Scandal: I Choose Jam in Vermont

President Fitz and Olivia Pope
Image from Easymemes.com

     I am always in favor of a bizarre alternate reality episode of my favorite shows. Tonight's 100th episode of Scandal delivered  a great sideways reality. This is one of those episodes where all of the characters made different choices, but still end up coming back to the same situations.  We begin with Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) arguing about what to do with the group that fixed the election. This gang has already been indirectly responsible for the murders of Olivia's dad's girlfriend, some prison guards, President-elect Frankie Vargas (Ricardo Chavira) and his aide Jennifer, and the near-murder of Huck. This group also has manipulated Attorney General David Rosen (Josh Malina), imprisoned VP-elect Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry), and took whatever was left of White House Chief of Staff Abby Whelan's (Darby Stanchfield) dignity. Fitz wants to take action, to make his ex-wife (the other presidential candidate) Mellie into the next president. Olivia feels conflicted because eight years ago, she helped make Fitz president through lies, deception, and a faulty voting machine in Defiance, Ohio. Oliva thinks back to the night when she and the dream team voted for Fitz's future. Each member of the team was promised something for their contribution. For Mellie (Bellamy Young), it was to be the first lady, and for Olivia (having a secret affair with Fitz), it was a top job in the White House. Cyrus would become the Chief of Staff, and Verna a Supreme Court justice. Finally, the brains of the operation, oil tycoon Hollis Doyle, requested the government grant him favors as needed.

     We go back to 2010, where Olivia turns down the pact to commit voter fraud in Defiance. With this change to the timeline, Fitz loses the presidency and leaves Mellie to be with Olivia. The two are happy, marrying in a beautiful ceremony a few months later. A blushing Olivia is given away by Huck, her less socially evolved co-worker. Maid of Honor Abby makes eyes at David Rosen, and it seems like they might have an honest shot at a relationship in this world. Olivia jumps into lobbying for gun reform with Marcus and Abby  in what I suppose is a less sophisticated version of Pope and Associates in a dingy storefront.

Mellie Grant- Paste Magazine Meme

     Meanwhile, Mellie wallows and commiserates with Cyrus, who marries her to further both of their careers.  Cyrus eventually gets the idea to make Mellie run for president in the next election, but once again, it seems like he's pushing a candidate to fuel his own need for power. Did Mellie really not realize Cyrus was in love with men, or was she choosing again to look the other way? In this reality, Cyrus and James did not get married and Cyrus stayed in the closet. It's upsetting, but at least James wasn't murdered by B-613 in this reality. Speaking of those lovable secret ops, Olivia's dad (aka "Command") seems to still be in charge of the organization, but he's not ordering tons of murders in this timeline. Because Olivia is not close to the White House, her dad never came back into her life. He watches the wedding from the back of the church. Speaking of murders (which we always speak of when it comes to this show), Quinn never had to become Quinn. Since her boyfriend didn't work at the company of the voter rigging software, the building didn't blow up, and Lindsay was never wrongly blamed for the explosion. She didn't need an alternate identity or to start life over in D.C., so she makes the rounds of celebrity dating shows. I loved this twist the most!

     Instead of talking about moving to Vermont and making jam, Fitz and Olivia falter. The two had nothing to overcome except Mellie's vitriol. Still, their love wasn't smooth sailing. Olivia was still  wrapped up in her work, and Fitz was still a bit checked out, looking for the next thing. He almost got together with slutty Quinn/Lindsay (Katie Lowes)!  As the preeminent political talk show host (no Liberty report in this reality), he lacked the sexy power and authority of the president. Poor Olivia had no friends in the White House and waited all day to get a meeting with President Reston, only to be told her bill was going nowhere and their meeting was a mistake. In the end, Mellie still came to Olivia about her campaign. In this reality, there is no baby Teddy Grant, no audio of the President bedding someone in the office,  and no sniper murder of Fitz and Mellie's eldest son/brother? (still not clear), Jerry III. There is also no Olivia/Fitz /Jake love triangle. Fitz never had Jake NSA-style spy on Olivia because they are actually together. With him not being president,t there's also a lot less shady stuff (kidnapped by the VP) going on around the gang. So did Olivia and Fitz have kids? No, not yet. By the end, they agreed to buy a townhouse together in an attempt to really make their lives together as one.

     The episode ends with Olivia having a weird flashback face. She goes up to Fitz and say "I'm in." Is she in for their future? Is she in to make Mellie the next president? Is she in to bring down the organization that has even  her own menacing father scared? Is she in for a double Gettysburger? Maybe it's all of the above.

Drew Barrymore Pens A New Delightful Celebrity Memoir

Image from Celbzz
I would do this if I had a memoir!

     My name is Kelly and I love reading celebrity memoirs! Since the beginning of 2017, I have already sailed through three. I enjoyed delectable presents from my book club bestie including  TGIT Shonda Rhimes's  Year of Yes and Glee star Naya Rivera's Sorry Not Sorry.

     I chose a book for  my recent trip based on my current TV binge. I finished watching Netflix's The Santa Clarita Diet and 90's fan girl-ed out over how much I adore Drew Barrymore. Her Fall 2015 book Wildflower is full of interesting stories that kept me turning pages. I can't stop laughing about her RV trip with Nancy Fallon where they drove the vehicle into the roof a gas station in a rough part of New Orleans.There's lots of great moments Drew from her learning how to be a mom, to a survivalist  trip with the Charlie's Angels girls. Barrymore reflects on her unusual childhood, famous relatives and and teenage addiction with poise and patience.GRADE: A

Holiday Road.... Top RT Audio for the Holiday Season

     I have been spending so much time in the car lately. It's easy for me to get tired of the radio. I've tried everything (but cassette tapes) to keep me sane behind the wheel. I've put together my top three songs and top 5 podcasts that have been helping me deal with holiday traffic.

SONGS:
     It's that cold time of year again. My current local temperature is about 22 degrees, which makes car travel less fun toff the bat. I need music to get me in the car. A good holiday song will make you forget you're in traffic. A great song will turn your boring commute into a party-like atmosphere , which is great when there is a bottleneck to view an accident on the other side of the highway.

3. Florida Georgia Line: Cruise
"I've got my windows down, and my radio up..."
This 2013 radio staple get me to roll down my windows and relax (if it is above 40 degrees out). I caught FGL in the summer of 2013 touring with Luke Bryan as this song was burning up the country, pop and hip hop charts. It was a near religious experience on a sweltering Labor Day weekend in Pennsylvania  as Tyler Hubbard (Georgia of the aforementioned Line) yelled out "Yeah Girl" to my "Let's cruise" sign. Something about the song on the radio takes me back to that concert and the memories of that weekend. Cruise and other songs about sipping beers, falling in love, dancing in fields, and other summer fun can be found on Here's to the Good Times.

2. Maren Morris: 80's Mercedes
"...Feel like a hard to get starlet when I'm driving...." 
I love listening to this song in the car. It reminds me of summertime, no traffic, and it's very catchy. Maren Morris has blown up the country scene this year, winning Bes New Artist at November's CMA Awards. Her mix of pop, soul and country make her Summer 2016 album Hero on repeat.

1. Tim McGraw: Shotgun Rider
"...No I don't ever want to know... no  other shotgun rider beside you, singing along to the radio."

(c) PipPepPop

PODCASTS:

     Everyone has a podcast these days. All you need are some good microphones, the gift of gab, and an iTunes account. All you need to listen are ears. I have been devouring the following podcasts in no particular order :

5. Shondaland Revealed
     TGIT fans can rejoice! ABC super EP Betsy Beers is back bi-weekly this season and  interviewing her beloved Shonda Thursdays actors. Stars of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal (premieres next month), The Catch (premieres March) and How to Get Away with Murder come to chat about their shows. I also believe this started as a Scandal podcast and expanded out to the other shows. In the news, I have to know who is under the sheet (dead) on HTGAM! I know Betsy will have that interview (and the actor's fashion report) soon. The podcast is on iTunes alternate Fridays with first looks on EW.com Thursday nights.

4.  Buffering the Vampire Slayer
     Real-life couple Kristin Russo and Jenny Owens Young have just completed a watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's season 1. January is the perfect time to jump in on the emotionally crippling season 2. There's some important conversations to be had here about the dialog (mostly from Xander) and situations from the 90's (just yell "The Patriarchy") that are no longer politically correct.  There's also much amazing fashion to discuss (t-shirts under camis and dresses, velour everything, anyone?) Buffy fans new and old will enjoy this podcast. I loved the interview with Armin Shimerman (aka Principal Synder) and hope to hear more behind the scenes tidbits as Buffy turns 20 this spring. Each episode ends with an original composition the ladies have written  about the theme of the episode. I know the upcoming School Hard already lends itself to an easy chorus. The podcast drops on iTunes Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings. Visit the podcast website here.

3. Bitch Sesh- A Real Housewives Breakdown Show
     Hosts Casey Warner and Danielle Schneider are celebrating year on the airwaves with special guest, Bravo's King Andy Cohen. Both women come from comedy writing and acting backgrounds, and they launched the Hulu original mockumentaries "The Real Housewives of Orlando" and "The Real Housewives of Las Vegas." This podcast is all bravo, all the time. The episodes recap all of the Real Housewives franchises (mainstays Orange County, Beverly Hills, NY, NJ, Atlanta, and the less successful Dallas, DC, and Potomac forays.) The podcast is usually found Wednesdays! Catch the crew on iTunes here.

2. Gossip Guys
     Andy Greene and Aaron Davitian have steered the ship USS Gossip Girl for nearly three seasons, and only spoiled one major plotline. If you listed to the "Never Have I Ever" episode, you and Andy will find out who is Gossip Girl.  The L.A.-based pair always have something to say as two guys watching a post-Internet boom teen drama. They push through the party and scheme of the  week, coining phrases such as 'manipiate': a manipulation, usually involving Nate. I've found myself yelling "It's not enough," when they honor Blair's stepdad Cyrus, or "It's a small island," whenever a character unfathomably appears in the next scene after going from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Join the guys as we head into the (personal opinion) turbulent and off-putting season 4. Let's hope next season will end with a "Summer of Serena" movie binge of Blake Lively classics. Episodes usually release Mondays. Spot the guys on iTunes here.

1. The Shipping Room
     If you've ever rooted for a TV couple, this podcast is for you! From The Wonder Years to Chicago P.D. and everything in between (usually 902010 or One Tree Hill), Christine and Tamar fearlessly plunge into important TV relationship topics. Past episodes have been about affairs, pregnancies and engagements. The ladies share weekly listener "Tip 10 Ships" lists and talk with top T.V. writers. Episodes drop on Fridays. Check them out on iTunes.

Swept Away - TV's Missing It's Primetime

     November has long been known as one of the truly glorious months in television. Once upon a time, this month, along with February and season-ending May were the big months to watch. This tradition dates as far back as the 1950's where Nielsen numbers measured how many viewers watched a program. Data these days breaks it down even more by age, gender and other factors.  These months measured viewership and would eventually determined advertising rates for shows. The more popular a program, the more money they could get. This was long before the "big game" was raking in millions per commercial.

     In today's day and age, we could lose a favorite character at any turn, and long-absent guests are just as likely to pop up in September as they are midway into the season. While I'm still hopelessly behind on all of my shows, there have been a fair amount of times this month when nothing much is going on. Take Election day, Thanksgiving day and Black Friday, all three guaranteed weeknights this month to show repeats. What happens when we head to December?

Image from Giphy

   
     First, The "Winter Finales" will come. Much like the ghost of Christmas past, the WF will leave us on either a satisfying resolution for the year, or utter shock. The idea comes from British shows such as The Office or Downton Abbey, which often end the season with a Christmas themed episode. It's time for Christmas specials (not the special Yuletide-themed episodes like our favorite 90's shows, but events like "Michael Buble's Christmas" and "CMA Country Christmas."  Much to my surprise, Shonda Thursdays  are ending their first part of the season this week with what promises to be a grand,earth-shattering, Winter conclusion. This is a nice way of saying we won't see Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder or the not-looking-promising for renewal Notorious until Scandal comes a calling, which is about two months from now. There will be a full two months with nothing new from most of our favorite shows. What kind of present is that?

Stay tuned for a post on the best 90's themed Christmas episodes.

Annalee, Annalee, Don't You Know I'm On to You

     Tomorrow is episode 2 of the new season of How to Get Away with Murder, and we might have finally reached the point where getting away is not a forgone conclusion. See the above blog title, also part of a Gavin DeGraw song, for a clear explanation. It's the third year of Professor Keating's (Viola Davis) law class, and the show has finally begun adressing our burning questions as Annalise discovers a dead body and her house on fire (who handles her insurance claims, seriously?)

Answers to Real Life Questions:
1.  How do the Keating 5 stay in law school with all of the murders?
     - These kids are barely holding it together mentally, and their GPAS are revealed at the bottom of the whole law class. The new dean points out to Annalise that she is favoring these sucky lawyers and like a protective mama bear, Professor Keating defends them.

2. How does Annalise keep bringing in money with one big case a semester? How does she find time to teach her sections of Intro to Law?
     - Annalise has an expensive retainer, and she is a good lawyer. Yes, she probably makes some bank, but teaching classes has to cover some of the bills, even if it's just covering her house repairs from all the murders. She is a great teacher, but she has other obligations (lying to the police, court, convincing people she didn't murder Nate's wife)  and missed a chuck of teaching classes last year because she got shot in the stomach (at a crime scene). As per her conversation with the dean, the school is aware Annalise has become a terrible educator. She is removed from the into classes and as a last ditch attempt, convinces the dean she should run an innocence-project based law clinic.

Image from TVLine.

3. Why didn't Frank shave sooner? 
     - Actor Charlie Weber was an Abercrombie model. He is a hottie with a body. Why has he been creeping around with a beard? Oh right, he is a murderer.

4. Is Oliver now part of the group (The Keating 6)?
     - Oliver has seen some things. He was diagnosed as HIV positive,  kidnapped by a would-be murderer, and then he got his boyfriend's acceptance from Stanford pulled. Yes, he is all in, digging up dirt on Annalise to secure his place with the group. Can he come back from the dark side? Can wicked Caleb really be the good one in this pair?

5. Is Annalise a murderer?
     - The fliers in her classroom seem to suggest that she is.

More Questions:
1. Why won't Wes move out of his terrible apartment? 
     - There have been kidnappings, murders, and some seriously bad juju there. It must be very cheap.

2. What happened to Caleb Hapstall?
     - We last saw the police going to arrest Caleb after Annalise proved in court his sister and brother/cousin could not have murdered all of their parents. Did he go to jail? Did the Keating 5 come to watch his trial and figuratively dance on his grave?

3. Did the police give up on trying to wrap up the murder of D.A. Sinclair? 
     - The original setup showed that Katherine Hapstall must have killed her in a murderous rage, but with Katherine's case blowing to pieces and her innocence, did anyone believe Annalise and crew were scot-free?

4. Why is Wes so cruel to Laurel?
     - It's unclear what happened after last season's car kiss, but Wes has turned a cold shoulder on Laurel and found a (relatively normal) girlfriend. Laurel still hasn't heard from Frank since he disappeared. If anyone should be massively upset, it should be Laurel.

Image courtesy of Tumblr. 

5. What's up with Bonnie?
     - Bonnie has been too quiet. Any minute, she may turn into her Paris Gellar character from Gilmore Girls and go off about chastity belts and Harvard. She has some issues that clearly have not been dealt with (her father raping her as a child, helping Asher cover up  a murder, nursing Annalise back to mental and physical health) and her weird unspoken tension with Frank, who has now disappeared.


6. Are we going to get closure on Wes's father being shot right in front of him?
     -This was my question from moment one of the season premiere.  Also see question 1 as it relates to this matter.. Wes needs something good in his life after losing Rebecca and being driven to the point of agreeing to shoot Annalise.

7. Will there ever be a Scandal crossover?
     -I can't be the only one shipping this crossover.  Just picture it, another day at Middleton University when the next presidential debate turns deadly. Annalise represents Cyrus, because, Cyrus must have done it. Or, Olivia and Huck come in and cleans up political scandals and bodies.

8. Will Annalise and Nate finally be happy?
     - Nate came all the way to Memphis to visit Annalise and her family in the season finale. They adored Nate, and he put up with it. Now that they're both widowed, they could be together. There is a good chance this turns toxic. See #10.

9. Is Annalise over the 'Frank caused the car accident that killed my baby' news?
     - There is no answer yet, but let's go with a hard pass. Perhaps Frank is the dead body found at casa d'Annalise? This leads to...

10. Who is the body at Annalise's house?

Gladiators in Dirty White Hats

"We're all bad people. That's the only thing we have in common."

-Bonnie (How to Get Away with Murder)

      I borrowed this quote from last night's HTGAM, but it very accurately relates to fellow Shondaland lead-in, Scandal. In tonight's episode, The Fish Rots From the Head, the distinct lack of conscience among the cast becomes blatantly obvious. Scandal has spent a long time diving into government conspiracies, election rigging, campaigns, secret spy organizations, and the inner workings of the White House. But this week, Olivia (Kerry Washington) and OP Associates have gone back to a good old fashioned fixing. It's a crime scene cover-up. At first glace, it looks like a prostitute OD's on drugs at a swanky hotel party with the secret service. On second, thought it could be murder, or at least manslaughter. What will the team do? 

     At this point, one must begin to wonder, does anyone on the show have a shred of morals, or do they all live in a gray area. First of all, President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) is spiraling after his breakup with Olivia. He cares little about policy and spends his time bedding any journalist he can get his secret service to bring up to his residence. The secret service, meanwhile, is having parties with hookers. No big deal, right? At the heart of this conflict is Abby. Poor Abby wanted to be the press secretary, but she didn't know her job would include NDAs and phone holding for the president's floozies. Now she has now become the moral center of the show, but perhaps just until this week's episode is over.

     Olivia can't be bothered with the cases because she's still spiraling from the breakup with the president and her secret abortion, and her recent secret trysts with Scott Foley's Capt. Jake Ballard. Important to note here, Jake killed a bunch of people to get the President to name him the head of the NSA. Olivia is very bothered by this for obvious reasons and stalks jake when they're not having secret boots calls. After all, Jake is the same guy a few years back who was using all sort of spying equipment on Olivia before they fell for each other. Now he is the top government spy! Who can change this situation? Abby snaps Olivia back to reality during a Jake stakeout. Finally the OPA group figures out the real story  about the secret service and they seem to be a hair more moral than before (it's been a while since Huck killed anyone).) Olivia plans to bring the secret service to justice by going to speak to Fitz about his and their behavior and the bad culture he has set up for the ss. Then, just to make things even more odd, Olivia invites herself over to her father's house to see Jake, only to meet Jake's brand new fiancee, who he has only been out with 9 times.

     Senator Mellie Grant (aka Lady MacBeth in Louboutins, Bellamy Young) takes her son (Teddy, a.k.a. America's baby) to visit  his daddy in the hopes of getting his support for her campaign to be the Republican party front runner in the presidential primary. She breezes in with kisses, hugs and mushy family stuff (clearly not your typical Mellie) ans after spying one of the journalists in a robe, hugs Fitz and tells him to keep his whores away from the children, then delightfully escorts little Teddy out of the residency.  For those of us that's can't think of anything weirder than Mellie and Olivia getting along, they're actually becoming friends. Yes, they drink wine and lament about their past experiences (but  they never mention their vote rigging scandal that first got Fitz elected).

     On the other side, VP Susan Ross (Artemis Pebdani) does not want the President's approval because she knows he is complete scum. Susan's boyfriend, Attorney general David Rosen (Josh Malina) tries to convince her to get the approval anyway. He only is doing this because his secret other girlfriend Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi) happens to be running Susan's campaign and she's another particular type of shrew. Speaking of shrews, how could we leave out Cyrus Beene? He is the true Macbeth of this show,with no scruples as far back as the election fixing scandal. He has killed (even if its not with his hands) many people, all int eh name of protecting America and Fitz. He has been cast out several times by Fitz, and despite being chief of staff, his power hunger has him looking for the next great candidate after being turned down by Mellie and Susan to run their campaigns.  He recently sent a shooter to the Pennsylvania state capitol so the governor (Francisco Vargas, played by Ricardo Chavras) could come out a hero. this week, Cyrus got the governor to run (even though the poor man has a child battling cancer) by telling a story about his fake disabled brother. Remember, Cyrus is the guy who was caught with a male gay prostitute and married him to keep up appearances.

     In summation, the fish rotted from Fitz's poor actions. But really, this fish was split open the moment Olivia, Mellie, Cyrus and other came in to fix Fitz's first election. All of the scandals are built on a central lie. Then there's the whole secret government group B-613 issue, which has caused a lot of drama (Mama Pope!). Scandal breeds scandal, and everyone  has added their own misdeeds to the fire, and it's going to combust.  #'Merica

How to Get Away with Murder.. or Die Trying

Michaela and Connor

     It's time for the last part of the How to Get Away with Murder  second season. Since we left off, Bonnie murdered Rebecca and Annalise/Frank covered it up by disposing of her body and making it look like the fled town. It's nice to have friends in low places when you're planning a murder, isn't it, Bonnie? The main case of the season is Catherine and Caleb Hapstall, rich adopted siblings that are on trial for murdering their parents. Things seem pretty bad for the siblings, because the both claim they're innocent, and no murder weapon can be recovered. Plus, their adoptive aunt accuses them of incest and insults them with tons of racial slurs, and ends up dead also. The beak outlook of the case turns around when the Keating 5 discover Aunt Helena gave a child up for adoption, and their adoptive father was the child's father too and the true heir to the Hapstall family fortune. The best quote of the season comes from Annalise to D.A. Emily Sinclair, "Good luck proving the inbred weirdo didn't do it." Viola Davis also won a SAG award for her role of Annalise for last season, so she better go, girl!

     As luck would have it, Michaela gets involved with defendant Caleb, only as a result of having a wild entanglement with Rebecca's stepbrother, a.k.a. "eggs 911." In her defense, she didn't know who he was, but Wes did. The two gents teamed up to unsuccessfully find Rebecca and it was only revealed to Wes in the final minutes of episode 9 that Rebecca was dead. Annalise tells Wes in an effort to get him angry enough to shoot her. She does this to cover for Asher, who not-so-accidentally ran over D.A. Sinclair, who pulled up compromised cases from Asher's esteemed father's career as a judge. Annalise has Catherine drugged and sets up a scene at the house to make it look like she shot Sinclar and Annalise in anger, after Annalise 's team figured out she must have to do with the murders because she had a relationship with the inbred weirdo. We get flashes at the end of the episode of Annalise and her old flame, Eve, watching a young boy, Christophe,  in a police station being interviewed about finding his mother unconscious from an apparent suicide. Wes's mom also died from a suicide...

Wes

     So what happened with the murders from the previous season? Lila's murder just went on the backburneer as Annalise proved her client rebecca's innocence. Nate was tried for the murder fo Sam, and Annalise's old flame Eve represented him. This caused a lot of drama. Nate's cancer-stricken wife Nina asked Annalise to get her some pills so she could die in peace and Annalise wouldn't go for it. Nate did get the pills to his wife, and was investigated for charges of murder, but cleared after a blood sample swap indicated Nia died with no drugs in her body. Will these two crazy kids finally be together now that their spouses are dead? I hope not. They're nuts.

     Here is the current body count because of Annalise and crew, not including the at least 5 murders involving this season's cases

• Nia Lahey            - Murdered by Nate (humanely)
• Sam Keating        - Murdered by Wes
• D.A. Sinclair       - Murdered by Asher
• Judge Millstone   - Murdered by hanging himself
• Lila                      - Murdered by Frank
• Hapstall Aunt      - Murdered by her son, Phillip

Injured/Pretty Impaired:

• Annalise               
• Catherine Hapstall

How to Get Away with Murder.. or Die Trying

Michaela and Connor

     It's time for the last part of the How to Get Away with Murder  second season. Since we left off, Bonnie murdered Rebecca and Annalise/Frank covered it up by disposing of her body and making it look like the fled town. It's nice to have friends in low places when you're planning a murder, isn't it, Bonnie? The main case of the season is Catherine and Caleb Hapstall, rich adopted siblings that are on trial for murdering their parents. Things seem pretty bad for the siblings, because the both claim they're innocent, and no murder weapon can be recovered. Plus, their adoptive aunt accuses them of incest and insults them with tons of racial slurs, and ends up dead also. The beak outlook of the case turns around when the Keating 5 discover Aunt Helena gave a child up for adoption, and their adoptive father was the child's father too and the true heir to the Hapstall family fortune. The best quote of the season comes from Annalise to D.A. Emily Sinclair, "Good luck proving the inbred weirdo didn't do it." Viola Davis also won a SAG award for her role of Annalise for last season, so she better go, girl!

     As luck would have it, Michaela gets involved with defendant Caleb, only as a result of having a wild entanglement with Rebecca's stepbrother, a.k.a. "eggs 911." In her defense, she didn't know who he was, but Wes did. The two gents teamed up to unsuccessfully find Rebecca and it was only revealed to Wes in the final minutes of episode 9 that Rebecca was dead. Annalise tells Wes in an effort to get him angry enough to shoot her. She does this to cover for Asher, who not-so-accidentally ran over D.A. Sinclair, who pulled up compromised cases from Asher's esteemed father's career as a judge. Annalise has Catherine drugged and sets up a scene at the house to make it look like she shot Sinclar and Annalise in anger, after Annalise 's team figured out she must have to do with the murders because she had a relationship with the inbred weirdo. We get flashes at the end of the episode of Annalise and her old flame, Eve, watching a young boy, Christophe,  in a police station being interviewed about finding his mother unconscious from an apparent suicide. Wes's mom also died from a suicide...

Wes

     So what happened with the murders from the previous season? Lila's murder just went on the backburneer as Annalise proved her client rebecca's innocence. Nate was tried for the murder fo Sam, and Annalise's old flame Eve represented him. This caused a lot of drama. Nate's cancer-stricken wife Nina asked Annalise to get her some pills so she could die in peace and Annalise wouldn't go for it. Nate did get the pills to his wife, and was investigated for charges of murder, but cleared after a blood sample swap indicated Nia died with no drugs in her body. Will these two crazy kids finally be together now that their spouses are dead? I hope not. They're nuts.

Here is the current body count because of Annalise and crew, not including the at least 5 murders involving this season's cases

• Nia Lahey            - Murdered by Nate (humanely)
• Sam Keating        - Murdered by Wes
• D.A. Sinclair       - Murdered by Asher
• Judge Millstone   - Murdered by hanging himself
• Lila                      - Murdered by Frank
• Hapstall Aunt      - Murdered by her son, Phillip

Injured/Pretty Impaired:

• Annalise               
• Catherine Hapstall

How to Solve a Murder -Viola Davis Style

     One of the best new shows this season, hands-down, is ABC's How to Get Away with Murder. This past Thursday, we finally got the answer to the season-long question: who killed sorority girl Lila? Now new questions have popped up and we're left waiting until the next season to figure our : "Will the Keating 5 get away with murder?" and "Who let Rebecca go?"

     Oscar winner Viola Davis leads the cast as Annalise Keating, a tough talking defense attorney and twisted mother figure to her scrappy band of first year law students. Wes, Laurel, Connor, Mikela and Asher. Despite the lessons they learn in class, these kids could not be more clueless about how to work the legal system. In their weekly cases, Annalise relies on associate Bonnie (Liza Weil, yes Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls) and investigator Frank (Charlie Weber) to get things to go her way and to helo her clients. Due to some very complicated circumstances, Wes ends up killing Annalise's husband, Professor Sam Keating. Sam was having an affair with coed Lila, who was pregnant at the time she drowned in a campus water tower.

     My money was definitely on Sam as the murderer, although her football star boyfriend, Annalise and a shady drug dealer friend Rebecca were all equally likely suspects.  Through current events, flashbacks to the nights of Sam's and Lila's murders, we unravel a story that leaves everyone with blood on their hands. Wes only struck Sam because he was wrestling Rebecca (who became involved with Wes) for a flash drive that might prove he was guilty of the murder. The other students helped to dispose of Sam's body (minus Asher, who is so self-serving, he didn't even realize he was left out of the biggest cover-up in town). Unfortunately, Asher's trophy was the murder weapon, and Bonnie was hit on by Sam before he died, which made Annalise so disappointed in her character, they were barely speaking.

     So where does that leave us? Four of the law students must barely be passing their classes because they're covering up murders as often as they're defending the people accused of them.... and Oliver, Connor's boyfriend is one computer hacking away from going to jail for life. Annalise can finally be with her secret lover, Detective Nate Lahey, because Sam is dead. It looks like Nate might be hauled into the precinct for the murder of Sam, despite his innocence in the matter.

     As for Lila's murder, Sam instructed Frank to "take care of", a.k.a. murder Lila. Nobody knows Frank was the murderer because he is creepy, but a very convincing liar. This case may remain unsolved.  Annalise realized her students killed Sam, and in flashbacks, she told Wes what to do to cover it up, and she was really okay with her husband being murdered (a blessing in disguise?). Rebecca became so disturbed by the whole set of events (and she also takes a lot of drugs), she planned to go to the police and tell them everything. Then  the students tied her up in Annalise's basement. Before we knew it, someone let her escape.. of was she murdered to ensure her silence? In a final thought, what does "eggs 911" mean from Rebecca's last text? Who was she contacting?