TheHigh Potentialseason 1 finale ended on a double cliffhanger, but David’s plan has one clear target who should be worried in season 2.David Giuntoli’s character inHigh Potential, an anonymous serial kidnapper known only by the alias “David,” marks the first recurring villain for the crime procedural. The Major Crimes Unit of the LAPD, consisting of Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes), Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), Lev “Oz” Ozdil (Deniz Akdeniz), and Daphne Forrester (Javicia Leslie), worked alongside genius consultant Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) to solveHigh Potential’s season 1 casesand take down a dozen culprits.
In contrast, the villain got away inHigh Potential’s season 1 finale, and it seems David has no plans of stopping his reign of terror. Based on his track record, including abducting Oz and trapping him in a drowning trap, locking a civilian in an airless safe, and depriving a diabetic man of his insulin,David’s return inHigh Potentialseason 2 will surely be a high-octane event. Based on the clues left behind in the season finale, however, his next victim will serve a specific purpose and taunt a specific High Potential Intellectual in season 2.
David Promised To Return In The High Potential Season 1 Finale
The Kidnapper Left The Genius An Unsettling Message
David’s return inHigh Potentialseason 2 is more than a probability, however. The kidnapper outright promised he’d be back when he gave Morgan a pack of cards with a cryptic message in theHigh Potentialseason 1 finale. The cards slipped into her family’s groceries in plain sight and hada sticker on the back, calling Morgan“the one”and vowing she and David would“play again.”Considering the types of games David played in his first showing, it was a disconcerting message for the genius who helped solve his three riddles.
What’s worse is the LAPD has no idea who David is, including what his real name is. The kidnapper was smart enough to steal details from another person’s life and pose as them to gain entry into the grief support group. The LAPD wasted time and resources searching for the real David, only to hit a brick wall once they did. Truly,David was always one step ahead of the LAPD. He even watched the team solve his traps in real time by stalking the crime scenes, which is where his obsession with Morgan began.
David Wants Morgan As A Rival, Not A Victim
The Villain Won’t Be Able To Target Her Directly
Despite Morgan being singled out by the kidnapper, it isn’t herself that she should be concerned about. After watching her impressive detective work throughoutHigh Potentialepisode 13,David became enamored with Morgan’s intellect, appreciating how her genius-level IQ deconstructed his puzzles and challenged him to improve. David’s focus even shifted to Morgan entirely, stalking her meetings with Gio Conforth (Domenick Lombardozzi) just as closely as he stalked the investigation. David even familiarizes himself with Morgan’s family, growing comfortable enough to approach them in broad daylight inHigh Potentialepisode 13.
David just wants to play, and Morgan makes a good opponent.
Nevertheless, Morgan’s response to David’s traps is what excites him, not just Morgan as a person. As such, he wouldn’t target Morgan directly in hisHigh Potentialseason 2 plan sinceDavid craves Morgan’s competition and needs her to investigateto be fulfilled. As theHigh Potentialseason 1 finale indicated, David’s motivation is deceptively simple and simply chilling: David just wants to play, and Morgan makes a good opponent. The titular genius shouldn’t be relieved, however, because David can easily target someone close to her instead.
David’s Options To Go After Morgan’s Loved Ones Are Limited
The High Potential Intellectual Has A Small Inner Circle
To keep the genius consultant in the game, David can target a proxy to get under Morgan’s skin. Unfortunately for Morgan, there are very few people in her life to choose from.Morgan and Karadec’s relationship inHigh Potentialhas become a close professional partnership, but it’s unlikely David would get the upper hand on the seasoned police detective. Following Oz’s abduction and near-death experience inHigh Potentialseason 1, episode 13,Karadec will probably be on even higher alertand, therefore, become a more difficult target.
All episodes ofHigh Potentialare streaming on Hulu.
Meanwhile, Morgan has three children she loves more than anything: her eldest, Ava (Amirah J), her son Elliot (Matthew Lamb), and baby Chloe. Ava was previously endangered inHigh Potentialseason 1, episode 7, when a hostage situation at the police station goes awry, though she’s quickly extracted from the crisis and removed from peril. Consequently,it seems unlikely thatHigh Potentialwill use Morgan’s children as bargaining chips, considering how young they are. Kidnapping Morgan’s children with the express intent of killing them would add a dark layer to David’s storyline, very out of place in the carefully balanced procedural.
Targeting Ludo Would Be David’s Best Move In High Potential Season 2
Morgan’s Ex-Husband Would Be The Perfect Pawn
WithMorgan’s kids inHigh Potentialin relative safety due to their age, that leaves one obvious target for David’s evil plan: Ludo Radovic (Taran Killam). Ludo is Morgan’s ex-husband and the father to Elliot and Chloe, though he stands in as a father figure for Ava as well. ThroughoutHigh Potentialseason 1,Ludo was Morgan’s rock, constantly ignoring his duties and needs to support the family. Ludo worked around Morgan’s schedule, taking care of the three kids for days on end. Though exhausting, it was a testament to Ludo’s dedication to his family.
Ava’s father is Roman Sinquerra, Morgan’s missing ex, who was confirmed to be alive inHigh Potential’s season 1 finale.
In fact,Ludo’s character inHigh Potentialis by far the most heroic as far as ensemble members go.High Potentialmade Ludo the most prominent character outside the main cast, making him sympathetic enough to be beloved while keeping him just distant enough to remain in the background. Although David’s grand plan is still unknown, it’s most likely that he will force Ludo into the forefront as a victim— either the first abduction to set the mood or his main trap to up the ante for Morgan inHigh Potentialseason 2.
Admittedly, Ludo seems almost too perfect a target. Unlike most of the characters, Ludo isn’t in law enforcement, meaning he doesn’t have the training necessary to neutralize a trained criminal. Morgan depends on him and, though their romance is over, loves Ludo as a co-parent.Even the thought of losing Ludo could be a turning point for MorganinHigh Potential, and whether David’s plan succeeds could be the determining factor in Morgan’s future character development. Still, David’s morbid creativity means there’s no predicting what he’ll do when he returns inHigh Potentialseason 2.
