How To Get Away With Murder…Or…My Newest Obsession.

Ok, let’s just get right into to. If you haven’t already seen the pilot episode, then stop right here. This will only be for people who have seen it and who want to discuss spoilers, or theories on what’s gonna come ahead during the season.

My goal is to post one of these every Thursday night during the airing of HTGAWM and post comments and tweets and my instant reactions as a sort of liveblog.

So, if ya ready, le’ go…

Facts first, HTGAWM will be only about 15 episodes. The whole first season will evolve around 2 separate but probably linked murders, college student Lila Stangard and professor Sam Keating, husband of main character Annalise Keating.

Okay, so, here’s what we’ve got. The beginning of the show opens with the aftermath of a murder cleanup in progress. We are introduced to 4 of the main law student characters. Wes, a naive young Black guy, who only just got off waitlist for law class, Michaela, the Black chick, who wants to be just like Prof Keating, Laurel, the girl who got TOLD from Prof Keating in law class for answering a question she asked of Wes, and the Conner, another student willing to do anything (and later we learn, that does mean ANYTHING) to get on Prof Keating’s IT list.They are arguing about how to dispose of a body and murder weapon.

In the next scene we are going back 3 months before the scene with the murder scene and we are in a classroom where we are formally introduced to 5 main law student characters and of course the MAIN ATTRACTION: Viola Davis as lawyer, professor Annalise Keating.

“I don’t know what terrible things you’ve done in your life up to this point, but clearly your karma’s out of balance to get assigned my class. I’m Professor Annalise Keating and this is Criminal Law 100, or as I prefer to call it, How to Get Away with Murder.”

Next we are introduced to the pilot’s “murder of the week” as part of the class and we see some choice interaction between Prof Keating and the 5 main students. Then a series of scenes in which we learn of the missing student Lila Staasgard leading to the final few minute reveal that Lila is found dead, and the final episode reveal that the body the students are trying to dispose of in the first was the body of professor Keating’s husband Sam.

Ok, so leads break it down and get to the theories. I think it’s easiest to for this first post is focus on the murders and the possible subjects and throughout the season we’ll see if my theories are correct.

So, here we go…

Murders: College Student Lara S and Professor Sam Keating

So when we first are introduced to Lara S, she a college sorority girl who has disappeared. She was last seen at a fraternity party. The campus, which seems be the usual thing to do when these young co-eds are missing, has been putting up fliers and holding vigils for her. It’s at the vigil that we meet her boyfriend Griffin, who gives a sad little speech about his missing girlfriend. We later in the ep find out that Lara has indeed been murdered and her body was found in the water tower on the roof of her sorority house.

Professor Keating we find out at the end of the show is the murder victim’s body the students were trying to dispose of. We are supposed to assume that his murder happened murdered 3 months after the body of Lara S was found.

Suspect 1: Professor Sam Keating, husband of Professor Keating. In the 2nd to last scene of the pilot, we see the news report of Lara S body being found. It’s Sam Keating who tell his wife that Lara S was found dead in the water tower. She appears to be a student of his. Now we don’t know if anything was going on with Sam and the student, but he seems oddly too broken up over her dead and I don’t recall if the news about her being found in the water tower was part of the newscast or not, but maybe not, that would be too obvious an egg to drop. But the most damning bit of innuendo, was when after hearing of the announcement, Annalise says to her husband “I bet the boyfriend” did it and then gives the most incredible bit of side-eye I’ve seen.

Suspect 2: Annalise Keating. I mean come on, she seemed to obviously think something was going on with the husband and the student, and she was soo meh about her husband’s obvious distress over the student’s death. Who knows, if the student was sleeping with her husband, just from the little we know of the ruthlessness of this character. Just see her reaction to her associates Frank fuckin’ up the witness prep and her reaction to the student who spoke up over Wes, and her reaction to Micheala when Micheala said she was gonna be late for court. The character does have what could seem like a penchant to lash out a bit when first confronted. So imagine if you will if she was confronted with some husband telling her that he was in love with or just plain getting it on with that student, I can certainly see her picking up that trophy (the murder weapon) she gave to her “student winner” and clocking him/her over the head. Also too, hello, she teaches a class that she’s nicknamed “How To Get Away With Murder”…ugh duh. She would know what to do. I don’t believe that she killed the student, but I could def believe that she killed her husband. Also too, I can totally see Annalise using her power to get her students to help her dispose of a body and therefore…get away with murder, plus the murder weapon and it seems the murder scene was in her office, so…

Suspect 3: Griffin, The Boyfriend. Ok, a dead co-ed, a weird boyfriend who seems to have anger issues (recall Griffin was the dude in the hall at Wes’ apartment who was visiting the neighbor and behaved like a complete idiot. I mean that’s a recipe for disaster. Griffin is definitely the easier choice of suspect. But that’s why I don’t truly believe he’ll be revealed as Lara S killer. It just seems to easy for ShondaLand. Now Griffin could also be a suspect for the killing of the professor, especially if as we suspect the Professor was having an affair with Lara S.  I could certainly see the boyfriend not taking too kindly to the professor and his student getting it on.  But it wouldn’t explain why the students felt the need to dispose of the Sam’s body or to hide the facts of the murder in Annalise’s office.

 Other Suspects: Annalise’s legal associate Bonnie (the chick we met along with her male associate Frank who likes to sleep with students…lol).  If you didn’t notice, go back and check out the scene where we find out Annalise is married.  It’s at the party and her and Sam are kissing.  Check out old girls face…she didn’t seem to happy.  Now we don’t know if she’s jealous of one or the other, but that was definitely the reaction of an “interested party” if ya know what I mean.  So the question is, which person is she jealous of…Annalise, cause she’s in love or infatuation with Sam, or is she jealous of Sam cause she just that crazy or brainwashed over her boss (ie Stockholm syndrome like Wes described in his defense tactic he presented to Annalise in class).  I can def see here killing Sam are if she was in love with Sam and incapable of actually doing something to her bos, I can certainly see her killing the student.

Another suspect, Detective Nate, Annalise, side piece and an active Detective with the police, who Annalie put on the stand and willfully had him commit perjury rather than say he was on his knees for Annalise.  Hell, if she got him to do that, who’s to say he wouldn’t also kill for her, especially her husband who is the one keeping him from his “snack”.  But we learn on the stand that Detective Nate is married and he wife is dying of cancer, I can’t see him killing anyone, but who’s to say whether or not his wife is still alive in the 3 months leading up to Sam Keating’s death.  Who knows, maybe the wife dies and he wants to help get rid of the dude who got all this claim to his woman.

So there you have it.  my first group of suspects.  What do ya’ll think?  Was the pilot enough to get you hooked?  Who’s on your suspect list?  What are your theories?  Let me know in the comments section.  I don’t care about spoilers or anything like that.  I don’t mind them at all.  If something is written smartly, then spoilers don’t mess up anything.

Oh and you can check out this link to see pictures of primary cast and character names: How To Get Away With Murder Season 1 Cast Photos

So speculate away and can’t wait until next episode!