Catch Me If You Con – As this episode of Wild Cards begins, Ricky Wilson (Fletcher Donovan) receives a statue. Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan) joins him and asks what they’re going to do today. Ricky reveals he has to leave and he wants the statue out. Max goes to the police station where she learns Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and the others are going to the annual Police and Law Enforcement Conference and Expo. Chief Li (Terry Chen) breaks the news that Max can’t come with them. Max decides to catch up with her dad, George Graham (Jason Priestley). Once she arrives, George tells Max he’s about to run a poker game with the boys in Block C. Max tells him to enjoy himself. Max returns home where she finds herself being held at gunpoint. Maddy (Katie Findlay) surprises her with a cigarette lighter gun. Max tells Maddy about working as a police consultant.
Maddy explains she’s there because they are the grifter sisters and the con queens. Cole comes over later to bring the tech conference to Max. Maddy interrupts and asks Cole if he’s the boyfriend. Maddy lies about her name and invites Cole to join them. Cole turns down her offer. In private, Max lies about her friend causing Cole to suspect she might be up to something. Once Cole reaches his car, he tries to retrieve fingerprints from the ID card Maddy touched. He sends the prints in and asks for the results as soon as possible. Maddy wonders if Max has gone soft. When Max says no, Maddy tells her to prove it. They steal from people to show their skills. Cole finds out that the friend’s name is actually Maddy Jenton. She has charges for identity theft, fraud, and forgery. Cole tries to call Max since he’s worried she could be trying to pull another con. Maddy and Max steal a woman’s car and her dog by mistake. Max wants to call it a night.
However, Maddy thinks they should end the competition since they’re tied. Max tries to pick a locker. She does and grabs something from the locker. When the transit cops show up, Max and Maddy flee in the sports car. The following day, Cole meets Ernie (Paul Moniz de Sa) at a tennis club. Ernie reveals that the victim is a tennis pro named Josh Hanson. Coroner Olive (Manuela Sosa) tells Cole that Josh suffered burns because he was in the steam for hours. There’s an alcohol bottle nearby. Olive believes the victim died around midnight and three. Ernie says there are no cameras on the grounds. Cole speaks to the club’s GM Bob (Matt Hamilton) who found the body. Bob explains that Josh often enjoyed a late-night steam after a long day of lessons. As for the drinking, Josh has had a bit of a problem ever since his injury. Bob reveals that Josh blew his knee out as soon as he joined the pro circuit. Bob tells Cole about his long relationship with Josh who was the best.
He insists everyone loved Josh. Chief Li contacts Cole to tell him to get back to the station now because he’s off the case. Max still has the victim’s dog. When Detective Yates (Amy Goodmurphy) arrives at the door, Max insists she was going to take the dog back. Yates says she’s being arrested for the murder of Josh Hanson. In an interview room, Max is shown a video of her breaking into the locker. Chief Li says the cybercrimes team found a hit on Hanson’s life on the dark web. They watched the lockers and saw Max picking up the payment. Outside the interview room, Simmons (Michael Xavier) admits he doesn’t think she did it, but he wonders if she could be involved. Chief Li shows Max a picture of Maddy. Officer Toni (Caroline Battista) lets Simmons know the toxicology screen came back on the victim. Max tells Chief Le that she woke up and Maddy and the bag were already gone. Olive tells Simmons and Cole that traces of digoxin were found in the victim’s system.
Although it’s a heart medication, it was never prescribed to Josh Hanson. If a healthy person takes it, their blood pressure would plummet. Adding alcohol to the mix would speed things up. The dermal and subcutaneous burns are consistent with temperatures over 200 degrees. Cole points out that the steam rooms have limiters so they can never reach those temperatures. Cole is convinced Josh was murdered. Chief Li continues questioning Max about the murder. Max shows him the selfies she takes with the delivery people to prove she didn’t kill Josh. The dog’s owner arrives to pick up Lola. Li tells Cole that Max’s alibi checks out. However, they have to find Maddy or she’ll be charged with solicitation to commit murder. Li tells Max to go find out why Max is protecting Maddy. Max and Cole talk about it in the car. Max insists Maddy is not a murderer. She also reveals that Maddy’s dad would disappear for weeks on end. She would take with Max’s family a lot. Maddy always took things one step too far and Max and her dad would have to clean up her mess.
Max explains she and Maddy have been through a lot together. Cole believes Maddy solicited a murder and set up Max to retrieve the bag. Max catches up with Maddy at a dinner. Max accused Maddy of setting her up. Maddy insists she didn’t kill anyone. Cole joins them and tells Maddy she better hope she can prove that. He arrests her for the murder of Josh Hanson. In an interview room, Cole shows Maddy the message on the dark web. Maddy denies everything. Li interrupts to say Maddy’s alibi checks out. After she left Max’s place, she was at the casino all night. Li admits they have to let Maddy go. Max follows her to ask if she’s just going to leave again. Max thought she might want to stay and help. Maddy tells her to let her new cop friends help. Next, Li, Max, and Cole discuss whether someone paid for the hit and did it themselves. Max suggests two people wanted Josh dead. Max goes undercover at the club while Cole decides to speak to the staff members.
Max runs into Maddy who calls her Jenny. In private, Maddy tells Max about Peyton (Anita Brown) and Lisa (Lauren Akemi Bradley). Max wants Maddy to tell her why she came to town. Maddy claims she came there to see if she still had a friend. She says she called multiple times and Max didn’t answer. When she visited, she felt that Max had moved on. Max argues she had so much going on at the time. They’re told the cart is ready. Maddy invites Lisa and Peyton to join them. When they see Bob arguing with Sandra (Jessica Garcie) arguing, Lisa and Peyton reveal Bob is going through a divorce. Max and Maddy play against each other. They try to turn Lisa and Peyton against each other. Ernie tells Cole that Josh told him he was moving out. Josh asked Ernie to drop off a security deposit at his new place. It was 10 grand and Josh was usually broke. Ernie agrees to let Cole look around Josh’s place. Peyton tells Max that Lisa was sleeping with Josh.
Lisa tells Maddy the opposite. Cole finds a bunch of money in Josh’s apartment. Peyton taunts Lisa when she and Max win. Lisa says she’s glad Josh is dead. Peyton reveals that half of the ladies in the club were sleeping with him. She goes on to say that money-sucking leech didn’t care about anyone. Cole calls Max to say he found $250,000. Max tells him that Josh was sleeping with the women, recording it, and using the videos to blackmail them. If they didn’t pay, Josh would send the video to their husbands. Max and Maddy join Cole in the steam room. Maddy turns on the steam causing the glass nearby to fog up. They find a message saying, “Bob killed me.” Maddy wants to get Bob immediately, but Cole and Max say they need more evidence. They theorize that Josh had been sleeping with Bob’s wife. When Cole speaks to Sandra, she denies having an affair with Josh. She explains that Josh was going to testify on her behalf during divorce proceedings.
She claims she just found out about Josh’s scheme and admits Bob was involved as well. Bob had threatened to take away her son. When Josh heard that, he told Sandra about the blackmail scheme. Sandra says she met Josh and Bob when they were sixteen. Although both boys had a crush on her, Sandra picked Bob. She didn’t know Josh had loved her for all those years. Cole notices she has a bottle of pills in her purse. Sandra explains she’s on Digoxin for a small heart murmur. Bob and Sandra were going to court on Wednesday. Max and Cole talk about the dark web message which said Josh needed to be taken care of before next Wednesday. Max believes she knows how to get Bob to confess. Cole overhears Peyton and Lisa talking. Peyton’s words catch his attention. Max speaks to Maddy who is still upset. They smooth things over. Max admits she needs Maddy’s help. They sneak up on Bob and hold him at gunpoint. Bob tries to convince them not to kill him. They talk about Josh and manage to convince Bob that he was having an affair with Sandra.
They offer to take the money and kill Sandra and Josh. Bob says he’s already dead. He admits he took care of Josh himself. Max shows him that the gun is actually a lighter before cops enter the room to arrest him. Maddy tries to get away with the money, but Max prevents her from doing so. Cole arrests Peyton for soliciting the murder of Josh Hanson. Cole tells Maddy and Max that he heard Peyton using the same words used in the dark web messages. Peyton wanted Josh killed because his testimony would’ve exposed their affair. Josh’s decision to do the right thing actually got him killed. Maddy leaves to get a drink. Cole apologizes to Max for jumping to conclusions. Later, Max tells Maddy she’s a free woman now. Maddy still believes there is more between Max and Cole. Max learns that Maddy got Lola back. Ricky gets another package and plays with the shipping bubble wrap.
Wild Cards Review
This episode of Wilds Cards was mostly enjoyable although a bit irritating at times. The series obviously isn’t for everyone because it doesn’t take itself seriously. It’s a mixture of comedy, mystery, and romance although none of these elements stand out as being spectacular. It seems viewers have given up on the series and that’s a shame considering most episodes are watchable.
The episode quality varies widely throughout the series and that could be an issue for viewers. Some episodes are barely tolerable with over-the-top accents and annoying storylines. Some of the characters are obnoxious as well. Then, you have an episode like this one that proves the series can be better.
Ultimately, this was a serviceable episode that did just enough right to maintain interest from start to finish. The characters were also toned down a little to avoid being too much. When the series manages to hit its targets, it’s just as good as any crime drama on American television although that may not be saying much right now.
The only issue with tuning in is that viewers will be taking a gamble because some episodes aren’t as strong as this one. This one scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Wild Cards can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.