There are cliffhangers, and then there are endings like High Potential’s that leave audiences mystified by what they just watched.
If you’re like this TV Fanatic, you love that feeling because the story stays with you long after the episode ends. The funniest part is now we’re the detectives trying to figure out what’s going on.
For the entirety of the High Potential’s freshman season, the series has kept things a little tense here or there, but for the most part, everything is always wrapped up in a lovely animal print bow.
So, I doubt anyone was prepared for the abrupt dive into the deep end that was this final case of the season.
I think we can all agree that whoever this psycho is, he is one sick individual.
What kind of inhuman person targets a grief support group?
It Took the Whole Season, But High Potential Threw the Spotlight on Someone Other Than Morgan or Karadec
For all of High Potential’s incredible writing and plotting, there was one thing the show fell pretty short on. Any character that wasn’t Morgan was basically confined to their roles at the LAPD.
If you read the High Potential Season 1 Finale Spoilers, I pointed out that Oz was clearly in trouble in the promo and that it would be a shame if something horrible happened to him before we got to know the character.
Well, something horrible definitely happens to him.
Still, we finally got a look into one of the nicest guys at the precinct. Thankfully, he made it out of the finale alive, and maybe even a little lighter for it.
Oz said his father died a year ago, right? If you think about it retroactively going back to the High Potential Season 1 Premiere, that would put Oz much closer to when it happened.
It likely even puts him a few months from when he lost one of the most important people in his life.
When you rewatch those episodes, Oz’s (Deniz Akdeniz) story adds a weight that no one, except Daphne, was aware of.
It certainly explains why those two are so close.
At least he’s seeing now that he has more family than he realized with Morgan and the rest of the team. Ironically, Miss Gillory is experiencing something similar herself.
High Potential Has Opened the Gates to a Larger World of Crime and Clues
So, Roman is alive, but the “well” is yet to be seen. Honestly, it would have been a pretty big letdown if he had been dead this whole time.
I’m sure the incredible writers would have found a way to make it work in an exciting way.
However, who here doesn’t want to see the heartwarming reunion that will hopefully come?
Now, what shape that takes is yet to be seen. I consider myself a decent TV sleuth when it comes to plotting, and Roman being an FBI informant was nowhere on my bingo card.
Everything about “Let’s Play” elevated every aspect of the show. The tension was palpable, and the characters felt like they were going to jump off the screen at any moment.
That’s how you craft a perfect finale.
For example, it’s a bit out there but one show that springs to mind is Once Upon a Time.
That series had those techniques and attributes down to a science. While that series was firmly grounded in fantasy, the formula still works for any scripted show.
By raising the stakes and expanding the in-story world, audiences get far more than just a cliffhanger.
They get the anticipation of seeing a story they already know in a new and bigger universe with possibilities — both good and bad.
Ironically, High Potential has opened its world while also narrowing its scope to one person: Miss Morgan Gillory.
High Potential May Be Dropping More Breadcrumbs Than Audiences Realize
There was so much that happened in just a few short seconds of the finale that you would be forgiven if certain points flew under the radar.
All of High Potential Season 1 Episode 13 was about Morgan (Kaitlin Olson). This unidentified, kidnapping, mask-wearing psycho did all of this just to play games with Morgan. Why?
Something stuck out to me during this episode. It seemed odd at first, but now it’s starting to make sense. The kidnapper must have HIP, which stands for High Intellectual Potential.
Throughout the episode, the technical term for Morgan’s condition was mentioned at just about every turn.
At first, it seemed like an odd choice since it was last mentioned explicitly was on High Potential Season 1 Episode 1, and this series seems to love bringing things full circle.
Still, that doesn’t answer the question of who this person is and why they wanted to play their games with Morgan, specifically.
Which brings me to another little backstory drop in this action-packed finale.
Things Have Gotten All Too Real for Mama Morgan, and She’ll Have to Make Some Big Decisions When High Potential Returns
For the first time in the season, Morgan discussed her father at length.
She talked about how her dad also had High Intellectual Potential and made it clear that their relationship was almost non-existent.
Putting all of these clues together, could it be that this individual is related to Morgan?
Apart from details of her father, we know virtually nothing about Morgan’s past other than she was apparently a wild child after she got her license.
I’ll just say what many of us are likely thinking: Could Morgan have a brother she doesn’t know about?
This smacks of Dexter Season 1 in a big way when Dexter Morgan discovers the serial killer is his own brother.
I apologize if that spoiled the first season of the Showtime series for you, but it’s been nearly 20 years.
Backtracking, though, regardless of how this person is connected to our protagonist, there’s an even more important factor we need to consider.
How is this all going to affect Morgan as a mother?
The woman absolutely loves her family and being a mom. How is she going to handle this target on her back?
If the kidnapper is watching her, then he’s watching everyone in her life.
It’s been heavily established that once something gets Morgan’s mind going, she can’t turn her brain off until she’s figured it out — except now Morgan is in the hot seat. Maybe Karadec was right to be so protective of her in “Let’s Play.”
I said it in the High Potential Season 1 Episode 12 review, and I’ll say it again: Karadec is falling for Morgan whether he realizes it or not.
At the start of High Potential Season 1, many viewers, including yours truly, did not want to see Morgan and Karadec end up together.
However, that was before we saw the kind of potential their chemistry could have. After that slow dance at the police gala, I’d say all bets are off.
I speculated on this possibility in a “will they, won’t they” article about Morgan and Karadec, and now it seems more possible than ever.
Side note: Between Tom, Ludo, Karadec, and Roman, there are way too many possible love interests. I’m just saying. Hell, and now she has a stalker to boot.
We’ll just have to wait till the next season of ABC’s hit series to see which side of “Fight or Flight” Morgan lands on.
What was your favorite part of the finale?
Did you think the series was going to kill off Oz?
Drop a comment below to let me know what you thought of this episode, and join me again when I review more of your favorite new and returning shows!
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