High Potential Season 1 Ending Explained

The main plotlines of High Potential are still partially unresolved despite the show's pilot season finally coming to an end. High Potential, which follows Kaitlin Olson's Morgan, is about an unabashedly eccentric woman who joins the LAPD because of her high IQ and remarkable deductive abilities. However, the first season of High Potential demonstrated that Morgan is more than just her HPI, with several of the season's most significant plots emphasizing how her empathy is actually her greatest strength. Being a mother to her three children, Ava (Amirah J), Elliot (Matthew Lamb), and infant Chloe, is Morgan's top priority over her work as a police consultant.

Daniel Sunjata plays Adam Karadec, the detective who, in spite of his initial misgivings about Morgan, ended up becoming her closest coworker (and maybe more). Morgan leads the High Potential season 2 cast. In High Potential, Morgan and Karadec developed into a dynamic team that worked together to solve cases almost every week. Beyond the LAPD Major Crimes Division's professional camaraderie, Morgan bonded with colleagues Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reye), Daphne Forrester (Javicia Leslie), and Lev “Oz” Ozdil (Deniz Akdeniz), all of whom were put to the test during their most difficult case to date in High Potential episode 13.

In High Potential, what happened to Roman?

There have been a lot of theories about High Potential's Roman mystery ever since it was first hinted at in the pilot episode. The High Potential season 1 finale brought the case up to date, but the procedural allowed Roman's disappearance to remain a recurring theme throughout the entire season. They exchange numbers in order to communicate directly, excluding LAPD, after Gio Conforth (Domenick Lombardozzi) resurfaces as a dubious informant to alert Morgan about a potential threat named Lila Flynn. After that, Jocko Sims reappears as Special Agent Ronnie Oliver to inform Karadec that 15 years ago, Lila Flynn, an undercover FBI agent, was killed.

It becomes even more complicated as soon as High Potential suggests that as a potential reason for Roman's disappearance. As the main plot unfolds, the mystery diminishes, but in the episode's final moments, Morgan gets a call from Karadec. According to High Potential episode 13, Roman is still alive and was an undercover FBI informant thanks to him and Ronnie's investigative efforts. With regard to Roman's past and, more significantly, his future in High Potential, this crucial detail creates a whole new universe of possibilities.

In episode 13 of High Potential, who is the kidnapper?

The format of almost all High Potential season 1 episodes was the same: a crime was introduced in the opening scene, and by the end, the Major Crimes team had solved it. By introducing several significant character beats, such as Ava learning to drive and an impending police gala, High Potential episode 13 deviates from the norm. The team doesn't start the action until they unexpectedly get an email with a picture of a man who appears to be being held hostage attached. The episode's tone was established by the sign that hung from the man: "[he] wouldn't play with me, will you?"

The kidnapper sets up twisted games for Morgan, Karadec, Oz, and Daphne to play. They must solve numerous puzzles and riddles, and the reward is information that could save their lives. Before discovering that the High Potential episode 13 culprit was a serial kidnapper with evil games in his toolbox, the team went to great lengths to save the man, whether it was using Hopscotch to locate periscope coordinates or Loco Ocho to choose a hiking trail. As the games grew increasingly mysterious, Morgan found it difficult to cope with the strange sensation that her opponent was as intelligent as she was.

How the Kidnapper Escaped in the Season Finale of High Potential

Even though the LAPD believed they were getting close to a suspect, the mystery persisted despite the Major Crimes Unit deciphering every code the kidnapper gave them. The team believed that David, a disturbed man who was targeting members of the grief group he attended, was the kidnapper for the majority of the episode. In the early stages of their investigation into David's life, the LAPD had a sketch artist make a working portrait of their suspect. The LAPD discovers they have been looking into the wrong man near the end of High Potential episode 13.

In the season finale of High Potential, the kidnapper pretended to be David, while the real David is in a rehabilitation center. However, in what appears to be an explanatory flashback, the real kidnapper shaves his beard, chops off his long hair, and changes his appearance to that of a normal young man just as the Major Crimes team (minus Morgan) recognizes this. No suspicion is aroused until Morgan gets home and discovers a pack of cards she didn't purchase with the words, "We shall play again," after the kidnapper even approaches her and the children as she loads groceries into her car. You and I.

Does Oz Die in the Season Finale of High Potential?

Oz's decision to keep his father's death a secret from everyone but Daphne during High Potential episode 13 was a smaller-scale revelation that he was a part of the targeted grief group. Oz was eventually singled out and abducted, just like the other victims, after the criminal had set up his car's airbags to malfunction and render him helpless. He is an hour late for the police gala, which worries Daphne, but when she searches for him, she only finds a note that says "MARCO!" taped to an hourglass. Eventually, they find him unconscious in a pool.

After a tense montage of Daphne performing CPR, Oz exhales water from his lungs after Karadec pulls him out of the water. Oz makes it through the High Potential season finale, despite the near-miss. His rescue occurred prior to the discovery that the abductors were not David, raising questions about whether Oz was the intended victim as a Major Crimes member or whether the abductors targeted the grief group as a whole for an unidentified reason. In any case, Oz is an essential part of High Potential's underappreciated cast, and his passing would have been irreversible.

What Was Disclosed About Morgan's Past in the Season Finale of High Potential

In the season finale, Morgan displays vulnerability by sharing an emotional story from her early years with Karadec, despite High Potential having alluded to her past earlier in the season. Looking back, Morgan acknowledges that she didn't spend much time with her peers. Morgan told her father about jacks after she accepted an unexpected invitation to play the game with the other children during recess. He strongly objected to her playing with her classmates, claiming that they were unworthy of Morgan's "intellectual acumen." The erroneous belief that Morgan denigrated others because of her own intelligence caused her to be shunned for years.

Since Morgan's parents never made an appearance in High Potential, this story provides both an explanation and a chance to reopen old wounds should her father ever reappear. In episode 13 of High Potential, Morgan shares that her father also suffered from HPI. Although this ought to have been a moment of bonding, Morgan's experience after playing jacks shows how conceited and critical her father is. This brief look into Morgan's relationship with her father helps to explain why she is the person she is and the parent she is, even though there is still much to learn about her past.

How Morgan and Karadec's Slow Burn Was Set Up by High Potential's Season Finale

High Potential season 12 saw a significant change in Morgan and Karadec's relationship prior to the finale. Karadec's new partnership with Morgan was strengthened after he interacted with Ronnie, his former partner. However, beneath the surface of their growing professional bond was something more than just platonic. Although Karadec and Morgan have chemistry from the start of High Potential, the show's first season finale suggests that Karadec is the one who starts to feel something for Morgan.

Karadec's astonished response is the main focus of High Potential when Morgan arrives at the gala wearing her pink gown. Karadec compliments her and clumsily offers to buy her a drink from the open bar. Later on in the season, Karadec gives some of his most moving lines, stating that he wants to get involved in Roman's case because he understands how important it is to Morgan, as the two dance together. With a wistful, almost pining, expression on his face, Karadec bows out when Tom (JD Pardo) shows up to pursue Morgan.

How Season 2 of High Potential Is Introduced in Episode 13

The High Potential season one finale left hints for season two, aside from the fact that the kidnapper is still at large and has his sights set on Morgan. Although the Roman investigation has not ended, it has taken on a completely different perspective and may have far-reaching implications for Morgan's life. Roman might come back and become close to Ava, but that could also affect the dynamics of the rest of the family. Romantic subplots in High Potential will be anything but straightforward due to the slow-burning relationship between Karadec and Morgan and Tom, especially since her first husband may return after a 15-year breakup.

More generally, each character has the chance to grow further. Morgan's kids might play a bigger part in High Potential season two, or at the very least, there might be more plots involving them. The second season might concentrate on Selena's struggles against the LAPD's bureaucracy or it might continue to develop Oz and Daphne's relationship. Naturally, the team will continue the ongoing search for the kidnapper while solving more cases. The High Potential season finale simply condemned the wait for season 2 to feel like absolute torture, despite the fact that there are countless new possibilities for future storylines.