Although Will Trent completely changed the character of Michael Ormewood from author Karin Slaughter’s source novels, this would make the show reinstating his original death all the more shocking. As Will Trent season 4 approaches, the show is on track to pull off a hugely impressive feat. Where most shows gradually lose viewers with each season, Will Trent has gained them.
This may not come as a shock to fans of the character’s creator, author Karin Slaughter. Slaughter’s novels have sold more than 40 million copies since her 2001 debut Blindsighted and, although her novel Pretty Girls was even more successful than the Will Trent books, the novel series remains hugely popular.
That said, the ABC procedural Will Trent is far from a faithful adaptation of Slaughter’s books. The basic premise is the same, with both following the eponymous quirky GBI special agent as he attempts to investigate crimes and corruption, constantly leading him into the path of the Atlanta Police Department.
Ormewood Dies In The First Will Trent Book
However, the Will Trent books are far darker than the show, and viewers familiar with the series will know that this is saying something. Although Will Trent has plenty of moments of well-judged levity, the procedural takes itself and Will’s job seriously. However, Slaughter’s source books are darker and edgier, with more disturbing content.
A perfect example of the difference between the Will Trent books and the ABC show comes in Michael Ormewood, a character whose story diverges wildly depending on the telling. As Slaughter noted to TVGuide, readers of the first Will Trent novel don’t know that Ormewood is its villain until midway through the book.
Ormewood’s book death is a brutal, fitting end for an awful villain and one that bears no resemblance to the show’s character of the same name.
However, once this is revealed, it soon becomes clear that Ormewood is an irredeemable monster. A child abuser and rapist, the villain is killed at the end of the novel by Angie to ensure he can’t claim any more victims. Ormewood’s book death is a brutal, fitting end for an awful villain and one that bears no resemblance to the show’s character of the same name.
In one of his first on-screen appearances, Ormewood misgenders a suspect while, only a few episodes later, he physically assaults another. Clearly, the show’s version of the character is a deeply morally questionable character that viewers are not encouraged to root for. However, that’s not all he is.
Will Trent’s TV Show Has Changed Ormewood Completely
As Will Trent season 1 goes on, it becomes clear that Ormewood is not a straightforward villain, although he can be a pretty terrible person. However, as the show continues, Ormewood is gradually redeemed by Will Trent seasons 2 and 3 as he faces personal hardships and uses them as opportunities to grow and change.
Ormewood’s wife understandably leaves him after getting sick of his mistreatment, and he later learns in season 3 that he has a brain tumor. By the time Will Trent season 3’s brain tumor storyline occurred, the character had become something of an unlikely comic relief and his clumsy attempts to be a better cop, partner, and person were unexpectedly sympathetic.
There is no denying that Ormewood is deeply flawed and problematic, but even the heroes of Will Trent have killed people.
Will Trent’s TV show changed Ormewood completely, turning an unambiguous monster into one of the show’s most complex characters. There is no denying that Ormewood is deeply flawed and problematic, but even the heroes of Will Trent have killed people. Most strikingly, Will himself kills an unarmed child by mistake in season 3 and is haunted by this horrifying mistake.
Ormewood’s Redemption Would Make His Season 4 Death Sadder
Although viewers aren’t encouraged to give Ormewood’s earlier failures a free pass, Will Trent season 3 does depict a man who is trying to learn from his mistakes and do better. This is what makes his diagnosis so devastating. While Will Trent season 3’s darkest moment was Will’s accidental killing, this twist proves that Ormewood’s entire could be for nothing.
Ormewood’s original book fate will no longer make any sense, as he isn’t guilty of the crimes of his book counterpart. However, Will Trent season 4 could still kill off Ormewood, albeit via his brain tumor, rather than murder, since this death would now be far more shocking.
Slaughter’s famous novels do not pull their punches, and one of the greatest tragedies of her books is just how many decent people die in the course of their stories. As such, turning Ormewood into a character that viewers ended up rooting for, only to kill him off just as he had started to turn his life around, could be a truly shocking twist.
Will Trent Season 4 Killing Ormewood Would Be Truly Tragic
The main reason that Pretty Girls is unlikely to be adapted as a network TV show despite the success of Will Trent is the bracing brutality of the book’s shocking content. It is hard for a procedural to shock viewers as much as crime books like Slaughter’s novels can, and this is what makes Ormewood’s potential season 4 death a fascinating proposal.
As such, it would be a brutal, but ingenious, callback to the source books to kill Ormewood long after throwing viewers off the scent by changing his character so completely. Ormewood’s death would now be a devastating twist in season 4, even though it seemed like a foregone conclusion to book readers back in season 1.
The best adaptations take their source material and turn it into something new without losing what made the original media special. This is precisely what allows Will Trent’s book changes to work even though the show veers so far away from what viewers expect from a faithful take on the novels.
