Let’s all just take a second to breathe…

OK. Let’s get into it!

As expected, the How to Get Away with Murder winter finale snatched my wig — multiple times. The writing, the cinematography, the acting, the pacing, the music … so many details that created a masterpiece of an episode. We finally got the answers to the baby/murder/murder puzzle, and the biggest surprise was, well, all of it.

The episode opened with Oliver in a frenzy at the law firm party Tegan appointed Michaela to organize. Turns out Laurel, Michaela and Asher are all at the bloody law office crime scene that’s been teased to us for weeks, now. What’s revealed later in the episode is that after overhearing the three ridiculous culprits’ plan to frame him with Tegan’s key card, Simon confronts the group and threatens to rat them out. Laurel offers the annoying law student hush money, but he’s more interested in what the ringleader is hiding in her purse. He finds a gun in her bag, trips over a chair and shoots himself, creating the bloody scene at the law firm.

He looked pretty dead to me, but towards the end of the episode, Simon was pushing through at the hospital. He did flatline, but this show is all about misleading its audience. If he survives this freak accident, this would put Michaela, Laurel, Oliver and Asher in a super tight spot. Simon would be able to expose the truth about what happened, versus the plan Michaela whipped up at the office after the incident to hopefully clear their involvement.

Before those antics, it’s worth noting that Laurel was chilling at home while the others were out executing her dirty work. As much as I want to call her a terrible friend, I can’t. She endured a hell of an ordeal in Annalise’s hotel elevator that I’ll detail next, but it’s necessary to address that she was just chilling out during the early moments of the evening. Before leaving out the apartment to join the crew, she answered a mysterious call from an unknown number. First of all, who answers blocked calls? And secondly, who was on the other end?

After fleeing from the law firm mess, via Michaela’s orders, Laurel decides to swing by Annalise’s spot, the Eastern Hotel. She ends up getting stuck in an elevator and gives birth to her child. That particular scene was a bloody, hard-to-watch mess. While experiencing it, I thought about how far TV has come. Every network is determined to serve a bit of HBO-lite these days.

Anyway, during the birth, which initially seems like a miscarriage, Laurel loses a ton of blood and passes out, trapped in the elevator. Miraculously, Annalise comes to Laurel’s rescue, prying open the door and retrieving the baby. 911 helps her successfully do CPR on the newborn, bringing him back to life. It was a moving scene. Viola made me believe that baby was real, although it looked like the fakest thing I’ve ever seen.

Outside of getting answers to the big mystery, a couple of other really important things happened.

Bonnie confessed her love to Annalise, not in a lesbian kind of way, but more in a family kind of way, and Annalise is thoroughly turned off. I’m not sure if it’s her just not wanting to accept real love, or if she thought Bonnie was truly crazy, but Annalise rejected her harshly, threatening to call the cops if she didn’t leave her alone.

Bonnie visits Nate to share the experience with him. She asks her co-worker, “When did you stop loving her?” He replies, “I’m still trying.”

What is it that attracts so many people to Annalise Keating in such a deep way? Her power? Her wits? Her sex? Her wig collection? What’s interesting is that every single character is deeply entranced by the lawyer: the (former) Keating Four are all still working to get her out their system, Frank vowed that he will always be there, therapist Isaac is thirsty AF for her … I just find it so strange. What are the writers trying to make her representative of? God himself, maybe?

Also, Connor stops by Laurel’s spot to see how her chill time is going, while his boyfriend and Michaela are out possibly destroying their lives. He realizes that she tipped out, but in the shadows, Mr. Castillo’s hitman, who murdered Wes, is hiding, possibly ready to take Connor out next. But the killer seems to hesitate, after overhearing Connor’s phone call that divulges details of the Mr. Castillo takedown.

It’s strange that the hitman is at Laurel’s apartment. Could he really be there to get rid of her, with Connor just being at the wrong place at the wrong time? It’s not too far-fetched. If Mr. Castillo has heard anything about his daughter working overtime to get him behind bars, as difficult as it might be, I can see him taking such an extreme route. He seems like a “money of over family” type of guy. NO ONE will ruin the deal he already murdered for to make happen.

The perspective that the pieces of the puzzle was revealed to us is also important to point out.

In previous episodes, we were introduced to Laurel’s missing baby through Frank’s eyes. It makes me assume that maybe he’ll be a big part of what happens next there. Like I’ve been saying all season, that baby ain’t Wes’.

The law firm accident crime scene is seen through Bonnie’s eyes. How will she be tied into that space? Will she save her former love interest, Asher, from jail, and create a cover for Oliver and Michaela?

And Simon flatlining is from Isaac’s perspective. Why he’s even involving himself boggles me, but how will his presence tie into the scenario?

We’ll have to wait until next year, January 18, for those answers, when the second half of How to Get Away with Murder, season four, continues.