Saagar Kote
The second season of ABC’s ‘High Potential’ delves deeper into the intriguing life of Morgan Gillory, a civilian consultant for a group within the LAPD. She apprehends the Game Maker after a clever game of cat and mouse, while also dealing with secrets from her past. With an increasingly curious Ava asking her about the whereabouts of her biological father, Roman, the protagonist finds it difficult to balance her professional and personal lives.
With Arthur revealing too little about Roman, the mystery of the enigmatic character’s past and present intensifies. While Morgan cracks complex cases, she also crosses paths with dangerous individuals, who test her resolve and morality. With Nick Wagner becoming the new captain of Morgan’s department in the LAPD, and Selena Soto dealing with her own aspirations, the power dynamics in the group undergo a shift. The action continues in “Chasing Ghosts,” the sixth episode of the second season. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Scary Halloween Night Gives Way to Murder
On Halloween night, three youngsters dressed in costumes enter the premises of a dilapidated and scary-looking mansion. They encounter a white ghostly figure carrying out a murder within the house. Morgan is woken up by Elliot, who shows her his new science prize ordered online. The civilian consultant reveals that she and Ava are not on talking terms due to emotional difficulties. Morgan and Karadec head to the scary mansion to investigate the murder. The victim is revealed to be Danny Sternblatt, a divorce lawyer working for society’s elite individuals. When Karadec brings up the white figure, Morgan scoffs. They examine the dead body and also find pills on the scene, indicating Danny’s health issues.
The victim is undergoing his own divorce, and his wife, Lorraine, is said to be in London, from where she will be traveling to the US soon. Daphne and Oz enter the scene, and the former talks about an entity called the ghost of Maddie St. Croix.” While Daphne says she doesn’t believe in ghosts, she talks about the Spencer House (the house they are in) and the stories of Maddie St. Croix and Dash Spencer. They are revealed to be a celebrity couple from the 1940s who starred in Screwball comedies. Daphne reveals that after the marriage, Maddie found out that Dash was cheating on her, which led her to take her own life with an overdose of secobarbital. A few months after his wife’s death, on Halloween, Dash fell from the balcony and broke his neck.
The Haunting of Spencer House
The case of Danny’s death seems to resemble the death of Dash, but it is seen by Oz as a mere coincidence. The urban legend about Maddie’s ghost still haunting the house is hinted at by Daphne. The kids who saw Danny’s death come up with a sketch that matches the photos of Maddie from the past. Autopsy reveals that Danny died of a heart attack. Morgan finds salt stones on the scene and deduces that Danny, before his death, used the stones (mineral rocks) to make a “pentacle” to protect himself from a ghost. It is deduced that Danny believed in ghosts and started obsessing over them. Clues lead the cops to Calliope, Danny’s spiritual adviser. Calliope talks to Karadec and Morgan about Danny’s mental health due to his marital troubles, and also talks about the cold spot in the basement.
Morgan, through clues in the house, finds out that Calliope is a fraud who manipulated Danny for money. However, there seems to be no further links between her and the victim’s murder. At the Spencer House, Morgan hears strange noises, but it turns out to be just a rat. Karadec investigates the basement. The civilian consultant finds a bag in an air vent, and the cop finds a white, flowy figure in the basement. The white ghostly figure starts to run and bumps into Morgan. The ghostly figure turns out to be a girl, most probably a thief stealing things from the Spencer House. The civilian consultant comes home for a while to find Ava angry for being grounded, while being invited to a Halloween party.
The Curious Case of Shauna Khurmi
Nick Wagner, the new captain, takes an interest in the case. He interrogates Shauna Khurmi, the ghost-dressed girl, who is revealed to be a CalArts graduate. Wagner says she staged an elaborate plan to trap Danny, but she was probably paid by someone else to do so, who possibly exploited her financial condition. Wagner discreetly reveals to Soto and Oz that he’s just playing her to get clues. Shauna reveals that she tried to save Danny, and Loraine was the one who hired her. Karadec and Morgan head out to meet Lorraine at her office, but run into Paloma Nichols, Danny’s daughter. She says Lorraine is her stepmother. Later, the civilian consultant and the cop interrogate Lorraine, who says she used to have a happy marriage. However, Danny cheated on her, just like Dash did.
Lorraine says she never wanted to kill him, but only wanted to stage a haunting of the house, to make him give it up. She points out that Paloma is a relevant person, as she is the one inheriting the house due to Danny’s death. Morgan looks at handwritten notes from Danny and deduces that he was probably poisoned to death. Lab reports confirm that Danny died due to a potassium-chloride overdose, inducing a heart attack. Oz and Karadec head over to Danny’s law firm to talk to the victim’s colleagues. One of the colleagues shows them Danny’s office, full of sketches of the house. Morgan calls Karadec and tells him that the Spencer House was appraised to be 300 square feet smaller than before when Danny purchased it.
The Intertwining of Diamonds and Love
The size differences between the old and new Spencer House reveal that it could be holding secrets. Morgan brings her entire team to the Spencer House. Karadec, Daphne, and Oz stand by the windows in different rooms of the house with pink paper as Soto and Morgan observe from the outside. Morgan discovers a secret room full of Maddie St. Croix’s old clothes and remnants of her life. Karadec finds a diamond necklace, which is supposedly a necklace purchased by Dash way back in the past to appease his wife after she found out about his affair. At the station, Wagner and Morgan have a heartfelt conversation about marriage. Later, the diamond necklace is revealed to be worth 317 carats and designed in Paris by the famous Ophelia Beaumont and Josephine Beaumont in 1946.
It is revealed to be worth nearly 20 million dollars, but whoever killed Danny didn’t find the time to steal it, since the cops arrived. Morgan makes a breakthrough and says she knows who did it. Wagner announces in a press conference that Lorraine was the one who killed Danny. The house goes to Paloma, who reaches out to Calliope for a cleansing ritual. Calliope requests a few hours for herself in the house and opens the door to the secret room, where she steals the diamond necklace. However, she finds the cops waiting for her, who arrest her instantly. Verbena, the essential oil used by Calliope, is revealed to be the major clue.
Morgan also shows how Calliope poisoned Danny by replacing the pills. Morgan returns home and has a conversation with Ava. The daughter says she is like Morgan in a lot of ways and that they are both very strong-willed. Morgan says she doesn’t want to compromise Ava’s safety while looking for Roman, but understands her feelings. She then allows her daughter to go to the Halloween party. The mother and the daughter open up the bag given to Morgan by Arthur, and begin to go through Roman’s old stuff.
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