It can be challenging to adapt a best-selling book series to television, but Will Trent has succeeded in keeping the heart of the characters and telling fun weekly mysteries.
Will and Faith deepen their working relationship as they solve a murder near Lake Lanier on Will Trent Season 1 Episode 3. When Amanda joined them, it was apparent how quickly the GBI had become a family if anyone tried to hurt them.
The citizens tried hard to bury a 30-year cold case, but secrets can get out.
While the case-of-the-week kept us on our toes, the episode included too many tropes, including fear of racism, a dementia patient, a murder cover-up, and a dirty cop plotting revenge.
It almost felt as if the writers combined too many of Karin Slaughter’s plotlines into one episode. All of those tropes served their purpose but could have been explored even more if there weren’t so many of them.
Initially, I thought that Dale Merrick committed the mayor’s murder. There was something so heartbreaking seeing an elderly dementia patient repeatedly apologize while watching that boat burn.
Will: And they set his boat on fire. That’s dramatic. Do you think someone was making a statement, maybe political?
Faith: Or it was ghosts? It’s Lake Lanier. They got land and cemeteries that someone just plowed over them, and for what a tourist spot?
My heart broke the most for him out of all the people. He carried a secret for over 30 years to protect his family, and that guilt destroyed him.
Trying to remember facts is a struggle for those that have dementia, but it’s nearly impossible when you’re trying to remember what you’re allowed to say and what you’re not.
Things kept confusing him. He only told the truth when he came face-to-face with the grown-up version of the baby he rescued all those years ago. Maybe that’s why he was so kind to Josie.
Part of the frustration of this case was that it took so long to realize it was a cold case, and so many locals purposely sent the GBI in the wrong direction.
Will: What do you think the man was involved in?
Mechanic: Think? Brother, I know. He was one of the lizard people.
Much of the DNA was burned with the boat, except for the bloody nail that Will found.
All they had to go on was a toy car that tied the two murders together.
The mayor, the hunter, and the family killed in that station wagon are all connected. Let’s find out how.
Amanda
The deputy kept letting clues slip, such as the hunter wasn’t wearing a vest or where the overflow of evidence was kept, which helped Will and his team find the needed evidence,
I wish they hadn’t made Josie a dirty cop. I genuinely enjoyed her rapport with Faith and Amanda and seeing strong women support each other in the law force.
We need more women empowering women than the shock value of a dirty cop getting her revenge.
I would have preferred that Josie had shot Otis indeed to protect Faith, and she wanted to find the fourth shooter to solve the case. Understandably, she wanted justice for her family, but now both sheriffs of Lake Lanier were dirty.
It worked that both Amanda and Faith tried to talk her down. Amanda told her that Faith was her family and no one hurt her family, while Faith didn’t want her to be forgotten.
This murder case was the hardest on Faith. She believed that Lake Lanier was haunted by dead souls for which nobody wanted to find answers.
Faith always seemed strong, so seeing her shaken by the sound of guns or a town was difficult.
She and Josie bonded over their experiences as black women on the force, and they related on the same level instead of having Will mentor Faith.
Sheriff Josie: Talk about being overconfident.
Faith: Oh, you have no idea.
So, it crushed her knowing Josie killed those men and only joined the force for revenge. Even knowing that Faith wanted to prevent Josie from becoming a forgotten ghostly soul, which was Faith’s worst fear.
There is nothing like a road trip and sharing a motel room with your partner to make you bond. It’ll bring you closer together or make you hate each other by the end.
Faith has seemed more stressed out lately and needs more junk food; even her son and Will have noticed she snaps more easily. When Will finally opened up about his time in foster care, I had hoped she would confide about whatever was causing her issues.
Will: I didn’t say it was a perfect system. Growing up in the children’s home, you learn to bury your feelings quickly. Sometimes it comes up in an active kidnapping case or when you’re grocery shopping.
Faith: That is the most personal thing you’ve ever told me.
Their partnership works because they force each other to be honest about their lives, including their walls. Faith made Will recognize that Angie might be unhealthy for him.
Hopefully, Faith will trust Will with her personal issues as their partnership progresses. At least he knew chocolate ice cream was her favorite comfort food.
We finally got some headway on Angie and Michael’s relationship. While inviting your new partner to dinner may be customary, Michael shouldn’t have harassed Angie about it at work. It put her on the spot that even their witness overheard.
Michael appeared like a man used to getting his own way since even Angie had seen his temper and knew he used excessive force. That worried me since he’s a family man now.
Thankfully, Gina was direct. While she followed protocol, she wouldn’t let Angie steal her man.
Who didn’t see Angie running straight to Will’s right when he realized they make the same mistakes? I was relieved Angie finally opened up about her one-night stand and her fears because she used to keep as many walls up as Will did.
Now that we’ve learned a bit more about the main characters and how they solve cases, it will be exciting to see how the rest of the season plays out.
Are you a Will and Angie fan or a Michael and Angie fan? Are you enjoying Faith and Will’s partnership? Comment below:
To catch up on all the GBI cases, watch Will Trent online via TV Fanatic.
Will Trent airs on Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.