Sister Sledge’s 1979 hit “We Are Family” has been a gay anthem since it launched, so it’s fitting that an episode of Will Trent with the same title has a distinctly queer storyline. But more importantly, this season has been building up to Will finally meeting his only living biological relative, his uncle Antonio, which he finally does. And so, without further ado, let’s meet Antonio Miranda.
Season 2, Episode 6: “We Are Family” – Written by Britta Lundin & Aja Hoggatt
Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) holds his dog Betty in a park by a taco truck, telling his chihuahua not to be nervous, although the pep talk seems to be for himself. “Will?” asks Antonio Miranda (John Ortiz), the uncle Will recently found out about. Antonio has a dog of his own, Portia. “You look just like your mother,” Antonio tells Will, giving him a hug. They get in line for the taco truck, and Antonio pulls out an app that tells him the menu, revealing that he is dyslexic, a trait they both share. The two catch up over dinner, with Will learning that his uncle is a professor who moved to Atlanta after learning that his sister died there. They discuss a potential trip to Puerto Rico someday, but dinner is cut short when Will gets called in to work. Antonio tells him to stop by his favorite restaurant, Coqui Perdido, sometime.
Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) and Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) are already at the crime scene when Will arrives in a dark parking lot with press waiting on the other side of caution tape. Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) is inside the car where the victim, Judge Deirdre Ringgold (Caroline Carter), is dead. As they examine the scene, Angie asks Will about meeting his uncle, adding that she’d like to meet him someday. They assess that Dierdre was shot in the neck somewhere else, her body moved to the backseat after she was dead. Her phone, purse, and jewelry are missing, but Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) finds the purse while examining the nearby dumpster. Coroner Pete Chin (Kurt Yue) collects fiber samples from the victim’s neck wound, and while his blue light shines, Will notices a blacklight stamp on the back of Dierdre’s hand, indicating she had been at a nightclub. Angie calls Dierdre’s phone provider to get the last location of her cellphone, which was in an alley. They all get in Amanda’s new SUV to travel together, but Faith is held up by her reporter crush, Luke Sullivan (Ser’Darius Blain). When Faith gets in the car, Amanda scolds her for being romantically involved with a journalist.
As they search the alley, Michael finds Dierdre’s cell phone next to blood. Amanda steps away to call in backup to examine the crime scene. Will and Angie follow the alley. Around the corner, they see a neon sign that matches the stamp Dierdre had on her hand. They enter the club and see a drag queen, Bon Bon Chiffon (Jonny Beauchamp), wrapping up her set on stage. The club’s host, Glinda Velvet (Kenneth Mosley), takes the mic to announce that the queens will be taking a ten-minute break.
Will and Angie meet Glinda backstage, introducing themselves. Glinda leads them to the dressing room, thanking them for finally responding to the call. Will and Angie are confused as Glinda hands them a folder full of threats the club has received. The suspect is believed to be a protester who often lurks outside. They ask about security cameras, and Glinda says there aren’t any due to the fact that some of their patrons aren’t open about their sexuality and can’t risk being outted. Will and Angie reveal the real reason they entered the club, revealing that a woman named Dierdre Ringgold was killed in the alley. Glinda looks distressed. “I have to tell Vibe,” she says. Just then, Defcon Vibe (Garrett Richmond) steps out of her dressing room, upset that BonBon used so much of her expensive foundation. “Gabe, sweetie, there’s something I have to talk to you about,” Glinda says as she leads Vibe back into her dressing room. “You’re Dierdre’s son?” Will asks Defcon Vibe, whose real name is Gabe Ringgold. Glinda tells Gabe his mother is dead, a shock because she was just there that night. Will and Angie have more questions, but Glinda asks them to leave and let Gabe grieve.
Meanwhile, Michael and Faith continue to investigate in the ally. Michael asks Faith how she braids her hair, sharing that his daughter, Cooper, expects him to give her French braids for a sleepover. Faith doesn’t have an answer since she has her hair professionally braided. They find a synthetic strand of blonde hair in the pool of Dierdre’s blood, and a pashmina scarf also covered in it. Faith also finds a bullet casing, determining it to be from a .380 pistol. They theorize that the killer wore a blonde wig, shot Dierdre, tried to stop the blood with the scarf, dumped the body in the car, and threw the purse into a dumpster to make it seem like a robbery.
The next day at the GBI, Amanda enters the conference room to find Will and Angie examining a table of blonde wigs that Bon Bon brought them from the club. The club only uses acrylic wigs, while the strand found in Dierdre’s blood was determined to be polyester. They’ve called in Dierdre’s husband and daughter for questioning.
Will and Angie meet with Gabe, whose lawyer enters – Josiah Patnett (Kenneth Mosley), Glinda Velvet out of drag. Gabe tells them how his birth father died when he was five, and his mom married Dalton shortly after. “He wasn’t the easiest man to relate to, but we did go to the shooting range together,” he recalls. Gabe’s parents weren’t accepting of his homosexuality, and he ran away from home at 15 after getting in a fight with his mother and pushed her down the stairs, which caused her to break a wrist. When he left, Gabe promised his sister he would come back for her, but he never got back. Life on the streets led to some dark days, but finding the drag club changed his life. “They saved me,” he says. Gabe hadn’t seen his mother since he left home, until last night when she showed up at the club out of the blue to apologize. “Do you own any guns?” Will asks. “I have a GLOCK 17 and a Beretta M9,” Gabe responds. Will directly asks if Gabe owns a .380. “No,” Gabe answers.
At the same time, Faith and Michael interview Dalton Ringgold (Pete Burris) and Gabe’s sister, Rowan Ringgold (Gillian Rabin). Dalton is sure that Gabe killed Dierdre. He accuses Gabe of stealing his wife’s diamond necklace and earrings, which were intended to be worn by Rowan on her wedding day (in Gabe’s testimony, he said these were the only things they had from his father). “Gabe was unstable, I was glad when he ran away,” Dalton declares. Faith and Michael load Dalton and Rowan in the elevator just as Gabe and Josiah approach. Gabe is shaken as Dalton yells, “You did this” as the elevator doors close.
Amanda barges into Faith’s office, finding her and Luke together. She pulls Faith out, angry that she and the journalist were being flirtatious in her office. Faith defends herself, saying that Luke came to tell her that he discovered Dierdre was not seeking reelection. As they enter the conference room, Faith begins to call HR, but Amanda stops her, saying she can’t do that to her aunt. With the team gathered together, they review some security footage that came in. It shows Dierdre pushing off the protestor from outside of the drag club, wearing the pashmina scarf. Also seen in the video, she’s wearing a diamond necklace and earrings. Faith sets herself to finding out who the protestor is.
Bon Bon scrubs graffiti off the side of the club as Josiah sits on the steps, amusedly watching the protestor decry the club through a megaphone. Faith and Michael arrive, and Faith addresses the protestor by name – Barrett Fairhope (Leif Gantvoort). Josiah is delighted to finally know who the protestor is, pulling out his phone to record the menace, talking about how he chooses to spend his free time. Barrett turns violent, throwing his megaphone at Josiah, but he misses. It crashes into Faith’s car, breaking a window. “Ok, now you’re under arrest,” she tells Barrett. Michael notices that Bon Bon’s hair is done in French braids, asking for advice for his daughter’s hair.
In an interrogation room at the APD, Michael sits alone with Barrett, who is a cop. Michael says he’s on Barrett’s side, saying he confiscated Joisah’s video. He asks about his interaction with Dierdre. Barrett gave her a flier about the sins of the club. She tossed it on the ground, stomped on it, and tried to fight him. Her diamond ring cut his nose, so Barrett had to go to urgent care for stitches. He’s never seen Dierdre again, and he doesn’t own a .380. Michael tells him he admires Barrett’s work, getting him to confess to the graffiti and bomb threats. Michael thanks him and stands up as Faith enters, who was listening on the other side of the two-way mirror. She announces that he will be held accountable for those other crimes, and will also get a restraining order to stay away from the club.
