Saagar Kote
The second season of ABC’s ‘High Potential’ delves deeper into the mystery of the Game Maker, as he continues to play a game of cat and mouse with the LAPD and Morgan. Dealing with the issue of finding her former spouse, Roman, the protagonist finds herself challenged from multiple directions, as the threats of the kidnapper exceed the levels of danger expected. In the previous episode, Daphne and Oz reach a crucial point in their investigation into the whereabouts of Roman, and knock on the door of an unknown man. Meanwhile, as the cops continue to deal with the threats of the kidnapper, the primary suspect himself shows up at the LAPD, which shocks Morgan. He appears to enjoy looking at the confused faces of the cops and stares at the protagonist. This cliffhanger sets things up perfectly for “Checkmate,” the second episode of the second season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Pillsbury Variation of The Queen’s Gambit Declined
Karadec chases Derek as he heads to kill Jason, but the aggressive man parks his car and escapes before the officer catches him. Karadec returns to the station after finding out that the possible Game Maker turned himself in. His driver’s license says his name is Matthew Clark, but the cops don’t find any priors. Daphne and Oz seemingly spot a man who they think might be Morgan’s former spouse, Roman. When interrogated about the kidnapped people, Matthew denies any role in it and asks for Pillsbury cookies instead. Morgan figures out that he is hinting at the “Pillsbury Variation” of the “Queen’s Gambit Declined” chess opening. This indicates that the cops should refuse Matthew’s false sacrifice and free Jason Howard.
Selena and Karadec offer police protection to Jason and tell him that he may no longer be a suspect in Maya Price’s disappearance. Elliott calls Morgan and asks her permission to participate in a talent show, to which she agrees. Matthew seemingly starts to play a game of provocation with the civilian consultant. Selena asks for Morgan’s help due to a sudden bomb threat on a metro bus. Karadec and Morgan head towards the bus, but it turns out to be a fake threat. However, a thumb drive taped to a fake timer shows a video wherein Maya is taken hostage. The victim in the video sings a New Order song called “Bizarre Love Triangle,” which Matthew cleverly referenced earlier to Karadec, referring to his bond with the protagonist.
The Courage of Stanislav Petrov
The bag containing the drive reveals traces of ammonium nitrate, which means that there is a bomb somewhere else. The bag says “Helen of Monaco,” a brand that no one recognizes. When Oz and Daphne send Morgan a picture of the man they are chasing, she says it is not Roman. Selena interrogates Matthew, and he tells the cops to search his apartment if they choose to. Morgan chases clues at the apartment and finds a book about Stanislav Petrov, a former Soviet colonel who had saved the world from nuclear war. This indicates that Matthew is threatening war. Morgan deduces that in Maya’s hostage video, she blinks in Morse code, which leads them towards Jason’s house again. However, the fake timer reaches zero and blows up Karadec’s car after he and Morgan enter Jason’s house.
Jason sees this and hires his own security, since he thinks that even the cops aren’t safe anymore. Selena asks Morgan to go home, and deduces that Matthew deliberately led Jason to abandon police security. Derek starts to follow Jason, and the man, followed by Daphne and Oz, denies knowing Morgan. The protagonist reaches home and talks to her son about his upcoming talent show, and tells him not to fear bullies. When Elliott says that sometimes one should lose the battle to win the war, Morgan thinks that this is the point of the Petrov reference. She heads to Matthew’s place alone to confront him, willing to lose for once, just like Stanislav Petrov. She admits her defeat to Matthew and tells him to stop the game.
The Bizarre Love Triangle Leads to a Rescue
Matthew tells the civilian consultant that he actually doesn’t know where Maya is, but tells her to be careful in his old building with an old elevator, and tells her to take the stairs. Meanwhile, Karadec and Selena trace Derek’s movements and find out that he’s been stalking Jason at a hotel, and they head there to stop anything dangerous from happening. Morgan hears the “Bizarre Love Triangle” song on the third floor and thinks that Maya is behind one of the doors. Derek sneaks up on Jason and pulls a gun on him. Karadec arrives on time and tells him to stop, as Jason’s private security guards also get involved. Morgan finds Maya just before Derek can shoot Jason, and tells her to speak on the phone with personal details, which convinces Derek that she is still alive. He drops his gun, and Karadec arrests him.
Maya thanks Morgan for rescuing her and reunites with her son, Max, at the hospital. The DA still doesn’t find any evidence directly linking Matthew to Maya’s abduction, and the cops struggle to understand how Matthew managed to kidnap Maya without leaving a scratch on her body. This leads the protagonist to Matthew’s house again, where she talks about his mom being arrested for theft when she used to work at a hotel in Bel Air. She even deduces that the kidnapper planted blood at the scene of Maya’s kidnapping to motivate Derek to kill Jason.
A Game of Deception and Revenge
Matthew says that his mom was falsely accused by a rich guest and imprisoned, which is why he wanted revenge against the system that protects the rich. This is why he wanted to see someone like Jason murdered. Morgan deduces that he stole Maya’s blood from a local hospital and tells him that the cops will arrest him soon. Matthew goes out to the balcony and positions himself to jump to his death, and says that his mother died in prison, but he won’t. He jumps, but lands on a safe, inflated landing pod, as planned by Morgan. The cops arrest him on the street for all his crimes.
Later, at the talent show, Elliott performs a beat boxing item, despite some of his schoolmates making fun of him, and gets applause from the audience. Arthur, the man whom Daphne and Oz followed, shows up at the school and tells Morgan that he knows her former husband and that he is scared of the cops. He says that if she decides not to work with cops, she can make contact with him again. Morgan asks him about the backpack he had on when Daphne and Oz followed him, but he leaves without saying anything else. When Ava asks about the strange man, her mother tells her that she doesn’t know who he is yet.
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