The fifth episode of ABC's "High Potential" season two opens with two children bickering over the control of a drone, resulting in an accidental crash into Shea Ranch Pond. As the drone submerges, the children are shocked to discover a dead body in a car beneath the water.
Morgan (played by the adorably cute-booted Kaitlin Olson) surprises Arthur (Mekhi Phifer) as he wraps up his landscape work. After checking on Morgan and the kids for Roman, he's been ghosting her. Despite 15 years of radio silence, Morgan threatens to have his business investigated if he doesn't agree to meet up again.
Meanwhile, Lt. Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) addresses her unit, commending them for their tenacity. She introduces Captain Nick Wagner (Steve Howey), also described as tenacious. Nick is there to support the team and looks forward to getting to know each member individually. With Selena's permission, he takes over her office and starts one-on-one chats with Oz (Deniz Akdeniz).
Daphne (Javicia Leslie) and Adam (Daniel Sunjata) fill Morgan in on Nick's background, describing him as part of a family dynasty that has all made captain. Before heading to the Shea Ranch Pond crime scene with Adam, Morgan learns that the driver's license doesn't match the victim, concluding that they are one and the same (Tori must have had some recent work done). The victim is 31-year-old Tori Nolan, who has two bullet holes in her chest along with what looks like steam or chemical burns and red dye.
As they examine her car, Morgan finds a gun and a key to a storage unit. Tori's keychain had a Hula Hound fob, so Morgan believes she used the storage company next door. They discover her unit is full of file cabinets and has a workstation setup, but the laptop is missing. The labels on the filing cabinets match the fake passports with different identities that Adam finds on the desk. Morgan realizes that each of the locations was the site of a big scandal. The trashcan is full of shredded paper with red symbols that Morgan decides are editing marks, and the numbers on the file cabinets are dates and issue numbers. Apparently, Tori was an investigative journalist. It's possible whatever she was recently investigating got her killed.
Later, Daphne and Oz investigate Tori's financials and confirm that she worked for Takedown Magazine. Oz confirms that she wrote under pseudonyms and would go off the grid when working on a story. Her outlet always had her check in to make sure she was safe, and Daphne forwards a recent photo Tori sent them. Morgan spots poodle dog plants in the background, adding a touch of whimsy to the otherwise grim investigation.
Morgan leads Adam to the site of a recent hillside fire, where the bushes have sprung up in the aftermath. Based on the size of the plant, they deduce that this is the right timeframe for Tori's disappearance. And indeed, they find the exact spot where Tori took her recent proof-of-life photo. A "No Trespassing" sign stands on the hill, and above it is an impressive house that Morgan explains is a "content house" where influencers shoot videos.
Tori must have gone undercover as an influencer, and when one of the influencers recognizes Tori's photo but calls her Darla, Adam and Morgan gather the dozen or so influencers and learn that Tori had been living there for a few weeks, focusing on autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos. They all liked her.
As Morgan looks around, Adam learns that Tori was probably last seen at home at least a day ago. Morgan believes that all the influencers are under tremendous pressure to create content that generates views, and that Phineas, who runs the house, is running it like a sweatshop.
But then a couple of influencers barge in as Morgan's looking at a dye and confess to killing Tori. However, they quickly backtrack when they learn she was shot. It turns out that Raquel and Pranks set up a "devil's toothpaste" prank in the backseat of Tori's car. As soon as Tori got into her car, the dye exploded, blowing out all her windows. They immediately told Phineas what happened, who claimed he spoke with Tori. She was fine but angry and was going for a drive to cool off. Adam says this isn't possible, as Tori must have been concussed and unable to drive anywhere.
The explosive ingredients were dye, soap, peroxide, and yeast. Morgan realizes Tori's steam burns were from the peroxide, and the peroxide would have cleaned up the blood from the gunshot wounds that should have been in the car. Raquel confesses that they pulled the prank because Tori stole her L3 protein powder that was supposed to be used for an exclusive video shoot.
Morgan and Adam search the nearby hillside and find red dye and tire tracks—probably where Tori was shot. Phineas drives up, spots them, and races off, with Adam's first instinct being to chase the car—a moment of relief for Morgan.
Morgan gets home early for once and sends Elliot out of the room to check on the baby so she can tell Ava (Amirah J) that she tracked down Arthur. Ava wants to go with her mom to get the backpack, but Morgan won't let her because it might be dangerous.
As they returned to the station, Oz and Adam allowed Phineas a moment to stew before launching into their interrogation. Captain Wagner convened with Daphne and Selena, suggesting that Daphne take the sergeant's test, impressed by her work ethic. He even offered to arrange the test if she agreed.
Morgan joined them, and Nick desired a one-on-one chat, but she preferred to wait, eager to listen to Adam and Oz's interrogation of Phineas. Adam confronted Phineas about shooting a reporter embedded in his house, but Phineas claimed ignorance. Oz produced Phineas' financials, suggesting he was skimming from the creators, noting that Phineas was charging them $50,000 a month each. Morgan used the microphone to inform Adam she needed to see his watch, which she held up to the two-way mirror, revealing that the titanium inside had come in contact with corrosive fluids like peroxide.
Oz and Adam believed Phineas was in Tori's car after the shooting and got the peroxide on him when he moved her body from the driver's seat to the pond. Phineas confessed to moving the body but didn't realize Tori was shot until he reached the pond. He moved her to keep his landlord from discovering and evicting them.
Phineas claimed he was too busy buying bots to increase Tori's channel's views when Raquel and Pranks told him about the devil's toothpaste prank. He insisted he wouldn't have bought bots if he was going to kill her.
Later, as the team reviewed the murder board, Oz joined them and revealed that Phineas had turned over Tori's bag in exchange for leniency (he was booked for evidence tampering). Tori's laptop was in the bag, but it was encrypted. Raquel's protein powder was also in the bag, along with lab results of the powder. Morgan thought the only interesting ingredient was castoreum—beaver butt secretion, used as a flavoring agent.
Tori was investigating L3 because the person in charge was Bobby Romano, an old classmate who doxxed her and forced her into hiding after she wrote an exposé of his business. Morgan and Adam paid him a visit at his warehouse, where he was super excited about his upcoming powder release. Lamar, the operations manager, joined them and asked if they had a warrant to look around. Bobby didn't think a warrant was necessary; he was super chill about the whole thing. He assured them that Lamar was just being vigilant since he pretty much ran the operation.
Morgan and Adam emphasize that Bobby's former businesses were nothing but scams, and it was Tori Nolan who brought them all down through her meticulous investigative reporting. Bobby confesses to regretting the act of doxing her and forcing her to leave school, saying, "I was a foolish kid and I did foolish things," with a convincing tone.
As they make their way to Bobby's office, they deliver the devastating news that Tori is no more. Bobby is initially shocked, but then a realization dawns on him as he comprehends that they suspect him of her murder. Bobby admits that Tori called him a week ago, threatening to take him down for good. He hung up on her, unaware of how she planned to do so. Despite his naivete, Bobby truly believed L3 to be legitimate.
He invites them to explore his office, claiming to be an open book. Morgan takes him up on it, snatching his phone without much ado. She quickly discerns that he has an alibi for the time of the shooting, confirming that he didn't kill Tori.
Adam has his one-on-one with Nick, who reveals that he hadn't even bothered to read Adam's file. Adam's reputation is impeccable. Nick inquires about Morgan, and Adam speaks highly of their working relationship. The conversation ends after less than a minute.
Bobby's phone reveals a mention of Serenity Arms, a halfway house for ex-cons that he visits once a week. The man in charge, Gavin, agrees to meet with Adam and Oz.
Arthur catches up with Morgan at a diner to discuss handing over Roman's bag. Ava unexpectedly joins the conversation, insisting on being a part of it. Arthur chuckles and notes that Ava looks like Roman when he's deep in thought. He also confirms that he and Roman have known each other for a long time and used to be practically inseparable. Ava explains her need to understand why Roman left her, while Arthur mentions that he hasn't talked to her father in 15 years. Ava pleads with him to hand over the bag so that her mother can piece together clues. Arthur finally agrees to her request.
As Morgan storms out of the meeting, her fury etched on her features, she refuses to utter a word to Ava as they part ways. Gavin, his words laden with awe, shares with Adam and Oz his unparalleled encounter with Bobby. He speaks of Bobby's unwavering belief in the protein powder and his unyielding conviction to make the world a better place. Gavin maintains that Bobby was not enraged at Tori upon his release from prison; rather, it was only recently when Tori confronted him at his warehouse, threatening to send him back to prison for life. Following this confrontation, Bobby missed a group session and implored Gavin to have taken care of "this" years ago.
Adam and Oz return to Bobby's warehouse to find him slumped over his desk, a victim of a drug overdose. Selena joins them, and Adam explains that an employee had mentioned that Bobby was distraught after his conversation with the police. He sent everyone home and subsequently overdosed on the party drug Dazzle Kitty, which is five times more potent than Ecstasy.
Adam confirms that the L3 powder was a mere ruse to conceal the drugs' shipping. Bags were cleverly hidden in select canisters. Oz reveals that they found a gun matching the wounds on Tori's chest in Bobby's desk. However, Morgan notices a distinct aroma of beef and barley soup on Bobby's t-shirt and his breath, suggesting he consumed the soup before his demise. Yet, there's no soup container in the trash cans. A half-melted Dazzle Kitty capsule and a carrot are found in the drain, indicating someone else spiked the soup and took Bobby's life, alongside Tori's.
The team converges on a delivery truck driven by Bobby's counselor, Gavin, whose canisters are found to contain drugs. It emerges that the Serenity Arms center was at the heart of this sinister conspiracy. Bobby had no knowledge of the drugs, but Gavin and Lamar concocted this plot together. While Lamar has alibis for the time of the murders, Gavin stands exposed as the mastermind.
The day concludes with Nick striking up a conversation with Morgan as she applies coolant to her car. She admits her uncertainty about whether he's a cop who abuses his power but has discerned that he's smug, yearning for field action, and enjoys keeping people guessing about his motives. Nick concedes that she hit two out of three marks and that she excels at this game more than he does. He knows if she's given a puzzle, she'll obsess until she solves it.
Finally reaching home, Morgan remains miffed at Ava for following her to the meeting with Arthur. Their argument over trust issues escalates, with Ava calling her mother embarrassing. The episode ends with someone (possibly Arthur) leaving Roman's backpack at Morgan's front door.
