How To Get Away With Murder Review: He’s Dead (Season 4 Episode 9)

On How to Get Away with Murder Season 4 Episode 9, “He’s Dead,” Annalise Keating and the Keating 5 (now including Connor) reunite with the mission to save Laurel’s baby from her father.

Can you believe all of this drama? Mr. Castillo really takes baby Wes as collateral for the files Keating 5 stole from Caplan & Gold in the mid-season finale, How To Get Away With Murder Season 4 Episode 8.

He doesn’t just take her child, but he also forges documents that claim Laurel is a former cocaine user with a history of bi-polar disorder, thereby opening the door for him to gain custody.

I shouldn’t be surprised by this because he is this season’s villain. But really? Your daughter’s child?

He seems like he actually wants to be a part of Laurel’s life, as Annalise screams at him in the hallway, and yet, he steals her child and tears down any credibility she may have had by branding her with bi-polar disorder and as a cocaine user.

Money will buy you anything… except a soul.

Is anyone else confused as to exactly what Mr. Castillo knows? Dominic tells Laurel not to go with the plan to steal the files and threatens her by saying:

Dominic: He knows you’re pregnant. Just think about what else he knows.

That’s a good directive. Let’s do that, shall we?

Skipping over the fact that Laurel got a warning not to go through with the plan – a warning made by her father’s trusted henchman – and proceeds to put everyone’s lives in danger anyway, it seems like a good idea to hash out what her father may or may not know.

He knew she was pregnant, but there is no way he knew she would go into premature labor. So, how did he have those forged medical files drawn up so quickly?

Did Mr. Castillo know about Laurel’s plans to get the files all along? If so, it wouldn’t make sense that he would let her go through with it unless it was some kind of twisted, paternalistic test.

Or, maybe he doesn’t know about the files after all. He couldn’t really know the files were stolen if we see Dominic following the hot trail to find out himself.

Maybe her father knew about her history of anti-depressants and used that leverage to forge the documents. Anti-depressants would go hand in hand with bi-polar medication or someone going through withdrawal of an illicit substance like cocaine.

However, if he knew his daughter is going through it so badly for something he did to her boyfriend that she needs anti-depressants, and he takes her child anyway, he’s a stone-cold asshole.

Speaking of Wes’s death, the flashback we see at the end of the episode opens up so many doors for the narrative and for his character.

We find out that Wes knows Dominic. Not only this, but Wes calls Dominic around the same time Laurel’s father would have called Dominic to kill Wes.

In addition to the information in this tumult of news we get in the last 10 minutes of the episode, Laurel and Dominic were not only childhood friends but he loves(d?) her.

With all of this new information, it’s harder to believe that Wes is dead.

It would be amazing if Wes and Dominic come up with a plan to fake his murder thinking that everything would resolve itself afterward. It would open the door for Wes to come back, placate the many fans who revolted after his death, and triple the intrigue of the season.

Now, the Keating 5 and Annalise would have Wes as a direct witness to the hit that Laurel’s father put out on him. That’s something you can use in court in tandem with all of the files against his character.

A life sentence for one horrible, demonic father, please.

What do you guys think? Am I reaching?

If Dominic did kill Wes, even after Wes called him for help, then I’m glad Dominic is dead. My only regret is that Frank made his death relatively quick.

However, if I’m right, and the How to Get Away with Murder writers didn’t waste our time with a character’s death that doesn’t really mean anything then… we’re in store for a hell of a ride the back half of this season.

Honestly, I’m in awe with this episode. Just when you think the writers have outdone themselves, they one-up our standards (and if you haven’t noticed from my past reviews, my standards are pretty high).

With our favorite outstanding cast killing every second, a riveting story with break-neck plot twists, and with as many heart breaking scenes as there were heartwarming scenes – this episode is the best one I’ve seen in the last two seasons of the series.

Stray Observations:

• Am I the only one super surprised by help of Bonnie and Nate (who may or may not be knocking boots)?
• Simon is alive… somehow. Interesting seeing as half his brain is splattered on the glass walls and marble floors, coated in 60% of the blood from his body.
• Oliver’s attack-of-the-conscious scenes can go right along with his moral high horse.
• The first time I’ve ever been mad at Annalise is when she tells Isaac his daughter killed herself to get away from him. That comment was… disgusting.
• Tegan’s face when she finds out Michaela betrays her hits me right in the feels. Losing her will be depressing for me… probably Michaela too, but mostly for me.

What did you think of this episode of How to Get Away with Murder? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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How to Get Away with Murder airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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