CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
The hit Shonda Rhimes drama starring Viola Davis as defense attorney, Annalise Keating, has quickly rocketed to sky-high levels of obsession among those who already love Rhimes' other mega-hits, "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal". The show was placed in the perfect time slot, Thursday nights directly after "Scandal", whose fans adrenaline is already thrumming too wildly to turn off the TV. However, this show is much more than just a perfectly timed murder drama with a dazzlingly beautiful cast. There are things being done on "How To Get Away With Murder" that are among the rarest prime time tropes, and Davis and the rest of the cast deliver them effortlessly.
1. The ineffable Annalise Keating.
Viola Davis leads the show powerfully as Annalise. A Harvard Law graduate, she's the best at what she does, and she knows it. There are so few shows on television featuring black female leads, as Viola stated in her Emmy acceptance speech when she was the first black actress to win the award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama series. She plays such a powerful, emotional, multifaceted woman who lets nothing stand in her way, and when Annalise is on screen, you can't take your eyes off of her.
2. A beautiful, diverse cast.
The cast itself is diverse in age, color, sexuality, and gender. The five law students working for Annalise all come from different backgrounds, which we see in the series. Alfred Enoch's character,Wes, tells us that he comes from Haiti and Karla Souza's character, Laurel, comes from a Spanish-speaking Hispanic family, for example.
3. It breaks down age barriers for women in the television industry.
Annalise Keating is a middle - aged woman in her early 50s. So rarely do we get a leading female character in film or television over the "old" age of 30. Even when the female character's male love interest is well into his 50s, a 50 - year - old woman is considered "too old" to be romantically involved with him. In "How To Get Away With Murder," a 50 - year - old woman actually gets to play someone in their 50s who is strong and sexy, and not held within a small box.
In an interview with the Wrap, Viola says "with the black women, you gotta be sassy, you gotta be sexy, your hair has gotta be a certain way...I don’t want to have any structure. I don’t want to have any kind of reins put on me. I want to be absolutely human in my role."
4. The gay male character is more than a token "Gay Best Friend".
Jack Falahee's character, Connor Walsh, is one of the first characters we see in the series, and we get an in-depth look into who Connor is as a person. We learn his stealthy tactics for interrogation and how he'll do anything to get what he wants, which, in this case, is a spot working for Annalise. So often in film and TV, gay characters are thrown in as an afterthought, for comedic relief as the "sassy gay friend", or their entire story line revolves around their struggle with coming out. Though that is important to showcase, it's incredibly refreshing to see a character who isn't the "token gay" in the series, but a real, well-developed person.
5. Bisexuality is addressed and accepted onscreen.
Yet another reason to celebrate Annalise! (She is always important.) Bisexuality on television is even rarer
7. The problems they face aren't pretty-- but they're real.
Aside from the title murder, the characters face some hard hitting issues that many face in real life. Annalise finds out her husband has cheated, and cheats on him herself. Oliver, Connor's boyfriend, finds out he's HIV positive. Michaela, Aja Naomi King's character, finds out her fiance is hiding his sexuality and is only marrying her to save face. These problems are very real, and they hit close to home, which is another reason this show resonates so deeply.
8. Eve. Freaking. Rothlo.
Another powerful woman! Eve, Annalise's lover and longtime friend, walks back into her life to aid in the murder case Annalise is testing for. A 50 year old homeosexual woman on television, let alone two, is pretty groundbreaking. Not to mention, her biting wit and ruthless style of winning cases makes her a scene stealer.
9. The tear-jerking scene between Annalise and her mother.
Annalise's mother is played by the incredible Cecily Tyson, who costarred with Viola Davis in "the Help". We see a glimpse into Annalise's troubled past when she speaks to her mother, who she believes ignored her childhood sexual abuse. Her mother begins to tell her a heartbreaking story about how she burned down the house they grew up in, with Annalise's abuser still inside, in order to get her away from him. The moment is shocking, heartbreaking, and an ultimate testament to the love of her mother.
10. Annalise's vulnerability.
Both emotionally and physically, Viola Davis shows incredible vulnerability beneath her strength as Annalise. The one scene in particular, to me, that showcased this was when Annalise took off her makeup, her jewelry, and wig. In most shows, women are shown going to sleep in their full makeup, and there's a level of fakeness, as though we aren't seeing the real person. But when the poised, perfectly put together Annalise strips this facade away, we see another layer to her, another facet that Viola Davis has given us. She shows us that strong women are human, and that they don't have to be single-leveled, stone cold figures. They're real.
Thank you, Annalise Keating.
