I read the first episode of the show, and it’s as appealing on paper as on screen. Great writer’s job. I’m amazed. But it might be the standard over here. After all, I’m in Hollywood!

First I learnt that it’s been written by Peter Nowalk, a skillful young writer. He happens to have co-written « the hollywood assistants handbook : 86 rules for aspiring power players« . I wonder wether i could suggest and add a paragraph about Parisian assistants.

Here are some notes about my readings :

I love the way I’m entertained in each and every scene. They are all surprising and quick paced. There’s something unexpected and related to one of the various plot lines that occurs in all of them. The transition between the scenes makes your mouth water, they convey tension and drama.

A 4 acts structure means actually 5 acts, and more than A, B, C plot lines. There is at least 4 mysteries unfolding in the 1st episode : the body wrapped in the rug, the missing school girl, the law case, what happened in Wes’s flat, and why his neighbor is so on the defensive.

The timeline is split between the present time (when they all come to class and deal with their first lawsuit), flash forwards (about a corpse rolled in a rug), flash backs about the law case

Cliff-hangers all work very well through suspense or emotion, and the end of the episode is really efficient and promising.

I love the way the characters are introduced, that’s so different as what I read in France. (ci après une adaptation de ce que j’ai lu – pour respecter le copyright). You’ll notice that we have no word whatsoever on the hair color or the legs length of anyone because it does not matter for the plots.

Michaela Pratt (27, look d’étudiante de première année, Type-A). « En avant toute » était gravé sur son berceau.

Connor Walsh (25) sexy, sophistiqué, sûr de lui, cool, un orateur né.

Wes Gibbins (27) il a l’air d’un gamin, facile à vivre, qu’on trouve immédiatement sympathique (et son t-shirt est imbibé de sang.)

Laurel Castillo (23, look de première de la classe, introvertie). Silencieuse jusqu’à maintenant.C’est son truc : c’est une cérébrale, une observatrice, le genre de personne qu’on peut facilement sous-estimer.

Le prof, Annalise Keating (la quarantaine) entre dans la pièce : c’est le professeur de droit dont on rêve : brilliante, passionnée, créative, charismatique. Mais elle est bien plus surprenante que cela : sexy, élégante, glamour, dangereuse, un requin entre deux eaux.

Frank, c’est le macho-type, le mec à qui on ne la fait pas, le gamin de Philadelphia qui a réussi, alors que Bonnie est son contrepoint parfait, visage avenant, chaleureuse, et sympathique et professionnelle.

This show deals with many well chosen characters – archetypes who are gonna be changed by what they experiment with Law Professor Keating.

I tried to figure who’s who in the show, and I came to the conclusion that there was a blend of various archetypes for each of them.

Wes is the one that represents the audience, the fish out of the water, the everyman. He is in many scenes, but not all of them. The first act is about him, and then each of the followings presents one member of the squad – Michaela, Connor, Laurel.

Finally, Annalise Keating remains a big piece of mystery for the students (and me as the audience). She might as well be the big bad wolf for the students – as she is shown having no mercy when wining the case is at stake.

Oddly enough, the script gave me more information on how Annalise was feeling than what I recalled from watching the episode 101 : I remember wondering whether she was always acting out, even in the toilets scene with Wes. The script makes it clear she is not.

I also learnt that the writer expects us to believe Annalise could have been killed by her students – which never crossed my mind when watching.

That’s a good lesson too : whatever his intentions, the script writer succeeded in mesmerizing me, both by the intense rhythm of his narrative, and the mysterious character of Annalise Keating.

I definitely like the way the stories are told in How to get away with murder (and gosh, I appreciate to see the lead part plaid by Viola Davis, what an actress!).