The Will Trent Season 2 finale raised concerns about Erika Christensen’s future on the show as Angie Polaski.
Angie has been part of the Will Trent cast since the series debuted in 2023, working with the Atlanta Police Department and bringing levity and humor to the darkness of her job.
She also has an on-again, off-again relationship with Ramón Rodríguez’s Will Trent, though that relationship and much else surrounding Polaski may be in jeopardy following recent events.
Will Trent Season 2, Episode 10 put Erika Christensen’s Angie in a difficult situation, calling her future on the show into question.
Will Trent and his team find themselves chasing a female serial killer in this episode – one who has been killing sex offenders in a series of vigilante-style killings.
This happened while Angie was on leave and not actively involved in the case, leaving her with no alibi.
While chasing Crystal, the real killer, Crystal attempts to jump across a river before slipping on a rock and cracking her head. This causes her to fall face first into the water and meet her end.
Although the killer is dead, Angie had previously covered up Crystal’s other murder. This leads Will to arrest Angie for her crimes, essentially ending their relationship before Will packs up and leaves town.
Speaking with TVLine, showrunners Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen discussed the moment and what it means for Angie’s future.
Heldens admitted that “anything is possible” for Angie, praising Erika Christensen’s work with the character and wanting her story to continue: “We’ve talked about it and we’ve talked about a way back. Anything is possible right now. We have to look at the ecosystem of the show. But we’re big, big, big fans of Erika Christensen here. I love watching her and I’ll personally follow [Angie] wherever she goes.”
She also addressed Angie’s relationship with Will, admitting that she’s “never had a sexual partner before” while noting that it seems “pretty hard to come back from.”
Thomsen went on to discuss how this would impact Angie’s sobriety, after debates in the writers’ room about “when and if she should fall” on that journey. The team simply didn’t want to “do the expected thing” or “use it as a cheap twist,” wanting this ending to give her a real reason to hit rock bottom.
Looking ahead to Season 3, Thomsen addressed how this situation will somewhat mirror real life, considering how “cops go through the justice system” differently than the general public.
While it likely won’t include “a lengthy trial,” it will certainly “mark a very significant change in Angie’s life.”
The showrunners also spoke to TV Insider about the episode, with Heldens revealing that they’ll have “an interestingly challenging shift” heading into Season 3. Thomsen further commented on how the show feels realistic “in terms of what these characters are going through,” looking forward to finding out what Angie is going through and how Will is going to handle not having Angie around: Heldens: “We’ll find out on June 3. [Laughs] No, we have some ideas, but… it’s great 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 an interestingly challenging shift for us, right, Dan?”
Thomsen: “No, I mean, I think one of the things that people love about the show is how realistic it feels about what these characters are going through, and I think that kind of dramatic shift that you have to Finding a way to adapt is part of life for everyone. And so, yeah, we’re excited to find out what she’s like as well as him being forced to contemplate a chapter in his life without Angie.”
Helden takes a step back from Crystal’s death, feeling that Angie would have caught her and brought her to justice if she hadn’t died in the river: “I mean, I think she would have caught her. I think so. I don’t think there’s any version of Angie that would let a serial killer get away with it. I think when she said come see me she would have caught her. That was in my head.
Thomsen agrees, talking about how this is the first time Angie has faced such darkness before: “No, I totally agree. I think Erika did a great job of really showing how Angie is affected when the truth is revealed. Because Angie is someone who has been through so much in her life and has never flirted with that kind of darkness. Really, I mean, the closest she’s come is probably with Lenny.
