How to Get Away with Murder Season 3, Episode 9 Recap: Who’s Really Dead?

How to Get Away with Murder finally told us who’s underneath the sheet, and it surprised us all. What other secrets were revealed?

Warning: Here, there be How to Get Away with Spoilers of massive proportions, all dealing with the November 17 episode. Read at your own risk!

Annalise starts things off by welcoming everyone to the midterm exam. The task? Attempt to convince her that the sociopath Ted Bundy deserves to live, using his case file. Note the use of the word sociopath, because Ms. Keating throws it directly at Frank while trying to convince him to pull the trigger.

Bonnie, meanwhile, pleads with him to live for her. “You love me, right? You love me,” she insists, and she takes the gun away from him. Frank, sobbing, puts his head in her lap. Even Annalise has tears in her eyes.

"Frank: “I’m so sorry.”Annalise: “You should have done it.”"

Welcome to the winter finale of How to Get Away with Murder.

Annalise presents everyone with the good news that they all passed, but she does not stay to celebrate. Wes, answering her summons, asks her what’s up, and she says that Frank’s gone and not to worry. Unfortunately, the celebratory mood does not repair Ollie and Connor’s relationship, and Asher kills Michaela’s happiness by saying her mother is coming to town.

Falling Off the Wagon

Back at the hairdressers’, Annalise breaks down because it’s just too quiet, but she gets some support. Additionally, it turns out that ADA Atwood has been visiting the same salon.

At school, Laurel does not seem happy with the Frank news, and she makes Wes unhappy by telling him that Frank knows about her new thing with Wes.

ADA Atwood does not take kindly to being accused of stalking or investigating Annalise, and Annalise coldly informs her that even if she does get taken down, it won’t be by Atwood. After that visit, she meets up with Nate. The conversation does not go well.

When she gets home, she pours herself some vodka, and then, after ignoring a call from Bonnie, starts drinking from the bottle.

Michaela’s mom arrives, and within seconds, Michaela asks her what she needs. Apparently, Mikki’s parents broke up, and her mom needs a place to stay.

At the party, Laurel apologizes to Wes. He accuses her of wanting to fix him, and she throws Rebecca back in his face. His lawyer calls him to the police station, and the cops immediately call Atwood.

From How to Get Away with Murder 3×09. Image via ABC.

Just as she hangs up, Nate walks in and promptly asks if he has a job because of his ties to Annalise. Atwood tells him he deserves the job. He does not appear to buy it and then proposes they end their relationship.

At home, Annalise starts burning files and destroying things, still with her trusty vodka at her side. That done, she pays Bonnie a visit and brings another bottle, because she still believes the DA’s office is investigating them all.

The Fights Just Keep on Coming

Laurel gives Wes a call, but he doesn’t answer. Oliver, meanwhile, learns that Connor does not have a substance abuse problem, but rather a trauma problem.

Michaela, meanwhile, does not want to take care of her mother, who claims that she saved her.

"Michaela: “Social services saved me!”"

Unfortunately, before she can finish destroying her mother verbally, Laurel, Connor, and Asher walk in.

Bonnie feeds her boss a bite of soup. Rather than start plotting, Annalise asks if Frank really did sleep with her. Bonnie does not answer verbally.

Meanwhile, at the police station, Wes’ lawyer assures him that this is all perfectly normal. The cops want him to sign off on his Mahoney testimony but also want to talk to him about something else. Nate watches it all go down.

Asher apologizes to Michaela while everyone else does shots. Connor introduces Mrs. Pratt to HumpR, and before things get even worse, Asher gets everyone out.

From How to Get Away with Murder 3×09. Image via ABC.

But when Bonnie puts her boss to bed, Annalise gives her a kiss. It doesn’t escalate.

Turns out the cops want to know about a body they found in the woods. The female detective asks him if he dated Rebecca Sutter. Quick, everyone say “uh-oh!” While they’re alone, Wes fires his lawyer, who rightly says that one Annalise Keating has gotten into his head before leaving. Nate casually asks the female detective about the Keating investigation, but no dice there.

Annalise wakes alone, because Bonnie has gone to visit Frank. Bonnie tells him that he can fix the DA’s investigation just by falling on his own sword.

"Bonnie: “I want us all to be safe.”"

It Begins (Or Ends, Depending on Your Point of View)

Annalise summons Wes to the house. Oliver starts looking into the disappearance of one Professor Sam Keating when he gets a call from Annalise. She tells him to stay at the clinic and leaves him to do some more reading. Next, she calls Laurel and tells her to find everyone and bring them to the house. A smashed Asher cannot feel several body parts and passes out drunk. Connor informs Thomas (Oliver’s love interest) that they just had sex and walks out.

Nate arrives at the Keating house. The door’s ajar. He takes note of all the destroyed evidence, but can’t find her, because she’s at the clinic with Oliver. She explains that they’re all in trouble, namechecks Connor, and tells Ollie to hack into the DA’s office.

Laurel arrives, but texts Wes to let him know of the Keating Summons. She calls for Annalise, but gets no response just before the bottom floor explodes into flames.

From How to Get Away with Murder 3×09. Image via ABC.

At this point, we now see everything from the flash-forwards in order with a couple of reveals. First, Annalise calls Bonnie with her one phone call for representation. Second, Bonnie speaks to Frank at the hospital and tells him of the pregnancy. Atwood gives Nate a call to complain about him hanging out at the police station.

Connor finally arrives at the hospital and asks who’s dead.

At the medical examiner’s office, the coroner starts talking about the body on the table, and Nate walks in.

Surprise: Wes is under the sheet. That explains Annalise’s reaction. Bonnie tells Michaela, Asher, Connor, and Oliver that he’s dead. Meggy and Laurel see it on the news, and they both break into tears.

Nate asks the cause of death. Unofficially…

We wind back to 4:22 PM, just as Wes starts correcting the immunity agreement with the lighting that convinced people that he had survived. When the cops walk out, he listens to Annalise’s summons. He ducks out of the interrogation room, avoiding the detectives.

In the present, Nate visits Annalise in her cell. He tells her that Wes was already dead before the fire, which only furthers the mystery.

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Wes walks out of the police station sometime in the afternoon, and that’s that.

The mystery is now: Who killed Wes, and where did he go after leaving the police station?

How to Get Away with Murder returns January 19.