‘High Potential’ Season 2 Episode 13 review: “In The Driver’s Seat”

A simple case of breaking and entering goes off the rails surprisingly quickly. High Potential Season 2 Episode 13 is a complex mystery of red herrings and red alarms, one filled to the brim with deviations and turns. This isn’t the first time the ABC series has featured a cast like this, where a secret crime hides within another crime. However, unlike “In The Driver’s Seat”, those cases streamline their narratives instead of only telling us the twists—no need to worry if you get lost with this plot. A lot is going on for Morgan and team this time around.

Turn on your turn signals.

The case of the week during High Potential Season 2 Episode 13 is car theft and collusion. “In The Driver’s Seat” starts the investigation with a mysterious dead body found under a stolen car. However, as the layers are peeled back, the real mystery connects blackmail, people in power, and a messy frame job that would never have worked. At its heart, all of this is done to silence a professor who protests environmental crimes. Are you already lost? So are we.

High Potential shines with its mix of complex and campy cases; it’s their bread and butter. But there reaches a point where there’s too much going on for the sake of the story. “In The Driver’s Seat” takes many hard pivots to redirect the tale, adding new suspects and red herrings along the way. And by the time of the killer reveal, the satisfying feeling of capturing the killer isn’t there. We didn’t earn the buildup of the case, let alone accurately identify who did it.

License to kill.

The dealership owner’s web of blackmail can only be solved if you infer certain clues. For instance, when one of the car robbers’ phone pairs with the stolen car. So, we’re meant to know that the killer’s phone would pair with their car at the murder site? The same goes for inferring that their colleague is a hacker. This case is a collection of small clues that build up to the big mystery. It’s a trick that Murder, She Wrote has done before, but its success fluctuates all over the place. Arguably, only Jessica Fletcher and Morgan Gillory can solve it since they’re piecing it together.

Then there’s the owner’s decision to frame themselves with the dead body. What are they thinking? Placing the corpse at their work only furthers their connection to the murder victim. He can remove all the DNA, but there’s still a well-known feud between them. All the frame job does is hand the body over to the detectives and connect him to the crime. Regardless of the judge and the drug addict, you can’t ignore the person who owns the dealership.

Home is where the heart is.

The true focus of “In The Driver’s Seat” is on the personal lives outside of the case. High Potential takes an active role in building out Morgan’s world, balancing the roles of consultant and parent. Interestingly, this episode teases the possibility that Ava and Elliot will leave the show. With Ava, we’re seeing her mature and consider life plans for school after graduation. It’s a far cry from the rebellious girl from Season 1 searching for her father.

When it comes to Elliot, the scholarship opportunity comes out of the blue. He’s a highly intelligent kid who could earn these great placements, but even Morgan wonders why he’s being recruited. Elliot is only 12 years old; it’s understandable why she doesn’t want her young son to leave the house so soon. It’s sweet that he’s prioritizing the extra time with his mother. Those experiences won’t last forever, and with his sister going to college soon, every minute counts.

Still, we shouldn’t ignore the conversation. Ava and Elliot bring a lot of heart to High Potential; their history fleshes out the show and Morgan’s balance as a mom. If the series considers a world where they’re written off, this could mean Roman’s reappearance is fast approaching. Ava is essential to the big mystery; if she’s heading off to school, she’ll need to know what happened to her dad.

Overall.

“In The Driver’s Seat” is a fast-paced mystery that balances too much and leaves a lot up in the air. The case of the car dealership body isn’t fun or deep enough to keep us invested throughout the many layers. On the other hand, personal development outside the case brings heart and joy. Morgan’s family dynamics introduce a new possibility for High Potential that could have significant impacts. This is the weight of the episode. “In The Driver’s Seat” might’ve been stronger if the mystery had matched the same tone.

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.