After becoming a breakout crime drama in its freshman run, the Will Trent season 1 finale certainly captivated fans as it shed more light on Will’s (Ramón Rodríguez) origin and provided a heart-racing chase to find one of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ own.
By the end of the episode, viewers are not only surprised to hear how Will received his name, but are left wondering about the future of his best friend and colleague, Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen). Here’s what happened.
Warning, spoilers ahead.
How did Will Trent get his name?
For those that have been keeping up with the season, you know that Will’s birth mother died and he spent much of his childhood growing up in the foster care system. In the season finale, viewers learn his mother, Lucy Morales, died while giving birth to him.
Early on in the episode, titled “It Was the 80s,” Will is sitting with Amanda (Sonja Sohn) and Evelyn (LisaGay Hamilton) going over the particulars of a case the latter two worked together in the ’80s as uniformed cops, as their mysterious perp seemed to be responsible for Angie’s kidnapping. As Will goes through the files of the unknown suspect’s previous victims, things become surreal for him as one of the victims was his birth mother, Lucy Morales.
He then eyes the first picture he’s ever seen of her, which happens to be of her bloodied dead body. That on its own is traumatic, but then he learns that Lucy, although kidnapped, technically died giving birth to him.
In flashback scenes to 1986, Amanda and Evelyn arrive at a warehouse/garage where they believe the suspect is hiding. Navigating through the dimly lit space, Amanda is shoved to the ground and the assailant takes off running. Amanda tells Evelyn to go after him. When the former gets up, she spots a dead Lucy, clearly having just delivered a baby. Amanda rummages through nearby trash cans in search of a newborn until she finally stumbles upon the infant.
Back in the present day, while at the hospital trying to make sure Angie is okay, Evelyn takes a moment to speak one on one with Will. Up until now, he’s been pretty upset with Amanda for hiding the identity of his mother. However, Evelyn drops a bombshell that certainly softens him toward his boss and mentor.
Evelyn explains how Amanda found him as a baby. The former cop then informs him that Amanda’s dad was an officer named Wilbert and the maiden name of Amanda’s mother was Trent. When Will asks for clarification of what Evelyn is trying to say, she tells him that Amanda is the one that gave him his name. Furthermore, for the first three weeks of his life, Amanda raised him as her own until she was forced to give him up. Sadly, Amanda thought she was giving him up to a good family and didn’t know he would remain in the foster care system.
This news rattles Will, and by the end of the episode, it seems he wants to make amends with Amanda. He approaches her as she stares at a vending machine, and the two don’t say much to each other, but he does manage to mutter “thank you.”
Is Angie paralyzed?
When Will figures out the person that kidnapped Angie is James Ulster (Greg Germann), the attorney who was hired to defend working girls like Will’s mother Lucy, he heads over to James’ home to find the crazed killer. However, Ulster has already bashed Angie’s skull and spine.
Holding a gun on Will, James brags about his attack on Angie and promises to make Will watch as he kills her. This information enrages Will, who then fights with James over the gun, severely beating the murderer. In fact, Will only stops his attack when he hears Angie faintly speak his name.
As Will goes over to Angie and attempts to access the extent of her injuries until paramedics arrive. He asks her to wiggle her fingers and toes to rule out paralysis. She’s able to wiggle her fingers as help arrives on the scene. Distracted by the sound of sirens, Will doesn’t realize her toes don’t move.
Fast forward to the hospital, and Angie’s doctor comes out to inform Will and the team of Angie’s status. The doc shares she and her staff did an emergency decompression on Angie, stabilizing her spine. Unfortunately, they won’t know the extent of the nerve damage until the swelling goes down. Will specifically asks about paralysis, and the doctor just confirms for now Angie is stable.
It looks like viewers will have to wait for Will Trent season 2 to find out Angie’s status.
If you’ve missed any of the Will Trent episodes, they are currently streaming on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.