Why High Potential's Latest Break In Roman's Disappearance Is Exactly What This Show Needed

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched High Potential’s latest episode, “Pie in the Sky,” on ABC or via Hulu subscription, so be warned!

By and large, Kaitlin Olson’s Morgan Gillory and her extreme brainpower have been the biggest hook for ABC’s High Potential, and for good reason, as no murderer seems clever enough when Morgan’s working the case. However, all that focused build-up dedicated to just one personality can have the consequence of other lead characters feeling underused and only there to color the plot numbers. As such, the latest episode “Pie in the Sky” feels like a big step in the right direction, with Judy Reyes’ Soto and more stepping up.

One of the most popular dramas airing on the 2026 TV schedule, High Potential has already been renewed for Season 3, and I think the latest steps taken in solving the long-missing Roman mystery are exactly the beats that I think this show has needed to dig into more to make it worth keeping on the air for as long as can be.

Soto Finally Gets To Step Up And Be A Boss

WIth all due respect to everyone involved, I've wondered since Season 1 why High Potential looped in a class act like Judy Reyes to play a role that has (at least prior to Ep 215) been somewhat generic and passive. Far, far too many episodes have featured scenes where Soto presents a possible solution or next step to take in a case, only for that option to get instantly deflated by Morgan or one of the actual detectives. It makes my eye twitch every time.

Thankfully, Morgan's ongoing mystery involving her missing ex presented a prime opportunity for Soto to rise to the spotlight that Reyes is always deserving of. She went off on her own across the entire country to bravely force a few minutes of face-time with Willa Quinn, a powerful and corrupt "fixer" for some of Manhattan's most esteemed residents.

Those scenes are straight fire, too, with Reyes bringing all the swagger and confidence, but still maintaining Soto's reserved professionalism that doesn't bend to either Willa's threats or her attempts to woo Soto into that less-than-savory world. Willa thinks she's in control the entire time, but it's clear by the end that Soto's visit and line of questioning shook her up enough to inspire her own cross-country trip.

With Scrubs back on ABC and reminding viewers why we've been loving Reyes' Carla Espinosa for 25 years, I was really hoping that High Potential would give the actress a bigger storyline to sink her talents into. Now, it appears my wish has been fulfilled. (And while that wish didn't initially include "Judy Reyes dressed to the sexy gills," that element did make it into the ep, although I'm not entirely sure how Willa knew her exact sizes.)

Jennifer Jason Leigh's Willa Is Already The Most Captivating Guest Star Yet

High Potential's cases of the week have delivered some fun one-off roles for actors both highly familiar and otherwise, but always with the understanding that they'd be out of the picture once the credits roll. The ongoing Roman mystery, however, allows for actors like Mekhi Pfeifer to pop in more often, and I'm already hoping that the impending showrunner taking Todd Harthan's place figures out a way to make Jennifer Jason Leigh a permanent piece of this puzzle.

I get how entirely unlikely it is to give Willa a fixed role in this story, given she works in New York City with unsavory zillionaires and is only in L.A. because of Soto's visit. But she commands the screen with such a presence that I wouldn't be that surprised if ABC ordered a spinoff focusing on her clandestine and immoral efforts.

Ostensibly, I don't see how her story will legitimately expand beyond the act of telling Soto and/or Morgan a piece of information about Roman's whereabouts. There's really not much room for nuance where this character is concerned. But I'm hoping that Willa's connection with Roman and Morgan is a surprising one that makes it logical for her to stay in this story for as long as possible.

She's the kind of character who comes across as one of the busiest people awake, and yet still has the time to immediately figure out Soto's dress size and hotel room number to have that dress delivered before Soto could even make it back in there. And you know what? I don't even care how it happened, because I believe she's capable of it.

Cpt. Wagner Throwing In On Team Morgan At Last

Ever since he first stepped foot through those elevator doors at the LAPD, Steve Howey’s Captain Nick Wagner has felt like the odd man out, albeit intentionally so. Wagner has kept himself at arm’s length from those under his command, and while he hasn’t ever truly seemed threatening to Morgan or the others, the dude also has yet to appear fully comfortable during any given time, and it’s clear there’s something he’s hiding.

Now, after taking a leisurely approach to joining Team Morgan’s mission to track down Roman, Wagner has more firmly aligned himself with the cause, and doesn’t give off any massive red flags while doing so, even if that nagging feeling persists that he’s not 100% on the ball here. His backstory admissions, if true, did work to make him slightly more empathy-worthy for viewers, since living within a family of high-achieving cops would be a struggle.

Before I can make any grand judgments about Wagner’s loyalties, I guess we’ll need to see how he reacts to Willa’s arrival in Los Angeles, and what his next step is in helping Morgan and Soto find answers about Roman. Heaven help him if anyone in his family is also involved in that disappearance.

High Potential airs Tuesday nights on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET, and with only three more episodes left in Season 2, the pressure is on Morgan & Co. to get some hard answers on Roman’s whereabouts.