Annalise, a successful defense attorney and university professor, elicits the same kind of dogged adoration from her team as Olivia does from her “gladiators.” Yet, while Olivia’s messiness is covered in layers of cashmere, there’s a rawness and self-loathing to Annalise. While Olivia’s murkiness and power grow as the seasons of Scandal progress, Annalise is broken down to the very raw parts of herself, her imbalances seemingly excused by a history of mental illness, her ambition treated not as a weapon but almost as a curse.
