Michaela Pratt

The third character that I want to talk about is Michaela! She, like my two precious posts has a standout moment for me that I want to talk about. But first, Michaela is a member of the Keating Five that works with Annalise. She is very type A, and initially dis liked by most of her peers. In the first season she is arguably the one who handles every high pressure situation the worst. I mentioned a moment in my last post about Laurel where the five students are burying a dead body in the woods, while Laurel puts everyone in their place, Michaela is on the verge of a breakdown almost the whole time.

I love Michaela mostly because initially I didn’t like her very much at all. I, like the rest of Annalise’s’ team and the audience thought she was entitled and a know it all (for lack of a better term. However by the end of season one and definitely into season two, she slowly crept up on me as a character to look out for. In season two she loosens up and like the rest of the women in the Keating household owns her sexuality and never settles.

My favorite scene is one where she is out to dinner with her almost future mother in law. At the start of season one she is engaged to a man named Aiden, and for all intents and purposes they are the picture perfect couple. at the start of the season the biggest problem she has is with her future mother in law who does not think she is good enough for her son. However, as the season progresses Michaela finds out that her fiancée Aiden is hiding past relations with men, which leads Michaela and the team to find out he is gay and marrying Michaela to cover up. In this scene you find out a whole lot about Michaela and why she acts the way that she does and I loved every second of it. Check it out:

In this simple scene you understand Michaela, and why she constantly strives for perfection to escape her an upbringing she’s not proud of. But when she slips into that accent and let’s herself go back to her roots, I had never lover her more. Actress Aja Naomi King kills this scene especially when she delivers. “I love me. So I’m done”. I think more than any other moment Michaela embodies feminism in that she respects herself, and walks away unapologetically. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Laurel Castillo

The next character I want to discuss is Laurel Castillo. Laurel is without a doubt my favorite character, because at first she comes of quiet and unassuming but she is actually the most conniving especially in season two. Laurel is one of Annalise’s students who works on the cases throughout both seasons. She is played by Mexican actress Karla Souza.

In the first few episodes I had doubts about the character, she didn’t particularly interest me and she kind of floated around in the background. As the first season progressed and moving into the second season she becomes the most level headed and cunning of Annalise’s five students. at the start she is rather idealistic bordering on naïve but becomes arguably the most vital of the Keating Five. I love her especially because of this because even as Annalise recognizes her as a vital member of the team in season two, there is still a part of laurel this is idealistic and sees the best in everyone. I like that she is neither extreme but a mix of both ends of the spectrum. Like many of the other characters she owns her sexuality, starting with her relationship with Frank. My second favorite Laurel moment is in real time when she and the four other students go to bury Sam Keating’s body in the wood, and she gets a phone call from Frank. While the other members of the groups judge her for sleeping with her sort of boss, she quickly accepts whatever criticisms they have and reminds them that they are literally burying a dead body in the woods.

My all-time favorite Laurel moment is when the team goes to their perspective homes for Christmas in season 1. It is the first time we as an audience get to know a little more about Laurel. While it’s a little upsetting that before this moment I hadn’t realized that the character or the actress was Latina the moment is too good to pass up. After this moment there’s a noticeable change in Laurels behavior, she seems to gain confidence and perspective after this encounter and I ate it up. Her smirk at the end absolutely kills me. Moving into season two you see this Laurel a lot more. She is generally the most rational helping to control the situation amongst her peers. The audience also sees her cunning and manipulative streak that helps Annalise and the team solve cases and it’s awesome. I can’t wait to see what else she is capable of this season.

Watch Laurel's homecoming: 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205802/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Annalise Keating

How to Get Away with Murder aired on September 5 2014 on ABC. The show follows attorney Annalise Keating, associate attorney Bonnie, employee frank and five of her students at Middleton University in Philadelphia. The five students are Wes, Connor, Michaela, Laure, and Asher.  In the first season, they unwittingly find themselves in the middle of the murder of Annalise’s husband, Sam Keating. The show is told In Medias Res with flashbacks depicting the rest of the story.



The "Keating 5". Wes, Connor Micheala, Laurel, Asher

One of the things this show does well is that it has a diverse cast. About half of the main characters in the show are people of color, which is more than most shows you see on television. Every character on this show is unique, complex, and has incredible depth, which is also very refreshing to see. The first cast character I want to focus on is Annalise Keating.

Annalise is without a doubt the most refreshing and powerful characters I have seen on television in a very long time. I might be a little biased because I am a huge fan of Viola Davis and think she can do no wrong, but that’s beside the point. Annalise Keating is absolutely ruthless and I love watching every minute of what she does. She’s manipulative and does literally whatever it takes to win her cases, and that’s why she’s the best. It’s really incredible to see a woman, be indisputably the best defense lawyer in the business.

Another piece that I absolutely love about the show in general and Annalise, is that the women in this show talk about sex. Explicitly. Even more so in the second season, where it is revealed that Annalise is bisexual.  While I wouldn’t be surprised to see men discussing their sex lives on a television show, it’s considerably rarer to see women discuss it. When Annalise wants something, she gets it.

While she is unforgiving, tough and displays traits that are traditionally considered masculine, she is also incredibly vulnerable. One of my favorite scenes on the show is a moment after Annalise finds out some terrible news about her husband. She sits in front of her mirror and takes off her wig, her eyelashes, and all of her makeup. It’s an absolutely chilling moment because as a viewer you feel like Annalise has finally taken off all of her armor and has allowed herself to grieve and be upset, to be vulnerable. She strips herself of the things that make her traditionally beautiful, until its just Annalise. I think its really important to see her grief and her tears. One, because it makes her character more well-rounded if she has moments where she breaks down. It also allows her to be a character that is ruthless, powerful, strong, and a character that cries and grieves. Another great thing about this scene is that Viola Davis requested it; it was her idea. 

Watch the scene here: