Sometimes, while watching How To Get Away With Murder, it is easy to forget that the show’s star is a world-class actress. But I was reminded of that fact this past December while watching Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
Davis is the front-runner to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film, and deservedly so. She matches wits with Washington towards the beginning of the film and then then nails her big emotional scenes towards the end. And while definitely a less heralded performance, Davis is one of the lone bright spots in this summer’s otherwise underwhelming Suicide Squad, as the ruthless and cold-blooded government higher-up Amanda Waller.
In light of these terrific film performances, I was a little skittish to watch the latest half-season of How To Get Away With Murder (which premiered on January 26), as I don’t like to see Davis slumming it in a mediocre television show. Thankfully, Davis gives Annalise Keating a new layer in the first three episodes of this half-season, though the plot, as usual, is problematic (this review contains spoilers through the first three episodes of the half-season).
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How To Get Away With Murder spent the entire first part of the season teasing its audience with the “mystery” of which character was going to be the dead body in front of Annalise’s burning house. The show announced that every week, it would reveal one character who was not deceased. Then, the show pivoted with a last-minute twist showing that Wes Gibbins had died, even though he was previously revealed to have been alive. I complained about this about-face ad nauseam back in November, and it still bugs me.
But the show must go on, and this half-season is dedicated to finding out who killed Wes. The district attorney’s office certainly thinks that Annalise killed him, and arrests her for his murder. Annalise’s disgraced investigator Frank Delfino claims that he killed Wes, and even though the D.A.’s office mostly doesn’t believe him, Frank is arrested as Annalise’s co-conspirator. And in last week’s episode, it is revealed that Annalise’s sometimes lover Nate Lahey confronted Wes in Annalise’s house on the day Wes died.
At this point, the identity of Wes’s killer is not particularly interesting. It is hard to work up the mental strength to care about clues that arise during the season when, based on precedent, the killer’s identity will be revealed at the very last moment of the season. The fact that last week’s episode hinted that Nate is the killer most likely means that he is not the killer. And now I am mad at myself for the amount of time I have spent thinking about this.
The fact that Annalise has spent the vast majority of these three episodes in prison has enabled Davis to do some of her best work on the show. Davis’s vacant stare as Annalise curls up in a ball in her cell is devastating. Davis expertly portrays the contrast between Annalise’s typical confidence and her dispirited nature in prison.
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Annalise’s incarceration also gives Bonnie Winterbottom a chance to shine in the best storyline so far this half-season. As Annalise’s only full-time attorney employee, Bonnie often vacillates between punching bag and confidant. This season, Annalise puts all her trust in Bonnie, eschewing hiring a more experienced criminal lawyer. But Bonnie is not confident in her own legal ability, which is exacerbated by the fact that she keeps losing pretrial motions in court, most notably failing in convincing the judge to set bail. Liza Weil has done strong work this season portraying Bonnie’s frustration in not being able to successfully defend her mentor.
The other standout actress this season has definitely been Aja Naomi King. As I have written in the past, the writers never seemed to know what to do with Michaela Pratt beyond making her a cipher. But this season, Michaela has stepped up in Annalise’s absence, attempting to lift the spirits of Connor, Oliver, and Asher, while also help nursing Laurel back to health.
I also have to single out guest star Brian Tyree Henry – best known as the breakout actor of FX’s Atlanta – who appears in last week’s episode as Frank’s public defender. The public defender is extremely nervous before his court appearance with Frank, to the point where he is shaking his leg up and down. It’s a small moment, but Henry successfully provides characterization to an otherwise throwaway character. Unfortunately, Frank fires the public defender by the end of the episode, but I hope this is not the last we see of Henry on How To Get Away With Murder.
I will check back in with How To Get Away With Murder when the season concludes in a few weeks, and Wes’s killer will likely be revealed in the final seconds. At least we will likely have a Viola Davis Academy Award win to cheer us up after the inevitable disappointing twist.
Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at [email protected]. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.