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‘HTGAWM’: Karla Souza dishes on that ‘crazy balls’ reveal of Wes’ killer
All year we’ve been theorizing about which member of Team Keating killed Wes (Alfred Enoch) — but it never occurred to us to look a little farther outside of “How to Get Away with Murder’s” main cast.
[SPOILER: Below is the reveal of Wes’ killer!]
As it turns out, Laurel’s (Karla Souza) own father was the one who ordered a hit on Wes, which means we’ve got about a million questions. Most importantly: WHY?!
Our brief glimpse into Laurel’s home life this season shows us that Laurel’s relationship with her father is a pretty turbulent one. He seems to love her deeply, but has trouble putting that love above his own interests most of the time. Case in point: He refused to pay her ransom when she was kidnapped as a teenager.
Honestly, they’ve felt more like reluctant business partners than father and daughter.
So what possible motive could Laurel’s dad have for killing Wes? We went straight to the source to get some of Karla Souza’s theories about why Mr. Castillo (Esai Morales) had Laurel’s boyfriend murdered — and where Season 4 will take that story arc.
RELATED: ‘HTGAWM’s’ Karla Souza knows who’s under the sheet, tries ‘to forget it every day’
Do you have any theories about why Laurel’s father ordered Wes’ murder?
Karla Souza: It could have been various things. Him finding out that Annalise (Viola Davis) and [Wes] had a lot to do with Sam’s death, and him wanting to get his daughter out of it? It could also be that he found out that Laurel was pregnant, in some way. It could be that he knows something about Wes that perhaps Laurel doesn’t know? It could be a bunch of things, but I think it’s a strong enough plot twist and a strong enough platform, to give a really interesting storyline for Laurel in Season 4. I’m really excited about that.
How quickly do you think she’ll start putting the pieces together, now that Dominick [Nicholas Gonzalez] has appeared?
There’s always that first arc within the season, up until Episode 9, and I think it might take that — but also, Pete [Nowalk] always loves adding more to the table. I think it will be sort of a slow burn, but it might not be.
I don’t know how Laurel’s going to react to that, or what’s going to happen to her. Annalise can’t really teach anymore, Laurel’s pregnant — I really don’t even know what the show’s dynamic is going to be! It might completely change for Season 4. But I know that’s what they wanted, so I’m happy to hear that there have been a lot of changes, and we’re going to be seeing a lot more character-driven storylines.
What aspects of Laurel’s relationship with her dad do you hope to see in Season 4?
I really admire and respect Esai Morales, who plays my father, and I had a great time shooting with him. I had a really great time shooting with Nicholas, who’s playing Dominick. I’m excited to have new relationships, and growing relationships. I’m really excited to dive into the whole kidnapping situation — all the stuff, and the reasons, behind that. That’s just a really fun thing to play with.
I think Esai portrayed a very charismatic, lovable sort of monster, in that way, so I think it is a very interesting way to humanize him. Pete loves doing that — presenting them as a villain, and then humanizing them. I’m really excited to see how that happens throughout Season 4.
What’s been your favorite part of exploring Laurel this year?
I think the dealing with grief; the way the grief has been written is very on point. How you sort of become very angry, you want to point fingers, you become short-tempered, antisocial, and on top, of that she’s pregnant. The way they portrayed her at the funeral was a very cathartic moment because I would have probably loved to shout at people like that at my dad’s funeral. It’s things that we never were able to do or say in our real lives, and then suddenly as actors we get to do that.
I think the funeral scene, and a bunch of scenes with Laurel and Annalise have been really great. And the anger that comes up when she finds out that Connor (Jack Falahee) had something to do with Wes being left alone in that house, and she tells him to go and hang himself. I feel that’s such a strong thing to say, but it’s rooted in reality. I think when you’re angry, and going through grief, you really are willing to say anything to hurt people, and feel like you can get stuff off your chest, and bring justice. I think it just shows how close they are, already, because they can react to each other in that way.
RELATED: Jack Falahee teases ‘HTGAWM’ finale: Is Connor a hero or a murderer?
She also still has a choice to make about whether to keep the baby or not. Where is her head at right now on that issue?
She’s terrified when she hears the heartbeat, and I think it’s a really interesting dilemma, I think Pete and I had talked about it lasting longer. The pregnancy could have ended at the fire with the blow, but luckily we kept that storyline alive, and I think it’s the reason and the motive behind Laurel’s will to keep fighting. It’s been a great device to see Laurel want to get to the end, and get to the truth, specifically because she has Wes’ baby.
Where do you see Laurel and Frank’s [Charlie Weber] relationship going in the future?
I personally, recently just watching the episodes, I think he’s still is in love with her, and I think she deep down is also very much in love with him. You would never tell someone, “I loved so and so more than I ever loved you.” You only say that if you’re really angry, and you feel a lot towards that person. I kind of feel like there’s such a slow burn to that relationship, and it’s made more interesting with everything’s that happened … It’s become one of the most important relationships of the show.
Was there ever a moment you thought Laurel killed Wes?
Oh God no, I mean that would be crazy balls. I thought maybe, at some point, it could have been Bonnie. I did play around with the fact that maybe my father had something to do with it — I didn’t know exactly what it would have been, but I remember speaking to Pete about that. But I think Laurel was in love with him … I thought, unless she’s a psychopath, she didn’t kill Wes.
“How to Get Away with Murder” is scheduled to return in the fall of 2017.