TV Recap: "Will Trent" Season 4, Episode 2 — Love Takes Time, but Consequences Come Fast

In the aftermath of James Ulster’s escape, the damage ripples outward in every direction. Will Trent is missing, a burned car suggests the worst, and the people who love him are left piecing together fragments of a story that refuses to stay in one place. “Love Takes Time” jumps between present and past, revealing how Will’s unresolved trauma, Ulster’s obsession, and a third party’s twisted devotion collide — and how that collision forces Angie, Faith, and Amanda to decide what family really means when the system fails.

Season 4, Episode 2: “Love Takes Time” - Written by Kath Lingenfelter & Daniel Thomsen

Today

The fire is out. The sun is up. What’s left of Will Trent’s Malibu sits charred and skeletal. Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) sits alone in her car nearby, restlessly trying to sleep. Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) eventually waves her over as the investigation continues. Accelerant was used — a significant amount. Pete Chen (Kurt Yue) confirms that two bodies were recovered from the vehicle, both male, and both roughly matching the builds of Will Trent and James Ulster.

Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) arrives, clearly distressed. Faith immediately hugs her. Angie insists on seeing the bodies herself. As she examines them, she notices a flip phone fused to one victim’s chest — not Will’s phone. There’s no jewelry, and Will’s mother’s necklace is missing. Angie is firm: this is not Will. Faith agrees, adding that if this is true, then the other body won’t be Ulster either. Caleb Roussard (Yul Vazquez) orders the marshals to keep the roadblocks in place.

Yesterday

Will Trent’s (Ramón Rodríguez) hands are bound as James Ulster (Greg Germann) leads him toward the car, instructing him to retrieve his keys. Will suddenly makes his move, attacking Ulster, freeing his hands, and giving chase when Ulster bolts. The two struggle. Will punches Ulster hard in the face.

Moments later, Will is driving. Ulster is bound in the backseat, complaining that he can’t feel his legs. Will turns the radio up and unbuttons his shirt collar. His phone’s AI companion — Eduardo — tries to give directions, asking if Will wants to set a new destination after Will deliberately avoids his exit back to the GBI. Will says he doesn’t feel like bringing this bad guy in. “Maybe I’m not done with him just yet.”

Today

Back at the GBI, Amanda sits at her desk taking medication. Bill Appleyard (Jason Davis) checks in, asking if she got any sleep. He suggests that until they can confirm the burned body isn’t Will, pursuing the case further may not be worth it. Amanda quietly signs herself out of medical leave to regain control of the GBI.

In the conference room, Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) runs the board with Angie and Faith. He theorizes that Darren Torrensen, Jackie Waggle’s roommate, is the dead body presumed to be Ulster’s. A businessman in a suit who works nearby may have been chosen to resemble Will. Franklin (Kevin Daniels) enters with new information: Will’s Porsche has been found abandoned at a gas station 20 miles away.

Angie and Franklin arrive at the gas station. Will’s phone is still inside the car. They discover blood in the backseat. Angie realizes something critical — Will had Ulster in custody. The gas tank is more than half full. Will didn’t need to stop for fuel. Franklin asks if Angie knows Will’s passcode. After a few guesses, 1104 unlocks the phone.

Nearby, Faith and Roussard speak with the Clerk (Brian Duckson), who admits he assumed Will was a meth user. They ask for security footage. The video is pulled up, and the team gathers to watch.

Yesterday

Will is inside the station buying a new phone to avoid dealing with Eduardo, who keeps trying to reason with him. Outside, a truck hauling cargo pulls up. The driver, a woman wearing sunglasses and a hat, overhears Will talking about self-defense and murder. Will flashes his badge to assure her everything is fine when Ulster begins yelling for help.

The woman approaches calmly and suddenly stabs Will in the neck with a syringe. He collapses. She frees Ulster, and together they drag Will into the hauler. As Will fades in and out, he hears the woman and Ulster arguing about Ulster allowing himself to be captured. 

Today

The security footage shows Ulster and Will’s abductor kissing. The woman then shocks Ulster by injecting a syringe into his neck as well, pushing him into the trailer.

Last Night

The truck pulls into the back of an old warehouse. Will wakes up next to Ulster, still in the trailer. Both are wearing ankle stun cuffs. Will checks Ulster’s body and finds nothing else on him. He wakes Ulster and demands to know who the woman is. Susan Barno (Michaela Watkins), his other other fiancée. She’s taking him to a new life of freedom.

Susan opens a small window in the trailer and explains that the highest setting on the cuffs can stop their hearts. Will identifies himself as a special agent with the GBI. Susan orders both men to the back of the trailer while she opens the main door, reminding them that the maximum setting could kill them. She tosses in a bucket of clean clothes.

Dressed for dinner, Susan leads Will and Ulster through the warehouse to a corner where she has set up a fake house. Opera music plays as they enter a staged kitchen area. A frozen dinner is laid out like a holiday meal. She calls it home. They sit at the table. Will compliments her interior design and the meal, and offers to say grace. Susan is clearly pleased. They take hands.

Today

Back in the present, Ormewood works from his office while video-chatting with his kids. He looks nauseous — it’s his third day after chemo, and he normally takes this day off. Cooper (Jophielle Love) teases Max (Owen Trumbly) about his hair, calling it a perm. Max says lots of guys are doing it now.

Ormewood pulls traffic footage of the truck. There are no plates, but he zooms in on an oil-change sticker offering a law-enforcement discount near the state prison. He concludes she’s likely a corrections officer.

Last Night

Susan brings coffee after dinner. Ulster says the meal was delicious. Will asks how Susan and James met, presuming she’s a correctional officer. Susan says their love grew slowly over time. James adds, “Who knew a life sentence would bring a life partner?”

Susan scoffs, referencing the other women. James insists that, unlike them, he and Susan had time together. Will suggests this whole situation could be a misunderstanding. Susan says she no longer trusts James. Will tells her, based on his expertise, that James seems genuine.

Susan suggests a game: Roses and Thorns. Her rose is Jimmy. Her thorn is the stun cuff.

Ulster’s turn: “I’m all thorns right now, Susie.” He then verbally attacks her, calling her a “menopausal harpy” and saying he wants to sew her mouth shut. Susan pulls a cleaver from under the table and chops off one of James’ fingers.

Back in the trailer, Will wraps Ulster’s hands. Susan warns Will to figure this out before Ulster loses all his fingers. She moves in to kiss James, keeping Will at bay by pointing a gun at him. She kicks the first-aid kit toward the door and says she has errands to run. She locks them inside.

Will watches the ankle monitors and notices the remote beeping when it goes out of range. He’s hidden scissors from the kit. He plans to remove the condenser from the ceiling.

Today

Ormewood reviews a list of female wardens with Angie and Franklin. Angie is breathing through a cramp, which Franklin insists could be a contraction. Angie agrees to get it checked while they continue working.

Faith and Roussard have drinks with a cop named Chester (Alan Boell). Faith doesn’t believe he’ll be helpful, but Roussard asks her to trust him. He’s upset Will never called him. Chester returns with key information: a pair of stun cuffs disappeared two weeks ago. Roussard scrolls through names of female wardens that Ormewood procured, and Chester points to the most likely suspect — Susan Barno.

Angie and Seth McDale (Scott Foley) are with the obstetrician (Lauren Halperin). The diagnosis is Braxton-Hicks contractions — normal. Angie’s phone buzzes with the name Susan Barno. She asks Seth if he’s heard of Barno’s Packaged Foods. He urges her to rest, saying APD and GBI can find Will. Angie scoffs. She talks about the constant fear that has defined her life. Will has saved her again and again. She has to save him. “He’s my family,” she explains

Seth apologizes, explaining that he grew up feeling safe and wants that for their child. He hands her the ultrasound image. “We’re your family,” he responds.

In the trailer, Will stands on Ulster’s shoulders, trying to dislodge the ceiling component. Ulster talks about how he was almost Will’s father and how close he was getting to Will’s mother, Lucy. Will snaps, and they fall. Will vows not to die there with Ulster. Ulster tells Will he deserves better and says he admires and loves him.

“I see her in you,” Ulster says, referring to Will’s mother. “But she had balance. You run from the dark. That’s why it chases you.” Will asks if Ulster regrets killing his mother. “Yes,” he confesses.

Will admits he’s considered killing Ulster. He begins charging the trailer wall, trying to tip it over, vowing Ulster won’t be the last person to ever say something nice to him. Together, they eventually tip the trailer.

The sun has set when Angie arrives outside Susan Barno’s warehouse, on the phone with Ormewood. Faith and Caleb are on their way. Angie is warned not to do anything stupid. Alone, she speaks to her baby, saying Will needs to meet her.

Susan pulls up, carrying a cake with “Love Takes Time” written on it. She sees Angie, draws her gun, and starts toward the car — then hears a crash inside. Susan rushes into the warehouse. Angie stops the door from closing behind her, following Will’s captor inside.

Inside the fake kitchen, Susan shocks Will and Ulster with the stun cuffs. She calls Will the bad apple. A gunshot rings out. Susan has been shot — by Angie. Susan spins, yelling at Angie, thinking she’s another of Ulster’s fiancées. Will runs, searching for Angie, and comes face-to-face with Susan. She raises her gun.

Ulster intervenes.

Another shot fires. Ulster is hit in the chest and collapses.

Susan panics, flees, and falls down the stairs as police arrive. Faith and Caleb find her and order her to drop the weapon.

Will presses his hands against Ulster’s wound. Ulster grabs Will’s collar. “See you soon.” Those are James Ulster’s last words to Will Trent as he dies. Angie approaches Will from behind, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The Next Morning

Angie greets Seth in the morning. He tells her how frightened she made him and explains why. Angie says she’s still standing after everything life has thrown at her. She asks Seth to trust her to take care of their baby.

At Ormewood’s house, Max and Cooper make pancakes. Faith sits with them. Ormewood talks about how he only has a few weeks of desk duty left before he can get back in the field. The kids like him on desk duty because he’s home when he says he will be. Faith suggests he might be able to keep that up even when he returns to the field.

Amanda returns to the GBI using her cane. Appleyard says he’s glad Will is safe and mentions speaking with the director about senior leaders not knowing when their time is done. Amanda replies that her conversations with the director are usually about unqualified men being where they don’t belong. She’s not leaving without a fight.

Roussard visits Will’s house. Will asks how Calvin is — fine. Roussard asks how Will is. Will mentions therapy with Dr. Roach and frisbee golf. Betty jumps into Roussard’s arms. When Roussard asks Will why his car was found driving away from the GBI, he blames it on his dyslexia. Roussard tells Will he can call him anytime. “I hope it brings you relief that he’s gone.”

Will exhales. “The world’s a safer place.” He offers Roussard café con leche. Roussard says yes. He has all day. He wants to spend it with Will.

Will Trent returns next Tuesday, January 20th, at 8/7c on ABC with “Studio 4B.”

When a model is murdered, Will and Faith dive into a twisted art-world conspiracy, aided by Ava, his former flame. Meanwhile, Betty’s instincts turn a routine neighborhood check for Ormewood, Angie and Nico into a critical lead on a dangerous case.

Songs Featured in This Episode:

• “We Just Disagree” by Dave Mason
• “Fire Digte, Op. 21: The First Meeting” by Neeme Jarvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra & Barbara Bonney
• “The Light Pours Out of Me” by Magazine
• “Sombras” by Gutto
• “That’s How it Feels” by Soul Flan