With High Potential currently in the midst of its winter hiatus, a fact that many fans are upset about, there's no better time to reflect on what we know while speculating about what we might see for the show's returns for the 2026 TV schedule. And as it turns out, the things we think we already "know" might not be as close to reality as expected.
The midseason finale, titled "The One That Got Away," ended with another romance-related cliffhanger for Kaitlin Olson's Morgan, though it was quite different from where the Season 1 finale cliffhangers left her and Tom. In this case, Morgan finally got into some hot and heavy kissing and clothes-removing with guest star Aiden Turner's new character Rhys. The lip-locking did not seem inevitable, given that Rhys' ego is as sizable as Morgan's memory banks, but that shift made more sense once Morgan realized Rhys might be the villainous art thief.
Turner spoke with Deadline about joining the show in such an esteemed role for an action-packed episode, and he pointed out that he and his significant other were already big fans, making it a no-brainer for him to agree to the role. Being a fan, he wanted to bring the kind of authenticity that he hopes fans were looking for. In his words:
I definitely wanted to make it look good, seem real, and give the fans basically what hopefully they’ve been looking for. You know, after 16 episodes, she hasn’t—she’s got close to having a romance. And I feel like, within the show, you kind of see her longing for a good man.
Morgan seemed to be going in the right direction before she broke it off with JD Pardo’s Tom due to a lack of attention, and then the actor later left the show altogether to take a new role. A lot of fans want her and Keradec to end up together, but I'm not one of those fans. At least not this early in the series, since they'd likely need to stay together to not completely shatter the work dynamic.
Which isn't to say I'm 100% on board with Morgan making a thing out of a fling with Rhys, but I can warm up to it. Especially since the actor himself also wants it to appear as real as can be within the context of the show.
So, I felt like it was a big compliment for me to be the man that was lucky enough to win the audition and to be lucky enough to be on the show with such good writers and a great director, and such a great talent like Kaitlin Olson. And so I really didn’t want to screw it up. So, I really worked hard on trying to make it as authentic and as real as possible.
If Aiden Turner worked that hard to make it real, then one would assume that High Potential wouldn't just burn that bridge by having him actually be the LAPD's target. Morgan second-guessed everything when she saw the scar on his back, but since the episode ended. before any real accusations could be thrown around, does that mean he's actually innocent?
Showrunner Todd Harthan told TVLine that could very well be the case, although he also doesn't say anything with 100% certainty, and teases more unknowns are on the way, saying:
Just because he has a scar, that doesn't mean he's the guy, you don't know! We've got surprises, we've got tricks up our sleeve. We have some pretty interesting twists and turns in the [second] part. It's a really fun ride.
If he doesn't end up being the thief, then Morgan can feel safer in knowing her instincts weren't completely off the mark in this case. But if he is the guy, I hope she doesn't just swear off relationship forever.
High Potential will return to ABC for the back half of Season 2 on Tuesday, January 6.
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