Emmy Episodes: How to Get Away with Murder

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fourth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

How to Get Away with Murder: Season 5, Episode 13 “Where Are Your Parents?” (C)

I’ve watched episodes of this show in the past because of nominated performances from star Viola Davis and from legendary actress Cicely Tyson. While I think Davis has been much better in other projects, which I wrote about in my look at her submitted episode from this year, I’ve come to realize that Tyson really is one of the stronger elements of the show. Her character, Ophelia, isn’t always with it, getting confused by her fading memory and deteriorating mental state, but when she’s on, she’s very on. When she asked Nate and Annalise why they didn’t just get married, she knew exactly what she was saying. Giving Nate the letters from his late father, whose portrayer Glynn Turman is also nominated for an Emmy and who was very much alive in the last episode of his that I watched, helped her connect to someone else and demonstrate how she may not know the specifics of a particular case or situation but can still be extraordinarily helpful and wise in figuring out how to get out of it. I don’t really know or care who did what in this FBI investigation that is apparently so vital on Christmas, but Annalise managed to get the upper hand once again despite being totally ready to come in and testify in exchange for immunity. Tegan beginning a romance with Agent Telesco to get her thrown off the case was smart, but it seems to me that these moves are only going to encourage those seeking to put Annalise and her associates behind bars to come after them harder. I imagine I might watch an episode or two if anyone is nominated for the final season, and I won’t wish this show one bit until then.