The executive producers of "Scandal" hit another home run with their new show "How to Get Away with Murder" and it is easily the best new show new television. The show starts off in a college classroom full of bright-eyed students, all of which are excited to become lawyers and beyond. Then Annalise Keating (played by Viola Davis from "The Help" and much more) walks in and pretty much takes all the excitement off of their faces and smacks them with a harsh reality that law isn't all about getting innocent people off. A lot of time you're job is to let guilty people walk free.
This was not these kids were thinking. Annalise explains to them that during this course she would take five students under her wing and one of these six students would get the chance to get a statue that could be used as immunity for an exam of their choosing. Annalise picks the straightforward Conner Walsh, the stuck up Michaela Pratt, the goofy and sometimes annoying Asher Millstone, Laurel Castillo, and the poor kid Wes Gibbins. The show has four other main characters, Annalise's assistant Bonnie Winterbottom (who everyone treats like crap) Frank Delfino (the guy you call when things need to be taken care of), Nate Lahey (former detective for the Philadelphia Police Department) and lastly, Rebecca Sutter.
In the beginning of the season, there is a murder on the campus of a young girl by the name of Lila Stangard and the main suspect is her friend Rebecca Sutter. Wes takes a liking to her and talks Annalise into taking the case for Rebecca. This would seem like a "normal" case for Annalise until she finds out that her husband Sam Keating had been sleeping with the murdered Lila. To make it worst, after an autopsy was done, they find out that she was pregnant with Sam's baby. This results in a ton of questions and concerns for Annalise. Does she defend her cheating husband? No. Annalise does what is right for herself and her career.
Annalise comes to terms with everything and decides what the next course of action is, her husband is murdered and by none other than one of her students. Annalise catches Wes coming back to the scene of the crime and tells him to follow her instructions to the letter and they will all make it out ok. Wes does exactly that and they seemingly make it out ok. Sam Keating is now missing and is a prime suspect in case for the murder of Lila Stangard. The plan was for Sam to disappear as if he was on the run and it would have worked out perfectly if not for his body turning up in a landfill.
image source "tvtome.com"
Besides the phenomenal acting, it's the twists and turns like this that make this show amazing. Just when you think that everything is all figured out, another wrench is thrown into the gears. Also, unlike a lot of television shows, the twists and the turns actually aren't farfetched. These are things that actually make sense and could actually happen. A body will be found at some point regardless of how well you try and get rid of it. Especially when you have a group of people who can't decide on anything and can't get things done smoothly when they spend most of their time arguing on what to and not to do for different reasons. They argued during the disposal of the body and all during the case. One last note that was something that you rarely see is using their characters as stereotypes.
The black character isn't running around talking about he was kept down and blaming the system for not having money, the spoiled rich girl isn't white, and a gay character isn't a flamboyant cliché. each character isn't what is to be expected in some of the typical programming. Each character has their strengths, weaknesses, and annoyances. They are actual people. Even Annalis' character has her flaws and is weak at times. While it is a bit difficult seeing her vulnerable and crying, when you see it, it's refreshing knowing that she isn't just some woman with heart made of ice.
Rating: 10
This show is flawless. It isn't a show that refuses to acknowledge the humor in certain situations and even tackles a couple of subjects that some may seem taboo and also subjects that still plague humanity today even if it isn't the big social issue or popular in the news. The characters make you love them, hate them, or they might flat out annoy you (looking at you Asher), but that's who they are supposed to be. The hour long show also seems to fly by with it being so entertaining and the cases always have different types of clients. They even defended a mob case before the season ended. The cliffhanger at the end of the season will leave you salivating for the beginning of next season. If you have not seen this season, go to iTunes or wherever you get your television shows and get the first season. It is absolutely worth the money.
