Our Will Trent preview is short but bitter again this week. Why? Because I don’t want to “spoil” you. The good news is Mark-Paul Gosselaar is back as the trainwreck in the title, otherwise known as Paul. Every time Will and Paul’s worlds clash, it’s because somebody has been removed from existence—usually in a puddle of blood. This time, it’s lots of puddles, lots of bodies. It’s also different. Something about this case triggers Will in ways we’ve never seen before, bringing out a darkness in him that we’re guessing he’ll spend the rest of the season fighting. This would be a good time for Dr. Roach. But nope, evil daddy is back. James Ulster is haunting Will, and for the first time, you’ll want Will to get ghosted.
Over on the hijinks side of the show, Angie, Ormewood, and Franklin remain gang gang, but there’s a skunk in the precinct and everything’s gnarly. This trio has their own murder to solve and a softball game that Ormie and Franklin really want to win.
There’s a lot of cuteness in this episode to counteract the specters of past trauma. Quirky characters and incidents come through as always. Faith calls Paul out for being an idiot with zero survival instincts—fair. And the three foster kids, Will, Angie, and Paul, have a reunion. That’s not my favorite scene, though; the moment that got me is a troubling one, where Paul and Betty come to the rescue!
Now that we’ve got Franklin as a cast member, can we get more of Gosselaar’s Paul? Let’s call him in as hard as Will and Faith call him out. “CALL PAUL” has a lot of heart—including flips and breaks. It’s an episode I want to watch again, not just to catch the details I missed but to lean into the heart, horror, and hijinks.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17
8PM ET – Will Trent: “CALL PAUL” (407)
on ABC and Streaming Next Day on Hulu
A chilling suburban murder pushes Will and Faith into the mind of a meticulous killer. As his empathy edges toward obsession, the return of Paul Campano, his volatile former foster brother, threatens to unravel both the case and Will’s inner balance.
Central Cast: Ramón Rodríguez as Will Trent, Erika Christensen as Angie, Iantha Richardson as Faith, Jake McLaughlin as Ormewood, Sonja Sohn as Amanda, Scott Foley as Dr. Seth, Kevin Daniels as Franklin, Greg Germann as James Ulster, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Paul Campano
