Executive producer Pete Nowalk explains his decision to kill off a major character and how the latest death will have a major impact on Annalise.
- Nov 18, 2016
AceShowbiz - The person who died in the house fire was eventually revealed in the latest episode of "How to Get Away with Murder". [SPOILER ALERT!] Recent flash forward made us believe that Wes (Alfred Enoch) was alive, but it was indeed Wes who's under the sheet. But there's another twist, as Wes was actually dead before the house fire.
Speaking to EW during the filming of Wes' death episode in October, executive producer Pete Nowalk admitted that he's responsible for choosing Wes as the victim. "When it comes down to why I made the decision is because he is the heart of the show, and really I wanted to do something that felt impactful, and it impacts every character," he said.
On how he made the decision, Nowalk explained, "Obviously, it needed to be someone who impacted Annalise emotionally. I didn't want that to be a performance that she was giving. We've seen her murder people and get away with it and perform, right? So, I wanted that to be an authentic moment."
How viewers would react to the death was also taken into consideration before Nowalk decided to kill off Wes. "I don't think you want to just lead people on for nine episodes of 'Who's under the sheet?' and then give them Simon, who is a new character. I would throw my remote at the TV if that was me watching," he shared.
Acknowledging that Annalise had grown very close with Wes, Nowalk said he's "fascinated to see how she would react." He coyly teased, "I don't want to give away how she's going to react. Is she going to fall apart and grieve and lie in bed or in her jail cell? Or how is she going to fight this, especially when she's been completely stripped of all her power?"
Talking about the killer, Nowalk said that everyone, including "existing guest characters that we've seen throughout, as well as I guess characters we haven't seen," is "a fair suspect." While who the killer is remains a mystery right now, Nowalk promised, "You're not going to have to wait that long to find out, but we will show it. It's very similar to who killed Lila."
Laurel is pregnant and Wes could be the baby daddy. Thus, his death will also affect her in a major way. "I think she's devastated. She has a real dilemma now being pregnant with what is probably his baby. She feels like she has to be the keeper of his integrity," Nowalk said of Laurel. He, however, won't say if Wes is indeed the father of Laurel's unborn child or not.
Despite his death, Wes will return in the second half of the season through flashbacks.
"HTGAWM" is taking a winter break and will return with new episodes beginning January 19.
