Will Trent killed off a main character — and now the actor is speaking out about their shocking exit.
During the Tuesday, April 14, episode of the show, Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) died while secretly working with the FBI to find information to help Will’s (Ramón Rodríguez) case against Adelaide Trevens (Mallory Jansen).
Sohn’s exit received backlash, which she addressed in several social media posts. The actress, 61, took to Instagram on Saturday, April 18, to reflect on how “surprised by the response to Amanda’s death” she was.
“Once you get the pink slip, it’s just a job. I got a job like you got a job. It’s just a job,” she explained. “Actors are really low people on the totem pole when it comes down to the big structure. When you get a pink slip, you don’t ask about it. You just say goodbye.”
While reflecting on her departure, Sohn promised to share more insight on having to “say goodbye to” characters she played in the past.
“[In my upcoming memoir, I get to talk about] the ins and outs of that and what comes with the business and all that,” she shared. “It’s not always time to talk about the details because one of the things I was taught through this experience of being Amanda and of being in this situation is she’s a much more thoughtful, reserved character than I am. When I engage with characters, we give each other aspects of ourselves.”
Sohn noted she is going to be “a little more reserved in [her] expressions” for now. “The best years are yet to come,” she concluded. “Here’s to Will Trent. Here’s to Amanda. My god. What a character. What an honor and a privilege. So just hold tight. We’re gonna be alright. There’s plenty of Sonja Sohn coming up.”
Sohn captioned the post: “I cannot adequately express the overwhelming gratitude I feel for the @willtrentabc fans who have poured their hearts out on my page.”
She added: “I did my best to to [sic] respond to each one of you but the comments kept growing & I had some life on deck to live. Please know I am receiving & grateful for your precious attention and support. I promise to honor that by giving you something you can sink your teeth into & celebrate with me in the not so distant future.”
Co-showrunner Karine Rosenthal also addressed the decision to write off Amanda, who had been a main character on the show since season 1.
“Amanda has been the character who has protected Will for as long as she has known him,” Rosenthal told Variety in a statement. “So this gives us the opportunity for a completely new dynamic in the GBI, because her replacement will not have that same relationship with Will. Her death had the most impact on the most amount of characters. It really sets everybody reeling from this enormous loss. So it’s such a reset for our characters in a way that is painful but exciting for season 5.”
Rosenthal told the outlet that Sohn was made aware that her arc was coming to an end early in season 4 and she handled the news with “grace.”
“Nobody gets to always exit their shows — even on the writing side — on their own terms all the time,” executive producer Daniel Thomsen added. “It’s hard to do that with grace. So it was just very impressive. She is a total pro.”
Will Trent airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
