| This article is about the Season 4 episode, "Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania". For the article about the class-action lawsuit, see Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. |
| |||||||||||||
"Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" is the 58th episode of How to Get Away with Murder.
The episode is the second part of the TGIT 2-part crossover between How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal; the first part is titled "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself" , which aired an hour before, on Scandal.
Summary[]
As Annalise’s class-action case hangs in the balance, a meeting with the esteemed Washington D.C. fixer, Olivia Pope, proves to be crucial in getting the opportunity to argue her case in the nation’s highest court. Meanwhile, Bonnie discovers concerning information pertaining to Simon that threatens to expose what really happened during the night he was shot.[2]
Plot[]
- For the events of the Scandal episode, see "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself"
Olivia and Annalise are practicing her arguments for the Supreme Court. Olivia is fierce in her rebuttal, forcing Annalise to work harder than she ever has before. Olivia is coaching her on what it takes to go before the Supreme Court. A bottle of champagne shows up for Annalise courtesy of Fitz Grant – which she finds tedious since she’s struggling to stay sober. Meanwhile, Ingrid Egan, the lawyer representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before the Supreme Court is on a morning talk show with Noah Baker bad-mouthing Olivia Pope and accusing both Liv and Annalise of using the class action to distract from their own criminal acts. Back in Philadelphia, Michaela is packing her bags to head to D.C. despite feeling guilty about stealing the case from Connor. And Connor is clearly taking it hard because he’s not even planning to go to D.C. despite Oliver’s urgings he joins them. Laurel is trying to get Bonnie to have the court reinstate Isaac’s testimony now that he’s not being investigated anymore, but Bonnie ominously states he’s no longer a reliable witness. Nate makes a visit to his dad in prison to tell him he’s going to be appearing before the Supreme Court and have his case heard.
Annalise is about to walk into the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court for the first time, but her phone won’t stop ringing – Jacqueline keeps calling and then Bonnie wants Annalise to invite her parents to witness her big moment. Annalise sets this all aside, walks into the court chambers, and just marvels at being inside the most important room in our country’s legal history. Olivia is there with some good news – Egan’s interview backfired and now the ACLU, NAACP, and several other acronyms want in on the case. But Annalise doesn’t want their help – she’s taken the case this far on her own and she wants to finish it. Olivia urges her to consider accepting assistance – she recites Annalise’s own history back to her reminding her it was a career goal to argue a case before the Supreme Court and win. She also reminds her that losing this case will set back criminal justice reform by decades. All of this only serves to prompt Annalise to call her mother (after taking some more time to bask in the glory of the quiet, empty courtroom).
Bonnie and Frank are meeting in a parking garage again. Frank tells Bonnie that Laurel’s mom admits to meeting with Wes to try to get him to stay away from Laurel and that she paid Wes 100k to get him to agree. He wants Bonnie to check Wes’ bank account for the money; she still wants Frank to tell Laurel the truth. Annalise has decided to do the case on her own. But they have a new problem – Ingrid Egan appears to be trading information with one of the justices. Before this can be addressed though, Annalise's mother, Ophelia Harkness shows up at the apartment. Ophelia is excited to meet Olivia because she recognizes her from television. In typical overly concerned mother fashion, Ophelia brought stew and biscuits and forces them all to sit down and eat before getting back to work. Back with Michaela and Marcus, she keeps telling him she loves Asher very much despite the fact that Marcus is everything she ever dreamed of in a man. They see a pizza delivery guy at Ingrid's house, but nothing suspicious. Back in Philadelphia, the remaining Keating 3 pack for their trip to D.C. Asher has wedding magazines so Connor and Oliver can plan their big day while they wait in line for tickets to the trial since Annalise gave theirs to her parents.
Nate shows up at the apartment in D.C. to check on Annalise, but this sends Olivia back down Annalise’s throat. She worries the court will use the fact that their face case is Annalise’s ex-boyfriend’s father to crucify her. But Annalise talks Olivia off the cliff by assuring her that this case isn’t about checking off a bucket list or saving her reputation, but about finally doing something that matters for once in her life. “Stop handling me,” she tells Olivia, which is just such a great use of the Olivia Pope catchphrase turned back against her. Still on the stakeout, Michaela is getting text updates on Asher’s travel progress, but when Marcus tells her he doesn’t have a girlfriend because he let someone go so as not to hold her back from greatness, this hits Michaela right in the feels and she starts making out with him. The following day. Everyone is getting ready – Nate is prepping his dad on the stress of the courtroom and helping him shave. Annalise is suiting up. Asher is already at the court waiting for tickets – Michaela says she was up all night helping Annalise prep, but when Marcus shows up (whom the Keating 4 recognize as the former press secretary), Laurel and Connor can instantly tell that Michaela spent the night with him. She insists it was a one-time thing. But they don’t have time to talk dirty laundry because Michaela recognizes the guy talking to Justice Strickland in the hallway – it’s the pizza delivery guy. Marcus texts Olivia immediately.
After Annalise signs the Supreme Court guestbook with Ingrid Egan, she gets another call from Jacqueline. Isaac overdosed three days ago and police found him in his car. He’s not dead but his kidneys are failing. And since Annalise doesn’t have enough to worry about, Jacqueline blames her, telling her she already knew the truth about Stella and accuses Annalise of ruining everyone in her life. This sends Annalise into a guilt spiral until she’s a weeping, catatonic mess on the floor. Olivia goes after the pizza guy and says she has a photo of him making the delivery at Egan’s door. She wants in to see Justice Strickland, but before she can do that, Michaela calls – she found Annalise in a state. Olivia comes to talk Annalise into doing it, insisting she’s the only one who can argue the case. She’ll get her anything she needs, but she has to do it. Annalise wants the one thing she can’t have – vodka. Olivia sends Michaela out to get some despite Michaela telling her it could cause them far worse issues than losing the case. While Michaela and Marcus are out hunting for vodka, Olivia Pope gives Annalise the pep talk of her life. “This case chose you,” she tells Annalise. “Pick yourself up and walk into that courtroom.” Michaela shows up with the vodka and Olivia tells Annalise that whatever she thinks is in this bottle is already inside her – but that if she needs a drink she should take one. Annalise rallies and maintains her sobriety. They go to enter the courtroom, but not before Ophelia has a dementia episode and spills food all over Olivia’s crisp white suit.
Oliver is counting down on his watch as the trial approaches and Annalise still isn’t there. Both Nates wait anxiously, but Annalise strides in just under the wire. She stands to make her opening remarks about the inequality Nate senior has faced his entire life and the 6th amendment violations that have made him a victim of the injustices of the legal system. Justice Strickland takes umbrage at a convicted murderer being called a victim and keeps interrupting Annalise every time she tries to make a point. She argues that the case is both about an underfunded public defense system, but also about race. In the bathroom, Ophelia is trying to help Olivia get cleaned up, and they share a lovely moment where Ophelia tells Olivia she takes care of everybody but herself. She makes a compellingly beautiful argument for the emotional labor of women, particularly black women, saying “Sometimes I think this whole country would just fall apart if we weren’t around to clean up the mess.” In the court, Justice Strickland is trying to tell Annalise she has to choose whether the unequal representation is because of funding or because of race. She insists it’s both, which pushes him to say this suit was not filed on the grounds of discrimination. Annalise can feel her time slipping away, so she requests the remainder of her time be saved for rebuttal and quietly sends Michaela to the library to look up the ruling for Bryant v. Topeka. She and Marcus find it just in time, racing in to court to hand it to Annalise.
Annalise stands to make her rebuttal, which includes Strickland’s own remarks from a 1982 ruling that “race must always be considered a variable” in legal decisions. She gives an impassioned speech about the promise of civil rights remaining unfulfilled, as well as the remaining specter of Jim Crow and slavery in the way the justice and prison systems are run today. She demands the court ensure 6th amendment rights are granted to all citizens. Outside the court, Egan and Annalise answer questions for the press. Annalise thanks Nate senior and Connor for helping her with the case, as well as the Grant Institute and Olivia Pope. Back in Philadelphia, Bonnie did not find any money in Wes’ account, which means Frank needs to tell Laurel the truth whether he likes it or not. Frank searches Wes' Apartment for the 100k Laurel’s mom supposedly gave Wes. He doesn’t find it, but he does find a USB drive containing a recording of Wes’ conversation with Laurel’s mother. When Laurel gets home, Frank plays it for her – Laurel’s mother is heard probing Wes about his legal trouble and Wes’ promise that he will tell Laurel about the meeting. Back in D.C., Olivia tells Annalise the justices might be swinging in her favor. She continues to try to “handle” Annalise advising her to say yes to interviews, but no to book offers. Annalise tells her she doesn’t need to keep handling her – they hug and part with mutual suggestions that they take better care of themselves. Before Annalise can head home, she gets a call from Bonnie who is at the hospital. Annalise assumes Isaac has died, but no, worse, Simon is awake.
Notes and Trivia[]
Notes[]
- Viola Davis and Kerry Washington teased that something was going on in each of their Instagram posts on January 3, 2018. [3][4] The crossover was first officially announced on January 3, 2018 by Shonda Rhimes.[5]It was later confirmed that the episode would be the season's 13th episode which airs on March 1, 2018.[6]
- Due to Liza Weil having played a previous role (Amanda Tanner) on Scandal, she did not appear in the Scandal episode of the crossover. She also did not interact with any of the characters from Scandal during the How to Get Away with Murder episode.[7]
- Along with Viola Davis, Aja Naomi King was also part of the Scandal episode of the crossover.[2]
- Even though the shows apparently run in the same time period, How to Get Away with Murder is currently in 2016 and Scandal in 2019, three years apart.
- Furthermore, Barack Obama is mentioned on HTGAWM by Michaela Pratt in "Wes". However, that episode aired before any kind of decision was made at that time for the shows to link.
- The scene where Annalise asks for vodka was the very last scene which Viola Davis and Kerry Washington shot together.[8]
- Though the episode is mostly set in Washington D.C., specific locations such as the Supreme Court were filmed using a green screen and then digitally edited in order to give the location an accurate appearance of the actual Supreme Court Building. Thee interior of the building was also digitally designed in order to give a more realistic feel and appearance.[9]
- Viola Davis and Cicely Tyson were nominated for an 2018 Emmy Award for best actress and best guest appearance on Scandal. Tyson was also nominated for the same award for her guest appearance on How to Get Away with Murder.[10]
- The place where Frank Delfino finds the recording in Wes Gibbins' bathroom at his apartment is the same place which Rebecca Sutter used when she hid Lila Stangard's phone.
Continuity[]
- Isaac Roa was mentioned by Jacqueline Roa and Annalise Keating. He was last seen in "Ask Him About Stella".
Important Events[]
- Michaela cheats on Asher by sleeping with Marcus Walker while on a stakeout.
- Frank came clean to Laurel about his investigation into her mother after finding proof that her mother tried to pay Wes to stay away from her.
- Simon wakes up from his coma.
- Isaac overdoses and is rushed to the hospital where he is in critical condition. Jacqueline phones Annalise to tell her about it and that it was all her fault.
- Olivia manages to get Annalise's class action taken to the Supreme Court where Annalise presents the justices her case.
Title[]
- Though the title was never verbally spoken, the name of Annalise's class-action lawsuit as shown in the supreme court was Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
- The title was mentioned in the previous episode when the judge was introducing the case. "This is the class-action trial of Lahey vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
- Lahey vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ''- Judge Salinas
- The title was mentioned in the previous episode when the judge was introducing the case. "This is the class-action trial of Lahey vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
Music[]
| Song | Artist | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Surfin' (feat. Pharrell Williams)" | Kid Cudi | Olivia preps Annalise; Annalise's opponent Ingrid Egan takes an interview on the class-action case; Asher cheers on Michaela; Oliver convinces Connor to be with the team; Laurel and Bonnie chat. |
| "Swim in the Light" | Kid Cudi | Michaela recieves a text from Asher informing her of his and the groups impending arrival to Washington; Michaela asks Marcus why he doesn't have someone, then kisses him. |
| "Me and the Devil" | Gil Scott-Heron | Annalise readies; Nate prepares his father with a speech than shave; the Supreme Court chambers are prepared; Annalise and Olivia arrives at the Supreme Court; Michaela and Marcus arrive together. |
Multimedia[]
Gallery[]
Scandal[]
Behind the Scenes[]
HTGAWM[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Videos[]
