Since day 1 HTGAWM (‘How To Get Away With Murder’) has been filled with jaw-dropping moments but none as shocking as tonight’s season 1 finale, where Rebecca is mysteriously killed and Frank is revealed to be Lila’s killer.
The theme of tonight’s episode, much like Annalise’s (Viola Davis) class lecture is all about lies- the lies we tell ourselves, the lies about our true natures and the lies we tell others to survive.
As the show opens we see Wes (Alfred Enoch) and Rebecca (Katie Findlay) lying to each other about what they think they know and what they’ve done.
Wes tells her he was at the library and Rebecca says nothing even though she was tracking him and knows he went to visit Rudy.
As the 2 have sex we see flashes of Laurel (Karla Souza) and Wes outside of Rudy’s room arguing over whether or not to confront Rebecca about what she might have done.
Laurel is against it and makes Wes promise not to say anything, not even to Annalise- a promise he probably won’t keep.
The show then goes 5 months back and we begin to see pieces of what happened to Lila throughout the show.
In the first flashback we see Rebecca and Lila arguing when Lila tells her she doesn’t want to deal anymore and is going back to Griffin, while Rudy eavesdrops next door.
The show then cuts to Nate’s (Billy Brown) bail hearing, which is denied – upsetting Annalise (Viola Davis) and making her take some risky moves to help him.
We also see Connor (Jack Falahee) agreeing to get tested with Oliver before taking their relationship to the next level.
As all this unfolds Frank (Charlie Weber) and Bonnie (Liza Weil) try to keep Annalise focused on defending Fr. Bernard, a priest accused of murdering another priest.
Annalise thinks Father lied to her and not only committed murder but molested a little boy. When she confronts him she is shocked to learn that it was the murdered priest molesting the little boy, not her client.
Wes, meanwhile, steals the police transcripts to try and unearth the truth of what happened to Lila the night she died.
Laurel is pissed he stole them but she says nothing and the 2 go over them, leaving the others out (another lie in a night full of them).
As they review the transcripts we see that fateful night unfold, as Rebecca seduces Griffin and texts Lila to catch them together to show Lila he is no good.
Lila flips out and attacks Rebecca and Griffin, then runs from both of them and Rebecca goes after her.
Wes realizes that the scratches Grifiin got that night were from Lila finding him with Rebecca- which means he was telling the truth.
The action then shifts back to Annalise, who is desperate to get Nate out and has Frank call in a favor from his jail contacts.
They have Nate beat up- hoping it will show he is in danger in jail and should be out on bail.
Instead, Bonnie tells her that Nate was placed in solitary instead, so they go to plan B.
Plan B involves Frank snapping a compromising pic of Asher talking with Nate’s judge, getting Nate out on bail.
Annalise goes to see Nate, who blames her for everything and tells her he has no trust in her while Laurel and Wes are caught arguing by the others, who find out that they suspect Rebecca killed Lila.
The Keating 5 go to confront Rebecca, who is heartbroken that Wes is letting them interrogate her while he just stands there.
It’s obvious the group is losing it, especially Michaela (Aja Naomi King) who threatens to destroy Rebecca if she doesn’t tell them everything.
If that wasn’t shocking enough moments later Annalise arrives and they show her Rebecca tied up in the bathroom.
When she asks Wes to explain he tells her they think she might have killed Lila, not Sam.
Annalise takes the tape off her mouth and unties her hands, while yelling at the others for trying to hold Rebecca against her will- then decides they will put Rebecca “on trial”..
As they question Rebecca we see a flashback of Lila telling Sam she is going to tell Annalise about them and then showing up at Annalise’s moments later.
Bonnie answers the door and makes Lila go away, then lies when Annalise asks who it was.
Annalise and the others then bring Rebecca back to the office and Annalise has them each present a case against Rebecca.
As each gives a theory Annalise rips into them once again, pointing out that their cases are all speculation and they are letting their paranoia get the best of them.
She then leaves to go give a statement to the prosecution in Nate’s case and lies that Nate followed her home the night Sam died.
The show then flashes back and shows Lila on the phone at the water tank, telling Sam she is pregnant, which makes him head over to see her.
When Asher shows up to the office the 5 take Rebecca tot he basement to hide her and hear Asher tell Frank about him and Bonnie.
We then see Sam meet Lila, who wants to keep his baby no matter what. Sam tells her he loves her (possible lie?).
Right after that flashback Wes goes to talk to Rebecca (at Annalise’s urging) to find out the truth.
Rebecca admits she gave Rudy PCP and another drug so he wouldn’t tell the cops he saw her all wet the night Lila died- but explains she was wet because she found Lila dead in the tank and had to hide in there when other kids showed up to drink.
While Wes and Rebecca talk Annalise steps out really quick to see Nate, who realizes she has been lying to help him.
When she leaves Nate calls the number she gave him for a new lawyer, showing he trusts her.
Wes believe Rebecca and Annalise agrees with him and decides to let Rebecca go, but the others are against it.
Laurel asks Frank to do something about Rebecca, causing Bonnie to lash out at all of them for the mess they have created.
Annalise goes down to let Rebecca go and is shocked to discover she is gone and the back door is open.
She confronts the Keating 5 to see who let her go but everyone swears they didn’t do it.
When they all leave Annalise comforts Wes, who is devastated by what has happened.
Annalise explains to him that he must continue to believe Sam killed Lila, because it is a lie they can live with.
Wes leaves and Annalise promises him they will find Rebecca (which turns out to be the biggest lie of all).
As the show ends we are hit with shocker after shocker: Oliver tests positive for HIV, Laurel gives Michaela her missing ring back and we see that frank killed Lila- on Sam’s orders!
However, the real shocker is the final scene, which shows Rebecca dead in Annalise’s basement- and Frank and Annalise clueless as to how it happened!
What did you think of the season 1 finale of HTGAWM? Share your thoughts and theories with us below.
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