Contains discussions of graphic child sexual abuse.
Will Trentchanged a lot from the novels the character originated from, and those who enjoy the series should be grateful for one of the most significant changes the network made. One of the biggestunanswered questions fromWill Trentseason 3is whether Will and Angie will ever get back together now that she’s having a baby with another man. Fans of the book know the original Will winds up with an entirely different character we may meet inWill Trentseason 4, but Will and Angie’s prolonged “will they/won’t they” dance isn’t the biggest departure from the source material.
Many of the differences often noted between the books and the show pertain specifically to the characters. Betty hasn’t changed much, but the rest of theWill Trentcastbears little resemblance to their literary counterparts.Will was originally blonde and so tall that the other cops compared him to Lurch fromThe Addams Family, a change that book fans have generally tolerated more inWill Trentthan Jack Reacher fans did when Tom Cruise first played the character. However, even the character differences are relatively minor compared to how much ABC altered the original novels’ general tone.
Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent Books Are Much Darker & Gorier Than The ABC Series
The First Book Alone Is Almost Nightmare-Inducing
Although Ormewood’s tumor and Goodwin’s injury are certainly dark spots in theWill Trentseason 3 finale, they barely hold a candle to the gritty bleakness of Karin Slaughter’s books. The first book alone,Triptych, begins on a rather horrific note whenMichael Ormewood investigates the death of a prostitute who choked to death on her own blood after her tongue was bitten offduring a brutal assault on the stairway of her housing project. Despite having seen a school full of screaming women burned to death during the Gulf War, the scene is gruesome enough to unnerve him.
Things get worse when Ormewood meets Will, who reveals that victim Aleesha Monroe is part of a GBI investigation into similar cases. The twist is that, aged somewhere in her 30s,Aleesha is at least twice as old as the other rape victims whose tongues were bitten off. Most were around the same age as Ormewood’s mistress, who was 15 for barely a week when the novel begins. And if that weren’t hard enough to stomach, Will goes into detail about a similar crime against a 10-year-old girl despite seeing no link between her and the case at hand.
ABC’s Will Trent Has Struck The Perfect Tone For Broadcast TV
The Series’ Off-The-Wall Humor Works Exquisitely
Anyone who finds the above too much to absorb within the first few chapters of a novel would have a tremendously difficult time making it through all 12 of Slaughter’s books, but ABC cleans things up quite a bit. Not only does Ormewood have the decency to cheat with women his own age, butgore is rarely shown or even verbally described in disturbingly graphic detail,as in the books. One of the series’ greatest strengths is how the darkest aspects ofWill Trent’s GBIinvestigations are often turned on their head for laughs.
For instance, one of the bleakest moments in the series was Will accidentally shooting a child to death. This isn’t outside the realm of plausible drama for a network procedural, and it’s certainly not as dark as anything inLaw & Order: SVU. However, except for dark comedies such asBoJack Horseman,few series would have the title character process their guilt through drug-induced hallucinations of an upbeat musical number. This sort of high concept idea wouldn’t fit the tone of the novels, but it’s perfect for distinguishingWill Trentfrom most other procedurals.
Making The Will Trent TV Show Darker Would Make It More Suitable For Streaming
But That’s Not The Blessing That It Sounds Like
Many of thedifferences betweenWill Trentand the bookscould be softened just enough to fly on network television, buta truly faithful adaptation of the books would be virtually unsuitable for broadcastif it retained the hardened tone of Slaughter’s writing. Her focus on the cynicism of law enforcement and the limitless human capacity for evil would give even gloomier series like AMC’sThe Killinga run for their money. However, it’s debatable whether the elevated status of being picked up by a streaming service would benefit the show.
Certain decisions regarding story structure, such as telling roughly a quarter ofTriptychfrom the perspective of a man convicted of raping and murdering his childhood best friend, might make for an interesting binge watch. However, a streaming version ofWill Trentwould likely have a far less predictable yearly release schedule and would almost certainly receive a much smaller episode order per season. The literature is a gripping read for those who don’t mind their nightcap with a side of underage blood spatter, but the network-friendly version currently on offer is a great deal more fun.
Will Trent
Cast
Will Trent is a crime drama series that follows special agent Will Trent, who was abandoned at birth and raised in Atlanta’s foster care system. He becomes a dedicated agent with the highest clearance rate, driven by his experiences to ensure others do not suffer as he did.
