Will Trent just lost a cast member after a shocking plot twist killed off a main character.
During the Tuesday, April 14, episode of the hit ABC series, Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) died while secretly working with the FBI to find information on the Commander, who is the mysterious person linked to Adelaide Trevens (Mallory Jansen).
Adelaide told Will she had a surprise for him, which turned out to be Amanda’s body in the street. The GBI Deputy Director was dead from multiple stab wounds and that will set off a chain of events for the rest of the season.
“Amanda has been the character who has protected Will for as long as she has known him,” coshowrunner Karine Rosenthal told Variety in a statement. “So this gives us the opportunity for a completely new dynamic in the GBI, because her replacement will not have that same relationship with Will. Her death had the most impact on the most amount of characters. It really sets everybody reeling from this enormous loss. So it’s such a reset for our characters in a way that is painful but exciting for season 5.”
Rosenthal told the outlet that Sohn was made aware that her arc was coming to an end early in season 4 and she handled the news with “grace.”
“Nobody gets to always exit their shows — even on the writing side — on their own terms all the time,” executive producer Daniel Thomsen added. “It’s hard to do that with grace. So it was just very impressive. She is a total pro.”
Based on a book by Karin Slaughter, Will Trent follows a special agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was abandoned at birth and grew up in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Will now relies on his unique perspective while pursuing justice, resulting in the highest clearance rate in the GBI.
In addition to Sohn, the show stars Ramón Rodríguez, Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin and Kevin Daniels. Rodríguez, who portrays the titular character, exclusively teased to Us Weekly about what is to come.
“It is going to be a real emotional roller-coaster. It really is,” Rodríguez shared with Us in March. “There’ll be highs and definite lows. So questions will be answered.”
Rodríguez said he is excited for viewers to see how the story unfolds.
“It’s been fun seeing Will realize this new normal in his life with the new relationship with Angie and Seth. It’s been great watching them understand this new friendship territory,” he noted. “Meanwhile, he’s had Ava come in his life and give him these great gems of like, ‘Hey, not everything has to be so serious.’”
Will Trent airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
