High Potential season 2 episode 7 ending explained: How far did the investigation go in Rembrandt’s theft from the museum?

In High Potential season 2 episode 7, ‘’The One That Got Away'' (Part 1), a twisted case appears for Morgan and the LAPD, where a painting “Young Girl Leaning on a Windowsill” gets stolen from the museum. The episode begins with a thief entering the museum through a skylight, getting down through a rope, knocking down the guards and stealing a painting worth over $20 million. 

Before Morgan gets a call to visit the crime scene, she heads to the office to hand over the backpack to Soto, so that she can help her find clues to reach out to Roman. Meanwhile, Arthur calls her and asks whether she and Ava are safe, as he suspects that someone has been following him and is now behind Roman’s backpack. 

Soto was on a task to examine Roman’s belongings in the backpack. In the meantime, Nick asks Morgan and Karadec to investigate the ‘’high-profile’’ case where Rembrandt’s painting had disappeared from the wall, following the robbery that happened last night. The museum director says that the painting had just arrived last week and was purchased during an auction for over $20 million by Linda and Greg Foster. The duo has loaned the painting to the museum.

On the museum floor, they find some chemical stuff, which they sent to the lab for testing. Morgan sensed the thief wasn’t in it for the money; this heist carried a personal grudge. Why? Morgan said,

‘’He cut out the window, tossed down the rope, slid down, and walked on his way to the last painting hanging on the museum wall.’’

From the point where the thief entered, he would have first seen works by Vermeer, Caravaggio, Turner, Rubens, Delacroix and Goya. But instead of touching any of those masterpieces, he went straight for the Rembrandt — a painting worth less than all of them. This proves that his motive was personal. Morgans says,

‘’If this heist was about money, the thief would have taken the most valuable piece he could.’’

Rembrandt’s paintings lead them to the Weisemans, who claim to be the real owners of the painting in High Potential season 2 episode 7

Nick welcomes a new member to the team for the time being, as the Fosters have sent their art recovery agent, Mr. Eastman (Rhys), a guy from the insurance company, ‘’to safely recover Rembrandt.’’ When they head to meet the Fosters, they hand the LAPD details about the provenance of the painting, which holds every record of who owned the painting before. 

The painting passed through several owners over the years, yet it was a Russian nobleman who held on to it until the end of his life. Daphne comes in with the lab report, and they discover that the thief made a smooth entry because the slags that they found on the museum floor have tested positive for aluminum oxide. Oz says, 

‘’When aluminum combines with ferric oxide, it creates a thermite reaction, hot enough to melt a glass.’’

When Daphne dug deeper, she discovered that the same break-in technique had been used in at least nineteen other art heists — a clear sign that this thief was far from a beginner. The thief always stole a masterpiece worth $10 million to $30 million, and detectives have found traces of aluminum oxide at every scene under the window or skylight. 

According to the internet rumors, Daphne even learns that 12 years ago, a guy named Jean Baptiste had stolen an artwork ‘’A White Duck.’’ The thief has even had a ‘’failed robbery’’ during the Picasso robbery in Madrid, where he was shot in the shoulder but eventually found his way and fled the scene.

Soon after that, Daphne gets another lead in the case and learns that the Weisemans have once claimed to be the real owners of the Rembrandt, but lost the case due to a lack of evidence. Morgan, Karadec, and Rhys went to visit them. It turns out that Ari Weiseman’s grandma’s father bought that painting in 1932 and lost everything when the N*zi’s attacked. Ari was on the suspect list as he could be the one who wanted the painting back for his grandma, and they even found his name on the visitor’s log. Ari was a gymnast, which explains it could be an easy task for him to toss down or climb the rope and enter the gallery, but nothing was proved against him.

Karadec suspects Ari, but Morgan sees them as victims and is also willing to hand over the painting to the Weisemans instead of the Fosters, once it gets recovered.

Morgan gets suspended from the case in High Potential season 2 episode 7

While Karadec was busy interrogating the museum staff, Rhys got a call. Morgan suspects and goes behind him. He tells her that he has got a lead in the case, and someone claims to know where the painting is. Morgan accompanies him and waits for the informant outside the museum, but the individual never appears.

Morgan and Rhys go to the museum roof to investigate how the thief gained entry. But Captain Nick gets angry because they went there without his permission. He yells at Morgan for going to the crime scene without backup and says that everything will be done only by his rules. They argue, and Nick removes Morgan from the case.

However, while Morgan and Rhys were at the museum, the director gave them an envelope that an informant had left for Rhys. Inside it is a Polaroid photo of the stolen painting, and on the back, there’s a message:

 “1 pm, Today, Woodley Park, Bring $500K.”

Nick then takes the command and starts working on the lead that Morgan and Rhys brought in, which clearly makes her mad. He and Karadec head to Woodley Park to meet the informant, who is asking for a ransom of $500,000.

While waiting in the parking area, Karadec sees a man trying to steal a car. Nick tells him to ignore it and focus on their current mission. But Karadec goes anyway and tells the man to leave. The man pulls out a gun, so Karadec reveals that he’s from the LAPD. Seeing this, the informant quickly gets into his car and drives away. Nick runs after him, leaving Karadec behind.

Karadec jumps into the car that the man was trying to steal and starts chasing him. During the dangerous car chase, Karadec and Nick’s partnership gets shaky. They argue on the phone because Nick left him behind. While they’re arguing, their cars crash into each other, giving the suspect a chance to escape.

Meanwhile, Morgan and Rhys, who were currently off the case, head for a drink and end up kissing each other. While making out, Morgan sees scars on the back of Rhys, which gives her a flashback of what Karadec and Daphne said– ‘’that the thief was shot when he tried to steal Picasso in Madrid.’’

Another highlight in High Potential season 2 episode 7 was the lead that Soto gets from Roman’s backpack. Oz found that the photos from the backpack were sent for facial recognition, and one of the photos matches a man with a criminal record. Towards the end of High Potential season 2 episode 7, Arthur finds the same man sitting in his car’s backseat and asking for the backpack. He said,

‘’Where is it? I want that backpack.’’

What mystery lies ahead — and who the man asking for Roman’s backpack really is — will be revealed in the upcoming episodes. Also, the case remains unresolved after the suspect’s escape, which will be continued in the new episode of High Potential season 2.