High Potential – Season 1 Episode 11 Recap & Review

The Sauna at the End of the Stairs

Episode 11 of High Potential begins with George Donovan, the patriarch of a wealthy family, confessing on his deathbed to killing his son-in-law, Barry, a decade earlier. Barry was found dead in the sauna, but George escaped blame after the defense made a bizarre case that a nearby drug addict had broken into the house and committed the murder. This new revelation prompts Selena to reopen the case and ask Morgan to help determine if they missed anything.

Morgan studies the case files and establishes that Donovan did not kill his son-in-law. Instead, she theorizes that Barry was electrocuted, likely due to a 1980s hairdryer found near the bathroom. She deduces that the body was dropped down the laundry chute, which explains how Barry’s blood got onto George’s shirt. Barry’s broken neck and his body being placed in the sauna suggest a staged accidental death.

When Morgan, Selena, and Karadec visit the Donovan house, they find scorched switches, just as Morgan predicted. Soon after, the family returns home and recounts the night before Barry’s death. They insist that George had been upset with Barry multiple times that evening.

Meanwhile, Nedda Donovan, George’s former daughter-in-law, arrives at the station. She is making a new documentary about the murder and wants to share her perspective on the case. She reveals that during a family dinner, Heather—George’s daughter and Barry’s wife—caught on fire. This led the family to discover bruises on her arms, exposing Barry’s history of abuse. His abuse then becomes a strong motive for someone in the family to kill him.

The team questions each family member separately and finds that Matty and Clarke were alone long enough to have committed the murder. Elsewhere, Nedda clarifies that the drug dealer had come to see Matty, Heather’s brother, not Barry.

Later, the police captain arrives at the house, having learned about Selena and her team investigating the case.

Meanwhile, Morgan, who has been piecing everything together, finally identifies the murderer—Cody, Barry and Heather’s son. Cody knew about his father abusing his mother. So, while Barry was in the shower, Cody electrocuted him and staged the scene. He even used radio frequency remotes to change TV channels while in the room with his family, making it appear as though Barry was still alive upstairs. Cody confesses to the crime, revealing that his grandfather had protected him. Cody is arrested to be tried as a minor since he was 15 years old at the time. Case closed.


The Episode Review

As usual, High Potential delivers an entertaining and exciting case! After the halfway mark, the show has clearly been experimenting with more unique cases, breaking away from the template followed in some of the earlier episodes.

This episode had a strong resemblance to classic Agatha Christie-style whodunits, featuring a wealthy family and multiple potential suspects. The case was intricately constructed, and since we followed multiple perspectives—including Nedda’s, who was in a different location—it was difficult to piece together the exact timeline of the murder or identify the real culprit. As always, High Potential presented a compelling murder mystery for Morgan to unravel!

Previous Episode

Next Episode

Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!

  • Episode Rating
    (4)
4

Leave a comment