‘HTGAWM’ Uncovers Gabriel Maddox’s Connection to Annalise in Shocking Cliffhanger

How to Get Away With Murder has been teasing the real identity of Annalise’s new student all season, and the reveal could have deadly repercussions in future episodes.

Gabriel Maddox (Rome Flynn) was first introduced in the season four finale as Frank (Charlie Weber) saw the new student registering for classes at the law school and looked panicked.

Speculation ran rampant as to who the mysterious young student could be, and why Frank seemed to be afraid of how both Annalise (Viola Davis) and Bonnie (Liza Weil) would react to the reveal of who he really was, though the details were not revealed to viewers.

Frank started to manipulate the young man’s life by joining his afternoon basketball game and forced his roommate to kick him out so he could move into Wes’ (Alfred Enoch) old apartment — which he had filled with cameras and bugs to keep an eye on him, seemingly under orders from a mysterious person on the phone he had labeled as “The One.”

As the season progressed, Laurel (Karla Souza) started to get close to Gabriel but she felt something weird was happening when she found out what Frank was doing. He told her why he had an interest in the man in a conversation viewers did not see, though it led to the assumption that if Gabriel knows who he is, it could lead to a potentially dangerous situation with Annalise.

At first, it seemed as though Gabriel might have been Bonnie’s child born from her father’s abuse. The theory was knocked down, however, after Bonnie realized her sister had taken the baby from the hospital and their father had gotten rid of it on his own.

Fans also theorized that Gabriel might be Annalise’s son, who had been presumed dead after she was in a car accident while she was on her final trimester and she later delivered the stillborn child.

Ahead of Connor (Jack Falahee) and Oliver’s (Conrad Ricamora) wedding, Gabriel got close to Michaela (Aja Naomi King) and the two even hooked up, as Laurel and Frank debated about whether or not their friend is in on the secret. Michael invites Gabriel to the wedding, which presents Frank the perfect opportunity to go into the apartment and find out what Gabriel knows.

At the wedding, Annalise drinks again and visibly drunk when she steps away from the party and runs into Gabriel at the church. He tells her that she should stop drinking, as he says his mother lost herself to her addiction and doesn’t wish the same for her. Annalise does not pay too much attention to the conversation and returns to the party to dance.

As the party rages on — and another murder occurs at the hands of her associates — Annalise is surprised when she sees Frank with a terrified look on his face. She asks him what is going on and he pulls out a piece of paper, which causes her to slap him in the face.

After the reveal, Annalise heads home and collapses on the floor of her apartment. She then realizes she’s not alone, as Gabriel comes out of her bedroom, having taken her keys from her earlier in the night. Annalise tells her she knows who he is as viewers get a glimpse at Gabriel’s birth certificate showing his parents were Sam Keating (Tom Verica) — her husband who was the first murder victim in season 1 — and his first wife.

The episode ends as Gabriel morphs into his father, an omen that the young man might be there to seek revenge for his father’s death and Annalise’s role in his misfortune.

Were you shocked by the parenting reveal? How to Get Away With Murder returns with new episodes in January on ABC.