Will Trent is back after a tumultuous Season 1 finale. But is everything back to normal?
It certainly seems to be, as Season 2 opens very much like the pilot episode, with the titular detective (Ramón Rodríguez) once again holding his doggie Betty with a relatively calm disposition. All this, despite the recent revelation of his long-lost mother and possible father, serial killer James Ulster (Greg Germann).
However, newcomer and bomb expert Cricket’s (played by special guest Susan Kelechi Watson) admiration for Trent has them both distracted as they work together. They both agree to go out on a date, and things are looking up for Trent, as his disassociation, as pointed out by Ulster’s kidnapping victim and Will’s co-worker Angie (Erika Christensen), is seemingly paying off. That is until a serial bomber takes the life of Cricket, and all his grief comes flooding back. Now, he can’t ignore his problems and is forced to face Ulster, not only about the new bomber on the loose but to tie up loose ends about his parentage.
“When we tried to figure out who would play this role, the bar we set was we wanted the response to the episode to be, ‘Is there any way we don’t have to kill her?’” co-showrunner Dan Thompson told TV Insider about how Watson got involved. “When we showed this episode to the network, they were very much like, ‘Oh my god, does it have to end this way?’”
However, co-showrunner Liz Helden details, “We were really looking for a piece of trauma to kick off the season, so we could continue to explore Will’s inner life and what really makes him tick.” She concludes, which could be a theme of the season, “How much pressure is too much pressure for Will Trent?”
Following the death of Cricket, he sees flashes of violence from his past, alluding to his upbringing, as it’s known he was in and out of foster care during his adolescence. “We’re kind of breadcrumbing the story about a trauma from his childhood he buried,” Helden admits before assuring, “We’re trying to find ways to open that up and kind of tell that story by the season’s end.”
The episode ends with Trent and Ulster face to face, the latter believing he is his father and the former hoping anything but. When it comes to what we can expect next, Thompson says, “In Episode 2, we’re really excited about telling a story that is very much about Will and James.” He goes on to tease, “There’s a moment very early on in Episode 2 where James Ultser realizes that on some level Will is choosing to be with him. And that’s really exciting for Ulster. And so the episode kind of becomes about not just finding Cricket’s killer but also about what Ultser does, knowing that he’s got some power over Will.
