‘High Potential’ Season 2 Episode 12 review: “The Faust and the Furious”

Eternal life is the most complex mystery that Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and team have faced yet on ABC’s High Potential. “The Faust and the Furious” explores the idea of extending life and one person’s ambition to achieve it. On the surface, the detective team can easily unravel the corporate corruption happening within the victim’s company. But when we’re dealing with a genius tech billionaire and robots, Morgan, Karadec, and co., enter new territory here. “The Faust and the Furious” hits emotional highs with some surprising special effects in the mix.

The pursuit of longevity.

Everyone loves a good mystery, including a locked-door mystery. The detectives must set aside all their assumptions and figure out what’s possible even when it seems impossible. How can the victim be murdered when they’re in a locked room (and home) with personalized access codes? In this case, it’s science tech billionaire Gabe Rafferty, the founder and CEO of GeneGevity. Gabe is a man with high ambition, someone who wants to cheat death and be young forever. However, he’s also a man of many enemies, both corporate and personal.

Throughout “The Faust and the Furious”, High Potential does a great job reaffirming his meticulous schedule. The pacing emphasizes how hard it would be for someone to kill him. And even if they got past all the security codes, Gabe is in peak health. He wouldn’t be someone to kill easily. Sure, there are plenty of people who want him dead, but access is the biggest question. The central problem is a great mystery that feels well thought out and well developed across every element of the case.

Creating a safe space.

Gabe’s technology is a great added touch to the mystery. High Potential Season 2 Episode 12 uses the high-tech setting to challenge the detectives in figuring out how and why the murder happens. “The Faust and the Furious” teases several red herrings that steer the thread away, but ultimately, this case is about Gabe’s personal and corporate ambitions. The technology spices up the surprises, and High Potential treats us to a scene of Morgan and Karadec interrogating Gabe’s AI persona. Who doesn’t love Morgan bouncing quips with an AI circle?

In particular, the most emotionally gripping moment is when Morgan breaks down in the meditation room. Throughout High Potential’s run, we’ve seen her in control and barreling through each case like a force of wind. Lieutenant Soto, Daphne, Oz, and everyone go along for the ride, keeping up the strong momentum each episode. Here, we see Morgan feel the true weight of these dangerous situations and how limiting her high IQ can be in real-life hurdles. No amount of unpacking is going to help her escape a locked room filled with poison.

Olson is incredible, capturing Morgan’s sensory panic and overwhelming dread. The same goes for Daniel Sunjata (Karadec), who comforts her and gives her a safe space to calm her mind. There’s love and care in the hug that transcends the moment. It’s very reminiscent of an iconic Survivor 48 scene, where castaway Joe helps Eva calm down after a stressful challenge. In Morgan/Karadec’s case, their friendship is a bond greater than what they might ever say. Through all the jokes and sitcom shenanigans, they understand and truly care about one another.

Two heads aren’t better than one.

Now, for the big murderer reveal. This reveal feels like it was pulled from the pages of Murder, She Wrote. How are we supposed to see the scar on the sister’s chest in the photo? And the connection is too ambiguous to make sense of. Granted, Renata’s education in textiles and history is the type of throwaway line that always comes back. Somehow, Morgan would find a way to piece together the assistant’s skills.

On the other hand, tech start-up owner Micah screams villain. Between the house codes and Gabe 2’s shutdown, it would take a genius to sabotage those pieces. It makes sense that “The Faust and the Furious” has two killers instead of one, beyond the corporate reasoning. This case can’t be solved with one killer – there has to be one person on the ground level to commit and one to affect the tech. Gabe killing himself to avoid the poison is a red herring to throw us off; High Potential smartly played the pieces to steer us off course.

Family matters.

Outside of the case, “The Faust and the Furious” creates strong character moments for Karadec and Oz. Karadec’s complicated romance with Lucia has affected him long before the series premiere. Their reunion thankfully repairs a wound that he’s carried since the beginning, and it gives him a chance to find happiness. Lucia and Karadec have a sweet tenderness together. Let’s cross our fingers this doesn’t end in heartbreak once again.

With Oz, it’s a good choice for High Potential to flesh out his background. Unfortunately, he and Daphne get stuck in supporting roles during investigations; they don’t get much of the spotlight, as Morgan, Karadec, Soto, etc., take up the scenes. Oz, dealing with his father’s death and funeral, paints a fuller picture of what he’s dealing with in the outside world. But also importantly, the urgency to care for his mother as she navigates a world without Oz’s father. Hopefully, we get more of these character moments. We see everyone in their work mode, but these layers are essential to see them as full-fledged characters with wants and needs.

Overall.

“The Faust and the Furious” presents an interesting mystery that blends technology into a locked-door case. The investigators share fun surprises with the reveals, but the true heart comes from the deep character moments. Morgan and Karadec’s comfort in the meditation room is standout impactful moment for all of High Potential. And the inclusion of Oz’s family helps to round out his role in many needed ways.

High Potential airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.

Images courtesy of ABC.

Justin Carreiro

Justin is a fun-loving geek living in downtown Toronto, Canada. He’s an avid TV buff, movie fan, and gamer. He’s written for publications like Entertainment Weekly’s The Community, Virgin, TV Fanatic, FANDOM, The Young Folks, and his blog, City Boy Geekiness.