The High Potential’s season 1 cases and take down a dozen culprits.
In contrast, the villain got away in High Potential’s season 1 finale, and it seems David has no plans of stopping his reign of terror. Based on his track record, including abducting Oz and trapping him in a drowning trap, locking a civilian in an airless safe, and depriving a diabetic man of his insulin, David’s return in High Potential season 2 will surely be a high-octane event. Based on the clues left behind in the season finale, however, his next victim will serve a specific purpose and taunt a specific High Potential Intellectual in season 2.
David Promised To Return In The High Potential Season 1 Finale
The Kidnapper Left The Genius An Unsettling Message
David’s return in High Potential season 2 is more than a probability, however. The kidnapper outright promised he’d be back when he gave Morgan a pack of cards with a cryptic message in the High Potential season 1 finale. The cards slipped into her family’s groceries in plain sight and had a sticker on the back, calling Morgan “the one” and vowing she and David would “play again.” Considering the types of games David played in his first showing, it was a disconcerting message for the genius who helped solve his three riddles.
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What’s worse is the LAPD has no idea who David is, including what his real name is. The kidnapper was smart enough to steal details from another person’s life and pose as them to gain entry into the grief group. The LAPD wasted time and resources searching for the real David, only to hit a brick wall once they did. Truly, David was always one step ahead of the LAPD. He even watched the team solve his traps in real time by stalking the crime scenes, which is where his obsession with Morgan began.
David Wants Morgan As A Rival, Not A Victim
The Villain Won't Be Able To Target Her Directly
Despite Morgan being singled out by the kidnapper, it isn’t herself that she should be concerned about. After watching her impressive detective work throughout episode 13, David became enamored with Morgan’s intellect, appreciating how her genius-level IQ deconstructed his puzzles and challenged him to improve. David’s focus even shifted to Morgan entirely, stalking her meetings with Gio Conforth (Domenick Lombardozzi) just as closely as he stalked the investigation. David even familiarizes himself with Morgan’s family, growing comfortable enough to approach them in broad daylight in High Potential episode 13.
David just wants to play, and Morgan makes a good opponent.
Nevertheless, Morgan’s response to David’s traps is what excites him, not just Morgan as a person. As such, he wouldn’t target Morgan directly in his High Potential season 2 plan since David craves Morgan’s competition and needs her to investigate to be fulfilled. As the High Potential season 1 finale indicated, David’s motivation is deceptively simple and simply chilling: David just wants to play, and Morgan makes a good opponent. The titular genius shouldn’t be relieved, however, because David can easily target someone close to her instead.
David's Options To Go After Morgan's Loved Ones Are Limited
The High Potential Intellectual Has A Small Inner Circle
To keep the genius consultant in the game, David can target a proxy to get under Morgan’s skin. Unfortunately for Morgan, there are very few people in her life to choose from. High Potential has become a close professional partnership, but it’s unlikely David would get the upper hand on the seasoned police detective. Following Oz’s abduction and near-death experience in High Potential season 1, episode 13, Karadec will probably be on even higher alert and, therefore, become a more difficult target.
All episodes of High Potential are streaming on Hulu.
Meanwhile, Morgan has three children she loves more than anything: her eldest, Ava (Amirah J), her son Elliot (Matthew Lamb), and baby Chloe. Ava was previously endangered in High Potential season 1, episode 7, when a hostage situation at the police station goes awry, though she’s quickly extracted from the crisis and removed from peril. Consequently, it seems unlikely that High Potential will use Morgan’s children as bargaining chips, considering how young they are. Kidnapping Morgan’s children with the express intent of killing them would add a dark layer to David’s storyline, very out of place in the carefully balanced procedural.
Targeting Ludo Would Be David’s Best Move In High Potential Season 2
Morgan's Ex-Husband Would Be The Perfect Pawn
With Morgan’s kids in High Potential in relative safety due to their age, that leaves one obvious target for David’s evil plan: Ludo Radovic (Taran Killam). Ludo is Morgan’s ex-husband and the father to Elliot and Chloe, though he stands in as a father figure for Ava as well. Throughout High Potential season 1, Ludo was Morgan’s rock, constantly ignoring his duties and needs to the family. Ludo worked around Morgan’s schedule, taking care of the three kids for days on end. Though exhausting, it was a testament to Ludo’s dedication to his family.
Ava's father is Roman Sinquerra, Morgan's missing ex, who was confirmed to be alive in High Potential's season 1 finale.
In fact, Ludo’s character in High Potential is by far the most heroic as far as ensemble go. High Potential made Ludo the most prominent character outside the main cast, making him sympathetic enough to be beloved while keeping him just distant enough to remain in the background. Although David’s grand plan is still unknown, it’s most likely that he will force Ludo into the forefront as a victim— either the first abduction to set the mood or his main trap to up the ante for Morgan in High Potential season 2.
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ittedly, Ludo seems almost too perfect a target. Unlike most of the characters, Ludo isn’t in law enforcement, meaning he doesn’t have the training necessary to neutralize a trained criminal. Morgan depends on him and, though their romance is over, loves Ludo as a co-parent. Even the thought of losing Ludo could be a turning point for Morgan in High Potential, and whether David’s plan succeeds could be the determining factor in Morgan’s future character development. Still, David’s morbid creativity means there’s no predicting what he’ll do when he returns in High Potential season 2.
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High Potential
- Release Date
- September 17, 2024
- Network
- ABC
Cast
Morgan
Daphne
WHERE TO WATCH
- Creator(s)
- Drew Goddard
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