It was all “new year, new murder” in How to Get Away with Murder season 3. Catch up before the madness starts again.
How to Get Away with Murder has always been insane, but season 3 went further than ever before. Annalise went to jail (somebody eventually had to), they killed a main character, and they even killed Frank’s beard!
The show is difficult enough to keep up with while it’s actually airing, so we’re guessing you’ve forgotten a few important details over the hiatus. Luckily, we’ve put together this refresher of some key moments to get you caught up before our beloved #TGIT returns.
1. Wes is dead
Okay, so you probably remembered this one. Just to remind you of the specifics, though, he was killed by a hitman in Annalise’s house, which was then burned to the ground. And that’s not even the most shocking part, because…
2. Laurel’s dad was probably responsible
How to Get Away with Murder season 3 ended with Laurel running in to her old family friend Dominick, who just so happens to look identical to the hitman who killed Wes! We then saw a flashback to Dominick assuring Jorge Castillo that Wes is, in fact, dead. Uh oh. Daddy’s got some explaining to do. However, his guilt isn’t set in stone, since…
3. A.D.A. Denver was also in contact with Dominick
A.D.A. Todd Denver was using questionable tactics to take down Annalise all season. He and Atwood had Wes’ body moved after they had the coroner lie about the cause of death, and he locked Connor up in attempt to blackmail him, after Connor discovered that he was up to something.
He was clearly willing to go to great lengths to get back at Annalise for “getting away with murder,” so who’s to say actual murder was out of the question? This looks a lot more probable when you take into account the fact that Denver and Dominick had a covert meeting, shortly after Wes was killed.
4. Laurel’s pregnant
And it’s not Frank’s. Once Frank fled and Wes broke up with Meggie, Laurel and Wes had a tragically short-lived, but intense romance. Laurel claims to have loved him more than she ever loved Frank, and she’s now carrying his baby.
Even though Laurel almost died in the same fire the burned Wes’ body, her baby, thankfully, remained unharmed. Bonnie offered to make an abortion appointment for her, but at the end of How to Get Away with Murder season 3, Laurel still hadn’t decided what she wanted to do about the pregnancy.
5. Hannah Keating got Annalise arrested
Pretty much immediately following Wes’ death, Annalise was arrested for arson and first degree murder, due to a tip from an “anonymous source.” We eventually found out that Hannah Keating called the police station that night, making it all but certain that she was the source.
When Annalise discovered that the D.A.’s office was putting together a case against her, she got drunk and started burning everything. Apparently, in her drunken state, she also called Hannah and told her she could have the house. Obviously, this made Hannah suspicious, and A.D.A. Denver isn’t the only one who’s been looking to take Annalise down for a while!
6. Frank tried to kill his father
And he actually killed Bonnie’s father!
How to Get Away with Murder season 3 finally gave us a glimpse into Frank’s back story. Apparently, he was incarcerated when he was 13 for attempting to kill his father. As far as we know, this was no case of mistaken identity. A pre-teen Frank actually tried to kill his dad! Yikes. Frank’s aunt knew Hannah, which led to Sam being Frank’s therapist when he eventually got to prison. Sam saw something in Frank, so he convinced Annalise to help free him.
When Annalise forced Frank to leave at the end of How to Get Away with Murder season 2, one of his first stops (after he dodged Annalise’s hitman that she “just hired to find him”) was to the hospital where Bonnie’s father was dying. Since Bonnie father abused her as a child, Frank decided to make that death come a little faster, and he suffocated him. Bonnie didn’t shed too many tears when she heard the news.
7. Bonnie and Frank hooked up
Using Laurel’s father’s telecommunications company, they were eventually able to find Frank. Bonnie saw him when she went to make arrangements for her dad’s cremation, and they hooked up after Frank asked her to run away with him. It seemed like she was going to do it, but when she came back from her morning coffee run, he was gone.
Their relationship only got more confusing as How to Get Away with Murder season 3 continued. At one point, Frank was threatening to kill himself in Annalise’s living room. Annalise was telling him to do it, while Bonnie was shouting that she knew he loved her, and that that night meant everything to her. However, another time, Bonnie told Frank that she didn’t want to be his sloppy seconds, and that he killed any chance they had when he left that hotel room.
8. Annalise and Bonnie kissed
In a moment of vulnerability after being released from prison, Annalise reached out and kissed Bonnie, the only one who’s always been there for her. They brushed past it pretty quick, but we’re hoping it will come up again in season 4.
9. Michaela’s mom came to town
Asher accidentally invited Michaela’s foster mother to visit after Michaela had been dodging her calls, so we got to look into Michaela’s past. Her mom was looking for a place to stay after she’d left her abusive husband, but Michaela had no sympathy. She turned out to be correct, because her mom left the minute that things got tough, after Wes died.
10. The Middleton Dean sold Annalise out
Posters of Annalise with “killer” written all over them started popping up all over campus, and the university took notice. Even though the culprit ended up being just another bitter student, the board members were concerned. However, Annalise convinced them that the school’s reputation would remain unharmed if she used her class as a pro bono clinic.
This worked, right up until Annalise slapped one of her clients for being a terrible human being (the guy who killed a girl and took a selfie with the body). When a tape of the incident was leaked, Annalise got her licence suspended and was asked to step away from her class. It was later discovered that one of the board members, Barry Lewiston, actually leaked the tape!
Of course, there’s no scandal so big that it can keep Annalise down. To save her career, she made a statement to the board about her alcoholism. This meant that since she was suffering from an illness, she could receive treatment and have her license reinstated.
She began attending AA meeting, and surprisingly, the president of the university, Soraya Hargrove, was also there. Apparently her own alcoholism resulted in her losing custody of her children. The two became friendly and Annalise even offered to help with her case to get her kids back. However, after the fire, it became clear that Hargrove was helping the D.A. with their case against Annalise. Annalise confronted Hargrove, effectively ending their friendship, obviously!
11. Oliver now knows everything
When Connor drunkenly let it slip that he was never a drug addict, Oliver started looking into the bonfire. Eventually, with Connor’s help, he ended up learning the truth about everything. Connor told him he could go to the police, but Michaela made it clear that wasn’t an option.
12. Unfortunately, so do the police
When the police called Wes in for questioning, they mentioned that they’d found Rebecca’s body, in the woods. They were looking to him to help take Annalise down, for the crime. Also, when Denver had Connor locked up, he casually worked in that he knew Connor had a hand in killing Sam.
That all sounds really bad, but it’s okay, because…
13. Wes took the blame for everything
Before Wes was murdered, he called Annalise, from her house, and left a voicemail. He said that he wasn’t going to let her go down for something that he did, which really made it sound like he was confessing to everything. Despite Laurel’s protestations, Annalise convinced Denver to help her spin a story that Wes killed himself because of the guilt.
14. Oliver proposed to Connor
How to Get Away with Murder season 3 was rough for Connor and Oliver. Oliver broke up with Connor, basically because he loved him too much, and they weirdly tried to remain friends while they were openly hooking up with other guys. Things got even worse when Oliver learned the truth about everything.
All of that said, by the end of the season, things were going strong enough for Oliver to pop the question! Hopefully, we only have to wait a few more days for Connor’s answer.
15. Charles Mahoney was Wes’ father
Annalise met with Mrs. Mahoney to see if she knew anything about what happened to Wes, since he was killed soon after testifying against Charles. She made it seem like she had nothing to do with any of the Mahoney’s crimes, but she did let it slip that Wes was actually the son of Charles Mahoney, and not his father!
16. Annalise’s mom has dementia
When Annalise’s parents came to visit her in prison, her mom thought she was in there because of the fire that she started, which killed Annalise’s uncle. It was clear that her mental faculties were fading.
17. Michaela and Asher are in love
Near the end of How to Get Away with Murder season 3, Asher told Michaela that he loved her. Having never been in love, Michaela wasn’t sure if she could say it back. However, when Laurel tried to use Michaela to lure Charles into a trap, she knew what she felt, and she told Asher she loved him too.
18. Annalise said Wes was her son
The final moments of How to Get Away with Murder season 3 found a broken Annalise at a support group, talking about Wes. She kept repeating that he felt like her son, but ended with, “he was my son.” It might be nothing, but we’ll have to wait until How to Get Away with Murder season 4, to find out.