Theories About 'HTGAWM's Gabriel Maddox Hint At More Family Drama In Season 5

How to Get Away With Murder usually ends its season with a murder, a dead body, or the reveal of a murderer, but for the end of Season 4, the show took a different route: They introduced a new character instead of killing one off. What a novel approach. But now there’s an all-new mystery to unfold — who is Gabriel Maddox on How to Get Away With Murder?

This guy (aka Gabriel, played by Rome Flynn) shows up to a college tour looking like a snack, and Frank, who is also there for a tour because he’s trying to better himself for Laurel and the child he’s adopted without permission, is all, "Hey, I think there’s a problem here.” He’s on the phone, but we don’t know who he’s on the other line with. Is it Bonnie? Is it Annalise? Is the phone off and Frank has gone so far off the deep end that he’s talking to himself? (My money is on the last one.)

As Nate was perusing through the now dearly departed District Attorney Denver’s files on the Keating 5 and company, he noticed a note that says “Child still alive” on Bonnie’s file, along with a DNA test. What we’re seeing is that Gabriel could be Bonnie’s long lost child. Hi, Mom!

But don’t think we’re going to find out who exactly Gabriel is so quickly. Following the finale, How to Get Away With Murder showrunner Pete Nowalk told TV Guide, “My instinct right now is [Gabriel is] going to be a little bit of a mystery. Won't be too long, but I think, you know, Frank seems to know who he is… And I think it's going to be really fun to slowly — I want people to get to know Gabriel before we know his origins.”

So what are you giving us, Pete? A big fat nothing. We don’t know who really killed Wes, and we don’t know who Gabriel is. And the hints in Season 5 will come slowly.

“Obviously, Gabriel has a mother, and Frank knows of that mother or knows the mother,” Nowalk said. “So that is a huge mystery, and we're going to be giving hints about it all next season.”

The only thing is… Bonnie was told her child had died, so either someone lied to her, or this is not her baby. Annalise only had one baby, who died, but it is possible that she could have gotten pregnant given birth and we don’t know about it. Annalise loves a secret, and she loves secret sex. Gabriel could be Annalise’s son! Confusing? Fans on Twitter think so.

The one thing everyone can agree on, at least, is that Gabriel Maddox is one fine-looking human being. That will make this new mystery easier to stomach when How to Get Away With Murder returns in the fall of 2018. ABC hasn't announced a renewal yet, but according to Deadline, Nowalk said that Season 5 will be "twisty, and more fun." Besides learning more about this Gabriel fellow, Nowalk says to expect a Coliver wedding ("We're going to do it in our own fun way," he adds) and more about Sam and Annalise's marriage.

"I loved Tom Verica the actor, and I love when he comes back, so we actually have a really good flashback episode idea for next year," Nowalk said. "There’s so much of their marriage that we didn’t explore, and before they met each other, so that’s definitely a story goldmine for me."

While I'm all for exploring more and different realms on How to Get Away With Murder, I, like other fans, need to know who Gabriel is. I can't take another Wes-style heartbreak, so this kid better last at least two seasons before they kill him off in some far-fetched international plot. For now, Gabriel Maddox is just a cute college guy, and we'll have to wait until Season 5 of How to Get Away With Murder to learn anything more.

This post was originally published on Mar. 15, 2018. It was updated on Aug. 22, 2019.