Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for High Potential season 1, episode 13.High Potentialwas arguably ABC’s most stylish new title when it premiered last fall, but the season finale took it to a new level.It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olson leads theHigh Potentialcastas Morgan Gillory, a mother of three with a genius-level IQ. Morgan’s recruited to the LAPD by Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) and, despite initial reservations, becomes a dependable partner for Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata). Over the course ofHigh Potentialseason 1, Morgan helps the LAPD solve a dozen cases.
In theHigh Potentialseason 1 finale, however, Morgan and the LAPD find themselves facing a much more calculated adversary. The other members of the core Major Crimes team, Daphne Forrester (Javicia Leslie) and Lev “Oz” Ozdil (Deniz Akdeniz), come to the forefront as they investigate a dangerous kidnapper who takes pleasure in toying with the police. Aside from setting upHigh Potentialseason 2, the year-ender was full of exciting twists, revelations, and reveals that prove why the procedural is a hit.
8LAPD Major Crimes Team Encounters A Trickier Case Than Usual
The Kidnapper Toys With The Major Crimes Division
After an anonymous email is sent to the LAPD with a picture of a man being held hostage, Morgan and the rest of Major Crimes throw themselves into the investigation. The team quickly realizes that the kidnapper is different from previous cases when they find a puzzle to solve for the location of their next clue. Over the course ofHigh Potentialepisode 13, the LAPD goes on a wicked scavenger hunt to free three victims.
As Morgan herself puts it, there’s something brilliant about the way the kidnapper meticulously plans his games. The disturbing precision makesHigh Potentialepisode 13 feel a little less likeClueand a little more likeSaw. The way the kidnapper would communicate with the LAPD gave the chilling sense that he was playing with his food. Although Morgan manages to save the day on multiple occasions and find the proverbial missing puzzle piece, it rattles her to know the potential killer can go toe-to-toe with her from a distance.
7Karadec Confronts Gio About Roman
The Informant Doesn’t Take Well To Police Involvement
The underlying mystery of the season waswhat happened to Roman inHigh Potential. According to Morgan, her first husband vanished 15 years before the series. InHigh Potentialseason 1, episode 9, Morgan makes contact with Gio Conforth (Domenick Lombardozzi), a shady character who interacted with Roman shortly before his disappearance. Though Gio has lucrative information that may give insight into where Roman went, he refuses to be seen helping the police inHigh Potential.
High Potential Episode 11 Subtly Reveals The Real Threat To Morgan’s Future In The LAPD
High Potential episode 11 was a real Whodunnit, but a newly introduced character could threaten Morgan’s consultant position with the LAPD.
In theHigh Potentialseason 1 finale, Gio returns to tell Morgan that Roman was worried about a woman named Lila Flynn. After he maintains he’ll only deal with Morgan, he sets up a meeting. Karadec insists that Morgan not go, talking her into letting him meet Gio in her place. Gio tells Karadec he’s done with the investigation since his demands aren’t being met, but Karadec gives a final plea for Gio to be forthcoming with what he knows for Morgan’s sake.
WhileHigh Potentialhas hinted at Morgan’s pastvaguely, Morgan reveals enlightening details about her childhood inHigh Potentialepisode 13. As she tells Karadec, her father was a High Potential Intellectual (HPI) just like her, but he had a very different perspective on what it meant. Morgan’s father discouraged her from interacting with her peers, with him even expressing disappointment after she played a game of jacks during recess. According to her father, the other children didn’t deserve to play with someone as smart as Morgan.
Learning how condescending Morgan’s father was helps to explain whyMorgan’s true superpower inHigh Potentialis her empathy. While her father thought their intelligence made them inherently better than others, Morgan grew up to think of her HPI as a curse rather than a gift. Thanks to her father’s snobbish attitude, Morgan’s childhood was incredibly lonely. The reveal helps illuminate why Morgan takes her children’s feelings so seriously, with her trying to comfort Ava (Amirah J) and Elliot (Matthew Lamb) by drawing on her own experiences that are slowly starting to unravel.
5Morgan And Karadec’s Slow Burn Begins (Just As Tom Returns)
Morgan’s Love Life Has Never Been So Complicated
Morgan and Karadec’s chemistry inHigh Potentialhas been palpable from the start, but the pair have been strictly professional up until episode 13. At the police gala, their first interaction feels straight out of a rom-com or high school prom, with the camera focusing on Karadec’s reaction to Morgan’s grand entrance and stumbling over himself to offer a drink. The partners even share a slow dance, with Karadec implying he cares about Roman’s case because he cares about Morgan.
Just as Karadec delivers his most vulnerable lines thus far, Tom (JD Pardo) arrives in search of Morgan. AlthoughMorgan and Tom’s short-lived romance inHigh Potentialseemed to be definitively over, Tom called Morgan in theHigh Potentialseason finale to confirm he was going to the gala for the express reason of seeing Morgan. Karadec backs off for Morgan to dance with Tom, but it’s clear that his feelings for Morgan will likely grow inHigh Potentialseason 2.
4Oz Is Kidnapped And Nearly Drowns By The Serial Killer
High Potential Puts One Of Its Main Characters In Danger
Aside from being one of the scene-stealing members ofHigh Potential’s underrated ensemblecast, Oz was a major character in theHigh Potentialseason finale. The kidnapper’s first victim was a member of the same support group Oz attends as grief counseling. He and the rest of the team quickly realize that the grief group is being targeted specifically, but it becomes painfully clear that the LAPD failed to seriously consider that Oz could be the next victim.
High Potential Proves That It Has Enough Story To Maintain Its Quality In Season 2
Now that High Potential season 2 has officially been confirmed, the future is bright and filled to the brim with potential new storylines.
After he walks to his car alone in an empty parking garage, Oz’s airbag deploys and knocks him unconscious. Daphne finds his car empty, save for traces of blood and an hourglass. The team decode the clue left behind by the kidnapper and find Oz chained at the bottom of a residential pool. Karadec drags him out, but Daphne realizes he isn’t breathing. After a tense montage of CPR and emotional reactions, Oz pulls through and, although shaken, endsHigh Potentialepisode 13 alive.
3The Serial Kidnapper Gets Away (Setting Up High Potential Season 2’s First Case)
What setsHigh Potentialepisode 13 apart from the rest of the season is that, for the first time since Morgan joined the LAPD, a case goes unsolved. ThroughoutHigh Potentialepisode 13, the LAPD believe they know who they’re playing with, it’s just a matter of finding him. According to Oz and the rest of the grief group, there was a former member named David who had an odd affinity for board games. The LAPD employed a sketch artist to make a rendering, but the true suspect changes the rules in the closing scene.
High Potential New Villain Addresses Its Recurring Storytelling Issue Before It’s Too Late
High Potential episode 11 finally put a face to Chief Pacheko’s name, but his presence could bring some exciting opposition to Morgan’s wild ways.
AsHigh Potentialshockingly reveals, the real David was in a rehab facility for months. The kidnapper simply posed as the man to throw the police off his scent as he used David’s backstory of his twin sister’s death to push a false motive. Once the LAPD locked in on David, the real kidnapper shaved his distinctive beard and gave himself a haircut. ForHigh Potential’s first recurring case, the LAPD has a doozy: in many ways, the team is back at square one.
2The Kidnapper Targets Morgan & Her Family Next
A Criminal Has Her And Her Loved Ones In His Sights
After dramatically changing his appearance to evade capture, the kidnapper even walks right up to Morgan and her children in broad daylight without being recognized inHigh Potentialepisode 13. Even more disturbing, the man managed to sneak a pack of cards into Morgan’s bag, with a message stuck to the back vowing they’ll“play again.”While it makes sense for the game master to take interest in how quickly Morgan solves his puzzles, the kidnapper singling out Morgan puts her and her loved ones in danger.
The kidnapper nearly killed Oz inHigh Potential’s season 1 finale, so nothing is preventing him from targeting other members of the LAPD— or their families. WhileHigh Potentialseason 2 should highlight Morgan’s kids, it would be heartbreaking for the kidnapper to go after Ava, Elliot, or even Ludo (Taran Killam). Karadec and the rest of Major Crimes would do everything they could to save them, but Morgan would realistically be the only one capable of stopping the kidnapper.
1Roman Is Alive (And Was An FBI Informant)
High Potential’s Biggest Mystery Just Took A Turn
Theories aboutHigh Potential’s Roman mysteryspanned far and wide; some posited convoluted explanations for his disappearance while others maintained he was simply murdered.High Potentialseason 1’s finale didn’t solve Roman’s case, but there was a giant development.Roman is alive, Karadec claims he knows where Roman is, and Roman was secretly working as an undercover FBI informant when he vanished without Morgan ever knowing.High Potentialepisode13 offered new information, but what exactly happened 15 years ago is still unclear.
Lila Flynn, the woman Gio told Morgan about, turned out to be an undercover field agent who was murdered at the same time Roman vanished. Depending on what case the two worked together, the reason Roman had to leave could be incredibly complicated. It’s clear he disappeared to protect Morgan and Ava, but what he had to protect them from could always return along with Roman himself. Though Roman’s mystery is still far from solved,High Potentialepisode 13 left just enough clues to occupy viewers until season 2 premieres.
