HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER: THE NIGHT LILA DIED / IT'S ALL MY FAULT {FIRST SEASON FINALE} (TV)
Summary
The first season finale 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.
In this two-part episode, Rudy's cryptic comments prompt Laurel to suspect that Rebecca is Lila's true killer after all, though Wes reserves judgment. In the past, Rudy listens in as Rebecca and Lila argue bitterly about Griffin. In the present, Oliver tries to persuade the promiscuous Connor to get an STI test. Nate is denied bail, and Annalise's latest client, Father Andrew Crawford, accused of murdering a fellow priest, changes his plea to not guilty upon spotting a woman from his church, Agnes, requiring Annalise to take the blame for her "mistake." In the past, at the frat house, Lila gets high with Griffin and then texts Lila from his phone. Wes pores over Rebecca's transcripts, hunting for inconsistencies in her story. Annalise teaches her students about defending someone who has already admitted to their crime, like Crawford, who later tells her that he killed Father Bernard because Bernard confessed to molesting a student, who then died by suicide. Father Crawford refuses to break the sacrament by testifying about Father Bernard's statement.
In the past, Lila enters the frat house to find Griffin in bed with Rebecca – as Rebecca had planned. In the present, she visits the campus police as Annalise tries to convince Father Crawford to take the stand, guessing that he's in a secret relationship with Agnes. Annalise then arranges for Nate to be beaten up in jail, but the plan backfires when the judge orders him placed in solitary, rather than agreeing to a new bail hearing. Connor and Oliver undergo their awkward medical tests. At Annalise's urging, Agnes takes the stand and declares that she and Father Crawford were in bed together at the time of Father Bernard's death. Shocked, Father Crawford again changes his plea and declares himself guilty of first-degree murder, telling Agnes, perhaps untruthfully, that he doesn't love her after all. Connor is deeply relieved to learn that he's HIV-negative. Nate is finally released on bail after Annalise arranges for his original judge to recuse herself due to a "conflict of interest" regarding an ill-timed chat with an oblivious Asher.
Connor and Michaela are stunned to learn that Laurel and Wes now somewhat suspect Rebecca, though when confronted, Rebecca again defends Rudy's timely "nervous breakdown." She adds that a campus cop who was present on the night of Lila's murder was conveniently fired shortly thereafter, presumably thanks Annalise's meddling. Annalise returns home to find that the "Keating Five" have kidnapped and restrained Rebecca. Reeling from the idea that Sam might have been innocent of murder after all, Annalise declares that they will "try" Rebecca on the spot to definitively prove her guilt. In the past, a distressed Lila calls Sam and threatens to come clean to his wife. When she arrives at the Keating home, however, Bonnie stops her at the door and prevents her crucial confession. The five students debate Rebecca's potential guilt, including Rudy spotting her returning "wet" from the roof; Annalise denounces their arguments so far as purely speculative.
New prosecutor Emily Sinclair then demands a statement from Annalise regarding Nate. She falsely claims that he protected her from a drunken Sam on the night of Sam's death. In the past, Griffin searches for Lila on the frat house roof. In the present, Rebecca needles Connor about Wes, suggesting that he is untrustworthy and may even have murdered his own mother. Asher barges in and, with the others momentarily distracted, Rebecca texts an unknown person with "Eggs 911." Frank is discomfited when Laurel implies that he could be the one to "whack" Rebecca if need be. In the past, Sam catches up with Lila on the roof and reassures that he has fallen out of love with Annalise and cares only for her. Aiden's mother Mary tries to persuade Michaela to reunite with her ex-fiancé, but Michaela decides that she values herself too much to accept a less-than-loving marriage. An angry Annalise orders Wes to get the full truth out of his girlfriend, and Rebecca finally confesses to dosing Rudy with PCP to prevent him speaking to the police. However, she swears that she didn't kill Lila and hid inside the water tank beside her body to avoid appearing guilty. Everyone but Wes remains skeptical; Annalise decides that there's still not enough solid proof to "convict" her.
Nate is further frustrated to realize that Annalise lied about his supposed encounter with Sam in order to create reasonable doubt, though she begs him to accept her help in exonerating him. The five students suggest framing Rebecca for Sam's death as revenge for his likely murder of Lila, though Annalise refuses and tells them that they must release their captive – only to find that Rebecca has already disappeared. Annalise urges a devastated Wes to "choose to believe" that Sam killed Lila. Nate calls the mysterious phone number for help as Laurel returns Michaela's missing engagement ring, admitting that she found it in Connor's car and kept it to ensure Michaela's silence. Oliver reveals to Connor that he has come up HIV-positive. After Sam professes his love to Lila, he places a call and tells someone to "do what we talked about" – and Frank, who "owes" Sam an unknown debt, is finally revealed as Lila's killer. In the present, Frank and Annalise question one another, and it is revealed that Rebecca has been murdered and hidden in the basement. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:59:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 122284
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense; Drama, legal
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2014-2020
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Chappie" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Cinderella" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Get Hard" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Home" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Insurgent" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Run All Night" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Lazarus Effect" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Abreva cold sore medication
- TV - Commercials - Allstate insurance
- TV - Commercials - Audi automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue cosmetics
- TV - Commercials - Best Buy stores
- TV - Commercials - Cheez-It Grooves crackers
- TV - Commercials - Claritin-D allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Dannon Oikos yogurt
- TV - Commercials - Degree Dry anti-perspirant spray
- TV - Commercials - Dior Homme fragrance
- TV - Commercials - Fage Greek yogurt
- TV - Commercials - Flonase allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Hulu video streaming service
- TV - Commercials - Humira arthritis medication
- TV - Commercials - Iams cat food
- TV - Commercials - Little Caesars Pizza restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Macy's stores
- TV - Commercials - Marie Callender's frozen dinners
- TV - Commercials - Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless foundation
- TV - Commercials - Mazda automobiles
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Mercedes-Benz automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Nasacort allergy spray
- TV - Commercials - Nivea In-Shower body lotion
- TV - Commercials - Nutro Natural Choice dog food
- TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Payless Shoesource stores
- TV - Commercials - Prego pasta sauce
- TV - Commercials - Royal Caribbean cruise lines
- TV - Commercials - Snickers candies
- TV - Commercials - Sprint wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Straight Talk wireless services
- TV - Commercials - Subaru automobiles
- TV - Commercials - T-Mobile wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Tropicana Trop50 orange juice
- TV - Commercials - Uncle Ben's rice
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless services
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret stores
- TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Whirlpool appliances
- TV - Commercials - Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt
- TV - Commercials - Zyrtec allergy medication
- TV - Promos - "20/20"
- TV - Promos - "American Crime"
- TV - Promos - "Black-ish"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy"
- TV - Promos - "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
- TV - Promos - "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
- TV - Promos - "Once Upon a Time"
- TV - Promos - "Repeat After Me"
- TV - Promos - "Scandal"
- TV - Promos - "Secrets and Lies"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelor: The Women Tell All"
CREDITS
- Peter Norwalk … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Bill D'Elia … Executive Producer, Director
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer
- Michael Foley … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Ann Kindberg … Co-Executive Producer
- Erika Green Swafford … Supervising Producer
- Scott Collins … Producer
- Tracy A. Bellomo … Producer
- Noah Evslin … Co-Producer
- Scott Printz … Co-Producer
- Doug Stockstill … Co-Producer
- Holden Chang … Associate Producer
- Angela Robinson … Consulting Producer
- Laura Innes … 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
- Tom Everett Scott … Cast, Father Andrew Crawford
- Lilli Birdsell … Cast, Agnes Willis
- Conrad Ricamora … Cast, Oliver Hampton
- Megan West … Cast, Lila Stangard
- Lenny Platt … Cast, Griffin O'Reilly
- Nick Warnock … Cast, Attorney Trent Stockton
- Mari Weiss … Cast, Judge Clarice Redding
- Tom Verica … Cast, Sam Keating
- Lynn Whitfield … Cast, Mary Walker
- Sarah Burns … Cast, Emily Sinclair
- Karl T. Wright … Cast, Judge Bradford Wilkins
- Sharon Omi … Cast, ADA Karen Hawley
- Caleb Mixson … Cast, Zach
- Jack Mikesell … Cast, Rudy Walters
- Lou Richards … Cast, Father Bernard
- Christina Leone … Cast, Buffy
- Dan Martin … Cast, Janitor Joe
- Danielle Kennedy … Cast, Nurse
- Mallory Low … Cast, Eager Girl
- Miles Frank … Cast, Dude