Will Trent Season 1 Episode 2 Review: I'm a Pretty Observant Guy
Laura Nowak
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The Campano kidnapping case wrapped up too quickly.
Will and Faith fingered a sexual predator for Emma's kidnapping on Will Trent Season 1 Episode 2, while Angie used her past to get a witness to open up.
The past came back to haunt Will, Angie, and Paul.
Paul was different from his behavior on Will Trent Season 1 Episode 1. He was still aggressive but wanted to work with Will and Angie.
His reckless gunshot led Will to Evan Bernard.
Will: We got his DNA. Now we need to arrest you because you just shot a man in his driveway. If you’re right, then everything else we do needs to be by the book if he’s still alive.
Paul: I can’t believe you two are still hooking up. You know, there’s a whole world of people out there, right?
I'll admit that I'm a crime TV junkie and watch lots of Law & Order: SVU, but there were many loopholes in the sexual predator part of the case.
First, it seemed odd that Paul would know where Evan Bernard lived and would go straight to his enemy's house to confess to shooting Evan.
Beyond that, there was no inclination on why Evan was attracted to young girls. Beyond even that, the students loved him, and he wrote them college recommendations.
It also seemed suspicious that he used to teach at a university level, and now, he wanted to inspire younger minds.
It almost seemed like Evan had a personal issue with Will. He became argumentive during each conversation, challenging him, whether it was the legal age of sleeping with minors or how Will recorded his notes.
Evan gave me the creeps. He knew enough about the law to skate by. Why did he hate people with dyslexia so vehemently that he taunted Will?
Evan: You used the word shame earlier. Is that a big theme in your life? How old were you when you realized you weren’t keeping up?
Will: Where is Emma, Evan?
Evan: Is your whole life organized around keeping your secret?
There had to be a reason he chose Warren as one of his accomplices, too. Was it just because he could hold the disability over his head and control him, or was there more?
Since Evan had a pedophile room, it seemed like he preferred controlling his victims, and if they got out of line, he disposed of them.
The case of the week also dealt with a sexual predator. Angie had her suspicions immediately, and it took a while to get there.
Nico didn't come alive until Angie took her to Will's, and Betty enchanted the runaway teen. Pet therapy and simple affection worked to put her at ease.
Angie has a way with people, so she admitted that both she and Will had it rough as teens but turned it around. She wanted to help Nico and get justice for Sasha.
Nico: She was my friend.
Angie: Then, let’s do this one last thing for her.
I also appreciated that Angie paid attention to Nico's needs and offered her a job.
Poor Angie was put through the wringer. She was on cloud nine, thinking she and Will would go on an actual date, and he listened when he asked her to revisit her past to assist with the case.
As Angie revealed, her mom used to pimp her out when she was a young child, so she understood loving someone who was awful. There wasn't a dry eye watching.
The plan worked, and Mary finally confessed, including giving up Emma's location, but that favor may have wrecked Angie and Will's relationship.
Angie finally listened and realized their relationship might be co-dependent, and they only reminded each other of their traumatic past. At the same time, Will learned how much he loved her. Since they have such a magnetic pull, how long will they be apart?
As evidenced by the Campano case, Will hasn't yet learned how to work with a partner. Faith has become the ideal partner for Will because she keeps him on his toes.
Faith: You’re going to the school without me, aren’t you?
Will: Yes. You’re welcome to come.
Like Amanda, Faith didn't put up with anything from Will. She demanded to be kept in the loop even in the middle of the night.
Will still had lots to learn until Faith saved him from a gunshot. Now, he might remember to update her on time.
It will be entertaining to see how these two proceed on future cases.
I wish they hadn't wrapped up the Campano kidnapping case so soon and had let it breathe for a longer arc. Karin Slaughter covered the kidnapping arc in the entire second book of the series, "Fractured." It needed at least a few more episodes.
Longer arcs help to get viewers invested in the series, whereas cases of the week vary because we may not see those characters again.
Jennifer Morrison and Mark-Paul Gosselaar were terrific additions to the cast as Emma's frantic parents. We could have spent more time with them, learning about their dysfunctional relationship and watching it heal once they found their daughter.
We needed more time to understand Evan Bernard's motivations, too. An episode devoted to why he targeted the young women and dyslexic students like Warren and Will would have also helped the case.
But it's more than that. We only scratched the surface of the relationships between Paul, Will, and Angie and their traumatic past in foster care.
Those interpersonal relationships are the most exciting part of the series, and the three characters offer a fascinating rapport.
Paul made an exciting frenemy, and hopefully, we'll see him again in a recurring capacity. Paul's truth-telling one-liners were interesting when not malicious.
We need to learn more about what happened during foster care that inspired Will and Angie to work in law enforcement and why they have such a dysfunctional bond with each other and Paul.
Over to you, Will Trent Fanatics. Do you prefer longer storyline arcs or case-of-the-week crimes?
Are Will and Angie over, or do you think they'll reunite? Let us know in the comments.
Remember, if you missed an episode, you could watch Will Trent online via TV Fanatic.
Will Trent airs at 10/9c on Tuesdays on ABC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.
