This episode had no law. ZERO STARS.
On the other hand, it did make me cry. FIVE STARS.
Alright, let’s break this winter finale down and see where the score ends up. There’s a lot about this episode that was very emotionally affecting and well-done, but I’m not exactly sure what the sum of all that was. We’ve got two very different storylines diverging in that well-lit wood and I just can’t see where either one is taking us. I know that’s the fun of How to Get Away With Murder but I need some bread crumbs, Shonda!
There are two major revelations this episode and I don’t even know where to begin. Apparently the episode didn’t know where to begin either, since it begins with the 18th repetition of that footage of the victim stumbling around, slowly blinking their eyes. HTGAWM is getting their money’s worth when it comes to that special effect. The episode is going to give us the 24 hours leading up to and through Oliver and Connor’s wedding, starting with Gabriel’s ironing his shirt and cutting his neck shaving.
Okay, I’m just going to say it: Gabriel has no personality. Describe to me his personality. I will wait for you to come up with one adjective that isn’t about his abs or his gray sweatpants — and remember, “thirst” is a noun. We don’t know anything about Gabriel to make the reveal that he’s Sam Keating’s son from his first marriage feel important. Like … what’s he going to do? I genuinely don’t know. Is he going to get mad? Is he excited about it? Did he bake Annalise a cake? For all the show’s effort to keep us off the trail of this reveal, they’ve gone so far in the other direction. We’ve been given zero clues about anything about his behavior other than “he’s mysterious.” The final shot of the episode means nothing.
In between the epic reveals, there’s a wedding! Oliver and Connor’s wedding is adorable and genuinely made me weep multiple times. I’m stealing Connor’s vows for my own wedding. I’ll just change a couple of the biographical details and it’ll work just fine. The main drama of the wedding is that Connor’s dad has managed to find his way to the wedding and is making the whole thing about himself. We also get to see all the sexy banter that leads to Asher’s being up Connor’s mom’s skirt at the reception. All that sexy banter like, “I’m more of a Blanche.”
While everyone is having fun at the rehearsal dinner party, Bonnie storms over to Annalise’s house. Bonnie never goes anywhere without storming, these days. Annalise tells her that they’re in full-blown destroy-the-governor mode and Nate needs her to ask Ronald who his contact is. Anyone and everyone might be involved in the cover-up. Bonnie can’t believe that Annalise would do all of this before the adoption and takes Nate aside to tell him Annalise is drinking again. They don’t know it yet but Nate and Annalise have an ally in Michaela. She’s getting another hacker to look into the warden’s phone records even if Bonnie won’t help.
Michaela finds out that the warden received a call from an unlisted number and then called the head of his prison security. If they can prove that the unlisted number is Ronald, then the cover-up is secure. Nate gets another hacker to look into the unlisted number. How many hackers live in this medium-sized Pennsylvania town?
Everyone is getting ready for the wedding and Frank is ready to search Gabriel’s house again. Bonnie wants him to hold off on telling anyone about any evidence until they’re sure. Bonnie is getting ready for the wedding when Ron decides now is the best time to question her abiding love for Annalise. Listen, Ron, I get it. It’s a little weird at this point, but picking a fight and saying it’s Bonnie’s “issues” that Annalise is able to manipulate is not the way to go about this.
The wedding goes off without a hitch and we enter into the quick-ass montage and replay section of the evening. Frank is searching through Gabriel’s house! Annalise is drinking alone in the church! Gabriel is stealing her keys! Nate is getting phone calls from his hacker buddy! Annalise is getting her life while she’s completely wasted.
Frank shows up at the wedding and all the pieces are slowly falling into place. He shows Annalise the birth certificate. Annalise slaps him and stumbles her way home.
Then comes the big reveal of the night: WHO. DIED. AT. THE. WEDDING.
We find out that the fight between Bonnie and Ronald had way more information in it than we thought. Bonnie starts really listening and starts putting it all together. Ronald thinks he’s protecting Bonnie from Annalise and that Bonnie doesn’t know what real love looks like. Ronald shows up at the wedding and Bonnie straight up accuses him of having Nate Sr. killed. His denial comes too late and Nate gets a photograph from his hacker that reveals Ronald was at a pay phone making a call to the warden. It’s the most blatant photo: Ronald has his head up, his face is well-lit, and he’s wearing a T-shirt that says “I’m With the Acting DA,” with an arrow pointing up at his face. Nate sees Ronald outside the wedding trying to get back in and get Bonnie. Uh-oh. Nate SNAPS. He pummels Ronald’s face and tells him that he’s going to feel the pain he caused.
Bonnie follows the blood outside and finds Ronald dying. Nate is caught in a loop where he keeps repeating the same thing over and over again. Bonnie … does what she does and goes back inside. There, Oliver is going to sing “All of Me” for Connor and Bonnie thinks about murdering the first real relationship she’s ever had. It’s entirely TOO FUCKING MUCH. Oliver does that entire song. Nate puts Ronald’s body in the trunk of his car.
The last thing we see in the episode is Annalise lying on the floor of her apartment completely broken down, when Gabriel enters. Then he turns into Sam. Oh great, another man with zero personality.
See you in the new year!