Everything You Need To Know To Jump Into ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ Tonight

How To Get Away With Murder returns for its second season tonight on ABC at 10 PM ET. The first season captured our attention with its sexy cast and bewildering plot twists, but now that Viola Davis has won the Emmy for her performance on the series, all eyes will be tuning in to season two. So how can you jump in if you’ve never seen the show? The show is so fast-moving and convoluted that it is impossible for us to get you up to speed on everything, but if you want to fudge your way through the premiere, here’s a primer on the big stuff:

1) Annalise Keating is the motherf*cking boss.

The most compelling part of How To Get Away With Murder isn’t all the sex, or the murder, but Viola Davis’ titanic portrayal of Annalise Keating. Annalise is an esteemed law professor, genius criminal defense lawyer, and all around badass bitch. Professor Keating is renowned for being able to get just about anyone off for murder, hence why her class is nicknamed “How to get away with murder.” (Heh.)

Naturally, Annalise’s personal life is rife with drama. Her handsome white husband Sam is cheating on her, she’s cheating on her husband Sam, and the series follows how she and her students struggle to cover up Sam’s murder. Davis takes what could be a campy role and infuses it with intelligence, sex appeal, and caverns of emotional heartache. Just watch how she makes taking off her wig and make up look powerful:

You also need to know that Annalise has two major helpers at her firm: Bonnie (Liza Weil), an associate attorney who seems at first to be totally loyal to Annalise, but has a fling with Sam, and Frank (Charlie Weber), who takes care of problems that require the utmost discretion. And then, she’s got her hungry interns: the Keating Five.

2) Who are “The Keating Five”?

Professor Keating encourages competition in her classes by holding a competition each semester for intern spots at her law firm. Of course, Professor Keating makes things a bit more interesting by giving a trophy — cast in the likeness of “Justice” — to whomever is the best of the five week to week. This trophy gives the winner certain perks; it also makes for an effective murder weapon.

These are the Keating Five — note they are all sexy:

• Wes Gibbins (Alfred Enoch) is the sexy “boy next door.” Wes lets his attraction to the mysterious and troubled Rebecca get the better of him, and though he often seems the sweetest and most idealistic, it’s soon revealed that he’s capable of ruthless subterfuge. He killed Annalise’s husband.
• Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee) is the sexy gay one. He’s clever and slick and in love with Oliver, who just found out that he’s HIV-positive.
• Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King) is the sexy striver. She’s to be engaged to a wealthy young man (who had a past at prep school with Connor), and wants to be just like Annalise when she grows up.
• Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza) is the sexy quiet one. She seems unassuming and quiet, but has drive and cunning. She’s also involved with Frank.
• Asher (Matt McGorry) is the sexy bro. Asher comes from a privileged background and is often at odds with the rest of the group. He was not at Annalise’s house during Sam’s murder (because he was in bed with Bonnie).

3) There are THREE big murder mysteries and they’re all tied together.

Oh boy, are you ready for this? While How To Get Away With Murder often features one legal case per episode, in a procedural crime drama style, there are now three overarching murder mysteries that define the entire series.

• First murder victim: Lila Stangard – Lila Stangard is a college girl discovered in the water tank of her sorority. The primary suspects are her football star boyfriend and drug-dealing townie Rebecca. Complicating things is the fact that Lila was having an affair with Sam Keating and was pregnant with his child. It is still unclear who killed Lila, but at one point the Keating Five were convinced it was Sam.
• Second murder victim: Sam Keating – Rebecca sneaks into the Keating house determined to steal evidence that she thinks will exonerate her, but is followed by Wes, Connor, Laurel, and later, Michaela. A drunk Sam discovers them and tussles with the students. When he attacks Rebecca, Michaela tries to help and accidentally pushes him over the bannister. The students think he is dead, but he comes back to life and attempts to strangle Rebecca. Wes murders him by hitting him over the head with the Justice trophy. The first part of season one teased this murder mystery out in flashbacks and the second half followed Annalise’s struggle to help the kids cover up the crime. CASE CLOSED.
• Third murder victim: Rebecca – After the gang kills Sam, it’s revealed that Rebecca was having an affair with Lila’s boyfriend and may indeed have murdered her after all. After refusing to reveal the truth — and threatening to reveal the gang’s secret — Rebecca disappears. At the end of season one, Annalise and Frank meet in her basement to discuss what to do with Rebecca’s corpse. Both Annalise and Frank claim they didn’t do the deed, so it seems that one of the students killed Rebecca —and we’ll find out tonight.

So that’s it: season two of How To Get Away With Murder will follow the mission to find out, for once and for all, who killed Lila Stangard. All the while, Annalise has got to teach, practice law, and cover up her own husband’s murder. (And Rebecca’s?)

4) You can stream the entire first season on Netflix.

If you’re still a little confused and want to get the whole story for yourself, you can now watch the entire first season of How To Get Away With Murder on Netflix. If you start now, you might be able to get through a few episodes before tonight’s big premiere. [Watch How To Get Away With Murder on Netflix]

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[Photos: ABC]