Exclusive: Will Trent star Ramon Rodriguez reveals what comes next after tragic death in season two premiere

Will Trent season two returned on Tuesday February 20, and it opened with a bang. Literally.

Episode one saw Will, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, take on a case after a car exploded only for the team to realize that a series of car bombs had been set across the city, with all the intended victims connected to the local prison and a brutal gang.

But the episode ended in tragedy, as Cricket, a bomb disposal expert (played by This Is Us’ Susan Kelechi Watson), who sparked a potential change in Will (Ramon Rodriguez) with her bold attitude, died as she bravely saved the rest of the crew by taking a ticking bomb into a secure area.

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After a life of hit after hit, Ramon told HELLO! that he hopes that her death will force Will to acknowledge that he is capable of opening himself up to someone new.

“When I saw the character Cricket [in the script] it was like, ‘Oh here’s something that’s different.’ He didn’t want it and wasn’t searching for that but it presents itself and he gets very excited,” he said.

Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent

“They have this whole experience together and it’s so cool – and then it’s over. Shutting down is one of his coping mechanisms. It is how he has survived, by compartmentalizing but things are compounding; everything from what he has learned about his childhood to the death of Cricket.

“It all has an effect, psychologically, emotionally, but he keeps burying everything under the rug but when it [eventually] all comes out? That will be interesting because he has been taking one hit after another.”

The cast of Will Trent

“I would hope so,” he continued when asked by his co-star Erika Christensen, who plays Angie Polaski, if perhaps there is some value to be found in the short time Will and Cricket had their connection.

“Will is someone that doesn’t open himself up to those opportunities and this one surprised him,” Ramon added.

Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent and Erika Christensen as Anige Polaski in Will Trent

Elsewhere in the episode, it was revealed that Angie’s police partner Michael Ormewood (played by Jake McLaughlin) was concerned that his wife was cheating on him, only for his worst fear to be true.

With Ormewood now facing the realization that his marriage may be falling apart, Erika shares that the dynamic between these two will also change.

“Police partnerships really are a rather intimate relationship; within the confines of this circumstance you have to spend so much time together in a professional capacity, but you end up getting to know everything about each other’s lives and the dirty little secrets come forth,” the Parenthood actress said.

“In season one, Faith tried to get on at Ormewood, saying, ‘You have some responsibility for this person, you know?’ and in season two, Angie will start to realize maybe she has to be there for him, and not just say, ‘Get out of my face,’ all the time.”