The latest episode of Will Trent showcases the brilliance and finesse of the writers. The script is impeccably crafted, full of rich characterizations and intricate plot advancements that are brimming with meaning. The episode’s title, “No Faith in Second Chances,” alone is a testament to layered episodes and sophisticated storytelling. Let’s review.
This episode is so “rich” that it’s almost overwhelming to get your mind around it. Yet, the show skillfully advances a love story between Will Trent (Ramon Rodriguez) and ADA Marion Alba (Gina Rodriguez), puts more distance between past loves Will Trent and Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), and recenters these old lovers as friends.
Atlanta Police Department (APD) detectives Angie Polaski and Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) investigate the double murder of a farmer (Tim Peek) and a young woman, Peggy Higgins. The team quickly discovers that Peggy’s death is a copy of a murder supposedly committed by Angie’s former coworker, John Shelley (Dan Gill), for which he served 18 years in prison.
Shelley does a series of things that make him look guilty. For example, he locks himself in a bathroom while attempting to wash blood from his clothing. Later, he drops a cooler full of incriminating evidence, including a severed tongue. Yuk. He also runs from Angie—all while proclaiming his innocence for both crimes.
No one believes Shelley except his parole officer, Martha Lamb (Zabryna Guevara). Ms. Lamb is the one who shames Angie into taking his pleas of innocence seriously when she says, “I’m surprised that someone like you, Ms. Polaski, has no faith in second chances.” Our girl felt this deeply; she discovered Captain Heller (Todd Allen Durkin) was modified micromanaging her, instructing her to “stick to the basics.”
When Shelley’s sister turns over his journals to Angie, she mentions that he was using drugs when his prom date, Alice Finney, was raped and murdered. She says to Angie, “Drugs change you.” Angie knows this firsthand and appears to feel ashamed about it. She also gets stabbings with a peppermint stick while interviewing Shelley’s cellmate. The inmate asks her to consider how a man in prison could acquire a credit score of 710 and own a house. The plot thickens.
Doubting John Shelley’s guilt, Angie approached Freddy Markovic (Federico Rodriquez) from the District Attorney’s office to request a delay in charging Shelley due to the pending arrival of a witness, Mia Elkan (Teisha Speight). However, Markovic informed Angie, in front of his colleague, Marion Alba, that Captain Heller had implicated him to “supervise” her and that he had already charged John Shelley with murder. Angie’s humiliation in front of Will’s new romantic interest was unmistakable.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Special Agents Will Trent and Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson), investigate the case of a man burned beyond recognition in a suspicious fire located in gang territory. The Grove Park Boys gang is affiliated with Will’s old friend, Rafael Wexford (Antwayn Hopper). Wexford is also Sunny’s father. Sunny is the current ward of Deputy Director Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn).
Eventually, Will and Faith identify the guy burned by his socks. They interview the victim’s widow, Heather Olson (Bree Shannon), and his friend, Dax Mason (Michael Beasley), who is now intimately involved with the wife. immediately, Mason confessed to almost murdering his friend because he didn’t like the way his friend was treating his wife. The quick resolution of this case was the least interesting element of the plot.
Outside of work, Will and ADA Marion Alba get their flirt game on. Watching the Boricuas falling in love was electrifying—their chemistry palpable, igniting the screen with every glance, word, and kiss exchange.
Amanda struggles to establish and enforce boundaries between herself, Sunny, and Rafael. She demands that Rafael meet Sunny at her office. However, Sunny insists her father won’t enter a building full of police, having no faith in his second chance to rebuild the trust broken by violating Amanda’s visitation rules.
Despite Sunny’s doubts, Amanda believes Rafael will show up. And indeed, he does. Rafael encounters Will upon entering the building, wearing the watch once worn by Elias Baldwin (Noshir Dalal), who Will previously interviewed, linking potentially Rafael to the fires and Alba’s RICO case.
The writers masterfully manipulate my emotions in all the right ways. The love scenes between Will and Marion were so intense they left me breathless, while the interrogation of John Shelley’s cellmate (K. Todd Freeman) was unsettling.
I felt genuine sympathy for Shelley, disenchanted of returning to jail. Then, in the ending scene, Angie humbles herself and asks Will for help. She says, “If you ever had any faith in me…” Without hesitation, Will declares, “I’ll begin at the beginning,” demonstrating hisfaith in Angie’s second chance for professional success.
