If you would like to read my review of the last episode of How to Get Away With Murder, click here.
Synopsis: In the explosive winter finale, Connor and Oliver’s big wedding day has arrived, but there’s murder in the air; and the mystery of who the unlucky victim is will be revealed. (IMDB)
Writer: Joe Fazzio
Director: Stephen Cragg
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Thursdays at 10pm on ABC (United States)/Fridays at 9pm on CTV (Canada)
We now know who died at the wedding and who Gabriel is but this wasn’t the big OMG midseason finale that many surely expected.
Back to the wedding and the moment where the body hit the snow. In the present, the debate about Gabriel continued. He was shady but no one seemed to know why. The safest course of action appeared to be still keeping everything a secret. The others held a gathering to celebrate Connor and Oliver. Connor’s dad wanted to have a real talk about Oliver but Connor wasn’t interested.
Annalise and Nate needed Bonnie’s help with going after Birkhead. She needed one of Miller’s contacts. Bonnie was worried about Annalise’s drinking and told Nate that she relapsed. Meanwhile, Michaela asked Oliver to look into the prison warden to see if he was involved in the Nate Sr. conspiracy. Annalise told Connor that she was too sick to attend the wedding but Connor showed up to her apartment. He didn’t want to be alone and he felt indebted to her. Oliver may have found something with an unlisted number that the warden may have called to set up the hit. On the way to the wedding, Miller struck a chord with Bonnie by making a fair point about Annalise’s hold on her and how she took advantage of Bonnie.
Before the wedding, Connor had doubts and Asher confronted Michaela about Gabriel. Oliver was fine walking down the aisle with his mom but Connor while Connor fought what appeared to be a severe case of anxiety while walking down the aisle with his mom. The wedding itself was beautiful, however, Annalise was unsettled to the point that she was drinking in a washroom stall.
At the party, Annalise made an impression with Connor’s parents. While everyone was at the party, Frank searched Gabriel’s room. Gabriel confronted a drunk Annalise in the church. He wanted to help her. Connor’s dad wanted Oliver to protect Connor from himself but their conversation was cut short when Oliver’s dad called. Frank showed up to the party and told Annalise something that made her slap him. He had Gabriel’s birth certificate. Laurel gave Christopher to Oliver’s mom while she went to the washroom and she gave him to an upset Bonnie who brought him outside where she was with a bloody Miller.
Now how did Miller get there? He and Bonnie’s earlier argument explained Miller’s initial absence. Miller waited outside of the party to try and win her back though Bonnie accused him of having a role in Nate Sr.’s death. Though Miller denied it, Bonnie had enough. Meanwhile, Nate had someone track the earlier unlisted number to a payphone that Miller used to allegedly call the warden. He just happened to confront Miller after Bonnie ran off. Miller denied it to Nate but he beat him up anyway. Bonnie took Christopher to witness the aftermath. An upset Nate had beaten Miller to near death and Bonnie simply finished the job.
All the flashforward scenes occurred such as Michaela and Laurel confronting Bonnie in the washroom and Connor looking for Oliver and seeing his mom and Asher fooling around. Luckily, Oliver was found so he could sing Connor a song. Meanwhile, Bonnie was helping Nate take care of Miller’s body. An upset Annalise headed home and was on the ground. Gabriel followed her back. He is Sam’s son from a previous marriage.
Overall, this was a decent midseason finale that was admittedly a little disappointing considering past midseason finales. So we got the answer to who died at the wedding but it did not really come as much of a surprise and the connection to the season as a whole was a little disappointing. Nate Sr.’s death came so late into the first half of the season so Nate’s supposed redemption was not as impactful as it could have been. Birkhead did not make an appearance in the episode though one can only assume that Nate doesn’t get away with what he did and that Birkead uses it somehow against him and Annalise. Out of all the things Gabriel could be, Sam’s son was probably near the bottom of the list so it will be interesting to see how this information will figure in to the back half of the season. We still don’t know what he wants though it’s surely not good. Hopefully those OMG moments will come back for the back half.
Score: 7.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
