TV Recap: “Will Trent” Visits Puerto Rico to Reconnect with his Mom, Finding a Case that Leads Him Home to Atlanta

Will Trent reconnects with his mother by visiting Puerto Rico in “Residente o Visitante,” the penultimate episode of Season 2 of ABC’s Will Trent. Last week’s episode resolved the GBI Special Agent being haunted by a younger version of himself, and this week’s episode closes the book on Will’s connection to the mother he never knew through his uncle, sort of. While we may see Antonio again someday, this episode wraps up John Ortiz’s recurring guest role. But don’t worry, it’s not the end of the season, that’s next week.

Season 2, Episode 9: “Residente o Visitante” – Written by Daniel Thomson & Rebecca Murga

Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) visits San Juan with his uncle, Antonio Miranda (John Ortiz). He tries to use as much of his Spanish skills as possible at a cafe with the barista, Kalinda (Claudia Guerrero), even though it slows up the line. He was drawn to this cafe because of its name, Cafe Lucia del Sol. While eating at an outside table, Will tells Antonio that he found an ancestor’s cemetery plot nearby where his great grandfather was buried. Antonio didn’t know about it. Will suggests that they add Lucy’s headstone to it. Antonio thinks it’s a great idea.

Their breakfast becomes a party of three when one of Antonio’s old friends, Javi (J. Santiago Suárez), passes by. Javi tells Antonio all about a real estate developer from the United States he’s been assisting with acquisitions. Will doesn’t hear the entire conversation because he excuses himself.

Will goes to the beach, practicing his Spanish with the audio tapes he’s been using. He imagines his mother, Lucy Morales (Raiany Silva), is there with him. “You’re getting better,” she tells him about his Spanish skills. He tells her how much he loves seeing where she’s from. She encourages him not to dwell on the past, but to instead focus on what’s in front of him. What’s in front of him right now is the ocean. Will goes for a float.

At the cemetery, Will and Antonio place Lucy’s name on the family tomb. Will wishes he had something he could leave behind with her. Antonio grabs Will’s cafe con leche and uses a pen to poke a hole in the bottom, talking about how much Lucy loved coffee. They would drink it every day before school. “Now it can be the 3 of us,” Antonio offers.

Will’s Spanish skills are improved the next time he goes to the cafe, with Kalinda assisting him with his pronunciation. Antonio invites Will to a big gathering so he can meet all of his friends and some extended family. Two teenagers (Diego Acevedo and Brian Dean Rittenhouse) are having trouble with their car engine, and Will steps in to help, drawing a crowd and getting an applause when he fixes it.

The party is a lively affair, and two women, Clarita (Elisa De La Roche) and Camila (Patricia Mauceri), tell Will that he looks just like his Great Aunt. Javier tells Antonio that he’s coming to Atlanta for business. They all toast together.

Will steps inside to call Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), who is recuperating on the couch with Betty (in a short scene, Angie was injured by a perpetrator on a case, and she hadn’t let her back fully heal before returning to work at the start of the season). As Will walks back to the patio, he passes a mysterious man in a suit (Alejandro Guevarez) who is on the phone with someone talking about Antonio, which confuses him.

With Angie out, Amanda assigns Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) an APD case with Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin), much to his dismay. A middle school teacher who served time for molesting a student was found dead in the woods with a toy in his mouth. Their prime suspects are neighbors in the apartment building Jason Peters lived in, who had become vocal about having a sex offender in their building. One of the neighbors’ DNA was found in Jason’s car, so they plan to start with him, a man named Doug.

Back in Atlanta, Will’s reunion with Betty and Angie is cut short when Antonio calls to say that Javi is dead. Will rushes to the scene with Antonio, where Officer O’Hara (Isaiah Stratton) is his usual brash self, saying “I didn't realize you were FBI now” to Will, who is confused. Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) arrives, telling will that the FBI had been surveiling Javi for a while. Will wants to inspect the crime scene. Amanda warns him not to touch anything.

Javi’s body is on the ground in an alley, and an unidentified man is dead nearby. Both bodies have three bullet wounds to the chest, but only three bullet casings are on the ground. The pavement is wet under Javi’s body, but dry under the other man. Will notes into his recorder that they likely died at separate times.

Will meets FBI Agent Krista Murphy (Christy St, John), who tries to ask Antonio a few questions, which he refuses to answer without a lawyer. She asks Will if his trip to Puerto Rico was on GBI business and he is surprised that she knows he was there. He asks if the man in the suit was her informant. As Antonio leaves, Krista warns him not to leave town.

Will catches up to Antonio on a city bus, promising to find out who killed Javi. Antonio tells Will that he doesn’t think that will be possible with the FBI involved. He fills Will in on the history of the Independence Movement of Puerto Rico that began in 1898 when the Spanish gave the island nation to the United States. The FBI began investigating all island residents, and the movement was dying when Antonio moved there in 1986. Having just lost his sister, he was looking for a cause to fill the void. He was part of a group of rebels who exposed the FBI’s files and got the program shut down. But it also got him on the FBI’s watchlist, which is the reason he changed his name and moved to Atlanta.

The next morning at the GBI, Amanda is frustrated to see Kristin asking her assistant, Caroline (Christina Wren), to pick up her dry cleaning. Caroline agrees to do it anyway. Amanda’s next frustration is seeing Will Trent there, as he was supposed to be taking a vacation day and Kristin is using his office. But Kristin is who he came to see. Kristin will only share information related to Javi with Will as a courtesy, saying that Javi’s death seems to be a business deal gone wrong, with both victims engaging in a shoot out that killed them both. Will asks if her forensics confirmed the time of death for both bodies. She doesn’t give him more information, but implies that if he gets Antonio to talk, she will reveal more. She adds that Antonio has an FBI file.

Faith and Michael arrive at Jason’s apartment building, their arrival causing quite a commotion. Neighbors begin to film them as they enter the apartment of Doug Elfman (Christopher Harvey), who stands at his bed with a suitcase ready. Faith examines its contents, finding handcuffs and other restraining devices. Doug says he’s a bounty hunter. They arrest him to bring him in for questioning. On their way out, a neighbor on the second floor empties a bottle of urine onto Michael and Faith as neighbors film it. When they bring Doug in for questioning, however, they find that he has proof that he was in Augusta the whole time during which Jason was murdered.

Antonio visits Will’s house, where Angie has busied herself with researching the unknown second victim found near Javi. It was tough to find him because Kristin sent the body to an out of town morgue, but his name was Milton Clark and he was a professional blackmailer. Antonio wonders who Javi was blackmailing. Will theorizes that Kristin is keeping the case open to find out, having already allegedly solved the murder.

Will, Angie, and Antonio stakeout in front of Milton Clark’s home, singing along to “I Left my Wallet in El Segundo.” Milton’s assistant, Sheila (Cindy L. Jefferson), steps outside and they approach, asking if they can look around. She tells them the FBI already did two searches, but she doesn’t mind if they look, too. Antonio is drawn to magnets of flags on the refrigerator, picking up the Puerto Rican flag and being disappointed that there’s nothing to it. But Will notices tape hanging off another flag magnet, picking it up and finding a flash drive taped to the back of it. They insert it into the TV as Amanda arrives, upset that Will isn’t ignoring the case like he was asked to. However, she’s eager to see what they found on the flash drive. All of the folders are encrypted except for a PDF summary, which reveals that Kristin Murphy was on the payroll of real estate agent Scooter MacMillan, who was employing Javi.

Michael’s son Max (Owen Trumbly) gets sent home from school with a black eye. Two bullies tried to pick a fight with him over his dad because they saw the video of him getting pee dumped on him while arresting someone who allegedly killed a child molester. In the conference room, Michael and Faith watch the video, which was shared by an account called Virtue Watch, which has also doxxed their kids, Max and Jeremy. Since Max is underage, they have a case to arrest the account’s owner.

Amanda drops the flash drive on Kristin’s desk, telling her they found it at Milton Clark’s house. She demands that Kristin withdraw her complaint against Will Trent and that she and her team vacate the GBI’s offices. Caroline enters with Kristin’s dry cleaning, accidentally knocking Kristin’s coffee onto her blouse. Kristin is in a huff as she exits.

In the parking garage, Kristin arrives at her car to find Antonio waiting with a gun drawn at her. He asks if she met Scoota McMillan at Yale where they both went to college. He lies, saying Javi gave him the encryption key and he has details on all of the wire transfers Scooter made to her. She asks how much he wants. He says it’s not about the money. Kristin lunges at Antonio, grabbing the gun and aiming it at him. “You should’ve just let this go, Professor Miranda,” she says. “Morales,” he corrects her. Kristin pulls the trigger and… nothing. The gun was never loaded. This was all a trap as Will and a team of agents swoop in and arrest Kristin. Amanda reveals that her dry cleaning had been bugged, so she is now being committed for perjury.

Michael and Faith find Elliot Danvil (Chester Shepherd), the 19-year-old behind Virtue Watch, playing video games in his basement. They arrest him for endangering a minor, stalking, and making threats to law enforcement.

Angie visits Crystal (Chapel Elizabeth Oaks) at the diner with a bag of essentials for her new apartment. Inside is a flier for a support group for sexual assault survivors, which is at the same place Angie goes for AA meetings. Crystal is reluctant, but Angie offers to go with her and treat her to dinner after.

Antonio has decided to move back to Puerto Rico, visiting Will’s house with his dog Portia to say goodbye. Betty gifts Portia her cheeseburger squeaky toy. “My journey here was to meet you and introduce you to my home,” Antonio tells Will, “You are home.” They make a pact to see each other at least once a year. “Quida te, tío,” Will says after hugging his uncle goodbye.

Will officially returns to the office with a box of gifts from Puerto Rico, finding Amanda and Faith in the conference room with Michael. Will learns about the Jason Peters murder case they’ve been working on, and a similar murder was found. Like Jason, this was a freed sex offender whose body was found with a toy in his mouth. And unlike Jason, this victim’s information wasn’t leaked on Virtue Watch. Faith and Michael don’t have any leads. “We’ve got some work to do,” Will says, joining the case. “Welcome back, Special Agent Trent,” Amanda smiles.

The Season 2 finale of Will Trent premieres next Tuesday, May 21st, at 8/7c on ABC with “Do You See the Vision.”

Will, Faith and Angie find themselves embroiled in a series of cases where a similar marker links the murders of several sex offenders. Meanwhile, Angie grapples with an unexpected proposition from Amanda.

Songs Featured in This Episode: