'How To Get Away With Murder' Series Finale: Bonnie and Frank's deaths prove they kept the 'family' together
Spoilers for Season 6 Episode 15
We have loved them and hated them but as their journeys end we cannot but admire them for what they had done for everyone. Two of the most convoluted and dark characters of ABC's 'HTGAWM' — Bonnie Winterbottom (Liza Weil) and Frank Delfino (Charlie Weber) — turned out to be the real heroes at the end.
In a heartbreaking scene, we lose two of the most controversial characters of the story. And yet, their stories deserve to be told. In what turns out to be a temporarily happy moment, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) is acquitted of her murder charges, rendering her free at last. But that moment is not to last.
Frank, who left after learning about his traumatic past, comes back for revenge. In a whirlwind scene of a public shootout, he guns down Governor Lynne Birkhead (Laura Innes) and gets shot by her security, creating a chaotic scene outside the courthouse. In the meantime, Bonnie rushes to stop Frank but is too late. By the time she reaches him, he is shot, and so is she and yet she tries to save his last few breaths. Annalise rushes to save Bonnie but no avail.
If you look back in the history of 'HTGAWM', Bonnie and Frank have always been at the center of every incident — sometimes as the cause, other times dealing with the aftermath of the incident. The students, the law and others who knew them might have despised them for their actions or the way they dealt with every issue, but you cannot ignore the fact that they were the ones who always held it all together, taking care of Annalise and her students.
Ever since Frank came to know Annalise as his lawyer and then employer, mentor and a friend, he had never left her side. From cleaning up every mess that her students made or she made to fixing her mistakes and helping her win cases by hook or by crook, Frank remained Annalise's best confidante. So did Bonnie. Despite the initial hiccups they had, Annalise took Bonnie under her wings and helped her find meaning to her life. In return, Bonnie gave all her love to Annalise, so much so that she went on to protect her students.
There are plenty of reasons to hate both Frank and Bonnie. If Frank is violent, aggressive and is always on the wrong side of the law, Bonnie is broken yet manipulative and has exploited many people in her life to save herself and those she cares about. But, in the end, both of them kept the family of Annalise and her Keating 5 together.
And in the final episode of the series, as these two characters face their tragic and unexpected demise, they prove that they have been pivotal in Annalise's life. If Frank had not killed Birkhead, she would have continued with her corrupted government and gone after Annalise again or the next person who went against her. He finally "made it right". 'How To Get Away With Murder' series finale aired on May 14 on ABC. You can catch up on earlier episodes on the network's website or wait for Netflix to release the final season.