We know Will Trent Season 2 has some big shoes to fill.
Will Trent Season 1 was one of the best freshmen shows of 2023 since it delivered stellar cases and emotional character development.
The season finale left us with an emotional cliffhanger, wondering about Angie’s road to recovery and how Will would deal with that and learning about Amanda’s role in his childhood. Viewers have become invested in seeing how these characters heal from James’s destruction.
Now that the second season is just around the corner, we’ve compiled a list of the top expectations we need to see to keep tuning in and see if the series will last many seasons.
Since Karin Slaughter wrote many Will Trent novels, that’s very possible, so hopefully, the series will heed these suggestions.
We Want Angie to Suffer Less
After everything Angie went through in Season 1, we’d like her to spend more time in Season 2, healing versus suffering.
As the doctor said in Will Trent Season 1 Episode 13, there was a long road to Angie’s recovery. Hopefully, the series will show some of it and not just rush to see Angie back in the field.
Erika Christensen plays Angie as fierce and strong, so we want to see her return from this.
We want to see the aftermath of the murder charges of Lenny’s death and how she deals with knowing what happened.
We Don’t Want Angie and Will to Go All In Just Yet
Angie and Will exude believable chemistry, partly because, as Erika Christensen stated, the two have been friends for years.
The main problem is that they’re trauma-bonded. They went through so much together as young teens in the foster care system, and sometimes, it’s hard for Angie to move past that.
As mentioned above, Angie still struggled with many internal demons during Will Trent Season 1, and she finally grew stronger when she went to therapy and took care of herself.
She needs to focus on bettering herself before Angie can fully commit to someone else. It’s the first step of overcoming addiction. Will has work to do as well.
He’s gone his entire life thinking he can save people. In order for his and Angie’s relationship to work, he needs to work on the savior complex, and they need to see each other on equal footing.
We Want More of Will’s Backstory
Will has always been curious about his identity. In the finale, he finally learns the identity of his birth mother, so hopefully, Will will be fueled to search for more answers about his past and his family.
Now that he knows the truth, we hope that Amanda and Will will forge an even closer bond and that he’ll discover more about how Amanda found him years later and trained him for the GBI.
Since some of the best moments surround Will’s foster care history, we also hope that Mark-Paul Gosselaar will recur again as Paul Campano.
We’re unsure if that’s possible since he’s become a big hit on NBC’s Found, but Paul Campano is such a vital part of Will’s history that we would miss his appearances and snark.
More Team Camaraderie and the GBI and Atlanta PD Working Together
Will Trent excelled when the cast worked together on cases. They have a strong cast, and the cast gets along exceptionally well.
Since the series is procedural and often handles cases of the week, I’m unsure if they could swing this. Still, the mysteries seemed more interesting when Will, Faith, Angie, and Michael worked on them together versus when Angie and Michael had a B-level case.
While they were initially forced to work together, as Will Trent Season 1 progressed, the four learned more about partnerships. They knew you always defended and protected your partner.
Watching Will and Michael become unlikely allies was refreshing as they teamed up to defend Faith and Angie.
With Angie out of commission for a while, we’d rather see Michael assist Will and Faith at the GBI than get a new partner.
Hopefully, we will also see all three of them support Angie through her recovery until she’s back in the field with them.
Faith Needs Her Own Story and Love Interest
Faith Mitchell is one badass queen, except in the episode when she was kidnapped, and we saw how she almost saved herself; she’s often seen as Will’s partner.
She’s more than that. We need more storylines when she’s leading the charge.
Faith also needs a love interest that’s not a criminal. While I loved her connection with her ex, it’s time for someone new. Maybe reexamine running into that sexy doctor or find someone else.
While Faith seems to like bad boys, let’s examine why and see if we can find a better man for her.
We Need More Character Development of Detective Michael Ormewood
When the series began, Michael Ormewood was angry at everyone and jealous of Will.
Through some prying, Angie learned that Michael had PTSD and anger issues from serving in the military.
Learning that made him appear more layered and not just a one-note jerk, but we need more details if viewers are going to invest in his character.
In the book series, his character never went anywhere, but in the ABC series, he has potential, mainly due to Jake McLaughlin’s talented acting. We need to know more about him and his family.
Over to you, Will Trent Fanatics.
What’s on your wish list for the upcoming season? Do you have any other storylines to add? Let us know in the comments below.
Will Trent returns on February 20 at 8/7c on ABC. You can watch Will Trent Season 1 on Hulu.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.