AsHigh Potentialcontinues to slay in the ratings following the unsurprising announcement of its season renewal, the writers desperately need to plan ahead for the show’s return by making a drastic change to how they incorporate Morgan’s kids into the storyline. Not only do her kids feel currently shoehorned into most episodes in which they appear, but it’s beginning to feel as if the series may have forgotten why Ava and Elliot were such important inclusions inHigh Potential’s storyto begin with.
The show may have a problem with side characters in general, withMorgan’s breakup with Tom inHigh Potentialepisode 9raising questions about whether the show ever really had an arc planned for him in the first place. But the issue is more pronounced with Ava and Elliot, sinceMorgan only took her consulting job in the first place to better provide for her children. She more specifically took the job to help Ava find closure regarding Roman’s disappearance. WithHigh Potential’s season 2 renewalnow confirmed, the blueprint for involving Ava and Elliot in each episode’s story is due for a change.
High Potential Should Involve Ava And Elliot In Morgan’s Investigations
They Both Have More To Offer Than The Show Seems To Realize
It took ten episodes for the writers to expand onElliot’s role inHigh Potential, and it still feels like the character is used for little more than the occasional B plot. The same is largely true of Ava, despite the fact thatthe disappearance of Ava’s father is meant to be one of the show’s most central storylines. Considering Ava’s importance to the story and Elliot’s similarities to his mother, both characters should be worthy of meatier roles. The best way to deliver that is to start involving them in Morgan’s murder investigations.
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While bringing a couple of children into a homicide investigation might sound like semi-reckless parenting, each of Morgan’s kids (besides Chloe, for obvious reasons) has a unique insight to offer. Elliot possesses Morgan’s eidetic memory but gears it toward a different array of interests, whileAva can provide insights on youth and social media trends that Morgan and Karadec might not know about. Furthermore, there’s precedent for using Morgan’s kids in this fashion:HPI, the French seriesHigh Potentialis adapted from, did this exact thing.
Elliot And Thea Are Frighteningly Comfortable Around A Crime Scene
In a very similar vein toHigh Potential, French-Belgian seriesHPIfollows Morgane Alvaro as she consults with police in return for them looking into the disappearance of her daughter Thea’s father, Romain. Also likeHigh Potential, Morgane’s son Elliot is established as sharing her unique intellectual gifts. The main difference between the two shows is thatMorgane frequently keeps her children informed about her cases and accepts their feedback. She even brings them to the occasional crime scene, albeit usually whenHigh Potential’s unsung hero Ludosimply isn’t around to babysit.
The kids’ observations about strangers’ seemingly odd behaviors say a lot about how the children look at the world, but Morgane’s explanations for those same weird behaviors also help the viewer better understand her mindset as an investigator.
Involving Morgane’s children reveals more about each character’s thought process without having to slow the forward momentum of the plot. This is especially evident in season 2, episode 2, in which Morgane takes Elliot and Thea on a stakeout to play a game called “Weird/Not Weird.”The kids’ observations about strangers’ seemingly odd behaviors say a lot about how the children look at the world, butMorgane’s explanations for those same weird behaviors also help the viewer better understand her mindset as an investigator.It would be great to see this same dynamic inHigh Potential.
How High Potential Could Justify Morgan’s Kids Getting More Involved
Captain Pacheco Already Paved The Way For The Perfect Season 2 Storyline
AlthoughHigh Potentialcould easily follow inHPI’s footsteps by bringing Morgan’s kids more effectively into the story, it does have one or two extra roadblocks ahead of it.HPIalways characterized Morgane as the type to bring her kids to a crime scene, butMorgan is a slightly more responsible parent than her French counterpart. Fortunately, season 2 ofHPIprovides a roadmap for including Elliot and Ava in Morgan’s investigations thatHigh Potentialmay have already set up perfectly.
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InHPI, Alvaro brings her kids along for a stakeout becauseshe’s under investigation and not allowed to work her cases officially. She, therefore, has to go rogue and bring her kids along as she investigates from home.
Note: This is exactly what leads to Morgane playing “Weird/Not Weird” with her children, as she has no excuse to drop them off with Ludo when she’s not technically working.
AfterLAPD Captain Pacheco’s introduction inHigh Potentialepisode 11, it’s clear the LAPD is not yet fully convinced of Morgan’s value as a consultant. This provides the perfect excuse for setting up the same storyline asHPI. It’s not only an opportunity to bring Ava and Elliot onto the scene without feeling overly forced, butthis storyline would also move Morgan’s arc ahead in a meaningful way that could impact her future as a consultant. This would further elevate Ava and Elliot’s importance by involving them in a story arc with potential consequences for the overall premise of the show.
Why High Potential Needs More Ava And Elliot Moving Forward
Morgan’s Kids Are The Only Reason She Took This Job In The First Place
It merits repeating that Morgan only took this job for her kids. Not only did she want to provide better for them financially, butwhat happened to Roman inHigh Potentialis established as a mystery Morgan takes on primarily because she’s worried about Ava’s resentment toward the man who disappeared on them.The show can’t land its Roman plotline effectively without establishing a stronger emotional foundation for Ava, so finding any way possible to give her more screentime would be ideal. This will especially be the case ifHigh PotentialfollowsHPIby resolving this plotline in season 2.
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On top of that,High Potentialsimply feels a bit fractured at the moment. For instance, episode 12 explores how Morgan’s hectic work schedule affects Ludo, yet Ava and Elliot feel almost like afterthoughts in that storylinedespite the fact that it clearly affects them directly.By involving them in the central mystery of each episode, the series can explore their reactions to Morgan’s new profession without cutting away from the core mystery entirely. It’s the perfect method for addressing some of the series’ largely ignored emotional arcs in a much more sensible and streamlined way.
