Connor Walsh: Resident Bad Boy

[caracas1914]

I just hope they keep him the gay bad boy, because the temptation will be make him amorally "fluid" who swings both ways. 

[ribboninthesky1]

I think he will be, as written. 

 

However, I still maintain that the actor doesn't really play him that way.  I don't really care about his orientation, or even want to see him with Michaela.  But the way he interacts with the actress playing Michaela is quite different than anyone else, and I don't think that's the writing.  I think, on paper, those two are supposed to have an antagonistic relationship.  That's not purely what I'm seeing on my screen, though.  I don't think all chemistry is romantic, but I know what *I* perceive between those two actors, even if it's unintentional. 

[caracas1914]

I don't think Connor's  totally manipulative, in that I take it  he enjoyed  having sex with the IT guy regardless of the perks of getting info from him.  It wasn't like he was repulsed by him or anything otherwise.  Likewise he seemed to bed Micaela's future fiance Aiden, as a teenager,  because he found him attractive.

 

So maybe he's sort of like James Bond, the things he does for  England ..I mean..the LAW .... :)

Edited October 12, 2014 by caracas1914

[DollEyes]

 

Likewise he seemed to bed Connor as a teenager because he found him attractive.

 

  That was Aiden, Michaela's fiancé.

[caracas1914]

That was Aiden, Michaela's fiancé.

 

Gotcha.  Edited it.

[KFC]

Of the law student gang, I find the Connor fits in the most with the overall tone of the show. It's flashy, moves at a rapid pace, not a lot of substance but is fun if you don't expect realism or depth.

 

He's pretty, devious, has lots of gif-y quips and is in control of his own destiny. At this point, I don't mind that he's a bit cartoonish, because that's sort of emblematic of the show in general. His bitchy one-liners (and Asher's frat bro-ing out) are the closest thing we'll get to levity. Although in general, I wish they'd add more humor/sarcasm, especially to Annalise's character to lighten the dourness.

[caracas1914]

Connor really isn't different than any cocky straight lothario on other shows who bed different women. Still it's not that common on network TV to have a gay character so matter of fact with being comfortable using sex as a tool and not make it a social issue at all or be a big deal to the characters around him. He's far from a noble role model but neither is he a villain.

Pardon using a term I usually loathe, but in that regards the character is groundbreaking.

Edited October 13, 2014 by caracas1914

[darkestboy]

He reminds me a little bit of Kevin Walker, but younger and certainly more cockier. I like him. He stands out the most from the characters on the show.

[Winnief]

After last night's episode Connor is officially my favorite thing about the show.  LOVE the actor.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Winnief

[Woebegone]

Jack Falahee is probably the strongest actor of the younger cast which is good, because I think Ep 4 would have been a mess if he hadn't been.

 

I knew that after Ep 3 where he was a one-note, low-life asshole that they would eventually start his road to redemption; I just didn't expect it to be the very next episode. He's still an asshole here, just not as much of one. And we also get to see the seed of the unraveling that plays a big part of his characterization in future.

[KFC]

Agreed, this actually struck me during Pax's breakdown confession. The actor playing Pax is probably around the same age as Falahee and similar levels of attractiveness (and I'm sure he auditioned for Connor, too), but his acting was so hollow and wooden to me, it made me appreciate JF's acting even more and how easily Connor could fall flat in less capable hands. I don't like Connor, but I like watching him, and a lot of that is due to JF's acting choices.

[Unusual Suspect]

For quite shallow reasons, I'm liking Connor. That said, it is ... new for a gay character that's not on QAF to be so explicitly sexual on TV. I find it refreshing.

[caracas1914]

I love Shonda's reaction, it's just people scenes, not gay scenes so I think that is the whole point of Connor's sexuality being a non issue onscreen.

[Turkish]

I love Shonda's reaction, it's just people scenes, not gay scenes so I think that is the whole point of Connor's sexuality being a non issue onscreen.

I saw that. It always makes me laugh though when people go in on Shonda about the gay characters on all her shows. She has had multiple LGBT characters across all four of her shows for years and yet these people still think maybe if they just keep complaining to her about it enough on twitter she will stop doing it. I love that Connor's scenes are upsetting some people. I find that Shondaland is pretty big on the heterosexual love scenes as well. Did anybody see Olivia and Jake on Scandal 2 episodes ago? I mean cmon. If you aren't fainting over that then you can deal with a gay guy gettting the same treatment. It's only fair. 

[darkestboy]

This article in relation to the amount of screentime Connor's sex scenes are getting is interesting, but rather odd as well ...

 

http://www.thebacklot.com/is-there-too-much-gay-sex-in-how-to-get-away-with-murder/10/2014/

[Turkish]

This article in relation to the amount of screentime Connor's sex scenes are getting is interesting, but rather odd as well ...

 

http://www.thebacklot.com/is-there-too-much-gay-sex-in-how-to-get-away-with-murder/10/2014/

The comments on that article are more interesting than the article itself. A lot of good points made and I guess I see both sides of it but I definitely disagree with the writer giving too much credit to some of the people tweeting the writers/producers that maybe they aren't homophobic with their complaints. I follow all of them so I see the comments they get and those comments are never framed in a way that makes me believe these people are well-intentioned. The mere wording of their posts suggest otherwise. If Connor had no sex scenes at all they would still complain about his existence just like they do the very chaste Calzona on Grey's whose mere pecking on the lips in scenes sends some fans into hysterics. 

[helenamonster]

The article also forgot to mention Michaela and Aiden, who had what I thought was a pretty steamy sex scene at the beginning of "Smile, or Go to Jail!" And I'm sure we'll be subjected to Laurel and Frank's sexcapades sooner or later (though I already refuse to call them steamy). And tbh, idk how comfortable I would be seeing Alfred Enoch in a sex scene just yet. He's still itty bitty Dean Thomas to me!

[jhlipton]

Moreover, the author says he's just looking at HTGAWM by itself.  But it doesn't exist by itself -- it exist in the same "universe" as shows with gay characters who never even kiss (Teen Wolf) along with shows that have no gay characters at all.

 

I'm 100% straight, but I have no problem with the sex scenes in HTGAWM, and think that if you replaced either of Connor's partners with a woman, they would be considered risque but not beyond the pale.

[darkestboy]

The article makes me laugh because 90% of straight male characters on telly are usually portrayed quite sexually active and so far, Connor has what, had sex with two guys in four episodes? I mean the sex scenes have been a little more graphic-ish for a network show but that's certainly not a bad thing and they haven't exactly detracted from the plot. They've actually been relevant to the plot.

[Turkish]

Connor isn't even the most sexually active character in a Shondaland production. If anything I would say he's about as active as everyone else in the Shonda-verse, which makes sense. And something tells me there were no similar articles about the sexual activity of straight characters like Mark Sloane or Amelia Sheppard, for example.

[caracas1914]

Connor I guess hooked up with all the attractive boys in Boarding school, including "experimenting" straights.   HA!  I love it. What I want to see developed more  is what other skills he brings to the table to bring the trophy home.

Edited October 22, 2014 by caracas1914

[darkestboy]

Watched the first episode last night as Universal are now airing it for UK/Irish viewers and while Connor's scenes were hot, I did find him singing Jingle Bells in the car with the body and other students a bit dark.

[caracas1914]

Ok, maybe they need to tone down the "Connor uses sex as a tool ", it risks becoming too predictable. A female law student used the same way after a while would elicit howls of protest. In the episodes so far he's bedded two guys to get info, confessed to bedding his rival's fiancee, and sexted a juror to get him thrown off a case. Maybe, I dunno, he could use his actual law student expertise/wiles for the next time? I"m all for him banging Oliver the next episode and being shirtless while at the same time using his actual grey tissue matter for the case du jour.

Edited October 26, 2014 by caracas1914

[Tiger]

Does anyone know which team Falahee is batting for?

He gives purposely aloof answers when asked his love life in interviews I've read. Though IMHO, his Twitter feed seems to have "a quality".

[Atony]

Your guess is as good as anyone's Tiger, I think I have seen every interview he has done since the show premiered and he has never mentioned what his orientation is.  (Though like you I lean towards him and Connor have that in common, but it isn't publicly confirmed anywhere).

Edited October 28, 2014 by Atony

[Woebegone]

A lot of the hipper, straight allies have gotten the memo that it's crass to point out their sexuality in interviews, so Falahee's silence on the issue doesn't mean anything either way. Darren Criss, for example, didn't say anything until he was "outed" by interviewers.

Like a lot of people, I'm tired of Connor's sexuality being the only way he investigates. I do think he's one of the more layered characters on the show, but sometimes it's all he does in the entire episode.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Woebegone

[Atony]

A lot of the hipper, straight allies have gotten the memo that it's crass to point out their sexuality in interviews, so Falahee's silence on the issue doesn't mean anything either way. Darren Criss, for example, didn't say anything until he was "outed" by interviewers.

 

While this is certainly true, and I didn't mean to indicate it was Falahee's silence that tipped me off.  However Darren Criss is actually a bad example, as soon as "Never Been Kissed" aired he had interviews probing about his sexuality and he went on the record in many venues that he identified as straight.

 

However it is refreshing how much things have changed in just a few years that now an actor playing a gay character can avoid dealing with a ton of questions about their own sexuality.  Of course people, including myself, will still be curious lol.

 

Like a lot of people, I'm tired of Connor's sexuality being the only way he investigates. I do think he's one of the more layered characters on the show, but sometimes it's all he does in the entire episode.

It was the latest episode it started to bug me a little also.  I wish it wasn't through a gay hook up app that he investigated the juror. They have used that same well with him a lot in the first five episodes.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Atony

[darkestboy]

His tweets are amusing. Either way, it's his own business. He seems like a nice guy and Connor continues to be interesting to watch, which a good thing.

Edited October 28, 2014 by darkestboy

[Turkish]

 

However it is refreshing how much things have changed in just a few years that now an actor playing a gay character can avoid dealing with a ton of questions about their own sexuality.  Of course people, including myself, will still be curious lol.

True. I'm also happy to see that we are seeing more and more gay actors playing straight characters and straight actors play characters without people making a big deal about it. For example, on Shondaland's other show Scandal they have gay actor Guillermo Diaz playing a straight character, lesbian actress Jasika Nicole playing his ex-wife and straight actor Jeff Perry playing a gay character and as far as I've seen these actors real life sexual orientation rarely comes up in interviews.

 

I don't know what Falahee's real life orientation is and it doesn't matter to me. I do wish they would give Connor more to do besides using sex to help close a case though. Surely, he has more talents than that. I will say that Connor reminds me a lot of QaF's Brian Kinney and I wonder if that is intentional. 

[caracas1914]

A lot of the hipper, straight allies have gotten the memo that it's crass to point out their sexuality in interviews, so Falahee's silence on the issue doesn't mean anything either way. Darren Criss, for example, didn't say anything until he was "outed" by interviewers.

 

 

Not true at all.  Darren Criss before his first episode even aired on Glee  "joked" in interviews that he had to come out as straight.   He never was vague about his orientation at all.  Which was fine, but it got nauseating how he got praised up and down the media for being such a strong , brave gay "ally" when he essentially got a paying gig that made him famous. 

 

I think that with actors it's a lose/lose with the whole orientation issue no matter how they answer it.  If you say your straight, you're too "defensive".  If you say your gay, your agents/pr people would advise against that because your potentially limiting your appeal, if you say it doesn't matter (which IMO is  the right answer) then there is more speculation on your orientation and rumors start flying that you're gay even if you're not.

 

I think gay actors who haven't come out publicly yet  have it the worse because others think they should come out and not saying anything is construed by some as lying by omission.  It isn't fair, because the industry has such double standards when it comes to casting perceived "straight" actors versus openly gay actors in roles.  I have issues with how Shonda writes some of her characters, but  I do give her credit, she  is the exception with how she casts actors and to her it's not a gay versus non gay but just actors and scenes. 

 

Things are changing, though, even in HW.

Edited October 28, 2014 by caracas1914

[Tiger]

I had no idea that Guillermo Diaz is gay.

I never would have guessed TR Knight was gay either.

And I agree with those above that it's Falahee's business whether he is or is not, but it's also fun to speculate as a fan.

Jeff Nowalk gave an interview that I can't find now in which he said he didn't want the gay kissing to look like two straight guys mashing their faces together. The way he worded the exact phrase seemed to be a major indicator that Falahee is gay.

Again, not that it matters. He seems like a nice, funny guy on Twitter and insta.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Tiger

[Atony]

Nowalk gave an interview that I can't find now in which he said he didn't want the gay kissing to look like two straight guys mashing their faces together. The way he worded the exact phrase seemed to be a major indicator that Falahee is gay.

What you are likely thinking of his Peter Nowalk's vanity fair interview  http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/10/how-to-get-away-with-murder-gay-sex

 

"I always tell the directors, I don’t want to see two men mashing their faces together. It’s not a wrestling match. I want it to feel like real kissing, like they’re actually kissing. … For me watching [other shows], especially when a straight actor is playing gay, you don’t believe the kissing. Their lips are touching but it’s more like a face mashing."

 

In that quote he does make a off-hand reference "especially when a straight actor is playing gay".  I guess you could argue that would be an insensitive and odd remark for him to make if his lead gay character was played by a straight actor.  But who knows, I think it be would be unwise to read that much into it.

 

It's amusing, because we brought up Glee earlier, I always felt Darren Criss was "more believable" in romantic/intimate scenes than Chris Colfer even though he identifies as straight and Chris as gay.  Regardless of what Jack Falahee's orientation is, I've found him completely believable in his intimate scenes with other men and that is what is important, and what seems to be important to Pete Nowalk as well.

[caracas1914]

Well Darren more believable in intimate scenes than Chris Colfer?  WOW... Ok different strokes and all...

 

What I like about Jack Falahee is that he's while he's admittedly smug in the role, in some scenes with Oliver he seems to be someone who can act with  nuance as in perhaps despite himself, Connor is developing feeling for the Geeky IT guy.

 

There is also a playfulness to Falahee's acting that makes the cocky Connor palatable. 

[Woebegone]

Ah I didn't know that about Darren. I always thought it was interviewers who brought it up first and I haven't really read his interviews before or after the show so I stand corrected.

But generally speaking, straight actors have nothing to gain by outing themselves in interviews. Like, Caracas said, it comes off as defensive and, at the end of the day, people are going to find out anyways, so why be the bearer of bad news?

And yeah, it's a lot harder for a gay actor to play gay if they're not yet comfortable being out of the closet, because it's almost forced on them if they do.

[Stinger97]

I get why it's coming up, and it's certainly okay to bring it in a little bit, but please make sure the majority of your posts are about Connor and not his portrayer, Jack Falahee. Thanks. 

[DollEyes]

 Connor is quickly shaping up to be one of the show's most fascinating characters because of Jack Falahee. On paper, Connor's just a shallow, ruthless, promiscuous player, but JF's performance has given him depth and made him three-dimensional. In "Let's Get Too Scooping," Connor used his sexuality as a weapon like he usually does, but when Pax, his target, killed himself, it shook him up. But IMO it was seeing Sam's corpse that brought all those memories about Pax right back to Connor, hence his breakdown at Oliver's door. In that episode, Connor went from an arrogant playboy to a sobbing, hyperventilating hot mess and back again and JF was convincing every step of the way. That Connor was over it just a few hours later proves that Connor not only hasn't learned from his mistakes, he keeps making them. 

 

  Re that Backlot article, it almost made me roll my eyes to the point of blindness. What wasn't mealy-mouthed excuses was self-loathing, self-righteous bullshit. Connor's conquests are graphic by network TV standards, but just because they haven't been seen before, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be seen at all. To me that's like saying that Black characters shouldn't have sex on the show because other Black people might be offended. Connor's promiscuity can get old, but so has the constant complaining about it, from straights and gays alike. As much as Shonda Rhimes gets on my nerves sometimes, this time she gets props from me for putting all the haters of Connor's sex scenes on blast. Like Shonda said, those scenes aren't just gay sex; they're about sex between two characters who happen to be gay. The show's straight scenes  are just as explicit, if not more so in some cases, as Annalise and Nate proved in the first episode and Michaela and her fiancé Aiden proved in the second. I've got no problems with the sex scenes, but Connor needs to show that he can get what he wants without using what he's got, brains aside.

[caracas1914]

Re that Backlot article, it almost made me roll my eyes to the point of blindness. What wasn't mealy-mouthed excuses was self-loathing, self-righteous bullshit. Connor's conquests are graphic by network TV standards, but just because they haven't been seen before, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be seen at all. To me that's like saying that Black characters shouldn't have sex on the show because other Black people might be offended.

 

 

Exacty.   The double and triple standards of "The Backlot" are their MO, and the self loathing is hilarious at times.    Connor is suppose to be over the top sexually and the other characters roll their eyes at him, but it's part of the joke that he is so smug about his own cold blooded sexual manipulations.  It's obvious that the character is headed for a fall.  We've already seen it.  LOL.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Connor isn't even the most sexually active character in a Shondaland production. If anything I would say he's about as active as everyone else in the Shonda-verse, which makes sense. And something tells me there were no similar articles about the sexual activity of straight characters like Mark Sloane or Amelia Sheppard, for example.

I would say that while there's a lot of Shonda characters having sex, the sex in "Murder" is more explicit than what I remember of Grey's and Scandal and Private Practice, both hetero and gay.

 

People have certainly caught people looking guilty in the on-call room, and what not, but I don't think there's been anything like the detective being in the middle of performing oral on Annalise. I don't think there's been anything as explicit in dialogue about sex as "He did this thing to my ass that made my eyes water." 

 

I would also say that Connor appears to be having sex more frequently than anyone else on "Murder," other than Annalise (and by extension her husband) as far as what we're shown.

 

Annalise -- sex with Sam at least a couple times (once awkward "is he a murderer?" sex) and with cop once.

Bonnie -- no sex scenes, no reference to her having sex. Hints that she's got the hots for Sam.

Frank -- no sex scenes, dialogue that he bangs a lot of the interns, hints that he has the hots for Laurel and will bang her in the future.

Wes -- no sex scenes, has interest in Rebecca.

Laurel -- no sex scenes that I remember, dialogue that Khan is her boyfriend but AFAIK nothing to indicate that they've gone beyond kissing. Dialogue that Frank  is interested in her.

Michaela -- no sex scenes that I remember, engaged to someone who visited in an episode where they feuded about him not revealing that he'd experimented with Connor back in the day. 

Asher-- no sex scenes, nothing indicating he's got sexual interest in anyone or vice versa.

Connor -- explicit sex with Oliver two or three times, with Pax once, and I think he may have used someone else for sex as well.

 

Not a complaint. Just observations.

[PrincessTT]

Laurel -- no sex scenes that I remember, dialogue that Khan is her boyfriend but AFAIK nothing to indicate that they've gone beyond kissing. Dialogue that Frank  is interested in her.

Michaela -- no sex scenes that I remember, engaged to someone who visited in an episode where they feuded about him not revealing that he'd experimented with Connor back in the day. 

 

Didn't Laurel push Kahn onto a desk and climb on top of him for sex in the most recent episode? 

And Michaela had an explicit sex scene with her fiance in the episode that he was in. 

Edited October 29, 2014 by PrincessTT

[Chicago Redshirt]

Point taken. I didn't see all of the most recent episode, and I forgot that Michaela had sex with her fiance. 

 

But that brings me to a related point. Connor's being depicted not only as frequently having sex but having earth-shaking sex, and basically being able to seduce pretty much any gay person (and potentially hetero people if he wanted).

 

Michaela's scene with her fiance was so forgettable and humdrum. Afterwards, fiance wasn't "Wow it's so great to see you again." Or even "Man that was awesome!" But more like, "I want to be a house husband." Throughout that episode, there was the possibility that fiance was on the down low and just using Michaela to keep up images. The sort of sex they had did nothing to rule that possibility out, IMO.

 

Even Annalise does not get to inspire the same level of desire that Connor does. 

[caracas1914]

Even Annalise does not get to inspire the same level of desire that Connor does.

 

 

Connor is suppose to be a hot guy who thinks seduction is a sport.   That he's good at sex is part of his makeup as an individual, it's an over the top characteristic of his that draws attention.

 

I think of Corbin Bensen's character Arnie in "LA LAW"  a lothario who also happened to be a great divorce attorney.

[Tiger]

Between his "gay fiancee?" retort to Mikayla, and his casual reaction to Asher's failed attempt to charge at him, Connor Walsh has become one of my favorite characters on television.

[darkestboy]

I've only seen the first two episodes and he's already my favourite new character on telly right about now.

[darkestboy]

Buzzfeed have complied 23 reasons (primarily in gif form) as to why Connor is the best thing about this show ....

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jaimieetkin/he-did-this-thing-to-my-ass-that-made-my-eyes-water

[methodwriter85]

I've enjoyed Jack Falahee ever since he was a young teenage boy who discovers that his girlfriend is the object of desire for his polygamist father, and I'm glad he's doing so well. I almost braved watching Twisted for him. Almost.

 

I think he does the best job in feeling "grey".

[darkestboy]

I just have yet to see the mid season finale but Connor is still my favourite character of the series.

 

I found his attempts of getting a study group together a little amusing too.

[darkestboy]

I think they will in the second half of the season. Sure, he's been something of an asshole at certain points but he's still one of the show's most interesting characters and Falahee has been a good find for the show.

[Tiger]

I think they will in the second half of the season. Sure, he's been something of an asshole at certain points but he's still one of the show's most interesting characters and Falahee has been a good find for the show.

Based on Falahee's prior work, i am expecting Connor to have a complete breakdown at some point. And I think Falahee will play the hell out of it. He is definitely the stand-out of the cast outside of Davis.

[darkestboy]

I've literally only see Falahee in this show (haven't seen any of his prior work) and I really do like him. Connor in this episode was interesting, showed a human reaction for his part in Sam's murder/body disposal and the scenes he had with Oliver and Michaela were brilliant.

 

That being said though, we know absolutely nothing about his family background, so I'm hoping we get some tiny hints of it in later episodes and in the second season, which I don't doubt this show will be getting.

[The Solution]

Based on Falahee's prior work, i am expecting Connor to have a complete breakdown at some point. And I think Falahee will play the hell out of it. He is definitely the stand-out of the cast outside of Davis.

Especially if Annelise tells him "You is smart, you is kind, you is important" during the breakdown.