Why Will and Angie’s Separation is the Best Thing to Happen to Will Trent

It may not be a popular opinion, especially with shipping culture in fandoms. 

But Will Trent separating Will and Angie was a blessing in disguise, and both are all the better for it. 

No, I’m not a Will and Angie shipper, so my level of investment in their relationship may differ from those who are, but as someone who adores at least one-half of that duo, the distance has been a welcome reprieve. 

Will and Angie’s History is Integral to the Series and Their Characters

Since Will Trent Season 1, they’ve established how integral the Will/Angela dynamic is to the series and each character’s development. 

They have a deep, rich history that predates the series and goes far back into their teen and young adult years. The series exploring those layers has been interesting thus far.

Understanding both characters hinges on their connection and meaning to each other. Will and Angie have been in each other’s lives for so long, and they have an innate understanding of each other that no one else has. 

And that’s great. No one is knocking their history and how interconnected Will and Angie have been, but it’s too much. 

Will and Angie Hold Each Other Back

Their closeness is all fun and games until it sinks in how much they hold one another back. 

It’s like Will and Angie are in this cycle of toxicity that they can never break away from, at least not until recently after Will turning her in caused them to fall out. 

Too often, they bring out the worst in each other. They have this way of trapping one another in the past, most likely because that’s where their bond stemmed from. 

People often misuse the term “trauma bond” and tend to misinterpret it as two people who bond over a shared trauma, but that’s actually not what the terminology means. 

However, that’s what Angie and Will are to one another. They had a rough upbringing as street kids and endured some tough experiences in unsafe foster homes. 

They fell in love back then, or maybe they connected so deeply and became so intrinsically involved that falling in love felt like the next best thing. 

It’s hard to describe the nature of their relationship, as there is real love there, but it doesn’t actually feel like it should be romantic. 

They both just lived much of their lives behaving as if they were all each other had. 

Will and Angie’s Dynamic is Unhealthy and Toxic 

On paper, the idea of having a “person” seems beautiful. There’s safety and comfort in knowing you’ll always have this person in your life. 

They both know each other so thoroughly that they rarely have to risk their heart or happiness by attempting to recreate that with another person. But that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? 

Will is like an oversized, worn, cuddly sweater that Angie can pull out of the closet whenever she needs the comfort that it provides. 

He’s more of a security blanket for her than a life partner who challenges her in the ways that she requires or whose needs she can properly meet. 

And for Will, it’s similar. She’s this fiery person who takes up all this space in his world and sucks up all the air. Her personality is so big that he can retreat behind it and feel less out of place in spaces. 

When he can distract himself by tending to all her demons, it makes him feel better about those of his own. But that’s not the best way for him to live. 

Their dynamic together encourages a stagnancy that doesn’t enhance or enrich either of their lives. 

Will may have had this idolized version of what their life could’ve been like if he hadn’t had to turn her in during Will Trent Season 2 Episode 10, but it was all fantasy and never would’ve been their reality. 

Neither person has ever learned how to properly deal with their respective problems and give themselves enough space to grow. 

They kept one another trapped in some of their darkest and worst places and rarely encouraged each other to evolve in the ways required to be happier and healthier. 

Will and Angie’s Safety Net Relationship Keeps Them from Real, Healthier Ones

Ergo, they could never have the fantasy life they envisioned when both tend to be at their most emotionally damaged when they’re with one another. 

Will and Angie enable each other — their best and worst traits, but without giving each other the space to work on the latter, neither could ever be whole people. 

Separating Will and Angie gives both characters the necessary space to grow without the other person serving as a crutch or holding them back. 

It sounds harsh to say, but their codependency stifled their character growth, and we saw it play out repeatedly throughout the series. 

Neither of them could ever be happy when the other person was in the picture, hovering on the edges of their life every time someone made a major step forward. 

They couldn’t have healthy romantic relationships with anyone as long as the other person was on the fringes of their lives, and there was never any real effort to try with any new people because they have the safety of falling on each other as some form of backup. 

Will and Angie could cocoon themselves in their own respective world and keep other people out, which never encouraged either to work on their social interaction with others or improve their emotional intelligence. 

A Separation Forced Both Characters to Lean on Other Dynamics

Will, without Angie, has had some struggles, and his leaving town and everyone he cared about behind him has made for a compelling opener for the season as we saw in Will Trent Season 3 Episode 1. 

It forces Will to face the consequences of his actions, not solely what he did to Angie, which was the only call she left him to make, but with everyone around him. 

His choices forced Will to deal with how his behavior affected Nico, which has made for some heartrending moments between the two and pushes Will out of his comfort zone as he makes amends for hurting Nico in the best ways he knows how. 

It also means that Will had to do the same with Faith, as he learned to own up to how his actions affected and hurt her. And he’s learning to come to grips with that and take accountability in a way that he may not have done if he had Angie to bury himself behind. 

Extricating Angie from Will’s immediate life allowed the series to highlight the deep connections that he’s made with the other characters and give them their proper due, too. 

It takes removing Angie from the equation to really hit the point home that Will has cultivated his own family, and he doesn’t have to solely and exclusively tie himself to her alone. 

Angie Becomes a More Well-Rounded, Fascinating Character Outside of Will

And for Angie, it’s much the same. 

I’ve always struggled with the character, though I appreciated this hot mess, flawed woman and what she offers to the series. 

When tied to Will alone, it often forces us to focus on some of her most troubling and frustrating traits. We get sucked into their toxic cycle, yes, but also how she’s often the fuel for that toxicity. 

The dynamic between them, where she’s a magnet for trouble, emotionally exhausting, or even a bit of a succubus, doesn’t serve the character well. 

It also never allows her to grow when she always has Will to fall back on, pull her up, or save her from herself. 

Separating Angie from Will gives her room to reexamine things and stand alone. It actually makes her an interesting, likable character. 

For so long, her relationship with Will often overshadowed everything she is and can be as a woman on her own. 

Also, it compelled her to see that she has more family and connections around her than just Will. She can thrive and exist and be a better person without relying squarely on him. 

Refreshingly, Angie comes across as more vulnerable outside of her relationship with Will. She can evolve into a stronger, better, more assured version of herself without staying inextricably linked to him. 

If a Will/Angie Endgame MUST Happen, This Allows a Better Buildup

Some time apart serves the two good. 

At the very least, it could make the prospect of Will and Angie reuniting romantically more tolerable. 

The time apart means we could buy that their relationship can be genuine and not simply two troubled individuals clinging to one another in a codependent safety bubble. 

Over to you, Will Trent Fanatics. 

Do you think the Will/Angie separation serves the characters well? Hit the comments with your thoughts!

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