Major spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched High Potential’s Season 2 finale on ABC (or streamed it next-day via Hulu subscription or Disney+ subscription), so be warned!
Wasn’t it just a week ago when High Potential closed out with the warmest vibes possible, as the Gillory clan (plus Ludo) celebrated Morgan’s matronly ways for Mother’s Day post-elevator makeout sesh with Wagner? We can now lovingly look back and recognize it at as the calm before the s--tstorm that rained down on several main characters in the third act of “Family Tree.”
My concerns for Steve Howey’s character were largely justified, given how the episode wrapped up, but the captain’s fate is taking a backseat for the moment. We first we need to talk about the Roman bombshell that fans were waiting for long before the 2026 TV schedule kicked off, as well as what showrunner Todd Harthan told CinemaBlend about both of those shocking reveals.
High Potential Finally Revealed What Landed Roman
Morgan and Soto's attempts to get Willa's help were eventually a success, even if that victory came in the form of a mysterious folder. It was finally the right time for High Potential to deliver that long-awaited reveal: Roman was responsible for murdering his own FBI handler, Agent Lila Flynn, whose death was initially revealed alongside Roman’s federal connections in the Season 1 finale. Only now we know she was a dirty agent who was selling off info, which is presumably why Roman killed her, or at least the crux of it.
That blow landed hard on Morgan’s shoulders, as she started to shift her mindset to think that maybe the man she’s loved and worried about all these years isn’t exactly the person she thought, and that maybe looking into all this would be detrimental to her and her family's well-being. I asked Todd Harthan about the conversations that went into deciding this would be the way Morgan learned about Roman, he shared:
The big question for us since the beginning has always been – if Roman is alive, what could possibly have kept him away from Ava and Morgan all these years? In Season 1, we learned Roman was a confidential informant for FBI Special Agent Lyla Timms who got murdered – so we were very excited to see Morgan get to the bottom of what actually happened.
Todd Harthan
It sounds like ideas were in place early on for what Roman's big incident would be, though Harthan told me back in January that some of those story details were still being lined up. Whatever the case, I'm appreciative that the reveal lined up with what we already knew, and that the creative team didn't pivot to a bunch of other completely unfamiliar characters and details to explain it all.
Harthan continued, sharing that regardless of what's being revealed, it mainly works in regards to how that information is received and reacted to by Morgan herself.
At the same time, we always keep Morgan's mindset front and center. We love putting her in tough positions because Kaitlin is so brilliant at finding those colors and notes in ways we don't expect and can make the story feel so much richer.
Todd Harthan
To step back to the topic of characters who aren't immediately familiar or recognizable, the episode also showcases a moment where Ava is being watched by a mysteriously shrouded person at her art show. Though she didn't look so sure that the person was watching her, it seems clear to me (and presumably others) that it was her long-missing dad himself.
But was that the case, or was it potentially someone who poses more of a threat? When I posed the question to the Season 2 showrunner, he wasn't exactly quick to confirm or deny, saying:
You'll have to watch next season to find out!
Todd Harthan
Season 3 was already ordered up by ABC earlier in the year, though that awesome announcement came with the half-disappointing news that Todd Harthan will be stepping down from showrunning duties to team up with Todd Helbing for Disney+'s upcoming Eragon live-action series. For all intents and purposes, Harthan might not even know yet how this mysterious figure will play into the upcoming season. (Though I suspect he has an idea or two.)
Wagner's Decision To Get Information Without Morgan May Have Killed Him
Steve Howey's Wagner makes out with Morgan one time, and I guess he suddenly thinks he's got all the answers to her problems? That might be a stretch, but I do genuinely think that their flirtatious energy gave him a confidence boost, and that it affected his ability to make the smartest decisions.
Case in point: trusting his dad's advice right after learning Wagner Sr. was in cahoots with Jennifer Jason Leigh's criminal fixer Willa. Other case in point: lying to Morgan so that he could get the information himself without her involvement. Even if he hadn't been shot, she might have knocked his block off for already lying to her before they could even give their relationship any terminology.
I asked Todd Harthan if Nick Jr.'s decision to go alone was made solely with Morgan's best interests in mind, or if he more wanted to step into the hero role to prove himself to his father. As he put it:
This season we saw how deeply Wagner wants to help Morgan — and we think what happens in the finale really is about her. That said, Wagner is a guy who grew up under this very imposing father, dealt with all kinds of pressure as a result and was probably made to feel like a failure for most of his life — so I think there’s a part of Wagner that is done deferring to Dad on anything. Especially if he suspects that his father may be standing between Morgan and the truth.
Todd Harthan
That answer is kind of the best of both worlds. For all that I was suspicious of Wagner earlier in the season, Howey's been excellent here in the back half of the season, and I truly do think at this point that the bulk of his involvement in Morgan's search for Roman is genuinely selfless.
But I also like that this all led to the breaking point between the father and son, even if dear old dad might never find out about it if the LAPD captain succumbs to his wounds. If he lives, I don't expect that to be a very heartfelt hospital convo. Especially if this "old FBI ghost" never had anything to do with Roman in the first place. He's gotta live, right? GET THOSE EMTS THERE, STAT!
High Potential has currently wrapped its second season, and it's going to be a long and arduous wait for the fall when Season 3 will (presumably) arrive. Wagner can't possibly bleed out for that entire time, at least.
