Will Trent star Ramon Rodríguez discusses the show’s most recent devastating twist and how it is set to impact his character moving forward. Following the titular Will Trent, a highly observant agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the show is based on the series of novels by Karin Slaughter, and debuted on ABC in January 2023. Rodríguez has led the cast of Will Trent since its debut, and with the show’s season 3 currently airing, the series is presenting plenty of shocking twists and story arcs.
Per TV Line, Rodríguez discusses the latest twist, where Will Trent season 3, episode 11 sees the tragic death of 14-year-old Marco, who is accidentally killed by Will during a gunfight with an armed convict. The young boy dies in Will’s arms on the way to the hospital, leaving the protagonist scarred and adding more weight to his already damaged psyche. Rodríguez talks about how the trauma might impact Will, as well as whether he will be able to get over the incident and his role in it. Check out Rodríguez’s comments below:
Will is no stranger to trauma. Where do you think this shooting ranks among the worst moments in his life?
I mean, it’s up there. This is something that, although it was accidental, he was the cause of it, and I think it’s a little different when you’re the cause of trauma versus just receiving trauma, so it’s really high up there. He has never done anything like this. It’s one of those moments that is going to change him forever. It is something that will continue to haunt him, and that he will have to deal with [throughout Season 3] because he cannot come to terms with it. It’s a very difficult thing.
We have a great GBI consultant that works with us in Atlanta. His name is Brian, and I got to talk to him and other cop friends about it, and it’s one of the most horrific things that could ever happen on duty, where something happens to go awry and ends up taking a life away — a child’s life. It’s horrific.
Last season, we saw Will blame himself for the death of his foster mom Anna. He even blames himself, in part, for the fate of his birth mom Lucy. Is he going to find a way to work through all of this self-loathing, or is Marco’s death going to be another tragedy in his life where he can’t quite shake this feeling that he was at fault?
This is something that he’s going to struggle with for a while. Is it going to be something that he completely gets over? I can’t answer that, but I will tell you that it’s something that’s going to [propel him] to figure out what’s going on with him. Up until this point, he’s never really— we’ve heard him talk about some stuff that’s happened [in his past], but we’ve never actively seen him try to do anything about it. He’s just developed coping mechanisms throughout the years.
He’s someone that needs to be doing something, being active, and that’s a way of him coping — whether it’s work, or building something, or working on the house or whatever. This will be the first time that we’re able to finally activate him, to become a bit more involved in trying to figure out what’s actually happening and if there is anything he can really do about it.
What This Means For Will Trent For The Rest Of Season 3
Will Might Find It Difficult To Perform To His Regular Standards
Will has already been through his fair share of trauma, going through the foster system as a child and blaming himself for the deaths of his foster mother and biological mother, and this is adding fresh trauma to his already troubled mind. While Will is ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing by the GBI, via an internal investigation, it is likely to be an event that will haunt him, for at least the remainder of Will Trent season 3. As Rodríguez points out, being the cause of trauma is different from receiving trauma, and the guilt associated with this is going to be difficult for Will to reconcile with.
“One of the only benefits that could come from Marco’s death is that it could prompt Will to revisit his traumas and find some closure in future episodes of Will Trent.”
Our Verdict On How Will Is Going To Be Impacted By Marco’s Tragic Death
It Could Prompt Will To Face His Traumas
What makes Will such a fascinating character is that he is good at compartmentalizing and tends to bury trauma with other trauma. One of the only benefits that could come from Marco’s death is that it could prompt Will to revisit his traumas and find some closure in future episodes of Will Trent. I suspect Will is going to be haunted by the accident for the rest of the season, spilling into Will Trent season 4, and it could cause him to re-evaluate his approach to negative experiences in his life and try to deal with them more proactively.
