High Potential Episode 11, "The Sauna at the End of the Stairs," presents a classic "whodunit" murder-mystery-style installment filled with guest stars, such as Pamela Roylance, Ryan Devlin, and Nasmin Pedrad.
The new episode of the ABC crime drama series revolves around Selena Soto asking Morgan to help look at one of her previous cases to find the true killer, leading to shocking revelations about a rich family who recently lost their patriarch.
High Potential Episode 11 premiered on ABC on January 28.
High Potential Episode 11 Cast Guide: Every Main Guest Star
Karen Constantine - Housekeeper
Karen Constantine appears as the housekeeper of the Donovan mansion.
Constantine previously starred in Killing It, General Hospital, and Young Sheldon.
Adrienne Lewis - Rose
Adrienne Lewis plays Rose, Nedda's assistant who also appears to be a staff member in the upcoming documentary, The Sauna at the End of the Stairs.
Lewis can be seen in Shrinking (read more about an exciting update about Season 3), Shatter Belt, and Definitely Not Based on a True Story.
Michael Marcelio - Electronics Guy
Michael Marcelio appears as the Electronics Guy who explains the difference between an infrared remote and a radio frequency remote in an impromptu infomercial.
Marcelio has credits in Guys Like You, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and Above the Clouds.
Sutton Waldman - Teenage Cody
Sutton Waldman plays the teenage version of Cody during the 2014 Thanksgiving dinner of the Donovan family.
Waldman's notable credits include Puppy Place, On the Verge, and You Are My Home.
Ryan Devlin - Matty Donovan
Ryan Devlin plays Matty Donovan, one of George's sons who is a recovering addict and alcoholic.
Devlin's most recognizable role is playing Mercer Hayes in Veronica Mars. The actor also appeared in iZombie, The Best Man, and Another Period.
Jonathan Chase - Clark Donovan
Jonathan Chase guest stars as Clark Donovan, the eldest son of George and Lenore who is recently divorced from his wife, Nedda.
Chase is known for his roles in Judge Me Not, Quantum Leap, and Danger Force.
Marguerite Moreau - Heather Donovan
Marguerite Moreau plays Heather Donovan, Cody's mother who is being abused by the victim, Barry Johnson. She is also a former nurse who decided to stay quiet about the abuse because she can easily tend to her own wounds.
Moreau recently appeared as one of the guest stars of The Pitt Episode 4. The actress also has credits in Queen of the Damned, The Mighty Ducks, and Feeling Randy.
Pamela Roylance - Lenore Donovan
Pamela Roylance makes a prominent guest star appearance as Lenore Donovan, the matriarch of the Donovan family who is trying her best to keep the family intact despite their respective issues.
Roylance is best known for her roles in Little House on the Prairie, S.W.A.T., and Nancy Drew.
Noah Silver - Cody Donovan
Noah Silver portrays the older version of Cody Donovan, the son of Heather and Barry who is hiding a huge secret that could turn the cold case around.
Silver also starred in Tyrant, Last Knight, and Down a Dark Hall.
Russell Wong - Detective Jon
Russell Wong briefly appears as Detective Jon, one of the detectives who celebrated the fact that George confessed to the murder.
Wong has credits in NCIS, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Westworld.
Garret Dillahunt - Lieutenant Melon
Garret Dillahunt returns as Lieutenant Melon, the head of the LAPD Robbery Division who is furious that Selena Soto is reopening the case about the Bucket Lane Murder.
Dillahunt reappears after being part of the cast of High Potential Episode 7. The actor can also be seen in 12 Years a Slave, Deadwood, and Raising Hope.
Keith David - Captain Pacheco
Keith David guest stars as LAPD Captain Pacheco in High Potential Episode 11.
Pacheco is a non-believer of Soto's cleaning lady experiment, which is why he is furious that she went behind his back to reopen the investigation of the Bucket Lane Murder.
David is an Emmy award-winning actor known for his roles in Krapopolis, Abbott Elementary, and The Thing.
Nasim Pedrad - Nedda Donovan
Nasim Pedrad plays Nedda Donovan, Clark's ex-wife who tells a different version of the story that happened during Barry's death 10 years ago.
Pedrad previously starred as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, Aladdin, and Chad.
Lawrence Pressman - George Donovan
Lawrence Pressman stars as George Donovan, the patriarch of the Donovan family who confessed to the murder to protect his family.
Pressman has over 180 credits, with roles in Reboot, American Pie, and Shaft.
Here are the main actors who appeared in High Potential Episode 10:
- Kaitlin Olson - Morgan
- Daniel Sunjata - Adam Karadec
- Javicia Leslie - Daphne
- Deniz Akdeniz - Lev “Oz” Osman
- Judy Reyes - Captain Selena
High Potential Episode 11 Plot Recap
The 2014 Bucket Lane Murder
High Potential Episode 11, "The Sauna at the End of the Stairs," begins with a deathbed confession by wealthy businessman George Donovan.
He admits on camera that he killed his son-in-law, Barry Johnson, by pushing him down the stairs and moving his body into the sauna to make it seem like an accident.
This confession is actually tied to the infamous Bucket Lane Murder, and the case has gone cold for 10 years because they couldn't find the suspect.
George's confession means that the case can finally be closed, with Lieutenant Melon and Detective Jon informing Selena Soto that they need to celebrate.
However, Soto is not pleased with the fact that the cold case has now been closed because she believes that George is not the real killer.
Morgan is clueless about the whole thing because she was raising Ava and Elliot alone when the murder made headlines in 2014, giving Soto a chance to make a rundown of what happened.
The day after Thanksgiving 2014, Heather Donovan's husband, Barry Johnson, was murdered in the family home. The body was found dead inside a sauna and the cause of death is a broken neck.
The family assumed that Barry fell asleep in the sauna, but the detectives' working theory suggests that the killer pushed him down the stairs and moved the body into the sauna to cover up the crime.
Lenora Donovan, George's wife, said she saw Barry head to his basement in his robe after midnight, meaning that it was the last time anyone saw him alive.
A drop of Barry's blood was found on one of George's shirts stuffed in the laundry hamper. Soto thought then that it was a weak case, but the DA's office ran with it.
In the end, there wasn't enough evidence to convict George because of the presence of a coke dealer, Billy Ross, whom the family believed was present during the whole fiasco since Barry had cocaine in his system.
The defense suggested that Barry's death was due to a drug deal gone wrong, with Billy being the prime suspect (he's now dead).
However, Soto, after all these years, believes that George is still innocent despite his confession, citing the fact that a 70-year-old man couldn't carry Billy into a sauna and he only came clean to clear his family's name after their reputation was dampened due to the murder.
Morgan Unearths the Killer’s Actions
As a result, Soto asks Morgan to take another look at the case, considering that she has a keen eye for details.
Morgan scours through the files, and she ends up having her breakthrough while at home doing chores.
The next day, Morgan tells the team that Barry was not pushed by anyone from the stairs. Instead, he was killed in the bathroom while taking a shower.
The killer tossed a 1980s model hairdryer into the shower to make it seem that he died of a heart attack.
The suspect then tossed Barry's body down the laundry chute straight into the basement (which caused his broken neck and the blood on George's shirt).
The killer then moved the body into the sauna, placed an empty wine bottle next to him, and dialed up the temperature to "cook him to perfection."
However, the killer has another problem since the electrical outlet in the bathroom caught on fire after the whole hairdryer killing fiasco.
After the wallpaper-covered faceplate was scorched, he or she removed the wall plate and replaced it with a plain white cover, which was a different one from the rest of the outlets inside the house.
As for the hairdryer, the fact that it is a 1980s model means that it doesn't fall into the current safety regulations that have safeguards for electrocution.
Selena trusts Morgan with her investigation so she decides to go rogue and reopen the case without her captain's permission. Detective Karadec warns her that it will end badly for the team if they are wrong, but Soto is willing to take the risk.
With Lenore's permission, Selena, Morgan, and Karadec head over to the Donovan mansion to confirm Morgan's theories about the night of the murder.
She ends up being correct because they indeed find scorch marks after they remove the wall plate. The scorched wall plate is then found inside Barry's room.
Not only that, but Morgan's theory about the laundry chute is also correct since the mannequin she tossed from it ended up with a broken neck.
Enter Nedda Donovan
While Morgan and the others are busy in the mansion, Oz and Daphne have to deal with Nedda Donovan at headquarters because she has her own story to tell about the Bucket Lane Murder.
It turns out that Nedda is the producer of The Sauna at the End of the Stairs documentary and she believes that George's confession is a lie while also pointing out that he only did it to protect the family's reputation.
Back at the mansion, the Donovan family just returned from spreading George's ashes and they explain their version of the events of the Bucket Lane Murder to Morgan, Karadec, and Selena.
Clark, Nedda's ex-husband, shares that George and Barry fought during the day of the murder after Barry brought cocaine into George's house.
George was upset that his other son, Matty, would find out about the cocaine because he was a recovering addict.
While they put aside their differences for Thanksgiving dinner, it all went to chaos after George scolded Matty for drinking while Barry called out George and Lenore's parenting skills.
Cody, Barry and Heather's son, became upset and went upstairs while Matty let it slip that George and Clark lost a lot of money after they invested in the failed company of Barry's friend.
The bad investment talk was shut down after Heather caught her sleeve on fire. After putting out the fire, Barry went upstairs while the family started preparations for their annual game of Monopoly.
During the game of Monopoly, Barry cranks up his TV to disturb everyone, causing George to blurt out that he wants to kill him.
Meanwhile, Nedda's version of the story is pretty much the same except for her last encounter with Barry and the fact that Heather has bruises that led everyone to find out that she was being abused by Barry.
The fact that the family failed to mention the bruises to Morgan and the others meant that they were covering something up and it would also mean that anyone could be the killer.
Lieutenant Melon ultimately notices the presence of Nedda Donovan at HQ, which means that Morgan, Karadec, and Soto are running out of time before the captain catches what they are doing.
The Investigation Gets Deeper
When Soto calls out the Donovans for not telling them about Heather's bruises, Lenore insists that it is a family matter, noting, "Some things need to stay in the family."
While the family tried to confront Barry about the abuse, he stormed out and headed straight to his room. This is where Nedda last saw him after he threw a bunch of Heather's clothes at her.
The next phase of the team's investigation involves talking to the family members individually.
Soto asks why Heather didn't come forward to the police, but she pointed out that she believed Barry would've changed then.
Meanwhile, Morgan and Karadec ask Lenore what happened during the Monopoly game, sharing that Barry changed the channel of the TV from a war movie to a sexy romantic movie which caused Matty and Clark to go up and confront him.
Clark told them that Barry locked himself inside the room and he never saw Barry after dinner. He claimed that he and Matty went to the attic to retrieve their mom's Christmas boxes.
He then revealed to Soto that Matty left him alone for quite a while. So where was Matty?
Based on Nedda's statement to Oz and Daphne, it turns out that Nedda saw Matty buying drugs from the coke dealer, Billy Rose (but he did not enter the house so he isn't the killer).
As the trio reconvenes for debrief, they believe that either Matty or Clark could be the killer.
With the captain and Lieutenant Melon about to arrive, Morgan needs to rethink everything because "there are so many moving pieces."
Who Killed Barry Johnson?
Captain Pacheco and Lieutenant Melon arrive at the Donovan mansion to offer their apologies and condolences to the family while also reprimanding Soto, Karadec, and Morgan.
However, Morgan has another "a-ha!" moment during the whole encounter with the captain, with her realizing that the true killer is none other than Cody.
Morgan explains that Lenore did not see Barry head to the sauna that night. It was Cody posing as Barry to let everyone (including the detectives) think that his dad died after midnight.
She tells everyone that Cody killed Barry because he couldn't get over the fact that his dad was abusing his mom, Heather. He killed him right before the family's Monopoly game even began.
As for the TV inside Barry's room, Cody used a radio frequency remote to control it to make everyone think that Barry was still alive.
As Captain Pacheco is about to say sorry to the family once more, Cody stops him by telling the truth: he did kill his dad that night.
Cody explains that the secret has ruined his life and he even came clean to George before he died. George confessed so that he could protect his grandson.
Heather tried to protect her son, but Selena stopped her by saying that Cody would be tried as a minor, meaning that he could only serve at least three years in jail.
The episode ends with Cody being arrested while Captain Pacheco is impressed with Morgan's detective skills. Still, he is keeping an eye on Major Crimes' "cleaning lady experiment."
The next episode of High Potential will premiere on ABC on Tuesday, February 4, at 9 p.m. ET and can be streamed on Hulu the next day.
Read more about High Potential Episode 10's recap of a nanny being murdered.
