After the Game Maker saga and another case where the series had to find its footing again, High Potential is back in its peak form.
And no, that’s not to say the previous episodes weren’t great, but High Potential Season 2 Episode 4 felt like the series found its rhythm again, and it’s only fitting given the music themes throughout.
This series elicits immense joy and warmth, and the quieter moments are just as deeply compelling as the quirky ones are endearing. It’s that perfect balance in tone that the series strikes that makes this show so unique and special.
For example, High Potential’s ability to make you invested in a case while drawing some parallels and using it as a source of exploring the characters deeper is what adds to the appeal.
In this instance, so much of solving both a cold case and an active murder throughout the hour was just the perfect jumping point for digging into how close Morgan has become to this squad, namely Soto and Karadec, and the value she adds to them as beyond a consultant — but a friend, family.
The season has done a fantastic job of setting the tone that Morgan isn’t just someone they’re stuck with, but an invaluable member of their unit and something akin to family to them.
It’s so wholesome to truly feel the Found Family dynamic this season and see how it continues to blossom and deepen in ways that expand on these characters and dynamics we have already fallen in love with.
And the timing of that aligns well with the addition of outside forces and scrutiny that could challenge what this division has built among themselves. People often push back at things they don’t understand, and I can fully anticipate some pushback against Morgan.
But we’ll get to that in a second. The cases have also been great this season because they’re striking the right balance in depicting Morgan as an asset to the team, not a substitute for what they’re capable of doing.
When you have setups like this, where we have some quirky consultant offering a different viewpoint on things, the risk is always that the rest of the characters are dumbed down in comparison to allow the lead to shine.
High Potential doesn’t do that, but it seems even more mindful of avoiding this pitfall this season, which is something I love.
Morgan and Karadec not only work well together, but they have managed to match each other’s energy. It’s the little things worth appreciating, like how they both clocked Raina as Gullah Geechee, so he was already on the exact same wavelength as her when she broke down how she knew Raina was the caller.
Karadec getting his moment to talk about how the 911 system works, even though Morgan already knew, was amusing. Still, he also got be the one to breakdown how fingerprints look under the black light when someone has been using drugs extensively.
Morgan doesn’t always have to be the smartest person in the room, and she continues to learn new things every day. It’s the perfect approach in a series like this, given the concept, and it better captures what High Potential loves to say about the distinction between thinking differently and thinking better.
And it’s more about soft, revealing, vulnerable character moments, like Karadec describing the shooting and how his discipline and training led him to this moment, and being able to execute it properly, even though he never wanted to reach this point.
These are the things that Karadec and the others instinctively possess, which separate them from Morgan.
I’m loving how well the series approaches Morgan as a civilian and a consultant. She’s NOT a cop, and she’s not better or less than because of that, but they handle her appropriately with that in mind.
It’s a refreshing change of pace from similar concepts where consultants are enmeshed in arcs and placed in positions as if they just bypassed police training and are on the same even playing field as police.
This also firmly establishes how protective they are of Morgan as their person, which enters the fray in time for others to challenge them and her addition to this unit.
For example, the IA guy has issues with Morgan and her addition to the team. It must be something that has ruffled some feathers in their office and the higher-ups, and it’s likely the real reason Soto didn’t get the captain position (though her being a woman and a WOC probably didn’t help matters).
For us, it’s for the better, and maybe for some, it’s for the worst, but Morgan has irrevocably changed those around her in working with them. The IA guy was right in that Adam Karadec, before Morgan, likely wouldn’t have pushed so hard for a favor or to rush the process and bend procedures to get cleared for his shooting.
Karadec is usually a “by the books” person, even when that has resulted in frustrating red tape and bureaucracy that could have caused more harm than good. But Morgan has influenced him; they’ve influenced each other.
I love partnerships like that, when you can visibly see how the characters have evolved for the better because of this other person. The value and how instrumental they are in each other’s lives at this point is undeniable.
Karadec didn’t hesitate to bend the rules a few times during this investigation, in small, seemingly insignificant ways — like not waiting for forensics. These are all little things that he would never have done before Morgan.
For viewers, we know that it makes Karadec a better, stronger, and more empathetic and efficient crime fighter. However, it’s also easy to see how others, the establishment, would be resistant to that and her influence on him (and on all of them).
The entire installation was ripe for great Morgandec content, and it was most certainly the type of stuff that fuels and feeds shippers. I genuinely love that for you all.
Morgan’s vulnerability this season has been one of its strongest components, and I love that they’re at this stage in their partnership, where they lay bare their feelings to one another, yet also know each other incredibly well.
When Karadec was able to break down every different type of Morgan’s “silence” and what it means, it was hard not to feel warm and fuzzy inside because there is a beauty and deep satisfaction in being known and seen.
Karadec is every bit as observant and aware of Morgan as she is of him. The way he chips away at her walls and vice versa is a compelling aspect of the show, making their partnership one of the things to watch. I ate it up, too. Every bit of it!
Even Morgan’s ability to acknowledge that she’s been so used to taking care of herself that it’s foreign to her having someone looking after her now was such a great moment in the lore that is Morgan and Karadec’s story, whether you ship this pairing romantically or not.
We’ve fully graduated to this place in their dynamic where they’re honest with one another and don’t hold back on the things that leave them emotionally exposed.
And we saw that with Morgan and Soto as well. They’re easily one of the most underrated dynamics on this show. And they have this sort of kismet connection, too.
I loved how they were on the exact same wavelength when it came to determining that Greta was pregnant. And Morgan, knowing that her role on the team is different enough that she can be a confidant for Soto, actually made me tear up.
Goodness, I love the power of great female friendships, and High Potential delivers that so well with both Morgan and Soto, as well as Morgan and Daphne.
Soto needed that moment with Morgan to acknowledge her disappointment. But she couldn’t bring herself to mention that Morgan may be the cause of her getting looked over.
Establishing the familial dynamic so strongly worked during an hour that also introduced us to the new Captain. First, I love Steve Howey to pieces, and I’m thrilled about his addition to this role.
Next, Nick Wagner already seems like a conundrum that I can’t wait to make sense of here. He was blatantly sussing Morgan out, and that her reputation precedes her only fuels the notion that we could have a rocky season of people taking issue with her presence on this team.
Wagner seemed to like Morgan, so I wonder where he’ll fall on all of this. He’s in this weird gray area of coming across as flirty and a bit commanding. Wagner is a total enigma!
So much of the best content in this hour was in the dynamics between the characters, but I also loved the case on its own.
Morgan’s process of elimination, which had her weeding out the cold cases thanks to a tinsel dress with laundry tags, was one of my favorite Morgan Moments of the series.
It also felt the most organic without being too outlandish. I love watching Morgan work, and you can tell the others do as well!
The outcome of the case wasn’t that much of a shocker; it was easy to piece together that Lucy was really Greta’s daughter and that she was probably behind Raina’s death just as Mac was behind Greta’s.
But even being able to predict both, the journey there was still genuinely fun to watch. Karadec and Oz pairing up to interview Logan was a good time. Plus, I love seeing the guys pair up on cases.
And as a fan of 90s R&B and that era of great female vocalists struggling to make their mark, the entire nature of the case, the music they incorporated, and that particular conflict was interesting to watch.
The music business is savage, and it was particularly dark in that genre during that era, especially for women. Mac’s imposing presence in the past and present made sense.
Even the idea that Greta’s murder wasn’t investigated or even got the public attention that it should have was both a nice nod at how we still are battling the same issues regarding missing and murdered women of color even now, and how someone with enough money and status can control and manipulate things at will and impede justice.
The way they were able to simultaneously solve a cold case and their current one made this a fascinating case that differed from their usual work.
And for a case-heavy hour, they still balanced out all the delicious character moments so well.
Hot Goss:
- The girls at the club putting some respect on Morgan’s wardrobe had me cackling. Morgan is truly the type of woman who can fit into almost any environment while remaining unapologetically herself, and I love that.
- Shallowly appreciating just how devastatingly handsome Karadec is, especially when he’s being all vulnerable. Love that for us!
- I’m going to need them to give Daphne and Oz some more screentime or something. Come on!!
- Morgan’s panic at the prospect of having to pair up with anyone but Karadec? I love them, your honor!
- As a language and dialect nerd, I loved how they incorporated the whole Gullah-Geechee plot point. I don’t trust Wagner, but I shamelessly did enjoy his chemistry with Morgan already. See what I did there?
- Am I a Morgan and Karadec shipper? Not necessarily. But am I also living for the vibes? Totally. This episode gave shippers so many crumbs! Feast my friends!
- Arthur Ellis is still on Morgan’s mind. I wonder when he’ll be making another appearance, especially since he didn’t answer her call, and Karadec seemed reflective about it, too.
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