High Potential Season 2, Episode 3, “Eleven Minutes” Spoilers Ahead
After everything with the Game Maker ended last week in “Checkmate,” it was obvious that things would slow down a bit in High Potential. Understandably, every case isn’t going to be some wild thriller that leads to big revelations. Some episodes, like “Eleven Minutes,” are meant to be quieter. They explore the beats in between, continue layering characters, and make us question how even bigger moments will come to pass.
In many ways, “Eleven Minutes” is about forgiveness. It’s about mothers and their children, but it’s also about absentee fathers and their eventual decision to come back and make matters right. In general, human beings are complicated: our choices aren’t always a simple yes or no—the scope of our understanding is too vast for things to be that easy, so the fact that we peel the curtain back a bit in this episode is a great place to start unveiling our complexities.
Morgan Opens Up to Ava + Mother and Daughter Get Arrested
While most of the exchanges inside the precinct deal with the case and not the characters, we get plenty of focus on Kardec’s role in Morgan’s life and how that translates outside of work to her kids as well. It’s understandable why Morgan doesn’t immediately tell Ava what she knows about Roman, but it’s also understandable that she takes Karadec’s advice to treat her like an adult. Only…well. Teenagers are even more complicated than adults sometimes, because everything is frustrating and very little makes sense. So while it seems like Ava understands why Morgan kept her in the dark, it also makes complete sense why she’d continue to feel abandoned by her dad. It’s understandable why she’d vandalize the mural and focus on the belief that he abandoned them.
In the midst of all this, my fangirl heart continues to squeeze every time Karadec plays a part in Morgan’s personal life because shipping aside, the way that he continues to show up for both of them is an incredibly lovely detail to cling to. More than that, the mother and daughter duo getting arrested together does something fascinating to continue allowing Ava and Morgan’s ways of getting closer and understanding each other better. After all of this, no matter what happens, Ava can know with full certainty that her mom is always on her side. And yeah, teenagers will continue to be rebellious, but even as we see through the cases in High Potential Season 2, Episode 3, “Eleven Minutes,” kids recognize all that their mothers do for them.
Every Small Morgan and Karadec Look – Always
Again, I do get why we get so little in terms of substantial moments in this episode, but I continue to be so impressed by how carefully Karadec pays attention. Adorable details like he knows Morgan’s coffee order not included, it’s the way that he knows which cases weigh more heavily on her. It’s the way that when he promised he’d have her back, he meant it. He wants good things for her in a way that’s just as important to him as it is to us, and that’s part of what makes their dynamic so captivating.
The fact that the camera deliberately pans to Karadec’s face to show us his reaction to whatever’s happening to Morgan isn’t accidental. We’ve seen these films and shows before. We know how it goes. There’s a reason, and there’s something bigger. These small moments are going to be so significant later on, which makes pointing them out now that much more fun. What I also can’t help but wonder is when we’ll get to know his past a bit more and how he’ll eventually open up. These cases clearly affect him, too, but it’s not just because he’s a relatively decent guy who cares about people. There has got to be some sort of darkness in Karadec’s past that points us in the direction of showing why he is the way that he is. Who hurt him? What broke him? Why did he really choose all of this? I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
Now streaming on Hulu: What are your thoughts on the High Potential Season 2, Episode 3, “Eleven Minutes?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: (Disney/Christine Bartolucci)