High Potential Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Does Wagner Want to Dismantle the Team?

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

What is Captain Wagner’s deal?

No doubt about it, I love Steve Howey, and he makes it so easy to be charmed by whatever character he plays, but after High Potential Season 2 Episode 5, I’m no closer to understanding Wagner.

One thing is for sure — the man is obsessed with Morgan!

The case of the week was on the predictable side, albeit with many fun moments.

Has anyone else watched that Tubi Original House of Heat? It certainly put into perspective what the concept of an Influencer house was and how creatives use it to inspire each other and generate content.

The notion that Tori went undercover in such a place to investigate something was fascinating, given the numerous potential areas to explore.

But we had young adults pranking each other in hopes of generating content and something akin to a cover-up because nothing could get in the way of the clicks, not even Tori.

I wish things had stayed on the Influencer route, as it’s timely enough, and there would have been some great opportunities to really make it a satirical reality television type of thing.

But instead, things shifted to the protein powder to drug trafficking pipeline with the poor patsy Bobby.

Tori was involved in some kind of Erin Brokovich-type effort, doing whatever it took to expose the truth about that protein company. And then she crossed paths again with Bobby, whose life she had ruined previously, but this time she set things up nicely.

But ultimately, one sit-down with Bobby, AKA Mr. Legs, had me convinced that it was someone else. The second time, his manager was singing his praises only to shift the blame to him; it was then that it became evident who was really behind everything.

Morgan using soup to figure out that Bobby’s death wasn’t a suicide was amusing to no end, especially when she kept shouting out the flavor as if anyone knew what she was talking about.

Overall, the case itself had some fun moments, but it was the Wagner content and the development in the Roman mystery that stole the hour.

On the Wagner bit, who is this guy and what is he deal? What does he want?

We didn’t get to see what his meeting with Oz was like, but it clearly left Oz confused. He must be angling for Oz to make some career moves of his own.

And with Daphne, he kept pushing for her to take the sergeant’s exam even though Daphne is happy where she is right now. I’m curious as to why Wagner is dismantling the team, supposedly to provide them with the opportunities they’ve earned.

He also has this way of being nice to Soto and slighting her at the same time. The way he took over her office by simply stating it, rather than asking, had my blood boiling.

But it was his interaction with Karadec that confirmed again that it’s Morgan with whom he is obsessed. After all that effort to get Karadec into his office, he didn’t even mention him.

He acknowledged Karadec’s exceptional performance, but he completely shifted everything to Morgan and their partnership. Wagner is fascinated by how their partnership functions, given Morgan’s issues with authority and rules and Karadec’s “by the books” persona.

But what got me was how he spoke about Morgan as if she were some prized possession that he could claim and own, and we all know that’s not Morgan at all.

The reason her arrangement with the team works so well is that it’s specifically with them. It doesn’t apply to just anyone.

And Wagner’s moments with Morgan are so charged. He has such a clear interest in her, and he always comes across as super flirty. But it’s how he seems to know everything about her that’s really throwing me off.

He invited her to read him for filth, and then he seemed to get off on it. It’s as if he wants Morgan to himself in some way. Is he planning to dismantle the entire team and keep his own for himself?

What’s the deal? There’s something so unsettling about Wagner’s interest in Morgan, but he does seem amused that she’s so wary of him.

Poor Morgan already has enough to deal with at home. I loved how she confronted Arthur after the man spent time dodging her calls.

Morgan showing up in those boots, ready to ruin a man? Goals!

But the meeting at the diner was the most interesting. Arthur seems like this reluctant person in all of this, but his softness for Ava is unmistakable.

You can see how her presence affects him, sending him down memory lane with Roman, whom he clearly cared about for a long time.

I love that Asher represents this piece of Roman that Ava never had, so it’s understandable why she’d crash that meeting to meet this man who knows her dad.

It’s doubtful Arthur would’ve caved to giving up the backpack if he hadn’t gotten the chance to speak with Ava, seen so much of her father’s spirit in her, and wanted to give in.

But Morgan is right about Ava not listening to her about these things. All she wants to do is protect her daughter, but there are still too many unanswered questions about what drove Roman to leave and why he hasn’t returned to them yet.

She cannot protect Ava properly if Ava wants to channel her inner Morgan and go rogue. I completely understand Morgan’s perspective, and it’s a difficult situation that causes friction for both of them.

And now we have to wait on pins and needles to see what is in that backpack and if it’s anything that can get us any closer to unraveling this Roman mystery that is driving many of us mad!

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