'Will Trent' Can't Come Back After Yet Another Badly-Timed Death in Season 4

By Sofia Martinez · Culture & Entertainment Editor

May 6, 2026 · 4 min read

Jennie Richardson

Published May 6, 2026, 7:24 PM EDT

Jennie Richardson is a TV Features and Lists Writer for Collider, and a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing. In other words, she really loves stories.

_Will Trent _shocked longtime fans with the sudden and brutal death of GBI Deputy Director Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) very late into Season 4. Amanda's death has been handled very badly, from its off-screen nature, to the show's unwillingness to take a break from the action and properly mourn her. Now, in the Season 4 finale, _Will Trent _has just killed off another major character three episodes later: none other than Seth, Angie's husband and the father of her child. Unfortunately, Seth is another victim of Will Trent's poor writing this season, and it's another nail in Will Trent's coffin.

With Seth's Death, 'Will Trent' Season 4 Chooses Shock Value Over Story Yet Again

When Dr. Seth McDale was introduced as Angie's new love interest in Season 3, his whole presence in her life felt a little too good to be true. They had instant chemistry and a shared past with addiction, and it was easy for the two of them to start to build a life together after Angie learned that she was pregnant. It seemed for a while that Seth's eventual death was inevitable, especially given Will Trent's past penchant for killing off beloved side characters instead of main ones. Somehow, though, Seth survived two major instances that seemed like they would kill him off: the bio attack on the hospital in the Season 3 finale, and being forced to operate at gunpoint just a few episodes ago. Then, _Will Trent _killed off Amanda, and it looked like Seth would be sticking around as a caring partner to Angie and a frequent source of comic relief.

'Will Trent' Just Made a Major Mistake With Amanda Wagner's Death

The show will never be the same, and it needs to honor that.

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In the Season 4 finale, though, Will Trent _once again abandons any semblance of a plan for its characters and their arcs by suddenly killing off Seth. While helping out on a major trafficking case led by Faith (Iantha Richardson), Angie's water breaks. She and Seth rush to the hospital when suddenly, a car comes out of nowhere and hits them. The driver goes missing soon after, and coupled with the strange timing, this could very well have been intentional by someone involved in the trafficking ring. Regardless, this feels like an odd deus ex machina meant to add shock value and conveniently get rid of Seth. Angie and her baby are in critical condition, and it seems at first like Seth will be fine, but he dies of his injuries from the crash while Angie is in labor. Soon after, _Will Trent _jumps ahead quite a bit in time with a montage that shows Will all-too-conveniently stepping up as a partner to Angie, and as a coparent to her baby, Edie.

After Its Disastrous Fourth Season, 'Will Trent' Is Beyond Repair

A hallmark of a great procedural is the ability to take bold swings and stick to them, but this doesn't always mean killing off major characters. Will Trent's boldest move ever was having Will arrest Angie in the Season 2 finale. The show backtracked a little the following season by bringing Angie back to work soon after, but still, Will and Angie's romantic future was forever destroyed. Now, though, _Will Trent _has spent the past season undoing one of its most interesting storylines, seemingly in service of bringing Will and Angie back together. Will was finally starting to let go of Angie, and he and Seth had developed a sweet friendship and joint roles in Angie's life. Now, though, _Will Trent _sees Will taking on Seth's role as well within ten minutes of his death.

It's way too soon for _Will Trent _to kill off another major character after the show mishandled Amanda's death so badly, but now, it feels like the show is scrambling to push Will and Angie to be a ready-made family. Amanda Wagner was the pillar of Will Trent, but her death has barely affected the show at all, apart from a little bit of lingering grief from Will and Faith. Seth, meanwhile, seems to have been nothing more than a way to give Angie a baby and bring her and Will back together as a couple. After Will Trent's careless and disjointed fourth season, the only thing worth coming back for in Season 5 is its beloved characters. For a show that doesn't treat these characters with care, and that has proven that it's willing to kill any of them off on a whim, though, that's really not enough anymore.