Because 2k words in my episode highlights weren’t enough, there’s still plenty more to discuss with Karadec comforting Morgan through her panic attack in High Potential‘s “The Faust and the Furious.”
As mentioned in the previous article that bears repeating as a starting point, “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not letting you go. It’s okay. Three things she can hear. One voice and soft, gentle words that promise she isn’t alone. He’s here beside her, and every beat of this scene is a masterclass in intimacy that’s both achingly raw and unmistakably important. We’re thankfully seeing more transparent depictions of mental health on TV, including panic attacks, but what we don’t often get is the perspective from someone who knows grounding techniques. In general, it’s happening for the first time, so this inclusion especially works for a show like High Potential and for a character like Morgan.
It’s telling and so profound for a partnership like Adam and Morgan’s, too. From the blocking to the performances, every moment of Morgan’s panic attack in High Potential Season 2, Episode 12, “The Faust and the Furious,” feels so real that it’s almost gut-wrenching to watch. Yet, simultaneously, it’s this very realness that makes it so admirable, and will perpetually be one of the show’s best moments because of how brilliantly it illuminates the trust, respect, and underlying adoration between Adam and Morgan.”
Sitting with this scene after its initial release and after rewatching it way too many times on repeat, I’m still floored by the execution and how raw it genuinely feels. A large part of it is because of Kaitlin Olson. A scene like this could never be as evocative as it is without an actress like her bringing every emotion to life authentically, and more importantly, because she cares and understands Morgan on a fundamentally deep level. I’m enamored by the fact that while it’s only a minute or two, there’s so much in the lighting and every breath they both take that’s going to be even more monumentally telling later down the line.
Karadec comforting Morgan through her panic attack is a scene that kickstarts everything because it’s a moment that fully reveals just how important two people are to each other, not only by proximity, but because of everything that’s happened before. Morgan panicking was inevitable in a moment where she couldn’t figure out what was happening, but Morgan coming out of it if someone other than Karadec hugged her would’ve been rare.
The guilt that she feels following this beat is also so familiar to those of us who experience panic attacks, but it’d be ten times worse if the person beside her weren’t her partner. It would be ten times worse if it were anyone but Karadec. In part, it’s because he’s one of the few people she fully trusts, but it’s also something deeper than neither of them is ready to confront just yet. It’s because, despite his grumpiness and the inability to meet her halfway, he provides a distinct sense of ease that she doesn’t have with anyone else.
But at the same time, she does the same for Karadec. She brings light into his life where there was once only darkness. Work, work, work, and absolutely zero sense of balance or joy in his life. She brings happiness in a way he’s never experienced, however brief the moment is. She’s the literal sunshine to his jagged edges, and how this scene encapsulates that by consistently making sure Morgan is illuminated in the lighting is intentional. In a really lovely and uplifting intent, it’s to remind us that those who are often taking care of others will eventually need someone to look out for them, too, but it also reveals that people, outside of Karadec, try to dim Morgan’s light.
It’s something we’ve seen with Wagner and Solomon, but we also know that it’s something her father used to do because Morgan tells us in “Under the Rug.” Thankfully, with Karadec, it’s always the opposite. His respect for her, despite the fact that they’re so vastly different, is through the roof. His understanding of her worth and value is limitless. His importance in her life is confirmed through the images of him that flash in her head while she’s panicking and trying to ground herself.
As I’d also said in the initial article: “Olson delivers a masterful performance, and all eyes should rightfully be on her, and how Sunjata meets her halfway is exactly what reveals the strength in their partnership.”
So much of what we get in this scene is reflected in the performances. It’s every forceful inhale and every cathartic exhale. It’s intimacy, ribboned around two people who are terrified of falling apart, with one of them coming undone in the presence of the sole person who’ll never hold it over their heads. It’s telling, in every way that a scene can be, how a man who claims to hate hugs ran straight toward her because the thought of Morgan Gillory suffering in any capacity fully broke him.
The sight of her crumbling cracks him wide open, making it impossible for him not to react because the Adam Karadec we’re getting to know is one who’d do anything to ensure Morgan Gillory’s safety, happiness, and ease. He’d protect her on and off the field, and the immensity of his commitment is something that even he hasn’t grappled with.
It’s not something he’s sat with, nor will he for a while, because this is a slow burn and the progression is so naturally human that it’s making everything that much more enticing. It’s agonizing, almost, but it’s still so revealing in how the scene pans out. There are two songs I keep coming back to when it comes to this specific scene of Karadec comforting Morgan through her panic attack: Florence and the Machine’s “Never Let Me Go” and Duran Duran’s “Come Undone.”
There really is something so significant about this scene that, as the next few episodes organically draw back to it, shifts in their dynamic will add even more layers to this exact moment. In an interview with TV Insider, Todd Harthan notes, “It’s really hitting them in real time, just how close they’ve become and how much they mean to each other, and I think it rattles them.” We can see exactly how it’s rattling them both, and it’s overwhelming to think about.
What are your thoughts on Karadec comforting Morgan through her panic attack? Let us know in the comments below.