I had extremely low expectations for this show when I first started watching it. I normally never watch network TV shows (other than NBC’s amazing Hannibal). I just feel like, why waste my time on something that can’t really push the envelope the way HBO and Showtime television can?
Well, fortunately Shonda Rhime’s latest production (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal), How to Get Away with Murder surpassed my expectations. The first couple episodes I wasn’t thrilled with, but as the season went on and the characters and plot developed things became really interesting. HTGAWM doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but it is thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.
The best thing about the show is of course Viola Davis. She is a great actress and it is wonderful to see her finally have a role worthy of her talents. Annalise Keating is quite a complicated character. She doesn’t always make sense or seem very human. But Viola’s portrayal gives her dimensions that make Annalise both admirable, horrifying, and worthy of pity. I’ll be very surprised if she doesn’t get away with an Emmy this fall (see what I did there? ;))
HTGAWM is kind of guilty pleasure viewing. It reminds me of a late night, scandalous soap opera. Some of the plot points and characters are over the top, but if you throw logic out the window the show is quite fun. Some of the twists and turns are genuinely shocking (that finale!), so it is always fun to discuss the next day. At first the characters all seemed quite shallow and stereotypical (well other than Annalise). For a while I couldn’t really differentiate the students from one another. But it was really fun to see them all blossom in their own unique ways. At first Connor (Jack Falahee) was my favorite. And while I still like him he has been surpassed by the wonderful, pathetic, hilarious Asher (Matt McGorry). Asher has so many quote worthy and gif worthy moments that I can’t mention them all here. But he is truly something special (take that however you want). Laurel (Karla Souza) was very annoying and boring at first. But it gradually became apparent that she is actually the most intelligent of all the students. Although she did sleep with Frank (Charlie Weber) … And Frank! Well he was also quite boring until maybe the last 5 minutes of the finale. I think he’ll become a lot more interesting next season. It is kind of ironic, but Wes (Alfred Enoch), the most important of all the students, the most important character after Annalise, is as boring and dull as he was at the beginning. I think it is partly the fault of the actor not being good or charismatic. But Wes has always been written as a bit of a clean slate, someone the audience can project themselves into.
The highlight of the entire season had nothing to do with Annalise or the students. It all came down to Mama (Cicely Tyson). Wow, what a scene stealer! She was so hilarious and fun to watch. Cicely is the perfect person to play Annalise’s mother. Hopefully she’ll be back next season!
How to Get Away with Murder ended up being very fun to watch this winter. Hopefully next season will be just as fun. Rating for Season 1: 7.5/10
So let’s speculate, who killed Rebecca? My money is on Laurel at this point.
The Girl that Loved to Review 