Who Killed Annalise Keating? Spoilers on the HTGAWM Series Finale

The series finale of How to Get Away With Murder aired on Thursday, May 14 at 10/9c on ABC. Fans of the show tuned in to see how the story ends and finally learn who killed Annalise Keating – the murder that has remained a mystery through the drama’s seventh and final season.

Read on to learn who killed Annalise Keating, and beware of major HTGAWM season 6 finale spoilers ahead.

This article will be updated live as the episode airs.

‘HTGAWM’ Series Finale Recap: How Did Annalise Die?

Ahead of the series finale, entitled “Stay,” its official synopsis teased “Annalise discovers there’s a surprise witness that threatens her case. Meanwhile, Connor tries to persuade the K3 to go along with a new plan. Elsewhere, a lie between Frank and Bonnie threatens their relationship as Annalise’s killer is finally revealed.”

The first few minutes of the final episode flashed forward to a shooting outside of the courthouse. Without showing the victim or the shooter, the cold open certainly implied that an unexpected courthouse shooting is how Keating meets her demise; however, in HTGAWM fashion, a shift in time back to Keating’s trial proved that her death would not be revealed until the timelines converge in the final minutes of the series.

Before the episode delivered answers surrounding the murder of Annalise Keating, the jury in her trial delivered their verdict. Keating was found not guilty of murder.

The episode’s timelines converged, Annalise Keating addressed the press as a free woman outside of the courthouse as Laurel Castillo clipped her son into his car seat. As Keating spoke off-screen, shots fired much to the alarm of Laurel.

Before the murder was revealed, the episode returned to a scene showed at the start of the season – Annalise’s funeral, with Wes emerging from the crowd. But it wasn’t Wes at all – it was Christopher, grown up, standing alongside his elderly mother Laurel at Annalise’s funeral. She lived a long life, and was not murdered at all.

The person in the grey suit who was shot and killed was the governor, and her murdered was Frank, who was shot and killed by the police. Bonnie, caught in the crossfire, also died from a bullet wound to the abdomen.

Viola Davis Said She Believed That the Series ‘Ends Perfectly’

How the story ends for Annalise Keating and the rest of the show’s characters got the stamp of approval from series star Viola Davis.

Davis teased the series finale to Variety. Without giving anything away, she revealed “I don’t know if I’m into happy endings, I’m into great endings. I think happy endings sometimes can be a manipulation to give the audience what they want, but in a way that’s pat; in a way that maybe is not a realistic trajectory for the character. But I think this is gonna end exactly the way it should… You know what? It ends perfectly. With all of it, it makes absolute sense.”

Continuing, she added “It’s like [show creator Pete Nowalk] took all of these fireworks and put them in a box and said ‘What would happen if we blow them all up at the same time?’ And that’s what he did. He blew them up.”

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