Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for High Potential Season 2, Episode 4.As is per usual for High Potential, Season 2, Episode 4, “Behind the Music” sees Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) and the rest of the Major Crimes team investigating a murder. This week, though, it’s two connected murders that occurred decades apart. A woman named Raina Viera (Barbara Eve Harris) calls 9-1-1 in the cold open in terror, saying that she just saw a man shoot a woman. When Morgan and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) go to investigate, though, Raina insists that she never called 9-1-1, and she kicks them out of her house.
Later that day, though, Raina is found murdered in her home, and the Major Crimes team has to investigate both Raina’s murder, and the murder that she seemingly witnessed before she died. Meanwhile, Selena (Judy Reyes) is up for Captain, but she is passed over for the position. This episode’s case is relatively predictable, but its strength lies in its focus on Morgan’s relationships with Karadec and with Selena, which are especially important this week.
In ‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 4, Morgan and Her Team Investigate Two Connected Murders Decades Apart
Morgan and Karadec investigate Raina’s murder, which takes them first to her neighbor / dealer, and then to her basement. They then figure out that Raina had dementia, and that a blood-stained sequined dress in her basement must have triggered an old memory where she witnessed a murder. From investigating when the dress was made, Morgan figures out that over two decades ago, a 25-year-old singer named Greta St. John was shot. Morgan and Karadec, and Daphne (Javicia Leslie) and Oz (Deniz Akdeniz), split up to interview two people. Daphne and Oz talk to Eddie Friedman, who managed the Black Jewel, the club that Greta sang at at the time she was murdered. Morgan and Karadec speak with Lucy (Zoë Soul), who had been doing some interviews with Greta for a project, and whom Raina had tried to contact before she was killed.
Eddie and Lucy both turn Morgan and Karadec’s investigation towards Mac Epps, a manager who’d worked with both Lucy and Raina. Epps had been arrested on a drug charge, and when he was released from prison, he’d tried to become a part of Greta’s career again. Morgan and Karadec then visit Epps at the Black Jewel, and Karadec confronts Epps about both murders. Morgan connects Greta and Epps’ matching tattoos, and she figures out that they were a couple. Morgan and Selena then look at Greta’s photos and realize that Greta had had Mac Epps’ baby a little while before she died. They figure out that Greta hid the baby from Epps, then he found out and killed her, and Raina witnessed it. Karadec makes Morgan stay behind to protect her, then he goes to the Black Jewel to confront Epps about murdering Greta. Epps holds a woman at gunpoint, so Karadec shoots him to save her life.
After Karadec has been cleared by Internal Affairs, he and Morgan learn that Mac Epps was a two-hour drive away when Raina was killed. Morgan then figures out that Lucy is Greta’s child and that Lucy killed Raina. Lucy confesses that she only met Raina because she was searching for answers about her mom. Because of Raina’s dementia, she accidentally confessed to Lucy that she was a part of covering up Greta’s death. Lucy then confronted Greta and pushed her down the stairs. Karadec and Morgan arrest Lucy, and the case is closed.
In a subplot more compelling than this week’s case, Selena is up for captain, but she doesn’t get it. Instead, the department is bringing someone in from another squad. Selena holds in her disappointment in order to properly lead her team, so Morgan meets with her and tells her that she doesn’t have to be strong for her. Morgan also tells Selena that if she were her, she’d wonder if she were passed up for the promotion because she’s a woman. This is definitely part of the reason, but as Solomon from Internal Affairs hints to Selena, it seems as though Selena is also being punished for bringing Morgan on as a consultant.
After her meeting with Selena, Morgan goes to wait for the elevator, where she meets the new Captain, Nick Wagner (Steve Howey). He tells Morgan that he’s heard a lot about her and has been looking forward to meeting her. After Solomon’s warning, though, this feels like a veiled threat that perhaps the new Captain will be reevaluating whether to keep Morgan on as a consultant, and she might just have to prove herself once again.
In ‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 4, Morgan and Karadec’s Partnership Is Strengthened
The best part of “Behind the Music” are Morgan and Karadec’s scenes, which bring them closer together while they investigate the case. Karadec supports Morgan while she’s worrying about Selena, and Morgan is there for Karadec when he feels shaken after shooting Mac Epps. That particular Karadec subplot in this episode felt a little odd and out of place to me, but it was great to see him and Morgan be vulnerable with each other.
At the end of the episode, Morgan and Karadec run into each other at the station. She expresses her appreciation for the fact that he was looking out for her before, and he says that she was right about Selena needing someone to talk to. In a really sweet line, Karadec says that he’s not going to change, because he doesn’t need to when he’s got her to be the person who talks things out. It’s a really sweet interaction, and then Karadec looks at his computer and sees that Morgan was using it to look at Arthur’s (Mekhi Phifer) website. The Roman subplot also felt out of place this week, because Morgan just called Arthur, only to get forwarded to a full voicemail box. Despite a few clunky subplots and a pretty predictable killer reveal, though, this episode is still strong in its development in both Morgan and Karadec’s relationship, and her dynamic with Selena.
New episodes of High Potential air Tuesdays on ABC at 10:00 P.M. EST.
