TV Recap: "Will Trent" Season 4 Premiere — Old Wounds, New Victims, and a Deadly Reunion
By the end of Season 3 of Will Trent, the GBI was fractured — personally and professionally. Will had uncovered the truth about his biological father, Angie learned she was pregnant; Faith and Amanda were left reckoning with power, responsibility, and how much the job costs the people who do it, while Ormewood’s emergency surgery forced a sudden pause in his life. Season 4 opens five months later, with no neat resolutions — just consequences.
Episode 1: “...Speaking of Sharks” - Written by Liz Heldens & Britta Lundin
Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) stands outside the Holy Grace Orphans Home, staring at the building that shaped and damaged him. Betty waits nearby as Will suddenly hurls a brick through a window, then another, shattering the glass.
Was that scene real, or a therapeutic menal exercise? Will Trent plays pickleball with his therapist Dr. Roach (Margaret Cho), who gently checks in on how he’s doing—particularly regarding Angie Polaski and her pregnancy. Will admits he feels “a little lost.” He’s happy for Angie, but also feels like she’s moved on without him.
Dr. Roach reframes that contradiction as healthy. When Will launches the pickleball across the court in frustration, she praises him. Anger, she explains, is an appropriate response that doesn’t like being ignored. Will tries to change the subject, but she presses, asking if he’s going to Caleb’s tonight. He deflects with complaints about loud families, oversalted food, and big dogs, prompting Betty to bark on cue. Dr. Roach suggests the real issue: Will doesn’t feel worthy of having a family.
Will drives with Betty and Nico (Cora Lu Tran) to Caleb Roussard’s (Yul Vazquez) house. At dinner, Nico talks warmly about her life with Will. Betty sizes up the family’s large dog. Caleb’s youngest son, Calvin (Eli Botzer), enthusiastically rattles off shark facts. Will gently pulls him aside so they can talk sharks away from the loud and chaotic table. Calvin admits he sometimes worries sharks could get him in the bathtub. Will promises him sharks can’t get you on land.
Inside a prison recreation room, James Ulster (Greg Germann) hosts a food club with a cop, Gerry Ramston (Scott Deal), and fellow inmate, Reed Hobbs (Sam Bullington). They snack on caviar served on potato chips. Reed compares it to “fishy mini boba bubbles.” The cop doesn’t know that Reed has a knife hidden under the table.
Ulster asks the cop to close his eyes and describe what he tastes. He signals Reed, who hesitates, but then finds his nerve, stabbing the cop and covering his mouth. When another officer enters, Ulster attacks him with his own baton and kills him. Reed panics, but Ulster calmly tells him: “It’s too late to turn back now, my boy.” They escape disguised as officers, driving away in an unmarked police car.
Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) and Franklin (Kevin Daniels) visit Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) in the hospital, who has put a bonnet on to make him look less sick to his kids. When the TV show comes on, Ormewood thinks it’s Spanish. Faith asks—only half-joking—if they left a little tumor behind.
At the GBI, Will and Faith learn Ulster has escaped. Sheriff Caleb Roussard is running point on the manhunt, leaving Will confused and furious. Roussard assures Will this is now a full-scale operation and promises they’ll find him.
Will and Faith storm into Acting Deputy Director Bill Appleyard’s (Jason Davis) office, demanding to know why Bradford County is leading the case. Will accuses Appleyard of posturing for the Deputy Director job, until Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) appears on crutches. She reveals that giving Roussard the job was her decision, and that he already has it.
Amanda informs Will he’s off the case. He’s too close. Will explodes, insisting he knows Ulster better than anyone. Amanda stands firm. Will storms out.
Faith tells Will they can still investigate unofficially. They discover a plywood door hiding a makeshift office: Ormewood, now reassigned to a computer-based role. Angie (Erika Christensen), visibly pregnant, arrives and asks why four armed guards are stationed at her home. Will explains Ulster once abducted her and she needs protection. Will also discovers everyone but him is in a WhatsApp group chat. Will and Faith request lists of everyone Ulster defended and everyone who visited him in prison.
Late night cold calls begin. One former client tells Will he sounds like a robot. Ormewood, still working at 3 a.m. while Gina has the kids, brings new intel: Sal Moreno (Jon Hayden), a former rape defendant, owns a steakhouse inside the roadblocks.
Inside that steakhouse, Ulster eats a steak while Reed sits shaking, hands bloody. A phone rings. Ulster stands. Everyone in the diner is dead. Ulster answers the phone, smiling as he says, “Special Agent Will Trent.” He congratulates Will on finding him so quickly. He references Will discovering his biological father—yet still insists he is Will’s real father. When Will asks if Ulster hurt anyone, he replies: “Oh no, it wasn’t me.” He explains Reed did the killing for him. “I just want my freedom. I’m not coming after you. Would be so great if you could return the favor.” They hang up.
Will and Faith arrive at the diner. Marshals are en route. Will moves fast, reconstructing the massacre in his head. He finds bodies in the bathroom, a fallen towel dispenser, imagines Reed searching it. Ulster appears in Will’s mind, dressed like him, critiquing his clothing. Will pieces it together: Reed’s history doesn’t support this escalation. The napkin blood will match Reed’s DNA, but Ulster did the killing. Ulster taunts Will in his mind: “You think people can’t tell what you are? Just a scared, abused little boy who can’t read.” Will snaps: “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
Faith pulls Will back to reality. A courier delivers fake passports and money, which Ulster will never receive. Will realizes they’re heading to Ulster’s grandmother.
At home, Seth McDale (Scott Foley) places a ring box on Angie’s belly. She panics at first, but Seth speaks honestly about her humor, bravery, and how alive she makes him feel. He reveals a practical backup ring for work. Angie is charmed. She accepts.
Ormewood uncovers a social media video of Janice-Theresa Waggle (Wynn Everett) bragging about how she “cannot wait to be Mrs. James Ulster.” Angie, Franklin, and Ormewood stake out her house. Franklin notices Angie’s engagement ring. Angie admits she loves Seth, but can’t stop thinking about how it could’ve been Will. As Janice-Theresa returns home, another woman—Lisa (Veanna Black)—arrives. They fight after learning they’re both are engaged to Ulster.
After learning that Reed’s grandmother is on life support, Will and Faith head to the nursing home. Will corners Reed, gun drawn. Reed insists he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Will understands his need to say goodbye to a family member. He tells Reed he knows that Ulster committed the massacre. Reed doesn’t want this life anymore. “He said you’re his son, too,” Reed shares, making him and Will brothers. Reed lowers his gun just as a shot fires from behind Will, hitting Reed in the chest. Roussard shoots Reed dead.
Faith arrives furious — Roussard just killed their best lead. Roussard claims he has no regrets. Appleyard handles the media. Faith orders Will back to the office. Amanda admits to Faith she’s terrified of losing Will in this case.
Franklin interrogates Janice-Theresa with empathy, playing “I Will Survive” and sharing his own heartbreak. He names her Janice-Theresa-Phoenix, saying she will rise from these ashes. She reveals another woman involved: her sister Jackie Waggle (Gabi Del Moral), who dated Ulster before she did.
Angie meets Jackie in the morgue—she’s been killed. Her car is missing. Will arrives. He insists he has to end this. Angie reminds him: “You didn’t create this guy.” Will replies: “But he created me.” He congratulates Angie on her engagement. She forgot she was wearing the ring.
Will receives a call. “Did you know sharks can hear their prey from 3,000 feet away?” Ulster has Calvin.
At a riverside picnic table, Will meets Ulster. He sends Calvin away with Faith’s phone number. Will zip-ties his own wrists. “Time to die.”
Faith returns Calvin safely. Roussard breaks down. A call comes in. They’ve found Will’s Malibu.
The car burns in a parking lot at night. Two dead bodies are inside. Amanda hands Faith a tape recorder. “Is it Will’s?” she asks. Faith examines it, before confirming, “It is.”
Will Trent returns next Tuesday, January 13th, at 8/7c on ABC with “Love Takes Time.”
When Will disappears and is presumed dead, the team scrambles for answers. As Angie questions the evidence, it becomes clear something isn’t adding up, while Will, trapped and wounded, races to outsmart his captor.
Songs Featured in This Episode:
- “Send in the Clowns” by Lorez Alexandra
- “A Little Closer” by Rupert Pope, Giles Palmet & Roo Savill
- “Vitamin C” by Can
- “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin
- “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
- “Magic Arrow” by Timber Timbre