Viola Davis' Annalise Keating is "a character whose permission to be bad made her a pop-culture revelation. An openly bisexual character whose struggles with alcoholism and childhood abuse, as well as her unscrupulous legal tactics (among other things), made her one of the most complicated black women in television history," says Kellee Terrell. "Malcolm X once described black women as the 'most disrespected' demographic in America. That sentiment still rings true, though now we’ve somehow also become this nation’s moral compass, the voting bloc expected to save this country from itself. Each week, Annalise has slightly alleviated that pressure. Yes, the pursuit of justice and the need to protect her students are always her primary motivations, but so is her personal survival — which is why she is a cunning liar, a master manipulator and, at times, a criminal. Just being in her presence can turn seemingly incorruptible law students into deceptive, monstrous killers who will do anything to please her. With her, there are no clear lines between right and wrong, and when they go low, Annalise doesn’t go high — she simply knees them in the face. (Or she has her loyal, guilt-ridden underling Frank do the dirty work for her.)" Terrell credits fellow Shondaland "sister" Olivia Pope from Scandal, played by Kerry Washington, for paving the way for Annalise. "Olivia and all her unethical chaos ran so that Annalise could fly — and when the two finally came together for the crossover of all crossovers, the meetings of their brilliant and sinister minds gave us one of the most exhilarating #BlackGirlMagic moments yet," says Terrell. "These antihero qualities matter, because they have long been allotted to white characters only."
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TOPICS: Viola Davis, ABC, How to Get Away with Murder, Matt McGorry, Pete Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes, African Americans and TV, LGBTQ, Shondaland