Will Trent season 2 returns with episode 4 this week, as the ABC detective procedural series took a season break for two consecutive weeks, and the titular detective is back on a new investigation. The case is slightly unusual and mysterious this time around, though, as it seemingly involves a ghostly figure known as the Boo Hag as well as a practicing witch. On the other side, the APD detectives are tasked with solving a year-old murder case involving a local celebrity. Overall, episode 4 is unique in its content and also brings along the mention of a different teenage trauma of Will Trent.
Spoiler Alert
What is the new case that Will and Faith are assigned to?
Will Trent season 2 episode 4 begins with four young adults, Bradley, RJ, Nicole, and Alex, hanging out at a desolate, abandoned ground in the middle of the night. The four characters are actually very good friends, which is why they are having a party among themselves, but the ground is a sacred burial ground that is no longer used. Perhaps the lack of any intruders or people at the place is the reason behind the four choosing it as their party ground, but the night turns sinister when the only woman in the group, Nicole, goes to relieve herself behind a bush. The group is apparently attacked by a supernatural being, locally known as the Boo Hag, and only Bradley manages to come out of the forested area the next morning. With no clue about the whereabouts of the others, Bradley grabs the attention of a bystander, informing her that the Boo Hag had attacked him and his friends before he collapses out of fear and exertion.
When Will and Faith are first informed about the case, it is one of abduction since the three other youngsters, RJ, Nicole, and Alex, are still missing. They are told about the legend of the Boo Hag, which is a monstrous entity that roams around the forest in the town of Mathis in the state of Georgia and is believed to suck in the soul of anyone it finds. Will does not obviously believe that it was this monster that had attacked the youngsters, and he rather ridicules the legend, only to be schooled by his partner, Faith. After all, the Boo Hag is part of the legend of the Gullah Geechee people of African American ethnicity, and Faith rightly stands in support of all Black groups and people. Will apologizes for his insensitive comments, but he is still convinced that a human being must be behind the attack and the abduction, and Faith agrees with him in this regard.
The investigation begins with an interrogation of the only survivor and witness, Bradley, who states that he ran from the place once the Boo Hag attacked and had no idea what happened to his three friends. The young man also provides a physical description of the monster, which is apparently seven feet tall, has barks on it like a tree, and is completely covered in moss, yet has a scary face along with it. The youngsters had gone to the abandoned graveyard to celebrate the selection of Nicole and Alex, a couple, into Chapel Hill College. When Nicole went to relieve herself behind the bushes, she started screaming and was clearly attacked by something. The three men immediately rushed in to save her, only to be attacked by the tall, gigantic figure. A quick word with the local sheriff confirms that people in the town of Mathis greatly believe in the presence of the Boo Hag, always blaming it for people going missing, for there had been some locals who had suddenly disappeared earlier.
When the detectives reach the old Gullah Geechee graveyard, Will finds some fake moss at the place, which further suggests that someone must have been pretending to be the Boo Hag monster, and the victims were easily scared because of the alcohol and drugs they had consumed. Within a few minutes, the detectives stumble across another young man who is thankfully alive too, and this is none other than RJ, who had been missing for this long. Coming to his senses, RJ tells the authorities that he had tripped and fallen during the attack, which is why the Boo Hag had not carried him away like Nicole and Alex. More crucially, RJ mentions that a witch was also present at the scene, and upon further questioning, he reveals that this witch is actually a local woman named Erykah Goodwine.
Soon, the detectives reach the house of Erykah Goodwine, who is believed to be a practitioner of hoodoo and other forms of dark magic. Erykah does not deny any such claims, and she rather makes fun of these beliefs, as she is very proud of her cultural heritage. Erykah is the only remaining Gullah Geechee person in Mathis, and she is rather annoyed by the fact that teenagers and youngsters regularly visit their sacred graveyard to party and fool around. Therefore, she admits that she is happy that the youngsters went missing from the place and has no regrets about the incident.
The journalist that Faith had gotten intimate with in the season 2 premiere episode, Lake Sullivan, is also now reporting on the same case, and he arranges a private meeting with RJ after the latter is released from the hospital. RJ had promised to make some serious revelations in this meeting, and so Faith and Will decided to follow Sullivan to the meeting at the burial ground. However, upon reaching the place, they discover the dead body of RJ lying on the ground, with feathers and bottles lying around. All these clues at the crime scene hint at only one person—Erykah Goodwine, who had similar items at her house, and so the woman is immediately arrested on the charges of murder and kidnapping.
Is the Boo Hag responsible for the murder?
As part of the investigation, Will and Faith had also been looking into the people who had gone missing from the town of Matis earlier, all believed to be victims of the Boo Hag. One young man in particular, Ken Goddard, stood out in this list, for he did not fit the description of the others, as they all had some criminal ties or reasons to go missing. Goddard, on the other hand, had gone missing one fine day after having worked closely with Erykah for about two months. No trace of him was ever found again, except for a single shoe that had been left behind. Incidentally, a footprint that had been found at one of the crime scenes at present matched the size and shape of Goddard’s feet, and this added a new possibility to the matter. After discovering this connection, Will is sure that Ken Goddard is still alive, and he is the one posing as the Boo Hag, with Erykah possibly using him to keep the sacred burial ground free from intruders.
However, when toxicology reports of the bottles found at the burial ground reach the detectives, they find the real story to be quite different from their theory. On the night of the celebrations, Bradley had a very different and monstrous plan in mind, for he was attracted to Nicole and was jealous of Alex’s relationship with her, despite the latter being his own cousin. In a completely vile and vengeful state of mind, Bradley had drugged the beer bottles, particularly those of Nicole, with sedatives and then tried forcing himself upon the woman, together with RJ. It was at this point that Ken Goddard, wearing a ghillie suit, walked into the scene and attacked the rapists with the sole intention of protecting Nicole and her helpless boyfriend, Alex. This sudden turn of events left Bradley and RJ in the open while Goddard dragged Nicole and Alex to his hideout inside the forest. Erykah had also made an appearance at the scene, but she possibly did not know the whole truth, and she hid this information from the police to protect Goddard. Later on, RJ had been overwhelmed with guilt and had decided to reveal the truth to the journalist, because of which he was murdered by Bradley.
As a young boy, Ken Goddard faced tremendous torture and abuse at his house at the hands of his parents. The teenager had shared this secret with Erykah, who gave him all the love and care needed to heal, and it was also she who helped the boy escape from his home and live a solitary life in the forest. Throughout these few years, she and Goddard had established a strong, affectionate bond, one akin to a mother and son. Like most other episodes of Will Trent season 2 episode 4 also shines a light on issues of racism and ostracization, as Erykah was considered a witch by the rest of the community because she was the only Black person living at the place. Therefore, her race and her identity as a Gullah Geechee person meant that everyone else just waited around to persecute her at any chance they got.
In the end, Will successfully convinces Goddard to come out of his hiding and also let Nicole and Alex out of his shelter in the woods. Will uses his own personal experience in this conversation, as he is also presently haunted by the memories of an abusive foster parent, Jack, who recently died. As a result, Goddard admits that he did not want to do anyone any harm, and he had, in fact, healed the couple with the techniques he had learned from Erykah.
What was the mystery behind Margarita’s death?
Along with the main plot, Will Trent season 2 episode 4 also features the usual APD investigation, which involves the death of a woman named Margarita Royale this time around. Margarita happened to be a local celebrity, as she had appeared in the Ex-Wives of Atlanta TV show, of which Michael is a huge fan. But the death of Margarita actually took place a year ago, when she seemingly fell from a building to death, presumably due to natural causes. The police investigation at the time also did not lead anywhere until recently a man was arrested on different charges, and he now revealed information about the case to protect himself. According to the man, who is a valet at the same building, he heard Margarita claim that someone had pushed her off the building.
As Michael and Angie start their investigation, they realize that one of the professional rivals of Margarita must have committed the crime, and so they interrogate the other participants of the show. An initial round of questioning does not help them at all since none of the women answer any questions in a straight manner, but the detectives ultimately crack the case successfully. Margarita had her own assistant, named Shanrita, who had greatly helped the woman build her tequila brand. Shanrita naturally wanted money off the business, but when Margarita refused to pay her any, Shanrita took her revenge by pushing the woman to her death. Incidentally, Shanrita had mentioned the matter in a voice recording, and her arrest at the APD headquarters is also recorded by the crew of the Ex-Wives of Atlanta show, as it would surely make for their most explosive episode.
What is on the way for the main characters?
Will Trent season 2 episode 4 also presents a few teases for the upcoming episodes this season, as a series of events is about to hit the main characters. Firstly, Michael Ormewood returns home to find that his wife has finally left him and has moved out with their children. This change massively shocks Michael, and it will surely cast a shadow over his character for the rest of the season. GBI director Amanda Wagner starts receiving some threatening calls this episode, with the caller mentioning that it was time for her to pay back, making it seem like an old criminal is out to take revenge against her. At the end of the episode, she finds the same words carved onto the doors of the elevator at the office, making it clear that the threat was dangerously close to her already. Lastly, Will had been trying very hard to come up with an introductory letter or email to his uncle, Antonio Miranda, about whom he had only recently learned from James Ulster. At the end of the episode, Will finally ditches all drafts and simply calls up the man’s number, leaving him a very heartfelt message over voicemail. It is extremely likely that Antonio will soon make an appearance in the show, and how Will reacts will be interesting to see.
