TV Recap: High Potential Season 2 Episode 14 — "If You Come For The Queen"
A decades-old grudge leads to a murder pact with a stranger, putting both Dottie Reynolds and an unconnected young man in the crosshairs of killers who counted on never being linked. As Daphne steps up to lead her first case with the woman who mentored her fighting for her life, Morgan untangles two seemingly unrelated crimes into one ruthless scheme. Here is a recap of this week’s episode of High Potential.
Season 2, Episode 14: “If You Come For the Queen” – Written by Rebecca Kirsch & Nicole French
At a high-end spa, a woman named Dottie (Michaela Hyatt) stores her belongings in a locker—including a gun—before being escorted to a massage room by attendant Kai (Kwame Patterson). Moments after he steps out, an unseen intruder enters wearing gloves and strangles her.
At home, Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) is surrounded by clutter. Elliot (Matthew Lamb) can’t find his drone controller, and Ava (Amirah J) emerges offering to help with Zoe. Morgan senses Ava has good news—and she does: she got into the Oberlin Design Center class. Before Morgan can celebrate, a work call pulls her away.
Morgan meets Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) at the hospital. Dottie is unconscious but stable, and the team won’t know the extent of her brain damage yet. To Morgan’s surprise, Daphne (Javicia Leslie) is already at Dottie’s bedside—visibly shaken. Dottie was Daphne’s field training mentor, a relationship that evolved into something like a surrogate mother–daughter bond. Dottie had been pushing Daphne to take the Sergeant’s exam, but Daphne had pushed back, having seen how officers like Soto and Dottie were treated in their careers. The disagreement turned into a fight, and the two hadn’t spoken since.
Soto assigns Daphne as lead detective on the case—her first. Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) is across town working a suspicious overdose with Lev “Oz” Osman (Dennis Akdeniz). Soto asks Morgan to support Daphne, and the two head to the spa.
Kai walks them through the facility. Morgan spots sensors on the guests’ wrists and learns the spa tracks vitals—which explains an adhesive mark found on Dottie’s wrist. Kai confirms he stepped away for about ten minutes due to an unordered oil delivery, during which the assault occurred. The massage rooms are soundproof. Morgan concludes the delivery was a deliberate distraction.
Since Dottie’s appointment was routine, Morgan and Daphne head to the police academy, where Dottie taught continuing education classes. The Academy Director (Timothy Hornor) describes her as extraordinarily by-the-book—she filed everything on time, reported every infraction, and never missed a deadline. In her office, Morgan notices something wrong: the filing system is deliberately disordered. Drawers are ajar, binders out of sequence, papers clipped incorrectly. Someone went through this space. Inside a drawer, Morgan finds a stack of unfiled confidential reports—mandated filings Dottie would never have left unsubmitted.
Outside, Morgan spots a red-haired man carrying a matching red folder. When she points him out, he bolts. Daphne runs him down and cuffs him.
Karadec and Soto watch through one-way glass as Daphne conducts her first interrogation. The suspect, Officer Hoff (Jake Austin Walker), is a probationary cop who lost his firearm outside a Rams game—and whom Dottie wrote up for it. He’s dismissive and condescending, telling her she’s out of her league. But his account of the morning seems genuine. Daphne steps out and tells Karadec he doesn’t feel like their suspect. Karadec compliments how she played the newbie to keep Hoff comfortable and talking.
Meanwhile, Soto updates Karadec: Arthur’s attacker has been identified as Eric Hayworth (John Pyper-Ferguson), a New Jersey man currently hospitalized after Arthur’s counterattack—they’ll bring him in once he’s medically cleared.
Good news arrives: Dottie is awake. Morgan and Daphne visit her at the hospital. Dottie is proud to hear Daphne is running the case. She answers their questions about her recent calendar—nothing stands out to her as obviously threatening.
Back at the precinct, Morgan is at the case board, all her markers running dry, when she notices Oz working on the overdose case. She offers to trade—help on his case in exchange for his markers. Soto approves. Oz’s victim is Luke Knight (Alex Elin Goyco), 28, a personal trainer found dead in his apartment from an ibuprofen overdose, with a suspicious lack of pills in his stomach. He died between 8 and 10 the previous night.
Morgan catches something: both Dottie and Luke had the same adhesive residue on their wrists. The two cases are connected. Dottie walks in to help and confirms she doesn’t recognize Luke’s name. Since Luke was killed at home, Morgan and Daphne return to the spa while Karadec and Oz visit the gym where Luke worked.
At the gym, manager Phyllis (JoNell Kennedy) describes Luke as dedicated and well-connected—he trained celebrities and high earners and had a strong social media following. She says she doesn’t know anyone who had a problem with him and doesn’t recognize Dottie’s photo. Oz pulls up Luke’s Instagram and finds a reference to a rivalry with another trainer, Vaz Amadi (Eric Urbiztondo), whose biggest client apparently defected to Luke. Vaz happens to be training in the gym right now. He denies knowing Dottie and was doing a live training session at the time of Luke’s death, which can be verified.
Meanwhile, Morgan slips away to check on Ava. She finds her staring at her phone in distress: classmates are implying Ava only got into Oberlin because of her race rather than her talent. Morgan sits with her, acknowledges how unfair it is, and asks how she can help. Ava says she can’t—this is something she needs to work through herself. Morgan pulls her into a hug. “I’m right here,” she promises.
Back at the spa, Dottie thanks Kai for saving her life; he promises her a free massage when the investigation concludes, and Daphne notes the warmth between them. Spa owner Kirk Hartford (Will Greenberg) joins them. He apologizes, and Dottie confirms she has no intention of suing. Daphne informs him about Luke Knight’s death and asks to check the guest log—no record of Luke ever visiting. Hartford adds that the spa closed early the previous evening for an all-staff meeting, which rules out any employee as Luke’s killer.
At the precinct, Daphne convenes with Karadec and Oz. The gym visit turned up nothing useful. The pressure of leading the case is getting to her, and Karadec suggests sleep might bring clarity. Then Ava arrives—she asked a friend for a ride and came to talk to Daphne. Before that conversation can happen, Dottie loses her balance in the kitchen. Daphne insists on taking her back to the hospital.
At the hospital, Daphne sits with Dottie and finally clears the air between them. She admits she doesn’t want to pursue the Sergeant’s exam because she’s watched Soto get passed over, and she’s tired of throwing herself against a system that may not move. Dottie pushes back: you have to throw yourself at the wall to break through. A text from Ava interrupts, and Daphne tells her she’ll be there soon.
Ava meets Daphne in the hospital hallway. Morgan already told everyone about the Oberlin acceptance, and Ava shows her the post she’s been stewing over—casual disbelief that a Black woman could simply be talented. Daphne says she’s encountered that her entire career. When Ava asks what she does about it, Daphne tells her: “I show them how wrong they are.” Then she turns it back: what does Ava’s heart say?
At home, Elliot tells Morgan that his drone witnessed a delivery driver shatter a neighbor’s window, but his friend Theo is being blamed. Elliot wants to speak up. Something clicks for Morgan.
Back at the precinct, Morgan looks at both cases side by side and rethinks the premise. The team has been hunting for someone with a personal motive against Dottie. But Morgan now believes Dottie’s attacker was a stranger who had been methodically observing her from a distance. Dottie’s doorbell footage and credit card records reveal a fixed daily routine, and her neighborhood social posts tell the rest: the same motorcycle appears repeatedly—blocking her driveway, near her coffee shop, reported by a neighbor for noise. The same bike, three times over three weeks. Someone mapped her life from the outside. And Luke’s killer was entirely separate. Two killers. Two victims. One pact—each kills a stranger the other has never met, making both crimes nearly impossible to link.
Daphne, Karadec, and Soto work through Morgan’s board. Vaz Amadi was at the spa the morning Dottie was attacked. Oz pulls his DMV records—partial match on the motorcycle. The team searches his apartment and finds past-due bills and signs of financial desperation. Morgan spots a strap consistent with the ligature marks on Dottie’s throat, along with wound ointment suggesting he cut his hand during the attack. In the bedroom, she finds supplies for at-home IV recovery—the same type Luke was receiving at the spa. A killer could have swapped out Luke’s IVs for a lethal ibuprofen dose. That means whoever was treating Vaz is the other half of the murder pact.
Soto goes to interrogate Eric Hayworth. She asks whether the name Roman Sinquerra means anything to him. He claims it doesn’t, though she points out he abducted Roman sixteen years ago. Hayworth acknowledges he won’t “flip on her,” referring to a mysterious boss. He makes his demands clear for cooperation.
Lab results confirm Vaz’s IV contained recovery residue. The killer wasn’t a spa employee but had to have supplied the IV bags and had access to the sensors. Daphne realizes Kirk Hartford wasn’t being entirely honest. Brought in for questioning, Hartford initially refuses to name his IV supplier, citing confidentiality. Morgan points out the bags are blank—no standard labeling—and suggests the formulas may be unlicensed, which would expose him to significant legal liability. He relents: the supplier is Phyllis Martell.
The pieces fall into place. Vaz had been Phyllis’ client for years. The two likely vented their frustrations to each other until a plan formed. Dottie is shown Phyllis’ photo and immediately recognizes her: a sorority sister from college. Phyllis was obsessed with power and control, hazing pledges so severely that one was hospitalized. Dottie reported the chapter. Phyllis was suspended and ultimately charged with a felony. The conviction kept her out of law school. Three weeks ago, her appeal to have the felony overturned was denied—and shortly after, she watched Dottie speak at an alumni event.
Morgan heads to Phyllis’ RV. Dottie insists on coming. Daphne enters with her weapon drawn and clears it—but Phyllis left hours ago. Her toiletries are gone, her bank accounts empty. A box of Q-tips and gun oil suggests she cleaned a weapon before leaving. Outside the RV, a bus station: the last bus out is heading to Tijuana.
Daphne, Oz, and Karadec intercept the bus. Phyllis draws her gun. Daphne gets on the megaphone and convinces Phyllis to let the passengers they go. She speaks about what it’s like to feel invisible, to spend a career fighting to prove yourself to people who had already made up their minds. She tells her: “A mistake doesn’t define you.” Phyllis steps off the bus. Karadec makes the arrest.
Karadec finds Soto. Hayworth has asked for immunity in exchange for cooperation. All he’s offered so far is a name: Willa Quinn. Soto plans to tell Morgan in the morning, unsure how she’ll receive it.
In the lobby, Dottie thanks Morgan for her work on the case. She stops at Daphne’s desk and tells her she’s a bright light she won’t let fade out. Daphne promises she won’t. After Dottie leaves, Daphne tells Morgan about her conversation with Ava and says she wants to reach out again to clarify a few things. Morgan tells her she trusts her.
Daphne meets Ava at a restaurant. Ava still hasn’t decided about Oberlin. Daphne acknowledges she was deflecting yesterday and offers something more direct: “Decide who you are in this world despite how it sees you.” Ava thanks her.
Next Episode: “Pie In the Sky” - Airing Tuesday, March 17th, at 9/8c on ABC.
When a renowned retired astronaut is murdered in plain sight, Morgan and the team uncover some of his mysterious entanglements. Soto travels to New York City to meet a high-profile political fixer connected to Roman’s disappearance.
Songs Featured in This Episode:
- “Keep Moving” by MØ
- “12 to 12” by Sombr
- “Ribbons” by Yazmin Lacey