'How to Get Away with Murder' Premiere Recap, S1 E1

On tonight's series premiere of ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder" Middleton University law professor and defense attorney Annalise Keating selected her best students to work at her firm, who soon found themselves involved in a real-life murder conspiracy.

The episode kicks off with four students deep in the woods arguing over whether or not bury a body, and it seems that they have murdered someone.

With their decision split 2-2 on whether to bury the body or leave it where it is, they flip a coin to decide.

Flashback to three months earlier, and it shows one of the students riding his bike to class and walking by missing posters featuring a girl, Lila Stangard.

He walks into class overhearing comments about how rough the professor is.

He learns there are assigned seats which is rare for a college class, and before he can sit Professor Keating, played by Viola Davis, walks in and introduces them to Criminal Law 100, or as she calls it, "how to get away with murder."

Her rough teaching strategy is clear right off the bat as she reigns questions at her students. The aforementioned student, Wes Gibbons, puts himself on the spot by accident and she immediately brings fire upon him; viewers learn that he is not the smartest student in the class. The students believe they are going over an example murder case, however she reveals to them that this is an actual case that she took up only the week before.

She even gives her students the chance to talk to her client, a woman is on trial for the murder of her husband.

Keating tells them that her top four students are chosen to work at her firm for the summer, and that this assignment is a test to help her choose.

She shows them a small trophy, which was also displayed in the woods scene, and learn it can be used for immunity out of an exam.

In his apartment Wes finds strange nail marks above his bed as he tries to study. Flashback to present day and the students are rolling the body up in a carpet.

The four students in the room are Wes, Connor Walsh, Laurel Castillo, and Michaela Pratt, all students in her criminal law class.

As they try to transport the body through the front door, a police office confronts them about their car, and questions them why they are in Professor Keating's house.

Michaela quickly covers for them with a nice lie, and drunken students help distract the cop from them.

The next day in class the students present their individual ideas about how to defend the suspect, and it is clear it is a competition to see who moves onto the next round. The students, including Michaela, Laurel and Connor, all present strong cases.

Wes presents a shaky presentation, however moves on to the next round.

Keating then gives them quick notes on how to approach defending a murder suspect: discredit the witness, introduce a new suspect, and overwhelm the jury with information.

The next day in the courthouse the passing students attend the case and quickly see how she displays what she has taught them.

That night Wes goes to Keating's house for some help and he accidentally walks in on her getting intimate with a man, and she quickly kicks him out while saying his approach in class wasn't good. Meanwhile Connor uses his slick talk and seduction of another man who works in IT to gain information about the case, which he presents to Keating.

It was an important email that Keating uses to introduce a potential new suspect to the case, part two of her notes.

After the trial is let out for the day Laurel spies on Keating's client in the bathroom and sees her trying to console a different woman.

At the cocktail party the students meet Keating's husband, a psychology professor, and not the man he saw her getting intimate with.

Jump back to present day and the students are transporting the body through the woods and must hide from two other students getting intimate in the woods. Laurel's phone goes off, a call from Keating's associate Frank, scaring the other students away.

Jump back and Lauren and Frank discuss the current case at hand, and viewers learn that they two are sexually involved.

Wes and Keating talk about what he saw and she opens up emotionally to him about her personal life; he promises to keep his mouth shut.

At night again Wes is looking more into the weird nail markings. He shares a rare nice moment with his emo neighbor, Rebecca, after their previous encounters were shaky. In court the next day a surveillance video shows Keating's client, which could be condemning evidence.

After the court recess Keating calls the defenses' first suspect: Detective Nate Lahey, the man Wes saw her getting intimate with. She asks him about the night he was seen with her, asking if he was at the precinct to see the video that could make her client guilty.

He says he was visiting a friend, and she brings out how it took a strange amount of time for him to log the evidence after he got it.

She then raises the question about people altering video in his precinct, and he admits that there has been history of that.

Keating's client getting off of charges, and she tells her students who will be joining her in her firm.

The top student in the class and first announced was Connor Walsh, who received the before mentioned trophy. Joining Connor was Michaela, Laurel, Asher Millstone, and Wes, because of the "increase of the workload."

The episode concluded with the discovery of a body that could be Lila Standgard, who was also the boyfriend of the quarterback at Middleton. The quarterback entered Wes's neighbors apartment seeming all shaken up.

Keating and her husband talk about who did it and she suspects the boyfriend.

One more jump to present day and Wes, Laurel, Michaela, and Connor burn the body they've been moving the whole episode, and it is revealed that it is Keating's husband.

The pilot episode has already thrilled viewers with plot twists, and raises lots of questions about certain characters and their storylines. The next episode of "How to Get Away with Murder" airs Thursday, Oct. 2nd at 10 p.m. on ABC.