This show is really overestimating how much anyone likes Laurel. Okay, that’s unfair. They are definitely overestimating how much I like Laurel.
They really bet it all on how much we all remember the specifics of Antares, but the real problem is almost everything that Laurel is dealing with is offscreen or in the past. Her parents, Antares, her relationship with Wes. There’s very little happening in the moment with her and she has to bear so much of the season finale’s weight. So everything just becomes Laurel yelling “MY FATHER†or “MY SON†while everyone just stares at her. And since when did we have to worry about her brother? I know he was “revealed†last week, but do we know anything about him? Are we supposed to associate any qualities with him? What is he capable of? I don’t know, we just met!
Plus, everyone’s motivations to take down Annalise are just “to ruin her,†when I’m not sure she can be ruined when it comes to these crimes. I know that the FBI agent with the blunt bob has created a murder board with Annalise in the middle, but Annalise should definitely walk away from all these heaux because they are making her life difficult. I would approve if the next season of How to Get Away With Murder opened with Annalise sitting on a beach in Turks and Caicos while everyone else sits in jail. Let’s get to it.
This finale is full of flashbacks that leave me asking, “Whose point of view is this? Whose memory are we in?†The first such flashback is seeing exactly what Xavier Castillo was doing with Nate Sr. in prison. He was offering to take up Nate Sr.’s case and Nate Sr. told him to kick rocks and that’s what drove them to kill Nate’s dad? Sure. Annalise has Laurel watch the video of the back of her brother’s head that’s somehow been enhanced and asks her what the fuck is going on. Can she intuit what her brother was talking about from the back of his head? Laurel insists that her father isn’t going to let them win, so her brother must be acting on her father’s orders. Duh, Laurel. Also “he isn’t going to let us win†isn’t an explanation of anything. Annalise is rightfully upset that they went through a lot of trouble to get Laurel’s father behind bars, but I guess no one told her about Laurel’s narratively convenient brother. She also says that Frank had the hots for Laurel and that’s why she got hired. Annalise is fucking pissed. This is my favorite Annalise.
Meanwhile, the FBI lady with the severe jawline is paying a visit to Gabriel and tells him that unless he gives up something on Annalise, she’ll frame his mother for murdering her ex-boyfriend. Has this woman thought through a single one of her plans? She’s planting evidence and blatantly blackmailing people she wants to flip.
Annalise is waiting in a church for the governor. I guess this is the only un-bugged place in all of Pennsylvania for them to meet. Annalise knows that Crawford’s phone records were faked and she wants to know who has enough money and influence to find her adoption records. The governor is not pleased. Annalise calls Tegan, but things have gotten worse: Emmett is being taken in by the FBI and Tegan wants to be left the hell out of this because the Castillos could come after her next. Tegan is smart.
Bonnie is sitting with Nate when Frank storms in — that one number in Ron’s call log isn’t in service anymore, so maybe that’s the number that he tried to contact the Castillos with. Nate tells Frank to stand down, because Ron would have confessed to working with someone while Nate was punching him to death. Then we get another flashback that no one in the room would remember: We see Ron meeting with Xavier, who floats the idea that if Ron can help them get rid of Nate Sr., they’ll give him money and clout to win his DA seat.
Annalise heads to the FBI to meet with Emmett and she says she’ll get him out of there and he’ll get to run for DA. Does she have a crush on him? What’s happening here?
We’re treated to MORE flashbacks of Ron making shady phone calls agreeing to something with Xavier, and Ron asking for a night transfer of Nate Sr. Maybe we’re to believe that some spirit from the afterlife is projecting these memories into our heads, but Nate definitely gets some message to go investigate Ron’s involvement and that leads him to get in the face of the warden. Nate demands to know how Xavier was involved and the warden says that he went against his gut to grant a night transfer. Nate ends up punching him in the face (I’m reading between the lines here) and gets sent to jail.
After the FBI tells Emmett that picking Annalise to be his attorney is a terrible idea, Gabriel asks Michaela to be his lawyer to defend him against the FBI. He tells her that Laurel was going to offer something in exchange for immunity. Then Michaela storms over to the Keating Gang’s house and screams at Laurel, “LAUREL CASTILLO, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW.†Yes, Michaela, drag her.
Laurel defends herself by saying she could have turned in Christopher’s bloody blanket to the FBI, but she’s stayed loyal. Who wants some Laurel Loyalty? Guys. I’m #TeamNotLaurel.
While Annalise is running around trying to convince Tegan to defend Emmett, Frank is stalking the prison guard who was working when Nate Sr. was killed. He strangles her in the parking lot and demands to know who paid her off. It was … Xavier Castillo. Meanwhile, Tegan offers herself up to the FBI to testify that the Castillo family can alter phone records. How does she know this? SHE’S JANE DOE and she’ll go on record. She gon’ die. Laurel burns the baby blanket and Asher comes up with an acceptable plan to the FBI and say that the blonde FBI lady didn’t protect Laurel’s mother.
Asher goes to the FBI and Laurel and Annalise go to Xavier Castillo to tell him to back off. Xavier calls someone and tells them that they need to go to plan B because Annalise knows too much. That person is … THE GOVERNOR.
Asher gets the blonde lady from the FBI fired, and instead of being able to celebrate, they all find out that Michaela’s birth father was someone Annalise knew named Dwight. What kind of school for lost children was Annalise running? What’s Michaela doing, by the way? She heads over to Gabriel’s to celebrate the FBI agent being fired and she winds up making out with Gabriel.
It’s time for the governor to go forward with the nuclear option. She goes on TV to address the lies going around and says that Emmett is the one who orchestrated the shooting. All this goes down with the Keating Gang watching and with even more flashbacks from no one’s point of view. Ron tried his best to avoid the Nate Sr. shooting by requesting the night transfer instead of the morning transfer the Castillos wanted. Frank tells the prison guard to tell Bonnie that Ron was the one who ordered the hit because Annalise believes that it will be easier for Bonnie to accept that Ron was guilty. Wow, this is bleak.
Annalise leaves Xavier Castillo’s office and she’s ready to celebrate being a complete and total badass but she looks behind her and Laurel is GONE. Frank rushes over to the Keating Gang’s house and Baby Christopher IS GONE. Tegan is on the phone with Annalise and says that she’s sure Jorge Castillo is sending his hit men over when we cut to Emmett upstairs gasping for air after being POISONED??!? Annalise ends up on the street screaming for Laurel. Things are looking bad!