How To Get Away With A Murderer Season 5 Episode 16

Demand to catch upwards? Read our previous How to Become Away With Murder recap hither.

Always since Annalise Keating wrote the proper noun of her law course on that chalkboard in 2014, she'south been education those closest to her How to Get Abroad With Murder. It'due south fitting, so, that Th's series finale gave us closure on who — if anyone — managed to become away with their many crimes from the by six years.

Heading into Murder's last hour, we had plenty of other questions that needed answers, too. Would Annalise really simulated her decease and start a new life? Would Hannah Keating's killer exist revealed? Has Wes been alive this whole time?! And though the ABC drama merely had 43 minutes to tie up loose ends, many of our questions were addressed — some of them with devastating results. (Click here for our total post mortem interview with series creator Pete Nowalk.)

Read on for the details of "Stay":

MAN DOWN?| We begin in the future, seemingly after Annalise'southward trial has ended. There are gunshots. Reporters and onlookers scream and start running away from the courthouse. We run across a close-upwards of a blood-soaked body, though we don't discover out whose it is. Within the courthouse, Annalise'southward mother aimlessly asks if Annalise has been injure.

In a later version of this same scene, nosotros go a few more details: When shots are fired, Tegan tells Annalise to become downwardly. Nosotros all the same aren't told whether Annalise has been shot, simply there is a glimpse of Tegan looking horrified. Laurel, meanwhile, is putting Christopher in a car seat when the shots ring out. She turns around to see what happened, so looks like she's been punched in the gut after spotting whomever's been hurt. "Bulldoze. Bulldoze right now!" she cries to the person at the bike.

SAM'Southward Lodge| 3 days before that shooting takes place, Annalise is all the same figuring out how to win her case, and she's none likewise pleased that Bonnie blabbed to Frank about his real parents. Tegan is yet sure that Gov. Birkhead orchestrated Hannah Keating's death — merely when we return to the scene of that crime, it seems Frank was the one to impale Hannah, later all. It'southward non that we go explicit confirmation of this, like a flashback of Frank finishing the chore; rather, when Hannah'south lawyer, Floyd, gets dorsum in his car that dark, a gloved Frank is suddenly at that place, pointing a gun at Floyd's head from the backseat. So it tracks!

"Don't move. I just want to talk," Frank tells Floyd, who asks what this is most. "My mother," Frank replies. (Well, information technology'due south more like "my mothah" when you add a little Delfino to it.) The side by side time we run across these men, Floyd is presenting Frank with everything that was in Hannah'south safe deposit box, including her passports and will. Only when Floyd accidentally reveals that there'due south something he'south yet keeping from Frank, Frank threatens to end his life right then and there — and Floyd immediately crumbles, revealing that there'south a flash bulldoze with crucial data on it.

Afterward, during a break between testimonies at Annalise'due south trial, she and Frank speak in the hallway, and he denies that he killed Hannah. "You know what you never get? That you're it for me," Frank tells her, tears in his eyes. "You lot got me out of the pound. Certain, I mess upwards. Merely all I want now is to make you happy." (Human being, Charlie Weber is a heartbreaker here.) After their sweetness conversation, in which Annalise implores Frank to stop hating himself, he presents her with the aforementioned flash bulldoze. "What'south that?" she asks. "How yous're gonna win," he replies. (But we'll get dorsum to that!)

HTGAWM Series Finale That evening, Bonnie — who expressed to Laurel in an earlier scene that she regrets telling Frank about his real parents — comes home to notice Frank conveying a suitcase. "What am I supposed to do now, knowing what'due south in me?" he asks her, adding that she should accept known better than to burden him with the truth nigh Sam and Hannah. Bonnie insists the burden is on both of them, and she wants to support him through all of this — but Frank counters that "you should put a bullet in my head, 'cause that would accept been nicer than what you did." (Ouch.) Despite Bonnie's pleas for Frank to stay, he can't be persuaded. "I'll forgive you. I will," he tells her. "Just non right now." And after kissing her one last time, he leaves.

Equally it turns out, Frank's suitcase isn't total of his holding. Rather, it contains $87,000 — the money he got from the Mahoneys, I assume — which he presents to Gabriel, who was potentially going to appear equally a surprise witness in Annalise's example. Though he knows that Gabriel still wants the truth about what happened to Sam, Frank reminds him that Sam was a bad dude; he even reveals that Sam enlisted Frank to kill Lila Stangard a few years back. "Take the coin. Become away from all this," Frank tells Gabriel, urging him not to prove confronting Annalise. "Or Sam's gonna destroy your life like he'southward washed everyone else." (Equally we later learn, Gabriel does take the cash, instead of taking the stand, and seems to get outta Philly for good.)

LET'S MAKE A Deal| Meanwhile, there'due south Connor, who's starting to think that he, Michaela and Oliver should just come clean about all of their crimes. (Perhaps this deleted scene has something to do with his guilt?) Neither Michaela nor Oliver is on board with that programme; Michaela insists that her nightmarish, abusive childhood was enough imprisonment for 1 lifetime, and now she plans to brand something of herself.

That dark, Oliver comes dwelling house from doing inquiry at Middleton'south library, happily revealing that he'south figured out a way to get Connor the aforementioned immunity deal as Michaela — one that doesn't include any jail fourth dimension. Connor isn't thrilled past that news, and he wishes Oliver would respect that he wants to go to prison; Oliver is irked by Connor's stubbornness and threatens to divorce him on the spot (!) if Connor doesn't practise what's all-time for his hubby this time.

Suspiciously, though, Connor receives a phone call from Amanuensis Lanford that same night, and he visits the FBI offices the side by side day, where he's of a sudden offered the verbal same immunity deal as Michaela. U.S. Attorney Lennox tries to convince Connor that he but had a alter of heart about the amnesty deal, thinking information technology unfair that Michaela got a amend system than Connor did. Just Connor doesn't purchase information technology: When he returns home, he seems to know that Oliver wasn't actually doing inquiry at the law library the previous night; rather, he was secretly coming together with Lanford and Lennox in an attempt to get Connor a better deal. What's more, in gild to secure that better deal, Oliver had agreed to prove against Annalise — and he was going to lie that Annalise had asked him to wipe dirty photos of her and Wes from her hard drive.

HTGAWM Series Finale That's when Connor drops ii bombs on Oliver: He turned down the new immunity deal, and he wants a divorce. He's got the paperwork all drawn upwards, in fact. Connor will be taken abroad to prison house as soon as the trial is over, and he doesn't desire Oliver to wait for him while he'due south backside bars. And sure, Oliver might be alone for a while, "but only until you encounter someone who's actually skillful for yous," Connor insists, calculation that the only affair belongings their relationship together is death and trauma and lies. Oliver refuses to go through with the divorce, especially since he's sure that Connor still loves him… but Connor then breaks it to him that "I don't love you." (And Oliver weeps, only like the residue of us watching at dwelling.)

Accept THE Stand up AND DELIVER | As for the actual trial proceedings, in that location are three major testimonies that accept place in Th'south finale. First up: Jorge Castillo, who isn't much help. Not only does he deny working with the governor and the FBI to take down Annalise, but he identifies Tegan equally the informant who got him locked up in the get-go place. (You might retrieve that Jorge isn't supposed to have that information; Tegan had previously shared that she only helped Laurel become out of Philadelphia considering Laurel had threatened to tell Jorge that Tegan was the informant. And apparently, Jorge plant out anyhow!)

Next, there'due south Gov. Birkhead, who similarly denies knowing the Castillos and conspiring with the FBI. But during the cross-examination, Annalise plays an audio file that was on the wink drive Frank gave her, which is a phone phone call from Hannah Keating to Xavier Castillo. "I but saw the governor on Goggle box proverb Nate Lahey Sr. died," Hannah is heard telling Xavier, who confirms Nate Sr.'s death. "Because the governor killed him?!" she continues, incredulous. "I wanted Annalise to go downwardly for my brother, not injure all these other people." (Gov. Birkhead maintains that she doesn't know why Hannah and Xavier are speaking then intimately of her on that call, but this doesn't wait great for her regardless.)

And finally, there'south Nate's testimony. Now, Annalise doesn't have a lot of faith in him at this point, because Lanford and Lennox just offered Nate a $20 million (!) settlement for his father's wrongful death lawsuit. And for that kind of money, surely Nate would tell any lies most Annalise that the FBI wanted, correct? Merely when Nate takes the stand up, he comes through for her. He lies that Hannah Keating was the ane who framed him for Sam's murder (when it was really Annalise), and he reveals that the FBI tried to coerce him into saying what they wanted. (Annalise, for her function, looks similar she but won the Powerball.)

That evening, Nate stops by Annalise'southward apartment, and she asks why he decided to aid her. Though he admits he hated Annalise for a long fourth dimension, he also wanted to take responsibility for the role he played in their collective mess. In gild to truly move on, he needs to "own my side of the road" — and he thinks Annalise needs to do the aforementioned, which isn't exactly her potent adjust. Before he goes, he has one last parting souvenir for Annalise: Wes' written confession, which he found on Xavier Castillo subsequently killing him. "Goodbye, Annalise," Nate says, kissing her on the cheek and leaving for good. Annalise, meanwhile, wisely burns the confession, and then gets a surprise visit from her mom and sister, who accept come to offering her moral support.

'THERE'S A VERDICT' | And now, the trial has reached its cease. Despite some initial doubts that she even deserves to be acquitted, Annalise gives an emotional, compelling closing argument to the jury, albeit that she's a flawed, messy person — just she's no murderer. And then, while Annalise and Tegan await for the jury to deliberate, Tegan finally reveals what we've all known for months: "I think I'thou in love with y'all, Annalise." (Thank you, Pete Nowalk, for not letting this go unaddressed!)

Though Tegan insists that she tin give Annalise love and make her happy, Annalise can't hope her the same. "That's what you deserve, and it's out in that location for you," Annalise assures her. "Simply it's just non me." Moments after, they're interrupted by Bonnie, who tells them the verdict is in — and once anybody has returned to the courtroom, it'due south revealed that Annalise has been found not guilty on all charges. There's tears! There'southward hugging! There'southward Lennox looking defeated, as he should!

The acquittal isn't bully news for everyone, though: Connor is handcuffed shortly after the verdict is appear, and he shoots down Oliver'southward pleas for them to stay together while he's behind confined. "Oliver, cheers. Now I know how to love," Connor says — sob! — earlier he'southward whisked away, and Oliver has no interest in Michaela's effort at comfort. "That should have been you," he says icily earlier walking away, and when Michaela tries to call Laurel, she's stunned to observe that Laurel has changed her number.

Hither, we take hold of up with the episode'due south earlier flash-frontward (with an acute sense of dread, I might add!). Annalise is on the steps exterior the courthouse, triumphantly answering questions from the press; one reporter even remarks that Gov. Birkhead is also at the courthouse that day, where she's taking a coming together with the attorney general. Then, Bonnie spots Frank working his fashion through the throng of reporters, looking both miserable and determined. (In an earlier scene, Frank had paid a visit to Baby Sam'southward gravesite, total-on weeping that he was sorry.)

Seeming to realize Frank'due south program, Bonnie tries to intercept him on his manner up the courthouse steps. Only she tin can't stop him in time: As Gov. Birkhead makes her fashion out of the building, Frank raises his gun and shoots her multiple times, making her the casualty we saw at the top of the hour. But after Frank opened fire, someone on the governor'southward security team grabbed their own gun, and nosotros realize that Frank was also shot among the chaos. "I had to brand information technology right," Frank tells Bonnie, haemorrhage out in her lap. "Tell Annalise." But just as Annalise rushes over to help, Bonnie discovers that she had also been shot during the pandemonium — and despite Annalise's best attempts to go along her conscious, Bonnie dies on the courthouse steps, besides.

OUR DEARLY DEPARTED ANNALISE | With that, nosotros're suddenly back at Annalise's long-teased funeral — and non only is it revealed to be a existent funeral for Annalise'southward legitimate death, but it'due south set up many years in the future. That photo of Annalise nosotros've been seeing, surrounded by a wreath of flowers? It's standing correct next to a photo of Annalise equally an sometime woman, as she apparently got to alive a long and full life after her acquittal. And kudos to those of you who correctly assessed the Wes twist from earlier this flavor: Alfred Enoch isn't playing Wes at this funeral, but an developed version of Wes and Laurel's son, Christopher.

"Do you want to say annihilation?" Christopher asks (in Spanish!) to Laurel, who is also in omnipresence. "No," she responds. "But you should." Equally for the acquaintance who was brought up to say nice things virtually Annalise, that would be Eve, who delivers an honest, emotional eulogy. As she does, a number of storytelling gaps are filled via montage: Annalise and her sister, Celestine, mourn their deceased mother. Nate is photographed at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lahey Justice Middle. Jorge Castillo is stabbed to decease in prison. (!) Michaela, now an older adult female, is sworn in as a lawyer (or judge?), seemingly accompanied by her ii daughters. And at Annalise'due south funeral, Laurel looks dorsum in the crowd and spots both Connor and Oliver, who stayed married, after all. (Yay!)

The very final scene probably feels a flake familiar: As developed Christopher walks into a Middleton classroom, he introduces himself every bit the professor of Criminal Law 100 — "or, as my mentor liked to call it," he says, writing an alternate course championship on the lath, "How to Go Away With Murder." (He's got the Keating cadence down pat, as well.) And when he looks out to the lecture hall, he envisions Annalise sitting in i of those seats, beaming at him.

It'southward been a pleasure watching and theorizing with you lot,Murder fans! Now, information technology's your turn to weigh in. What did you think of the serial finale? Cast your votes in our polls below, then striking the comments with your full reviews!