How to Get Away With Murder Recap: Burden of Proof

Photo: Gilles Mingasson/ABC

The only thing I love more than THE LAW on How to Get Away With Murder is THE SCHEMES. I love a scene where Annelise is telling someone that they have to get on the same page. I love someone doing a stealthy Google search and the camera whipping around to a picture of one of the leads on the screen. I looooove someone getting into someone's car and handing them a file. This episode had hella schemes and it didn't feel like it was getting in its own way. I'm still not a big fan of Gabriel, but at least connecting him to Ron feels … useful? I'm not super crazy about Emmett and his sad lil' love life, but again, sort of useful? Let's get into it.

If you thought we were done with flashbacks and flash-forwards, you were dang wrong! We're doing this thing by flashing around 24 hours at a time. Nate is getting his cheek swabbed by FBI because he's obviously very suspicious and going through something right now. Annelise calls him and says she's on her way but Nate tells her that she can't come anywhere near this. Annelise should be trying to stay far away from this one. She had literally nothing to do with it! Annelise, just go to St. Thomas and take a break. Nate tells the FBI that Ron ordered the hit on his dad and the person they want isn't him — it's the GOVERNOR!

Twenty-Four Hours Earlier…

Bonnie is playing the voice-mail to Annelise and Nate and we all know what's going to happen: Nate is still going to be pissed and he knows he didn't kill an innocent man. He's almost saying, "He's not innocent because I killed him," and Annelise is playing to the middle and saying "Just because you killed him, doesn't mean he's innocent." Nate is going to go off to find more proof. Annelise can tell that Bonnie is more morose than usual, which is saying someone because I can't remember the last time Bonnie smiled on this television program. Annelise calls Asher to keep an eye on Bonnie. I guess this is a solution for one problem but it creates another, because Asher tells Annelise that he's not the only one who knows about the whole urder-may.

Annelise has to storm over to her office and reassure the Keating Gang that everything will be okay. Connor is mostly concerned because Miller was last seen at their wedding. He was a plus-one, you weren't setting him up for murder. Annelise sends them out to find Laurel and shut her the hell up. Everyone SHUT UP SO ANNELISE CAN THINK.

Teagan is ready to go forward with the civil lawsuit against the state but it's not really a good time. Teagan has become pretty neutered since we've been spending more time in the office and I'm not interested in begging Teagan. I'm interested in head bitch in charge Teagan. Every time we see Teagan, she's going to be asking Michaela if she's talked to Nate yet. We get it.

Laurel is running up on Bonnie and demanding to know what baby Christopher saw. Babies who witness trauma can have PTSD, and it's usually an origin story for a superhero or supervillain. If season six of this show jumps ahead 21 years and we end up with a How to Get Away with Murder–Dexter reboot, I will be VERY excited. Laurel basically plays the same emotional note the whole episode. I'm very much over Laurel.

Nate decides that he wants to roll up on the foreman from his dad's case. This is a scheme. Nate wants to know why the jury decided the way they did and he wants to find out in a very intimidating way. The foreman says that his dad's DNA was on the gun and they were handed a packet of evidence during deliberations. Wait … what? That does not seem right.

Okay, in the middle of all this scheming, I guess we gotta resolve Emmett's weird emotional affair with a client. Nora is finally in the office with a very British man. The Very British Man assumes Annelise won't be joining them at the meeting and Annelise hits him with the "the fuck you thought!"

The deposition is some weird genetics pharmaceutical nonsense, but Nora and the Very British Man demand that Emmett fall on his very erect sword and take the blame for Nora's continuing legal troubles. They will have to admit their relationship, but Nora's trouble will be over. After a few too many scenes of Annelise telling him to nut up, Emmett gets into Nora's car in the parking garage. They talk about how maybe she needs to take the blame but somehow this is him balancing out the universe. Annelise breaks them up and they all come to the conclusion that they should pin it on the Very British Man. Emmett says he did it to let Nora go because he wants to ask Annelise to dinner? Annelise needs to leave this old-ass white dude alone.

Gabriel goes into to meet with FBI voluntarily because one of the last phone calls that came to Ron's phone was a voice-mail from Gabriel. OH OKAY. THIS FEELS NEW. According to Gabriel, Ron wanted him to ingratiate himself into the Keating Gang and give him some info. He hadn't seen him in person for about two months.

Nate gets the evidence he needs to know that someone slipped the DNA-gun report to the jury. Well … kinda. Nate is really spinning out here. Annelise warns him that he's not getting the info he needs and he's going to dig his own grave. Nate tells Annelise she can have his back or she can leave. She gets her purse and leaves. Annelise becomes her own GIF.

Annelise calls Bonnie but Bonnie declines the call. She's in her garage, in her car, revving the engine. OH CHRIST. This is DARK. Frank comes home and finds Bonne in the garage and carries her into the house. When Nate calls Bonnie, Frank tells him to stop digging because Bonnie can't handle it. Nate doesn't accept Frank's advice either and storms over to the evidence desk to demand the chain of custody on the gun. He flips the fuck out and that's when the FBI shows up.

Meanwhile, Laurel is still storming around furious at Bonnie, and Asher says that Bonnie lost the love of her life. Laurel says she lost the love of her life. OKAY, LAUREL. WE GET IT. Michaela decides to tell Laurel that Christopher will be fine because Michaela was in the room when her birth mother was shot. Michaela doesn't remember the event and she's fine. Also. DARK.

Nate gets the cheek swab and Teagan keeps asking around about the civil case and gets two different answers from Annelise and the Keating Gang. Teagan is getting suspicious. Nate lays out how Ron was involved with the plot against his dad and starts giving them some ideas about how the governor is involved. He gave them his DNA to match the DNA on the gun. While he waits for the results, he tells Bonnie that he started this trouble so it's not her fault. She can forgive herself.

The final montage spills out a little bit this episode and we get lots of little snippets toward the end. Gabriel chops up an ID and mashes some piece of technology. This is all getting suspicious. Annelise tells Laurel to back up off Bonnie. Teagan starts looking into Ron's death and gets out her burner phone to call the FBI. Frank is looking for Bonnie and he can't find her anywhere in her house. He finally finds her in his bed because she doesn't want to sleep alone.

The DNA results come back and someone manufactured the positive results. There is someone in custody who can offer some explanations. Annelise gets a phone call from someone in jail saying she's their lawyer. Who is it?

GABRIEL!

OKAY! THIS IS VERY USEFUL!

How to Get Away With Murder Recap: Burden of Proof