YMMV / How to Get Away with Murder

• Alas, Poor Scrappy:
  • Wes was definitely not the most popular character, but it was still hard to watch him as he's violently murdered, desperately crawling for help as he's easily overtaken, and the viewer is forced to watch as he can only struggle in horror as he's suffocated.
  • Non-fatal variant with Simon. He was openly antagonistic to the Keating 5 for most of his time on the show, but just as he started to become somewhat of a sympathetic character, he gets shot in a struggle over a gun, has said shooting framed as a suicide attempt, and upon recovering from his shooting, winds up deported to Pakistan. To make matters worse, Simon is gay, making his deportation a death sentence if anyone there were to find out.
• Base-Breaking Character: Most characters on the show are shaping up to be this, as they all have some major damage that makes them at best morally grey. This was probably a given considering the show centers around defending people who are often guilty of what they're accused of.
  • Michaela: Is she in the right being mad that Aiden kept his fling with Connor a secret, or is she controlling and self-centered for threatening to divorce him and systematically ruin his life if he keeps any more secrets? There's also a segment of viewers who feel she is justified in being mad, but takes her anger too far.
    • As the series went on, Michaela became the most disillusioned of the Keating 5 and she ends up turning against Annalise after all the lies and manipulation. Her ultimate fate in the series finale is that she gets what she wants and gains a high-powered job in the law world... at the cost of all her friends who abandon her.
  • Rebecca: Misunderstood loner who had a rough life - making it hard for her to really trust anyone - and was unjustly accused, even by the man she loved, of her best friend's murder; or, pathological liar and drug dealer who - even though she didn't kill her best friend - *did* intentionally drug her neighbor to the point where he was driven crazy and ended up in a mental ward, just so the cops couldn't question him about what he saw the night Lila was killed. The number of people sad about her being killed off in the season one finale is roughly equal to the number of people who were wishing her gone before she was killed off, and expressing happiness later that she was.
  • Bonnie:
    • After "I Want You to Die" the fandom was split over whether Bonnie was right to turn on Annalise after the latter broke her trust by revealing her sexual abuse without her consent or being an ungrateful bitch to the person that saved her from going to jail.
    • She also some grief from parts of the fanbase for her inclination to cry at the drop of a hat whenever she gets into a sticky and emotional situation, especially when it comes to satisfying Annalise; this SIMGM parody video turns it up to its most absurd point, though it should be noted that Liza Weil liked it on Twitter, so even she takes it in stride.
  • Gabriel: A new student in Annalise's class who quickly becomes important to the plot due to his mysterious past. However, he was introduced so late into the series that the majority of the fandom never warmed up to him. He was derisively referred by various nicknames such as Walmart Wes, due to the perception that he was introduced to fill the void that was left by Wes's death.
• Broken Base: In regards to how characters treat Annalise. Is she a manipulative genius that has no qualms over using every aspect of the lives of the people under her, even the most embarrassing and dark ones? Yes. Do the characters have the right to be mad at her, being that she is dedicating almost every waking moment to guarantee none of them have to pay for their crimes, which include the murders of Sam, Rebecca and Sinclair and is basically the single reason nobody of the team is in jail after everything? That's up for discussion.
• Captain Obvious Reveal:
  • Frank being, essentially, a hit-man who is perfectly willing to carry out murders for anyone to whom he owes a favor would've been a much more effective reveal had he not offered to "take care of" Hannah Keating three episodes earlier.
  • Many think this of Asher killing Emily Sinclair.
  • Simon being the one behind the "Killer" posters. He's done nothing all season but complain about Annalise, trade insults with the Keating 5, and express interest in Oliver. However, many viewers think there's more to the story.
  • "Gabriel is Sam's kid" and Nate killed Ron Miller from Season 5.
  • The three masterminds behind the plot to frame Annalise for all of the murdered committed throughout the series end up being... Hannah Keating, Jorge Castillo, and Lynn Birkhead. So essentially, all of the major characters who had the most to gain from Annalise's downfall.
  • The promo for the 13th episode of Season 6 referred to the reveal that Sam and his sister Hannah had had an incestuos relationship as the "biggest plot twist in the entire series" even though many fans had already speculated at that being a possibility as far back as Season 1 after Annalise mocked Hannah for being obsessed with Sam by telling her that "incest is best, put your brother to the test. Even if fans didn't catch it back then, the episode preceding the "biggest plot twist" ends with strong hints about the incest and some had even speculated about Frank being the product of said incest.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Eve received a huge fanbase after her first appearance, due to Famke Janssen’s stunning performance, and being an interesting and likeable lawyer. It’s also much helped by her relationship with Annalise which is both complex and sweet with Eve being more or less the only person who can easily make Annalise happy. It’s not uncommon to see fans wishing that she will return in the future, or that Annalise had taken her offer for them to live together in New York.
• Fan Nickname:
  • The night of the murder is called "The Night of the Flying Cheerleader" by Entertainment Weekly recaps and fans of the show. Almost every episode in the first season features a cheerleader doing an air flip.
  • Entertainment Weekly also gives a nickname for the night Annalise gets shot: "The Night of the Fancy Mansion."
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Connor/Asher is the most popular non-canon couple, to the point of being discussed with the series creator and Matt McGorry, Asher's actor.
    • They even got TVLine.com shipping them.
  • There's a good amount of people shipping Connor/Michaela even though Connor is canonically gay.
  • Wes/Laurel is gaining a following too due to their Birds of a Feather personalities and that their canon love interests are Rebecca and Frank. Wes and Laurel finally get together halfway through season 3.
  • After Laurel made some suggestive comments the Laurel/Michaela ship gained traction.
  • A pretty common theory/wish is that Bonnie has actually been in love with Annalise the whole time instead of with Sam. Season 4 suggests that the only thing wrong with this theory is the "instead of".
  • Eve is by far the most popular and likable of Annalise's canonical love interests on the series.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • In "Best Christmas Ever" the client asks Annalise and Bonnie: "You've never been raped. Have you?". The look the two share in reaction to this takes on a whole other meaning once it's revealed that both Annalise and Bonnie have been raped as children by relatives.
  • Asher in early season 1 said that Wes could be Annalise's son; this takes a really different light after the reveals that 1) Annalise was pregnant ten years earlier and the baby died because of a car accident and 2) Wes is not only an orphan, but apparently the byproduct of rape and lost his mother because of Annalise.
  • Gets even harsher after "Who's Dead?" where Wes dies.
  • Laurel writing Wes' name when she wakes up in hospital takes on a new context when you know he was also in the house when it burned down: she wanted to know if he made it out.
  • ADA Miller is one of the prime suspects behind Nate Sr.'s murder. He ends up beaten to death by Nate and suffocated by Bonnie, but it is later revealed he was innocent all along. One of the most senseless deaths in the entire series.
  • Frank being indirectly responsible for the death of Annalise's child was bad enough, but the final two episodes make it even worse by revealing said baby was his brother. Frank learning about this sent him straight into Despair Event Horizon.
• Ho Yay: Frank makes more than a few passes at Oliver when the two first meet in "I Want You to Die". You could say that it's mostly Frank being a snarky asshole, but he does make a lot of comments about spanking him . . . When Connor confronts Frank about his treatment of Oliver, Frank mentions that he's "not [Frank's] type." Again, could definitely be read as a flippant, snarky line, but he seems relatively serious about it.
  • Asher turned it into a sport with Connor. There's a reason those two are the main non-canon ship in the fandom.
• Jerkass Woobie: Asher in 'Freaking Whack-A-Mole' when he discovers how his family's wealth comes from someone else's injustice.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Connor has been shipped with practically everyone, even women despite him being gay.
• Les Yay: In the event that they're all arrested, Connor offers to help Michaela achieve her first orgasm. Laurel immediately jumps in with "Back off, she's mine" and a wink. She even kissed the latter in Season 3 out of joy. And in Seson 4 even Asher was worried about this as they became closer and have secrets on their own.
• Memetic Mutation: "Why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?"
• Narm: "Why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?"
  • "She's a murderer. She. Killed. My. Brother!"
  • One of the main characters being surnamed "Winterbottom". Hearing the name spoken during scenes that are meant to be serious, really kills the mood.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Asher started out as one for being an obnoxious and mouthy in the first couple of episodes. However, many people came around to him after his Character Development, especially in ''Freaking Whack-A-Mole" and he quickly became a hit character instead.
• The Scrappy:
  • Wes is getting this for his sanctimonious, self-righteous attitude, obsession with Rebecca, penchant for acting behind Annalise's back and threatening her, and lack of real, deeper interaction with other characters aside from both women. Shooting Annalise hasn't helped in winning over fans.
    • Not helping his case: he goes into Heroic BSoD on the second part of the second season, making him acting as a jerk to everybody who tries to show any sign of helping him, particularly, Laurel and Annalise. He also ends up hogging a lot of the screen time of various characters due to having an entire side plot dedicated to his past, something that few viewers were interested on anyway.
  • Nate. He has never been the most popular aside from being the show's resident Mr. Fanservice, and his role on the show has greatly diminished since the first season despite being one of the series regulars. This has led many fans to wonder if he has any true purpose in the story anymore aside from occasional eye candy. Of all the characters closest to Annalise, he seems the most likely to betray her, considering she did frame him for Sam's murder. In season 3, he finally gets fed up with Annalise's lies and manipulating and ends their relationship. Now he seems focused on getting back at Annalise, starting by sleeping with the ADA and trying to turn Wes against her. It doesn't help that many preferred Eve and Annalise together over Nate.
  • Laurel turned into one over the course of season 3, but especially after Wes' murder when her understandable grief over it was heavily Flanderized to the point of turning her into one of the biggest jerkasses on the show, especially when she shows an astounding lack of respect when Annalise reveals the truth about Baby Sam's death, yet the episode ends with Annalise having to comfort her and the implication that Laurel was in the right.
• She Really Can Act:
  • Not that Liza Weil's talent was ever really in question, but her tenure on the comparatively Lighter and Softer Gilmore Girls didn't often give her a chance to stretch her acting muscles as she does on this show. Her nuanced performance has won over many who were skeptical about the casting.
  • Similar with Matt McGorry and Jack Falahee, who have exceeded expectations. Noticeable in McGorry's case, where people seem almost dumbfounded by how good he is in a character so different from John Bennett.
• Shocking Moments: The show has several:
  • Season 1:
    • The night of the murder could potentially top everything as it's the catalyst of everything that perturbs the protagonists down the line. Sam's murder at the hands of the Keating Five is the first HSQ, but it's the events down the line that keeps the audience guessing. First, the murderer is believed to be Michaela, who pushes Sam over the railing in her efforts to save Laurel from a pursuing Sam, but then Sam gets up out of nowhere after that nasty fall to strangle Rebecca. The true murderer turns out to be Wes, who bludgeons Sam with the trophy. In the end, it's revealed that Annalise has witnessed about everything, almost appearing out of nowhere at that.
    • Episode 4: Pax committing suicide by jumping out of a window.
    • Lila Stangard's killer turned out to be Frank Delfino.
    • The death of Rebecca Sutter.
  • Season 2:
    • Rebecca's killer turning out to be Bonnie.
    • Annalise getting shot in the flashforwards by Wes.
    • Levi turning out to be Eggs 911.
    • Bonnie seemingly killing Sinclair.
    • And then it turns out that Asher killed her.
    • Wes being the product of rape.
    • Wes introducing himself to Wallace, his suspected father, only for Wallace to be shot by an off-screen assailant, who is later revealed to be Frank.
  • Season 3:
    • Someone was burned to death in the burning of Annalise's house. It's Wes, and he was dead before the fire began.
    • Someone is found barely alive in the basement of the house. It's Laurel, and she's pregnant!
    • Bonnie and Frank having a night of passion together.
    • Frank being the murderer of Wes's father.
    • Frank was the driver who crashed into Annalise's car, causing the death of her child with Sam. Later, he tries to make amends with Annalise, who tells Frank to kill himself. He doesn't.
    • Connor was the one who found Wes's body in Annalise's house. He tries unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. Wes's killer is revealed to be Dominic, a family friend of the Castillos, sent on behalf of Laurel's father.
  • Season 4:
    • Laurel wakes up in the hospital, her baby taken away from her. The father is revealed to be Wes, and the baby was taken away by Laurel's father.
    • The midseason finale shows Laurel trapped in an elevator about to give birth. Laurel delivers the baby, who is close to dying, but Annalise is able to perform CPR and save him.
  • Season 5:
    • Mysterious new student Gabriel Maddox is actually Sam's son from his first marriage.
    • Bonnie is shown suffocating someone in the snow outside Oliver and Connor's wedding: Miller. Nate viciously beats him nearly to death after mistakenly believing he was behind his father's death.
  • Season 6:
    • Annalise knew about Michaela's biological father all along, a powerful and wealthy attorney she used to work with.
    • Frank is Sam's son. And the product of incest between him and Hannah.
    • The death of Asher. The murderer was originally believed to be Oliver, under the influence of shrooms, but it is later revealed that he was murdered on orders of the FBI.
    • Nate murders Xavier Castillo after revealing he helped orchestrate Nate Sr.'s death.
    • Hannah Keating being one of the masterminds trying to frame Annalise for all of the murders committed throughout the series.
    • Connor serves Oliver with divorce papers in the series finale, and tells him he never really loved him in the first place. Although the shock wears off when the two are back together with no explanation in the final scenes.
    • Annalise's funeral is shown in a flash-forward. A mysteriously alive Wes arrives as one of the funeral guests. It turns out to be Christopher, Wes and Laurel's son, who coincidentally looks exactly like Wes as an adult.
    • Frank and Bonnie are both shot and killed after Frank murders Governor Birkhead outside of the courthouse.
• Squick: Asher averting No Dead Body Poops by pointing out that Lila Stangard's body was in the water tank of her sorority house, meaning her friends were drinking tainted water.
• Take That, Scrappy!:
  • Michaela is served with a prenup by her fiancee's family. After all the threats and thinly veiled biphobia she's thrown his way over a past fling, it's immensely satisfying.
  • It's no surprise that nobody, on-screen or off, is mourning the death of Sam Keating.
  • When ADA Emily Sinclair is shown dead, a good chunk of the audience was happy.
  • There's a good chunk of the fans who are relieved or happy that Wes died.
  • It's safe to say no one in the fandom shed a tear for Hannah Keating, when it was revealed she was killed offscreen.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Almost inevitable given the morality and themes of the show. By season 3, aside from Connor and Oliver breaking up right at the start of the season, every character has become, at least, a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, everyone spending almost all their time crying, screaming, turning against each other and suffering with nothing positive ever happening, with Meggy leaving soon after being introduced and even Oliver becoming a darker and darker A Lighter Shade of Gray. The fact that several characters do become apathetic jerkasses during the second half of the season makes it really hard to continue caring for the characters as if their Trauma Conga Line would get any better.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Laurel, in season 3. She is meant to be seem as a sort of Jerkass Woobie as she keeps being a jerk to everybody while grieving Wes' death. Her actions, however, are far more abrassive and jerk-ish than what's acceptable for a grieving person, particularly actions as showing no consideration for Annalise's lost baby and telling Connor to kill himself after she suspected he might have killed Wes. There's also the fact that she is a jerk even to people who have nothing to do with his death, and is a random jerk especially to the people who are trying to help her. As a result, she slowly became the show's newest The Scrappy.
• Unpopular Popular Character: Asher, who is probably the least liked and respected of the Keating 5 in-universe (he was even nicknamed "Doucheface" by Frank) is up there with Connor as one of the favorite characters in the fandom.
• The Woobie: The Keating four are all victims of circumstance which have dug themselves deeper and deeper, which especially at the beginning was merely a result of them being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not necessarily of any choices they made.

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