Every year we think we're going to finally get all the answers in the fall finale of How to Get Away with Murder, and every year we forget that this show is bananas, and we're only going to end up with more questions. We did get a few answers from the fall finale though, like who exactly is on that operating table in the flash forwards.

As TV Guide previously guessed, implicating Simon Drake (Behzad Dabu) in the Antares takedown did not go off without a hitch. He walked in on the kids discussing the plan during the Caplan & Gold party, and after seizing Laurel's (Karla Souza) gun, he accidentally shot himself in the head. Gun safety is no joke, guys.

Laurel then fled to Annalise's (Viola Davis) apartment, but because she'd taken an elbow to the stomach when Frank (Charlie Weber) pounced on Connor (Jack Falahee) the night before, she developed complications with her pregnancy, while stuck in Annalise's crappy elevator. Laurel delivered her baby two months early and promptly passed out from blood loss, leaving Annalise to resuscitate the dying infant, whose first cries rang out as the episode ended.

Naturally, we had about a bazillion questions for showrunner Pete Nowalk about what happens next.

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Is it too optimistic to guess the baby is in the NICU when Laurel wakes up, and he's not actually missing?

Pete Nowalk: A little too optimistic, but I will say you'll find out the answer to that in two months! Stranger things have happened on this how, we might surprise you with a good news option.

Will we have to wait very long to get confirmation on who the father is?

Nowalk: No, that will be confirmed in the next episode, once and for all.

Regardless of who the father is, what will the fallout be like for Frank and Laurel, considering it was his accidental shove that caused the baby's early delivery?

Nowalk: Frank and Laurel are in a very complicated place, and I think their romantic life all season has really taken a backseat to the plot mechanisms of their life. There's a lot to dig through you'll see. There's even going to be new stuff for them to deal with that might keep complicating their relationship.

Karla Souza, How to Get Away with Murder Photo: Kelsey McNeal, ABC



We didn't get confirmation on Simon's fate, but is it worse for the group if he's dead or if he's alive? I honestly can't tell.

Nowalk: I love that you're asking that, that means that you really understand the thickness of our show. I agree, you don't know what to root for. Obviously we've created Simon to be sort of a pain in the butt, but he clearly does not deserve what happened to him, especially now that we know he had a little crush on Oliver, which totally breaks my heart for him. What you're feeling is exactly what I want you to be feeling.

With Asher now getting arrested for the shooting, how worried should we be about Michaela wiping down that gun and any other evidence of foul play?

Nowalk: Oh there's so many worries. That's a big worry. I think it's also the question of what did Asher say that got him arrested? Because he was arrested pretty soon after, and clearly they didn't have time to run prints or anything so there's a chance that Asher just told the truth, which at this point would be quite likable.

How will Isaac play into the rest of the night, especially considering Annalise was in that shower later instead of at the hospital?

Nowalk: So you know, at one point we did write this episode and we caught up to all the flash forwards because that's what we've usually done or tried to do in the show. But Thanksgiving came a week early this year, so we didn't have time... Unfortunately we had to split the episode in half, and you'll find out exactly what Isaac's doing there in the premiere. You just have to wait a little bit longer.

The fact that Dominic (Nicholas Gonzalez) overheard Connor's phone call about Laurel and the drive can't be a good thing for anyone involved, right?

Nowalk: Yes, that is not a good thing that he's there. Also the question I want everyone to ask is what is he doing there? Like why was he there that night at that specific time? And does that mean that Jorge (José Zúñiga), Laurel's father, knows what's going on? There could be lots and lots of problems. And also, I'm just now scared for Connor because he's right upstairs from Dominic, who we know is a killer.

Connor and Oliver had another near miss with their engagement, which is heartbreaking. How long can we expect this back and forth to continue for them?

Nowalk: I know it seems like I'm just torturing all of you, but I really believe in their love and their relationship. I just think life is getting in the way — or murder is getting in the way. We're building to something at the end of the season, I'll say that for the two of them.

Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder Photo: Mitch Haaseth, ABC

How can we expect Laurel's father to respond to the news that he's not only a grandfather, but that his daughter was conspiring against him?

Nowalk: He is not going to take that well. I think he's going to take a very surprising action in the first episode back.

Bonnie and Annalise have had the most complicated dynamic this year. Is that headed towards reconciliation or is there still just too much bad blood between them?

Nowalk: I think there's a lot of bad blood... I love how complicated the relationship is. I love that their love isn't really able to be put in a box. It's something that's not just a romantic type of love and it's not mother-daughter. It's all of those things. They have a long road to go, but what I'm really hoping is that we get to see them grow into a new part of their relationship that's hopefully not either of them continuing to hurt each other. I really kind of sided with Bonnie in a lot of what she was saying.

Tegan's (Amira Vann) been an awesome mentor for Michaela, but is that relationship totally wrecked now?

Nowalk: I love Amirah Vann, the actress. I feel like we got so lucky, she's brought such a character and energy to Tegan. But yeah, I think Tegan's still a mystery as well. What does she know? She obviously knows it was probably her key card that ended up on Simon. I think she's going to have a lot of questions and whether Michaela can mend that relationship after everything that happened? It's going to be messy.

Will District Attorney Denver's (Benito Martinez) campaign storyline come to fruition this season or is it something you're holding for next year?

Nowalk: D.A. Denver is obviously a big thorn in our side, slash he knows a lot of things, but Bonnie and Annalise know a lot of things about him. So he and his election can sort of benefit Annalise and be something they can also lord over his head. I think we're going to figure out what happens with that this season. We're going to try to answer that and really find out who Denver's going to work for. Is he ultimately going to be on Annalise's team or is he ultimately going to be on someone else's team? I'll remind you we have seen Denver and Dominic in a scene together last season. So think about that.

How to Get Away with Murder returns Thursday, Jan. 18th at 10/9c on ABC.