How to Get Away with Murder’s episode Thursday centered on a tense custody battle and family reunions. The fate of Laurel’s baby hung in the air as she confronted her father in court alongside her mother. Not only were there surprises, but new elements of the story were presented. Here are the top five moments from How to Get Away with Murder.
1. Laurel reconnected with her mother
For a long time, it has been mentioned that Laurel’s (Karla Souza) mother suffered from mental illness and was treated terribly by Laurel’s father. However, the extent of her mother’s mental health was not fully revealed until Thursday, when viewers finally saw her.
At the beginning of the episode, Laurel’s mother agreed to help her with the custody battle. During the episode, the mother-daughter relationship between the two was unveiled. Laurel deeply cared for her mom when she needed her help, but, in present day, Laurel refused to talk to her mother about her love life. With an evident strain between the two, the complexity of their relationship will become more unraveled as the season progresses.
2. Laurel fought for the custody of her baby
With Laurel’s baby in the hands of Laurel's father, it was only a matter of time before they faced off in court. In this episode, Laurel and Annalise (Viola Davis) petitioned for the custody of Laurel’s baby back from her father, Mr. Castillo. Laurel testified that she was entirely competent to care for her baby and said her father was dangerous. She also stated the only way for her to truly recover from her stay in the psych ward was to finally see her son again.
In an effort to further prove Laurel’s competence, her mother came to testify. Ms. Castillo has suffered from bipolar disorder throughout her entire life, and told the court that it was Laurel who cared for her.
Finally, Annalise’s therapist Isaac (Jimmy Smits) testified before the court. He gave evidence and his expert opinion, declaring Laurel to be perfectly capable of caring for her son. Despite the emotional and compelling testimonies, the judge was forced to deny Laurel’s request based on curious information that discredited Isaac.
Laurel has been devastated over the loss of her son, so she will surely be fighting to get him back from her father. This episode hinted that Annalise and Laurel will seek to get visitation hours, indicating that the battle between Laurel and her father is far from over.
3. Isaac may have been involved in the death of his daughter
While Isaac testified easily before Annalise, he was grilled by Mr. Castillo’s lawyer. The lawyer brought up the death of his daughter, which viewers knew about already. However, he also mentioned that Isaac was a heroin addict and that his daughter had died of an Oxytocin overdose. He discussed how security footage showed Isaac entering his house 15 minutes before calling 911 about his daughter, spurring the district attorney’s office to re-open her case.
It could just be a ploy to scare Isaac off, but the information presented is certainly interesting for the audience. The idea that Isaac could have killed his daughter completely changes everything about his character. Also, when Annalise went to his office to visit him, he hid from her and refused to come out. The mystery of his daughter’s death will likely become clearer as the season draws closer to an end.
4. Nate reconnected with his father
In another family reunion, Nate (Billy Brown) visited his father in prison with Annalise. His father has been in prison for more than 35 years as a result of small drug incidents and parole violations. He is also very clearly mentally unstable. Although unstable, Nate’s father recognized his son, but refused to acknowledge him as such because he was now a “pig.”
Nate decided that it was too much of a hassle to work on his case, so he told Annalise to drop it. Of course, Annalise refused and found a solution while talking to Isaac. She realized that Nate’s father has a mental illness but had never taken a psychiatric test. After presenting this information, Nate received agreement from his father for them to work on his case.
The relationship between Nate and his father is very complex, showcasing just how challenging familial ties can be. Though he seemed to despise his son, it was shown in the episode that Nate’s father has a picture of the two of them in his cell, which seemed to be his most-prized possession. Similarly, Nate was extremely grateful toward Annalise and the two shared a kiss in her apartment. Before things could go further, Annalise stopped it and Nate left. The complexity of both relationships will have lasting effects on Nate and even Annalise in the future.
5. Laurel’s mother isn’t as innocent as she seems
Laurel’s mother was presented as being warm, yet unstable. Nonetheless, she was still there to help Laurel with her custody battle and comfort her when she lost. Bonnie (Liza Weil) twisted this idea when she found surveillance footage of Laurel’s mother meeting with Wes (Alfred Enoch) the day before he died. The information shocked both Bonnie and Frank (Charlie Weber), creating an even more perplexing mystery surrounding Wes’s final days.
Now that it has been revealed that Wes talked to Dominick and Laurel’s mother before he died, viewers will certainly be tuning in to see how the events leading up to Wes’s death truly unfolded. No matter what, How to Get Away with Murder is sure to offer up a satisfying story moving forward.
