Say it ain't so!
It was a somewhat tame season three premiere of How to Get Away With Murder (well, by HTGAWM standards) since it had to catch us up with where everyone in the Keating 5 is now that school has started again and they've all inexplicably managed to pass their classes and move on to their second year of law school.
Well, it WAS tame until two major bombshells dropped on us in the last five minutes of the episode, leaving us reeling. Not only did we get introduced to the major mystery of the season—who is on that gurney that caused Annalise to be that upset???—but we also saw the show's best couple, Connor (Jack Falahee) and Oliver (Conrad Ricamora), break up.
Coliver, no!
E! News caught up with both Falahee and Ricamora as well as showrunner Pete Nowalk, and trust us: They're not pleased about the breakup either.
"It makes me sad because I think it's pretty compelling that Connor can find it in himself to forgive Oliver for that betrayal. I also think it's a little careless, maybe, of Connor because Oliver in that scene is correct—that's not an indication of a good, healthy relationship so they clearly have some stuff to work through," Falahee told us. "I think we'll see that tension permeate throughout the season because Oliver does start to work with Annalise and it's never great when you're working in close proximity with your ex."
Ricamora could understand Oliver's reasoning behind the breakup. "I think Oliver senses something is off here. Why does he come home and Connor finds out that Oliver's been lying to him this whole time and is just okay with it? Is it because he has so much guilt from keeping all these secrets? The truth isn't coming out directly but it is going to come out sideways and it's coming out in that last scene, because he feels that something is not right here," Ricamora said.
He also understands Oliver's frame of mind. "When you go through a big life change, you reevaluate who you are and it forces you to reevaluate the people you're close to. I think that's what Oliver's going through," he added.
Nowalk said something similar. "He really feels like he has to grow a little bit and be on his own. While our [main] characters have been through some major changes, maybe Connor didn't realize that Oliver was going through some too," he told us. "I think he's really coming into his own. And I will say this for Coliver: we're not going to take this breakup in a very typical way. They're still going to stay in each other's lives. They obviously now work together, they still live together, so it's been really fun to watch and write a breakup that is twisty in emotional ways."
Plus, never give up the hope that they'll eventually be able to rekindle their romance. "I think there's always hope for them. I think these are two people who are really good together," Nowalk said. "I never thought they would see each other again past the pilot, but I just really liked their chemistry! And that's a credit to Jack and Conrad. For me, I've got to believe there's hope. I'm a fan of Coliver just like everyone else."
Said Falahee, "Yeah, I mean there could be [hope] if they both stay alive!"
How to Get Away With Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.