‘High Potential’ Season 2 finale review: “Family Tree”

A major cliffhanger is about to tear Major Crimes apart! ABC’s High Potential toys with our emotions in the final act of “Family Tree”, leaving us wondering about Nick’s fate. Will he live? Will he die? We’ve been so focused on the Roman mystery that we didn’t predict how much it would blow up in our faces. By the end of “Family Tree”, Morgan and team are left to pick up the pieces of one big twist and one emotionally revealing case.

Reaching the rooftop.

This case of the week hits close to home for Karadec. Sure, Morgan and team play their parts, but he takes center stage for all the emotional hits. On the surface, the mystery of a murdered TV home improvement celebrity is easy enough to understand. A messy marriage, an expensive hotel roof, and the disappearance of key evidence (i.e., the security footage). All of this together creates a juicy story that fits right at home on High Potential. In another world, the cheating husband or someone in his group would’ve been the killer. The need to protect the TV image and cash flow is strong enough to write the entire case. Instead, “Family Tree” throws us a curveball.

Cleverly, High Potential goes for the emotional cut. From the get-go, Lucia seems very concerned and worried, more so than just having this affect her job. Something about her story seems suspicious. The back-and-forth dynamics between Morgan and Karadec shine as their strongest character moments. Even Karadec, who is stoic and calm, has his moments of emotional stubbornness, especially when it comes to his love, Lucia. While she didn’t commit the murder, her involvement as an accessory unravels all the goodwill she builds through the season.

Secrets and lies.

Are you sad to see Lucia and Karadec break up? For a short, glimmering moment, Karadec had hope for their future. He wants to be with her, but the secrets can’t be forgiven. He is a no-nonsense guy who expects his partner to be honest, which is very valid!

Lucia’s decisions throughout “Family Tree” are baffling because of the level she goes to downplay the situation. Let’s not forget that she tries to cover up a murder! This is all on top of the countless crimes she lets her con-artist ex-boyfriend commit throughout Los Angeles. Even when captured, she still lies in Karadec’s face and downplays her involvement.

What hinders High Potential’s Season 2 finale is the obviousness of the Lucia twist. High Potential wants to get her out of the way to keep the Morgan/Karadec relationship possibility still alive. As Lucia explains herself and how she got involved, it doesn’t make sense in the long-term. She keeps helping her ex with no resolution in sight – she keeps trapping herself in a worse situation. This twist feels like an easy way to remove her from the plot and Karadec’s world.

The truth of the past.

The Roman storyline takes a shocking left turn, one that many of us likely didn’t guess. Did anyone predict that he is a villain? It’s a devastating emotional blow for Morgan, especially since her main reason for joining Major Crimes is to find Roman. Now, for him to be Lyla Flynn’s murderer sheds new light on all the secrecy and shady actions by Willa Quinn. Someone wanted Lyla dead – someone powerful enough to make this all happen.

We’ll still need to keep caution against Willa and Nick Wagner Sr. Sure, she helps Major Crimes with the new evidence, but we’re talking about Willa Quinn! She has the power to get things done; if she wants to, she could ruin everyone. Even her heart-to-heart with Morgan feels like something is hiding beneath the surface. Their chemistry is incredible, but we can’t decide if she’s truly a frenemy or an anti-villain yet.

Speaking of chemistry, poor Captain Wagner. Nick Jr. wants to help Morgan get the truth. However, the second he threatens his father and Willa, his fate is sealed. Why go after two powerful people with lots of connections?! His attacker is most likely someone who wants to keep him quiet, either about Roman or simply about his father/Willa. Hopefully, he survives the attack, but he’s losing a lot of blood. The odds aren’t looking too good for him.

Overall.

“Family Tree” is a jam-packed emotional Season 2 finale. Karadec deals with a heavy emotional loss, while Morgan suffers the painful reality about Roman. But the heaviest weight? The cliffhanger. This is a turning point for High Potential; a moment that shifts the momentum of the next season’s story. It’s heartbreaking for our favorite detectives, but it’s electrifying and will keep us guessing until we’re back.

High Potential Season 2 is now streaming on ABC and Disney+.

Images courtesy of ABC/Disney.

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.