TGIT: Thursday Night TV Is Back!

            #TGITWithdrawal.  Any avid ABC fanatic cannot deny this withdrawal.  But if you ask me, I think we also ought to hashtag #TGforShonda.  Shonda Rhimes, an executive producer at ABC and the recipient of many girl crushes (myself included), kills it on Thursday nights with her stellar lineup of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and her latest show, How to Get Away with Murder.  Thursday night television would not be the same without her work, and not surprisingly, Shonda delivered a spectacular night of TV after the winter break hiatus.

            I can imagine that a lot of viewers have given up on Grey’s over the past eleven seasons, but I believe that Shonda continues to put forward a dramatic and touching plotline.  The latest episode was particularly emotional, although not quite on the same level as Denny Duquette’s saga in season two.  However, between the flashbacks of Meredith and Derek adorably writing their vows on a post-it and Jackson’s breakdown at the news that his unborn son has a potentially fatal bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, it was upsetting to see the typically strong cast fall apart.  Meredith and Derek have been so solid for so long, but I am not so convinced that they will make it.  If you ask me, Cristina Yang is Meredith’s true McDreamy.  Jokes aside, I have no doubt that the rest of the season will be devoted to saving April and Jackson’s unborn baby.  After all, this is a show about top doctors and we have been privy to Arizona’s extensive fetal surgery training.  How could Arizona and her mentor, Dr. Herman, not do everything they can to save the baby?  Let’s hope our doctors pull through and Herman evades death long enough to impart all of her knowledge to Arizona.

            Grey’s episode was rather cheerless, but Scandal was a mixture of emotion, anxiety, and unease.  In hindsight, the episode warranted an Olivia Pope glass of wine and bowl of popcorn.  I personally wanted to see more of Olivia and Jake’s dance scene from the previous episode, so I was pleased that little tidbits made it into the beginning of this episode.  However, my joy quickly faded as we witnessed Olivia’s abduction and learned that we are dealing with a gang of brilliant kidnappers.  Who would have thought they would set up a surveillance station in the apartment next door?  Jake must be so embarrassed that he failed to protect Olivia and notice what was going on next door.  Speaking of brilliance, Olivia did not lose her touch even in captivity; using her bra’s underwire to unlock the window in the unfortunately gross bathroom was pure genius.  Between Olivia’s attempted escape, her cellmate Ian’s “death,” and Olivia’s dreams, I was sitting on the edge of my seat all episode.  Seeing Olivia in distress is seriously distressing!  Oddly enough, Olivia has never been more like her father’s daughter than in the final scene when she knocks out one guard and shoots the other one in the head.  Go Olivia?  But the real shocker occurs when Olivia finally unlocks the seemingly endless set of locks (I know you all were freaking out at this moment), and “escapes,” only to find that her captivity is all a stage, and her confidant Ian is behind it all.  Who are you, Ian, and who are you working for??  Last episode suggested that Fitz’s VP, Andrew, would be behind Olivia’s kidnapping, but this seems extreme.  We are definitely working with real masterminds.  I cannot wait to see what happens next week when Olivia’s hostage video is released and we finally get to see how Fitz and Jake are reacting to Olivia’s disappearance.   I don’t think it would be a shock to say that Fitz and Jake are in panic mode.  Will Fitz blame Jake?  Will the POTUS save the day?

            After the final climactic scene of Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder just did not do it for me.  Maybe since the last episode was full of big reveals—we finally learned how Sam was killed and that Annalise knows everything—I found this episode to be boring.  Plus, I cannot shake the eerie feeling when I think about Annalise pinning Lila’s murder on her dead husband.  Does anyone else think this is weird?  Plus, does Annalise actually believe that Sam is to blame or is she merely concerned with clearing her client, Rebecca, from charges?  Can a lawyer even make a family member a prime suspect?  With the arrival of Sam’s sister at the end of the episode, here’s to hoping that the final five episodes of the season are more exciting than this premiere.  What is on the sister’s agenda?  Will the circumstances surrounding Sam’s death finally come into question?  Shonda certainly has her work cut out for her, and I imagine she will provide more insight into Lila’s murder.  I think it would be too obvious for Sam to be the murderer.  Given the limited number of characters in the show, is it possible that Annalise knew of her husband’s affair earlier than we thought and she killed Lila?  The show is called “how to get away with murder.”  Like her students, maybe Annalise is attempting to get away with murder. 

Let’s see what Shonda has in store for us on Thursday!