How to Get Away with Murder season 4 episode 12 review: Ask Him About Stella

How to Get Away with Murder somehow remembered that it’s a legal drama, not completely obsessed with family matters, and it helps produce a better episode.

When an episode of How to Get Away with Murder opens with a character relapsing into drug use, it’s hard not to see how things could easily go off the rails. But, by going back to things that made this show fun to watch in the first place, “Ask Him About Stella” ends up being one of the best episodes in a while.

Even though they’re set at a restaurant, the scenes with Isaac and Annalise where they discuss their issues after a meeting for addiction feels oddly domestic in a way. Perhaps it’s because they’re both eating pancakes and enjoying coffee and orange juice. It helps that they’re talking about things like how Isaac met his wife.

Unlike our prediction, all of the Keating 4 (and Oliver) actually do end up working on the class-action lawsuit. However, that doesn’t mean that the ongoing Laurel baby storyline doesn’t occasionally creep in. Ultimately, though, the intertwining scenes of Nate Lahey, Sr. meeting with Annalise and Nate Jr. while the Keating 4 (and Oliver) start to propose a case around his story seems like the old HTGAWM — back when it mostly focused on students trying to impress their teacher (and also cover up crimes).

But before Annalise can get off one of her massive speeches, apparently this case is going directly to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which does not seem like a huge surprise, but it doesn’t come with the opportunity for Annalise speeches.

The episode slows down when the conflict with Laurel’s father storyline comes back into play; it’s less of a proper legal drama and more of a melodrama that structurally clashes with the rest of this episode — yes, even with the investigation into the death of Stella (Isaac’s daughter) three years ago. That still has a crime (and flashbacks!) involved, after all. Ditto with Bonnie’s blackmailing the D.A. into dropping the Isaac investigation. That feels like the old days.

Jimmy Smits’ acting in this episode deserves a lot of credit; he’s playing a still-grieving and guilty father that ends up crying a lot, but it never feels forced, not even when Isaac is high again and switches from mood to mood breathtakingly quickly. But Karla Souza gets a powerful scene of her own when Laurel meets her baby for the first time.

Annalise loses her case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but Michaela provides the connection to … you guessed it, Scandal‘s Olivia Pope, who is giving a guest lecture appropriately titled “How to Survive a Scandal,” in order to get the class-action moved up to the real Supreme Court. Slightly contrived to make the crossover work? Yep. Still cool? Sure thing.

Bullet points:

• Stress-baking Asher is the best kind of Asher.
• The baby finally gets a name: Christopher!
• Oliver and Connor are getting married again, and life seems a little brighter.

Next: 20 supremely cozy books and movies for hibernation season

How to Get Away with Murder will return for the Scandal crossover on March 1.