HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER - "I Want to Love You Until the Day I Die" - In the explosive winter finale, Connor and Oliver's big wedding day has arrived, but there's murder in the air; and the mystery of who the unlucky victim is will be revealed, on "How to Get Away with Murder," THURSDAY, NOV. 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network. (Mitch Haaseth/ABC via Getty Images) BILLY BROWN

For a long time, Nate Lahey seemed less like a well-developed character, and more like a character only used for convenience.

This post contains spoilers for the season 5 How To Get Away With Murder midseason finale.

Back in season 1, Nate was first introduced as the guy Annalise Keating was having an affair with, a discovery made accidentally by Wes. The problem with Nate’s character over the years is that his actions have often seemed contradictory and sometimes he seemed to be used only as a matter of convenience for the show. One moment he’d risk everything to help Annalise and in another he’d do everything in his power to combat her.

Even though he was often around, it seemed like he was never at the center of the story. He would only get close to the center when it was convenient for the show, like when he was framed for the murder of Sam Keating or when he helped save the Keating 5 the night Emily Sinclair died and Wes shot Annalise. He’d be isolated from what was really going on, only to be used here and there for a piece of intel that Annalise or another character relied on him to ascertain through his position as a detective.

Season 4 began improving Nate’s character by having his father Nate Lahey Sr. become the first case for Annalise’s legal fight against the justice system. Nate finally had backstory that offered insight into the essence of his character and it provided him with emotional resonance.

Season 5 continued to capitalize on this by continuing the story with Nate and his father, and by placing Nate at the center of the narrative more than ever before. Nate has arguably been the biggest influence on both Annalise and Bonnie this season. Bonnie’s story has largely been about her struggle to reconcile with her traumatic past, especially where her child was concerned. She only went down that road because of Nate’s investigation into what really happened and the truths he unearthed.

Annalise’s story has above all been about doing whatever it takes to continue her legal fight against the justice system, a fight for which Nate Lahey Sr. was her first case. The Laheys and their struggles were representative of the harmful ways injustice in the legal system negatively impacts lives. If she and Nate could give Lahey Sr. a second chance, then countless others who’ve been wronged could have a second chance as well. Seeing Nate reconnecting with his father–brilliantly played by Glynn Turman — and enduring the many trials and tribulations of trying to give his father a second chance has allowed the audience to feel more emotionally invested in Nate than ever before. Billy Brown and Glynn Turman formed an authentic chemistry that made all the Lahey father-son scenes a treat to watch. That made it all the more devastating when Nate Lahey Sr. was killed, a death whose tragic nature on the show is rivaled only by the death of Wes in season 3.

Those storylines and Nate’s role in them all merged together in the season 5 midseason finale as Nate brutally attacked and nearly killed Ronald Miller. He learned Miller was behind the death of his father. Like his father had done so many years before, Nate snapped and unleashed his rage. His normally stoic nature was shattered and in a sense the history of what his father did all those years ago repeated itself.

Bonnie found the bloodied Miller in the snow and learned what he’d done, realizing that her boyfriend was not only a lying murderer, but had specifically been responsible for murdering the man Annalise and Nate had dedicated their lives to saving.

Nate has helped cover up murders before, but he’s never been at the center of actively causing a murder to happen. In the second half of season 5, his character will continue to be at the center of things as he struggles to deal with his actions and cover up what he and Bonnie did. It’s a new position for Nate to be in and it’ll be fascinating to see how he handles it moving forward.