Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of ABC’s ‘High Potential‘ presents many interesting cases, but one that stands out is the case of a stolen painting. The mystery unfolds over the course of two episodes, split by the mid-season break of the series, which leaves the fans on a cliffhanger about the identity of the thief. At the end of the seventh episode, which serves as the first part of ‘The One That Got Away,’ Morgan Gillory makes a shocking discovery that leads her to an answer about the identity of an infamous thief, Jean Baptiste, who may or may not have stolen the painting. However, as the events unfold and new evidence emerges, she is compelled to reevaluate her initial deduction. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Contents of Rhys’ Briefcase Help Solve the Case
While making out with Rhys, Morgan notices a scar on his back, which is consistent with the injury that Jean Baptiste is supposed to have. Morgan looks at the details in a new light and realizes that Rhys’ job as an art consultant and retriever is a perfect cover for his other persona, Jean Baptiste. The problem is that there is no definitive proof to show that he is the thief after all. Another curveball comes in the form of Cyrus’ murder, but she is relieved to discover that the museum director was killed when Rhys was with her, which means that he is not the murderer. Because she still needs to find evidence, Morgan is forced to behave naturally in front of Rhys, who starts to get suspicious about her behaviour around him.
At first, she tries to break into his hotel room, believing that she will find the stolen painting there. This is also when Karadec finds her, and she shares her theory with him. However, he points out that they cannot simply break into someone’s room. So, when he leaves, she enters the room by herself, but is disappointed when the painting is nowhere to be seen. As the case gets more tangled after Cyrus’ death, some answers start to emerge, too. In the midst of this, Morgan becomes obsessed with finding out what’s in Rhys’ briefcase. She notes that he carries it with him all the time, but he has never actually opened it. This leads her to the conclusion that the painting might be inside the briefcase.
In the end, after the painting retrieved from Cyrus’s boyfriend Emilio’s office is found to be a fake, Morgan confronts Rhys. She forces him to open the briefcase, even as he tries to tell her that it contains nothing but documents and case files. But when she is not convinced, he decides to show her the contents. Once again, she is disappointed to find no trace of the painting. However, she does notice some documents relating to the painting’s owners, Linda and Greg. It turns out that the painting was the only art they’d insured that year, as if they had known it was going to be stolen. She realises that they orchestrated the whole thing for the $22 million insurance money. This clears Rhys’ name from the case, but this doesn’t mean he is cleared of being Jean Baptiste.
Another Suspect Emerges in the Case of Jean Baptiste
Morgan’s whole case against Rhys rests on the fact that she saw a scar on his back. When she starts to act weird around him, he decides to clear the air and explains that he was shot many years ago. At the same time, Cyrus’s boyfriend, Emilio, is arrested after Morgan notices the items used by the thief, and he tries to flee. At the precinct, he is made to remove his shirt, and it turns out that he has several scars on his chest and back. He says he got the scars while serving in the Colombian army, but his past as a soldier gives more weight to the possibility of him being the notorious thief. For a moment, it seems Morgan was mistaken, especially after the stolen painting is found in his office. But then, it turns out that the painting was a fake.
This leads Morgan back to Rhys, so she demands to see the contents of his briefcase. Once again, she is disappointed when there is no painting there, but by now, too many details have come out to convince her otherwise. Eventually, Linda and Greg are caught for faking the theft of their painting and killing Cyrus, who was in cahoots with them. However, when the couple is arrested, the real painting goes missing, and Morgan correctly deduces that Rhys stole it. He was in possession of the documents that showed that Linda and Greg had insured the painting. This means that Rhys must have made the same conclusions Morgan did.
She is proven right when she waits by his car at the beach and then watches him walk out of the ocean in a wetsuit, carrying the painting. She could have had him arrested red-handed, but she chooses not to. This isn’t just because she likes him, but because she knows that he, too, wanted Miriam Weisman, the true owner of the painting, to have it. Just the knowledge that the Weismans will have the painting and that she was right in deducing Jean Baptiste’s true identity, even when she had nothing but a scar to go by, is enough for her.
Read More: High Potential: Is the ABC Show Inspired By a True Story?
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