Immediately afterHigh Potentialfirst aired on ABC last fall, it became the perfect addition to ABC’s procedural line-up, alongside9-1-1,The Rookie,Will Trent,Grey’s Anatomy, and fellow newcomerDoctor Odyssey. Based onthe French-Belgian seriesHPI(an abbreviation forHaute Potentiel Intellectuel), the series follows a High Potential Intellectual individual named Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson). Morgan works as a night cleaner for the LAPD until she notices some holes in a case and helps solve it. Since then, Morgan has been working as a consultant for the LAPD’s Major Crimes Unit,using her conditionto pick up on details that even the most seasoned detectives miss.
One of the highlights ofHigh PotentialSeason 1 has been the development of the central dynamicbetween Morgan and her partner, Detective Adam Karadec(Daniel Sunjata). Morgan and Karadec were initially at odds with one another, due to his strict adherence to the rules, and her unconventional methods of solving problems. Still, the two have formed a close friendship and partnership throughout their time working together, and it’s clear that they really trust and care about each other. AlthoughHigh Potentialhas a number of differences fromHPI, the central pairing of Morgane Alvaro (Audrey Fleurot) and Adam Karadec (Mehdi Nebbou) is one major storyline that carried over from the original version of the show. For fans who are rooting for Morgan and Karadec’s partnership to develop into a slow-burn romance down the road,HPIis the perfect series to turn to for answers about how that could possibly come about.
Do Morgane and Karadec Get Together in ‘Haute Potentiel Intellectuel’?
The start of Morgane and Karadec’s partnership inHPIis similar to how things began for Morgan and Karadec inHigh Potential. Morgane and Karadec meet in the pilot episode ofHPIafter she writes on the board of a case that he’s working on. Selena’s (Judy Reyes)HPIcounterpart, Céline (Marie Denarnaud), hires Morgane, even though Karadec is initially against it. Slowly, though, the two find that they work well together. Their relationship is much messier thanMorgan and Karadec’s inHigh Potential.Morgan and Karadec’s connection inHigh Potentialfeels subtler than Morgane and Karadec’s relationship inHPI, and their relationship timeline has already been slowed down from the original show.
HPI’s Morgane and Karadec are not strictly a slow-burn relationship, but they do get together… sort of.Morgane asks him out at the end of Season 1, and he initially rejects her, only to regret it soon after. The only problem is, by the time Karadec realizes this, Morgane has already gotten back together with Ludo (Cédric Chevalme). Morgane and Karadec share their first kiss in the Season 2 finale, shortly after Morgane has realized her feelings for him, but while Karadec is dating someone else. This happens during an emotional moment for Morgane, right after Morgane learns that Romain (Xavier Hosten) is aliveand is now in a relationship. Morgane feels betrayed after learning that Romain chose to stay away from her and their daughter for all these years, and she expresses her fear that she is unlovable. Karadec then implies that he loves her, and the two kiss.
Morgane and Karadec don’t get together after their first kiss, though. Instead,the two wind up in an on-and-off romanceover the course of the following seasons.HPIis currently in its fifth season, and Morgane and Karadec are sadly not a couple at the moment. They now have a son together, though, and they are solid work partners and co-parents. Season 5 is also the final season ofHPI, and itfeels like the show is building up to Morgane and Karadec ending up togetherby the end of the series, but fans may have to wait until the series finale to see this actually happen.
High Potentialhas already made a number of changes fromHPI, most significantly the backstory of what happened to Roman (Romain in the original version). The original Romain borrowed $50,000 from a mob boss and doubled it in gambling, but it was stolen by a police officer right after. With the help of Morgane’s father (Patrick Chesnais), Romain faked his death to avoid having to deal with the debt, and eventually met another woman and started a family with her. His US counterpart, Roman, already has a different backstory. It is revealed in theSeason 1 finale ofHigh Potentialthat Roman was an FBI informant shortly before he disappeared, and that he’d been working with an FBI agent who was killed around that time. It’s not yet clear how these changes will affect the reveal of Roman’s whereabouts over this period of time, but it’s clear thatHigh Potentialis still going to be full of more surprises — even for those who have seenHPI.
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Whereas Morgane and Karadec’s relationship inHPIis more of an on-and-off, will-they-won’t-they dynamic,Morgan and Karadec’s relationship would make much more senseas a slow-burn pairing,who gets together late in the show and then stays together for good. Even after just one season ofHigh Potential, Morgan and Karadec have developed more of afoundation of a friendship than Morgane and Karadec ever did inHPI.High Potential’s Morgan and Karadec are not just partners; they are close on a personal level, and they always have each other’s backs.
As of the Season 1 finale, it seems pretty clear thatKaradec has feelings for Morgan. Morgan will never be able to move forward with Karadec until she gets closure with Roman, though. Now that she knows that Roman is alive, if he is written differently from Romain, the two may even date for a while as an obstacle for Morgan and Karadec. Ultimately,High Potentialis already following a different timeline for Morgan and Karadec thanHPI(and announcedSteve Howeyas series regular forHigh PotentialSeason 2), but it’s a fair bet that they will eventually get together.
High Potential
A single mom with a brilliant but unconventional mind becomes an unlikely crime-solving partner to a by-the-book detective. Her unique ability to piece together clues that others overlook makes her indispensable to the LAPD Major Crimes unit, leading to an unorthodox but highly effective investigative duo.
