The internet is losing its mind over Will Trent, specifically over the death of Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn) in Season 4.
The ABC favorite recently wrapped its fourth season, and fans can’t get over the loss of the GBI Deputy Director, who has been a major character since the series’ beginning.
If you’re not caught up, fans are still reeling over a decision by the show’s writers to kill off Sohn’s character in the final episodes of the latest season. Throughout the show, viewers have latched onto the relationship between Amanda and Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) as it develops, which makes the most recent move even more shocking.
Understandably, fans are having a difficult time processing the death of her character and predicting what it means for the future of the show. Will she still have any presence for the already-confirmed Season 5 or beyong? We’ll have to wait until 2027 for answers because High Potential, Will Trent, and The Rookie are all being held for midseason debuts.
If you are still upset over season 4 of Will Trent, or simply have more questions about Amanda’s shocking death, don’t worry. DECIDER has the answer to the question on every fan’s mind: Why did the show kill off Amanda?
What happened to Amanda on Will Trent?
Sadly, Amanda Wagner was murdered in the most recent season of ABC’s hit drama.
After previously taking a bullet to the chest at the GBI headquarters during a hostage situation in Season 3, Amanda’s time runs out in Season 4, Episode 15 (“The Blank Expanse of Nothing”), as Will finds Amanda dead in the street with stab wounds after chasing down a lead in a major investigation.
Our favorite GBI Deputy Director was so close to solving the case of the cult led by Adelaide Trevens (Mallory Jansen), but it ended with one of Adelaide’s disciples taking her out before she could get enough evidence to put the criminal behind bars. As Amanda was hot on the trail and sniffing out a potential lead, an assailant came out of nowhere and attacked her, stabbing her numerous times and leaving her in the street. Her body was later discovered by Will after Adelaide called him and shared that she had left him a “little gift.” Yeah, not the kind of present he was hoping for or expecting.
The decision to swiftly kill Amanda came as a shock, especially since Sohn’s very last moments in the series see her turning around and seeing someone sneak up on her before ultimately cutting to a commercial break. While many other shows have done something similar by giving a character one final goodbye scene or allowing another character to find them just before their death, Will Trent opted to aim for realism by having the GBI discover Amanda long after she had bled out. Truly shocking.
Amanda fans did receive a little bit of closure, though, as Episode 17 (“Where’d You Come From Little Angel”) sees a younger version of Amanda — played by Sydney Park, a true dead ringer for Sohn — appear in Will’s dream, guiding him to a stunning realization about who discovered him as a little boy and how Amanda is responsible for helping Will find his way. It certainly doesn’t bring Amanda back, but it does give Will enough closure to start to heal from her death.
Why was Amanda killed off on Will Trent?
That’s the question every Will Trent fan is trying to figure out. During an April interview with Variety, showrunners Liz Heldens, Daniel T. Thomsen, and Karine Rosenthal said that Amanda’s death was a part of the plan for the show that “sets off a chain of events that is going to take us to the end of the season.”
“Amanda has been the character who has protected Will for as long as she has known him,” Rosenthal told Variety. “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.”
Since Season 4 ends with (SPOILER ALERT!) Will taking care of Angie (Erika Christensen) and her new baby girl after the death of her fiancé, Seth (Scott Foley), it seems that the writers are full steam ahead on crafting new relationships and storylines for these characters, one that requires them to “reset” some of these comfortable dynamics. It looks like Amanda might just have been the collateral damage in this choice.
What do fans think about Amanda’s death on Will Trent?
Naturally, fans are not happy with this creative decision.
There’s even a Reddit thread called “We want Amanda BACK!!” Here, fans are sharing their thoughts on how angry they are at the show’s creators for making this decision.
One user, @yourlocal90skid, finished his opinion by writing, “I’m going to be really interested to see how those ratings are next season…”
Another user, @CyclingDiva, noted how Amanda’s death might turn her off the show. “Today’s Episode was bad – she’s dead, it got resolved too fast, and Will has more trauma,” they wrote. “It’s too much for one person. Not happy. May not be here next season. Very disappointed.”
Where can I stream Will Trent?
All episodes of Will Trent are streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
If you’re new to Hulu, the basic (with ads) price is $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
