Warning: SPOILERS for High Potential season 2, episode 3, “Eleven Minutes.”
The true best character in High Potential is finally getting the recognition they deserve, but the series needs to keep that up for it to be worth what it could be in the long run. While Morgan is obviously the main character, High Potential’s best episodes inevitably have to showcase others. High Potential season 2, episode 3 does that perfectly.
With an underwhelming premiere, the reality is that High Potential season 2’s story got off to a rough start. Nonetheless, Morgan stands out in the genre due to her persistent focus on family. And, while there are numerous storylines to consider (such as Jennifer Love Hewitt’s 9-1-1 and High Potential crossover idea), the series already has one that it needs.
High Potential Season 2, Episode 3 Is Ava Gillory’s Most Important Storyline Yet
She Does Everything She Should Have Been Doing Already
There are a number of differences between the two, but one of the best things High Potential changed from original French series HPI is that season 2, episode 3 brings Ava up to date about the investigation into Roman’s disappearance. In HPI, Ava-adjacent character Théa Alvaro still believed her father was dead at the time her mother finally found him.
But “Eleven Minutes” gives Ava an entire B-plot to address this issue. Morgan’s clearly been hiding something, and Ava clocked that during Elliot’s About a Boy-flavored talent show the previous episode. In this episode, however, Morgan agrees to keep Ava in the loop about Roman. She may as well. Ava’s proven before to pick up on Morgan’s conversations with Soto.
This could be a major status quo change, but it’s not the only thing High Potential season 2, episode 3 has to offer. One thing HPI undeniably did better was Morgan’s kids’ involvement in High Potential’s investigations. This would admittedly make Morgan seem as reckless as Olson’s previous characters, but it’s also what made Morgane Alvaro unique.
In “Eleven Minutes,” Ava does become involved, and it’s not the same as when she wound up becoming a hostage at the police station. Ava identifies a major clue using nothing but her knowledge of celebrities, and it’s a clue that Morgan (who knows things like the migratory patterns of ducks) would have missed. That speaks to a bigger issue.
Ava Has Been The Real Soul Of High Potential Since The Very First Episode
Morgan’s Daughter Is The Perfect Audience Stand-In
Family is a major theme in High Potential. It’s what separates it from most mystery shows. Odds are, your favorite episode of BBC’s Sherlock didn’t involve Holmes taking a job so he could buy a car because his kids were tired of relying on outside help. But, aside from finances, Morgan primarily took her consultant job to find Ava’s dad.
This theme comes up again in High Potential season 2, episode 3. First, there’s a very strong suggestion that High Potential will introduce Morgan’s father, who played a significant role in HPI. But what matters most is that Ava growing up without a father is the core emotional hook of the Roman plot. It affects her far more than Morgan.
That’s not to say Morgan has no feelings about Roman and his whereabouts. Of course she does. She at one point planned to raise a child with this man. But there are likely more viewers at home who grew up without a parent than there are who lost a lover because he suddenly ran from the law under mysterious circumstances.
Ava maintaining a stronger audience connection than her mother is also reflected by Morgan’s superpower in High Potential. Most viewers couldn’t win a game of blackjack by knowing the specifics of an underground casino’s card shuffler. Yet it’s important to note that Morgan learned that from Elliot, reminding us that Ava’s lack of HPI makes her unique in her family.
It’s great to watch a really smart person bring down a bad guy, but mysteries are more fun when we can play along. The audience can’t engage in clue hunting when they have no shot at putting them together without encyclopedic knowledge of tarsier monkeys. At the very least, they should be able to discern which details are important.
Ava making a break in Morgan’s case through pop culture knowledge feels like a more tangible possibility for non-genius viewers. Her feelings of isolation among smarter peers yet equal capacity for insightful observation slyly puts her back on Morgan’s level, reminding the viewer that book smarts aren’t the only kind of intelligence that can serve a purpose.
High Potential Season 2 Must Keep Ava Involved In The Roman Plotline
She Can’t Go Back To Being A Mere Side Character Now
With High Potential’s predecessor HPI available for streaming, anyone can see how much it weakened the “missing father” plotline to keep the daughter largely uninvolved in the second season. Now that Ava’s been brought up to speed, High Potential can’t rest on laurels by pushing her to the background again. She needs to become a real part of this storyline.
Of the many things that damaged the show during what once felt like a highly anticipated payoff, High Potential’s Game Maker plot failed to make its supporting cast feel a fraction as important as Morgan. The conclusion even glossed over Oz arresting the man who tried to murder him by relegating Oz to a B-plot for most of the arc.
That case should have been deeply important to Oz, but his moment of triumph falls flat because he played no part in making it happen. High Potential risks doing a similar injustice to Ava if she doesn’t somehow become more involved in Roman’s story.
Morgan and company are still putting the pieces together, so there’s no telling how the Roman story will play out. It’s potentially already too late to imagine High Potential taking the same route as HPI. Nevertheless, Ava’s been the heart of his story since her moment of conception. She deserves to be showcased consistently throughout this plotline’s resolution.
Enjoy ScreenRant’s primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for our weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check “Network TV” in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.