Episode Appetizers: Will Trent “Have You Never Been to a Wedding”
After the five-star “We Are Family,” we’re ready for the next one. But before we get to the ‘wedding’ in episode seven, let’s enjoy S2 E6. With a compelling dialogue, a meditation on family, and the triumphs of new motherhood in Glinda Velvet/Josiah Patnett (Kenneth Mosley), “We Are Family” parallels the working-class family at GBI with a similar family in an Atlanta drag club. The top pick for the RIOTUS Scene comes early on, as Amanda, Will, Angie, Ormewood, and Faith pile into Amanda’s new SUV like high school kids after soccer practice—and act like it. Amanda is in mom mode, and she hates loving it. Let’s call her Elphaba. In contrast to Amanda, Glinda Velvet is the mother of the kids at the drag show, but Mother Glinda is, however, as loving and supportive as Amanda would say. With mothers being celebrated, remembered, and dying in the alleys, you almost wish ABC had made this episode for Mother’s Day. Especially when Will finally meets Uncle Antonio (John Ortiz), his last connection to the mother he met.
“Have You Never Been to a Wedding?” – S2 E7
The seventh episode continues to build on the extended family that developed earlier in season 2. The episode opens with Will and Faith getting dressed for a wedding. Betty and Niko (who has become Will’s younger sibling) are on standby while Will gets his dressmaker to dress him for trying to get [read: outFIT]. Now that the connection between Will and Amanda is clear, Faith seems less like a life partner and more like a cousin. Sidebar: Could there be a Mother’s Day episode where Will acknowledges Amanda’s role in his life? Let’s hope. Now, back to those cousins. Will and Faith arrive at the wedding and start playing people-watching—their bond is real. So is Faith’s relationship with her son, but Jeremy (Deion Smith) is hiding a secret his mother won’t be happy about. When gunfire breaks out and the waiters turn out to be criminals, things get tense. The evolving hostage situation becomes a trigger for Will, and once again, his past catches up with him. Adept at hiding his emotions, Will goes into James Bond mode, while Faith transforms into Bruce Willis in Die Hard.
“Have You Never Been to a Wedding?” is part Die Hard, part 007, and all Will Trent; like those heroes, it comes out of a tight spot.
The writers and creators of Will Trent must have gotten the Super Soldier Serum—seriously, it must have been in the Disney/ABC parking lot craft services. Season 2 of Will Trent has been a blast, episode after episode—suspenseful, dangerous, and lighting up the night. I can’t recommend this show enough, and I won’t stop until you start watching.
Starring: Ramón Rodríguez as Will Trent, Erika Christensen as Angie, Iantha Richardson as Faith, Jake McLaughlin as Ormewood, and Sonja Sohn as Amanda
