In the midseason finale of "How to Get Away With Murder," Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) made a decision to cover up Sinclair's murder by telling her students that they should maintain that Catherine killed Sinclair when the police came to investigate.
In a shocking turn of events, she also came up with an idea to make their alibi more believable and she asked the kids to shoot her. Connor, Michaela, and Laurel all refused to do it, and for Wes to agree to shoot her, Annalise told him that Rebecca is dead.
Believing that Annalise betrayed him, Wes took the gun and, instead of aiming at her leg like she told him to, he pointed the gun at her torso and fired. Annalise fell down and just as Wes was about to shoot her in the head, she whispered the name "Christophe," and this made him stop because he recognized the name.
Showrunner Pete Nowalk told TVLine that when the show returns next month, viewers will see that Annalise is "really broken" after what Wes did to her.
"It was really important to Viola and to me to play the reality of that—of a person who's gone through a major life trauma," Nowalk explained. "We're going to see a different side of her."
There will be a two-week time jump from the events of the midseason finale and the episode will see Annalise after she has been through surgery. Nowalk praised Davis for her acting, saying that while she won't be on her feet when the show returns, she remains "fascinating to watch."
"The first episode back, I find her performance extremely compelling and different," said the producer.
In the first promo for the second half of "HTGAWM," Annalise is seen holding a baby while shouting, "No I can't!" Nowalk said that this is a big part of the midseason premiere and that they have set up a lot of mysteries about how Annalise knows Wes and why she feels so maternal toward him.
"How to Get Away with Murder" returns on Feb. 11 at 10/9c on ABC.
