How To Get Away With Murder Season 4, Episode 13 Recap: "Lahey V. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania"

Hello, and welcome to How To Get Away With A Scandal.

It's Olivia Pope! It's Annalise Keating! They're here, together!

And Mellie Grant is President in both universes, which is such a win for everyone, honestly.

Was it the only win of the episode? Read up and find out.

Happy TGIT, ya'll!

The crossover episode began with an episode of Scandal.

As seen at the end of the previous episode of How To Get Away With Murder (we're going full-circle in this crossover) Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) came to Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) for help with her class-action lawsuit. It was everything a Shondaland-worshipping girl could want.

Scandal's Marcus (Cornelius Smith Jr.) convinced Olivia to take on Annalise's case, reminding Ms. Pope that she and Annalise are very much cut from the same cloth — in that, uh, they've both been accused of/have actually done some very shady things. Like, for example, murder.

While Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) was surprisingly chill about helping out Liv, it was President Mellie (Bellamy Young) who was like, "Umm, no, didn't I fire you, Olivia?" about the whole thing. To make sure the entire world knew that Liv was out of a job, Mellie leaked the news, causing Annalise and Olivia to have a full-out brawl in a salon. Olivia didn't hold back. She called Annalise a bully, to which I say how dare you — but also, not wrong. Annalise has made me cry before and I'm just a viewer.

Things worked out, however, thanks to fortunately-not-actually-dead Quinn (Katie Lowes), who informed Olivia of a way to sway one of the judges: use one of their dirty little secrets as leverage. Quinn had spent the episode on Team Mellie, but I like to think that this change of heart came about from seeing the pure power of Annalise and Olivia in the same room. She just needed to know what would happen if this dynamic duo was allowed to reach their full potential.

Olivia and Annalise may not have rode off into the sunset together, but they did move on with the class-action lawsuit — and into a new episode of How To Get Away With Murder, the recap of which...

...starts right now.

Laurel (Karla Souza) still has no idea about that secret meeting between Wes (Alfred Enoch) and her mother Sandrine (Lolita Davidovich). Because Bonnie (Liza Weil) can't be in the same room as Olivia — lest someone notice she looks just like that murdered Scandal intern Amanda — Bonnie forgoes supporting Annalise in Washington, D.C. in order to chastise Frank (Charlie Weber) for not being honest with his (ex?) girlfriend.

So, why did Sandrine and Wes meet? Apparently, it was so Sandrine could give him major cash to stay away from Laurel — a whopping $100,000. Obviously, it didn't work, but there's no bank records of that money, either. Frank searches Wes' apartment, thinking maybe he stashed the money instead. Instead, beneath the floorboard, Frank finds something very intriguing: A USB with the recorded conversation between Sandrine and Wes on it. Frank plays it for Laurel. Dun dun dunnnnn...

I probably would have been a lot less hyped for the Scandal/HTGAWM crossover if I knew that it would lead to a rift in one of my favorite TV ships of all time. Michaela (Aja Naomi King) and Marcus hit it off in the Scandal portion of this crossover, but their time in D.C. working on the case led to things getting a bit more... intense. Despite Michaela shutting down any romantic tension during the pair's stakeout of Ingrid Egan's house (Michaela loves her boyfriend very much, even though Marcus is the most charming) by the end of the night, they had officially hooked up in the front seat of his car.

There's actual murder on this show and this brief affair still feels like the meanest thing that has ever happened on it.

When Michaela goes to the courthouse with Marcus the next day, Connor (Jack Falahee) and Laurel immediately pick up on the fact that these two did it. Michaela begs them not to tell Asher — it would crush him. I'm not sure how Asher (Matt McGorry) and Michaela come back from this, even if the odds of Marcus and Michaela crossing paths again are slim now that Scandal is in its final season. (Unless we're getting a new HTGAWM series regular I'm unaware of?)

The only good part of this horrible, horrible plot point? Right before Michaela and Marcus decided to consummate their non-relationship in his car, they see a pizza guy arrive at Ingrid's house. Turns out, that "pizza guy" was actually feeding Ingrid tips for the court case against Annalise, giving Ingrid a clear advantage.

After a rocky start, Annalise and Olivia are on solid ground — mostly. Olivia isn't too excited about the fact that Annalise's "face case," Nate Lahey Sr. (Glynn Turman) also happens to be the father of Annalise's ex-boyfriend. She's also not thrilled when Annalise calls her parents to come and see her case. And she's definitely not happy about the fact that Annalise turned down help from the NAACP and ACLU after Ingrid Egan slammed her case on live TV.

But that's Annalise for you — she plays by her own rules. Though Olivia is terrified of tarnishing her already-tarnished reputation, she accepts that this is just who Annalise is.

After a few inspirational pep talks (they go both ways), Team Keating/Pope seem to be on the fast-track to win the case — or, at least, not make it a complete disaster.

Then, like clockwork, there's Isaac (Jimmy Smits) drama. His ex-wife Jacqueline (Kathryn Erbe) calls Annalise and informs her that Isaac overdosed — and flat-out blames the attorney for it. After learning that Isaac's kidneys failing, Annalise completely spirals, so much so that she asks for a bottle of vodka. Fortunately, she doesn't drink a drop — thanks to fixer Pope, who reminds Annalise that she's taking on this case for the little girl in Memphis who was always told she wasn't good enough.

Annalise takes the stand with newfound confidence. She argues that race was a determining factor in the civil cases that were unfairly tried and prosecuted — and gives an Oscar-worthy speech to support it. I know this is already a TV show, but can we get a movie of this?

While we don't know the outcome of the case yet, Olivia gets a call from Fitz, who is pretty confident about the pair's odds of winning the case. Olivia and Annalise part on good terms, with Olivia imploring Annalise to "take care" of herself. Everyone is in generally good spirits.

That's why it's a huge bummer when Bonnie drops a big problem in Annalise's lap. Simon (Behzad Dabu), a.k.a. the guy whom the Keating 4 covered up the accidental shooting of by stating it was a suicide attempt? He woke up... and will probably have a lot to say.