The appeal of the savant sleuth in fiction seems endless, and television continues to embrace the trope. Recent years have introduced audiences to a puzzle-setter turned detective in Ludwig, a human lie-detector in Poker Face‘s Charlie Cale, and the brilliant attorney Elsbeth Tascioni in her own self-titled spin-off.
Joining this roster is Morgan Gillory, the protagonist of the procedural drama High Potential, now returning for its second season. With an IQ of 160, Morgan’s ability to unravel complex crimes is astonishing. However, she diverges from the archetype established by characters like Sherlock Holmes. While brilliant detectives are often portrayed with significant personal flaws—Ludwig’s reclusiveness, Cale’s chaotic nature, or Elsbeth’s off-putting weirdness—Morgan is a different breed.
Portrayed by Kaitlin Olson, Morgan has few comparable weaknesses. Initially introduced as a cleaner in LAPD offices, she accidentally discovers errors in an investigation and leaves a clue for the officers. Her talent quickly leads to her recruitment as a consultant, where she solves a series of labyrinthine cases with remarkable ease. Morgan is not only exceptionally intelligent but also charismatic, fearless, and emotionally perceptive. While she can be pushy, her urgency is framed as a natural consequence of her life-saving work.
Despite Morgan’s near-perfect capabilities, her personal life is depicted as a struggle. As a single mother of three, she has trouble making ends meet, a situation that feels inconsistent with her immense intellectual gifts. The show’s central long-running mystery is also difficult to reconcile with her abilities: her determination to find the father of her eldest child, who vanished 15 years prior, a case her deductive powers have inexplicably failed to solve.
Ultimately, High Potential prioritizes accessible entertainment over realism. Produced by ABC, it is slick, crowd-pleasing television with a uniformly pleasant, if two-dimensional, supporting cast. This includes the suave detective Karadec, fellow investigators Daphne and Oz, and Lt. Selena Soto, perhaps the most reasonable police chief in procedural history. The show avoids antiheroes and narrative edge, opting instead for a cosy and heartwarming tone.
The crimes, however, are anything but basic. The season one finale featured a kidnapper who taunted Morgan with elaborate puzzles, a storyline that continues in the season two premiere. The villain returns, abducting a young mother to lure Morgan into another high-stakes intellectual battle. While the setup is tense and thrilling, the show struggles with its conclusions. The suspense often culminates in a preposterous resolution, revealing that the series isn’t quite as clever as its protagonist.
Still, the quality of the plotting can be inconsistent. A subsequent case, though equally far-fetched, is better constructed and concludes with a surprisingly moving climax. In the end, like her many predecessors in the genre, High Potential‘s virtuoso citizen detective can always be relied upon to save the day.
