High Potential EP Defends Morgan's Shocking Decision In Midseason Premiere: 'I Have No Regrets'

"High Potential" resumed its second season on Tuesday with a first-of-its-kind twist ending that left the writers' room divided, showrunner Todd Harthan tells TVLine.

The midseason premiere picked up with the LAPD on the hunt for art thief Jean Baptiste, with Morgan convinced that the elusive baddie was none other than Rhys Eastman (guest-star Aiden Turner), last seen getting frisky with Morgan in a hotel room — hence her noticing the scar on his shoulder that matched a wound inflicted on Jean Baptiste.

While the LAPD set its sights on Emilio, the live-in boyfriend of murdered museum director Cyrus, Morgan remained fixated on Rhys, directly questioning him in the elevator at work. However, the investigation ultimately revealed that the Fosters, the owners of the painting, gave a forgery to the museum and kept the original for themselves; they were working with Cyrus to get the insurance money for their "stolen" painting, but when they learned that he was double-crossing them for his own cut of the pie, they took him out.

Karadec and Wagner apprehended the Fosters on their escape yacht, but when they went to retrieve the actual painting from the couple's possession — gasp! — it was gone. That's because Rhys, decked out in his finest scuba gear, snatched it from the yacht in the midst of the chaos. Morgan was waiting for him upon his return to land, but while she was quite pleased to discover that she was right all along... she let Rhys go!

Her decision ended up paying off, as Rhys actually returned the painting to its true owner, but it was certainly a leap of faith — one that technically required her to betray her entire team.

If you're surprised by — and perhaps even torn over — Morgan's decision to let Rhys escape, you're definitely not alone. Harthan tells TVLine that "it was a point of great debate" in the writers' room, but he stands by the decision: "I have no regrets."

Harthan admits that this is an "unusual" situation, but in his mind, Rhys stealing the painting to return it to its rightful owner was a "a morally ambiguous crime," allowing for some grey area. "These types of moves from Morgan is what separates her from everybody else, including the cops she works with," he says.

"I'm not going to toot our own horn here, but we do try to go into these episodes and put them to the test," Harthan adds. "We ask, 'What's the expected thing? What's the safe thing?' We don't want to cross certain lines, of course, but we're in the business of telling stories that surprise, so the audience comes back wanting more. We don't want to keep feeding them the same thing, so this was just an example of us taking a big swing."

The short answer to this question is no, much in the same way that the show would like to revisit other unfinished stories — like David Giuntoli's villainous Game Master — someday. 

"The reason why we do things like this in a long-running series is because it adds another potential thread that can weave back in whenever we decide it's worth it," Harthan says.

But don't spend too much time worrying about the possible repercussions of Morgan's risky move. Letting Rhys go isn't something she's going to dwell on moving forward, nor is her decision likely to come back to haunt her — at least not anytime soon.

"I haven't thought of it in those terms, other than to say that Morgan isn't someone who lives or wallows in regret," Harthan explains. "Decisions that have already been made are in her rearview mirror. I don't think that she goes back and overanalyzes."

The episode ended with Morgan & Co. celebrating their victory over drinks, giving viewers a brief but welcome look at the gang enjoying each other's company outside of the precinct for once.

"This is a group that loves each other," Harthan tells TVLine. "There's no agendas or backstabbing or anything. It's a group of people that have each other's backs, and that's what's infectious about this group. They're supportive. It's not that toxic competitiveness that can taint these kinds of relationships."

That said, we couldn't help but notice Karadec's fixation on Morgan and Wagner as he watched them talk — dare we say flirt — from across the bar. So, what exactly is going through Karadec's head in that final moment?

"Concern, worry, you know, the fear of the unknown," Harthan explains. "Karadec is still thinking, 'Who is this guy? What is his agenda?' He's still the outlier, the new guy coming into their family, so I think it's just anxiety. We're going to lean into that moving forward, and we really arc it out from Episode 9 to the end in an exciting and surprising way. By design, we really wanted Wagner to be this enigma and cause confusion and spark a lot of questions. We're going to answer all those in the back half of the season."

On the Wagner front, it sounds like Karadec — and the fandom by association — might be judging him a bit too harshly. For example, the Fosters were apparently dead wrong when they insinuated that Wagner cared more about his public image (via flashy press conferences, etc.) than actually solving their case.

"That's going to get proven wrong in a meaningful way in the back half of the season," Harthan tells TVLine. "It's a misread, and I think the thing that keeps drawing Morgan to him is that she can't quite put her finger on the pulse of what makes him tick. There are a lot of misconceptions about him, and I think that's what makes him interesting, confusing, and probably frustrating for her and the audience. He's a confusing guy, and the way that gets unpacked, I think people will be surprised."

OK, your turn to talk: Were you surprised that Morgan let Rhys escape? How are you feeling about Wagner at this point? Do you support a potential romantic future with Morgan, or are you waiting until you know the full extent of his deal? Grade the midseason premiere in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.