‘Will Trent’ Brings Back Greg Germann’s James Ulster in the Most Surprising Way

As Will investigated a murder that turned out to be connected to a series of deadly crimes, he had to delve into the mindset of the perpetrators and envision that thirst for violence firsthand. Putting himself into the shoes of the killers, though, had the unintended consequence of bringing back James as a mind ghost.

Yes, James — the sadistic serial killer who died earlier in the season after stepping into the line of fire of a shot from his girlfriend, intended for Will — relished the sight of Will picturing himself as the attackers. Indeed, before James died, he told Will that he was more like him than he’d like to believe — a twisted consequence of being his mother’s killer was James’ paternal feelings for Will — and here, the imagined version of James felt justified in that perspective.

Will, you started this. It wasn’t me who made up some imaginary you for playtime. Why am I even here?” he taunted. “No, this is who you are… Stop with your do-gooder crap. You can’t hide from me. You’re here for the killers. You like it.”

After Will then stabbed faux James in the gut with a pair of yard clippers and said with resolve, “This is what I want,” he was horrified to see it was actually the victim who lay on the ground. “No, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean to kill him. I meant to kill you!”

It was all in his head, of course, and when Paul roused him out of his daydreamed nightmare, it took a moment for Will to return to reality and control his outburst. Paul understood he was simply lost in his thoughts from the stress of the job, but Will was still devastated by his own behavior.

In the end, when Will and Paul found themselves entrapped by the killers, Will had one of the killers in his hands and seemed compelled to take the man’s life … until Paul stepped in to drop the guy with a giant jug of water to the head.

Paul later helped Will to remember that their decades-long feud wasn’t actually begun by him; Will attacked Paul first when he joined the home. This led Will to realize his struggles with self-control and rage weren’t new — this has been going on since he was a child.

So was Will really tempted to do the unthinkable and prove James right? And is this the last we’ve seen of Paul and/or Ulster, or will they be back as the sort of good and bad angels guiding Will now? We’ll have to watch and find out!

Elsewhere in the episode, a newcomer at Atlanta PD, Sam Atkins, impressed Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) and Franklin (Kevin Daniels) with his slide maneuver to capture a skunk, earning the spot in the APB’s softball team left open by Angie (Erika Christensen).

Will Trent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC

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