Thursdays on ABC have returned from their mid-season winter breaks with their usual wave of excitement and anticipation for television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes’ three hit shows, “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How To Get Away With Murder.” The hour-long episodes are juicier than ever, as each show delves deeper and deeper into its complicated web of drama. For those of you who are familiar with these shows, here’s a breakdown of what occurred during the episodes that aired last Thursday (warning: spoilers ahead).
“Grey’s Anatomy”
In the “Grey’s Anatomy” episode titled, “The Sound of Silence,” Dr. Meredith Grey is hospitalized in her own workplace after being violently attacked by a delusional patient post-seizure. Upon gaining consciousness, Meredith finds that she has lost her hearing, trapping her in a vacuum of silence. Even worse, her other injuries include a dislocated jaw, which forces her to wear a brace that keeps her from opening her mouth. In the weeks of her recovery, unable to use her voice and communicate efficiently with others, Meredith is given the opportunity to reflect on the broken relationships in her life.
In one scene during this episode, Dr. Richard Webber, one of the parental figures in Meredith’s life, takes her outside in a wheelchair and talks to her about letting go and learning to forgive everyone around her, along with herself. When she finally regains her hearing and her voice, Meredith and Amelia talk and come to the agreement that they are still not ready to forgive each other, but will work towards making amends. Meredith also takes this opportunity to tell Alex that he should tell Jo, his ex-girlfriend, that he loves her. Meredith lastly overcomes her anger and agrees to meet with Lou, the patient who accidentally attacked her, forgiving him for the pain he caused her.
“Scandal”
“Scandal’s” episode “It’s Hard Out Here for a General,” skips ahead six months after Olivia Pope’s break up with President Fitzgerald. Olivia is seen in her apartment and is visited by Huck. He informs his boss that Olivia Pope & Associates has a new and dangerous client: Diane Peters, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA). Peters’ home computer has been hacked into, but the source is coming from within her house. The hacker copied hundreds of files from Peters’ very own desktop, among them being the extremely important “Project Mercury” document. The prime suspect is programmer William “Billy” Torrance, who also happens to be Peters’ boyfriend. There is no doubt in everyone’s minds that Billy was the one who installed the virus, but the question remains: is Billy a spy?
President Fitzgerald calls in friend and ex-military member Jake to put a stop to this NSA leak, claiming it will be a “diplomatic nightmare.” A few days later, the OPA members come to the realization that Billy was actually framed. Olivia and her associates come to the conclusion that Jake had in fact killed Billy, and was now being appointed the new head of the NSA.
“How to Get Away With Murder”
In “What Happened to You, Annalise?,” “How to Get Away With Murder’s” latest episode, Annalise Keating and the “Keating 5,” her student associates, deal with the repercussions of their actions as they get away with their second murder. Annalise finally returns home from the hospital after being shot in the stomach by Wes, an act that she asked him to do herself. Wes is overcome by intense guilt for having shot Annalise, and is also tormented by her calling him “Christophe,” his real name, as she begged him not to shoot her a second time.
Annalise spirals into a state of delusion from her painkillers, and imagines a woman at her door, who shoves a baby into her arms and then leaves. When Bonnie, Annalise’s close friend and confidante, finds her in this hallucinatory state, she decides that Annalise is in no condition to testify in the case against Catherine Hapstall, Annalise’s client who she accused of shooting her. When the judge refuses to take the written statement composed by the Keating 5, Annalise shows up at the trial, despite her weakened and slightly deluded state. She grows dizzy and confused as her abdominal wound begins to bleed out, tripping on her words and almost exposing that Catherine in fact did not shoot her. During a recess, she convinces Caleb Hapstall, Catherine’s brother, to persuade Catherine to admit to shooting Annalise, which she inevitably does. When she returns home that night, Annalise finds Wes snooping around her bedroom, and he demands answers as to how she knew his mother. It is then revealed that in actuality, Annalise had met the woman she imagined on her front steps 10 years earlier, while Annalise herself was pregnant. The mystery of how Annalise knows Wes still remains, but the truth seems to be unraveling faster with every episode.
Thursdays have once again become our favorite day of the week, as we find ourselves completely lost in ShondaLand. Each gripping episode leaves us on the edge of our seats, so don’t forget to tune in next week, when you’ll be thanking god that it’s finally Thursday.
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