Note: This story contains spoilers from “High Potential” Season 2, Episode 7.
While Kaitlin Olson’s Morgan and Steve Howey’s captain Nick Wagner were warming to one another through “High Potential” Season 2, the mid-season finale saw their relationship take a turn when the new chief scolded Morgan for tampering with evidence and iced her out of the museum heist investigation.
Their confrontation sets Morgan ablaze and pushes her closer to fellow consultant Rhys (Aiden Turner), who go blow off some steam together at a local bar. After a couple shots, Morgan channels her frustration into hooking up with Rhys in a risqué scene showrunner Todd Harthan admitted was “nerve-wracking” to film, explaining “we don’t go there a lot … but when we do, we’re going to try to make sure that we’ve thought it through.”
“Morgan is very guarded … she’s got three kids and an important job,” Harthan told TheWrap. “It was this snowball effect of the Wagner moment and the pressure of the case and the confusion of that, and her anger and fury, and then also her weird charming attraction to this mysterious man she’s standing across from, and a few shots at a bar.”
Mid-hookup, however, the reality of the case starts to dawn on Morgan as she realizes she’s almost sleeping with the enemy, and is saved by a call from Karadec about the case. “That beautiful brain is on fire,” Harthan said, teasing that it takes a lot to reel her in once she’s in that “heightened state.”
Morgan’s realization will lead into where “High Potential” picks up when it returns in January, with Harthan noting that “the beauty of her partnership with Karadec is there are people in her orbit that balance her and bring her back down to earth and calm her down.”
“It’s always fun to put the character in that headspace,” Harthan said. “We can’t do it every episode obviously, but you give Kaitlin Olson those really charged, complicated, emotionally heightened scenes and they’re always incredible standouts.”
The back half of the season will also delve further into the Roman mystery, which took a turn when an unknown man entered the picture in the fall finale, with Harthan promising the show will start “crossing paths with people that know some things and maybe even some people that were there.” The questions that start getting answered, this time, however, arise more from Ava than Morgan, who Harthan said picks up the baton on the situation.
Below, Harthan teases peeling back the layers on Nick more, reveals wild fan theories about the new character and whether Nick’s chemistry with Morgan could be something more. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
TheWrap: The midseason finale really kicks up the conflict between the new captain Nick and Morgan. What is it about their relationship that is so prime for conflict?
Harthan: He’s just a wild card. I think that the lesson is, don’t let your guard down, don’t trust him too quickly. I love playing with that part of this character, which is, who is he? What is he? Where does he come from? What is his agenda? I wanted there to be a serious bump, especially for the two of them, because that seemed to be the relationship that was running the smoothest. Why would he do that? Was it strategic? Did he have some other motive for why he wanted to do it, and why there, in front of everybody else, is something we’re going to prosecute in the next episode, specifically Karadec … we’re really going to start peeling back the layers of that character in the back half. I know we’re making the audience wait for it, because he’s just so hard to read.
What were some of those early conversations with Steve about his character like?
I basically asked Steve to be patient with me, because I said, “Listen, there’s a good chance that the audience doesn’t like you — you got a job that somebody they love got passed over for, and your character has a weird energy and a lot of demons and things that you’re not going to unpack with people you just met, so it’s going to take a minute for that to come out of you, why you are the way you are, what makes you tick … are you a hero? Are you a villain? Are you something in between? Seeing if you’re an empathetic leader or a selfish leader, you have to wait — just go on this ride with me and we’ll pay it off in the back half … but for a while there, you’re probably got to deal with some internet threads that aren’t people don’t like you very much.”
What’s the audience feedback for his character been like so far?
I think they’re nervous. There’s some crazy theories out there … somebody was like, I think he’s the one that took Roman. That’s crazy. But I think people are all over the map with who he is, because he really is a walking mystery. But I was scared of the down the middle, black-and-white captain that comes in — I like messy and complicated, and he’s definitely both.
So is Morgan.
That’s why they have a little bit of chemistry …
Could there be something between them?
I think there is. There’s a specific reason why we have that scene in the Halloween episode in the kitchen where they’re talking about … marriage and love turning toxic and things like that. They get into a little bit of a personal conversation, and it’s the first time where he gives you a flicker and a flash of something he reveals about himself, but it’s a little flirtatious, right? There’s a little bit of a back and forth and a banter that hopefully isn’t overdone, but is the promise that, “oh well, maybe.” As long as the audience is going, “maybe,” then I’m happy.
The Nick and Karadec pairing this episode was interesting. Where does Karadec stand in accepting him, especially when he tells Nick he’s got Morgan’s back?
He doesn’t accept him at all. He’s actually surrounded by strong women — he’s got Soto over here, Morgan over here and Daphne right here. It’s like this triangle, and they protect him and he protects them, and this guy is kind of a threat to all of them. Karadec is putting himself last on that list, but he is weary of this guy and 100% keeping a close eye on them.
That was a pretty elaborate car chase, and more than we usually get to see on network TV. What was it like filming that?
We don’t do a lot of those on this show, because they’re expensive, time-consuming, and unless there’s some fun to be had, I don’t like to do action for the sake of action … it doesn’t really fit necessarily in the show. But in that instance, because it was those two guys in two different cars, and we got some of the banter between the two of them, it was worth doing.
Nancy Howard and the team did a great job — it was a lot of plotting, a lot of planning and resources went into that. I think it turned out pretty good.
The Roman situation has created some interesting dynamics between Morgan and Ava. What’s it been like developing that out?
[We’ve had] lots of conversation, not just with the staff, but with Kaitlin, and ultimately with Amira, talking about what is the honest, real, raw, surprising approach to Ava’s role in this thing? What doesn’t feel like the super trope-y TV version? For us, it’s always messy and and there’re going to be things on this journey that Morgan regrets that she wishes she would have done differently, and the same thing for Ava.
In the back half, it’s going to get even trickier and more dramatic and harder as you start trying to reconcile what this would mean if and when we actually find this guy, who is he? What is he? Is this going to be a blessing or a curse or some combination of both? And from Morgan, the fear of a mother going, “oh my god, the dream of of getting answers, but oh man, what if it’s not the answers we want?” That’s the emotional artery.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“High Potential” returns with new episodes Jan. 6 on ABC. Past episodes are now streaming on Peacock.
