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S01.E01: Pilot


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As someone who is in his final year of law school, it was hard for me not to compare this to my much less interesting experience. That said, once I got past the total break from reality, I found that it held my attention and made me look forward to its next episode. I'm likely in for the season, especially if it can keep this pace. 

 

I will say, however, that the poorly lit flashbacks and bumbling kids reminded me a little bit of Pretty Little Liars. It felt less like Philly and more like Rosewood. 

 

You mean you haven't been called to cover up the murder of your professor's husband yet?

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It was a last minute decision to watch this show. I know this show is under Shonda's umbrella and all the press is about her but from what I understand she didn't create or write this show.  Am I wrong about that.

 

 

No, you're right. She's a producer but it was written and created by one of the writers who worked with her on Scandal. 

I was trying to think what show this reminded me most of, and I just remembered: Damages.

 

Same sort of flashforward structure, though the lawyer-ing in that was mostly one case per season.

 

Have they said how long this first arc will be? I seem to remember them saying the season won't be 22 episodes, but will the three months play out over the full season, or up to the end of 2014?

 

The one thing that I thought rang untrue even for a TV law show is all of the 100 students crammed into every nook and cranny of Keating's Victorian office/home while she interviews her client.  No attorney would do that for such a high profile case, she wouldn't want 100 extra nobodies shooting their mouths out about her case strategies, and there would be attorney/client privilege issues as well.

Not that it makes it any more realistic, but the office was Round Two. Only the dozen or so that were still in their seats after the one minute defense theory round continued on.

I also thought the murder was some kind of mid-term project, especially with all of the shots of anvils (or statues) over the head throughout the show. Then the obvious red herring ends up being a red herring! Loved that.

But when they busted out the lighter fluid I thought "There goes their mid-term grade." Haven't these overly intense criminal law students ever watched Investigation Discovery?

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I don't know if I will watch again, not because of the show, but because of ABC.  I don't think it's right that ABC makes people without cable, wait an entire week before they can see the show on their website.  I mean last I heard, ABC was supposed to be FREE TV, why the fuck should they care if someone has cable or not?  I have cable, but not the "right" cable according to them, and sometimes when TWC doesn't put a show "on demand" quickly enough and I want to watch on the ABC website, I can't do that, so until ABC stops the insanity, fuck them.  

I don't have cable, and I watched it fine. I've never heard anyone with your complaint before; maybe your area's cable is really weird?

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Also... We've been talking about having a baby? You're 49 and look it. You look good, but it's what 49 looks like (cue Sarah jessica Parker). So I too was prepared for the smirk, played him thing. Because at 49, it's pretty much over in that regard with very very rare exceptions (and I suppose adoption). Just wish shed been given a different line or said we missed our chance to have kids and the marriage is tense, something more plausible.

 

I took it to mean they were trying to have a baby, in the past tense and it didn't work, so that's why their marriage is in trouble, unless Viola Davis is playing younger than she really is.  And BTW, to me she doesn't look 49 at all; I've seen some women who are 29 who look older than she.

Edited by Neurochick
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The 4 students disposing of a body in the woods reminded me of this really weird book I read once.  I can't remember the name though.

 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

 

Davis herself has a very young child. Nowadays couples rich enough to afford it can have babies with donated egg and sperm, carried by the wife. She might not still be fertile, but can carry a child to term. (It's difficult though, so there would  angst.) But I suspect Annalise made it all up on the spot.

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I think Viola Davis is a charismatic actress, but God, I hated her character in this. I don't find unethical behavior and cheating endearing character traits. I don't think I'm going to bother watching this again. I love legal shows, but I prefer the lawyers fighting for innocent clients, for the most part.

To me it didn't come off as some sort of endearing rascal, more like she's a bitch, but bitches get stuff done type of thing. 

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I'm her age and look like that (youth wise, I mean otherwise not at all). I just think it's what 49-50 looks like re women who take care of themselves and care how they dress, like Alicia on the good wife. I just thought it was the excuse of a woman 10 years younger and beneath her. A nitpick I know. I'll wt h for a while but I'm just so much more interested in the law school than the law firm.

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

 

Davis herself has a very young child. Nowadays couples rich enough to afford it can have babies with donated egg and sperm, carried by the wife. She might not still be fertile, but can carry a child to term. (It's difficult though, so there would  angst.) But I suspect Annalise made it all up on the spot.

 

Yes, that was it!  Thank you, it drives me crazy when I can't remember titles.

 

I think we were told that the person who gets it can cash it in to get out of an exam. (Which FWIW, doesn't make sense because generally law school classes are dependent on either an exam, an exam and a midterm, or one or more papers. One would not want to bypass an exam and then have their entire grade dependent on the other exams. It would make more sense to be able to turn it in to nullify one bad exam or some such).

 

Maybe if they have two tests, and they do really well on one, they can blow off the second? Although I would think they'd be screwing themselves if they blew off a test because law school seems like a cumulative thing.  Don't you need to know everything to pass the bar? And if they're working in her office they are probably picking up a lot of info and would do well on a test anyway.  So, it's still kind of a lame prize.

I don't think it's too unusual for professors to allow undergraduates to drop their lowest test scores and then use the average of what is left. They still take all tests, but if a student, say, has the flu *cough* during one and doesn't do well, it won't bring down the average. I have no idea if this would work in law school, but based on all the other legal snafus spotted in the episode mentioned above, it doesn't seem likely that anyone knowledgable about law school had anything to do with the script.

I noticed upon rewatching that at the end, the news reporter never said that the missing student was found in a water tank. How did the husband know that?

 

Wasn't he watching when she walked in the room? Maybe she said it before that?

 

Most likely they filmed the news segment totally separate from the scene with them watching and didn't pay that much attention.  Not that the husband couldn't have killed the girl, I just don't think he'd make a mistake like that.

I assume the "We're trying to have a baby" story was just that, a story to manipulate Dean Thomas (don't remember his name on the show). Based on the little I saw of the interactions with the husband, I doubt they are trying to do anything but keep up a good front.

I thought the murder victim was going to be the fifth student, they presumably gay guy because he was the one missing from the woods.

I like the show and thus far have no reason to believe I will not be in for the season.

Forgot to say that the reveal about the mistress and the wife being in cahoots explains why they weren't trying to pin it on the wife -- they knew about the relationship, therefore, drawing attention to the wife would inevitably lead to the client.

Edited by Happytobehere

It felt like Legally Blonde meets Pretty Little Liars. That sounds like a bad thing, and probably should be, but I love both of them, and I kind of loved this too. The interns were very one-dimensional, but that's par for the course when it comes to pilots. I expect that at least some of them will get fleshed out more. The rest of them will of course die.

 

As for the whole suspension of disbelief thing, that wasn't really an issue for me. Generally when I watch a legal drama, the very last thing I expect is an accurate portrayal of legal procedures. It of course helps that I'm not really part of that world, so I can get swept up in the craziness of it all without actually reacting to how crazy it is.

 

Can't say there were any moments or lines that stuck out to me as being particularly great. I guess the whole thing just clicked for me. I'm in. 

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I loved every minute of it.  If I want realism, I will go watch a documentary.  When I watch TV all I want is to be entertained and this show did that times 10!  I am definitely in, the only negative that I would have is I don't like the time jumping back and forth, that gets tedious sometimes.

Edited by missbonnie
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Wasn't he watching when she walked in the room? Maybe she said it before that?

Most likely they filmed the news segment totally separate from the scene with them watching and didn't pay that much attention. Not that the husband couldn't have killed the girl, I just don't think he'd make a mistake like that.

Before they showed the husband, the newscast was already playing. First they showed Wes' neighbor, and the football star watching it. Then it transitions into a shot of the reporter on the streets. Finally, they show the husband. The entire time they're playing a voice over that's detailing everything. It doesn't say she was in the water tank, but some how?

Before they showed the husband, the newscast was already playing. First they showed Wes' neighbor, and the football star watching it. Then it transitions into a shot of the reporter on the streets. Finally, they show the husband. The entire time they're playing a voice over that's detailing everything. It doesn't say she was in the water tank, but some how?

 

Okay, thanks, I didn't DVR this so I can't rewatch.   I still think it could be a production error, because it seems like an odd way to deliver an important clue.  But maybe the writers are smarter than I'm giving them credit for.  

I assume the "We're trying to have a baby" story was just that, a story to manipulate Dean Thomas (don't remember his name on the show). Based on the little I saw of the interactions with the husband, I doubt they are trying to do anything but keep up a good front.

 

I didn't think I was supposed to be taking Annalise's tearful confession to Wes seriously, either, especially since she took the opportunity to feel up his chest long enough to make sure he was left completely flustered.

Edited by Dejana
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Up until they found a body in the water tank I was thinking Wes' neighbor was the missing girl who had dropped out and adopted a new identity while at the same time was sticking around to watch the search. Did they positively ID the body as of yet on the show or was everyone just assuming it was the missing girl?

 

I kept thinking the neighbor was the missing girl too, but then they said she was only missing a week and the neighbor mentioned the guy who lived there before Wes. So, it seemed unlikely.  But there's obviously something going on with that girl. I don't think they did positively ID the girl from the water tank though.

Hmm, after reading all the comments i find i have nothing to add.

 

I thought the dispose of the body part would turn out to be a simulation. I was sorry it was Mr. Annalise who was dead because i wanted to see more of him. I thought the "tearful" confession was an act and expected to see her smirk afterward. I don't believe any real law school or trial works this way. Etc.

 

Oh wait, one other thing. When the maintenance man should up at the sorority, i thought we were about to see another murder. And when he found the body, i expected him to grab the nearest resident and tell her to go make sure no one was taking a shower or brushing her teeth.

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e one with the Hispanic sounding name who made an effort to pronounce it authentically but looks 100% white) got a phone call from Keating's male associate when they were in the woods.  It came up with a photo.  It looked to me it was a casual photo, so I'm assuming she gets involved with him at some point.

This was already pretty much confirmed by the episode. After the flashback when she was telling him about the client and the wife and he was all "yeah, so" and she left irritated, Paris Gellar was all "stop fucking the students". Or did I imagine that scene?

Edited by theatremouse

No you didn't but I'm pretty sure they weren't sleeping with each other yet. I think the other associate said that to him because she figured that's where it would eventually go, based on his history. Annalise also made a snarky comment about him and co-eds so he clearly has a reputation. And I guess judging by his calling the student and how guilty she looked when Pratt called her out on it, the associate was right. 

Edited by truthaboutluv

I was confused by the testimony by the detective (Annelise's boyfriend).  Wes said the detective was lying on the stand.  Was he lying or just admitting something he didn't want to admit?  And, if he did in fact lie, was the idea that Annelise was going to expose their affair if he didn't lie to help her case?  I thought it more likely that he was telling the truth, and she knew it because he had told her one night during pillow talk. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

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 (not sure if it was Michaela or the other one, the one with the Hispanic sounding name who made an effort to pronounce it authentically but looks 100% white) 

 FWIW, the character's name is Laurel, and the actress who plays her, Karla Souza, was born in Mexico to a Chilean father and a Mexican mother.

 

Edited to add that I've finished reading all the other posts now and see that someone else already mentioned this.

Edited by Denay
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I liked it a lot. Viola is ridiculously good. And Wes is adorable, plus Paris Gellar!

I'm in the medical field and watched a lot of medical dramas (stopped watching Grey's because it got stupid) so who cares about a law show that suspends belief? I can't see one fictional show that is accurate, and I'm going to enjoy this show since it's the only one on Thursday worth watching.

I was confused by the testimony by the detective (Annelise's boyfriend).  Wes said the detective was lying on the stand.  Was he lying or just admitting something he didn't want to admit?  And, if he did in fact lie, was the idea that Annelise was going to expose their affair if he didn't lie to help her case?  I thought it more likely that he was telling the truth, and she knew it because he had told her one night during pillow talk. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

I didn't think he was lying... It looked to me like she remembered something he had told her in confidence, probably during pillow talk, and used it to get her client off. When he was walking to the stand, and even when he was on the stand, he didn't look like someone who was 'in the know' about what was about to happen. 

 

And I don't think she would threaten to expose the affair as she would have just as much to lose if it did get exposed, hence the playing Wes to keep him quiet.

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And  campus scenes were shot on Bryn Mawr and Ursinus campuses.  Penn did not want filming on campus.

Actually, the exterior campus scenes were most definitely filmed at my alma mater, The University of Southern California. Fight On!  (The Scandal opener also featured the Rose garden by Exposition Park so Angelenos got a nice look an L.A. playing Places That Are Definitely Not L.A.

 

Mixed review from me. Davis is excellent, and whoever's dressing her is doing a great job, but a pretty thoroughly unlikeable group of students. Despite all the comments about it being too dark I honestly didn't have problem following the night scenes. 

 

Also I no more expect this to be a realistic take on the legal profession than 'Nashville' is a realistic take on the music industry.

Finally saw it..fun show...a bit sleazy but I liked Viola...Glad to see Tom Verica but does "Mr. Pryor"have to be a creep and dead??? Does this mean no more Tom Verica? I might watcha few more eps..

the flash forward scenes with his freshly killed body in the carpet were set 3 months after the first day of class. So I think we'll be seeing quite a bit of him yet this season.

I'm going to guess that none of the quartet of students killed Sam. So the question for them is how to get away with being accessories to murder. I'm guessing that the season will progress moving toward that night, with flashbacks/ forwards, mainly forwards, I guess, and then center on the students trying to find Sam's killer.

Suspects?

Annalise - motive: fed up with Sam and their marriage/ angered by something he did, maybe related to Lilly (?), the water tank floater.

Her students probably suspect her and are attempting to protect her BUT I just can't see the star of the show dodging it so the character would have to literally get away with murder to continue on. And she seems like too obvious a suspect.

Nate: "the boyfriend did it" - wife's boyfriend kills husband out of jealousy

Bonnie: assuming the meaningful glances were meaningful, she kills him after he ends their affair.

Rebecca, Wes's neighbor: caught up somehow in the murder of Lily; the Justice statue doesn't look super heavy. So she may be small but could probably swing it and conk Sam, especially if he were sitting.

Quarterback: finds out Lily and Sam had an affair and possibly that Sam killed her.

Frank: motive?

Ascot-wearing student (who is so different than on Orange Is the New Black): Sam interferes or threatens his ambition somehow

Others?

Edited by lulee

I'll probably stick with it because there's nothing in competition with it at the moment, but I thought it was kind of a mess. I really dislike the flashback - flash-forward gimmick. It's stale, it's cheap, and it wore out its welcome by the time Lost had ended. It's really nothing more than a narrative trick to make a story more interesting. You have to ask yourself, if you just tell the story from beginning to end, in the usual linear fashion, is it still interesting? Because if it's not,  you're just fooling your audience into thinking the story is interesting by feeding them tidbits of info out of order.

 

After one hour, I can identify just two characters: Annalise and Wes. That's it. They did a crappy job of really fleshing out the other students and I couldn't pick any of them out of a line-up if my life depended on it.

 

The scene where Annalise confronted Wes in the restroom really rang false. There was nothing about it that felt genuine, it felt like a shoe-horned, slipshod attempt to show a vulnerable side to an otherwise tough-as-nails character. Less is more, and this scene all the subtlety of a ton of bricks.

 

 

That's what I was thinking the whole way through as well, up until the one student offered to call Annalise on the phone then revealed she really had no intention of doing so. 

 

 

Somebody already addressed this but no, you cannot get a bonfire hot enough to burn a body down to ash. That's what crematoriums are for. If you tried to burn a body in a regular fire, no matter what kind of accelerants are used, what you wind up with is something akin to a burnt pot roast. Still plenty of DNA left over.

 

I didn't take the comments from the students about DNA to mean they were trying to destroy the body's DNA, but any DNA that they had left on the body (ie, hair, blood, etc).

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Viola Davis is so far in a class of her own in this show, it's not even funny.  How to Get Away with Murder is gripping though I wonder if it's too morally dark for TV.  People covering up murders, cheating on each other, banging the students, getting murderers off, it's a lot.  Though on further reflection, as Keating said, she did her job.  IF there have been reports of video doctoring at the police station, then her client isn't guilty "beyond a shadow of a doubt" and so should go free.  I do think the mistress poisoned the CEO.

 

The one moment of the show that made me want to quit it was the four students covering up a murder.  I know it's the first episode so who knows what happens in between the pilot and the murder, but very few people are willing to take the fall for murder of all things.  That's the thing that strikes me as unrealistic that four law students would take the risk of being an accessory to murder for anyone.  And why weren't all of them wearing gloves?

 

This show has a ton of potential and it's nice to see more roles for women and black people.

 

Mixed review from me. Davis is excellent, and whoever's dressing her is doing a great job, but a pretty thoroughly unlikeable group of students. Despite all the comments about it being too dark I honestly didn't have problem following the night scenes.

 

I did not like the way they dressed Annalise.  It seemed like Viola was uncomfortable wearing the clothes that she was asked to wear.  The hair, for example, seemed all wrong for Viola and her character.  A better style, IMO, is the short twist hairstyle or the short bob Viola wears routinely.  The fitted clothing seemed like it was too fitted and that Viola could not wait to get home to take all of that crap off.  Well tailored trousers, A-line skirts and dresses would have conveyed sexiness just as much as scuba dresses.  I was distracted by how uncomfortable Annalise looked trying to convince me that she is a bad ass lawyer.

 

I am confused by the scene between Annalise and Wes.  I don't think she was playing him.  I think she was showing her vulnerability and I don't think that reaction makes sense for the character..., but I guess we will see how this plays out.

 

I am in until I am out.  I like Shonda's shows (I know she does not write this one), but there is a point that I check out and stop watching for awhile or altogether.  I stopped watching Greys after they kept having one calamity after another.  I stopped watching Private Practice when Addison started sleeping with Naomi's husband because that was inconsistent, IMO, with the relationship between the two women.  I love and hate Scandal because I think Olivia Pope can do so much better than that ass Fitz - I was rooting for his assassination.

 

I like the Scoobies - their storylines may prove to be interesting.  How in the heck, for example, did they determine that they needed to be accessories to murder to further their careers?  How many law schools are there in the world?  If they were good enough to get into this one, they could apply to a different school with a program that did not include murder and coverups.

Edited by ToukieSmith
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My brain feels like the little circle on my computer when it's having a hard time finding/opening a new page.... processing....processing....processing.  Just not sure yet if I loved it or hated it.  A little Legally Blond-y, very confusing with the forward/back flashes.  An awful lot of characters to keep straight.  I think there's a good show in there, but enough with all the cutesy timeline stuff.  And yeah, as someone above said, if you want me to have a clue what's going on, a little more light, please.  

I found myself enjoying it the whole way through. I'm not extremely familiar with Shonda Rhimes's shows. I tried to get into Grey's years ago but just couldn't, and I've never watched Scandal. But this premise is right up my alley.

 

I'm not and will never be a law student, so the various unrealistic aspects of the show don't really bother me. I watch TV to get away from reality, not to become more immersed in it.

 

Viola Davis is a gem, and I am pleasantly surprised at what a little hottie Dean Thomas has become (and between him and the kid that played Neville Longbottom, I am convinced that Hogwarts and magic are real).

 

Yeah, at first I was thinking that the hiding of the body was some kind of exercise for class. Then, as it became clear that the situation was too strained and desperate to be pretend, I thought it might be Professor Keating that they were wrapping up in the carpet. Just the fact that whoever it was was murdered with the immunity idol gave off that vibe. So I was kind of thrown by the fact that it was the husband, and at this point, I wouldn't put it past Professor Keating to kill her husband and then have the students cover it up. I'm interested to see how it all plays out.

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I was confused by the testimony by the detective (Annelise's boyfriend).  Wes said the detective was lying on the stand.  Was he lying or just admitting something he didn't want to admit?  And, if he did in fact lie, was the idea that Annelise was going to expose their affair if he didn't lie to help her case?  I thought it more likely that he was telling the truth, and she knew it because he had told her one night during pillow talk.

I didn't think he was lying either.  He just seemed pissed that she put him in that position.  He seemed surprised too.  I don't think he would have been if she had told him what she wanted him to say.  And why would he lie like that about something that will cause problems for him at work (no other cops will be happy he admited evidence has been doctored).  It can't be fear she's expose the affair since that will make her look worse than him. He didn't seem to be married.

Wasn't he watching when she walked in the room? Maybe she said it before that?

 

Most likely they filmed the news segment totally separate from the scene with them watching and didn't pay that much attention.  Not that the husband couldn't have killed the girl, I just don't think he'd make a mistake like that.

I was glad you mentioned this because I instinctively hit the delete button and then this thought hit me. I went to On Demand, and just muted as I did other things until it got to the end. Neither the reporter, nor the scroll mention the water tank. While it is clear the broadcast we are watching was in progress, knowing the sensational nature of the news, I found it strange that we neither hear the reporter, nor see the scroll comment in this. Could it be a red-herring, yes, could it have been an editing error either on the part of the show or the network, yes, or it could have been a Freudian slip on the part of the husband (emo neighbor girl and known boyfriend didn't comment on the water tank from what I heard).

 

I did not like the way they dressed Annalise.  It seemed like Viola was uncomfortable wearing the clothes that she was asked to wear.  The hair, for example, seemed all wrong for Viola and her character.  A better style, IMO, is the short twist hairstyle or the short bob Viola wears routinely.

Ok, ToukisSmith, I will give you the hair thing. It does look rather "wiggy." I would love it if she could wear her natural hair, which she barely did even on the press tour. 

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