TV Recap: 'Will Trent' — Ormewood Races to Stop a Wrongful Execution in "It Was a Meat Cute"
"It Was a Meat Cute," is a rare inversion of Will Trent's usual formula. While Will's storyline leans into breezy romantic comedy — retrieving a stolen urn supposedly containing Meat Loaf's ashes — it's Ormewood, Angie, and Faith who carry the emotional weight of the hour. Their race to stop the execution of a man wrongfully convicted based on a lying eyewitness is urgent, morally serious, and ultimately the heart of the episode. The result is one of this season's most affecting installments, precisely because it dares to let its ensemble — not its lead — carry the burden of justice.
Season 4, Episode 9: "It Was a Meat Cute" - Written by Adam Toltzis
In a 2010 flashback, Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) chases a Black man, George Long (Drew Potter), through an alley. George insists Ormewood has the wrong person, but Ormewood says an eyewitness placed him at the scene.
In the present day, news coverage announces the scheduled execution of George Long, convicted of murdering a real estate developer and his wife a decade ago.
Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) walks into a bar where the news is playing, meeting Ava (Julia Chan). She seems eager to leave — "Let's go to your place." After a little coaxing, Will agrees. A man in a nearby booth appears to be watching them.
As Will and Ava walk outside, the man begins to follow them. Will notices and asks Ava if she recognizes him; she doesn't. They duck into an alley, where Will ambushes the man and pushes him against a wall. He identifies himself as Brent Fontaine (David Marshall Silverman), a retired NYPD cop. He says Ava stole something from Ron Moffatino (John Devennie), an interior decorator, and was hired to get it back — an urn — and gives them a midnight deadline. Ava tells Will it's not simple: the urn contains rock-n-roll legend Meat Loaf's ashes. Will promises to help get it back.
Meanwhile, Joanne Drexel (Ilfenesh Hadera) enters the APD with a man, shouting for Ormewood because he was the responding officer in the George Long case. Ormewood doesn't recognize the man — Harris (Justice Leak), the eyewitness — who announces: "I lied. I made it all up." Drexel informs them they have nine hours to stop George's execution.
Will and Ava sit at an outdoor café. She explains she was hired to photograph Ron's recent design work for $1,500, but he stiffed her, so she took the urn to leverage payment. Will is taken aback; she tells him he doesn't know what it's like to hustle. Will counters by mentioning he's a big Meat Loaf fan and asks where the urn is now. She pawned it. Will then asks his AI assistant, Eduardo, who Meat Loaf is, making Ava laugh because she didn't believe him.
Ormewood and Angie (Erika Christensen) meet with Joanne and Harris. Harris explains he heard gunshots in a parking garage across the street from a restaurant. When Ormewood asked him if he saw anything, he described George Long — but Harris only saw George walking down the street and panicked when Ormewood questioned him. Ormewood pushes back: Harris was brought in days later to make an ID. Angie notices that Harris seems drunk and accuses Joanne of manipulating the witness. Harris, panicked, apologizes again.
Ormewood storms out; Angie follows. Drexel catches up and tells Ormewood his career benefited from this case — he was promoted to detective after the conviction. She announces she will file a last-minute appeal and leaves. Ormewood vows to review the case files.
Ava and Will return to the pawn shop where she sold the urn. The owner, Craig (James Logan), has already sold it online, drawing high bids from New York City. He refuses to name the buyer — until Will spins a tearful story about his parents meeting at a Meat Loaf concert, calling it a "meat cute." Charmed, Craig gives them the buyer's name: Murph Sanchez (Brian Kurlander), who is throwing a party that night. He warns them Murph can be a jerk. On their way out, a rude man (Erik Belle) blocks their path and gives Ava an unwelcome once-over.
Back at APD, Ormewood’s makeshift office is cluttered with the George Long files. Faith (Iantha Richardson) knocks to invite him to get a burrito, spots the files, and pulls up a chair to help. Before the alleged murder, George spent six years in prison for robbing a car wash. When Ormewood caught him, he had a large sum of cash that prosecutors argued was stolen from the murdered couple. Angie adds that forensics found no fingerprints linking George to the crime scene, and the murder weapon was never recovered. Faith asks who worked the case: Ernie Pyzack (Michael MacCauley), whom she nicknames "Home By" because he never stayed late. Angie notes that many people hated victim Tom Kelly, a real estate developer — his autopsy showed bruised ribs about a week old, suggesting he'd fought with someone who came back to finish the job. George had no connection to the Kellys, but the murder felt personal. Angie steps out to find someone close to the victims. They have seven hours.
Angie and Ormewood meet with Tom Kelly's assistant of over a decade, Iris Bell (Whitney Goin). She describes Kelly plainly: "a piece of garbage." She's stunned to hear they may have the wrong man. She recalls that Kelly had evicted hundreds of tenants, and that about a week before the shooting, one evicted resident beat Kelly up when his girlfriend was displaced — kicking him in the ribs, threatening his life before being dragged out by security. Kelly chose not to press charges. She cannot recall the man's or his girlfriend's name. Ormewood is furious she never mentioned any of this during the original investigation. Her response is simple: "No one asked."
Will and Ava arrive at Murph Sanchez's white party, neither dressed for it. Murph approaches in all red, demanding to know what they're doing there. Will improvises: they're entertainers — a magician and his assistant. When Murph asks to be impressed, Will produces Murph's own watch from his pocket, having lifted it without him noticing. Murph welcomes them with a threat: "If you pocket anything, we'll have a problem."
Ormewood visits Pyzack at a restaurant. Pyzack dismisses the case, insisting he never thinks about old investigations. Ormewood presses him about the man who assaulted Kelly — why wasn't he questioned? Pyzack's answer is chilling: "We didn't need to. We already had our guy."
Ormewood rushes into Amanda Wagner's (Sonja Sohn) office as she's on her way out. He pleads with her, laying out the new information and asking for more time to gather evidence. Amanda cautions him that changing the system isn't simple. Ormewood raises his voice — "We are the system" — and she sharply scolds him before softening and asking what he needs.
Will and Ava descend into Murph's basement, a silent disco where everyone is dancing to “Shout.” They spot the urn on a pedestal display. Will and Ava dance through the crowd inconspicuously, bumping together in a quietly romantic moment. Reaching the urn, Will sets down cash matching what Murph paid. They begin to leave, but Murph comes downstairs and puts on headphones to join the party. Will guides them toward the stairs, shielding the urn behind dancers. Then the music hits the "a little bit softer now" portion of the song, and the entire crowd crouches low, leaving Will and Ava exposed. Murph spots them and yells at them to put it down, instructing his partner to call the police.
Will passes the urn to Ava, and they split up to confuse Murph, who can't get anyone to move out of his way because they all have headphones on. The rude man from the pawn shop reappears and grabs for the urn. He and Ava wrestle over it; she punches him. He moves to strike back, but Will rushes in and stops him. Murph arrives too late as Will and Ava bolt upstairs. A waiting car — one Ava called — whisks them away just as the rude man bursts out after them.
In the backseat, Ava compliments Will's spontaneity and kisses him. He suggests she contact Ron Moffatino with an update. Will pocketed the rude man's wallet — Richie Holgan — and asks Ava if she knows him. She doesn't. Will wonders aloud: if both Brent and Richie were hired by Ron, or if there's another player involved. Ava encourages some backseat lovemaking in the autonomous vehicle, but their chemistry is interrupted when Mark (Conor McShane), a customer safety specialist for the company, chimes in to warn them to take their seats. Ava drapes her jacket over the camera. Mark retaliates by stopping the car and ejecting them for violating the terms of service — and the automated car drives off with the urn still inside.
Faith gets a break — a woman she spoke to recalls someone named Christine bragging that her boyfriend fought Tom Kelly. Angie instructs the team to search the files for Christine. Ormewood calls Joanne with the update.
Joanne tells Ormewood there's been no movement from the state about buying George more time. He asks if she's witnessed executions before. She has, and describes in unflinching detail what the process looks like. The gravity hits Ormewood hard. He checks the clock: three more hours. Angie rushes in with a file of a woman named Christine. "Look who she's married to." Ormewood sees the name. He wonders if Harris has sobered up yet.
Ava reaches the car company on the phone and convinces them to return the vehicle. The automated car speeds back. Ava grabs the urn — but a jogger collides with her, and it shatters on the pavement, scattering ash everywhere. Ava suggests superglue and cigarettes can fix it. But Will sees something shiny in the wreckage, finding a green gemstone inside: "No wonder everyone wants this urn."
At Will's house, Ron Moffatino pounds on the door. He demands the urn; Ava demands her money. They show him the broken urn, but Will has done his research — Meat Loaf's widow has the real ashes, so this urn was never what it seemed. Will holds up the stone: "We have the emerald, Ron." Panicked, Ron explains that the stone — worth $250,000 — was given to him by a friend before the friend was "pinched." He hid it in the urn. A mobbed-up man named Brian Kenzie (Alan Phelps) will kill him if he doesn't produce it. Will tells Ron to call Brian and set up a handoff.
Ormewood and Joanne confront Harris again. His brother Pat (David Turner) is married to Christine (Michelle Flanagan). Harris finally breaks down and confesses: his brother went with him to the restaurant that night. While Harris was inside picking up the food, his brother ran into the parking garage. When Harris heard the gunshot, he knew his brother did it. Joanne asks if Pat still has the gun — that's the only thing that can save George now. "It's in his house," Harris says quietly. "Behind the fridge."
APD officers execute a search warrant at Pat and Christine's home. Faith finds the gun behind the refrigerator. Angie places Pat under arrest for the murders of Tom and Marjorie Kelly.
Will arrives at a parking garage with the emerald, meeting Richie and Brian. Brian's men display a bag of cash; Brian opens the briefcase to inspect the stone. Then he announces he's taking it for free and orders his men to kill Will. GBI agents materialize from every angle, arresting Brian and his crew.
With less than an hour until George's execution, Amanda reports that the governor's office is dragging its feet. Ormewood sits down, crushed, and prays. Then Joanne reenters: "They reopened the case against Pat… George will get to come home." Ormewood breaks into tears and thanks God.
Will is woken by Ava rearranging the art in his bedroom. She's heading to Portugal for a few weeks. He promises to call and admits he likes this, even if it disrupts his orderly life. He offers to drive her home.
Ormewood and Joanne meet for breakfast. She introduces him to jelly on pancakes, which he discovers he loves. He reflects on being mentored by men like Pyzack, thinking they were tough when they were actually weak. Joanne seems genuinely surprised by Ormewood's depth. "You're not what I expected," she says. Ormewood looks back at her with something that might be more than admiration.
Next Episode: “You’re Only as Sick as Your Secrets” - Airing Tuesday, March 10th, at 8/7c on ABC.
When a fraternity golden boy and his friend are found dead, Will, Faith, Angie and the team work to unravel the case. Meanwhile, Angie juggles parenting class; Seth faces new-dad anxiety; and Faith confronts her future.
Songs Featured in this Episode:
- “Shout” by the Isley Brothers