If you just finished watching the March 31 episode of “High Potential,” allow us to help you pick your jaw up off the floor. The penultimate hour of Season 2 finally went there with one of the show’s will-they-won’t-they pairings, and while we’re not entirely surprised that it happened, we’re very surprised by how much we enjoyed it.
The episode put Morgan & Co. on the hunt for a team of highly skilled thieves — the very same team that murdered Wagner’s fiancée/partner back in Sacramento, making this an incredibly personal case for him. Too personal? We’d say so, unless it’s protocol for a captain to get drunk at the scene of a crime and for one of his consultants to have to carry him inside his house like a giant, handsome baby.
Wagner got pretty personal with Morgan after she brought him home, recalling the exact moment that his fiancée bled out in his arms. We’ve seen Wagner open up before, but he’s never been quite this vulnerable. And because this isn’t our first time at the TV rodeo, we know what alcohol, vulnerability, and stress inevitably leads to. Sure enough, Wagner clumsily attempted to kiss Morgan, though she wisely excused herself from the premises before things got out of hand. Or, rather, out of clothes.
(Side note: When Morgan brought Wagner back to his house, was there already a roaring fire lit in his living room? We feel like you’re not supposed to have those going when you’re not home.)
Unfortunately, all of the above was nothing compared to the tension that Morgan was about to face. As the only person who had seen a map of the criminals’ base of operations, Morgan got a front-row seat to the LAPD’s ambush, nearly losing her life in the process. Her whole world stopped when one of the thieves held her at gunpoint, only for Wagner to play hero and save her life. Later, when Wagner got his hands on the actual gunman who shot his fiancée, Morgan narrowly stopped him from beating the guy to death.
The events of the day weighed heavily on Morgan, who fought to compose herself in the bathroom mirror, and on Wagner, whom she bumped into in the elevator. All it took was three little words from Morgan (“Are you OK?”) for Wagner to pounce, and she did not put up a fight. When he eventually pulled his lips away from Morgan, he gave his answer (“I am”) before exiting the elevator, leaving her with a lot to consider.
And in typical “High Potential” fashion, Morgan and Wagner’s first kiss came right when Soto and Karadec were poring over a photo of Willa Quinn meeting with Wagner Sr., making them question what role their new captain could be playing in all of this.