High Potential Season 2 Episode 18, titled “Family Tree” and the season finale, left us wishing that Morgan had left the Roman Sinquerra mystery where it belonged–in the past.
Morgan seemingly felt the same way, especially when she realized Willa Quinn’s warning wasn’t without merit.
After pushing Willa to her breaking point, she finally caved and delivered on her promise of giving Morgan answers about Roman’s disappearance.
But with the answers came more questions, and the realization that Morgan has been moving through life, particularly when it came to her memories of Roamn, with rose-colored glasses.
That is, if we’re to believe that the intel Willa delivered was factual and accurate. She warned that the answers would be ugly and kick up dangers, and she wasn’t lying, potentially shedding light on what led to Roman Sinquerra’s disappearance.
The Truth About Roman Sinquerra… We Think?
The files revealed that Lyla Flynn was working undercover when she was murdered. She was assumed to be a dirty cop, selling intel and laundering money. Roman was suspected of working with her, and when she decided to come clean, he killed her. It was a huge scandal, so Willa Quinn covered it up.
But the thing is that there doesn’t seem to be any evidence aside from a car being seen at Lyla’s the night she was killed. One might argue that Roman knew too much and was set up.
Either way, whatever the truth may be, it was a moment that made Morgan realize that the dangers were too much, especially when Willa threatened her children.
Morgan had a change of heart. After pushing for the truth for two seasons, she was now ready to let it go. But once you open Pandora’s box, it’s kind of impossible to go back.
However, Soto wasn’t about to give up—not after they got this far. You don’t go this far to only go this far.
As a mom, it’s understandable for Morgan to get spooked, especially realizing that too many people know about her life, but Soto was persistent that they finish what they started because “stepping away was simply not an option anymore.”
Nick Wagner’s Demise—Hopefully Not
Part of me wants to blame Soto for what happened next, for not heeding the many warnings, but the truth is that Morgan was never going to give up unless she knew the full truth, and neither was Wagner. He wanted it for her; he wanted to have closure.
The moment he told her that he got a contact for a “ghost FBI” agent from his father, Nick Wagner Sr., who we know is corrupt and in bed with Willa and whoever else is running the show, it was clear that Nick’s life was in danger. Why didn’t Morgan call for backup? Why did he think to go alone? I know this is the kind of thing to keep quiet about, but it’s frustrating when characters make rookie mistakes that may or may not end up costing them their lives.
And sure enough, by the time Morgan got to the location of the meetup, Wagner was bleeding out all over the bench and in her arms.
It was heartbreaking to watch, especially as Wagner has grown on so many of us since joining the series. Despite the initial trust issues, he’s proven to be a team player and someone who really cares for Morgan. And because of her, and to protect her, he was put in the ultimate danger.
Steve Howey is exiting the show as a series regular, but his fate remains up in the air as his character’s life hangs in the balance. Fans clearly want him to pull through, especially since he didn’t even get a moment to talk about the kiss with Morgan.
And Morgan cannot live with Wagner’s blood on her hands—she’ll absolutely blame herself for this.
It begs the question: who attacked Wagner? Was it his father? The hitman who was after Arthur? Someone ranked above Willa Quinn? Was it Roman himself? The ghost FBI agent? Are they responsible for setting up Morgan in the first place?
There are so many possibilities worth exploring, and it’s clear that Morgan won’t stop until she gets to the bottom of it and gets justice for Wagner, regardless of whether he survives or not.
She has two reasons to get to the bottom of this corruption because it’s evident that she’ll never be safe when she doesn’t know what she’s up against.
And neither will her children. There was someone at Ava’s art show—was it Roman keeping an eye on her, or someone who meant her harm?
With so much buildup surrounding Roman Sinquerra’s disappearance, was the reveal, however much truth there was to it, a letdown? Was he really a murderer on the run this whole time, or is there more to the story?
Wagner’s attack and the intel about Roman were just a piece of a huge finale that set the groundwork for High Potential Season 3.
Of course, after that steamy kiss last week, fans wanted some movement on Wagner and Morgan’s relationship—and I’m not talking about her realizing she likes him as he dies in her arms, but we got a lot of Karadec and Morgan moments instead.
Karadec’s Heartbreak
First up, they seemingly had their first fight as Karadec was put in an impossible situation with Lucia smack dab in the middle of a murder.
Morgan knew that Lucia wasn’t telling them the whole truth, but it was hard for Karadec to accept, and he was in denial at first, which made him lash out at Morgan.
In the end, however, he realized that Morgan had no motive to lie or try to soil Lucia’s name—she didn’t want her to be guilty, but the facts proved otherwise.
Lucia ended up being connected to the con man responsible for the murder of the wife of an HGTV-like couple. She was processed for her role after the fact in the cons, which made him question their entire relationship.
It’s unclear at this moment if Karadec and Lucia are over or if he’ll give her another chance, but I’m also less invested in that and more invested in the fact that Karadec was man enough to come to Morgan’s place, apologize for not listening to her and feel safe enough to be vulnerable with her.
She was his comfort when everything about his life and future was crashing down, and she gave that to him while her whole reality and everything she’d ever believed was in shambles. And not once did she ever make it about herself or her pain.
He probably should’ve been more concerned with her emotional state, but the fact that Karadec wasn’t fully there for her in that moment is something I can forgive since he had kind of a lot going on personally; he didn’t have time to get the scoop on the Roman findings, nor was he even in a state of mind to receive it.
But it was enough for Morgan because she knew that he understood exactly how she felt. Their situations paralleled each other as they were both blindsided by someone they loved–and by loving someone too much to see the things they didn’t want to see.
Although I will say that there was nothing about Lucia that hinted at a life of crime and cons, and I’m pretty sure that Morgan, who has an extraordinary brain and whose job it is to see the things that no one can, would’ve picked up on Roman’s double life, even with a little newborn baby brain. I’m willing to let the whole Lucia thing slide simply because I’m not vibing with her character (sorry Karadec), but I cannot accept that Roman was an entire murderer and Morgan didn’t see it coming. Something’s not right there.
One Touch Is All It Takes
And though there wasn’t anything steamy about Karadec and Morgan’s moment, because much like with Nick when he was grieving his wife on a case, he wasn’t in the right headspace, somehow, the way he brushed her cheek to wipe away a tear was equally as heartstopping as the kiss she shared with Wagner.
Morgan has now had two very intense moments with the two men who hold a special place in her heart, all while protecting her family and kids, and trudging into dangerous territory to figure out what happened to her daughter’s father.
As a finale, this one was excellent, making the cases extremely personal while shaking up everyone’s world in the process.
There are some shows that never fully go there, especially when fans take a liking to a character, but High Potential didn’t just deliver empty threats; it proved that when you won’t stop poking the bear, bad things happen. It’s possible that Wagner’s exit was always in the plans since he signed on to a one-year deal, but many shows have changed their minds once fans start to ship a character. For High Potential, that proved to be a non-issue. They were committed to what made the most sense for the story.
Will Wagner survive? Will Morgan be consumed with guilt either way? Will Karadec and Lucia’s love overcome the con? Will Oz and Daphne ever play a larger part in all of this?
We’ll see you back here for High Potential Season 3 likely this fall!
Continue Reading: Is There Going to be a Season 3 of ‘High Potential’? One Major Change Is Coming