“Studio 4B” tosses out a handful of intriguing elements—death fetish photography, a predatory art world, a suspicious mother son duo. Unfortunately, the episode never shapes any of it into a coherent narrative.
 |
| “Studio 4B” – WILL TRENT. Pictured: Luciano Antonino as Alex Talveso, Cathy Moriarty as Valentia Talveso. Photo: Disney/Lynsey Weatherspoon © 2026 Disney. All rights reserved. |
Did the predatory art guy, Gideon Barnell (Jim France), orchestrate Chloe Benbrooke’s (Liyah Chante Thompson) murder? If not, why spend so much time establishing him as a philosophical creep? Did Valentina (Cathy Moriarty) and Alex Talveso (Luciano Antonino) get paid for killing Chloe? It didn’t seem so. If there was no financial gain, then how exactly did her death benefit them?
See my point? The episode gestures toward answers but never commits, leaving the case feeling strangely underdeveloped for a show that usually excels at narrative clarity.
The Albanian Crime Family Subplot
Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin), Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), Cooper (Jophielle Love), and Will’s dog Betty remain the episode’s most grounded, emotionally honest thread. Ormewood’s exhaustion—his fear that he’s failing as both a father and a cop—and Angie’s reluctant steadiness land with far more resonance than anything happening in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s case.
 |
“Studio 4B” – WILL TRENT. Pictured: Jake McLauglin as Michael Ormewood, Erika Christensen as Angie
Polaski, Cora Lu Tran as Nico.
Photo: Disney/Lynsey Weatherspoon © 2026 Disney. All rights reserved. |
A runaway Betty drops a case unexpectedly into Michael’s lap. Back at the station, he feels compelled to hide his investigation from Captain Heller (Todd Allen Durkin). Meanwhile, Will’s elderly neighbor, Viggo Shaw (Marcelo Tubert), is on the run from the Albanian mob—but too late; he’s been found. Heller stays flatfooted at the beginning, but it’s Mike’s solitary rush that finally moves the case forward.
His chase after Viggo, powered by sheer grit despite his illness, becomes one of the episode’s most human moments—a gain that reads more as personal triumph than professional victory. The other is quieter but just as affecting--Cooper’s instinctive care for her dad. It’s her small acts of tenderness, such as tricking him into exercising and covering him with a blanket after he falls asleep on the couch, that grounds the entire subplot.
 |
| “Studio 4B” – WILL TRENT. Pictured: Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent, Julia Chan as Ava Green. Photo: Disney/ Daniel Delgado Jr. © 2026 Disney. All rights reserved. |
Will & Ava: Chemistry in the Darkroom
Ava Green’s (Julia Chan) return as a romantic interest land with a thud—abrupt enough that, as someone still relatively new to the series, I found myself wondering if I’d missed an introduction somewhere. Instead, it just made me nostalgic for Season 3’s ADA Marion Alba (Gina Rodriguez), who left a sharper imprint. Maybe that’s just me. Still, Ava’s scenes with Will have a tentative, off-balance charm that almost compensates for the narrative whiplash.
Ava smashing the timer after being repeatedly interrupted during their escapade in the dark room is a small rebellion—a refusal to let fear or pacing dictate the moment. Will’s soft “thank you” carries double meaning: gratitude for the intimacy, yes, but also for the permission to stop over processing his own life. It’s messy, impulsive, and maybe a bit age inappropriate for a darkroom floor. They aren’t twenty somethings after all. But the scene works better than the crime plot does.
The darkroom sequence remains the episode’s cleanest metaphor. The timer’s relentless interruptions—beep, stop, reset—echo the fragile, stop start rhythm of two people trying to build something new while dragging their own damage behind them. In photography, the timer protects the image from over or under development. In relationships, timing protects people.
The Hostage Turn & Aftermath
In the late episode pivot, Valentina holds Ava at gunpoint. Before Will could talk her into putting the gun down, Faith (Iantha Richardson) saves the day. The end feels rushed, as if the writers realized they needed a climax and bolted one on.
Ava shows up at Will’s office to give him a candid photo she took of him. Will wants to talk about their sexy romp; he blurts out how he’s in therapy and how messy his life is. Ava shuts him down gently: “Things don’t have to be so serious.”
 |
| “Studio 4B” – WILL TRENT. Pictured: Ramon Rodriguez as Will Trent, Julia Chan as Ava Green. Photo: Disney/Wilford Harewood © 2026 Disney. All rights reserved. |
She’s leaving town for a few weeks and is open to picking things back up when she returns. After she leaves, Will records her line— “Things don’t have to be so serious”—in a voicemail to himself. It’s sweet, but the emotional arc would have landed harder with more buildup.
Final Takeaway
“Studio 4B” has flashes of what Will Trent does best—character vulnerability, textured relationships, and law enforcement’s warm, chaotic camaraderie. But the episode’s storytelling is unusually scattered, its motives undercooked, and its pacing uneven.
So, friends, what part of “Studio 4B” felt the most underdeveloped or disconnected to you, and how did that affect your investment in the episode’s emotional arcs? Let me know in the comment.
Overall Score: 6 out of 10
Lynette Jones
