Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 9: Episode 9 of Will Trent’s season 1 on ABC, titled “Manhunt,” has a change in the trend for the show. Usually, Michael and Angie and Will and Faith solve two different cases. In this episode, Michael and Will work together while Angie figures out personal stuff and Faith is “indisposed.” The episode’s central plot revolves around Faith Mitchell’s kidnapping and the surfacing of an interesting face from Angie’s past that makes her uncomfortable. Moreover, the episode provides a glimpse into Angie’s past, allowing us to comprehend her better individually and collectively, but also distances us a bit from her.
This is the best episode in season 1, hands down. Sam’s character was a refreshing introduction, and his chemistry with Faith was electric. Hopefully, Sam becomes a regular, and Faith can finally have someone in her life. The ending of episode 9 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 9 Recap:
“Manhunt”
Sam LaPorte’s hearing is about to take place at the courthouse. Sam has been convicted of killing APD Officer Andrew Hollis, who also had a personal friendship with Michael Ormewood. Faith is at the courthouse, too, and meets an old woman, Bonnie, in the ladies’ washroom. Suddenly, they hear gunshots from outside. When they go to investigate, Faith brushes against Sam, who has escaped and is armed with a gun. He holds Bonnie at gunpoint, but when Faith reveals she is a GBI Agent, he takes her instead and leaves the old lady.
Will gets the news while he is grocery shopping with Nico and Betty. He also learns prior that Betty has a popular page on Instagram. Will discovers Faith’s belongings and also her gun. Sam holds Faith at gunpoint and escapes the courthouse in Bonnie’s car. When Faith says she has to get her insulin shots, he puts her in the trunk of the car and buys the medicine. Faith is able to maneuver herself out of the handcuffs in the back position, but Sam soon regains control. They also switch cars in the parking lot.
Will chats with Amanda about how he will proceed to get his partner back. Instead of chasing the crime, he wants to chase the criminal. That will tell him Sam’s next move, which Amanda agrees with. While out on a case with Ormewood, Angie spots a familiar face from the past. But the memory of seeing him gives her anxiety and resurfaces feelings she has tried to bury deep.
The man she sees is Lenny, the foster carer who raped her when she was 15. We saw it in a flashback in episode 7 when Angie and Will went to get an abortion and never returned to the place. Sam takes Faith in handcuffs to Glen’s house. Glen is an employee of Sam’s landscaping business. But the real reason he has brought her there is to hear Glen’s testimony that Sam is innocent of the murder of Andrew. That night, he was with Glen.
She finds Glen unconscious and bleeding. She tries to put a pillow on it to stop but sees Tate Grillo standing over her. Tate is Andrew’s partner and a celebrated APD Officer. But instead of helping her, Tate shoots Glen and then says on the radio that Faith shot Glen and is conniving with Sam. Actually, it was Tate who killed Andrew. But we have not got an indication of why yet. As he is about to shoot Sam, she jumps on Tate and suffocates him using the cuffs. He falls to the ground unconscious, and Sam and Faith escape.
Director Armstrong is livid at Amanda and Will for Faith’s actions. He squarely believes the narrative spun by Tate, but Faith’s boss and partner defend her. The police seem to believe that Faith and Sam are outlaws on the run together. There is even history between them, as Faith had arrested Sam for breaking into a store seven years ago. Sam suggests going to the Perkins cabins, which he knows would be empty this time of year. They stop at a gas station. Sam goes to use the restroom, and Faith uses the opportunity to attract the attention of a young kid.
She takes her phone, sends an audio message on the Instagram page that Nico tuns for Betty, and sends a message to Will about her innocence, saying that she left her gun at the courthouse. The child’s mother comes back soon, and the two have to run again. At Glen’s house, Will sees clear marks that Tate has set up the crime scene. Faith did not kill Glen. He uses Faith’s pillow to stop the bleeding as evidence and asks Michael to send it to forensics.
Michael is not ready to believe him, and his bias against Will surfaces in a moment of heat. Will also points out the ligature marks on Tate’s neck that bring doubt into Michael’s mind. Angie’s mind is wandering, and she feels she is being pulled into a million directions. She confesses to her AA group that even though she has to be on duty at that moment, she seems to be in control of the meeting. Lenny, the man who raped her, is out in the open, and Angie decides to confront him by pulling him in for a misdemeanor.
Faith cuffs Sam to a fridge while she takes a bath. The two have developed some level of trust and rapport with each other. But we see the moment she leaves, Sam tries to find something in the drawers to uncuff himself. Ormewood brings back the report from the blood pattern analysis team, and Will’s suspicion is right. Tate staged the entire crime scene. Will says he has called Maia, Andrew’s widow, to meet at his house. Ormewood reluctantly agrees to come with him.
Maia is repulsed to see Michael, who just disappeared from her life when she needed him the most. She tells them that Tate did not let her testify or speak to anyone else without supervising her. He controlled the entire narrative in the case. Andrew wanted to help Sam, an ex-con who was trying to get back on his feet. But Tate did not kill him for this reason. Andrew and Tate were partners, and the former suspected that Tate was stealing evidence. She tells them Andrew and Sam had a scuffle about the bamboo garden in their backyard, but since she has moved houses, Will cannot inspect it in daylight.
When Faith comes back from the bathroom, she finds that Sam has freed himself and is trying to escape. She uses one of the bullets left in the gun to warn Sam and show him she means business. He complies with her request, and she cuffs him again. Angie does not tell Ormewood the truth about Lenny and, instead, moves ahead with her plan to confront Lenny under the garb of a charge. Will takes Ormewood and shovels to Andrew’s previous home. He feels that Andrew did not want Sam to touch the bamboo plant – Sam wanted to install rose plants instead – because he hid the file underneath it.
The files must have incriminating evidence against Tate. They begin digging. Angie gathers courage and goes to confront Lenny. She finds herself uncomfortable, and Lenny begs to convince her that he is a changed man. He profusely apologizes to Angie, but she does not believe him. After a while, she cannot take it anymore and walks out of the holding room. Lenny is allowed to go. We see he has a family now with a teenage daughter. We do not know if she is his biological child or not, but Angie gets comfortable when he puts his arm around her. It is inconclusive if he is also molesting her or not.
Will Trent (Season 1), Episode 9 Recap & Ending, Explained:
Does Will manage to prove Faith’s innocence?
The duo finds a box underneath the ground that has the requisite files. Andrew had inventoried all the evidence they gathered, and that was admitted into the stations. There is a clear mismatch, confirming his suspicion about Tate. Andrew had also collected photographs of Tate indulging in illegal business in the days leading up to his death. Amanda calls Will and asks him to come to the location of the cabin in Perkins. The lady at the gas station reported Faith and Sam, and APD was alerted to their presence.
Amands feels if they do not back up Faith, Tate might kill her. Faith and Sam actually have a great time together. They flirt and seem a really good match. But as their ice-breaking session is going on, Tate comes alone in his vehicle to the cabin. He starts shooting. Sam and Faith fall to the ground, and he kisses her. She frees his cuffs but asks him not to come outside.
She has a single bullet left and goes out. Even though she tries to reason with Tate, he is hell-bent on killing her. She tries to hide, and Sam charges Tate. Faith shoots and hits Tate, even as Tate and Sam are grappling with each other. Tate falls dead, and the police arrive. They take Sam and Faith into custody. The next morning, Amanda and Will come to free Faith with the new evidence that has come to light.
Faith visits Sam in jail and says they have overturned his murder conviction. But he still needs to stay in for the slew of laws he broke in the past two days. He flirtatiously asks her on a date when he is out, and she blushes while walking away. Will comes home to Angie, who is still shaken. Will immediately senses something is wrong. He asks Angie about it, but she is unwilling to open up, like in old times. Will insists they have increased their relationship, but Angie does not tell him the truth. She hugs him, and each of them wonders if the relationship is going in the right direction.
It is quite tragic to see that last scene, especially from Will’s point of view. The only woman who will ever understand him completely, and the woman he loves does not reciprocate his feelings. Or perhaps does not give him enough indication that she does. That has got to be heartbreaking, and we can see the grimace on Will’s face. After the events of the last episode, one would have imagined Angie to open up. Another pointer is Will’s knowledge of Lenny, and their bond becomes even more ironclad after the incident. But Angie kept mum.
What to expect from episode 10 of Will Trent?
Episode 10 is expected to release next week in the show’s regular slot. It is titled “Pterodactyls Can Fly,” which is an interesting indication. The promo of the episode reveals an exciting plotline where a small boy called Theo is the only surviving victim of a mass murder. Will treats him like one of his own and takes his help to solve the mystery. We would love to see more of Will and Angie’s maturing relationship, which was well-steadied after the events of episode 8 but hit a roadblock in this episode. It can be easily negated if the couple communicates, for once. We all want it to work, but it will not sort out by itself.
