Will Trent’s traumatic character backstory could have a major impact on season 3, teases star Ramón Rodríguez. The most recent episode of Will Trent season 2, “Why Is Jack’s Arm Bleeding?”, revealed that Will had repressed memories of his childhood trauma. In particular, he’d pushed back the memories of growing up in an abusive foster home, and trying (and failing) to intervene as his foster father killed his foster mother. It was a lot for the character to process, and while his uncle Antonio was there to help, it seems there’s still more to come.
This traumatic backstory could have a significant impact on Will Trent season 3, according to Rodríguez. In an interview with TVLine, the actor shared his reaction to Will’s devastating history and teased how this could be explored next season, which has already been renewed by ABC. Check out his comments below:
That was a really tough episode, watching that all come to a head for him, where he figures out what this childhood trauma was that he’d blocked out of his memory. When he realizes what happened, and how much he feels at fault for what happened, it’s gut wrenching.
To share that moment with [Uncle Antonio], someone who is family, but is also new, is all so vulnerable. He’s almost embarrassed by what he had to experience…. That’s something for Will that is a real, underlying issue: feeling blame and fault for a lot of things [that were out of his control].
He feels fault for what happened with Sleeveless Jack and Anna, and he feels fault for the death of his mother, even. These things really haunt him. They stay [with] him and he has not resolved them yet. He won’t resolve them this season. That might be something we explore next season.
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The reveal is an important one, as it has a major impact on the way Will views himself as a character after blaming himself for his stepmother’s death for 20 years. Having finally achieved some form of closure, it will be interesting to see how this might impact Will’s character, his mental state, and his ability to perform his job effectively. Furthermore, the stress and anxiety he will no doubt have felt may have dissipated somewhat, and this could affect his working life too.
As Rodríguez mentions, though, Will has only just begun to reckon with the full extent of his repressed memories; he still has a ways to go before he achieves full closure. There are only two episodes left in season 2, and so it seems likely that Will Trent season 3 will address this backstory revelation further. Now that he knows the concrete details of his past, Will might backslide with symptoms of PTSD, and this could put him in a difficult spot next season. The reveal could also have an impact on his relationship with Angie and others around him.
The quirky nature of Will Trent’s eponymous character plays a prominent role in the ABC series, so it will be interesting to see how things play out in the upcoming season if his worldview or personality changes drastically in light of this revelation. While the conclusion of season 2 is imminent, there could be further revelations to come. Will Trent season 3 will likely kick off in a very exciting place, now that this aspect of Will’s life has emerged.
