How to Get Away with Murder season 5 finale recap: “Please Say No One Else is Dead”

The How to Get Away with Murder season 5 finale is finally here. Check out all the details of what went down.

How to Get Away with Murder season 5 has finally come to an end and what an ending it was. While the show hasn’t been picked up for a sixth season, the ending of season 5 makes it seem like the writers are pretty sure there will be one.

Last week, the show left off revealing that Laurel’s brother, Xavier was the one to visit Nate’s dad, not Emmett Crawford as they all believed. This week started off with Laurel watching the video showing exactly that. While no one can really be shocked that Laurel’s family didn’t just walk away after season 4, it was certainly a surprise for them all to see that he was the one to order Nate Sr.’s murder.

Xavier Castillo

This finale was all about Laurel whether she liked it or not. And she certainly wasn’t happy that her family was back creating trouble for the people she cares about. As it turns out, her brother, Xavier, visited Nate Sr. in prison to ask him to become his lawyer. When Nate Sr. says no, Xavier is less than pleased. This is what starts the events that created all the drama this season.

Xavier’s next step was to get in touch with DA Miller. He knows Miller wants to permanently be the DA, so he offers to help pay for his campaign in exchange for Miller scheduling Nate. Sr.’s transfer at a day and time of Xavier’s choosing. Miller shockingly agrees.

But little does Xavier know that DA Miller actually has a plan of his own. He forces the prison warden to make Nate Sr.’s transfer the night before Xavier wanted it to be to ensure that Nate’s father was safe. But the Castillo’s aren’t that stupid. Xavier somehow found out about this (probably from the governor as they are scheming together as well) and murdered Nate Sr. during the transfer.

This, of course, led to DA Miller being blamed for his death and Miller’s murder by Nate and Bonnie at Connor and Oliver’s wedding.

When Annalise and Laurel confront Xavier with what they know, he doesn’t exactly deny it but tries to make it all about Annalise. When Laurel brings up their mother though, and the fact that she is most certainly dead, he looks genuinely shocked. How much of a role he will play in season 6 remains to be seen.

Emmett Crawford

You might think that now that the tape has been released of Xavier Castillo meeting with Nate’s father that Emmett Crawford would be out of the woods. You would be wrong. He is soon arrested by the FBI and questioned. Luckily, he has both Annalise and  Tegan to fight for him and is eventually let go.

Unfortunately, he might have been safer with the FBI. While enjoying a victory drink with Tegan, Tegan leaves for a moment, but before she comes back, something happens. The next time we see Emmett he is on the floor dying. Did someone put something in his drink? And if they did, who was it?

Wrap Up and the Cliffhanger

This episode also showed Connor, Asher, Oliver, and Michaela blowing up at Laurel once they found out she went to the FBI, Frank getting one of the prison guards responsible for killing Nate Sr. to lie to Bonnie about who ordered the murder, and the Keating 5 getting Agent Telesco fired.

But a How to Get Away with Murder season finale would be nothing without a huge cliffhanger and this one was definitely big! Annalise and Laurel are coming from Xavier’s place. They are walking down the street when Annalise gets a call from Tegan saying she was able to free Emmett but that the governor just declared on live TV that Emmett did order Nate Sr.’s death.

Tegan is also worried that Laurel’s father is going to send hit men to kill her. While reassuring her that she will not let that happen, Annalise realizes something. Laurel is no longer by her side.

Cut to Frank running into Connor and Oliver’s place, looking for Laurel’s son, Christopher. When he goes up to his nursery, Christopher isn’t there either. It looks like Laurel and her son have been kidnapped. Where are there and who took them? It looks like we will have to wait until season 6 to find out

What did you think of the season 5 finale? What are your theories for where Laurel and her son are? What do you think we can expect in season 6?

How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursday at 10 p.m. on ABC and you can catch all the previous seasons streaming on Netflix.