High Potential Season 1 Episode 9 Review: The RAMs

The mystery of what happened to Morgan’s ex-Roman gets a major development, but some new information about Karadec steals the show. High Potential Season 1 Episode 9, “The RAMs” explores a case that takes him through a nostalgia tunnel.

Nearly ten episodes into the first season, it becomes apparent that we don’t know much about the characters besides Morgan and her family. The rest remain a mystery. However, we begin to chip away at some of Karadec’s layers.

The writers of this ABC series have excelled at making him more than just a detective stereotype. He’s playing the grumpy cop to Morgan’s vibrant, unconventional cop. Nevertheless, he doesn’t quite fit this stern cop role.

He’s a warm, fuzzy grumpy teddy bear underneath it all.

We have seen Karadec often bend the rules and gladly follow Morgan down any wild path she chooses. He barely bats an eye when she shows up to work with her baby. This makes the character so much more fascinating than some of his TV counterparts, and the characters he emulates.

Getting to know Karadec better gives “The RAMs” its heart. It flips the usual script of the cases connecting with Morgan because, this time, it’s personal to him.

He doesn’t just connect with the case because of the death of a childhood hero but its connection to his relationship with his father. The episode’s ending also offers further insight into the death of his dad.

He talks about it when helping the son of his hero see how much his father loved him.

“The RAMs” isn’t a Karadec-centered episode but it begins to build the character further than just Morgan’s semi-grumpy partner. This makes it one of the most important, so far, to lay the foundation for further character development.

Additionally, Morgan’s quest to find Roman also adds excitement. High Potential didn’t explore Roman’s disappearance much in the first half of the season. It’s making up for this in the latter parts.

High Potential Season 1 Episode 8, “Obsessed,” shows renewed interest in the case, and “The RAMs” picks up with new developments. Karadec also gets involved to ramp up the investigation and show us where the season finale may head.

Roman has some big criminal things happening which probably led to his disappearance and entering Witness Protection. Even if that’s not the case, the High Potential writers are leaving enough intrigue to have us hooked on finding answers, just like Morgan.

“The RAMs” has enough intrigue in the Roman case to increase excitement for the final four episodes. It also adds layers to Karadec, making us want to know as much as possible about the tough (but sweet) cop.

Stray Thoughts

• It’s getting comical how Morgan just has no boundaries with these cases and her family.
• However, the baby at the crime scene makes me uncomfortable.
• I feel like Oz and Morgan have some sort of beef that we haven’t been made aware of yet.
• Now I want to know more about the other three supporting characters
• It was nice to see Steve Guttenberg and Sean Patrick Thomas make guest appearances.
• Gutenberg immediately made me think of Veronica Mars. Then I saw Rob Thomas wrote this episode and I was reminded that he’s a producer on this series
• Tom and Morgan’s relationship ending so soon, especially before it really heats up, is very surprising.
• This feels like the first time we hear characters call him Adam, not Karadec

What did you think of this episode of High Potential? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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High Potential airs Tuesdays at 9/8 c on ABC. 

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