How to Get Away with Murder's Karla Souza on Wes' Killer: "It's a Big Blow"

[WARNING: The following story contains spoilers about Thursday's Season 3 finale of How to Get Away with Murder. Read at your own risk.]

Count Karla Souza as another How to Get Away with Murder star who did not predict who killed Wes (Alfred Enoch). That's because it's a character we had never met before: Dominic (Nicholas Gonzalez), a family friend of Laurel's. He is connected to a character we have met: her shady, ruthless father Jorge (Esai Morales), who appeared to have ordered the hit on Wes and hooked Denver (Benito Martinez) up with Laurel's forcibly signed affidavit saying she lied about her kidnapping when she was 16.
How to Get Away with Murder: Wes' killer revealed!

But why did Papa Castillo want Wes dead? Was he actually targeting Wes or someone else? We caught up with Souza to get some answers.

Did you see that coming?
Karla Souza: Oh, God, no! I'm like, not only did she lose her best friend slash love of her life, not only is she pregnant, but now she has to deal with her father having sent for Wes' death. I mean, who knows if he did actually send that specific order of it being Wes or just the house [being destroyed] and he just happened to be there or how he was working with the DA or whatever it is, but Laurel just can't get ahead.

Are you surprised Pete [Nowalk, the creator] went with someone outside of the main cast?
Souza: No, I think we've already dealt with enough within the Keating 5, and we're now 4 this year. So I did feel like it would be someone that had been within the storyline but wasn't part of the actual Keating 5. At some point, I thought it might have been Bonnie (Liza Weil) or something like that. But I never thought it was one of the Keating 5. I didn't think any of them were capable of having the whole house on fire, but it's definitely more surprising that it was my father. Pete really grounded it all in because they've been touching upon my father, sort of tickling that storyline a lot, so to have that storyline come to such a blow at the end of Season 3 makes very much sense with the writing and how the writing's been for my family.

He's very menacing and powerful. Why do you think he wants Wes dead? Did he actually want Wes dead or someone else, like Frank (Charlie Weber)? The last time we saw her dad, he told her where Frank was. He only said to Dominic, "Please tell me he's dead."
Souza: That is probably something we'll find out in Season 4, but I suspect that perhaps my father, with all the intel that he has, could've very easily found out, after he saw who Frank Delfino was -- he could've taken a little more interest in finding out what was up with his daughter in school and he probably found out a bunch of things. He probably found out some things about Wes. Who knows? The reasoning behind why he wants to kill Wes is beyond me and beyond Laurel, but we'll definitely find out the specifics in Season 4. It's promising to be a big blow in Laurel's life. I mean, Laurel should just -- I don't know what she should do, but ugh!

He could've found out about their relationship and then her pregnancy. He runs a telecom company. You have no idea what kind of access he has.
Souza: Oh my God! That could definitely be the reason. Hey, there you go! [Laughs] You know more than I do!

He could've been spying on her this whole time. Who is Dominic exactly? What kind of family friend is he?
Souza: When I auditioned with Nicholas Gonzalez ... I wasn't told much about [their relationship]. We played around with a few dynamics, whether it was like, "We used to run around in the house in diapers together" or we were just friends to "No, we might've had a fling" to "Oh my God, maybe he's in love with her." We played around with so many things, so I think it will play around depending on how the chemistry is. The writers really see how people react. It really is a live show in that sense. They start seeing people's reactions and they write toward or away from people's storylines, so I think it will really dictate Season 4 and the relationship they actually have. I think it's up to the public to shake things up in Pete's mind. I really do think that's a possibility.

Do you think Dominic could have anything to do with her kidnapping?
Souza: That would sense! See, I'm telling you -- you're great! [Laughs] I, of course, made up an idea in my head because I had to play trauma and all these things and of course I had to think of something that might not have been the way Pete was thinking about it. I do know it might've been related to how powerful my dad was and someone wanting my dad to suffer. So maybe Dominic -- who knows? Maybe he was one of the guys behind it. Who knows what's in Pete's mind? Maybe he's one of the kidnappers. This is so juicy. We should have Pete listen in on this conversation.

You should pitch it to him. The characters still don't really know who killed Wes. How do you think that's going to unfold? Do you think they'll still be playing the blame game? Has Laurel truly forgiven Connor (Jack Falahee)?
Souza: I think so. Annalise (Viola Davis) tells Connor, "It's called grief. You deflect. You blame anyone you can." I think that's what Laurel was trying to do as well without noticing it. When someone so close dies like that, it's sort of a natural immediate reaction to find out the reasons behind it. Sometimes you can't. Personally, when we lost my father, it was impossible to know the exact reason why he died, whether it was the medicine was too strong or his heart just gave in. You can't know the details but you want to to have some peace. I think Laurel's desperately trying to find that and that's why she wants to confront Charles (Wilson Bethel). There are still so many questions about his death. I have no idea what Pete's going to do. I think when the Keating 4 finds out [about Jorge], there's going to be a huge backlash on Laurel. It's her father. Who knows how that's going to play into the dynamics of the group?

How to Get Away with Murder returns in the fall.