HTGAWM Season 3 Episode 13 Recap: “It’s War”

Season 3, Episode 13 of ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder reveals that Connor (Jack Falahee) was at Annalise’s house on the night of the fire, administering chest compressions to the likely dead-already Wes. So Connor’s probably the one Laurel (Karla Souza) thinks she saw running out of the storm door in the basement just before the explosion. As far as we know, Wes (Alfred Enoch) was murdered at some point between Nate (Billy Brown) leaving him and Connor finding him. If, that is, Wes was murdered at all. Important cadaver update: Wes’ body is no longer a thing, like for real this time. It apparently wasn’t enough for the mysterious ADA Atwood/Mahoneys/Maybe Meggy collective to burn the house down; now they’ve gone and cremated our boy, too. Let’s back up: Obviously, none of this looks very good for Connor. But is it really any wonder that he suspects Annalise (Viola Davis)? Connor has always resented her iron grip and manipulative ways — so assuming he didn’t kill Wes himself, how could Connor (along with Laurel) not feel totally set up by his boss and “protector”? My biggest question heading into next week’s two-hour season finale: Why did Annalise try to lure specifically Connor and Laurel to the house that night? And why did she not attempt to reach Asher or Michaela? Her outgoing call log shows she phoned Wes, then Oliver, then Laurel, then Connor. That’s it. Asher was very clearly drunk in his dorm that night, but do we really buy that Michaela (Aja Naomi King) spent the whole evening with her mom? What if Michaela’s recent “holding the family together” heroism and maniacal white-knighting for Annalise are attempts to distract from her guilt? (“The first thing guilty people try to do is blame someone else,” Michaela haughtily reminds Connor — or as Asher more eloquently puts it: “If you smelt it, you dealt it.”) This would help explain both Michaela’s refusal to ever talk about Wes’ murder and why she’s keeping as close an eye as possible on Laurel, who’s still recalling bits and pieces of fire night and may need to be set straight. Maybe it’s just secondhand paranoia seeping in through the screen, reminding me that anyone on this show can be guilty, but having one of the least likely characters turn out to be implicit in Wes’ murder would somehow be more satisfying than finding out the Mahoneys did it. Crazy, but true, like Annalise passing up Bonnie’s Vicoden bottle. Twice! All signs currently point to the Mahoneys, though, thanks to Laurel — the only one who remembers that #WhoKilledWes is supposed to be trending. She hires a private investigator (“What, like Veronica Mars?” Asher asks incredulously) and discovers that Sylvia Mahoney, Wallace’s ex-wife, ran a DNA test on Wes five days before his death. They must have found out he was Wallace’s son, Laurel figures, and that’s why they killed him. Annalise is furious: “These people will hurt all of us,” she stammers. “I was pregnant, eight months, and they murdered my baby!” Annalise may not be willing to stand up to that corrupt family again, but damn if she’s gonna play the victim to ADA Atwood, the smug freak who not only slept with her man (negligible) but made Wes’ body disappear so she could frame Annalise for murder (MAJOR). That fool’s about to go down. Blazing with the power of self-defense, Annalise writes to the attorney general seeking a grand jury investigation into the DA’s conspiracy against her. “It’s war,” Bonnie (Liza Weil) announces in monotone. Pass the pills, please. Annalise wants the state to go after Atwood, but they understandably question Nate, whose forged signature appears on Wes’ body transfer form. “Stop trying to help me, it only makes things worse,” he seethes at her over the phone. “They think you’re a joke now.” Oh hell no. Annalise can handle personal victimhood (witness: any day of her haunted, complicated life) — but professional incompetence? Over her dead body! Hmmm. Who always needs a quick ego boost and can be easily manipulated? Why, the “very steady” Oliver (Conrad Ricamora), of course. He anonymously leaks some key intel to the press, leading to the fabulous headline “DA LOSES BODY…CONSPIRACY?” “This bitch,” Atwood murmurs to Denver. Speaking of “this bitch,” Soraya Hargrove (Luna Vélez), the slick new university president, has been working with the DA, attempting to sift info out of the cracks in Annalise’s steel cage so that she might get custody of her kids. Ho, hum. We all could tell this bitch couldn’t be trusted, but whether her short-lived “friendship” with and betrayal of Annalise has anything to do with Wes’ murder remains to be seen. You know who’s a real friend? Frank (Charlie Weber). Friend, sociopath hell-bent on winning back Annalise’s favor after ruining her life, same difference. This con man’s undying loyalty could end up saving them all: He makes it clear on a phone call from prison that he’ll still do anything for Annalise. Anything at all. Usually that translates to “kill someone,” but this time Frank must do something he couldn’t even comprehend before today: get smart. It’s surprisingly not a disaster! Brimming with chill, non-Bonnie vibes and crowd-friendly, digestible legalese such as “What about the Sixth Amendment?” and “Not to mention they’ve got tons of conflict of interest,” Frank successfully demands a subpoena for all of ADA Atwood’s texts, phone calls, and emails on the day Wes’ body was transferred. Overwhelmed, this saga’s newest victim admits to moving Wes’ body that day. But sorry — poof! — it’s now totally gone, lost in the flames of all our burning questions. Who killed Wes, and when, and why? Where’s his phone? Who is the “ICE” contact for “Christophe”? Was Frank lying about not seeing Wes at the house on fire night? Did he even go? And exactly how many more of Annalise’s amazing wool trench coats were left safe and sound in non-flammable storage? We’ve got two full hours left and a lot to tie up…