This episode is intense. We’re accustomed to hostage situations on Will Trent. We’ve even had to deal with hostage situations in a hospital on Will Trent before. This episode goes beyond all those others. The central murder mystery puts some of our favorite characters in danger, and it will keep your head spinning right up until the credits roll.
There is a fight scene near the end that’s going to make your action-loving heart palpitate. It’s a close-quarters action set piece worthy of the exclamation, “CINEMA!” But that’s jumping to the end. Let’s start at the beginning with a neighborhood shooting, followed by a blind witness who adds hilarity to a heartbreaking situation with very few things to smile about.
How do we get there? Nico gets hurt while Angie is getting a prenatal check-up. If you’re good at extrapolating, that tells you everybody involved at the hospital. If you’re not good at it, don’t worry, I’m here for you. Will takes Nico to the hospital, and Angie is there with Seth.
On the outside, Mama Amanda is on a work trip. Ormewood and Franklin are working the first case with Mac, the blind witness. Faith is shaking her head and informing everyone how bad their choices are. Back at the hospital, Will is getting antsy while waiting for a call from Adelaide on the burner phone. Unfortunately, the ER doctor gets dismissive, hostages are taken, and damn, “A Flag in the Mud” is another excellent episode of Will Trent.
I’ll be back for an After Air after you’ve seen it, but for now: WOW.
After Air (added Apr 8):
Watching that kid Kevin get hunted and shot at the beginning of the episode was rough. I had to skip that part during rewatches. That’s what makes watching Osiris go down so satisfying later.
Will was so scared for Nico; it was both sweet and funny. And I don’t know why, but when Will called Faith “woman,” it was sweet too. Between that, taking Nico to the ER, Will and Angie teasing Nico, and the very motherly chat with Amanda, I’m loving the family dynamics.
Okay, can we talk about Mac, the Blind Witness? He’s ridiculously charming and deeply perceptive with a gift for turning a phrase. That’s why I’m getting a Keyser Söze aura from him. Imagine if Mac turns out to be a criminal mastermind. That would be the kind of twist we love.
Tamala Renee Jones as the freaked-out mom, Nakia, a woman who will shoot you for her child, worked nicely. Veteran, addict, and guilty feelings are the perfect combination of character traits for this role. You feel for her, you want her to save her son, and you want her to go down. Multiple things can be true at the same time. After all, Nakia stopped an ER full of injured or ill people from getting the help they needed. That complexity makes compassion easy, but recognizing she’s a secondary antagonist isn’t hard.
Who else wanted to slap the Reenactors? They mean well, but ugh, go away with that cannon. On the flipside, Franklin, Ormewood, and Max’s banter was a delight. “I can’t believe y’all drink tap water.” “Max, go to bed.”
This show is thriving.
Okay, I know what you’re here for. Osiris was hiding in the ER and pretending to be an orderly. Wait. What?! OSIRIS WAS IN THE ER THE WHOLE TIME. And this bastard killed a nurse to stay hidden. Damn.
That makes the Elevator Fight scene one of the best things that has ever happened on Will Trent. Will, Ormie, and Seth might as well have been Super Saiyans the way they came together to protect each other and beat Osiris into oblivion. I don’t know who did the fight choreography, but they are my friend now—they understand me. Will with the stethoscope. Seth with the sucker punch. Ormewood with the flying knee. Tag-team fighting at its best. Even better, they had the audacity to trash-talk and thank each other the entire way through.
Everything about the Elevator Fight was ten floors of perfection. Even the needle drop was peak. I watched it 18 times, and I’m about to watch it again. Hold on. Okay, 19 times, and it keeps getting better. The way Osiris turned on Will and Seth, and Will basically said, “Why don’t we handle this like gentlemen?” and Osiris responded with what I swear was, “I’m not a gentlemanly mutha fucka.” Okay, that’s not really what they said, but that’s how it felt. Finally, when Ormewood knick-knack-paddy-whacked that man with the oxygen tank, I had to lie down on the floor with him and Will.
The shoe. The hug. The tattling. The “greedy ass hostages.” The compassion. I might be in love with this show.
Will confesses that he loves Nico and then acts like nothing was said. He’s so cute (and repressed), but cute and trying real hard to protect his chosen and discovered family.
“A Flag in the Mud” ends with the long-awaited call from Adelaide. She’s headed back to Atlanta, but Will can’t tell anyone. Good thing I can tell you this: I want her and the entire cult to get the Red Wedding treatment—but only after Faith stomps Adelaide for Will because that’s what cousins do for each other.
“Aww, look at us, best friends.”
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, Cora Lu Tran as Nico, Janina Gavankar as Casey, Jason Davis as Bill Appleyard, and Ilfenesh Hadera as Joanne Drexler
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
8PM ET – Will Trent: “A Flag in the Mud” (414)
on ABC and Streaming Next Day on Hulu
A hospital hostage crisis traps Will, Nico, and Angie. Outside, Faith, Franklin, and Ormewood hunt the shooter, while a burner call warns that a figure from Will’s past is returning to Atlanta.
