Oh. Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) has made a choice he never wanted to make. Not only does he finally realize that it wasn’t Angie (Erika Christensen) who killed his former abuser Lenny, but Crystal (Chapel Elizabeth Oaks), but he also realizes that Angie’s decision directly led Crystal to become the serial killer who left so many bodies scattered around town as revenge for her own atrocities. Though Will and Angie eventually bond—to the point where they even envision adding children to their fancy new dining room table—he decides to turn her in for her crimes… but not before he (and we, by extension) see a vision of the happy life the couple could have had if he had covered for her.
After a season of dealing with past demons and raising a family and creating a happier home with Angie, here’s another trauma for our hotshot detective to deal with.
With Season 3 already in the works, we tapped the show’s executive producers, Liz Heldens and Daniel T. Thomsen, to break down the heartbreaking ending and preview what’s in store when the show returns to ABC midseason.
You guys just did a great job here. How are you going to write yourself out of this ending?
Liz Heldens: We’ll find out on June 3. [Laughs] No, we have some ideas, but… it’s nice to be able to throw all the pieces up in the air and figure out where they’re going to land. And so I think that’s going to be a fun, challenging change for us. Right, Dan? What are you planning?
Daniel T. Thomsen: No, I mean, I think one of the things that people love about this show is how authentic it feels to what these characters are going through, and I think that this kind of big change that you have to figure out how to adapt to is a part of life for everyone. And so, yeah, we were excited to figure out what that looks like for her as well as him being forced to contemplate a chapter in his life without Angie.
So one of the saddest parts about it is that they start to settle down the most—at least in terms of their relationship—after Will has been dealing with his demons all season. Now that the rug has been ripped out from under them, can you talk a little bit about how you decided to do that?
Heldens: I think the idea of Crystal came about last year when we came back for Season 2 and we were trying to figure out a shape for the network. One of our writers, Kath Ligenfelter, who co-wrote the ending, was like, “Oh, she should go back and be a serial killer.” And then we were all like, “Shut up. That’s crazy.” As usual, no one had a better idea. But we really liked that Angie did something last year that she really thought was for the best, and she really thought that she didn’t allow her former foster father to take another victim’s life and ruin another person’s life, and she thought that by taking the blame for killing Lenny last year, she was making things right, and it came back to haunt her. Because I think the great thing about the way it ended is that you really get to see everyone’s point of view in the story. I think everyone can understand why Angie did what she did, and everyone can understand why Will had to do what he did. And so it seemed like a really great long arc to pay us back.
We knew where Angie was going, but did we know where Will was going?
Heldens: We didn’t know. We had some ideas, but we weren’t sure yet.
Do you think Will was really hesitant about making that decision?
Heldens: Yeah, I think he definitely was. I think he walked down the hall and got in the elevator, and I think he didn’t know what he was going to do. When he says to young Angie in his office — like, “I don’t know if I can do it” — he really didn’t know if he could do it. And I think there’s a moment where he contemplates the whole future with her if he can let this go.
Yeah, I was going to ask, is that in his head? The images… Is that his imagination as he’s walking or is that like a tease for the fans to throw us off?
Heldens: I think it’s both. It’s in his head. But also, like, it could have happened, and hopefully people will watch for a little bit before they start to realize, “Oh, this isn’t actually happening.”
Will had commented to her earlier in the episode that he wanted to have kids with her. He told her that outright. What does it say about both of them that they’re at a point where they can consider that despite everything they’ve been through?
