S01.E02: It's All Her Fault

[Stinger97]

Annalise and her students defend a millionaire who is accused of murder as she wonders if her husband had anything to do with the murder of the sorority girl. In the future, Wes was keeping secrets the night of the murder.

[SimoneS]

This show is over the top and unrealistic, but I find it entertaining as hell.

 

Yep, I still like Wes the best. I was surprised at his surreptitious flashback conversation, but I knew that Wes was not talking to Annalise.

 

I actually felt sorry for Annalise when the cop dumped her. She clearly had feelings for him, but cared about winning her case more. They need to do a better job with Viola's weave or wig or whatever it is. Also, her some of her dresses are too tight.

 

The actress who played Paris Gellar looks like she stopped eating months ago. 

 

The lighting in the night scenes were much better this week. 

 

I like the Asian "boyfriend" computer expert. I hope he sticks around.

Edited October 3, 2014 by SimoneS

[Stinger97]

It'd be nice if the gay character could achieve something through means other than sex. It's just such a tired cliche. I also had to scoff at his non-boyfriend boyfriend saying something along the lines of, "Tonight, I do you." Like, we can subtly suggest cunnilingus, analingus, etc., but we can't have a gay character telling another that he's going to top him? Eh. 

 

All the flash forwards, backwards, sideways, were messing with my brain. The 1Ls were flipping the coin prior to burning the body, correct? That wasn't totally clear to me at first. Also, was it the Girl Next Door that killed Mr. Keating? Is that what we were seeing? Color me confused. 

[mtlchick]

I missed parts of the show but I'm getting that Annalise's fashion statement is shift dresses done with heavy knits and leather details. But what's really distracting me are the wigs. I love Viola's natural hair.  

 

I'm liking the show for what it is but the constant flash forward/back/upside down/inside out is going to make my brain hurt.  Stop trying to make me think, TV!

[Enero]

 

All the flash forwards, backwards, sideways, were messing with my brain. The 1Ls were flipping the coin prior to burning the body, correct? That wasn't totally clear to me at first. Also, was it the Girl Next Door that killed Mr. Keating? Is that what we were seeing? Color me confused. 

 

Yes. They flipped the coin to decide whether to go back and get the body from the house.

 

I think it's implied that Girl Next Door killed Mr. Keating. So now I'm wondering do the others know? Or do they think they're "protecting" Annalise?

 

I liked the style of Viola's wig in the front, but they need to glue the back down or something, because several times in this episode the hair was not laying down flat on her neck, which made it look as if it either wasn't on good or needed to be combed down.

 

Good episode. Steven Webber's character was a horrible man, but I liked the case and thought he did a good job with the story. I know we'll likely never see him again, but I'm curious about how he'll punish his daughter for framing him for murder.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Enero

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love this show.  I loooooove this show.  I don't even want to complain, but I will say I just have one complaint.  It moves too fast.  I wonder if this has to do with Viola wanting to do 18 episodes instead of 22, but still.  It moves too fast for my brain.

 

The actor who plays Wes has the most hilarious body language.  It reminds me of something..... an ostrich?  He's so lanky, and whirls his head around so slowly....  It's just so cartoonish, and yet I love it.  Like instead of just listening with his left or right ear, he whirls his whole head around.  I think Keanu Reeves has ear damage and had to do the same thing in The Matrix.

 

Sorry Gilmore Girls fans, but my only other sore point with this show is Annalise's blonde underling.  I can't stand her face and I can't stand her, period.  I like all the other actors, and they seem to have so much spark, so I don't get her casting.

 

Love Annalise's "boyfriend", god he is so sexyfine.

 

Does everyone else notice Annalise's statement necklaces in every single scene?!  It's so funny!

 

Viola is God

Edited October 3, 2014 by Ms Blue Jay

[msani19]

I am not a lawyer but have way too many friends who are, so the playing fast and loose with the law is irritating. Plus I graduated from the University of Law and Order law school so I know my procedural law!

The lighting was better this week but they need to turn on a couple more lights, really annoying.

Yes, it's over the top but I'll watch it for a while. I've fully learned my lesson by now with Shonda Rhimes shows, they are great until they're not which is usually midway through the 2nd season. But maybe since she's not writing this one, it might make a difference. He certainly has studied the even ridiculous story lines of the other shows.

I agree the wig or whatever on Viola Davis is not a good fit, hope they fix that. Otherwise, she's doing a good job with the material she has. The 1Ls are still blobs to me, don't know their names except for Wes and that's strictly by accident.

The twink line was hilarious to me for some reason, way to be insulting guy whose name I don't know.

[Amethyst]

Man, I really want to like this show because of Viola Davis, but it's so over the top that I end up laughing or rolling my eyes through most of it.  The bad guy couldn't have have just asked someone to lie down on the bed, he had to make a show of it.  I still don't know any of the interns' names except for Wes.  Would it kill Annalise to call them by their first names occasionally, instead of Mr and Ms?

 

Viola's BF is hot.  I remember him from The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and he was hot then!

 

Paris Geller's look is too severe.  The haircut, the clothes, none of it works on her at all.

 

Someone mentioned that Viola might be having trouble walking on those heels and I agree.  Looked like she was going to topple over tonight.  Try kitten heels, Viola!

 

Rebecca is Wes' neighbor, right?  She's the one he met up with at the hotel?  

 

It's only week two, so it's still early.  I wish they would tone it down a little.

[LakeGal]

I hate Viola's hair.  Every time they show her from the back I want to fix her hair.

 

I really like this show.  But I wish they would cut back all the flashforward/backward scenes.  It is too much.

[Stinger97]

Would it kill Annalise to call them by their first names occasionally, instead of Mr and Ms?

 

As a law student, I can attest to that being the norm of law professors, especially during 1L year. I think it's an intimidation tactic. Instead of calling the students by their first names to perhaps form a relationship or bond with them, professors call them Mr. and Ms. to keep things cold and clinical. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think Baby Jennifer Connelly, who I find so gorgeous, is named "Laurel".

 

I think the smarmy guy, from Orange is the New Black, is named "Asher".

 

It helps that I read the EW article on this show.  I may or may not be right.  

 

Rebecca is the same actor who played Rosie Larsen, and Carrie's friend in The Carrie Diaries yes?

[Ripley68]

I'm surprised there hasn't been an outcry about the gay scenes - they've been pretty explicit.  Seems like a simple kiss between 2 same sex people had advertisors pulling plugs left and right.

 

I like that there is a murder of the week as well as the 2 season long murders, so it's not so Law and Order.

[bagatelle]

The actor who plays Wes has the most hilarious body language.  It reminds me of something..... an ostrich?  He's so lanky, and whirls his head around so slowly....  It's just so cartoonish, and yet I love it.  Like instead of just listening with his left or right ear, he whirls his whole head around.  I think Keanu Reeves has ear damage and had to do the same thing in The Matrix.

 

That's how he does his reaction shots.  He slowly turns his head.  One of the other guys slowly puts his pen to his lip and one of the females reacts to action which has just occurred by doing the pursed lips thing, but not in anger, more that she is trying to show she's thinking. I don't know why long I can keep watching this show, it's so clichéd and over simplified.

[Amethyst]

As a law student, I can attest to that being the norm of law professors, especially during 1L year. I think it's an intimidation tactic. Instead of calling the students by their first names to perhaps form a relationship or bond with them, professors call them Mr. and Ms. to keep things cold and clinical. 

 

Thanks for the heads up.  I can see that as a way to intimidate the students.  I'll just have to IMDB the names, because I've been calling them Suck-Up, Tall Guy, the brunette, etc.

 

 

Good episode. Steven Webber's character was a horrible man, but I liked the case and thought he did a good job with the story. I know we'll likely never see him again, but I'm curious about how he'll punish his daughter for framing him for murder.

 

I'm wondering that, too.  I bet he'll cut her off financially.  Did they ever say why he killed his first wife?  I know double jeopardy and all, but I was surprised that the judge still let it go, and the jury still found him not guilty.

[wanderingstar]

I am here for Wes' shocked faces.

 

All the flash forwards, backwards, sideways, were messing with my brain.

 

 

Yes, this show is very...busy. I know we're in the era of short attention spans, but this zig zagging around to different murders makes it hard for me to care about any of them.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Rain meant that my Direct TV didn't get much of what happened after it came out that Defendant of the Week had previously been accused of but acquitted of murder. Anyone care to fill me in? Thanks in advance.

[Kira53]

The best part is that Wes lied about the result of the

coin flip. That was the best reveal.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Did anyone find Steven Weber's character too close to TGW's Colin Sweeney?

[tom87]

The best part is that Wes lied about the result of the

coin flip. That was the best reveal.

Was probably the best thing of the night.

 

The flash-forward, backward and sideways are a bit much.    If you looked away you would have missed the lying about the coin toss.

 

Paris Geller did seem way more harsh looking tonight and I was waiting for Viola's hair to fall off or be pulled off during the sex scene.

Edited October 3, 2014 by tom87

[omgsowicked]

Did they ever say why he killed his first wife?  I know double jeopardy and all, but I was surprised that the judge still let it go, and the jury still found him not guilty.

 

I don't know that they said it for sure but I think the idea was that he was in love with his mistress and killed the first wife in order to be with her instead.

 

@Kira53, yes, that coin reveal was such a surprise, though I was disappointed to see that he apparently didn't do it because he's a sneaky bastard but because his rude ass neighbor somehow got into his heart of gold.

 

I liked this week's case and I doubt we'll find out but I hope we learn what the guy does to his daughter, if anything. I like the animosity between Connor and the engaged woman (can't think of her name right now) and I cracked up at the, "you're too old to be a twink" line, heh. I'm glad that he's stuck around but I hope the Asian guy hopefully gains more of a personality... right now he's just the convenient techy "it's complicated" guy. Oh, and I also liked the students discussing whether or not Wes and Annaliese were related and that's how he got into school... exactly what people have been theorizing online! LOL.

 

Only the second episode and I'm so into it. One thing that concerns me, though, is that I now feel like I more or less know what's going on re: the murder of Mr. Keating. I mean, I must be wrong, how can it be this simple... maybe that's the point, to make it look obvious and then twist it around like crazy.

[sifar]

It's completely absurd but I am loving it. Had not liked the first episode all that much but this was stellar.

I didn't mind the flash-backs or flash-forwards - in fact, I  think all that adds a certain dynamism to the show and helps to deflect from the fact how completely unrealistic the plot is.

 

 

The characters need to be fleshed out but that's not a big deal - this is only the second episode. Right now I can only name Wes from the crowd of first years.

 

I'm gonna call it - the husband had an affair with the dead girl in the tank and Annalise thinks that he killed her to hide the affair but he actually didn't.

Edited October 3, 2014 by sifar

[Racj82]

 

It'd be nice if the gay character could achieve something through means other than sex. It's just such a tired cliche. I also had to scoff at his non-boyfriend boyfriend saying something along the lines of, "Tonight, I do you." Like, we can subtly suggest cunnilingus, analingus, etc., but we can't have a gay character telling another that he's going to top him? Eh.

I'm not gay but isn't I'm going to you enough. Would a gay man even say he's going to top him or whatever? The moment seemed just fine to me.

 

Also, why does it have to be like this where anytime we have a black female on a tv show, so much focus is on her hair? Same thing happens when people talk about Meridith's half-black sister on Grey's. I just personally don't get it. I'm a black male so I guess I'm not supposed to but I don't care about what weave or wigs these actresses are wearing. I never give it one thought.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Racj82

[Morbs]

I always notice bad wigs, and while obviously there are many issues among black women and "good hair", I think it's more of a wig thing in general.  I just think they are distracting, like Julianna Margulies's or the girl from The Black List, or Kim Zolziak.  Especially in daylight scenes, it just always takes me out of the moment, like, "Why is no one asking The Good Wife why she has a wig on?"  

[briochetwist]

I always notice bad wigs, and while obviously there are many issues among black women and "good hair", I think it's more of a wig thing in general.  I just think they are distracting, like Julianna Margulies's or the girl from The Black List, or Kim Zolziak.  Especially in daylight scenes, it just always takes me out of the moment, like, "Why is no one asking The Good Wife why she has a wig on?"  

 

You beat me to it, I was about to say the exact same thing!   I definitely think it's just a wig thing in general, how many seasons are we into The Good Wife and people are still ripping on Julianna Margulies' wig?  Strong, powerful women like Alicia Florrick and Annalise Keating just wouldn't have such obviously shitty hair, and this one is just really bad.  Like late night infomercial quality bad.  

Edited October 3, 2014 by briochetwist

[Joimiaroxeu]

Steven Webber's character was a horrible man, but I liked the case and thought he did a good job with the story.

I got a slight Jeremy-Irons-in-"Reversal of Fortune" vibe from his performance.

 

Love Annalise's "boyfriend", god he is so sexyfine.

Yes he is. Do we know how long Annalise and her husband have been married? Sometimes it seems like they don't really know each other very well, and that they're not even really in love. I wonder why she married him?

 

Oh, and I also liked the students discussing whether or not Wes and Annaliese were related and that's how he got into school... exactly what people have been theorizing online! LOL.

I hope they don't go that route. Like Olivia Pope Jr. said, it's not like all Black people are related. Soap operas are really bad about pulling that "Surprise! You're my mother/son/daughter/father!" stuff and I believe Shonda Rhimes takes offense at people regarding her shows as nighttime soaps.

 

This is one show you really have to pay attention to or you'll miss fleeting but important details

[jjj]

I am so lost, and based on what I am reading here, I missed a big plot point -- did the daughter kill the second wife to frame her father?  Was that revealed after the verdict or before?  I completely missed that.  And I really have no clue about anything else that is going on.  I have no idea what is going on with the Girl Next Door and arrest and the cell phone underneath the boards.  Was the final scene a flash forward, or the present?

 

Ms Blue Jay, yes, that was a very Colin Sweeney vibe! 

 

Paris Gellar, please eat a sandwich. 

[mrsdalgliesh]

Yeah...I don't think so.   Law shows are always going to be unrealistic, but Shondra already has me ignoring bizarro world over on Scandal and I don't have anything left for a supposedly amazing criminal defense attorney who goes to trial (repeatedly) before she's fully investigated and prepared.  

 

And I don't mind a flawed lead character, but this is some boomerang shit Viola Davis is being asked to play.  She's an amazing actress who can convey anything -- so why are they writing Annalise as though she's appearing in panels of a comic?   In fact, the whole thing plays that way.  I can see the "stills" in my mind: Wes' wide-eyed surprise at something in the center of a panel focusing on the courtroom observers, insecure Laurel shrinking into the shadows of one early panel, then winner Laurel coming to the forefront in a later one.  The focus on Annalise's face as she questions a witness in one panel, her tear streaked panic face in another as she rats out her husband.  BOOM!  AH!  NO!  WHYYY???

 

Maybe I can only watch one show like this and I'm already watching Scandal.

[Amethyst]

I am so lost, and based on what I am reading here, I missed a big plot point -- did the daughter kill the second wife to frame her father?  Was that revealed after the verdict or before?  I completely missed that.  

 

It seems that way.  Wes concluded that the daughter was the only one would would have easy access to the bedroom because there was no forced entry in the house.  Plus the whole hunting thing and how the coroner (?) said it was extremely unlikely that the same person killed the birth mother and the stepmother due to the nature of the killings and the bloody mess the killer left behind.  IIRC, they traced the information about the birth mother's real death back to the daughter's computer at Stanford, and they put two and two together.  Well, Annalise did.  Wes just figured it was the daughter because she was giving her dad the evil eye throughout the trial, LOL.

[jjj]

Thank you, Amethyst!  I will rewatch those sections. 

[ShadowSixx]

I like this show but the flashbacks/forwards are a little much. I can't blame the cop for dumping Annie for using him but clear she still wants him and can't blame her there.

I do hope the gay guy will get other evidence besides sleeping with people and the one girl who seems to be sleeping with that guy on Annie's team with the beard. I don't know all their names yet but I do like the other girl and like to learn more about her than Gibbons.

[2KllMckngBrd]

I missed parts of the show but I'm getting that Annalise's fashion statement is shift dresses done with heavy knits and leather details. But what's really distracting me are the wigs. I love Viola's natural hair.

 

I always notice bad wigs, and while obviously there are many issues among black women and "good hair", I think it's more of a wig thing in general.  I just think they are distracting, like Julianna Margulies's or the girl from The Black List, or Kim Zolziak.  Especially in daylight scenes, it just always takes me out of the moment, like, "Why is no one asking The Good Wife why she has a wig on?"  

I think on Annalise's wardrobe How To is still trying to find her look. On her wig game, that's a totally different sitch. I don't care if she wears a fro, natural, wig, weave, or shaves it bald. Whatever Viola and the producers figure out what works, and both can b comfortable w/. I just need them to figure it out, and then be consistent. It is very distracting, no matter the race of the actress (or a man for that matter 'cuz that frosted Daniel Boone pheasant that has taken up residence on Cyrus' head on Scandal is a How To Not for male actors).

 

And I agree about Viola's hair done natural. I saw her on Oprah, and attending an award show, where her hair was short and natural, and a reddish color. She looked incredibly gorgeous and was oozing sex appeal. It would also be a completely believable and professional look for Annalise.

 

Can understand where some of the posters felt too much attn. was being put on Black actresses hair. But I spent the entire 1st season of the Blacklist asking why they had that poor actress running around looking like she had a raccoon camped on top of her head. She's an FBI agent. She runs. A lot. Her hair never moved. Wind. Rain. Nothing. It was distracting. I bitched, and complained constantly. And she is white. And don't get me started on the hairline they have going on over on The Good Wife w/Julianna Margulies. Ever heard of lacefronts CBS.

 

Back to ep specifics. Love Wes. Please make him look like a grow-up. Now. He looks considerably younger than the other hamsters. They can have the gay young intern doing it like a rabbit evry show. Just don't always tie the sex to the case of the week please. Show him contributing something to the work that he doesn't always obtain from using sex. It cheapens the character and the audience. Dial down little miss princess hamster. She's already becoming a caricature.

 

Annalise's ex side piece is hot to death. When he told her don't make me tell your husband bout our wild dirty sexy times I almost fell out. I would have let him service me just like she did in the pilot. And the husband is a cheater, possibly a killer, and as handsome as he wanna be too. Annalise's cup runneth over.

 

Paris needs to eat a sandwich or 3. Then immediately go and get that brassy ass blonde toned down, and stop applying her make-up as though she's about to go on a high school stage. She is a beautiful woman. But her look needs work too.

 

The asshole who is a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen. Stop. Just stop. His character could burst into flames and I wouldn't notice. For me he brings nothing to the party and needs to go. He's meh.

 

And on a show already this good. And this fun. I need them to start tightening the cast, and making the look of this show match the talent.

[SimoneS]

The case was so ridiculous that it is not worth giving it too much thought. 

 

I did like how Wes' deception proved what Annalise was telling her students about not really knowing the people around you.

 

It is early days and this might be overly deep for this show, but from his reaction at the guy's door, I don't think that Connor (I found his name because calling him the "gay student" was off) is just using to sex to get want he wants. I think that he also wants to have sex with the guy and is using the case as an excuse. He just does not want to admit that he likes the guy who is very cute and sweet.

 

Also, why does it have to be like this where anytime we have a black female on a tv show, so much focus is on her hair? Same thing happens when people talk about Meridith's half-black sister on Grey's. I just personally don't get it. I'm a black male so I guess I'm not supposed to but I don't care about what weave or wigs these actresses are wearing. I never give it one thought.

 

You should visit The Strain board because everyone there (including me) is obsessed with Corey Stoll's bad wig. An episode rarely goes by without someone commenting on that abomination.

Edited October 3, 2014 by SimoneS

[Big Bad Wolf]

Ugh, why does every single person on this show have to be completely dislikeable? With the exception of Wes, but even he is evidently stupid if he hooked up with the heinous Rebecca bitch - WTF?

 

And I know Viola is doing her best, but the way the character is written and directed - hard as nails with her students, weepy and pathetic in her personal life - is just not convincing me at all. I know people can be competent in their professional lives but messes in their personal lives, but not to the extent of having a split personality, as we're being asked to buy here. Well, unless they are mentally ill. Are we supposed to think Annalise is mentally ill? I don't think we are, in which case, the writing is extremely poor, and the direction amateurish. She's not written as a layered character, which is what I expect they're going for, but as a disfunctional nutcase.

 

I can't see me lasting much longer with this show.

[Advance35]

It is early days and this might be overly deep for this show, but from his reaction at the guy's door, I don't think that Connor (I found his name because calling him the "gay student" was off) is just using to sex to get want he wants. I think that he also wants to have sex with the guy and is using the case as an excuse. He just does not want to admit that he likes the guy who is very cute and sweet.

 

Eeek.  I hope not.   My problem is I think they are softening his character WAY to soon.   I was really hoping he would be much more of a casanova.   A kind of reverse of the "Ladies Man, Jock or Womanizer" but they seem to already be settling him down into a relationship.   The Tech guy is........uninspired to me, so I'm hoping he's not a keeper but like you said, it's early days.

 

I liked seeing that Wes lied about the coin toss.   I think the seemingly more "inncocent" characters will end up being the darkest one's of all.  

The abc character write up Laurel will supposedly have a dark side that will surprise those around her, including Annalise.

 

Not sold on the neighbor yet, Rebecca?

 

Cracked up at Annalise's assistant calling Wes, "The Puppy."  And liked her telling Laurel, "I only look nice because of my face."

 

I'm still in.   Not crazy about the flash forward relation but I liked the insight it gave about how things will develop.   Connor's belief that Wes wouldn't misel or hang them out to dry and Michaela's belief that "She would",  Meaning Rebecca.   I don't know if these people are the "bonding" type but I hope to see friendships between Connor/Wes, Wes/Michaela and maybe Wes/Asher.   And oddly Wes is NOT my favorite character so I don't know why I want to see him bond with so many.

 

Still some fine tuning needed but I'm still in.

[roomtorome]

So, I'm supposed to believe that at this point, the police won't further investigate this murder and discover it was the daughter?  Maybe they will, maybe they won't but they presented it as though it would never happen.  So absurd.

 

Also - does she only manage to successfully litigate cases when her students provide the strategy?  Seems a tad lazy even while supposedly giving them the opportunity to participate.

 

The writing for this thing is just awful - and, VD's character is so poorly realized that I feel like I'm getting whiplash from her different personality traits - maybe if the writers spent a few minutes fleshing her out, some of this may (but doubt it) make some sense.  

 

I feel dumber for having watched.  So, I'm out.  Boy, this year I find I only kind of like one show - the rest?  Yikes.

[blixie]

 

This show is over the top and unrealistic, but I find it entertaining as hell.

Hell yeah, it is classed up trashy tripe and I LOVE IT. I love the pace, I love the flashbackforwardsideways structure, and that they're giving us reveals and information, I'm so beyond tired of shows that want to give you a scrap every 3 sweeps months. The AV Club said it was like early TVD and I agree, and I have almost never a show out of the gate as much as I loved TVD, soaps are about anticipation, but that means nothing if you can't pay it off in spades with great fun reveals.

 

I'm loving the refreshing depiction of gay sexing Connor and that Not Colon Sweeney put the sexy murder moves on him, instead of one of the female students. Count me in as one of the few who loves Rebecca, mostly because I loved Maggie on The Carrie Diaries, but I think she's the key to both main murders though guilty of neither. I'm pretty sure Wes killed the shit out of Tom Verica, and  maybe told the others Analise did it and they are covering for her. I can see S2 being Analise on trial.

 

Man I hope Analise/Wes aren't related, she was feeling him up in very not we are blood related way, though I guess it could have been ambiguous. I actually was going with Lila as her husband's secret daughter, not lover, Something about the way he said her poor parents, and he really doesn't seem to be lying about sleeping with her. Now Paris Gellar yeah he's slept with her. My massively convoluted working theory is that is why he was out for Rebecca and then died in some kind of fight with her and Wes. I don't think she killed Lila, but maybe helped her football player..."friend".  Hopefully I'm really wrong and they'll do a good Agatha Christie job of making EVERYONE look guilty during the season.

[glitterpants]

 

@Kira53, yes, that coin reveal was such a surprise, though I was disappointed to see that he apparently didn't do it because he's a sneaky bastard but because his rude ass neighbor somehow got into his heart of gold.

 

Yeah, and I find the neighbor really annoying so I didn't like that part of the reveal. I hope the way this thing will play out on the show is more interesting and less obvious than it looks right now.

 

Overall I still like the show a lot.

[SimoneS]

Man I hope Analise/Wes aren't related, she was feeling him up in very not we are blood related way, though I guess it could have been ambiguous. I actually was going with Lila as her husband's secret daughter, not lover, Something about the way he said her poor parents, and he really doesn't seem to be lying about sleeping with her. Now Paris Gellar yeah he's slept with her. My massively convoluted working theory is that is why he was out for Rebecca and then died in some kind of fight with her and Wes. I don't think she killed Lila, but maybe helped her football player..."friend".  Hopefully I'm really wrong and they'll do a good Agatha Christie job of making EVERYONE look guilty during the season.

 

I think your theory is viable. Lila being the husband's secret daughter would be a good twist and would explain him getting into a confrontation with Rebecca which likely got him killed.

[bantering]

 

With the exception of Wes, but even he is evidently stupid if he hooked up with the heinous Rebecca bitch - WTF?

Yeah, I wound up disappointed with the character with this episode. I couldn't believe he was going out on such a limb for that girl. Then I wondered why the others agreed to it -- even with the coin toss. No way I'm getting into this kind of mess just because that one guy, however sweet he may appear on the surface to be, has a crush on his neighbor. Puh-leeze. Maybe she did it in self-defense, but, again, puh-leeze. Now when they all go to trial, their case of self-defense will be harder to prove because they tampered with everything!!!

Edited October 3, 2014 by bantering

[blixie]

 

believe Shonda Rhimes takes offense at people regarding her shows as nighttime soaps.

 

I am no Shonda expert (in fact I am super meh on her writing, don't watch Grey's or Scandal), but my impression is that she objects to them being *devalued* because they are soaps, much like Jen Weiner's arguments about chicklit. If women like something it constitutes a frivolity. A great soap is always way more than just romance, and most serialized television falls into the "soap" bucket so I think that is more her glitch. 

[Atony]

Yes, this show is very...busy. I know we're in the era of short attention spans, but this zig zagging around to different murders makes it hard for me to care about any of them.

 

This show is ridiculous but I am down for ride.  Give me the pseudo-reality of law, give me the unlikable characters but dear lord slow down a little bit.  I can keep up fine but it is just unnecessarily fast paced and I think it would benefit from stopping to breathe.  Right now all the scooby gang are basically one note characterizations because the show won't slow down enough to give any of these characters actual development.

 

 

Also, I don't want Connor to settle down with IT guy.  It makes sense with using him because he is valuable and it has the bonus of an easy source of sex.  But I like Connor as the casanova as someone else called it, it seems too early in the show for him to settle down.  And also a character like Connor seems shallow enough that I don't think he would consider IT guy "good enough" to be with him.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Atony

[GaiusB]

This episode felt way better to me then the first one. Maybe because i accepted over the top, unrealistic nature of it. It really help i finally found someone to root for - Wes and Rebecca. Wes crush on her is pretty much only thing i can relate. It is also good if his crush is his motivation to do all that ilegal stuff he is doing. I can accept and like a character who is doing questionable things for love (or even lust). I could not stand characters who would do same thing because of sycophantish desire to please Annalise and help own career.

 

One thing i strongly dislike is ridiculous case of week stuff. Enough of that. The show is losing any credibility with such cases and we already know what sort of lawyer Annalise is, we do not need be bashed over head with it every week. Other students also need to be developed better. Black girl have no character so far, Gay guy have very cliched unrealistic personality, and Lauren is so far not developed either outside of her unsecurity around that bearded sleazebag. You can say there is time to do that, it is just second episode, but i disagree. There is really no excuse for the new show to wait many episodes to give its main characters a personality.

Edited October 3, 2014 by GaiusB

[justcris]

I'm really enjoying this show so far.

 

I don't understand what everyone is talking about re: the flashback/forward/sideways though. They are only doing flashfowards as far as I can tell. Always to the same time frame of that one night, always adding a little bit more each time. Am I missing something?

 

The only thing I'm having a hard time with is Annalise. Like many have said, her personality is all over the place, I can't get a real sense of the character.

[Joimiaroxeu]

a supposedly amazing criminal defense attorney who goes to trial (repeatedly) before she's fully investigated and prepared

Who's also using her law students as unpaid indentured servants to build her cases for her. I really wonder why her clients agree to be turned into class projects. Maybe Annalise gives them a discounted rate.

 

I thought I was being pretty sharp to catch the lie about the coin flip the first time.  Then they showed it over, and over, and over again so it was fairly obvious they wanted to make sure you saw it. 

I caught it the first time too but then I had to think a minute about what the back of a quarter looks like. The newer ones don't have an eagle so maybe the showrunner thought people might not make the connection right away.

 

she objects to them being *devalued* because they are soaps, much like Jen Weiner's arguments about chicklit. If women like something it constitutes a frivolity. A great soap is always way more than just romance, and most serialized television falls into the "soap" bucket so I think that is more her glitch.

A lot of genre fiction is devalued because it tends to be formulaic and written to appeal to a narrow audience who are presumed to have low literary expectations. That's what I think makes up much of the snobbery toward chick lit/romance novels. As far as soap operas go, there are definitive markers of a soap that an aficionado would expect to see and while there are some in this show, I wouldn't call it soap--yet. (Scandal goes deep into the territory, though, and not in a good way, IMO.)

 

Black girl have no character so far

And the actress seems to have studied Kerry Washington's portrayal of Olivia Pope like she was going to be tested on it. AFAIC, the director should tell her to dial it back a bit.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Joimiaroxeu

[blixie]

 

They are only doing flashfowards as far as I can tell. always to the same time frame of that one night, always adding a little bit more each time.

 

It's not that straight forward we started in the narrative present, in media res, and then flashbacked to months before when school started. We spend slightly more screen time in the narrative flashbacks than we do in the narrative present but it's pretty 50/50, and so I think it's right to say they are using both "flash" backs and "flash" forwards, we aren't truly anchored to either in terms of reliability, this is emphasized visually with literal "rewinds" and "fast forwards".  The "sideways" thing comes from the fact that the rewinds zig and zag between and betwixt mulitiple POV's. We rewound to the gas station scene from Michaela/Connor POV in the car with the body, and rewound to the same exact moment with Wes in the gas station but also past that moment to point where he went to hook up with Rebecca, so yeah there is no straight narrative line present here.

Edited October 3, 2014 by blixie

[truthaboutluv]

I get the arguments about the show being very busy but honestly I really have no problems following what's happening. I will say it's definitely not a show you can watch while doing two or three other things because yeah you'll miss a lot. But so far I like it and personally for me, I enjoy it because there is so much going on. I never got bored because I'm too busy thinking about the 10,000 things happening - figuring out along with Wes that the daughter killed the stepmom, realizing Wes lied about the coin flip and realizing the neighbor is connected in all this, wondering if the husband really is telling the truth about Lila, wondering if the neighbor tried to set Wes up with drugs when she used his apartment, etc.

 

And with all that, there are a couple of funny moments and awesome moments like the idiot first year being the only one apparently who didn't know Connor was gay, the weird client suggesting his daughter hook up with Wes because "think about the beautiful babies you could have..." I also have no problems not really knowing too much about the other first years just yet because as others have noted, it has only been two episodes. I'm sure this whole thing will take many different twists and turns before the finale. 

 

What I will say is that I am with others in hoping that some big and major twists are coming and the whole mystery turns out to nothing like we suspect, because I will be really pissed if Wes manipulated all the others to help him cover up the neighbor's murder of Annalise's husband because so far I think the neighbor is an asshole. And even if I'm sure they'll develop their romance, I will always suspect she is just using him because she clearly marked him as an easy and gullible mark. I'm also on the fence about Connor and the IT guy. I think on one hand it's kind of nice that he turned out to be not as shallow as suspected in the first episode where you at first assumed he was flirting with the nerdy, not so attractive just to get information. However, I also find the quick turnaround a bit quick but still it's only two episodes and while he clearly likes the guy on some level, he does also seem to get a lot of professional benefit from it. 

[Meander]

 

 

 

I'm wondering that, too.  I bet he'll cut her off financially.  Did they ever say why he killed his first wife?  I know double jeopardy and all, but I was surprised that the judge still let it go, and the jury still found him not guilty.

 

Curious.  Was he tried under Swiss law?  Would double indemnity even apply?  

[Mrs OldManBalls]

They need to do a better job with Viola's weave or wig or whatever it is. Also, her some of her dresses are too tight.

The wig is awful the way the back sticks out and the bangs are stuck to her forehead. 

 

Good episode. Steven Webber's character was a horrible man, but I liked the case and thought he did a good job with the story. I know we'll likely never see him again, but I'm curious about how he'll punish his daughter for framing him for murder.

He plays creepy very well. 

 

The best part is that Wes lied about the result of the

coin flip. That was the best reveal.

 

I blinked and missed it! 

 

I really want to know how Wes ended up in a relationship with his super bitch neighbour. ( but if he's the one who got her to wash off the eyeliner, kudos to him)

[jjj]

What was the lie about the coin toss?

[Meander]

What was the lie about the coin toss?

he falsified the result