There have been many violent crime scenes before on TV, but none made my stomach drop as much as the religious, ritualistic torture done to the men on Will Trent Season 1 Episode 4.
The GBI and the APD teamed up to learn who was torturing these victims, only to learn they wanted vengeance on “bad fathers.”
The suspects attempted to choose men that no one would miss, but they slipped up eventually.
While abusive spouses and parents should be punished, ritualistic torture seemed extreme. It was very biblical in the sense of an eye for an eye.
Instead, this case blurred the line between the victim and the perpetrator.
People cope with trauma differently. We can sympathize with Judith Colfield after learning her ex-husband abused her and her son.
Abused wives often want to get vengeance and never get an opportunity, and seeing the cigarette burns over her body made me want to hurt someone too. It’s understandable why she wanted other abusive husbands to pay. It was a fine line.
Involving Tom just took it over the edge. You could tell he was shady when he wouldn’t let his parents talk at the accident scene.
They may have been the brains behind this operation, but Tom was the muscle and enjoyed hurting those men too much.
Seeing the identical wounds, cigarette burns, and an underground torture chamber built the case. It was grisly stuff and potentially triggering. I’m surprised nobody thought to issue a trigger warning at the start of the episode.
It was bad enough when it was one murder victim, but seeing white eyes on multiple victims heightened this case. Blinding them with the toxic bean felt personal and not an average violent crime.
No one cared that the men were dead, which only reiterated that they lived sad lives and died just as sadly. They were trying to turn their lives around but never got the chance.
Ironically, the flyers the victims found promised to help them change their lives were the setup for the trap. Someone was taking advantage of men’s vulnerabilities to commit this terrible crime.
The first victim’s words finally made sense when he repeated, “Timothy,” meaning that only well-meaning fathers who weren’t drunk could join the group.
Will: Do you think he was praying?
Faith: Only if he was praying for death.
Det. Michael Ormewood was at his most annoying during this case. He almost refused to work with Will and couldn’t believe the park police asked for GBI.
Michael: No! No! Why is your boyfriend here? Stay away from my case, Trent!
Angie: Listen, the park police called him in. If we don’t play ball, they could pull us off of it.
Michael needed to grow up and stop fighting with Will about every scenario. It’s impossible to tell if he merely despised working with Will or if he was jealous that Will was dating Angie, and he wasn’t. We don’t need another tired love triangle.
Michael was so stubborn that he didn’t watch his step and ended up in the underground torture chamber twice. The first time, it helped them find some needed clues. The second time, he had a tantrum, stormed off, and ran into Tom Colfield.
I wondered if Tom tortured Michael because he came too close to the truth or because he cheated on his wife with Angie. Michael fit the characteristics of a “bad father” since he had an explosive temper and cheated.
Will: So, green truck?
Michael: I told you.
Hopefully, his scare will make Michael behave better because, so far, his character is the most unlikable.
Angie shouldn’t have had to play mediator while struggling with her sobriety. If Will had let Michael die, many of Will and Angie’s problems could have disappeared. However, Will is a professional; I don’t think his conscience could’ve dealt with that.
Michael almost seemed like a ghost in Will and Angie’s relationship since Will kept replaying Angie and Michael drinking and dancing.
Angie ran away every time things became difficult. It seemed like neither she nor Will believed in happy endings, but they were slowly starting to feel they were worth having one.
While most of the cases so far have resonated with Will, this case hit home more than usual. While I know kids in foster homes are abused, hearing Will’s backstory was heartbreaking.
How can you be so cruel to a child because they can’t read properly? Hitting and burning a child because they have dyslexia would make most kids hate authority and teachers or, worse, hate reading.
Before dyslexia, you know what I had? Stupid, lazy, worthless. I got cigarette burns for bringing the wrong type of soup from the pantry. So, I learned how to navigate the world without words. Every step of the way, there was someone there to tell me I was broken. I decided a long time ago I’m never letting anyone look at me that way ever again.
Will
Will survived, but so many people ridiculed him along the way, making it difficult for him to trust anyone. Only recently did Will even let his guard down around Faith by asking him to read things to him or allow her to watch him record Intel.
Will never had a genuine family, which is why he’s drawn to strays like Betty or other abused women and children. He wanted to save them as well.
Will and Faith have become one of my favorite partnerships. They began by disliking each other but now would do anything for the other.
Doctor: Any chance you two are expecting?
Faith: Humph! Sorry we’re not together. And I’m definitely not having sex, so unless God himself is cooking up a plan, I’m not pregnant.
Faith’s learning she had diabetes as an adult was a massive part of the Will Trent book series, so I’m relieved they kept that as part of the TV series. I suspected they would when she was so cranky and irritable on Will Trent Season 1 Episode 3.
Faith hated that she couldn’t control something in her life, and that was the first time she and Will bonded since they both had issues that made them different from everyone else.
I love that Faith understood how hard it was for Will to process trauma and that he was terrified to get hurt again.
Will: My stupid detective brain doesn’t have an off switch. I wish it did.
Faith: Yeah, obsessive-lopping thoughts never work well. Want to talk about it?
The dark lighting and score added to the sinister plot keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, wondering if this was an urban legend or a darker ritualistic plot.
Adding a few storylines from each book isn’t helping this series. I think the series would do better if it focused on one or two books per season versus sprinkling parts from several. While newer fans may not realize the difference, die-hard fans will notice.
What would you prefer? What has been your favorite case so far? Comment below.
To catch up on all the GBI cases, watch Will Trent online via TV Fanatic.
Will Trent airs on Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
