If there was a competition for how patronizingly a show could shoehorn the term "DACA kid" into one hour-long episode, I would have to think the November 16 episode of How to Get Away With Murder, titled "Live. Live. Live.," would take the gold medal by doing it twice in four minutes. That's not all, though. This episode actually managed to hit the rare social justice hat trick, by having one character hit three different hot-button issues: illegal immigration, homosexuality, and guns.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an Obama-era piece of legislation which prevents certain illegal immigrants from deportation. Namely, it kept those brought here as children from being deported for two years at a time while they are working or studying. With Trump announcing an end to the program, it garnered a lot of attention, and left-wing television shows can't resist but include these storylines in their shows. Simon (Behzad Dabu) joined the show over a year ago, but we only found out last week that Simon needs his job because he's a DACA child and this would secure his visa.
Also last week, the core characters realized that they were going to need to use Simon's computer to illegally access the law firm's system, which would almost certainly mean that he'd lose his job and be deported. The writers couldn't just have made it so they had to use someone's access and get him in trouble, they had to paint him as a victim of conservative policy. Worse, they twice referred to this grown man in law school as a "kid" to make him more sympathetic.
When Oliver and his boyfriend Connor (Jack Falahee) see Simon at the office party where the hacking is supposed to go down, Simon is a jerk to Connor. Simon walks away and Oliver shares his displeasure by saying sarcastically, "So much for empathizing with the DACA kid."
Because no Shonda Rhimes show can be content with only one social justice battle, Simon has another surprise in store when he catches up with Oliver later.
Simon: Hey. Hey, Oli.
Oliver: Hey. Everything okay?
Simon: Yeah. Just, um... Look, I wanted to apologize for being a jerk about Connor.
Oliver: Oh, it's -- it's -- it's fine.
Simon: No, it's not, because... If I'm being honest, I don't even really hate the guy. It's just that I'm jealous.
Oliver: What?
Simon: He's a privileged, boarding-school gay who has everything, including things he doesn't deserve. Like you.
Oliver: Ha-have you been drinking?
Simon: I'm finally telling you how I really feel. Please don't think it's because I'm drunk.
Oliver: So, you're gay?
Simon: I don't know. Maybe. All I know is that I really like you, Oliver.
Oliver: We can't do this.
Asher: 'Cause he's a closet case?
Oliver: 'Cause he's a closet case, DACA kid who's clearly in need right now.
That's right, readers. He's a gay "DACA kid." It was bad enough to frame an illegal immigrant, but a gay one? That's just unconscionable. Again, kudos to the writers for waiting a season and a half to mention either of these things about this character. It makes it entirely clear that Shonda Rhimes and her writers only see these things as something to exploit to get empathy for her characters. Want the audience to sympathize with Simon? Try making him an illegal immigrant. Not enough? Let's make him gay! When he's up against a male who is "privileged," what is a viewer to do?
In case you didn't feel like this episode had done enough in the way of left-wing talking points, they managed to get in one more. This one is a favorite of Shonda's, too.
After the group gets a hard drive with the hacked files they need safely in Laurel's purse, Simon overhears them talking and figures out that something is going on. Noticing Laurel is protecting something in her bag, he grabs it from her, finds a gun and starts waving it around with no regard to safety. When Michaela comes towards him, he steps back, he trips and the gun goes off. Simon barely touched the trigger, from what I could tell, and it accidentally fired, conveniently turning in the perfect angle to make Simon's head explode onto the others.
In the world of Shonda Rhimes, guns go off at the slightest touch when, in reality, it takes around 5 pounds of pressure on the trigger to fire a standard weapon. We get it, Shonda, you hate guns. I also strongly suspect you know nothing about them since you think they can be fired from the unlikeliest of places.
In many ways, this was a fun midseason finale, with twists, turns, and cliffhangers to keep many viewers coming back in January. Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment, though, is Shonda using Simon to pull off three social justice tropes in one episode. The social justice hat trick is a rare thing (thank goodness).
