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These Fan Theories About 'HTGAWM’s New Mystery Man Are Just Wild Enough To Be True
Spoilers for all of Season 4 ahead! After the Season 4 finale, fans are understandably coming up with theories about who Gabriel Maddox is on How To Get Away With Murder. Who is this new mystery man played by Rome Flynn (The Bold and the Beautiful)? No one knows for sure just yet and viewers probably won't find out until Season 5, if HTGAWM even gets renewed. But fans on Twitter have their suspicions already, based just on that one brief appearance.
At the end of Thursday's episode, Gabriel showed up at Middleton University for a tour. He seems like a typical good-looking college guy who knows he's extremely attractive. He couldn't help but hit on the woman checking him in for the tour by asking her for her name, her phone number, and also her email (really?). Eventually, he gave up after she refused him multiple times.
At the same time as Gabriel, Frank was also signing up for a tour (he must be looking to go to law school now that he passed the LSATS) and apparently, he knows this Gabriel. Frank, how many secrets do you have, bro? To add to the mystery, Frank called an anonymous individual about Gabriel and declared, "Hey, looks like the good times didn't last too long. Her kid's here."
What? Who is Gabriel's mom? It's another big conundrum in an already secret-filled universe. Creator Pete Nowalk opened up about Gabriel to reporters Wednesday after a screening of the finale. He described the character as "cool" and "mysterious," per the Wrap. Nowalk also said there's a reason Frank used the pronoun "her" when referring to Gabriel's mother.
"We really like to play with the pronouns here." He continued, "Obviously, Gabriel has a mother and Frank knows of that mother, or knows the mother. So that is a huge mystery and we're going to be giving hints about it all next season."
Nowalk admitted that at this point time Frank seems to be the only character who knows Gabriel. "It won’t be too long, but I think — you know, Frank seems to know who he is. But I don’t know who else does on the show." He added, "It’s going to be really fun to slowly — I want people to get to know Gabriel before we know his origins."
HTGAWM has a lot of explaining to do — and maybe these theories can help narrow down exactly who Gabriel is and why he's here:
1He's Annalise's Son
The initial and expected reaction most fans had is Gabriel is Annalise's son. However, there's one issue: Annalise and Sam's son was born dead after she got into a serious car accident. If he somehow is still alive, wouldn't he be significantly younger than Gabriel and nowhere near ready for college? But, anything is possible in the HTGAWM world.
2He's Bonnie's Son
In the finale, there was a teaser that Bonnie's presumed dead child could possibly still be alive, based on Denver's file obtained by Nate. Nowalk also told reporters (via Deadline) about Bonnie's child: "I can’t really tease too much, but just know that was a genetic test for Bonnie and this child, so it’s all related basically." He continued, "All we know is Bonnie said in Episode 5 that she was told her child was born dead. So she’s lying, or someone else is lying to Bonnie, it’s all possible."
3He's Actually Wes
Really? There's no way that Wes is actually alive, got plastic surgery, and has now become Gabriel Maddox. Right? This would be a stretch even for HTGAWM.
4He's Michaela's Brother
Seeing as Michaela was adopted, there's a chance Gabriel is her brother. Although, how would Frank know this? Has he been keeping tabs on Michaela her entire life? Maybe he did a deep background check on the Keating 4? Never say never.
5He's Nate's Son
Hmm... this theory could be accurate. Not a lot is known about Nate's past or his personal life. He's a pretty mysterious guy and doesn't like to share a lot. Maybe he had a kid a long time ago and kept it a secret. Or, maybe he doesn't even know he has a son. If this is the case, why would Frank be saying, "Her kid's here"? Wouldn't he say, "His kid's here?"
6He's Sam's Son
It's no secret Sam was shady and cheated on Annalise. He also could've gotten someone pregnant way before he met and married Annalise. But, again, like Nate, wouldn't Frank refer to Gabriel as "his kid"?
7He's Wes' Brother
Wes had a lot of family history shrouded in secrets and lies. So, yeah, his mom totally could've had another child — and not necessarily with a Mahoney. She could've had a baby with someone entirely different.
8He's Tegan's Son
They're right: not much is known about Tegan other than that she's a powerful lawyer who helped take down Laurel's father. Maybe this is HTGAWM's way of bringing her further into the drama? Who is going to argue with more Amirah Vann? She does a phenomenal job as Tegan.
9He's The Son Of Someone We Don't Know Yet
Gabriel could be related to someone fans haven't even met yet. This would be kind of disappointing, because what's the point? It seems more likely he is connected to an already well-known character.
Whatever his actual identity and family history, fans are going to have to wait a long time to learn more about this seemingly pivotal Gabriel.
