Secrets, deception, and a tangled web of lies take center stage in Will Trent Season 3, Episode 4, “Floor is Lava.” As Angie officially returns to the force, her reunion with Will is anything but smooth, with unresolved tensions bubbling beneath the surface. Meanwhile, what seems like a home invasion gone wrong quickly unravels into a high-stakes national security case, dragging the team into a spy thriller filled with fake CIA agents, encrypted secrets, and a mastermind hiding in plain sight. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get more personal, Amanda faces a tough parenting moment, Ormewood struggles with his divorce, and Will and Angie finally reach a breaking point. Let’s dive in.
Season 3, Episode 4 – “Floor Is Lava” – Written by Brittany Lundin
A quiet night turns potentially deadly when a hooded figure sits in a dimly lit living room. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway sends a jolt of tension through the scene. Keys rattle in the front door. The handle turns. As the door opens, the hooded figure fires a silenced shot at the homeowner, who collapses in the doorway.
The next morning, GBI Special Agent Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) arrives at the crime scene ahead of his partner, Faith. As he steps inside, he finds recently reinstated APD detective Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) standing on the couch. Their reunion is awkward, both stunned to see each other on the same case. “Oh, hello,” Will greets. “Hi,” Angie replies.
The victim, Lloyd Witham (Matthew Swift), has a contract with the Department of Defense, working on stealth drone technology. His laptop is missing, and a 9mm shell casing at the scene suggests a suppressor was used. But what stands out most is the odd behavior of the shooter—after the attack, they lingered. A nearby plant was knocked over, then carefully put back. Even stranger, a vacuum cleaner appears to have been used after the shooting, containing dirt and long brown hairs.
Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) arrives with Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin), welcoming Angie back on her first official day. Spotting Will climbing over the couch to avoid ruining shoe impressions on the rug, Faith quips, “The floor is lava. I’m good at this game.” Will finds an ID under the couch belonging to Helen Anderson, who has long brown hair.
Following the lead, Will, Faith, and Ormewood track Helen (Eden Malyn) to a pet boutique, where she’s calmly grooming a dog named Lady Esmeralda. They storm in and arrest Helen. At the station, Helen is smug, unfazed by their questions, claiming to have immunity as an operative of the CIA. Will informs Helen that the CIA doesn’t operate on American soil, but Helen remains confident, demanding to speak to her handler. “I’m a spy,” she declares.
Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) sets up a call with CIA Officer Case (Ellen Tamaki) in D.C., who confirms the immunity letter is fake. Helen is no intelligence officer—she’s a civilian manipulated into believing she is. Ormewood, who would love to become a CIA Agent, takes the lead in interrogating Helen, slipping on sunglasses and pretending to be her handler. Helen reveals her mission—Lloyd was selling state secrets to terrorists, and she was ordered to kill him. But she only acted as a middleman, passing his stolen laptop to someone known as “Cutter.” However, Ormewood slips up during the interrogation and Helen realizes he’s not who he said he was. She refuses to give them any more information.
As Will updates the case board, Assistant District Attorney Marian Alba (Gina Rodriguez) visits his office, asking for help with her CI. He offers to connect her with Faith, but as they talk, he notices a coffee stain on her blouse. Ever the gentleman, he hands her his freshly dry-cleaned shirt off the back of his door. The flirtatious tension between the two of them has grown. Angie happens upon the pair as Marian finishes changing, recognizing the newcomer in her ex’s shirt. Angie remains professional, telling Will that Lloyd is out of surgery.
At the hospital, Lloyd is awake and listening to opera, with his research partner, Glenn Evans (Ahmad Ghafouri), controlling the music on a turntable. Lloyd doesn’t recognize Helen. Asked about his stolen laptop, Lloyd shares that the device is encrypted and that only three people have the key: Himself, Glenn, and a research assistant named Cole.
By the time they arrive at Cole’s apartment, it’s too late. He’s dead, having been stabbed in the back on the couch. They find a man crying in the bathroom—Kent (Demise Harp), the killer, hands still dripping in red. “I’m sorry,” he mutters. Under questioning, Kent reveals his job was to kill Cole, retrieve the encryption key, and upload it to Cutter. He never met Cutter, only communicated online—through an Alias fan message board.
Will and Faith haven’t seen the show, but Ormewood and Angie provide a quick rundown of the hit ABC procedural. Later, Marian joins them to watch an episode called “The Telling,” Helen’s favorite episode—one that eerily mirrors her real-life story. Will uses this information to go talk to Helen in her cell, and she finally cracks. Helen was recruited because she was vulnerable, having lost her best friend in a car accident in 2023. Cutter found her and gave her purpose. But now she realizes she was just another pawn. She gives Will the missing piece—Cutter is obsessed with opera. That detail connects everything. Cutter isn’t just some shadowy figure. He’s Glenn!
Glenn escapes the hospital and heads to a downtown chess tournament. Amanda and Case watch from surveillance monitors while Will, Faith, Ormewood, and Angie are in the field at the event. Will follows Glenn, but when he accidentally bumps into someone, Glenn spots him. Glenn raises his hands and flaps them like a bird. Seconds later, gunfire erupts in the venue. Faith tackles the shooter (Califf Guzman), who claims to be CIA and have immunity. He makes a run for it, but when Amanda sees that he’s heading down the hallway to the surveillance office, she steps out and apprehends him, which impresses Sunny (Kyrie McAlpin), who was there because she was suspended from school for getting into a fight.
While arresting Glenn, another “CIA Agent” (Michelle Rose) is about to shoot Will when Angie knocks her down, saving his life.
That night, Amanda confronts Sunny about her suspension from school. That morning, Sunny was reluctant to talk to Amanda about school. Sunny admits to being bullied by a jealous girl who called her a “druggy hood rat.” Sunny blacked out, but must’ve punched the girl. Amanda doesn’t judge—she offers boxing lessons instead.
Meanwhile, Ormewood confesses to Faith that his divorce is financially ruining him. She suggests cheering him up at his favorite burrito place.
In his office, Will is recording case notes when Angie enters with paperwork. She notices his smartphone—something he never had before. “A lot’s changed in six months,” he says. Will tries to reach out. He tells her he misses his best friend. “I know, me too,” Angie replies. Will tells her he hopes they can move past this and be friends again, but Angie shakes her head. “I don’t think so, Will,” she responds, saying she’s spent a lot of time thinking about that, saying they need to stop pushing and pulling each other. “Wilbur Trent, I release you,” she says as she leaves, closing the door behind her. In tears, Will looks at the back of his door, the shirt Marion borrowed pressed on a hanger.
Next Episode: “Breathe with Me” – Airing Tuesday, February 4th, at 8/7c on ABC
When Evelyn Mitchell returns to town, things take a quick turn as she becomes entangled in a case involving a rare stolen coin. As Faith navigates her complex roles as both a daughter and detective, the stakes rise higher than ever.
Songs Featured in This Episode:
- "Celeste Aida Act 1 Radamès" by Giuseppe Verdi
- “Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saens
- “Good to Me” by Otis Redding