Author: Amber Dowling

March 17, 2016 8:00pm PT by Amber Dowling

 Courtesy of Nicole Wilder/ABC

“This show is about people clinging to each other in very desperate and dark times,” Pete Nowalk tells THR.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season two finale of ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder.]

Heading into Thursday’s finale of How to Get Away With Murder, “Anna Mae,” there was plenty to resolve in order to wrap season two’s mysteries while also setting things up for its previously announced third season.

As Annalise (Viola Davis) returned home to hide and heal from Frank’s (Charlie Weber) admission that he killed Lila (Megan West), viewers finally learned the truth about why Frank owed Sam (Tom Verica) that favor and his part in helping to “kill” Annalise’s baby.

Meanwhile, Caleb (Kendrick Sampson) was unmasked as the killer when he turned on Annalise, leading Phillip (Jefferson White) to resurface and Catherine (Amy Okuda) to recant her previous alibi. It all wrapped up with a nice and tidy little bow — until the closing few minutes when Frank went missing and Wes (Alfred Enoch) confronted his father Wallace (Adam Arkin), only to watch the mogul’s head be blown off by an unknown assailant right in front of him.

That still left plenty of time for Michaela (Aja Naomi King) and Asher (Matt McGorry) to almost hook up again, Oliver (Conrad Ricamora) to betray Connor (Jack Falahee) by deleting his Stanford acceptance letter, and for Bonnie (Liza Weil) to receive another cryptic order from Annalise.

To break down some of the finale’s more shocking plot twists, preview what could possibly be in store for season three and reveal whether Wes will ever catch a break, THR turned to series creator and showrunner Pete Nowalk.  

At what point did these stories come together for you in the finale?

The big question we left last season with was: Why did Frank kill Lila (Megan West)? Coming into this season, it was over the hiatus that I basically knew it had to be about something about Annalise. The secret that Sam and Frank were sharing had to relate back to her. That’s where the pregnancy storyline came in. I just knew that Frank, in some way, murdered Annalise’s baby. That was really the starting point. I thought it was so tragic — he was so young and stupid and he made a really big mistake, which I get. It’s a lot of money, he was young and he didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. He definitely didn’t think it would end up in her losing her baby. That last scene with Sam and Frank is heartbreaking to me because you see that Frank is just such a little boy who did something really bad and there’s no taking it back.

What about the Wes-Wallace reveal of their being related?

We didn’t figure that out until after our midseason finale, where Annalise said “Kristophe.” We didn’t know what that meant. We knew that Annalise was involved with Wes’ mother, but all of that just was a ton of work for us. We pitched every single idea but what was exciting for us about that is that it just really made sense why Annalise would want to protect him so much. He’s the byproduct of a rape, which is one of the most haunting and horrible things that Wes could find out about himself and his mother. And Annalise is obviously a survivor herself. That’s why she has that connection with Bonnie and why she’s always trying to protect her. It’s the same thing with Wes and why Annalise would go so far to protect him. It just made emotional sense.

Is the Wallace murder and who did it a key point in the third season?

We don’t go back to working on the third season until May, but Wes’ childhood and who his father is — that’s a major part of his life. So whether it’s something that we answer quickly, like who killed Rebecca (Katie Findlay) in the premiere, or the version where we extend it … I haven’t decided that yet. 

Should viewers assume it was Frank avenging Annalise’s baby at this point?

I don’t want to leave anyone with anything — everyone’s going to have different theories and that’s sort of the point for me. I’m happy for more theories because that just means people are engaged and that’s all I want. 

Does this implicate Wes in another murder?

The police are going to ask why he has that blood on him. But we don’t know what’s going to happen after that moment, honestly. And I don’t know either. I’ll say the guy has been through a lot and I would like to see him get a little bit of a break eventually.

Did Annalise mean murder when she told Bonnie that Frank had to go?

That’s up to interpretation and another thing we’ll clarify next season. Annalise has never felt more betrayed and angry. What’s so lovely about that line is I had no idea how Viola would perform it and her performance tells me everything I need to know. The ambiguity is appealing to me.

Is the hope to explore more of Annalise’s familial relationships next season?

Of course. Her family, whether she wants to believe it or not, is a really important part of her life and there are a lot of unresolved things there — especially after that scene with her father. And there’s always stuff with her mother. We’re at a point in her life where she may reconsider connecting with her family. We’ll see how that goes, but I’m definitely excited about exploring that more.

Where did the family visit leave Annalise and Nate (Billy Brown) — could viewers meet his family too next season?

I’m happy if people picked up on that line, “Just wait until you meet my family.” The question between Nate and Annalise is can they recover from all the baggage? In this episode it really looks like they can, that they can almost function like a couple … one that can loves each other and kiss each other under the moonlight in a normal way. Are they both able to be invested in each other and can they trust each other? That’s one relationship we can explore more, we’re just starting to understand why they connect with each other. I’m hoping to make that all a big storyline next season.

Now that Annalise knows her baby’s death wasn’t her fault is there a chance she’ll lighten up?

I went into this season wanting to see Annalise be happy and show more parts of her personality, but clearly we went in a very dark direction. It’s always possible but Annalise is who she is. The show is what it is. We get moments of lightness from her already, I just want to stay true to the character and the real horrible stakes that she’s living in make it hard to find her just giggling about a joke.

Are the books closed on the Wes/Laurel (Karla Souza) and Asher/Michaela romances now that they’ve both been semi shut down?

I’m definitely open to the possibility of what those characters can offer each other and also whether there will be new pairings that we don’t know about yet. The show isn’t about romance; it’s about people clinging to each other in very desperate and dark times. These are young people who are very attractive, so I believe they’re all going to do things that might seem shocking to normal people but to them it’s not that big of a deal because … well they’re murderers.

Oliver hasn’t murdered anyone, but was deleting that Stanford acceptance letter correlated to the fact that he’s hanging out with these people?

Definitely, it’s almost Connor’s worst nightmare — his darkness rubbing off on the angel that is Oliver. Or is that just who Oliver has been all along and he’s just been faking his way through life? I get Oliver. I get wanting to have a more exciting life. These are two guys who are very young and are only just starting to really know each other and know themselves so anything is possible between the two of them.

Was Caleb always the murderer in your books and could any of those other characters resurface in season three?

No. That is something we went back and forth with a million times and it just felt like the best answer as we came up to it. Not having come up with anything for season three it’s always possible we revisit some of those characters. But when we created the storyline we did it for this season. I don’t know who’s going to want to have something to do with any of those characters anymore. Right now it’s something I think we’ll move on from.

How to Get Away With Murder will return to ABC next season. What did you think of the finale? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling

How to Get Away With Murder

March 17, 2016 9:00am PT by Amber Dowling

Plus: Watch a sneak peek of the twosome from Thursday’s episode.

Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) has never been a one-woman kind of man. This is the same character that wanted Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) and Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) to live together as both his wives, after all. But when the Vikings lead does choose his women, he tends to choose well, opting for the ladies who can hold their own against the king and boost him into an even higher position of authority.

Which is what makes this latest love interest, the slave girl Yidu (Dianne Doan), the Yoko to Ragnar’s Lennon.

“Ragnar finds it very difficult to trust people now that everyone seems to have their own agenda, but he finds a woman that he can engage with in Yidu,” showrunner Michael Hirst tells The Hollywood Reporter. “As John Lennon said about him and Yoko, they have no past. Someone like Yidu, who’s Chinese, exotic, has no collective memory of what’s happened in Scandinavia or Ragnar’s history, gives him the opportunity of unburdening some of his inner torments.”

That unburdening began to unfold in the most recent episode of the History series, and continues with Thursday’s hour, “Promised.” As previewed in the exclusive clip above, Ragnar begins to fill Yidu in on his failed attempt to colonize new land, perhaps in part encouraged by the “medicine” that she has been providing him.

“It’s a more complicated relationship than that, but he does need someone to talk to,” Hirst says.

As more of Yidu’s history begins to come to light in the coming weeks, viewers may begin to also see the fallout of her newfound relationship with Ragnar as it pertains to the woman who bought her in the first place — Ragnar’s current wife, Aslaug. Despite giving Ragnar permission to seek solace in Yidu, Aslaug’s exact motives for doing so are still a little hazy.

“I was not unaware that Yoko put her own assistant, May Pang, in front of John when she thought that John was losing interest in her,” Hirst continues. “So there was a slight Beatles aspect to that situation too. But this happens quite a bit — it’s an aspect of human sexuality and life and a woman trying to keep her husband in a way.”

According to Hirst, that relationship is one that he and Fimmel talk about often, with Fimmel admitting a deep respect for Aslaug given that she doesn’t hate Ragnar at this point, having brought up his children and put up with some of the things she has over the years. Not that their relationship is destined to improve anytime soon.

“It’s an interesting dynamic between two people struggling to remain in a relationship. They’re not young anymore and they’ve got a lot of kids between them,” Hirst says. “Aslaug has also struggled within the relationship and it doesn’t help that Harbard is going to return at some point to screw things up even more.”

Well then. Looks like they both have their Yokos.

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on History.

Thoughts? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling

Vikings

March 17, 2016 8:00am PT by Amber Dowling

 Nicole Wilder/ABC

Showrunner Pete Nowalk reveals Viola Davis’ “pivotal” contributions to the episode, which centers heavily on her character’s family and backstory.

Those who have been patiently waiting for a chance to know a little bit more about Annalise Keating are about to get their wish.

Thursday’s second season finale of ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder sees the cutthroat lawyer (Viola Davis) back home with her family, including her previously introduced mother Ophelia (Cicely Tyson), her sister Celestine (Gwendolyn Mulamba) and her absentee father (Roger Robinson). In what showrunner Pete Nowalk calls a departure for the series, most of the episode hones in on Annalise’s background, finding out why she became the way she did and why she severed some of her relationships with her family members in the first place.

“The question I get most asked is, ‘When is Cicely Tyson coming back?’ It was definitely a goal to find a place for her in season two,” Nowalk tells The Hollywood Reporter. “She was only available for this episode, so we decided to make our finale feel different from all the other episodes. It’s scary to me because of how people will react to it.”

Because of the way the showrunner and his team of writers work, they found themselves backed into a bit of a corner before the finale in terms of answering all the questions that needed to be answered within the episode. Nowalk admits that made the hour, “Anna Mae,” a particularly challenging one to craft because it involved the most world-building on the least amount of time. So he did what he usually tends to do in those situations, and called upon his star to help carve out her character’s world.

“Viola is the first person I want to run things by. She was big on wanting to meet Annalise’s sister and her father, who was a character I hadn’t really thought that much about,” Nowalk says. “At the end of the season, we don’t have that much time to write these episodes, so that’s when I really go to Viola and the other writers and lean on them.”

In the end, it was Davis’s recommendation to go with both Mulamba and Davidson, which Nowalk says helped to establish some of the character chemistry even though the actors had limited time to work on it while on set. It was also the actress’ idea to incorporate some of the family dance moves viewers will see in the episode, which the exec producer says is just another example of his star being “pivotal” to pulling off so many of these scenes. 

This is How to Get Away With Murder, however, so dance scenes and family reunions aren’t the only items on the agenda during this shocking finale. What Annalise went to her family to escape from in the first place — a huge betrayal by Frank (Charlie Weber) — is still very much playing out in the background.

“Annalise’s new family, the people she thought she could count on, have been lying to her about the biggest scar in her life,” Nowalk teases. “Maybe her blood family is the only one that she can count on.”

Meanwhile back at home, Frank will be doing some soul searching of his own.

“This is the biggest dilemma that Frank has ever been in in his life. He betrayed Annalise, this person who he’s so loyal to and [he] kind of lives and breathes for,” he says. “Now she’s found out something that’s unforgivable, so he’s in the biggest pickle of his life. Is he going to be proactive about it? Is he going to try to fix it? Is he going to try to lie his way out of it? We will find out all of that in the finale, and learn exactly why he killed Lila.”

How to Get Away With Murder wraps its second season on Thursday at 10 p.m. on ABC. 

How do you think it will all wrap up? Sound off in the comments below. 

Twitter: @amber_dowling

How to Get Away With Murder