'How to Get Away with Murder' continues to redefine murder mystery genre

ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" (2014 - present) premiered its second season last week and somehow managed to introduce even crazier plot twists than the first.

Though viewers know from the season finale that it was in fact defense attorney and law professor Annalise Keating's (Viola Davis) associate Frank (Charlie Weber) who killed a girl at the request of her now-dead husband, Sam (Tom Verica),Annalise and her group of law students, known as "The Keating Five," are still in the dark. To make matters more complicated, the season finale ended with the killing of Wes' girlfriend Rebecca (Katie Findlay), who was also a suspect in the murder case, but only Frank, Annalise and the killer know she is dead.

This is just the beginning.

Viewers might have assumed the entire second season would be focusing on who killed Rebecca, but to everyone's surprise, that mystery is solved in the first episode. The season's arc is revealed when the sound of gunshots and the image of Annalise bleeding out on the floor of a mansion, while Wes runs off the property looking very suspicious, concludes the episode.

Last season, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis), a brilliant criminal defense attorney and professor at fictional Middleton University School of Law, picked five ambitious law students -- Wes (Alfred Enoch), Connor (Jack Falahee), Michaela (Aja Naomi King), Asher (Matt McGorry) and Laurel (Karla Souza) -- to act as assistants on her legal cases. They worked together all season on a case concerning the death of a member of a sorority at the university.

Davis is a firecracker as Annalise, and her character is one of the best on television; her Emmy Award this year for the role was clearly well-deserved. Her relationship with Wes is both charming and creepy at the same time. They have severe trust issues that stem from Wes' determination to protect Rebecca at all costs, despite evidence against her. They have a mother-son relationship that seems to cross the border into romantic territory in this episode, in which Annalise takes The Keating Five (minus Asher) out to a club to blow off some steam. Her dancing scene with Wes skirts the line of uncomfortable intimacy, which could possibly be a sign of developments to come in this season.



The rest of the Keating Five are just as compelling. Asher is the comic relief for the most part. He's an obnoxious and overly masculine character who is not taken seriously by the rest of the crew. Bonnie is an insecure character, constantly seeking approval from Annalise, who is less than willing to give it freely. The relationship between Bonnie and Asher is on the rocks now that the latter has been blackmailed into spying on Annalise, which is doing wonders for her fragile state.

Connor continues to be an excellent, albeit frustrating, character, especially as viewers watch his developing relationship with his boyfriend, Oliver (Conrad Ricamora). Oliver is the most decent human being on the show, loving and caring even when Connor is sucked into dangerous agendas by Annalise and The Keating Five. However, Connor doesn't always treat him the way he should. Similar to that of Asher and Bonnie, their relationship is also on thin ice. Being surrounded by murders can do that to a couple. The premiere didn't offer much for Michaela and Laurel, sadly, who spent the majority of the episode bickering until after the night at the club, when they reconciled. Everyone is mostly dealing with the aftermath of the previous season.

"How To Get Away With Murder" will no doubt provide a strong showing in its second season, supported by a talented cast and sharp writing. The dialogue is quick-witted and perfectly executed, and viewers can't help but care about even the most morally questionable characters, of which there are plenty. Almost everyone on the show besides Oliver has lied or committed felonies, and some have aided in murder or covering it up. It forces viewers to understand that the characters are human and can fall prey to persuasion and temptation.

This show is truly golden. It takes the murder-mystery genre and manages to avoid all clichés and expected plot directions. At the end of every episode, viewers will have a different opinion on who killed whom, who's alive and how in the world so many people are able to get away with murder.