring to the water tank where Lila’s body was discovered. Meanwhile, Rebecca traces Wes’s phone and realizes that he is visiting Rudy. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122259
- GENRE: Drama, legal
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, legal
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2014-2020
- COMMERCIALS:
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- TV – Commercials – Chili’s restaurants
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- TV – Commercials – Toyota automobiles
- TV – Commercials – Verizon phone service
- TV – Commercials – Weight Watchers weight loss program
- TV – Commercials – Whirlpool appliances
- TV – Commercials – Yoplait yogurt
- TV – Commercials – “Focus” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “Kingsman” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “McFarland, USA” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “Run All Night” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “The Duff” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “The Imitation Game” motion picture
- TV – Promos – “American Crime”
- TV – Promos – “Fresh Off the Boat”
- TV – Promos – “How to Get Away with Murder”
- TV – Promos – “In an Instant”
- TV – Promos – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
- TV – Promos – “Secrets and Lies”
- TV – Promos – “Shark Tank”
- TV – Promos – “The Bachelor”
- TV – Promos – “The Oscars”
CREDITS
- Peter Norwalk … Executive Producer, Created by
- Bill D'Elia … Executive Producer
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer
- Michael Foley … Co-Executive Producer
- Ann Kindberg … Co-Executive Producer
- Erika Green Swafford … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Scott Collins … Producer
- Tracy A. Bellomo … Producer
- Scott Printz … Co-Producer
- Noah Evslin … Co-Producer
- Doug Stockstill … Co-Producer, Writer
- Holden Chang … Associate Producer
- Mike Listo … Director
- Photek … Music by
- Viola Davis … Cast, Annalise Keating
- Billy Brown … Cast, Nate Lahey
- Alfred Enoch … Cast, Wes Gibbins
- Jack Falahee … Cast, Connor Walsh
- Katie Findlay … Cast, Rebecca Sutter
- Aja Naomi King … Cast, Michaela Pratt
- Matt McGorry … Cast, Asher Millstone
- Karla Souza … Cast, Laurel Castillo
- Charlie Weber … Cast, Frank Delfino
- Liza Weil … Cast, Bonnie Winterbottom
- Cicely Tyson … Cast, Ophelia Harkness
- April Parker Jones … Cast, Detective Clair Bryce
- Michelle Hurd … Cast, Amanda Winthrop
- Mark Famiglietti … Cast, David Tucker
- Mageina Tovah … Cast, Jolene Samuels
- Conrad Ricamora … Cast, Oliver Hampton
- Andrew Friedman … Cast, Mr. Fowler
- Jeris Lee Poindexter … Cast, James Smalley
- Brett Zimmerman … Cast, A.D.A. Orrin Driver
- John Eric Montana … Cast, Judge Robert Hemmings
- Chris Kos … Cast, Chad Manning
- Jack Mikesell … Cast, Rudy Walters
- Teresa Huang … Cast, Dr. Annabelle Grimes
- Alex Alexander … Cast, Nurse
- Doc Holliday … Cast, Prisoner
- Hal Devi … Cast, Police Officer
- Cat Hammons … Cast, Police Desk Clerk