TV Recap: High Potential’s “Behind the Music” Puts Morgan in Tune with the Past

High Potential strikes an emotional chord in “Behind the Music," blending murder, memory, and melody into one of the season’s most personal cases. When a mysterious 9-1-1 call leads Morgan and Karadec to a retired singer’s home, they uncover a decades-old crime tied to ambition, betrayal, and a cover-up in the Los Angeles music scene. As Morgan navigates the fallout, Soto faces disappointment in her career, and the team braces for the arrival of a new captain who’s already changing the rhythm at LAPD.

Season 2, Episode 4: “Behind the Music" - Written by Marqui Jackson & Nicole French

The episode opens in darkness. A terrified woman whispers into her phone, “He shot her." Moments later, the door bursts open, and as a man steps inside, she screams.

At LAPD, Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) walks in to find her colleagues eavesdropping on Selena Soto’s (Judy Reyes) phone call. Soto is up for a captain’s promotion, and the team assumes it’s good news. She quickly shuts the door and the gossip, telling them she’ll share updates when there’s something official. She then assigns Morgan and Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) to a 9-1-1 call that just came in. Daphne (Javicia Leslie) plays back the recording — the same terrified voice from the opening scene. Oz (Dennis Akdeniz) traces it to the home of Raina Viera (Barbara Eve Harris). Two potential victims, Soto warns.

At Raina’s house, the woman is alive and calm, coffee mug in hand. She swears she didn’t make the call and lives alone. Morgan notes her Gullah Geechee accent and a photo showing her in North Carolina pinned to the fridge. When Karadec asks to see her phone, the 9-1-1 call isn’t on her log, just a lot of unanswered calls from a woman named Lucy. Morgan studies the scene — an upscale kitchen with cheap aluminum pans on the stove. Something doesn’t add up. Raina grows defensive, and Karadec agrees they should leave.

Outside, Karadec tells Morgan he suspects Raina is hiding something, but the sweep team found no one else inside.

Back at headquarters, Morgan is camped at Karadec’s computer when Soto rushes by, fast-tracking surveillance footage — another sign she might be preparing to take the captain’s seat. Morgan asks what that means for him. Karadec admits he’d likely get promoted to lieutenant, which would mean she’d be paired with someone new. Before the thought can sink in, he gets a call.

They return to Raina’s home to find it a crime scene. Raina’s body lies at the base of the stairs. Morgan’s furious — she knew Raina was afraid. It looks like she fell down the stairs, but Karadec spots a stain in the center of her back. Morgan notes that Raina’s hands are covered in rings — if she’d fallen naturally, there’d be scratches on the banister from trying to save herself. Oz reports that neighbors heard loud music and shouting from a party across the street that morning.

At the nearby house, they question the young man who hosted the party, Logan (Hale Lytle). Morgan wonders if drugs were involved. A unicorn sticker on the mailbox catches her eye, followed by a nervous teen on a bike pacing outside. When she mentions drugs, she notices Logan glance toward a drawer. Morgan opens it to find a stash. Logan bolts. Karadec and Oz chase him into the street and finally take him down.

Logan swears he was helping Raina, not hurting her. Morgan suggests he was her dealer, but he insists he was just picking up migraine medication for her after she lost her insurance. He admits he’d been at her house earlier that morning, around 9:00 a.m., scavenging for items she could sell to pay him back. When he got a call from someone named Bones, he went upstairs, leaving Raina alive. She came up shortly after, never mentioning a murder. Morgan doubts his timeline, and Karadec proposes checking the house again.

Using a blacklight, they scan Raina’s basement for fingerprints. Morgan’s impressed that Karadec is willing to “bend the rules" for once. Under heavy drug use, he explains, fingerprints glow brighter — and Logan’s prints are everywhere. Upstairs, Morgan replays the 9-1-1 audio, noting the four beeps from the coffee maker, which was set to go off at 9:30 a.m. It should’ve been eight. Someone stopped it mid-cycle. Under UV light, she finds a glowing fingerprint on the machine’s button — Logan’s.

Back in the basement, Morgan uncovers a dusty flip phone with no active service, which can still call 9-1-1. Boxes of discount pans line the wall. Morgan theorizes Raina suffered from early-onset dementia and was using migraine meds to manage symptoms, but was prone to burning her pots and pans due to dementia episodes. A bloody dress in a storage box changes everything. “So Raina did witness a murder," Morgan says. “The question is — when did she see it?" Karadec answers grimly.

At LAPD, Morgan lays the dress out for the team. She asks for a lighter and scissors, noting the fabric’s sheen. A strip of tinsel-like fiber burns fast and clean — the material dates to at least the mid-1980s. Daphne tracks the label to Cibrian Creations, a brand defunct since 2015. Tag details place it between 1998 and 2000. Cross-referencing missing persons, Daphne lands on Greta St. John (Fallon), a singer last seen at a New Year’s Eve party at The Black Jewel nightclub. Greta’s body was later found in an alley, with a gunshot wound to the chest, gunpowder burns still visible.

Eddie Friedman (Tobias Jelinek), the club’s manager at the time, agrees to speak with them. He recalls Greta’s raw talent — and her rivalry with Raina, another singer. Greta’s breakout came under producer Mac Epps (Clifton Powell), who had previously been arrested on a drug charge. When Epps got out, Greta wanted to move on, but he was obsessed. To get back at her, he started managing Raina. Eddie confesses he’d been too scared to talk about Epps back then. He hands over his old files, hoping they’ll finally bring justice.

Morgan and Karadec interview Lucy Hastings (Zoë Soul), a journalist who recently profiled Raina. Lucy says Raina and Greta’s rivalry ran deep. She also reveals that Mac Epps now owns The Black Jewel. Raina never spoke openly about him, but Lucy always felt she blamed him for ruining her career.

Back at the office, Soto gathers everyone in the bullpen. “Turns out you’re stuck with me," she says — she didn’t get the captain’s chair. A new commander is being transferred in from another division. Daphne, Oz, and Karadec look crushed, but Soto soldiers on, redirecting focus to the case. They’ve learned Raina moved into her home shortly after Greta’s death — a property once owned by Epps. Morgan deduces it was likely hush money. Dementia must have loosened her memory, and when she started remembering, Epps silenced her. New footage shows Raina and Epps arguing outside The Black Jewel days before her death.

At the club, Epps greets Karadec with hostility. A bouncer (Joshua Adeyeye) tries to block them from entering the owner’s velvet-rope VIP section, but Morgan sneaks inside and slips into a booth. A woman named Julie (Zoey Reyes) compliments her outfit. When Karadec confronts Epps about Greta and Raina, Epps insists the two cases are unrelated. Morgan notices his north star tattoo, identical to Greta’s wrist compass. She connects the dots: the night of Greta’s death, as the New Year’s ball dropped, confetti rained down — made with nickel-based dye. Greta’s allergy caused a rash, visible in autopsy photos. “Greta was murdered here, just hours after midnight," Morgan concludes. Epps threatens to call his lawyer, JJ Pierce — known in law enforcement as “The Badge Collector."

Back at HQ, Soto receives a threatening call from Pierce, demanding a warrant before returning to The Black Jewel. While reviewing old photos, Morgan and Soto notice something new: Greta had recently given birth. A wrist brace, flats, and visible hair loss suggest postpartum recovery. Greta likely hid her child, and Epps killed her after finding out. A bandage on his right hand the day after the murder was likely due to a gun jam, which could explain burn marks on the side of Greta’s face.

Karadec files for a warrant, sending Daphne and Oz to Epps’ house. Morgan wants to join Karadec at the club, but he insists she stay behind and work on tracking Greta’s child.

At The Black Jewel, Karadec confronts Epps, who bolts. The chase ends in an alley, where Epps grabs Julie as a hostage. He rants that he’s spent years looking for his child, and he’s ready to kill again if necessary. Karadec fires a single shot. Epps goes down. Julie is shaken but alive.

In Soto’s office, Solomon (Jesse Bradford) from Internal Affairs reprimands Karadec. Soto defends him, but Solomon insists protocol demands an evaluation from Behavioral Science. Karadec agrees to the review, but with appointments booked far out, he asks for some assistance getting a quick one. Solomon is unwilling to make it happen until Karadec points out how proper procedures weren’t followed with Greta’s case twenty years ago, leading to that day’s standoff. Solomon agrees to expedite his appointment. Later, Soto and Solomon argue privately. He’s been digging into her reports about Morgan, suggesting she’s a liability. “What happens with my squad is none of your business," she warns. “Until it is," he replies.

Down in the impound, Morgan and Karadec search Epps’ car. It’s spotless — almost too clean. Morgan worries about Karadec’s mental state after the shooting. He admits this was only the third time he’s ever fired in the line of duty, and the first time he’s hit someone. “I knew I wouldn’t miss," he says. Then Morgan finds a visitor pass to a federal prison wedged behind the seat from the morning of Raina’s death, and a dead yucca moth from the Mojave Desert on the windshield. The prison is in Victorville, two hours away. Epps couldn’t have killed Raina.

Lucy is shocked when Morgan and Karadec show up at her door. “We know who killed Raina Viera," Morgan announces. “It’s you." Lucy’s alibi, photos from Griffith Observatory, doesn’t hold up. The sun’s position in the images is off — the time doesn’t match the timestamp. Karadec notes the faint silver smudge on her hand: silver nitrate from photo developing. Lucy breaks down, admitting that she only recently found out the truth. During one of Raina’s dementia episodes, she confessed everything to Lucy — Greta’s death, the cover-up, the lies. When Lucy confronted her, Raina stopped taking her calls. Lucy showed up to confront Raina, and when she tried to get away, Lucy pushed her down the stairs. Karadec arrests her gently. “We got justice for Greta," he says. “Now we have to do the same for Raina."

Back at the precinct, Morgan is once again at Karadec’s desk. He jokes about finally getting her her own computer. When she gets up to leave, he notices she’s been searching for “Arthur Ellis Landscaping."

Before heading home, Morgan stops by Soto’s office. She tells her it’s okay to be upset about the promotion. “You have to be strong for everyone else," she says. “But I’m not a cop, I can just be your friend." Soto finally lets herself admit she’s disappointed.

At the elevator, Morgan meets a man waiting beside her. “All I want is to enter my house justified," he quotes from the Bible, explaining he thought she looked proud of a good day’s work. On the elevator ride down, he reveals he knows who she is. He went past the third floor — Command — to learn more about her. “Nick Wagner," he says, extending his hand. “Your new captain." Morgan’s polite smile fades as the elevator doors close, sending him up to the job that should’ve been Soto’s.

Next Episode: “Content Warning" - Airing Tuesday, October 14th, at 10/9c on ABC

When a social media stunt turns deadly, Morgan and Karadec head to an influencer content house to track down answers. Meanwhile, the LAPD team adjusts to Captain Nick Wagner’s new role, and Ava seeks out more information on Roman’s disappearance.

Songs Featured in This Episode: