Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 10: Episode 10 of Will Trent’s season 1 on ABC, titled “Pterodactyls Can Fly,” is arguably the best episode so far in this season. Right off the bat, the episode does not try to focus as much on the case but on our characters’ emotional and mental states. One can definitely see the events in this episode shaping the journeys of Angie and Will and their prospective relationship in the upcoming episodes. We also got an insight into why Will walked on eggshells around the APD at the beginning of the season.
Episode 9 of Will Trent was the best of the bunch till episode 10 aired. Sam’s character was a refreshing introduction, and his chemistry with Faith was electric. In this episode, Faith was paired with her mother, Evelyn, a former Captain in the police force. Their chemistry had a different dynamic but was equally revealing of Faith’s insecurities and struggles. The ending of episode 10 of Will Trent’s debut season is even more shattering and presents a dubious cue for what comes next. We are at hand to explain all of it to you in the piece below.
Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 10 Recap:
Pterodactyls Can Fly
This episode’s story focuses on the gruesome shooting of the Elmsway family, who lived in their cabins in the woods. Will Trent investigates alone, as we see, Faith has been sent on administrative leave. She meets with her sponsor Franklin from the station. He alludes to the shock that Faith got after shooting Tate Grillo in episode 9 and says she needs to articulate her feelings. “Taking a life is a big thing. The day it becomes a small thing, you will be a menace to society,” says Franklin. Faith needs to talk to someone about it. And she gets her to wish in the next scene.
Her house is completely unkempt. As she sits down to watch television, her mother, Evelyn, shows up at the house. She is retired and has Faith to help her cope with the traumatic fallout. The Elmsway family was comprised of four – Laura, Gladys, Sean, and Pete. Barnes and Gonzalez are officers from the APD with Will on the scene. Only one shooter lies dead on the ground. But looking at the evidence, Will senses there are more. He spots another behind the logs. The shooter targets Barnes, and he is down. Will saves his life and then kills the shooter.
The shooters went inside looking for something, possibly drugs. Sean has a history of dealing heroin and cocaine. The shooters lingered around to make sure the police didn’t find them. Will hears rustling in one of the cabins and finds a boy. His name is Theo, which we learn later as he remains silent and does not want to communicate with Will. He understands Theo’s situation and does his best to make him comfortable and usher him into the new reality.
Faith calls Will and enquires about the case. The shooters are Garry Keller and Eric Young. They have always been bad apples and have a big criminal track record, but nothing too substantial. Faith theorizes that it might be a case of territorial skirmish or a drug deal gone wrong, or perhaps something else. There’s no record of the kid at that place. He isn’t talking to anyone still.
It turns out that Faith’s mother is a former cop. But she did something illegal and was dismissed as a disgraced cop. There is tension between them regarding it. Will takes the kid to Nico and gives him food, clothes, and a toothbrush. Will uses sauces as trailers, fries as highway, and chicken nuggets as bad guys to get Theo to talk. Theo tells Will that he stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Elmsway and was related to them. He also claims that there were three shooters.
Amanda looks after Theo while Will talks to an associate of Sean’s, Clark. He says Sean was only a recreational user. Sean’s cousin had a kid who might be Theo’s mother.
Susan Whitlock from Child Protection Service (CPS) comes to take Theo’s custody. Will confronts Susan about his own trauma and says that one day, at his foster home, he wore a wrinkled shirt to Sunday Church. His foster mother ironed it while he had the shirt on when they got home. That’s where the scars are from on his body that we see from time to time.
Angie has been struggling with the thought that Lenny might be sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s teenage daughter. Ormewood says he will check up on him with Angie.
Theo finally speaks to Will at his house, where he also tells him his name. Will tells him a story about a brave Pterodactyl and how he got on a motorbike to see his family when he missed them. Theo says his mother’s name is Kylie Davis, and she has been missing from his life for a while.
Will calls Angie to channel his stress. Theo’s dad is in prison, and his mother is missing in action. His entire family is killed in the shooting. All of this stirred feelings inside Will, which is why he called her. But it goes to voicemail, and he eagerly anticipates a callback.
What is the history between Will and Evelyn?
When Faith goes back to work at her mother’s insistence, Evelyn too accompanies her. It is then we learn what actually happened between Evelyn and Will. It turns out that Amanda was involved in the event as well. Evelyn meets Amanda and gives her a telling to. Evelyn knew something was wrong with her department. So she went to Amanda for help. But instead of cooperating, Amanda followed the book, and Will, among others, escorted her out publically, which humiliated her.
Amanda says she did Evelyn a favor by doing it early, but Evelyn disagrees. There was arguably corruption going under Evelyn’s wing. When she revealed this to Amanda, instead of acting like a friend, she acted like a cop and threw her under the bus. That is what Evelyn is upset about. Even if Amanda wanted to do her police duty, she could have at least given Evelyn a heads-up about the men coming to escort her out.
Why does Theo’s grandmother Kathleen show up out of the blue?
Theo’s grandmother, Kathleen, shows up at the station. She says her son’s name is Joey. But she didn’t know he and Kylie had a son together. Faith finds out that Gary and Eric had money deposited into accounts one day prior to the shooting. Gary has regained consciousness, and Will and Faith go to investigate. Evelyn comes with the detective duo to the hospital to see Gary. Her theory is that if they can get Gary to flip on whoever hired him, they might be able to get to the real person responsible.
The job that was carried out was done unprofessionally, and it was a complete mess. Evelyn thinks that Faith is going to have an emotional breakdown and chooses to remain with her and Will. She also says that people are dumb and Will does not need to be too smart to get Gary to talk. Gary says that the man who hired them introduced himself as Johnny Cash. Will deduces that the “Man in Black,” whom Theo described to him, is Johnny Cash, who hired the shooters.
Evelyn once again intervenes and says that without the missing drugs, this case just does not make sense. Why else would the shooters risk their lives and attack the cabins? Will seems to agree with her thesis and wants answers.
Why is Angie still struggling after episode 9?
We saw Angie confronting her past in episode 9. She went head to head with Lenny, her foster father, who raped her. Michael enquires into the character of Lenny with the people he frequents. He was described as a normal, regular kind of guy who seemed to have changed and moved past his bad habits. Angie does not believe him and gives Crystal, Lenny’s girlfriend’s daughter, her card when Crystal shares with her that Lenny is nice to her.
Crystal’s mother walks in angrily and confronts Angie about harassing her family. Angie senses that the mother is in on the act as well as she wants a ring on her finger. Franklin takes Angie to the other room. He says Angie should not throw her career away for this obsession. She should discuss it with Will, as Angie says she “might do something.” By giving her the card, Angie has done her part. He also says he will protect her from the captain.
Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 10 Recap and Ending Explained:
Who was behind the Elmsway shooting?
Will takes Theo to Kathleen’s hardware store to drop him off. She introduces him to Aaron and Deacon, her sons. When he sees the latter, Theo instantly recognizes him as the third shooter. He tries to communicate with Will, who picks up on his signs. To talk with him, he takes Theo to the bathroom. He tells him the truth, and Will calls for backup. Kylie comes back screaming for Theo at the station. Faith talks to her. She says she left for a well-paying job in Ohio. In a twist of the tale, Kylie says Kathleen has been trying to get Theo from her since she learned of him.
Kathleen is the one who called CPS on Kylie and said she does drugs. Will puts Betty and Theo up the air vents in the bathroom to remain safe. Kathleen and Aaron go inside and hear Betty barking. Deacon tries to hold Will, but he knocks Deacon down with a wringer. Aaron starts shooting at Will. He is able to overpower him, and Will takes the gun. Will is able to neutralize the other two, and the backup arrives soon.
Lenny confronts Angie and shockingly says that Angie “was asking for it” and “wanted a real man.” So he accepts that he raped her and shows no remorse for it. Angie knew all along Lenny hadn’t changed. Angie ominously threatens to kill Lenny when he does not see her coming. Will packs up Theo’s bag. He advises Theo always to look sharp and ask for Will whenever he feels he is in trouble.
Faith finally confronts her feelings. Evelyn says Faith chose this job despite being aware of what it would do to her. She articulates it out loud: Faith killed Grillo while doing her job. Faith must respect the life she has. Prayer, therapy, talking to Evelyn: anything to get her through it and allow her to do her job. Angie buys cocaine.
That final scene is truly heartbreaking. The fact that Angie takes drugs is not the only thing. The more heartbreaking element is Will’s missed call. He tries reaching out to her and makes an effort to become a better person, but Angie does not. Both of them started somewhat on the same pedestal, but only one of them seems to have made a real change.
This episode was a testimony of how far Will has come in his situation. He associates positively with people now and is encouraged to see positivity around him. He is better at forming meaningful relationships and processing his feelings. Angie seemed to be on the right path until she saw Lenny, which was really unfortunate. We will see what the upcoming episodes bring for us, but for now, Angie and Will seem to be on diverging paths.
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Everything we know about Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 11:
For fans of Will Trent on ABC, we have some concerning news. The show will not return in its regular weekly slot next week but will now be coming back with episode 11 on April 18.
This is not the first time the show has gone on a mid-season hiatus, the most recent one being last month. April will only have two episodes of Will Trent, but we will be at hand to guide you through them.
Before this month, the plan was to end the show’s season 1 at just ten episodes. But given the fantastic reception, ABC has ordered three more episodes of Will Trent’s Season 1! ABC has confirmed that episode 13 will be the season finale.
Below you can find the promo for Will Trent Episode 11.
Will Trent TV Series (Season 1), Episode 10 Links: IMDb, Wikipedia
Will Trent TV Series (Season 1), Episode 10 Cast: Deion Smith, Ramón Rodríguez, Erika Christensen
Where to watch Will Trent
