Entertainment

This 'HTGAWM' Fan Theory About Gabriel Maddox & Annalise Will Leave You Shook

ABC/Mitch Haaseth

In the Season 4 finale of How To Get Away With Murder a mystery man showed up at Middleton University. And ever since, fans have been coming up with theories about who he is. This latest one, though, if true, might just leave Shondaland officially shook. Twitter thinks Gabriel Maddox is Annalise's son in HTGAWM and they have the receipts to prove it's at least a possibility.

Gabriel, played by the Bold and the Beautiful's Rome Flynn, shows up to the university to take a tour, just like any prospective student would. But, since this is HTGAWM you best believe he's not just another guy in his mid-twenties who's focused on the future. No, he's there to possibly reconnect with a family member. Frank, who sees Gabriel at the school, reveals to someone over the phone, "Hey, looks like the good times didn't last too long. Her kid's here." So, who is Gabriel's mom? Some fans think he's Annalise's son, which leads to so many more questions.

"Wait, is Gabriel Maddox the baby Annelise [sic] thinks died?" a fan asked on Twitter. Yes, it's possible that Gabriel could be the son Annalise lost after getting into a serious car accident. She was told that her baby with Sam was stillborn, and she even held her little boy, but that didn't stop fans from thinking Gabriel is hers.

"Waitttt Annalise’s son name was Gabriel!!!" another fan tweeted. "That’s her son." While someone else wrote, "Upon further review, Gabriel Maddox might be Annalise's long lost son. #plottwist."

It sure would be a plot twist if the show tries to explain how Annalise's son actually lived. But, since this is a Shonda Rhimes show, it's a real possibility that Annalise's son never died. A person even posited a new theory on how that could have happened.

"When they brought the dead baby to her & Sam, just maybe it wasn't their baby," they tweeted. "Those people who tried to kill her maybe took her baby."

It is possible that Annalise was tricked into thinking her son was dead after the car accident that caused her to miscarry, but there are some fans that aren't even interested in hearing that theory at all. They just want to say bye, boy to Annalise's possible little boy, who's not so little anymore. "Gabriel Maddox, you fine," someone wrote, "but Annalise don't need that in her life rn."

Some don't think it could be her son, based on the timeline. "Isn't Gabriel too young to be Annalise's?" someone asked. "10 years before the series began. He wouldn't be in law school yet."

That's why other fans are guessing that Gabriel is actually Bonnie's son. D.A. Denver (R.I.P.) had kept files on Annalise’s associates, and in Bonnie's file there just so happened to be a note that said "child still alive." And that timeline would work out.

The Wrap reported that after the screening of the finale there was no talk about the timeline, but creator Pete Nowalk said Gabriel's "cool, mysterious, I'm excited." And if you couldn't tell by that description, Gabriel is here to stay for the near future. The use of "her" in the finale probably should have been somewhat of a giveaway, too. "We really like to play with the pronouns here," Nowalk said.

"Obviously, Gabriel has a mother and Frank knows of that mother, or knows the mother," he added. "So that is a huge mystery and we're going to be giving hints about it all next season." The fact that Frank is the one that knows who Gabriel's mom is could be a clue that the mom doesn't actually know about her son. Who knows — maybe that's another sign that the "Annalise is Gabriel's mom" theory will actually hold up.

As of right now, HTGAWM hasn't been picked up for Season 5, but expect fans to keep searching for hints that will help solve the mystery of this new student before school starts.