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High Potential has been keeping the audience hooked with a new mystery in every episode. The ABC crime drama tells the story of Morgan, a janitor at the LAPD building who possesses an impeccable mind and is hired by the police to solve various cases.
Morgan deals with another challenging investigation in episode 11, The Sauna at the End of the Stairs, which aired on January 28, 2025. The episode revolves around a murder case from 10 years ago.
It follows George Donovan, an elderly man who confesses to the murder of his son-in-law, Barry Johnson. However, the police feel that something is not right and endeavor to get to the truth, ultimately leading to the identification of the actual killer. Here is the complete High Potential Season 1 Episode 11 recap.
Who killed Barry in High Potential?
In High Potential Season 1, episode 11, a shocking confession leads to the reopening of a murder case that has haunted the Donovan family for ten years. George Donovan, an elderly man nearing his death, admits to killing his son-in-law, Barry Johnson, a decade ago.
He claims he pushed Barry down the basement stairs and then placed him in the sauna to make it look like an accident. Though this seems to solve the case, Lieutenant Selena Soto is unsure if George is telling the truth.
Selena has always doubted George's statement, while her former partner, Lt. Melon, was convinced of it. The only evidence against George at the time of the murder was a drop of Barry’s blood on his shirt.
However, there was insufficient proof to convict him, and the case remained unsolved. Now, with George’s confession, the police are ready to close the case, but Selena thinks he might be protecting someone in the family.
When Morgan begins going through the case files, she notices the real cause of death was not a fall, but electrocution in the bathroom. After a thorough investigation, the police determined Barry’s son, Cody, killed him.
High Potential Season 1 Episode 11 recap: How did Morgan solve the case?
Morgan spends hours looking through the evidence, even while doing household chores. She finally makes a breakthrough when she notices a weird detail about the bathroom’s electrical outlets. She figures out that Barry was electrocuted while showering when someone threw a hair dryer into the water.
The electrocution also left burn marks on the outlet, which someone later tried to cover up by replacing the wall plate. Morgan and Selena visit the Donovan house to test this theory. When they remove the outlet cover, they find scorch marks underneath, which confirm the electrocution.
Barry’s body was shoved down the laundry chute, which explains the broken neck and the blood found on George’s shirt. The killer later staged the scene by putting Barry in the sauna.
The last piece of the puzzle is sorted when Morgan reexamines the timeline of Barry’s last moments. Barry’s wife, Lenore, said she saw him go into the basement at midnight. However, Morgan realizes the person she saw was actually Cody, Barry and Heather’s son, who was wearing his father’s robe.
On being questioned, Cody admits he killed his father after finding out Barry had been abusing his mother. The abuse was a family secret they had tried to keep hidden.
On the night of the murder, Cody confronted Barry in the bathroom, electrocuted him, and then disposed of the body. When George learned the truth, he falsely confessed to protect his grandson.
High Potential Season 1 Episode 11 recap: How did Nedda's documentary help the case?
While Morgan and Selena investigate, they are not the only ones looking into the case. George’s son Clark’s ex-wife, Nedda Donovan, arrives at the police station with a camera crew. She is making a documentary to find the truth behind Barry’s death.
Though Oz and Daphne refuse to speak on camera, Nedda is determined to prove that George’s confession is a lie and that the real killer is still out there. Nedda’s documentary reveals Barry had been abusing his wife, Heather.
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Throughout the episode, the Donovan family struggles with their past trauma. While Heather and others try to keep the abuse a secret, the reality comes out eventually. In the end, Nedda's documentary, Selena’s diligence, and Morgan’s creative thinking solve the case.
High Potential airs new episodes on ABC on Tuesdays.
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