‘How to Get Away With Murder’ Season 3 Finale: Who Killed Wes? (SPOILERS)

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the two-hour “How to Get Away With Murder” Season 3 finale, which aired on Thursday, Feb. 23.

After a full season of whodunnit, “How to Get Away With Murder” finally revealed #WhoKilledWes? And trust us, you’ll never guess it…

The two-hour finale started by clearing up why Connor (Jack Falahee) was giving Wes (Alfred Enoch) CPR the night of the house fire. Flashbacks revealed that Connor went to the house because Annalise (Viola Davis) called him over. When he arrived, Connor spotted an unconscious Wes on the floor of the basement and tried to give him CPR, but ended up pushing too hard on his chest and cracked one of his ribs.

All of this time, Connor wasn’t sure if the cracked rib is what ended up killing Wes, and he kept his whereabouts a secret because he didn’t trust that Annalise or the rest of the Keating family would believe that he wasn’t guilty for Wes’ death.

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‘How to Get Away With Murder’: Did Connor Kill Wes?

Meanwhile, Oliver (Conrad Ricamora) and the Keating clan has been trying to prove that Atwood (Milauna Jackson) has been working with the Mahoneys, who they all believe is responsible for murdering Wes. Oliver goes through her call log and notices that she called an unknown number a few times — the night of the murder, and the day Wes’ body was transferred to another morgue. Throughout the episode, they battle with whether they should call this number.

Connor is filled with guilt so he goes to Denver’s (Benito Martinez) office to try to fix everything, but Asher (Matt McGorry), Michaela (Aja Naomi King), and Laurel (Karla Souza) call him and tell him he’s making a terrible mistake. Asher decides to dial the unknown number to convince Connor to leave Denver’s office, and when the phone rings…it’s in Denver’s desk. Denver walks back into his office and sees Connor with his phone. So, naturally, he kidnaps him and holds him hostage.

The first hour ends with a flashback, which shows Laurel walking into Annalise’s house the night of the house fire. Connor is giving Wes CPR, but Laurel doesn’t see him. Connor notices that it smells like gas and he sees a fire burning, so he quickly escapes through the storm door. So he’s the figure that Laurel saw leaving the basement. At that moment, the house blows up. As Connor is running away, a young man in a car is on the phone and says “things got a little messy.”

The second hour picks up with a flashback to the night of Wes’ death, specifically at the moment when Nate (Billy Brown) is talking to Wes in Annalise’s house, after Wes left the police station. Turns out, someone is in the house spying on them and when Nate leaves, Wes calls Annalise and leaves her a voicemail saying that the police believe she killed Sam and Rebecca and he insists that he won’t let her go down for those crimes and begs her to “please come home.”

Back in present day, the Keating students are searching for Connor who’s missing — and we know is being held hostage by Denver.

Annalise meets with Sylvia Mahoney over lunch in New York City to try to clear things up, but the two ladies end up fighting. However, Sylvia maintains her family’s innocence and says to Annalise “you are wrong about so many things” and explains they had nothing to do with killing Wes. She also says that Wes actually isn’t Wallace Mahoney’s son — he’s the son of Charles Mahoney.

In the entire web of a mess, Annalise realizes that Denver is somehow behind Wes’ murder. She also realizes that even though he’s the bad guy, she’s being framed and the only way she can get the entire group off for all of their crimes is by making a deal with Denver. So she goes to Denver’s office and tells him that on a voicemail, Wes confessed to killing Sam and Rebecca and explains that Wes was a very violent young man and a “monster” who felt guilty and killed himself. Annalise threatens Denver and tells him that if he doesn’t take the deal, she will take him down. So he does, and he goes to the judge and tells her, “I got this one wrong.”

With that said, Denver and Annalise and the Keating clan are free. But still, who killed Wes?

Back in a flashback, the young man who was in the car turns out to be the same guy who was in the house spying on Wes and Nate. He grabs Wes and injects him with a needle that takes him out. As Wes is trying to crawl away for help, he’s grabbed by the guy, who chokes and suffocates him, killing Wes.

So, who is this guy?

Back in present day, Laurel convinces Asher and Michaela to come with her to confront Charles Mahoney, who she believes killed Wes. Laurel brings a gun and just as she’s about to presumably shoot Charles, a man — that man — comes up to Laurel to say hello. Who is it? Her family friend, Dominic. So…the guy who killed Wes is a family friend of Laurel’s. And he was ordered to kill Wes by none other than… Laurel’s father (Esai Morales).

In better news: Asher and Michaela tell each other “I love you,” and Oliver proposes to Connor.

Here, “How to Get Away With Murder” creator Pete Nowalk breaks down the finale for Variety…

When did you know who the killer was?

Very early on in the series, whenever we mention Laurel’s father, I knew I eventually wanted to investigate her family and who her father was and how bad of a man he is, so it was definitely a possibility in my head that he was behind it, but there were a lot of possibilities in my head. I always have options and it was just really about what felt the most exciting to explore for next year — I like surprising, but I like knowing where it’s going more. I really like what this says about Laurel.

Why Laurel’s dad? Why did he want Wes dead?

That is a very good question. It’s not an answer I can give you without spoiling anything. I’ll just say it’s very complicated and it involves DA Denver and it involves Dominic. What I love about the last moments of Laurel in the show was that you can really see her brain working through a lot of things and wondering if this is a coincidence — she’s definitely putting the pieces together. I’m excited to see how Laurel reacts.

How did Denver and Atwood and Laurel’s father and Dominic come together to kill Wes? What do they all have in on this?

That is the question you should be asking. The intended question for the audience is what is this web and how does it all interconnect? We will be telling you that next season.

Why was the family friend there on the street when Laurel is about to shoot Charles Mahoney? That seems like a coincidence…

I think Laurel is very smart. She’s already processing the coincidence of that, and I think at this point, she knows there are no coincidences — especially when it comes to her father who is ultra powerful and very scary. I can’t imagine what she must feel wondering if he’s behind all of this, and the shame that comes with all of that and the shame and the horror and the hurt and the betrayal. It just all feels very wrought.

Will a big part of Season 4 focus on Laurel and the Keating Four trying to figure out who really did kill Wes? And will Laurel come to realize that it was her father who was behind it?

Because we just finished, I will say that anything I say about Season 4, I could take away at any moment because it might not be true. But I won’t describe it as a big plot point, but it is a major thing for Laurel’s character and I think it will be a major thing if she finds out and if she tells everyone else. How will everyone react? But we obviously didn’t just do it to not explain it — I think it’s basically opening up a door to a new world that I’m really excited about.

Did the Mahoney’s really have nothing to do with Wes’ death, or could they possibly be part of this web?

They could possibly be in the web. They’re very rich, and we know Laurel’s dad is very rich and powerful. The richy-rich’s of the world run in small circles. So it’s definitely possible, but we will try to answer that early on next season.

In the final moments, Annalise is at AA grieving over Wes. She says “he was my son.” Was Wes really Annalise’s son?

I knew I was going to get this question. I don’t want to say one way or another because in a way, it could make Viola’s performance less than it is because it’s so good, so I kind of want people to leave it up to their interpretation. It was a first step for Annalise in acknowledging her pain, and she doesn’t do that often, so I don’t want to simplify it too much for anyone.

Wes is dead, but will we see him in Season 4?

I think we will see him when it’s appropriate — I hope — like we do with Sam when it feels appropriate. But we do have questions to answer: what does Laurel’s dad know about Wes? Who was Wes calling when he said, “This is Christophe?” That is a big question that could come back and bubble up in the next season. It just depends. I hope we’ll see him again. I just don’t know exactly how much yet.

So, we will find out who Wes was talking to when he answered his phone, saying, “This is Christophe?”

Oh for sure. That would be a really bad ball drop. We didn’t have time to answer it this season, but it was something that I was excited to hold over.

Will Laurel keep Wes’ baby or get an abortion?

I don’t know the answer. Other showrunners will tell you this — sometimes you just write toward your indecision. What felt real to me is that she would put the decision off because not that much time has passed, and it’s too huge. I think things could happen that would influence her decision one way or another, and I didn’t want to make it rushed or trite, and wanted it to feel real.

Oliver proposed to Connor. Will there be a wedding in Season 4?

Of course there’s a chance of it! I can’t imagine what their wedding would look like. I don’t know if they’re the most traditional, so I would tell people who love weddings not to expect a gown and petals on the aisle. But I think these are people clinging to each other and really diving into love in extreme ways just so that they can feel something nice, and that’s what I liked about that moment — it was a bit of sweetness in the horror.

What else will Season 4 cover?

Definitely Bonnie’s backstory. I definitely want a flashback. We’ve hinted at a lot of stuff that’s happened between her and Annalise, but that’s definitely an important relationship for both of them so at this point, it would be really fun to explore that. I don’t know what next season is going to be, but what I do know is that I don’t really know if Annalise can really go back to school and be a teacher [laughing], and I don’t know what that means for all of them and if they still want to be students. She doesn’t have the house anymore. I’m just excited that really there are no rules. When you interview me before the premiere, I may be like, “They all move to Bermuda!” I’m just excited to really take a risk for what the show looks like.