‘HTGAWM’s’ Aja Naomi King: ‘It’s not all about who’s under the sheet’

Another member of the Keating 5 is safe, which means we can cross another fan-favorite character off the list of people possibly under the sheet.

It’s looking more and more like Wes (Alfred Enoch) might be the father of Laurel’s (Karla Souza) baby, though we can’t rule Frank (Charlie Weber) out quite yet. After framing Mahoney’s son for his murder, Frank heads back to Philadelphia, probably in the hope of getting back into Annalise’s (Viola Davis) good graces.

Who’s to say he and Laurel won’t try to pick back up right where they left off when and if he does return?

RELATED: What exactly is Michaela hiding on ‘HTGAWM’?

Meanwhile, after getting off the phone with Oliver (Conrad Ricamora), Michaela’s (Aja Naomi King) first call is obviously to Asher (Matt McGorry). While it takes her a while to hunt him down, Michaela eventually finds him in the midst of a raging party in the campus dorms, so it’s probably safe to say he’s completely out of the loop on the fire, Laurel’s life or death battle at the hospital and the death of whoever else was in the house.

We asked King about her thoughts on the Asher/Michaela dynamic, how Michaela’s mother would factor into the story and why the body under the sheet might not be the biggest twist headed our way this season on “How to Get Away with Murder.”

Tonight’s episode was a huge one for Asher and Michaela. How do you feel about how that relationship has evolved?

Aja Naomi King: I love the way it’s evolved. When we were first doing it, I didn’t know what Pete had up his sleeve or what was going to happen obviously. This casual hookup has evolved into this really beautiful way for two people to kind of really share themselves and connect to something real in the midst of all this madness, which I think is something they both really, really, really needed.

So much has happened with Asher, and we still get to see him as this goofball, but I really do love those moments when he gets to be really serious and grounded with Michaela and kind of prove to her that he’s not a joke, which is really great for her to see; to see the similarities between the two of them. They both thought they were going to be these other things, and because of the direction their lives have taken them that’s gotten a touch challenging.

It’s been really necessary for her especially to be able to connect with someone, and I think it’s been quite surprising that’s going to be him that she’s connected with. I really kind of loved that. So much of Michaela has been trying to be something else, putting up this facade in order to survive and I think it’s really nice that with him, she can let her hair down so to speak.

Do you think she’s noticed the changes in him and how he’s grown?

Yeah, and of course he’s not going to change overnight. It’s like two steps forward one step back. There’s still some of the ridiculousness in there, but that’s just who he is as a person. She is starting to recognize that he is very genuinely sweet and thoughtful and loyal. I think it’s really great that she’s able to recognize these things in him, besides all the silliness.

We also got a peek at Michaela’s adoptive mother tonight. What can you say about that relationship?

I think it says a lot when you’re leaving someone alone in your house and you have to tell them to not steal anything, and I think it says, even more, when that person is your mother.

I feel like people are going to get the sense that their relationship is kind of rocky, and Michaela has touched on that before, that her family hasn’t been some cookie-cutter dream for her. It’s been very challenging, and I think that also plays into why she admires Annalise so much — or why she admired the idea of Annalise so much because of her own background and where she comes from and what women are like where she comes from. So it’s really great to finally be able to put some more context onto that.

Are we going to see any more of her backstory and why that relationship is so tense?

I can tell you, you will see some more of Michael’s mother, Trishelle, and it will continue to be enlightening.

RELATED: Which dude is about to die on ‘How to Get Away with Murder’?

Now that the rest of the Keating 5 has been clued in on the Mahoney situation, there’s some resentment between them. Can we expect that to continue?

This is what the group is always dealing with; other people in the group conniving and learning information and not sharing it with the rest. It’s like, when will we ever learn that we will be stronger together? I think Michaela and Connor (Jack Falahee) especially get really upset when other people have information that they don’t have because it puts them all in jeopardy at the end of the day.

It’s so tricky, and I think it makes it really hard for them to trust each other, and that’s where you see these alliances form. Michaela knows she can trust Connor because they’re normally like in the same boat when it comes to the things that are known or not known.

That’s another one of the relationships that I love so much, Michaela and Connor and the friendship that has blossomed and the fact that Connor is sleeping on Michaela’s couch. Like, of course, because where else would he go? I love it.

Can we expect anymore screaming matches between Michaela and Simon — this law student who’s sort of circling the Keating 5?

He has sort of been circling the group like a vulture, hasn’t he? She doesn’t take too kindly to Simon Drake. I think what she see’s in him is that he tries to compete with the rest of them, and she sees his jealousy towards the group, and she doesn’t like it, and she wants to shut it down. Michaela is such an alpha, she really doesn’t like someone else trying to outshine or outdo her, so he’s made himself an easy target.

Even if Michaela’s not under the sheet, should we still be worried for her safety since things can always go sideways?

No one’s safe! It’s a long night, and anything can happen, which is kind of the way things go on our show… There’s so much more that’s going to happen that has not been teased yet, and people are just going to have to wait and see. It’s not all about who’s under the sheet at the end of the day.

“How to Get Away with Murder” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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