High Potential Season 2 Episode 18 Review: Family Tree
You don’t see this coming. Way before High Potential Season 2 Episode 18, “Family Tree,” you suspect that Lucia and Karadec won’t last. Their relationship seems perfect, but you know she’s not his endgame.
That likely belongs to Morgan. Morgan and Karadec seem destined to end up together, but a few seasons down the line. Therefore, you never predict that the Season 2 finale ends with Lucia going to prison.
You think she may be around for at least one more season.
This makes the surprise twist of her criminal behavior work. You develop the expectation that Lucia will be around for a while. She’s just not going to end the show with Karadec.
However, the moment Morgan starts to question her, the viewers do as well. Karadec must get his heartbroken, but it’s hard to watch. We met Karadec last season as a man who kept people at arm’s length.
Morgan breaks through his shell. This gives him the courage to rekindle his relationship with Lucia. He’s hopeful about their romance. They make plans for the future.
High Potential sets him and the viewers up for devastation. It’s rare to have a character disappoint you, but that’s what you feel for Lucia.
Her actions will probably push Karadec back several steps. This isn’t just a sad way to lose someone you love, but soul-crushing. She betrays everything he stands for by lying and helping a criminal.
Lucia’s betrayal may be one of High Potential’s biggest heartbreaks. Daniel Sunjata gives one of his best performances because you break along with him all through “Family Tree.” You understand his denial at first
Then watch as he slowly realizes and accepts that Morgan is right about her after all. Morgan and Karadec have their memorable heart-to-heart. It’s a moment that confirms Morgan as his emotional center.
He rushes to her side.
The final moments (presumably forever) between Karadec and Lucia show him helping book her and then hugging. It’s a somber image of irreparable love.
Next season, Morgan may need him because of the uncertain fate of Nick Wagner. Because we didn’t see Nick die, I am assuming he survives. However, the show could kill him to allow a major change, but I feel like the character hasn’t developed enough to die.
We were just starting to learn about him, and the hint of a Morgan and Wagner romance. It feels like his death was just to distract viewers from the fact that we still learned nothing useful about Roman’s disappearance.
Yes, we learned he’s being accused of killing a dirty cop. But this automatically feels like he was set up. Guess we’ll have to wait longer for the character’s true introduction and more about this cop corruption and Roman’s true involvement in it.
Overall, it was an interesting High Potential finale. The Lucia twist makes “Family Tree” work so well because the show does an excellent job of making us care about her in a limited time.
What did you think of this episode of High Potential? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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High Potential has been renewed for Season 3. See you next year. Stream the series on Hulu.
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Jerrica Tisdale
Jerrica Tisdale is your favorite neighborhood pop culture junkie. She will annoy you with random TV and film facts, while complaining about whatever is the hottest new book. She has been a TV fan all her life but writing about it for over a decade. You may find her work all over the internet especially reality TV rants. She is a senior writer at Tell-Tale TV.