On this week's episode of How to Get Away with Murder, Sam's sister goes looking for answers, Annalise's students continue to worry that they'll be found out, and Sam's remains are discovered.
The episode opens on Christmas Day. Annalise is at a hotel, enjoying room service and binge drinking. She stays there until New Year's Eve, crying when she has flashbacks of Sam.
When Annalise returns home, fliers of Sam are hanging up around town and her sister-in-law is in for a visit. Annalise's sister-in-law thinks she's been avoiding her. Annalise counters her, playing up the "Sam's a killer" card. Sam's sister adamantly refuses to believe this, thinking foul play could be involved and confesses she saw him shortly after Lila died. When court is mentioned, Annalise advises her sister-in-law to survey the evidence she's used for Rebecca's case, because neither of them really knew Sam as well as they thought.
Fast forward to the first day of the new semester, where tensions are still high among Annalise's students due to the cover-up. When the group catches up, Connor lets the others know that Sam's sister is in town, wondering if any of the others have dug up any dirt on her.
Later, Wes gets upset with Annalise for not telling him that her sister-in-law is in town. Annalise counters him, making up a weak excuse before shifting the conversation to Rebecca, wondering how she's feeling about being "off the hook" for Lila's murder. All of a sudden, Annalise's colleague, Bonnie interrupts, saying a client has arrived and is seeking Annalise's counsel for a DUI case. When Annalise meets this potential new client, the two initially clash because of comments Annalise overhead the client making following the dismissal of Rebecca's charges, but upon further conversation, Annalise's anger subsides and she makes a commitment to actually helping the woman. As it turns out, the case isn't about a DUI, rather, Annalise's client's husband is holding two girls captive in their basement.
Meanwhile, in a flashback to Christmas, Wes and Rebecca spend time together at his apartment.
Returning to the present, Annalise's client is looking to obtain a plea deal, since she never tried to help her husband's captives escape from their basement. The scene is intercut with classes taking place at Middleton, where strangely enough, Annalise's students learn about the steps lawyers go through to obtain plea deals for their clients.
At the same time Annalise is busy handling her new client's case, Sam's sister shows up at work, claiming there's a new lead on him. Knowing what really happened to Sam, Annalise feigns shock, saying she is unaware of this. Aloof to Annalise's involvement in Sam's death, Bonnie offers to investigate.
In a flashback to Christmas Day, Laurel shares a tense dinner with her family. In the present day, however, Laurel conferences with Frank about what progress he's making on eliminating evidence from the night of Sam's death before Asher interrupts.
A little while later, Annalise tells her students that they need to prep for cross-examination. Her client's husband's victims are going to testify before the judge issues a ruling.
Following court, Annalise drives home alone, only to catch her sister-in-law "stalking" her. Annoyed that there's a level of distrust between them, Annalise picks another fight and abandons Sam's sister to spend time with paramour, Nate. Once inside, the couple gets intimate and discusses how they spent Christmas.
Meanwhile, Wes continues to have nightmares following Sam's death and Rebecca tries to take his mind off things by suggesting they watch Internet videos of cute baby animals.
Flashback to Christmas Eve with Connor's Family where his sister teases him by saying she brought him a "male Christmas present." It is then that Connor confesses he and Oliver are an item. Later when Connor visits Oliver to bring him his Christmas gift, he and Oliver are not on the same page when it comes to their relationship (or lack thereof). When Connor leaves Oliver's, he finds out that his car was stolen.
And upon learning that his car is gone, the group suggests that Connor talk to Frank.
In court, it is revealed that Annalise's client had a hand in helping her husband harm the two girls he kept locked in their basement. She drugged them so they wouldn't be able to recall when her husband raped them. At the same time, Laurel accuses Frank of stealing Connor's car and getting a little too chummy with Asher.
While continue to investigate Annalise's case, Wes catches Annalise's client in another lie. One of her husband's captives was pregnant and she led the other woman to believe that her child was stillborn. Unable to conceive children herself, Annalise's client admits her second lie, asking to get her her plea deal before she reveals the child's location.
Flashback to Christmas Eve where Asher and Frank have drinks together at a bar and
discuss Bonnie after Frank gets off the phone with her. Frank seems to catch on to the fact that something is going on between her and Asher, though Asher stays relatively mum about the specifics of the situation.
In the present, Asher continues to needle Bonnie while in court, so she pulls him aside and tells him to grow up and start acting like a professional. Asher admits that she hurt his feelings by telling him she wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with him after their hookup.
As Annalise's case comes to a head, further details emerge and her client eventually reveals the location of the child she kept hidden from her husband and the women he kept locked in their basement.
Meanwhile, Annalise's students continue to scuffle over the best way to continue to hide their involvement in Sam's murder. As they struggle to cope and strategize about how not to get caught, Sam's sister shows up, wondering who they are.
In a flashback to New Year's Eve, Michaela overreacts when she catches Aidan talking to a colleague and they bicker about their long-term plans. Michaela says she loves Aidan and still wants to marry him, but he thinks they should consider postponing the wedding.
In the present, Bonnie and Sam's sister talk and Sam's sister appeals to Bonnie for help, by trying to kiss up to her, though Bonnie won't go for it.
Meanwhile, Annalise lets her client know that she has withdrawn from her case. Later, when Annalise returns home, Frank approaches her and mentions Sam's sister's relentless pursuit of the truth. When Frank asks Annalise if she wants him to handle things, she says she'll take care of it herself. At the same time, Connor and Oliver try to sort out their relationship.
When Annalise and her sister-in-law catch up again at the Keating house, Annalise cooks dinner and the two women discuss Sam, Annalise's affair with Nate, and Sam's affair with Lila. After a brief argument, Annalise claims that she tried to help Sam with little avail, which leads his sister to finally understand that Annalise is not putting up a ruse and Sam is truly gone.
Meanwhile, Wes and Rebecca panic when a breaking news broadcast reveals that Sam's body has been found.
How to Get Away with Murder airs every Thursday at 10 p.m. on ABC.
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