High Potential Is Setting The Stage For A Morgan-Nick Romance — But Here's Why We Have Our Doubts

Sparks are flying at the precinct on ABC's "High Potential," but we're not talking about Morgan and Karadec — not this time, anyway.

No, this latest HR investigation is all about Morgan and Nick, who shared an undeniably flirty exchange this week (Season 2, Episode 6). Midway through her investigation into the murder of a rich lawyer, Morgan bumped into Captain Wagner in the break room, instantly clocking his conspicuously missing mustache.

"Root beer on an unprotected lip?" she teased. "You're a mad man!" As you may recall, the first thing Morgan ever said to her new boss in Episode 4 was: "What's someone like you doing in a police station? Trying to get that mustache to make sense?" Naturally, she wondered if he shaved it off as a direct result of her shaming.

Nick insisted that the shave was long overdue, as "all winning streaks have to come to an end" eventually. He then pivoted the conversation to the case at hand, prompting Morgan to quip that the situation "isn't a ringing endorsement for marriage."

Captain Wagner seized this opportunity to ask Morgan more about her personal life, including asking why she's never been married. She gave a loose answer about how the permanence of marriage kills the romance, but he was more focused on what she wasn't saying. After a quick study of her mannerisms, he reached his conclusion: "I think the talk of marriage is making you a little anxious."

"My brain has a way of making sure relationships don't last very long, so let's just leave it at that," she replied. (Yeah, just ask Nurse Tom!)

Nick then shared that he once came close to tying the knot himself, but his fiancée passed away before they were able to exchange vows. He's single for now, though he seems quite happy about his four-year relationship with a bulldog named Ingrid. With all that in mind...

All signs point to yes on this one. Nick has only been on this show for a handful of episodes, yet we already know more about his personal life than any of Morgan's other co-workers. She sees him, and it appears as though he sees her too.

And let's not overlook the mustache of it all. There's no way Morgan was the first person to note how ridiculous that thing was. (And if she was, Nick needs some better friends in his life.) But assuming she was the first person, would one snide comment from an employee really be enough to make him shave it? Not unless this was someone he wanted to impress, we say!

When Steve Howey was first cast as Nick, TVLine floated the idea of a potential romance to "High Potential" showrunner Todd Harthan, who didn't exactly shoot the idea down. Reminding us about Morgan's history of butting heads with authority figures, Harthan said, "If that is going to happen, it's going to be tricky, laced with landmines. But unexpected chemistry is interesting to me. ... I think the seeds of that are something we're talking about and are worth exploring." And yet, we can't help but wonder...

Another fair question! Nick has been a shady character from the moment Morgan met him in that elevator, with even Judy Reyes noting in an interview with TVLine, "He's pretty mysterious and hard to trust, right?" And we're not about to disagree with the woman behind Soto.

When polled, 70% of TVLine readers agreed that Nick is secretly up to no good, and there's definitely part of us that agrees. When he (purposely?) misattributed that Bible verse, it felt like he was testing Morgan. And his line to her this week about how "all winning streaks have to come to an end" was eerily reminiscent of how Morgan spoke with Matthew, aka the Game Master. If a guarded person like Morgan were to be tricked into a relationship by someone with ulterior motives, that would certainly qualify as a significant loss.

Or perhaps he's gathering intel for reasons related to Morgan's estranged (and currently MIA) baby daddy Roman. At this point, we wouldn't rule anything out. But wait, there's more...

We're so glad you asked, because it's entirely possible that the events of the "High Potential" midseason finale (airing Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 10/9c) could completely change the course of Morgan's love life.

The episode introduces Aiden Turner ("All My Children") as Rhys, officially described as a "quick-witted, well-tailored art recovery specialist with the tenacity of a prosecutor and the instincts of a seasoned detective. Equal parts cultured and street savvy, Rhys navigates the murky world of stolen masterpieces."

And before you accuse us of jumping to romantic conclusions (trust us, we saw your comments on our latest Karadec-Morgan musings), just watch the trailer for the episode below. There's literally a shot of Morgan and Rhys making out. We may be delusional, but we're not hallucinating here:

In fact, when we asked Harthan about Morgan's love life at the beginning of the season, he teased a "really cool guest star" in the midseason finale. "That's going to be a little bit of an 'Oh, what's happening here?' situation with him and Morgan that's going to disrupt things," he said at the time. "We've got some surprises."

So, what are your thoughts on all of the above? Do you see the chemistry between Morgan and Nick? Are you firmly willing to wait for a Morgan-Karadec pairing down the road? And what do you make of this Rhys fella? Drop a comment with all of your thoughts below.