This week’s episode is a strong installment that finally delivers a major piece of information about what happened to Roman. It also continues to show the complex growing feelings between Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), while throwing a wrench into the Roman investigation. “Change of Plans” gives some excellent setup for the last two episodes of the season, spelling an exciting and suspenseful conclusion to Season 2 ahead.
In ‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 16, Major Crimes Investigates the Murder of a Tagger
A graffiti tagger named Tyler Villanueva, known by the tag name of D’Fnkt, is found dead and draped over the side of an unconventionally-shaped building called Encase. Morgan and Karadec learn that Tyler had just tagged the inside of the building before he was killed. He had been tagging over someone else’s complete piece, so they suspect that Tyler was killed because of it. Morgan reaches out to her old friend Nicole (June Carryl), a professor and former tagger knew both Morgan and Roman back in the day. Nicole tells Morgan and Karadec that Tyler tagged over the work of a tagger named Cyclops. Daphne (Javicia Leslie) and Oz (Deniz Akdeniz) then find Cyclops, whose real name is Anton.
Anton tells them that he and Tyler had called a truce because they’d both been anonymously paid to tag the building together. Morgan and Karadec bring in the architect, Gerald Lee (Alex Quijano), to ask him questions. Lee tells them that he wasn’t going to get to finish Encase, and it was going to be torn down by developers. The graffiti brought the property’s value down just in time for a private sale by a man named Brad Latmore. As it turns out, Latmore paid Tyler and Anton to tag the building so that he could buy it. When he didn’t pay Tyler right away, Tyler tagged his garage. Latmore ultimately paid them both in full, though, and it’s clear that he is not the killer. Morgan and Karadec go to check out the building again. It’s very hot in there, and the building has been filled with propane tanks and a glove full of gasoline that could cause an explosion at any second.
Karadec sends Morgan out of the building. There is a small explosion, but the building is still intact, and Karadec is all right except for a head injury. Later, Major Crimes realizes that someone tried to burn down the building, and Tyler caught them while he was there tagging, so they killed him. Wagner steps in to help with the case in Karadec’s absence, and he and Morgan get a look at a model of Encase that leads Morgan to realize that the building was built poorly. Encase is positioned so that the concrete side of the building gets the most light, making the building hot, and risking a structural collapse. The glass side was supposed to face that way, but the original clients made a last-minute change and messed it up. Morgan realizes that Lee tried to burn down just that side of the building so that he could redesign it, and he killed Tyler for catching him in the act. After the arrest, Nicole goes to thank Morgan, and she brings her a Frida Kahlo book for Ava (Amirah J) that Roman gave Nicole back in the day.
‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 16 Furthers Complicates the Morgan and Karadec Love Triangle
Karadec and Lucia (Susan Kelechi Watson) have a dinner planned for that night. Lucia just bought a house in LA, and she and Karadec have already spoken about him potentially moving in with her soon, so they’re going to celebrate. When Karadec tells Morgan, she is thrown off, and she clearly feels conflicted about this news. Later, when Karadec gets hurt in the Encase explosion, Morgan is terrified for him. Lucia goes to visit Karadec at the hospital, where he initially mistakes her for Morgan when he’s first coming to, and Morgan is being very demanding and attentive throughout his recovery.
It’s especially clear in these moments with the three of them just how in sync Morgan and Karadec are, and how Lucia can see it as well. Still, Lucia and Morgan are both kind to one another, and they’re just worried about Karadec. Later, while Morgan is finishing up the investigation into Tyler’s murder, Lucia is still at the hospital with Karadec. Karadec gets food from the restaurant they were supposed to go to delivered to the hospital for the two of them. Over dinner with Lucia, he tells her that he loves her, and she says it back. As for Morgan, she makes sure to include Karadec in the victory by taking a piece of evidence to the hospital to show him.
‘High Potential’ Season 2, Episode 16 Reveals One Person Behind Roman’s Abduction
This episode starts off with Willa Quinn in LA now, lurking around to make sure that Selena can’t get any information out of Eric Hayworth (John Pyper-Ferguson). Willa shows up to the station, where Selena meets with her. Willa wants to silence Hayworth, and she pretends to offer to help Selena with Roman’s case in exchange. Selena tells Willa that there are coded messages on the Blackberry from Roman’s backpack that match the day and time he disappeared. Willa pretends to be oblivious, but Selena can tell that she is afraid. Later, Wagner meets with his father to talk. Wagner Sr. tells Wagner that he’s launched a panel to look into corruption, and he wants Morgan to join. Wagner knows that Morgan won’t want the job, but he also knows better than to fight his dad on this one.
Wagner offers the job to Morgan, and she, expectedly, declines it. Later, when he pushes the issue again, she calls him out and he tells her the truth. Wagner very well may be innocent after all, but his father definitely isn’t. Later, Willa gets Hayworth moved to an FBI facility for his possible knowledge related to the murder of Lila Flynn, the FBI agent whom Roman was informing to, and who was killed around the time he was abducted. Then, Willa meets up with Wagner Sr. As it turns out, she’d asked him to move Morgan away from Major Crimes in the first place. Willa then tells Wagner Sr. that they’re in this together, and that he’ll go down if she does. This confirms that Wagner Sr. was directly involved in what happened to Roman, and that he was likely the one who hired her to get rid of Roman. It would have been a better reveal if he’d been introduced sooner, but it’s still a strong twist that will likely make for an explosive end to the season.
High Potential airs Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. EST on ABC.