HTGAWM is back, and the Keating crew are just where we left them. You know, freaking out over all the murders and stuff!

It’s been months since we last saw Annalise and the Keating crew, but it seems like it was only yesterday that the events of the How to Get Away With Murder season 5 finale took place. Actually, that might be because to them, it was only yesterday!

The HTGAWM season 6 premiere kicked off the show’s final season right after the events of the previous season. All of the turmoil of unmasking Nate Sr.’s killer, Laurel going missing, Emmett’s death is still fresh, and they’re all still dealing with it in a very real way. Without further ado, here’s my review of the How to Get Away With Murder season 6 premiere.

‘HTGAWM’ 6×01 review

Before I get into the specifics of the episode in this review, I want to say that, as a whole, I really enjoyed watching this episode of How to Get Away With Murder. It was great to pick up with everyone right where we left off, and to jump right back into the big mysteries that were left unsolved by HTGAWM season 5, and even the aftermath of the ones that were wrapped up.

It was even nice to have a season premiere that was fairly straight forward. Usually our heads are spinning after an episode of HTGAWM, but the season 6 premiere did a good job of sticking to the existing storylines and subtly inserting information, clues and twists, rather than dumping a whole new set of mysteries on us.

One of the highlights of the episode was Frank continuing to drive the search for Laurel. Everyone else seems to have assumed the worst of her, pretty quickly, but his steadfast faith and deep understanding of her keeps him searching. Good thing, too, because that key could unlock all the secrets.

Frank’s conviction gives me some hope that Flaurel might still have a future. Even though Frank had decided to give in to his worst instincts in HTGAWM season 5, he still cares deeply about the people around him. If/when Laurel gains some real freedom from her family, maybe she’ll give his proposal a second thought. I just want these two crazy kids to work out!

I also really loved the Coliver sex scene, even though the amount of times Oliver mentioned “torture” in the season 6 premiere has me slightly worried. I’m excited to see how their relationship continues to grow throughout the season now that they’re married, and Oliver is more deeply entrenched in their drama than ever before.

On the theme of things that I’m half excited and half terrified about, let’s talk about Tegan. Tegan has been like a beacon of light on How to Get Away With Murder ever since she came into Michaela’s life, and I’m so scared to believe that she’s anything but that, now. Especially because I’m dying for her to get with either Annalise or Michaela, like, yesterday.

That being said, that “boy bye” and those shady smirks definitely point to ulterior motives. Has she been working with Antares this whole time? That level of betrayal would be a crime equivalent to the killing of Nate Sr. I’m not sure I want to see what’s coming, but I certainly can’t look away.

Unfortunately, there were also quite a few things about the HTGAWM season 6 premiere that I didn’t like. In general, I found Annalise’s time in rehab to be a waste of valuable episode time. Other than the (apparently extremely effective) hit therapy, which led to some very powerful moments, I feel like her relapse and rehab could’ve been addressed with a comment or a quick pick up.

The fact that her rehab stint was so extensively covered leads me to believe that something from her time there is going to come back to bite her. My guess is either somebody will find out that she went and she’ll lose her license, or her roomie will blab about Sam to one of their foes. Vivian, perhaps?

Another small qualm was the Michaela and Gabriel hookup. The way they got together seemed far too abrupt, although it was cute to hear Michaela lay down her pain and to ask for what she needed. But for Gabriel to declare “I’m here for you, long-term” didn’t feel earned.

I’m sure HTGAWM wanted to get this connection established so the Vivian drama could have maximum impact, so we’ll see how it plays out in the rest of season 6. I’m very intrigued about where this storyline is going. Unlike Hanna, Vivian also has every reason to hate Sam, so her motivations could be very different. However, she also has a big reason to hate Annalise. It would be interesting to see them come face-to-face and figure things out, woman to woman.

Now, the one potentially fatal (literally) flaw of the HTGAWM season 6 premiere, for me, was the flash forward. Instead of showing us some future, crazy, indecipherable event, season 6 straight up took us to Annalise’s funeral! Sure, there was the addition of the bloody fire poker, but it felt very different than the previous seasons.

I have two fears surrounding this flash forward. The first is that the How to Get Away With Murder season 6 premiere set us up for a dream funeral sequence from the beginning. Is it possible that this funeral is also a dream sequence? If so, that seems like a pretty lame thing to work up to in the series finale.

If the funeral is real, than I’m worried the stakes of the season will be ruined. It’s not like some peripheral character is dying. It’s the central character of the show! How are we supposed to care about what happens to her if we know it’s all going to end with her imminent death?

I’ll keep an open mind about this until they (hopefully) expand the flash forward sequence a little more in the next episode, but until then, I remain skeptical. Sure, some of the past HTGAWM seasons have been overly convoluted, but this might be going too far in the other direction. Especially for the final season.

HTGAWM has definitely set up a lot of interesting plot lines for its final season, and I’m so excited to see how they all play out. Check back next week for my review of How to Get Away With Murder season 6, episode 2, “Vivian’s Here.”