‘How to Get Away with Murder’ season 3 spoilers: Prepare for some big Michaela backstory

On this past episode of “How to Get Away with Murder,” we learned some good news for Michaela in that she is not the person who is found dead in the fire. Fans of the character can breathe a little bit easier in that regard!

Now that we’ve said that, there are clearly some other struggles that we’re going to have a chance to see play out with her. For one, the arrival of her adoptive mother Trishelle Pratt (Brett Butler) is going to shake things up as we start to move things along. She’s someone who understands this character in a way nobody else does, and she may bring out in some ways the worst of her past and the best of who she is today at the same time. It’s complicated, but it could be a reminder of how much progress she’s made.

In teasing both this story and this character further to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Pete Nowalk passed along the following message:

“We know Michaela’s been called bayou trash … The character of Trishelle Pratt is the epitome of where Michaela’s from and they have a very contentious, alienated relationship. Michaela will say in the fifth episode when she’s talking about her family to our students, she tells them, ‘I am who I am in spite of my family. I’ve escaped them.’ So, in the flash forward, the mother is there the whole time and she’s there for a little surprise on Michaela. We’ll just dig into more of what kind of environment Michaela grew up in and it’s not what you would expect.”

Given the great character-drama the show has produced so far with Laurel, we’re not surprised that they are raising the stakes now for Michaela. We’re excited to see how all of this pans out.

Want to preview further what’s coming on “How to Get Away with Murder”? Then be sure to head over to this link right now! (Photo: ABC.)