The first two episodes of Will Trent introduce us to talented, but hated, Special Agent Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) and a collection of equally damaged people, many of whom have long-term relations to Trent including his longtime friend and sometimes lover Angie (Erika Christensen), and a brand-new partner (Iantha Richardson) assigned to work with him in his job as an investigator for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The case they’ll work through involves an old frenemy (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) from Will’s childhood whose daughter is kidnapped.
The idea of an odd detective is nothing new, but one thing Will Trent has going for it is the choice to play more towards the character being damaged than quirky (while also slowly revealing that those who have known him the longest are equally damaged). Christensen is good here in the equally-complicated on-again/off-again love interest who opens up about herself to a suspect in order to help Trent with his case. While I’m not sure I’m onboard with her subplot of being reteamed up with an old lover (Jake McLaughlin) for her own cases, there’s enough of her crossover into Trent’s case (at least in the first two episodes) that keep her involved in the main storyline.
Despite his dislike in the department (for taking down a number of dirty cops including his new partner’s mother), it’s obvious early on how much more observant he is than the other officers he interacts with. The first couple of episodes play on his dyslexia and hint strongly at some of the horrors of his past which will no doubt be delved into more as the series continues. The cast is further filled out by Sonja Sohn as his boss, Kevin Daniels as another detective in the department, and a small dog named Betty which Trent reluctantly adopts in the opening episode.
