Summary

• Will Trent's past is revealed in season 2, devastating him and uncovering a traumatic childhood memory of a foster parent's murder.
• Uncle Antonio provides support as Will deals with repressed trauma, blaming himself for the tragic event that scars him deeply.
• Season 3 of Will Trent will likely focus on Will's continued struggle with his past trauma, impacting his relationships and personal life.

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Will Trent season 2, episode 8.

Everything that Will knew about his traumatic past changed (and somehow became even more traumatic) in Will Trent season 2, episode 8, and his revelation will have a lasting effect on the show. The ABC police procedural crime drama is based on Karin Slaughter's book series of the same name and follows Will Trent, a highly skilled Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent with dyslexia and scars (physical and emotional). His history of growing up in foster care fundamentally changed him, and season 2 explores more of his childhood and repressed memories as Will finally faces his past.

New episodes of Will Trent season 2 air on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET on ABC.

Starting in the Will Trent season 2 premiere, Will began seeing fragments of a memory from his past in foster care that he repressed. As the season continued, Will struggled to piece them together, and hallucinations of his younger self unfortunately affected his work at the GBI. He has been spiraling since Cricket died in the first episode from an explosion that Will tried to stop, and it all came to a head in episode 8, when Will finally remembered the horrifying memory that he unintentionally buried a long time ago.

What Happened To Will Trent: Backstory & Childhood Trauma Explained

Will Feels Responsible For His Foster Mother's Murder

While working on a cold case, the flashes that Will had been seeing since Will Trent season 2, episode 1, came together to form a concrete memory, and it, understandably so, made him spiral. Will rushed home and vocally started to recall the traumatic event from his childhood. When he was young, Will bonded with one of his foster moms, Anna, but her husband, Jack, was extremely abusive, both physically and mentally, to her and the kids. One night, Will was sick of it, so he grabbed a gun hidden in the house and pointed it at his foster dad.

After Will shot Jack in the arm, the older man took the gun from him and started beating him with it. Jack was about to shoot and murder him, but Anna stopped him and tried to wrestle the weapon from him. Unfortunately, Jack shot and killed the one person in Will's life who he was comfortable around and loved. Since she died while attempting to save Will, he blamed himself for the scarring experience.

Given Will's reaction to the memory (and Ramón Rodríguez's impressive performance during that Will Trent scene), it will take the GBI agent some time to come to terms with it.

Thankfully, Will's Uncle Antonio arrived at his house just as he broke down. Will tearfully explained to the only family member he knows how he repressed the traumatic memory. Antonio comforted his nephew and vehemently told him that his foster mother's death wasn't his fault. However, given Will's reaction to the memory (and Ramón Rodríguez's impressive performance during that Will Trent scene), it will take the GBI agent some time to come to terms with it.

How Will Trent's Backstory Reveal Changes The Show

Will's Revelation Will Affect The Final 2 Episodes Of Season 2

Now that Will is aware of the contents of his repressed memory in Will Trent season 2, he can't go back to the way things were before he remembered his foster mother's murder (and his self-inflicted blame). The GBI agent already had so much trauma to carry before he recollected the awful night his foster father killed someone he strongly cared about, and despite Antonio's best efforts, Will still blames himself for the incident. Ultimately, Will's traumatic backstory (all pieces of it) alters the course of the ABC drama as the protagonist attempts to come to terms with it.

Only two episodes remain in Will Trent season 2 — "Residente o Visitante" and "Do You See the Vision?" — the first of which features Will traveling to Puerto Rico with his uncle to feel more connected to his mother. Antonio is undoubtedly taking his nephew to the island where his family comes from to make him feel better following his devastating revelation in episode 8. However, Will won't be able to solve his problems by the season 2 finale, seeing as his trauma runs deep and will affect his personal and work life going forward.

What Will Trent's Backstory Means For Will Trent Season 3

ABC Renewed Will Trent For A Third Season

Two episodes aren't enough time for Will to work through the blame he feels regarding Anna's death, so, Will Trent season 3 will probably feature the GBI agent struggling to work through his trauma. Perhaps Will's repressed memory will affect his relationship with Angie since the two rekindled their romance in episode 7. But it might be wise for Will to be single while he (hopefully) goes to therapy. Consequently, Will and Angie's relationship may end once again. During an interview with TVLine, Ramón Rodríguez teased what's to come for his character in Will Trent season 3. He said:

"[Will] 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."

Source: TVLine