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 How to Get Away with Murder stars Oscar-Nominee Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating, a take-no-prisoners defense attorney who takes on five students from her Criminal Law 100 class on as interns at her legal practice. Three months later in a flash-forward, we see that those students are trying to dispose of a murder victim’s body although we don’t know why. How do we get to that point, will any of Annalise’s cases lead to the murder, and does it have anything to do with another murdered girl discovered during the pilot? Time will tell. The show is the final part of ABC’s Thursday Night all Shonda Rhimes lineup, and it feels like they took the DNA of Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy and mixed it with early seasons of Damages. I was already predisposed to tuning in and then Viola Davis KILLS IT in the role. The moment she finished her opening monologue I was all in. THE CHARACTERS (WARNING: Spoilers for the Pilot below, be warned): Annalise Keating (Viola Davis)  There’s no doubt that she’s one of the best at her job, there’s seems to be nothing that she won’t do to get her clients off. Everything looks great on the surface: wonderful career, thriving law practice, loving husband… but as we learn in the pilot looks are deceiving. Her role in the flash-forward murder is unknown at this time. Wes Gibbins (Alfred Enoch)  Accepted into the program at the last-minute, Wes is very earnest and very naïve. While the job is a great opportunity for him, he may not like what he learns… like the fact that Annalise is having an affair. Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King)  Your typical focused over-achiever, always prepared and ready to put in the extra work to win the case. You know the person who always raises their hand when a teacher asks a question? That’s her. Conner Walsh (Jack Falahee)  He also wants to be the best one in the room but while Michaela will go through relatively legal channels to get her info Conner has no issues using less scrupulous methods. Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza)  The idealist of the group, she brings a great attention to detail to the team. Since Wes already fills the “outsider” role I would expect that there are some things that we don’t know yet, like the apparent upcoming relationship with Frank (see below). Asher Millstone (Matt “OITNB” McGorry)  Douche-bro. Polos, ascots, generally annoying. Interestingly, he’s not involved in the flash-forward murder scenes. Frank Delfino (Charlie “Ben is Glory” Weber)  A loyal lieutenant to Annalise, he brings a wealth of local-info to the firm. He also likes to flirt and more with the students, and that list might include Laurel. Bonnie Winterbottom (Liza Weil)  Bonnie does the casework, helps mentor the students, and probably isn’t as nice as she seems. I’d write more but I’m busy thinking of what could have possibly happened to Paris Geller from Gilmore Girls to suddenly change her identity and go into Law... Love the actress, can't wait to see what she does. Nate Lahey (Billy Brown)  A well-respected detective who wants to uphold the law, but his affair with Annalise gets in the way. Rebecca Sutter (Katie Findlay)  Wes’s neighbor, she appears to be linked in some way to the other murdered girl in the pilot. At the end of the episode we learn the identity of the body: Annalise’s husband. DRAMA! Bring it, show. I’m ready.
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Sep 29, 2014 02:38
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About to set up a thread for this, glad to see we've got one! I greatly enjoyed the pilot, as it starts with the grey morality that eventually grew into Scandal's second season. I really expected the pilot to back off on Keating flatly defending a guilty client - glad to see they didn't take the easy way out. I'm less enthused with the flashforward stuff - they're clearly meant to be the "hook" to keep us watching. But the flashback stuff was so engrossing that I didn't really need the extra layer.
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Sep 29, 2014 03:40
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I thought it was dull, like a network version of Damages
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Sep 29, 2014 03:52
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I thought Viola Davis was amazing and I'm hooked. Can't wait to see what this show's gonna do this season.
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Sep 29, 2014 05:11
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Good second episode, I expect that this arc will last until the winter finale and then who knows? Steven Weber was delightfully creepy this time around.
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Oct 3, 2014 04:08
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I'm enjoying the Viola Davis chews the scenery power hour. The C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man look-a-like is real distracting.
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Oct 3, 2014 05:22
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What I dont understand: Why is keeping rich people out of jail so much better than being a corporate lawyer? It's not like they are working for legal aid or something like that.
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Oct 3, 2014 15:41
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GaussianCopula posted:What I dont understand: Why is keeping rich people out of jail so much better than being a corporate lawyer? It's not like they are working for legal aid or something like that. The crux of their argument seems to be that this style of law is just more exciting than boring old corporate law, not that it's inherently better. Doesn't seem terribly exciting for the two associates who actually work there though, since the students are the ones having all the adventures.
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Oct 3, 2014 19:51
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OP, I'm disappointed that you don't list Wes as Alfred "Dean Thomas" Enoch.
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Oct 3, 2014 20:01
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Illuen posted:OP, I'm disappointed that you don't list Wes as Alfred "Dean Thomas" Enoch. I can only assume the OP isn't 12.
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Oct 4, 2014 02:43
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i haven't watched any of the movies past #4  But the moment you mentioned the name it clicked.
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Oct 4, 2014 05:31
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Illuen posted:OP, I'm disappointed that you don't list Wes as Alfred "Dean Thomas" Enoch. poo poo, I knew I recognized him from somewhere.
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Oct 9, 2014 18:47
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Alfred Enoch's neck is absurdly long
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Oct 9, 2014 20:03
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Finally... a thread! Loving this show so far. Didn't recognize Dean Thomas right away... but glad that Maggie from The Carrie Diaries got another show.
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Oct 10, 2014 02:22
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Ugly Betty sure took a dark turn.  I'm still in. I could watch Viola stare down people for days.
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Oct 10, 2014 04:15
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Disappointing that this thread is so bare of replies. I like this show. I was surprised to see Figueroa from OITNB show up at the end of E3! That's two cast members now, haha.
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Oct 11, 2014 14:33
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I love this show a whole lot. I don't know that the general SA TV IV crowd is the audience for it, though. But there are definitely lurkers like me watching this. Viola is amazing, obviously. But I'm getting really interested in Michaela and Connor. And of course Liza Weil is fantastic. This show basically combined my love of '90s era teen/college murder mysteries with Good Wife style legal cases and an incredible lead to make my new favorite show. I'm all in. Also really cool to see Ana Ortiz in this episode. I think she's a lot of fun as one of the leads on Devious Maids, but it's nice to see her taking on other roles in her down time.
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Oct 11, 2014 16:32
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How many episodes until we find out who bit WaitlistPlaid's headboard and raked their nails down his wall? WatertankGirl seems likely/too obvious. Last renter was a law student, Rebecca knows enough about the bathroom to hide a phone, and RugHusband is going to be dead; when does a member or the group of students from last year show up? I don't watch Grey's Anatomy or Scandal, so I'm not sure whether to expect good twists and turns or 'can see it from a mile away' stuff. So far, I'm pretty much in agreement with this: Mu Zeta posted:a network version of Damages
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Oct 15, 2014 05:51
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The biphobia in the latest episode was awkward, but I'm in for the season.
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Oct 15, 2014 06:07
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Scandal played a pretty good game with its mysteries. They were never super clever or ornate Veronica Mars' style, but they were decently surprising. Enough that a few people could guess the identities of moles and murderers (heh) without having entire rooms of fans yelling ITS CLEARLY THE BUTLER!
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Oct 15, 2014 09:07
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Ubiquitous_ posted:The biphobia in the latest episode was awkward, but I'm in for the season. I've seen complaints elsewhere over them completely ignoring the possibility that Aiden was bisexual but I believe it was 100% intentional in an effort to paint Conner as hyper-manipulative. I took it as them wanting to drive home Conner's ability to make people do things they otherwise would not typically do. As for Michaela's hissy fit, I think it was them trying to establish her in the vein of Annalise as someone who despises not being in total control of a situation. I think the talk is absolutely understandable, I just know that this type of thing isn't something that Shonda or her writing tree shies away from, so my gut says it was a 100% character driven decision.
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Oct 15, 2014 15:03
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sportsgenius86 posted:I've seen complaints elsewhere over them completely ignoring the possibility that Aiden was bisexual but I believe it was 100% intentional in an effort to paint Conner as hyper-manipulative. I took it as them wanting to drive home Conner's ability to make people do things they otherwise would not typically do. I think what chilled me most was her saying that she would destroy him if there was any possibility that he wasn't straight. But I can see the angle here, that maybe it was Conner driving her towards that kind of insanity rather than any actual biphobia. It skirted the line kinda close, which is why I thought the conversation could be taken either way.
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Oct 15, 2014 16:00
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I did a three-ep test on this show earlier in the week, totally love it. I'm in. And hey, there's a new episode tonight, how convenient.
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Oct 16, 2014 20:31
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At least his eyes got to water before he went...
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Oct 17, 2014 03:40
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That last scene was pretty drat good. Viola sans makeup going, "yo, why's your dick on this chick's phone?" was rad.
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Oct 17, 2014 04:20
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The moment she took off her wig I knew it was going to be on.
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Oct 17, 2014 04:29
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Connor is by far my favorite character. Watching him slut it up, be an rear end in a top hat, and then totally unravel when his conscience sucker punches him is going to make a satisfying character arc.
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Oct 17, 2014 07:29
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Conner is my favorite too! He's like the love child of Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk and Pete Campbell from Mad Men - he's so deliciously cocky but really has a heart deep down. I hope he and Oliver will reconcile because I like their dynamic. The ending scene was great. Viola Davis removing her wig and make up... oh so vulnerable. And she calls out her husband. Beautiful. Wish this show got more discussion on here. It's really well written and acted. I only started watching it because Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls was on it but I found that I love it so so so much.
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Oct 17, 2014 07:54
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courtney_beth posted:Conner is my favorite too! He's like the love child of Brian Kinney from Queer as Folk and Pete Campbell from Mad Men - he's so deliciously cocky but really has a heart deep down. I hope he and Oliver will reconcile because I like their dynamic. I think more than a few straight men found themselves curious after that superbly raunchy sex scene, too. The Viola Davis thing is particularly wonderful because critics have given her guff for her physical features, and here she is stripping down all of these superficially placed items such as rings, and makeup, and wigs, to be natural and bare all and have a serious conversation with her philandering husband.
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Oct 17, 2014 08:36
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Ubiquitous_ posted:The Viola Davis thing is particularly wonderful because critics have given her guff for her physical features edit: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/arts/television/viola-davis-plays-shonda-rhimess-latest-tough-heroine.html quote:As Annalise, Ms. Davis, 49, is sexual and even sexy, in a slightly menacing way, but the actress doesn’t look at all like the typical star of a network drama. Ignoring the narrow beauty standards some African-American women are held to, Ms. Rhimes chose a performer who is older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful than Ms. Washington, or for that matter Halle Berry, who played an astronaut on the summer mini-series “Extant.” That's factually true - I think most people would agree Viola Davis is not as attractive as Kerry Washington or Halle Berry. The fact that the article lists her skin tone as a factor is problematic insofar as it reflects a society that prefers light-skinned black women. Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 09:10 on Oct 17, 2014 |
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Oct 17, 2014 08:57
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Ubiquitous_ posted:I think more than a few straight men found themselves curious after that superbly raunchy sex scene, too. Did you really just make multiple posts being super sensitive about the bi-phobia/erasure then turn around and suggest that straight men would be enticed by that scene? How about just drop "straight" as a modifier in that sentence?
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Oct 17, 2014 09:08
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Josh Lyman posted:Wait what? When I hit quote on this post it was just "That's factually true - and that article is positive." Which was pithier in its wrongness but this expansion will do. Check out the response to that article. Witness the volumes of criticism. Both Shonda Rhimes and Viola Davis have responded to it. You picked possibly the worst article to support your point.
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Oct 17, 2014 09:22
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solovyov posted:When I hit quote on this post it was just "That's factually true - and that article is positive." Which was pithier in its wrongness but this expansion will do. Check out the response to that article. Witness the volumes of criticism. Both Shonda Rhimes and Viola Davis have responded to it. You picked possibly the worst article to support your point. Light-skinned black women are considered more attractive in America. Is that a problem? Of course. Should the NY Times article have mentioned that? Not if they didn't want to get into a larger debate about racism. Maybe I'm doing a terrible job of conveying my thoughts, but I'm not sure what you're arguing against. I'll grant that my original comment about the article being positive was incorrect. I was mainly looking for the "less classically beautiful" quote, and the segments I did see didn't seem especially offensive. Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Oct 17, 2014 |
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Oct 17, 2014 09:35
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solovyov posted:Did you really just make multiple posts being super sensitive about the bi-phobia/erasure then turn around and suggest that straight men would be enticed by that scene? How about just drop "straight" as a modifier in that sentence? I was mostly kidding? If anything, my comment actually supports bicuriousity and/or bisexuality. But I wasn't being serious about it.
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Oct 17, 2014 20:25
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"Why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?" was such a fantastic line. 
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Oct 17, 2014 23:29
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Ubiquitous_ posted:I was mostly kidding? If anything, my comment actually supports bicuriousity and/or bisexuality. But I wasn't being serious about it. Accepting this as true, your comment supports you getting to mislabel things for the purpose of a mostly joke at the same time you're uncomfortably trying to work through why the show didn't conform to a rigid standard of explicit labeling. Whereas your mostly joke was just dumb (also, completely sincere and possibly covetous), having no one on the show explicitly consider Aiden as bisexual was perfectly consistent with the characters. Connor only raised the issue to get under Michaela's skin, he doesn't label Aiden anything, just says they hooked up, and let's her run with it. Michaela's behavior suggests she falls under the "bisexual men don't exist" umbrella, which a lot of people actually do. She's not going to think he's bi, she's going to think he's gay and closeted, and consequently freak out. Even if Aiden is bi, it is totally understandable that he wouldn't choose that moment to come out to her. It's easy to see him thinking that he's committed to marry her and be monogamous, any man lust thoughts in his head are irrelevant and don't need to be revealed or inform his sense of his identity. It's possibly telling that in the confrontation he doesn't say he's straight. He just repeats that he's not gay and that he loves her. This could be a bi man taking advantage of bi erasure to promote what he considers the greater truth. But I think it's also possible that he told her the truth, that Connor is the only guy he's been sexual with. It really isn't that unusual for horny young teen boys, especially those socially and physically isolated at boarding school, to experiment with each other. Connor wants Michaela to get the impression that there was a serious ongoing relationship between the two, but it just as well could've been buddies helping each other out with the occasional hand job. (Ok, Connor would have gone for the bj, but no recip). So maybe Aiden is straight. Or maybe he's bi but he hasn't realized/accepted it yet (a fairly typical position for a 22-23 yo bi guy to be in). But this definitely isn't an after school special, so expecting the characters to explicitly cover the possibility of bisexuality as a teaching moment is unfair. If Connor was a witness to rather than an instigator of this drama, I could see him casually throwing in a "maybe he's bisexual" but that was inconsistent with his purpose of living the competitive law student dream of loving with your classmate's head.
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Oct 18, 2014 15:56
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Cause this thread needs more love... Just finished the latest episode. While I'm not exactly complaining about the weekly Conwhore scene, my eyes rolled when it came up. At least it's somewhat related to his character development. I guess. That last scene is so poetic and powerful. As powerful as the line "why is your penis on a dead girl's phone". Not sure about them placed side-by-side, though. It's like I'm having caviar with a side of deep-fried Snickers. And I'm surprised by how much I'm liking Asher. He's exactly the comic relief this show needs.
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Oct 18, 2014 20:26
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solovyov posted:Accepting this as true, your comment supports you getting to mislabel things for the purpose of a mostly joke at the same time you're uncomfortably trying to work through why the show didn't conform to a rigid standard of explicit labeling. Whereas your mostly joke was just dumb (also, completely sincere and possibly covetous), having no one on the show explicitly consider Aiden as bisexual was perfectly consistent with the characters. Connor only raised the issue to get under Michaela's skin, he doesn't label Aiden anything, just says they hooked up, and let's her run with it. Michaela's behavior suggests she falls under the "bisexual men don't exist" umbrella, which a lot of people actually do. She's not going to think he's bi, she's going to think he's gay and closeted, and consequently freak out.
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Oct 19, 2014 05:55
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sportsgenius86 posted:Alfred Enoch's neck is absurdly long Doesn't get it from his father: 
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Oct 20, 2014 22:36
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Please tell me I'm not the only person bothered by the massive ethical abuses everyone on this show commits, like get people disbarred and a bunch of people retried double jeopardy or not.
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Oct 20, 2014 23:03
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