All The Facts In Morgan’s Mind

All The Facts In Morgan’s Mind

There are so many facets that make High Potential into such an incredibly entertaining series. While police procedurals are a dime a dozen, no others have Morgan and her big brain.

The show fits the broadcast procedural bill, with just about every box checked, from the overly serious, handsome detective to the cop who strangely wears heels. However, Morgan technically isn’t a cop.

In this crime-fighting show, Morgan Gillory is the magic sauce that keeps High Potential enthralling and captivating from one scene to the next. How does she accomplish this?

Kaitlin Olson as MorganKaitlin Olson as Morgan
(Pamela Littky/Disney)

You may think, “Obviously, it’s how she perfectly pairs animal prints.” I’m just kidding. What makes Morgan such a fun character to watch is her massive mind and all the crazy facts rolling around in it.

How great would it be if we could access every last bit of knowledge we’ve ever heard or learned with expert detail and clarity at a moment’s notice?

If I could do that, you’d find me making big money on Jeopardy. In truth, the facts in Morgan’s mind help shape each episode and create an oddly fun learning experience while looking for homicidal psychos.

Morgan Pulled Out All The Stops In The Premiere Episode To Showcase Her Gift/Curse, Giving The Team More Clues Than They Could’ve Ever Imagined

Right from the start, Morgan was already putting her brain to work way before she managed to find herself on the payroll. Good thing the precinct’s budget can afford her.

What is with police procedurals and the trope of “budget cuts?” Have you ever noticed there is only a budget crisis when it fits the plot? It feels like lazy writing, but that’s just me.

If you recall High Potential Season 1 Episode 1, the cops were dealing with the kidnapping of a lawyer and the death of her husband by the CEO of a tech security company who was shacking up with the lawyer’s sister.

JUDY REYES, DANIEL SUNJATA, JAVICIA LESLIEJUDY REYES, DANIEL SUNJATA, JAVICIA LESLIE
(David Bukach/Disney)

The cops thought they had Ring camera footage of a young woman at the residence of the victim the day of the murder. One quick glance from Morgan made her realize immediately that the video was doctored.

The first thing she says is, “The video has the wrong date on the timestamp.” She then proceeds to launch into what I can only describe as a Google deep dive but from her brain.

With just the eyeballs in her head, Morgan could determine that the wind in the Ring camera footage was blowing in the wrong direction. How is that even humanly possible?

Weather Patterns Of The L.A. Basin

I don’t know about you, but I still have to make an “L” with my hands sometimes to remember which way is left. The fact that she could tell how the wind was blowing ironically blew my mind.

And on top of that, she can remember specific days for wind directions. Granted, that could have been due to the quick flashback showing the wind knocking hot coffee all over Morgan (Kaitlin Olson). Who’s to say?

KAITLIN OLSONKAITLIN OLSON
(David Bukach/Disney)

However, piping hot coffee spills aside, she then launched into this explanation about how the winds in the L.A. basin blow from the south in the summer, specifically from July to September.

I can’t even remember when hurricane season is, let alone how the wind is supposed to blow around what time of year.

Now, at this point, some of you may be saying, “She knew which way the wind was blowing because of the church.” I hear you, but let me explain.

The Direction Of Catholic Churches

To sell what she was saying to the cops, Morgan had to pull out all the stops to prove she wasn’t just blowing smoke. Everyone here remembers that crazy church fact, right?

As always, I’ve got you covered if you don’t. To prove the direction of the winds, Morgan pointed out a church in the Ring camera footage and revealed that all catholic churches had faced east since the 5th century.

DANIEL SUNJATADANIEL SUNJATA
(David Bukach/Disney)

Morgan had her own opinions about why this architectural protocol was implemented, but we will stick to the facts. If you don’t remember what it was, ask me in the comments.

Without this information, the case would have been dead on arrival because, as Captain Selena (Judy Reyes) says in the episode, the team had nothing before Morgan pointed out their mistakes.

And it’s not like Morgan knows every detail about the world. She’s more like a sponge, absorbing everything and pulling out each fact individually.

Botanical Manipulation

Case in point: When Morgan asked her neighbor, a florist, about plant wilting, she used that information about ranunculi to pretty much solve the case.

She dragged Karadec back to the scene of the crime and pointed out that the room was, in fact, a greenhouse and that the killer manipulated the climate controls to throw off the time of death.

JUDY REYES, KAITLIN OLSONJUDY REYES, KAITLIN OLSON
(David Bukach/Disney)

After that, the case was just about solved and resolved, with Morgan impressing the pants off of Captain Selena. Honestly, that was a crazy case, and I don’t blame Selena for seeing the value of having someone like Morgan on the team.

Morgan’s First Official Day On The Job Would Have To Involve Tap Dancing Car Mechanics, Or It’s Just Not High Potential

One thing about High Potential that makes it so fresh is how it continually finds ways to throw off viewers. Did anyone have tap dancing mechanics on their bingo card?

No? I bet that shook a memory loose for you, though. As the second episode, a lot was riding on High Potential Season 1 Episode 2. It was the first official episode after the series was picked up.

The case certainly took Morgan and Karadec on a roundabout journey that would’ve been difficult for any detective to solve. At first, Karadec suspected the mechanic had jumped from the top of the building in an act of suicide.

However, Miss Morgan doesn’t miss a thing. The first clue she noticed was that the car the victim fell on belonged to him and had plasma chameleon paint.

KAITLIN OLSONKAITLIN OLSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

The Cost Of Plasma Chameleon Paint

Now, I looked up how much this color-changing car paint costs, and holy crap. Morgan was right when she said there’s no way the victim took a swan dive onto his most prized possession.

Granted, the victim was still alive, so they probably would have figured out that it wasn’t a suicide, but Morgan sped up the process.

Still, the team wouldn’t have been on the right track because everyone that Morgan and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) talked to told them that the victim was loved by everyone who met him.

Que the lightbulb sound because that was when the team got a real break in the case. Morgan figured out that the killer pushed the wrong person because of a specific phenomenon involving the moon.

The Opposition Effect

KAITLIN OLSON, JUDY REYESKAITLIN OLSON, JUDY REYES
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

I’m talking, of course, about the opposition effect. If you’re like this TV Fanatic, you probably scratched your head through Morgan’s explanation.

And if you didn’t struggle, get tested for High Potential. The official definition of this effect reads: A phenomenon where a rough surface or object with many particles appears brighter when illuminated from directly behind an observer.

Doesn’t really help, does it? Basically, the moon was big and bright in the sky, shadowing the two mechanics dancing on the roof. Since they were in the moon’s shadow, the killer couldn’t tell who he was pushing.

Unfortunately, this was when the case hit a dead end because, well, the killer managed to kill the right target before the cops could stop him. All they had was video footage of the actual target getting shot.

This was also Morgan’s first time dealing with a death on the case, and it sent her reeling a bit. However, from the shock came something even better – Morgan solved two cases.

Muzzle Flash Trajectory

GARRET DILLAHUNTGARRET DILLAHUNT
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

While walking around the precinct to clear her head, she popped by the robbery department and noticed something that connected her murder case to Detective Melon’s (Garret Dillahunt) in the robbery division.

That’s right, it was a two-for-one. Morgan noticed that the muzzle flash trajectory of the gun used by the killer was the same as the one used in a robbery case.

Morgan remembered that old guns have a lot of copper and lead left in them, which causes the specific sparks that the killer’s gun set off when shooting.

Miss Gillory figured out that the mechanics were using cars in the shop to rob banks, but the target had a change of heart, and the killer needed to tie up loose ends.

Overall, it was a very happy ending, with the original victim recovering fully.

Sometimes, It Takes A Savvy Budget Shopper Like Morgan To Nail Down The First Clue In A Case That Goes From Sexy To Scandalous Rather Quickly

Kaitlin OlsonKaitlin Olson
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Just to remind everyone, the victim in High Potential Season 1 Episode 3 did not fully recover, and we are not mad about it, mostly. Seriously, some of the victims in these cases genuinely suck.

This guy, while ridiculously hot, was also a scammer who defrauded ladies out of their money until he conned the wrong women.

Basically, he was stealing money from a doctor and also an older woman in a home with a form of dementia. The son of the older woman told the doctor, and the two conspired to kill the guy.

Before you feel even a spark of sympathy for the man, I’d like to point out that he faked a romance with the doctor who had recently lost her husband.

Need more? The guy was married and had a little girl while living this other life as a con man. By the end, I was rooting for the killers. It is what it is. They probably would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for that meddling Morgan.

Generic Brand Candles

MELINDA PAGE HAMILTONMELINDA PAGE HAMILTON
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Funnily enough, the first fact from her brain actually helped Dr. Iris Bowman (Melinda Page Hamilton) with her alibi. The victim had set things up for a sexy time in a hotel room with candles around the tub where he was drowned.

All that thrashing in the water doused one of the candles, and because Morgan was familiar with that specific brand, she was able to deduce roughly when the victim was killed.

It feels weird referring to the conman character as a “victim,” given what a dirtbag garbage person he was. Those abs deserved to be on a better person.

Things got very “Morgan’s Mind” when the cops discovered that the victim was using a different identity. Morgan’s keen eye spotted something so specific that it bordered on stretching reality.

Madagascan Stitching Superstition

The conman, Chad Guerrero‘s Eduardo Cortez, had led this double life of preying on vulnerable rich women by looking the part. He took worn-out designer suits to a tailor and had them fixed up.

KAITLIN OLSON, JUDY REYES, DANIEL SUNJATAKAITLIN OLSON, JUDY REYES, DANIEL SUNJATA
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Miss Morgan noticed that the stitching on the suits was specific to a Madagascan custom of how the seams are sewn. Crossing stitches is considered unlucky.

So, one plus one equals finding a Madagascan tailor. Through this professional seamstress, Karadec and Morgan were able to obtain the conman’s real identity.

But how in the world could the cops find a tailor from such a specific country? That’s when Morgan busted out my favorite fact from the show.

Madagascan Naming Custom

All Madagascan names are unique, and every name has meaning. And when two people get married, they just smash their names together into one big, giant, long name.

As Morgan said in Dirty, Rotten, Scoundrel, it’s super romantic, and I agree. It’s also super helpful because from there, all they had to do was find the tailors in the area with the longest names.

Kaitlin Olson and Daniel SunjataKaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Morgan is basically where unlimited knowledge meets common sense. That’s probably why, after all this information, Morgan just about had the killer in the bag.

Granted, before getting there, she almost got Karadec stabbed by a hotel bartender (Ck Bolado), but you can check out the review for that.

Mountain Climbing Powder

The final nail in the coffin is when Oz discovers the white powder outside a window to the conman’s hotel room. As soon as Morgan saw it, she knew it was mountain climbing powder.

Do you remember who was a mountain climber? The son of the woman with dementia that the conman defrauded. Say what you want, but if it had been my mom, I wouldn’t even have cared about getting away with the murder.

Mamas are off-limits.

DANIEL SUNJATADANIEL SUNJATA
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Forty-Eight Hours Of No Sleep Couldn’t Stop Morgan From Going Into “Mama Bear” Mode And Using Everything She Had In Her Big Brain To Find Those Little Girls

Speaking of mamas, “Survival Mode” was dripping with “Mama Bear” energy. This was the audience’s first time seeing how much Morgan loves being a mom.

Honestly, that’s one of the things that sets her apart from other “eccentric genius” characters. She has a family that matters to her more than anything else, and it was definitely felt in High Potential Season 1 Episode 4.

This case was a doozy, too, because it was self-contained within a wealthy family and their staff. Basically, the adult daughter, Mia, of a resort tycoon is dealing with the abduction of her little girls.

In the end, the tycoon’s driver was secretly in love with Mia and had killed the ex-husband before ransoming the girls as part of a plot to look like the knight in shining armor by “miraculously” finding them.

The craziest part is that he would use the ransom money to sweep Madeline Zima’s (Doom Patrol) Mia off her feet. This episode needed two parts to flesh out the story because even Morgan struggled with this case.

MADELINE ZIMAMADELINE ZIMA
(Nicole Weingart/Disney)

If viewers remember, Morgan hadn’t slept twenty-seven hours before finding out about the case, so her emotions were on high alert. She was a bit sharp with Karadec and the captain.

Still, it didn’t stop her from cracking the case. Since the ex-husband was a survivalist enthusiast, Morgan could sum up his personality just from walking around his house.

Vegetable And Fruit Gardening Expertise

However, it was the greenhouse that really got the wheels moving on the case. For one, Mogan immediately saw that the cucumbers and tomatoes were beside each other.

I would imagine every person with a fruit and vegetable garden immediately recognized the issue. The rest of us had to be spoon-fed the information. I’ve tried gardening, and I have what the opposite of a “green thumb” is.

For those not in the know or who don’t remember, cucumbers and tomatoes are non-companion plants. They compete for the same nutrients and have entirely different watering needs.

DANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSONDANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSON
(Nicole Weingart/Disney)

Lo and behold, the survivalist ex-husband would never do that unless something needed covering up. That thing just happened to be the ex-husband himself.

From that point, there was a lot of running around that led to one of the crappiest CPS agents. Mia’s father, Christopher Cousins’s (The Young and the Restless) John Ashford, had bribed the agent to write the ex-husband up as an unfit father.

Considering how much the girls’ father loved them, it was a clear and blatant lie. I don’t care if the CPS agent was strong-armed. She could have gone to the police, and they could have handled it.

Knowledge Of The Kauai Region

But how did Morgan know that the CPS agent had been bribed? Well, the idiot left her lei from her trip to a resort in Kauai hanging on her freaking wall.

Morgan knew exactly where the agent had been because the green berries native to Kauai on the lei were still fresh. Oh, and the agent had on luxury slippers from the resort.

DANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSONDANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSON
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

I really hope the CPS agent, Amy Davidson’s (The Lincoln Lawyer) Sarah Keller, lost her job. Everything kind of came to a dead end when the mom, Mia, became a suspect. Cut to Morgan losing her mind over the idea that a mother of two would ever kidnap and ransom her children.

Keen Eye And Extensive Knowledge Of Chinese History

But like the big-brained Mama Bear that she is, Morgan realizes a priceless piece of China is missing from Mia’s parents’ house, well, not missing so much as switched.

Mia had taken an expensive antique to pawn for ransom money. However, Morgan looked like she was about to pull Mia’s spine out before getting the full explanation. Remember that look? I still get chills.

You see, the antique Mia took was a Ming with a little boy playing Colin-Maillard, which wasn’t a thing until the 16th century. That must be one old ass vase.

In the end, everything worked out, with Mia and her girls reunited. And just to send things off on a sweet note, the episode ended with Morgan snuggling up to her kids, finally resting.

MATTHEW LAMB, KAITLIN OLSONMATTHEW LAMB, KAITLIN OLSON
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

From Animals And Insects To Real Estate And Hereditary Traits, Morgan Was On A Mission To Catch The Killer With Their Hand In The Honey Jar

Speaking of kids, Morgan isn’t the only mama around here who gets pushed to her limit. “Croaked” was probably one of the best episodes because of how all over the place the clues were.

Sadly, the victim, in this case, wasn’t the greatest, but neither was the killer, so we’ll call it a draw. High Potential Season 1 Episode 5 was wall-to-wall drama from affairs and romances to deadly insects and tranquilizer guns.

When Karadec and Morgan arrived at the crime scene, they were met with a dead vet on the ground with a rash on her hand and a pile of pages with the word “Murder” on them near the printer.

Poisonous Dart Frogs

It took Morgan all of five seconds after discovering that one of the Dart Frogs was missing to deduce the entire means of murder. Thanks to Morgan, we now know never to touch a Dart frog.

KAITLIN OLSON, DANIEL SUNJATAKAITLIN OLSON, DANIEL SUNJATA
(Raymond Liu/Disney)

Granted, the name is rather telling, but Morgan is nothing if not thorough. As she would say herself, Morgan has to get it all out, or her brain won’t turn off.

Poisonous dart frogs secrete deadly neurotoxins from their skin, which can create hand rashes from the batrachotoxins.

However, it should be noted that this explanation came after Morgan had to shoot Karadec in the neck with a snake tranquilizer gun. All because the man was about to wash his hands with deadly venom.

Fred, the poor, dead Dart Frog, was floating in the hand soap dispenser. In one fell swoop, Morgan figured out the “how,” which meant it was time to figure out the “who” and the “why.”

Luckily, the victim, Rosslyn Luke’s (CSI: Vegas) Dr. Monica Davis, had a close friend, Bethany, who reported Monica missing. Monica had grown so very close to Bethany and her family that they were utterly devastated by the news — well, everyone except Bethany.

That’s right, if you remember, Monica was killed by her best friend — oh, right. I almost forgot that they were actually lovers, and Bethany was planning to run away with her.

KATHLEEN MUNROEKATHLEEN MUNROE
(Raymond Liu/Disney)

Here is where things entered into “soap opera territory.” After some sleuthing, Morgan and Karadec discovered that Monica had been illegally procuring and selling exotic animals on the black market.

Mental Dexterity With Words And Numbers

The team found a notebook with names and numbers, thinking it must be related to the exotic animals, and it kind of was, but of course, words and numbers are Morgan’s bread and butter.

She almost immediately figured out that the list was for houses on the market. Monica was hunting for a family home for her, Bethany, and Gavin.

Remember when I said the clues were all over the place? After contacting the real estate agent Monica was working with, Morgan finally figured out that Bethany and Monica were more than just friends.

Extensive Knowledge Of Bees

KAITLIN OLSONKAITLIN OLSON
(Raymond Liu/Disney)

Looking at the brochure for the house Monica wanted, Morgan noticed the location: Orland, California, the state’s beekeeping capital.

And who had a “Pollinator’s Garden” right outside their salon? The bee-loving bestie/lover, Kathleen Munroe’s (FBI) Bethany Reed. Pollinator Gardens consist of tall flowers clumped together to make it easy for the bees to go from flower to flower.

If that wasn’t enough, Bethany’s salon sign was littered with bee decals and decorations.

The case aside, making Bethany a bee enthusiast felt like precise plotting. The writers could have easily made insects the thing Monica and Bethany bonded over rather than “being bad at yoga.”

At this point in the episode, it was clear that Bethany was the “who” in the murder case. It was just a matter of “why.” It took a bit of footwork, but in the end, everything had to do with the young son, Gavin.

The Rarity Of Ear Dimples

ADAM HAGENBUCHADAM HAGENBUCH
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Morgan visited Monica’s ex, Adam Hagenbuch’s (Fuller House) Shane Seger, who had been in prison for the last decade for armed robbery, and upon closer inspection, she discovered that the convict had ear dimples.

At that moment, Morgan knew two things. Gavin was Monica and her ex’s child, and she had been pregnant at the time of the robbery. The ex took the heat from the cops, and Monica’s parents forced her to give the baby up for adoption.

What’s so special about ear dimples that could help Morgan decisively conclude that Gavin was the ex’s son? Ear dimples are so rare that only 0.1% of the population has them.

So, when someone has not one but two, they are 100% inherited through a parent. So, if you want ear dimples for your kids, it’s slim pickings.

Anyway, all of this would have been well and good, except Bethany discovered the truth. Monica stalked and seduced her to get closer to the son she had to give up as a teenager.

And in the words of Bethany, “It was working.” This case was mess, mess, messy. Morgan even said at the end that it didn’t feel like a win.

CARY CHRISTOPHERCARY CHRISTOPHER
(Raymond Liu/Disney)

Still, there’s no way the cops would have been able to solve this one without Morgan’s big brain holding all those facts about bees, real estate, and frogs.

I’m starting to understand why there’s the trope about detectives constantly drinking. This case was exhausting.

Morgan’s Big Heart Fueled Her Massive Mind To Free An Innocent Assistant And Reveal That Sometimes Karma Was Already At Work

Remember how I said some of the victims in these cases suck? Well, here’s another one. However, High Potential Season 1 Episode 6 was tricky because it seemed like the victim had a good heart once upon a time.

It goes without saying, but corporate greed is a vicious animal that takes no prisoners and can corrupt even the most altruistic heart. Sadly, in this case, the victim had no one to blame but herself.

Imagine what the worst possible thing could happen to you at an office holiday party. Most people would automatically embarrass themselves in front of their coworkers.

DENIZ AKDENIZ, JAVICIA LESLIEDENIZ AKDENIZ, JAVICIA LESLIE
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

Sadly, the victim’s assistant, Sam, definitely takes the cake for the worst post-party hangover.

It could be because she blacked out in her boss’s office, or it could be because she found her boss, Elaine, dead on the ground, stabbed with her award.

The main takeaway from this episode is that Karadec and the captain should learn by now always to trust Morgan’s intuition. To be fair, though, the evidence was pretty damning.

Pan Am Smile

During Sam’s initial questioning, Morgan noticed that she used a Pan Am smile whenever she referred to Elaine. This smile doesn’t reach the eyes and usually reveals insincerity.

From Karadec’s POV, Alison Jaye’s (Shameless) Sam Wozniak was as good as guilty, but Morgan was far from convinced and used everything she had to figure this one out with not much other than a karaoke machine.

DANIEL SUNJATADANIEL SUNJATA
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

You see, Elaine had been heard during the party having a very heated and loud argument with someone that was heard by the whole party.

Using the partygoers’ testimonies and the karaoke machine log, Morgan narrowed down the time of death. From there, they just needed to know who Elaine was having a screaming match with.

With help from the receptionist at the party, Morgan and Karadec tracked down Carmen and Arturo, parents who had given testimonials praising Elaine’s new invention, the KanAIRy.

The device is meant to act like a homeopathic mood stabilizer that children use by inhalation. First of all, what parent in their right mind would let something that didn’t need FDA approval into their child’s lungs?

Deduction Of Financial Situation

While questioning Carmen and Arturo, Morgan clocked more than a few suspicious details just from glancing around the couple’s new home.

NATASHA ELIASNATASHA ELIAS
(Carlos Lopez-Calleja/Disney)

Basically, Elaine had paid Natasha Elías’s (Station 19) Carmen off to keep quiet about the KanAIRy because it made her son sick. Carmen couldn’t sit idly by and confronted Elaine, who immediately threatened to take legal action against her.

Despite their heated argument, Carmen eventually left, unable to fulfill what she had planned. Elaine was still very much alive when she left. Worst of all, Carmen revealed that she had told all of what happened to Sam, giving the assistant motive.

Forever Chemicals

If that wasn’t bad enough, while mulling over the case, Morgan recalled that Sam, during the party, had googled, “[gsd ;imhd.”

However, considering Sam’s drunken state, Morgan shifted her finger one key over to show that Sam meant to search for “pfas lung.”

The KanAIRY gave off “forever chemicals,” and PFA exposure can cause asthma. That’s what Elaine was trying to keep hidden. Her device was going to hurt countless kids.

DANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSONDANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

A few scenes later, Karadec and Morgan go to confront the victim’s husband, Eric, and Morgan delivers a verbal smackdown to the cheesiest-looking lawyer.

The Securities Act

Eric was in trouble because he did not disclose the harmful effects of KanAIRy to the investors.

Or, as Morgan put it, section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act does not look kindly on companies with materially false statements in their investor prospectuses. Mic drop.

Derek Richardson’s (A Million Little Things) Eric Barton was paying off the families, but only because he promised to help them by stopping Elaine. However, he couldn’t have killed Elain because he had a solid alibi.

He was busy getting busy in a hotel room with the actual inventor of the KanAIRy.

DEREK RICHARDSONDEREK RICHARDSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

Traditional Chinese Medicine

While examining the device, Morgan noticed that Elaine had used peppermint, ginger, and licorice. Miss Gillory immediately noticed they were three of the eight Xiao Yao San herbs found in traditional Chinese medicine.

In Morgan’s own words, “Elaine’s inventions were all Western-based. Why isn’t she using white-people herbs like chamomile and lavender?”

That’s because Elaine was a big fat liar. She fabricated how she invented the KanAIRy and then paid her friend off for the idea.

Duchenne Smile

Things really didn’t look good for the assistant, Sam. As Morgan noted during the interview of the real KanAIRy inventor, Lynn Chen’s (Grey’s Anatomy) Nina, she used a Duchenne smile that reached her eyes every time Nina mentioned Elaine.

KAITLIN OLSONKAITLIN OLSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

So, neither the husband nor the friend could have been the ones who killed Elaine because they were busy shacking up at a hotel.

All signs seemed to point to poor Sam as the culprit, but Morgan felt something was off, as things usually do when there is more to discover.

Acute Intuition And Two Way Mirrors

Morgan remembered that Sam described Elaine as extremely paranoid during her final weeks. So, as Morgan put it, why in the world would Elaine have a mirror directly behind her desk? Anyone could see what she was working on.

With one simple tap, Morgan showed Karadec that her fingernail could touch its reflection, meaning it was a two-way mirror.

The footage cleared Sam of all wrongdoing because Elaine had tried to attack Sam after the assistant confronted her about the harmful effect of the KanAIRy.

DANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSONDANIEL SUNJATA, KAITLIN OLSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

And just like that, Sam was free, but without Morgan’s help, it could have easily been a case of wrongful imprisonment.

Even On Her Days Off, Morgan’s Mind Is Still Running A Hundred Miles Per Hour, Especially In Life-Threatening Situations

I’d love to say I saved the best for last, but that’s inevitable with a show like High Potential, which gets better with every episode. This one was particularly exciting due to the unexpected hostage situation.

Although the episode delivered on one of the most action-packed cases, it also didn’t require the full breath and weight of Morgan’s massive mind.

If you recall, in High Potential Season 1 Episode 7, she brings Ava to the precinct to check out her job on Morgan’s day off. Amid the cheerful day, the entire building comes under a bomb threat.

Two vets take the precinct, specifically the homicide division, hostage at gunpoint to force the team to fix the wrongful conviction of an innocent man.

ADDISON TIMLIN, MICHAEL TROTTERADDISON TIMLIN, MICHAEL TROTTER
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

Do you think maybe the High Potential writers had the idea for the hostage plot, but then someone said, “You know what would make it even more exciting? If we threw one of Morgan’s kids into the mix.”

It’s fantastic plotting from writers who are not afraid to throw lovable characters into life-or-death situations. However, it explains why Morgan was too eager to help the vets, Brooke and Jeremy.

Keen Eye For Detail

From across the room, Morgan noticed a spot of blood in one of the crime scene photos with a perfect corner. So, we can add super sight to her resume.

This was the first clue that something was missing from the murder scene, and it was the first step in solving the case.

Michael Trotter’s (Law & Order: Organized Crime) Jeremy Davis, the more volatile of the vet duo, is entirely paranoid and has stepped into the role of full-on “ticking time bomb.”

MICHAEL TROTTER, GARRET DILLAHUNTMICHAEL TROTTER, GARRET DILLAHUNT
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

To connect with the other hostage taker, Brooke, Morgan tells her she notices all the signs of a woman trying to have a child, and that’s why Brooke is set on freeing her friend — because they were starting a family together.

Fertility Medications

As Morgan said, prenatal vitamins can dry out the skin, and the spot where fertility hormones are injected can become swollen and even painful.

Little did Morgan know then that she had just found the clue that would ultimately free everyone.

Viewers who saw the episode might remember that the real killer was caught, but Jeremy, the other hostage taker, had wholly given into his paranoia at that point, knocking Brooke out with a blow to the back of her head.

That guy really went from zero to sixty on the stressed-out scale. I suppose it could’ve been a reference to the PTSD that is common among vets, but it feels like the wrong time for representation. We have NCIS: Origins for that.

JAVICIA LESLIE, AMIRAH JOHNSONJAVICIA LESLIE, AMIRAH JOHNSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

So, Jeremy continued threatening the precinct despite the real killer having been caught and the wrongly convicted man freed.

Like a gambler with the best hand in history, Morgan confronted Jeremy and told him straight up that nothing would happen if he detonated the bomb.

Jeremy accused her of bluffing, leading to the most chefs kiss satisfying shut down of the series.

Plastic Explosives Protocol In The U.S.

As Morgan put it, since the 1991 Montreal Convention, all plastic explosives manufacturers in the U.S. are required to include a detection taggant.

That substance isn’t detectable to humans, but it irritates the noses of dogs, both trained and untrained.

KAITLIN OLSONKAITLIN OLSON
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

When Morgan arrived at the precinct that day, she noticed a cop dog sniffing around Brooke and the supposed bomb in a box. As the “bomb” didn’t bother the dog, Morgan knew there was no explosive in the box.

Toxic Chemicals

Instead, Morgan surmised that Brooke brought a broken-down box and reassembled it in the bathroom at the precinct to get past security.

But, just to really stick the landing and get her theory across, Morgan pointed out that no woman trying to get pregnant would risk handling the toxic chemicals that it requires to make a bomb.

Of course, that didn’t stop the idiot from trying to detonate the non-existent bomb. In the end, everyone was safe, and justice was thankfully served.

However, I still think Morgan would have ripped Brooke’s throat out afterward if there hadn’t been cops all around. Her character from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia certainly would have.

ADDISON TIMLINADDISON TIMLIN
(Mitch Hasseth/Disney)

ABC‘s High Potential has delivered seven episodes so far, with each as incredibly written and acted as the last. It’s nuts to think there is still another half of the season to enjoy.

Thankfully, that second half is coming up soon, so keep an eye out for any and all announcements from TV Fanatic.

What was your favorite fact from the first half of High Potential Season 1?

Do you think High Potential will employ the “will-they-won’t-they” formula for Morgan and Karadec?

Please drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I review more episodes of High Potential!

And keep an eye out for High Potential Spoilers, posted before each new episode!

Watch High Potential Online


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