Saagar Kote
The second season of ABC’s ‘High Potential’ delves deeper into the intriguing life of Morgan Gillory, a civilian consultant working for the LAPD. Her brilliance helped her apprehend the Game Maker, who kidnaps people for his own demented sense of revenge. As her professional life goes through its own trials and tribulations, she finds it difficult to cope with sensitive questions about Roman’s whereabouts, which creates complications between her and Ava, her eldest daughter.
As she struggles to find out more about Roman’s fate, she also crosses paths with a man named Arthur, who claims to know more about the protagonist’s long-lost former spouse. The previous episode ended with the introduction of Nick Wagner, the new captain of the LAPD department that Morgan works in. As Morgan tries to balance her professional and personal lives, she finds herself facing unexpected challenges and complex mysteries. These events lead to “Content Warning,” the fifth episode of the second season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Curious Case of Tori Nolan
Two boys fly a drone for fun near a pond, which leads to them accidentally discovering a drowned car and the dead body of a woman inside it. Morgan meets Arthur, who tells her that Roman just asked him to check on Morgan and her children’s safety. When he refuses to disclose more about Roman’s whereabouts, Morgan threatens to investigate his company’s financial mistakes through the LAPD. Soto introduces Captain Wagner to the group of cops, and he says that he is not there to step on anyone’s toes. Karadec and Daphne reveal to the protagonist that Wagner comes from a family of cops and other influential LA figures. Soto gets a call about the dead body found in the pond, after which Morgan and Karadec reach the site.
The body is identified as Tori Nolan, who was seemingly shot to death and drowned in the pond. Morgan finds a gun in the car, and also a key that points at a bar called Hula Hound and a storage unit. She and Karadec head to the storage unit rented out by Tori, where they find multiple passports with different identities and shredded pieces of paper. They also spot boxes full of information about different international cases, which leads the civilian consultant to deduce that Tori was an investigative journalist covering important issues globally. Oz acts weird at the station after meeting the new captain. Daphne informs Karadec and Morgan that Tori worked for a magazine named “Takedown,” which is engaged in exposés.
The Enigma of Darla
It is revealed that the victim always wrote under pseudonyms. A recent selfie of Tori leads Morgan and Karadec towards the location, where they find Cloud House, a content house, and a building where many social media influencers live and use the spot exclusively for content. Morgan, based on Tori’s recent nail extensions and other physical procedures, deduces that she was mostly doubling as an influencer to hide her true profession. The cop and the civilian consultant begin to question the multiple residents of the content house, and find out that Tori assumed the name “Darla” when she lived there. Later, some influences reveal that they played a prank on Tori, which might have led to her death. They show Karadec and Morgan footage where they used a mixture of peroxide, dyed soap, and yeast and planted it in the investigative journalist’s car.
This was done to avenge Tori’s interference in social media promotion of a protein powder called “Live, Laugh, Lift (L3).” However, the prank turned out to be more dangerous than they assumed, and the mixture wrapped the whole car, due to an uncontrolled burst. However, since Tori was shot to death, Morgan and Karadec almost rule out the possibility that the influences killed her. When Phineas, the so-called head of the content house, drives towards the house, he spots the cop and the consultant, following which he speeds away. The protagonist comes home for a while and has a conversation with Ava. She tells her daughter that she spoke with Arthur, and that he might give her a backpack related to Roman. Phineas is apprehended by the cops and brought in for some questions.
The Perspectives of Phineas and Bobby
When questioned by Karadec and Oz about him potentially killing Tori and running an exploitative content house, Phineas denies the charges and also says that he didn’t know that Tori was a reporter. Morgan takes an interest in Phineas’ watch and spots residue of the peroxide and yeast mixture. Phineas confesses that he moved the dead body, but insists that he did not kill Tori. He says he moved the body to ensure that he has no trouble with the landlord of the content house. He also says that he was trying to help boost Tori’s social media by buying bots. Phineas is booked for evidence tampering, but the cops are convinced that he probably didn’t kill her. When the cops and Morgan investigate the victim’s laptop and other details, the protagonist establishes a connection between the protein powder L3 and Tori’s death.
Morgan finds out that the protein powder brand is owned by a man named Robert Romano, AKA Bobby, a man who previously cyber-bullied Tori. Karadec and Morgan visit L3 to talk to Bobby, where he introduces them to his operations manager, Lamar Vulpis. Bobby says that Tori has always targeted him, and also reveals that she called him recently to threaten him about exposing fraudulent aspects of his business. He presents a convincing alibi, but the civilian consultant and the cop consider the possibility that he may have hired someone else to kill the victim. Wagner summons Karadec for a conversation and asks him about his increased number of cases with Morgan. The civilian consultant meets Arthur at a diner and asks him to give her the backpack. However, Ava ends up following her mother to the diner and requests that Arthur tell them the truth about Roman.
The Mystery of Dazzle Kitty
Arthur agrees to give the mother and daughter the backpack at a later time. Meanwhile, Karadec and Oz question Gavin Tillman, the head of Serenity Arms, a house for ex-convicts which Bobby frequently visits. Gavin praises Bobby for being a good man and also says that he was threatened by Tori in the L3 warehouse. After finding out that Bobby had a reason to kill Tori, Karadec and Oz knock on his door, but find him dead, overdosed on a party drug called “Dazzle Kitty.” L3 is suspected to be just a cover for actually shipping Dazzle Kitty. Morgan finds clues that point to the possibility that someone else discreetly drugged Bobby’s drink to kill him and use him to cover up Tori’s murder. This shockingly leads them towards Gavin Tillman again.
Gavin is revealed to be the one who murdered both Bobby and Tori to cover up his own involvement in illegal drug operations. The cops are able to make this deduction through clues and their interrogation of Lamar. Takedown magazine plans to celebrate Tori’s legacy by publishing her last article and printing a tribute. Wagner talks to Morgan in the parking lot, just hoping to break the ice. The civilian consultant heads home and tells Ava that she is still mad at her for following her to the diner. She tells her daughter to be careful and not put her life at risk. The mother and daughter have a fight, during which Ava accuses the civilian consultant of being hypocritical. Later, Morgan finds a backpack delivered to her door, and she goes to her room with it.
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