Did High Potential Just Reveal A Long-Con Reason Why Wagner Really Got The Captain Job Over Soto?

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched High Potential’s latest episode on ABC or via Hulu subscription or Disney+ subscription.

As we near the end of High Potential’s Season 2 run on the 2026 TV schedule, it seems clear we aren’t going to get any concrete answers about Roman’s disappearance, but at least the stakes are rising as Morgan and Soto get that much closer to finding new information. The ABC drama recently introduced a most delightful guest star with Jennifer Jason Leigh’s as high-profile fixer Willa, and the casting game somehow got even better in "Turn, Up the Heat" with the arrival of The Penguin and Gen Z vet Clancy Brown.

Despite only popping up for a couple of scenes set in the same location, Clancy Brown’s councilman immediately locked in as a power player, and one whose influence may have guided some of this season’s events from behind the scenes. Because he just happens to be the dear old dad of Steve Howey’s Nick Wagner.

Did Wagner's Father Intentionally Get Him The Captain's Job Over Soto?

For a while now, one of the biggest mid-tier questions regarding High Potential has been "Why did Wagner even take this job?" He doesn't seem to have the innate passion for justice that others at the LAPD have, and often comes across as if he's just going through the motions when he's not oozing suspicious vibes.

He did explain away part of his awkward nature, describing himself as something of an outlier in a family full of power-hungry cops and authority figures. But it wasn't until we met Mr. head honcho Wagner himself that all of the pieces seemed to lock into place.

When Nick first showed up at the hoity-toity club - and after my initial cheers over seeing Brown in the role - I was curious why anyone outside of the LAPD would be interested in gaining Morgan's employment. Of course, learning about his connection with Willa in the final sequence added all the context necessary to grasp that these folks are trying to tamp down any questioning (official or otherwise) into Roman's whereabouts, even if it means taking one of the precinct's most brilliant minds off of the street.

That whole sequence then made me reflect on the entire season thus far, because if Big Papa Wagner just reached out to Nick on Willa's behalf without any issues, is it so wild to think the whole reason Steve Howey's character landed the Captain job over the highly qualified Soto is due to his father's influence? I now don't think it's that wild at all.

If the movers and shakers at Willa's level are made aware when questions are being asked through the grapevine about certain topics (in this case, Roman), it would be logical, if not entirely moral, for such people to take vested interest in who is asking those questions, and who's responsible for supervising that person. (In this case, Morgan.) Regardless of who might have had the accolades and/or talents and been deemed worthy of the gig. (In this case, Soto.)

Not much to read between these lines, amirite?

To be sure, Clancy Brown's scenes didn't fully lean into that idea, and I can't recall any moments when Wagner made it fully sound like he'd been thrust into the position against his wishes for semi-nefarious means. But I guess that's not the kind of thing he'd be open about anyway.

How Much Of A Threat Will Councilman Wagner Be Going Forward?

For all that he seems like he'd love to cut ties with Willa and never have to talk again, she makes it clear that the elder Wagner is tied up in this mess just as much as she is. It's not clear if his involvement stems all the way back to the time of Roman's disappearance, or if he's involved with the prisoner that was helping Soto out, but whatever the case, his hands are clearly dirty.

Of course, it's hard to ascertain just how dirty, given the resounding lack of information we know for sure about Roman's current situation. If the local pol's intentions to run for higher office go well, he could possibly take a legal approach to squashing Morgan's efforts to learn more. But that process would presumably take months to play out, and this crew would likely need to dam up Morgan's inquiries sooner than that.

For now, it doesn't seem like either he or Willa can do much to directly quell L.A.'s finest from barking up the Roman tree, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cpt. Nick starts getting requests from his dear old dad to do something about Morgan. Here's hoping the doting son grows a pair and tells his dad to shove off.

High Potential airs Tuesday nights on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET, but only two episodes are left to go until the season is through. How will we possibly survive until Season 3 arrives later this year?