Javicia Leslie Explains Daphne’s Future

The March 10 episode of “High Potential” revisited Daphne’s past to explain how she became the junior detective she is today — while also hinting at an exciting new future.

When Daphne’s mentor Dottie (Michael Hyatt) became the target of a murder pact, Daphne was assigned to lead her very first investigation, despite being estranged from Dottie for quite some time. We learned that Dottie had been pushing Daphne to take the sergeant exam, but Daphne pushed right back, suggesting that the “hoops and double standards” facing women of color in that line of work make it not worth the effort. 

Daphne and Dottie revisited that conversation midway through the hour, and while Daphne remained unsure about taking the exam, Dottie insisted that she show the LAPD exactly who she is and break through. According to Javicia Leslie, she and Hyatt developed a similarly supportive relationship while working on this episode together.

“Our first time meeting was this episode, because I wasn’t in any scenes with her on her last episode, and we took so much time to get to know each other,” Leslie says. “There was somewhat of a truth to the storyline about how we don’t ask for more because we don’t think we’re worthy of it. The lines that Dottie gives like, ‘I see you as a shining light. Don’t dull that light.’ Those were things that Michael was saying to me personally. It all blended so well because it’s a bit of a personal journey along with the story of the episode.”

In addition to leading her first investigation this week, Daphne was also able to mentor Ava through a personal dilemma, one that was extremely — and unfortunately — on theme with Daphne’s current predicament. Morgan’s daughter was accepted into a competitive art class, but her joy turned to insecurity when students began suggesting online that Ava was only accepted because she’s Black.

Ava sought advice from Daphne, who told her to put those racist kids in their place and show them how wrong they are, but Ava replied, “Why would I sit in a room full of kids who don’t think I deserve to be there?” All of a sudden, Daphne was Ava’s Dottie, giving Daphne the exact role reversal she needed to understand where her own mentor was coming from.

After wrapping up the investigation (which included talking down an armed attempted murderer), Daphne asked to revise her advice to Ava: “We cannot control what others say or do,” she said the second time around. “You don’t have to change yourself for any of that. Decide who you are in this world despite how it sees you. Do what makes you happy because your path isn’t about proving anything to anyone. It’s about choosing a life that’s most true for you every single time.” Can someone please embroider that on a pillow? Yes, it would be a very big pillow, but those are also great words to live by.

Leslie tells TVLine that she and Amirah J, who plays Ava, have a similar relationship on set: “I will talk to Amirah and ask about things going on in her life that have made her feel maybe invisible or judged or anything like that,” the actress tells TVLine. “It was a personal story because this is the truth and this is what’s really going on.”

Between her conversations with Dottie and Ava this week, Daphne’s opinions on the sergeant exam have changed considerably. “I think she got some confidence from this case,” Javicia Leslie tells TVLine. “Like, she can do this. You never know what’s going to happen.”

“I think her fear of rejection and failure is always going to exist to a certain extent, but it’s not about trying to get rid of the fear — it’s about overcoming the fear,” Leslie says. “I think that’s what the episode did, and I do think that that’s going to continue to play throughout [future] seasons.” (Speaking of which, “High Potential” was recently renewed for Season 3.)

Also, some good news to ease your worried minds: If Daphne does become a sergeant, that doesn’t mean she’ll be leaving Morgan & Co. behind. “Theoretically, she can have the option of going to a different team or staying with her team as a sergeant,” the actress explains.

This latest episode of “High Potential” may have filled in some blanks about Daphne’s professional history, but what about her personal life? Is she single? What’s her family situation? Does she have a dog? Apparently it’s all “still a mystery,” even to Javicia Leslie.

And that’s OK with her. Leslie explains that she doesn’t like to ask the show’s writers for any information that the audience doesn’t already know about her character — and for good reason.

“We’ve had conversations, and I’ve allowed certain conversations to help lead my performance, but I don’ get married to it,” Leslie explains. “Since it hasn’t actually played out yet, [the writers] can change their mind and go in a totally different direction. So I don’t want to lean hard into something only for them to say, ‘Actually, your character is this or that.’ Nothing’s permanent yet other than what you’ve seen.”

Whatever Daphne’s future holds on “High Potential,” Javicia Leslie hopes it involves more team-ups with Morgan, as this episode gave us a rare chance to see how they work as a duo.

“Morgan and Daphne have had a really strong connection since the beginning of the show,” Leslie tells TVLine. “From the moment we saw her cleaning the bullpen, I was watching her and was amazed and amused, while everyone else was startled and petrified. There’s something they both see in each other. They’re like, ‘I get it, this work is serious and what’s going on in this world is serious, but it’s OK to have a little bit of lightheartedness in all of it.'”

Leslie is also proud of Daphne for being able to keep up “somewhat” with the way Morgan things. “Obviously not on an HP level,” Leslie clarifies, “but they’re able to piggyback off one another. They’re like, ‘I already know where you’re going with this,’ and I think it’s really cool to see two women do that.”