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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for High Potential, Season 1 Episode 8, “Obsessed.”]
High Potential is back and making way for a new dynamic between consultant Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and LAPD Detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), who took on a fresh case in the midseason premiere episode, “Obsessed.”
As fans will recall, a hostage situation at the police department put Morgan in a precarious position as her daughter Ava (Amirah J) was among the fellow hostages. Thankfully, the situation concluded with Ava safely escaping and Morgan helping to solve a case that would set everyone free. Although her new fling, Tom (JD Pardo), was caught in the crosshairs and got shot, he lived to tell the tale.
In the midseason premiere, Morgan tries following through on her promise to share a date with the police department’s janitor. But when Penny (Nona Parker Johnson) winds up on a beach, believed to be dead, Morgan is called in to work as she attempts to solve the mystery behind the young woman washing up on shore. Also on the scene is Karadec, the ying to her yang. Still skeptical of her approach at times, Karadec begins to soften towards Morgan in this latest installment, playing into their “will they or won’t they” dynamic in a more pronounced way.
Disney / Carlos Lopez-Calleja
It turns out that Penny’s former boyfriend was murdered a few years ago, and in an attempt to uncover his killer, she became a victim herself but was lucky enough to live. Determined to try and solve Penny and her boyfriend’s cold case, Morgan and Karadec spend the night in his apartment eating Chinese food and pouring over evidence to try and solve it all. As expected, their different viewpoints work in their favor as they manage to put the puzzle together by the end of the episode.
What will happen next for the duo? Especially after the final moments of the episode reveal that Lieutenant Soto (Judy Reyes) has uncovered more clues about Morgan’s missing ex, Roman. Sunjata weighs in on their shifting dynamic below.
When it comes to their dynamic, what is it like playing opposite Kaitlin Olson’s frantic Morgan as the more level-headed Karadec?
Daniel Sunjata: Well, to answer your initial question, it’s interesting when you mentioned you use the adjective frantic, it is true. Morgan has this kind of. There’s that aspect to her. She’s also, understandably so, she’s a single mother dealing with all kinds of issues outside of trying to help us idiot detectives trying to figure out these murder cases. But I think that Karadec, my character, also kind of has, I wouldn’t call it frantic, but I think one thing that both characters share is kind an internal unrest for different reasons. I think for Adam, it kind of comes more from, I don’t know, his obsessive compulsion with doing things exactly the way they’re supposed to be done and following all the rules. Some of the comedic, and at times, dramatic tension I think arises from the friction between [them]. I mean, Morgan is just all over the map. She’ll just do it. She doesn’t know what the rules are and kind of doesn’t care, but you can’t argue with the results, which is something that my character Adam has to slowly, begrudgingly come to accept. And I can definitely say by the end of the season, those qualities about Morgan become quite endearing to Adam.
Disney / Carlos Lopez-Calleja
Playing opposite Kaitlin’s been fantastic. I’ve been a fan of hers going back for many years now. I was on a show called Rescue Me a long time ago on the FX Network, and I think in our third or fourth season is when Always Sunny started up. So I was a fan of hers for a very long time. And then, of course, The Mick and Hacks, and [more]. So it was exciting to get the opportunity to work with her. I was actually nervous because I was such a fan of her work as an actor, but then she’s my boss, she’s executive producer, and that’s not an honorary title. She actually does the work of a producer. She’s involved in everything from the scripts to casting. She wears many hats on the show, but acting with her has been great. I make that joke like we’re acting with our boss, but you never feel it.
It’s no secret that some viewers are rooting for a potential Karadec-Morgan romance. In this episode, relationships do come up, and Karadec does get a little weird when Morgan mentions Tom. Is he jealous?
Sunjata: What was interesting about that scene is that there are two separate moments of individual revelation to one another about something deeply personal. She makes an observation about [the painting of the flower on the wall], and I think it’s right before she leaves, Karadec decides to open up slightly and tell her a little bit about himself, his past, and the story behind that. Whether or not he’s jealous, and also to your point about the audience, maybe hoping for a little will-they-won’t-they… If Karadec is jealous, I don’t think he’s aware of it. At this point, it would be coming from a place inside of him, I don’t think he’s consciously jealous.
I think at this point in their relationship, he is more protective than anything else. I think he feels like a responsibility to be protective of her, more or less as a friend. But I think that they clearly are putting that undertone in there and wanting to move it in that direction. And Todd Harthan our showrunner, and Drew Goddard, the creator of the show, and of course Kaitlin, I think that they’re going to be very economical in how they tease out the will-they-won’t-they. I think the slower they take that, the smarter the show will be, and I think the more it will serve the show rather than rushing to some kind of a romantic fling or something between the two of them.
What is it about this case in particular that drives Morgan and Karadec to want to work through the night together? Is it the case or a revelation that their brains can’t be quieted down in similar ways?
Sunjata: When Morgan can’t figure something out, she’s an insomniac. With Adam, not so much. I think he’s able to at least get three hours of sleep a night. And you see that in multiple episodes, but you also see in multiple episodes that we can’t help but take the work home with us. We don’t stop thinking about cases just because it’s time to clock out.
Karadec definitely goes home and continues thinking about these cases. Morgan definitely does too. I wouldn’t say that there’s anything special about this particular case that has us losing sleep, other than the fact that we can’t figure it out. I think Morgan and Karadec both share a passion for helping people, but it’s also his commitment to what he believes to be justice. I think that he’s concerned about that. I think with Morgan, it comes more from the heart. I think Karadec’s a little more mentally polarized, although she clearly is winning there, too, in terms of the motivation for her intellect.
In the episode’s final moments, Morgan learns there’s a development in Roman’s missing persons case, but Soto tells her to keep details quiet. Will Karadec learn about this situation sooner rather than later?
Sunjata: That storyline is definitely a main part of [Morgan]’s background story, and it’s the reason why she agreed to even work with us in the pilot. So that does not stop. I wouldn’t be surprised if other characters got involved in that way. I wouldn’t be shocked. You know what I mean? Especially those characters who really care about Morgan.
High Potential, Tuesdays, 9/8c, ABC