In the mid-season finale of How To Get Away With Murder, we finally found out the answer to the question we’ve had since day one, who killed Sam! It turns out that Wes, “the puppy dog,” did it with a little help from his friends. Sam definitely didn’t go down without a big fight, though! Now, it’s time for the broken law breakdown.

Since Sam has the least time as a living character in this episode, we’ll begin with him. The episode starts with Sam having an epic argument with Annalise, both of them coming up with the worst possible insults. Insulting your spouse and screaming that she’s a vile piece of ass may not be against the law, but Sam takes it way too far when he violently grabs Annalise by the neck and begins to choke her.

Broken Law # 1 Alert!

Sam’s conduct towards Annalise: Simple assault – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2701 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

Offense defined.–“A person is guilty of assault if he: (1) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; …. (3) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;… (b) Grading.–Simple assault is a misdemeanor of the second degree unless committed: (1) in a fight or scuffle entered into by mutual consent, in which case it is a misdemeanor of the third degree;…”

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
Offense defined.–“A person is guilty of assault if he: (1) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; …. (3) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;… (b) Grading.–Simple assault is a misdemeanor of the second degree unless committed: (1) in a fight or scuffle entered into by mutual consent, in which case it is a misdemeanor of the third degree;…”

I’ve included subsections 1 and 3 above because Sam could be guilty of assaulting Annalise for both of those reasons. Additionally, I don’t see Annalise crying out “kill me” during the fight as entering the scuffle by consenting, but I included it for those who might disagree.

After the fight between Sam and Annalise, Annalise leaves the house and Michaela shows up absolutely needing to turn in the trophy to get out of the exam. Rebecca attempts to sneak in the house on a quest to steal private files from Sam’s computer. Unfortunately for Rebecca, Michaela is the least slick person in the world and says her name out loud, cluing Sam in to her presence. This leads to more criminally violent behavior from Sam. On Rebecca’s request, Michaela calls Wes for help, as Sam chases Rebecca up the stairs and Rebecca locks herself in the Keatings’ bedroom.

Michaela attempts and fails to calm Sam down, then the others arrive. Sam wants them to leave, and Wes agrees that they will all leave if he lets Rebecca go. One could argue that Sam had the right to attack his unwanted guests because they were committing crimes in his home and they entered Sam’s home against his will. However, his actions after the group agree to leave don’t help his defense much. As Rebecca and the Keating 5 (minus Asher) attempt to depart, Sam assures them that he’s not going to do anything to them, because he’s so trustworthy at this point. Apparently his idea of “not doing anything” is tackling some of them to the ground and throwing punches at the others.

The amount of force he uses during this chaotic scene, especially when he attacks Laurel, could have killed one of his victims, and this force will be explored further in this entry when we delve into the other characters’ broken laws.

Broken Law # 2 Alert!

Sam’s conduct towards everyone in his house: Aggravated assault – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2702 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

a) Offense defined.– “A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he: (1) attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;… …(b) Grading.–Aggravated assault under subsection (a)(1)… is a felony of the first degree…”

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
a) Offense defined.– “A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he: (1) attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;… …(b) Grading.–Aggravated assault under subsection (a)(1)… is a felony of the first degree…”

Sam’s attack on Laurel terrifies Michaela enough to shove him so hard that he falls over the banister and falls to what the group thinks is his death. As they all panic about what to do next, a definitely NOT dead Sam ferociously strangles Rebecca. In my eyes, Sam is trying to kill Rebecca at this point, leading us to his final broken law of the episode.

Broken Law # 3 Alert!

Sam strangling Rebecca: 18 PA Cons. Stat. § 901. Criminal attempt, 18 Pa Cons. Stat. § 2502. Murder. (Attempted Murder- in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

“Definition of attempt.–A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.” 18 PA Cons. Stat. § 905. Grading of criminal attempt, solicitation and conspiracy (in relevant part). (a) Grading.–”Except as otherwise provided in this title, attempt, solicitation and conspiracy are crimes of the same grade and degree as the most serious offense which is attempted…”

Murder. (a) Murder of the first degree.–“A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing.”

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
“Definition of attempt.–A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.” 18 PA Cons. Stat. § 905. Grading of criminal attempt, solicitation and conspiracy (in relevant part). (a) Grading.–”Except as otherwise provided in this title, attempt, solicitation and conspiracy are crimes of the same grade and degree as the most serious offense which is attempted…” Murder. (a) Murder of the first degree.–“A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing.”

This concludes the broken laws by Sam, since it’s difficult to commit crimes when you’re dead, having your body set on fire and having people removing your tibia or fibula.

We’ll explore Rebecca next, since her behavior serves as a catalyst for most of what happens in this episode. Her crimes begin as soon as she walks into the Keating household. Sam makes it abundantly clear that she is not welcome in his home, and she proceeds to his bedroom anyway with the intent to steal private information off of his computer.

Broken Law # 4 Alert!

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
(a) Offense defined.–“A person is guilty of burglary if he enters a building or occupied structure, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof, with intent to commit a crime therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter… …(c) Grading.– (1) …burglary is a felony of the first degree…”

Rebecca’s entrance into the Keatings’ house intending to commit a crime: Burglary – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3502 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

(a) Offense defined.–“A person is guilty of burglary if he enters a building or occupied structure, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof, with intent to commit a crime therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter… …(c) Grading.– (1) …burglary is a felony of the first degree…”

When it comes to the crime Rebecca intended to commit and wound up successfully committing, I admit that the details here are complex. She is clearly guilty of theft, but there are many different types of theft under Pennsylvania law. Since this admittedly gets confusing and is part of the reason it took me so long to do this entry, I am going to explain why I believe her actions would be considered identity theft rather than robbery or standard theft.

Broken Law # 5 Alert!

Rebecca stealing Sam’s personal information from his computer: Identity theft – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4120 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

The following are my paraphrased notes on how I ruled out the other types of theft crimes and concluded that Rebecca’s conduct matches the most with identity theft under Pennsylvania law.

My opinion is that it’s not robbery, because robbery would require violence or the threat of violence that Rebecca did not display. The only other way it could have been a robbery is if Rebecca committed or threatened to commit a felony besides the burglary. Pennsylvania also has standard theft laws, and when doing my research I could not classify Rebecca’s actions as one of those, because she was stealing PERSONAL information from Sam, information that could serve as “identifying information,” especially when considering what Rebecca and Nate planned to do with this information.

Now, the definition of identity theft (in relevant part):

(a) Offense defined.–“A person commits the offense of identity theft of another person if he possesses or uses, through any means, identifying information of another person without the consent of that other person to further any unlawful purpose… ….Grading.–The offenses shall be graded as follows: (1)… an offense under subsection (a) falls within the following classifications depending on the value of any property or services obtained by means of the identifying information: (i) if the total value involved is less than $2,000, the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree; (ii) if the total value involved was $2,000 or more, the offense is a felony of the third degree; (iii) regardless of the total value involved, if the offense is committed in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy as defined in section 903 (relating to criminal conspiracy), the offense is a felony of the third degree;…”

We don’t know the value of Sam’s computer (which Rebecca used without his permission), but the standard PA theft laws operate in a similar manner, so if it did cost over $2000 or if the value of what Rebecca got from it was that amount, she’d be guilty for that reason. Additionally, Rebecca was committing this offense in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy (her plan with Nate to steal Sam’s personal information), so I’m concluding that she’d be guilty of a felony in the third degree for one of those reasons.

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
The following are my paraphrased notes on how I ruled out the other types of theft crimes and concluded that Rebecca’s conduct matches the most with identity theft under Pennsylvania law. My opinion is that it’s not robbery, because robbery would require violence or the threat of violence that Rebecca did not display. The only other way it could have been a robbery is if Rebecca committed or threatened to commit a felony besides the burglary. Pennsylvania also has standard theft laws, and when doing my research I could not classify Rebecca’s actions as one of those, because she was stealing PERSONAL information from Sam, information that could serve as “identifying information,” especially when considering what Rebecca and Nate planned to do with this information. Now, the definition of identity theft (in relevant part): (a) Offense defined.–“A person commits the offense of identity theft of another person if he possesses or uses, through any means, identifying information of another person without the consent of that other person to further any unlawful purpose… ….Grading.–The offenses shall be graded as follows: (1)… an offense under subsection (a) falls within the following classifications depending on the value of any property or services obtained by means of the identifying information: (i) if the total value involved is less than $2,000, the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree; (ii) if the total value involved was $2,000 or more, the offense is a felony of the third degree; (iii) regardless of the total value involved, if the offense is committed in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy as defined in section 903 (relating to criminal conspiracy), the offense is a felony of the third degree;…” We don’t know the value of Sam’s computer (which Rebecca used without his permission), but the standard PA theft laws operate in a similar manner, so if it did cost over $2000 or if the value of what Rebecca got from it was that amount, she’d be guilty for that reason. Additionally, Rebecca was committing this offense in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy (her plan with Nate to steal Sam’s personal information), so I’m concluding that she’d be guilty of a felony in the third degree for one of those reasons.

Speaking of criminal conspiracy, Rebecca participates in the groups’ initial planning to get away with killing Sam after Wes kills Sam by clocking him in the head with the golden snitch — I mean the get-out-of-a-law-school-exam free trophy. Now that I’ve completed my obligatory cheesy Harry Potter joke, we can discuss more broken laws.

Broken Law # 6 Alert!

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
“(a) Definition of conspiracy.–A person is guilty of conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the intent of promoting or facilitating its commission he:(1) agrees with such other person or persons that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or(2) agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime…” Rebecca is already guilty of this as discussed above because of her conspiracy with Nate. Additionally, she initially participates in the groups’ plans to — well– get away with murder. She’s involved in the cleanup, especially in that Wes helps her clean Sam’s blood off of her, and that she and Connor toy with the idea of letting Asher step in the blood. Regardless, she’s involved in the first cleanup, and Sam’s blood is physical evidence at a crime scene. This presents a problem.

18 PA Cons. Stat. § 903. Criminal conspiracy (In Relevant Part).

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

“(a) Definition of conspiracy.–A person is guilty of conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the intent of promoting or facilitating its commission he:(1) agrees with such other person or persons that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or(2) agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime…”

Rebecca is already guilty of this as discussed above because of her conspiracy with Nate. Additionally, she initially participates in the groups’ plans to — well– get away with murder. She’s involved in the cleanup, especially in that Wes helps her clean Sam’s blood off of her, and that she and Connor toy with the idea of letting Asher step in the blood. Regardless, she’s involved in the first cleanup, and Sam’s blood is physical evidence at a crime scene. This presents a problem.

Broken Law # 7 Alert!

Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4910

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

“A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, he: (1) alters, destroys, conceals or removes any record, document or thing with intent to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation;…”

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
“A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, he: (1) alters, destroys, conceals or removes any record, document or thing with intent to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation;…”

Now, let’s move onto the actual murderer, Wes!

Since we’ve already discussed burglary, conspiracy and identity theft, note that since Wes knew Rebecca’s plans and informed Connor and Laurel of them, and all three of them chose to go into Sam’s house to help Rebecca, that would make Wes, Connor and Laurel guilty of those crimes too. This constitutes broken laws 8, 9 and 10 and is integral to explain why Laurel later believes they could all be found guilty of felony murder.

Wes is in a far worse position than the others, however. It’s possible that he’s guilty of a separate conspiracy, one with Annalise, since we find out that Annalise is present when Wes goes to get the murder weapon and tells him not to be sorry. They could have planned the rest of Wes’s actions. More importantly, Wes is the one who actually killed Sam!

Broken Law # 11 Alert!

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
See broken law # 3 of this entry for the definition of murder in the first degree. Wes intended to kill Sam, and that’s what he did. However, it’s possible that under Pennsylvania law he would be justified in his actions (in killing Sam, not covering it up and everything that happens afterwards) because of their laws regarding self defense and defense of others. Use of force in self-protection – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 505 (in relevant part) (a) “Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.– The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion…. 2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death…”

18 Pa Cons. Stat. § 2502. Murder.

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

See broken law # 3 of this entry for the definition of murder in the first degree. Wes intended to kill Sam, and that’s what he did. However, it’s possible that under Pennsylvania law he would be justified in his actions (in killing Sam, not covering it up and everything that happens afterwards) because of their laws regarding self defense and defense of others.

Use of force in self-protection – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 505 (in relevant part) (a) “Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.– The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion…. 2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death…”

After Wes kills Sam, his blood ends up all over Rebecca. Cleaning up, throwing up and panic ensues, and Wes decides to hide Rebecca in a hotel and ship the others off to the woods. He explains out loud that Rebecca can’t be at this scene. Wes and everyone involved, since nobody stops this from happening, are guilty of:

Broken Law # 12 Alert!

Hindering apprehension or prosecution – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5105

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

a) Offense defined.–“A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for crime…., he: (1) harbors or conceals the other; (2) provides or aids in providing a weapon, transportation, disguise or other means of avoiding apprehension or effecting escape; (3) conceals or destroys evidence of the crime, or tampers with a witness, informant, document or other source of information, regardless of its admissibility in evidence;… b) Grading.–The offense is a felony of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against the person aided would constitute a felony of the first or second degree. Otherwise it is a misdemeanor of the second degree.”

Wes would be looking at the felony of the third degree charge here, as would the others.

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
a) Offense defined.–“A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for crime…., he: (1) harbors or conceals the other; (2) provides or aids in providing a weapon, transportation, disguise or other means of avoiding apprehension or effecting escape; (3) conceals or destroys evidence of the crime, or tampers with a witness, informant, document or other source of information, regardless of its admissibility in evidence;… b) Grading.–The offense is a felony of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against the person aided would constitute a felony of the first or second degree. Otherwise it is a misdemeanor of the second degree.” Wes would be looking at the felony of the third degree charge here, as would the others.

Wes goes back to the crime scene and gives a heartfelt apology to Sam’s dead body for killing him. “I’m so sorry,” he claims. But that doesn’t mean that Wes doesn’t need that trophy back! Sorry Sam, but there’s no way this puppy dog is leaving without his murder weapon.

Broken Law # 13 Alert!

Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4910

See broken law # 7 for the definition of this crime. Wes is guilty of this for numerous reasons; he cleans the blood, he retrieves the murder weapon and brings it to the woods to be disposed of, and helps drag Sam’s dead body in a rug to the woods to burn it. He additionally destroys the flash drive that Rebecca went through so much trouble with, which allegedly contains evidence that Sam killed Lila.

The way Wes and the others go about handling Sam’s body is another issue:

Broken Law # 14 Alert!

Abuse of corpse – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5510

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

“Except as authorized by law, a person who treats a corpse in a way that he knows would outrage ordinary family sensibilities commits a misdemeanor of the second degree.”

I’d say dragging a dead body in a rug to the woods to burn it and chop up the remaining bones would definitely fall into this category!

Note that Michaela, Laurel and Connor are also guilty of this, which will constitute broken laws 15, 16 and 17.

Lastly for Wes, as mentioned above, Wes knows something that the others don’t; Annalise already knows that Sam is dead and presumably knows exactly how he died. Therefore, when Annalise asks the group to tell the police the truth about Sam at the end of the episode, most of the group doesn’t know what “truth” Annalise means. Since Wes does, this could potentially be seen as a conspiracy between Wes and Annalise to lie to the police.
Broken Laws 18 & 19:
18 PA Cons. Stat. § 903. Criminal conspiracy, Hindering apprehension or prosecution – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5105 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

*See Broken Law # 6 for the definition of criminal conspiracy. As for hindering prosecution, Wes seems to be conspiring to do so with Annalise by agreeing to lie to the police about Sam’s murder. “A person commits an offense if, with intent to hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for crime…., he: 5) provides false information to a law enforcement officer… …(b) Grading.–The offense is a felony of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against the person aided would constitute a felony of the first or second degree. Otherwise it is a misdemeanor of the second degree.”

Next up is “prom queen”/ Michaela! Before we realized that Sam was still alive, it appeared as though Michaela had killed Sam. The amount of force she uses when shoving him over the railing could have killed him, and since he ended up dying, she could be found guilty of his death too. However, her intent was not the same as Wes’s. While Wes intended to kill Sam, Michaela used such force to injure him and stop him from attacking Laurel. If Michaela got arrested for this conduct, it would likely be for:

Broken Law # 20 Alert!

Involuntary manslaughter – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2504 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

(a) General rule.–A person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of the doing of an unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, or the doing of a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, he causes the death of another person. (b) Grading.–Involuntary manslaughter is a misdemeanor of the first degree.” Note that Michaela would likely not be charged with this on grounds of self defense; see the self defense part of broken law 11 for a reminder.

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
(a) General rule.–A person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of the doing of an unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, or the doing of a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, he causes the death of another person. (b) Grading.–Involuntary manslaughter is a misdemeanor of the first degree.” Note that Michaela would likely not be charged with this on grounds of self defense; see the self defense part of broken law 11 for a reminder.

Michaela did not know about Rebecca’s reasons for being at the Keatings’ house and is therefore not guilty of that particular conspiracy and the burglary mentioned above. However, she does remain on the property after Sam asks her to leave, which makes her guilty of:

Broken Law # 21 Alert!

Criminal trespass – 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3503 (in relevant part)

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

“…(b) Defiant trespasser.– (1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place as to which notice against trespass is given by: (i) actual communication to the actor;… … (2) …an offense under this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender defies an order to leave personally communicated to him by the owner of the premises or other authorized person…”

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
“…(b) Defiant trespasser.– (1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place as to which notice against trespass is given by: (i) actual communication to the actor;… … (2) …an offense under this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender defies an order to leave personally communicated to him by the owner of the premises or other authorized person…”

Connor and Laurel’s offenses have been covered above. Connor’s only additional offense is going to his ex-boyfriend’s house inventing a fake drug addiction. This is weird, but not illegal. Although Laurel thinks they’re all going down for felony murder, when she first says this it’s when she believes that Michaela killed Sam. The following explains what could happen to Rebecca and the Keating 5 Minus Asher:

Broken Law Click Here to Reveal

Under Pennsylvania law, felony murder is also known as second degree murder, and is defined: “Murder of the second degree.–A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the second degree when it is committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony.”

However, only certain felonies count: “Perpetration of a felony.” ‘The act of the defendant in engaging in or being an accomplice in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing, or attempting to commit robbery, rape, or deviate sexual intercourse by force or threat of force, arson, burglary or kidnapping.’

Although Rebecca committed burglary and identity theft, which are both felonies, only burglary falls into the “felony murder” category. By the time Sam was killed, Wes and the others had already agreed to leave the house, so I don’t believe that they were “fleeing from a burglary” or still in the course of committing one. Nobody should breathe a sigh of relief for the crowd just yet though; they could still, as Connor would say, be completely screwed. Pennsylvania accounts for situations like this one: (c) Murder of the third degree.–All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the third degree. Murder of the third degree is a felony of the first degree.

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
Under Pennsylvania law, felony murder is also known as second degree murder, and is defined: “Murder of the second degree.–A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the second degree when it is committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony.” However, only certain felonies count: “Perpetration of a felony.” ‘The act of the defendant in engaging in or being an accomplice in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing, or attempting to commit robbery, rape, or deviate sexual intercourse by force or threat of force, arson, burglary or kidnapping.’ Although Rebecca committed burglary and identity theft, which are both felonies, only burglary falls into the “felony murder” category. By the time Sam was killed, Wes and the others had already agreed to leave the house, so I don’t believe that they were “fleeing from a burglary” or still in the course of committing one. Nobody should breathe a sigh of relief for the crowd just yet though; they could still, as Connor would say, be completely screwed. Pennsylvania accounts for situations like this one: (c) Murder of the third degree.–All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the third degree. Murder of the third degree is a felony of the first degree.

As mentioned above, it’s Annalise’s level of guilt is unclear, although it’s rather sketchy that she leaves her house after fighting with Sam, sleeps with Nate, then is seen leaving Sam an emotional voicemail begging him to come home when she already knew that Sam was dead. The scene between her and Wes makes that obvious. She has already admitted that the police have been asking questions, and since she’s purporting to still think Sam is alive, she’s clearly guilty of lying to the police and attempting to conspire with Wes to do the same. I will explore Annalise’s guilt more thoroughly as we learn more about what she has done.

Asher is in the clear; sex, acting like an idiot at a bonfire, and getting angry about a stolen trophy are all acts that are not against the law. Excellent work, doucheface! Let’s see what he does when he learns that Sam is dead! As for Bonnie, drunk sex is not illegal, and she could be in the clear unless Annalise has filled her in on the truth about what happened to Sam. If she knows, then she’d be part of the conspiracy. The same goes for Frank, without the drunk sex part. As long as Laurel didn’t fill him in off screen of the trophy’s status as a murder weapon and Annalise hasn’t told him the truth about Sam, for once, Frank has not broken the law! He might just think he was protecting Laurel from becoming the “shooting star.”

It appears that Wes wins the Most Screwed In The Group award. Hopefully, Annalise will at least give him the trophy so he doesn’t fail out of law school too. And that’s assuming that he isn’t kicked out of school and sent to jail without passing go or collecting credits for his first semester. We have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming episodes!

Kill me, Kill me, Kill me… Puppy Dog… Broken Laws in How To Get Away With Murder 1×09