Maybe it takes a thief to catch a thief, but you still need a cop to make the arrest. Basically, that is the principle behind the partnership of supposedly “reformed” con artiste Max Mitchell and Det. Cole Ellis, who recently had his detective shield fully restored, thanks to the cases they cleared. Much to his outward chagrin (and maybe secret satisfaction), the commissioner wants them to continue working together. For every case she works, Mitchell knocks two weeks off her criminal mastermind father’s prison sentence. That might not sound like much, but they have another full season ahead of them to chip away when season two of creator Micheal Konyves’s Wild Cards premieres this Wednesday on CW.
The whole plan throughout season one was for Mitchell to use her police access to ultimately switch out a fake for a Faberge Egg and leave Ellis looking like a fool. However, she uncovered evidence regarding the murder of Ellis’s brother, so she canceled her getaway. Instead, she delivers the flash-drive recordings to Ellis and swaps back jeweled egg before anyone notices—anyone else than Ellis, that is. Consequently, the detective has serious trust issues during the rest of the season opener, “Con in 60 Seconds.”
Of course, this episode also demonstrates why they are so well-paired. In “60 Seconds,” clearly more inspired by Fast & Furious than Gone in 60 Seconds, Mitchell and Ellis go undercover to bust a gang of street-racing thieves. It turns out she can handle the wheel, having fled her share of crime scenes, while he knows his way around an engine. In most ways, it is an average odd couple undercover procedural, but it sets up several of the continuing storylines for the season. It is also a good example of the grounded credibility Terry Chen brings to the series as eternally patient, but exasperated Chief Li.
The season’s second episode, “Once a Con a Time in the West,” features one of the most notable guest-stars of any show airing this month. Original Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy appears as ranching matriarch Rose Pruett, whose prize stud horse is targeted by an assassin. Evidently, the Pruetts are under pressure to sell the family farm, so if they lose Paul, the professional equine papa, they lose it all.
Sheedy definitely has a nice Big Valley vibe as Pruett, while writers Konyves and Marcus Robison address the rural country elements (apparently right outside Vancouver) without sounding conspicuously phony. This episode also notably features Martin Sheen in the recurring role of Jonathan Ashford, a legendary con artist, whose video memoir Mitchell watches to bone-up on her sharp practices, but might just lead her question her illegal ways even more.
Frankly, there is some surprisingly clever writing (by Konyves and Kristin Slaney) in “The Lorne Identity,” whose sort of title-character seems to be suffering from traumatic amnesia, complicated by delusions rooted in his science fiction-fandom. Kris Lemche is also pretty impressive, especially by broadcast network episodic standards as the character first known as Lorne (whoever he might really be).
“Dial ‘A’ for Alibi,” written by Konyves and Alexandra Zarowny, obviously riffs on Hitchcock’s Rear Window, when Mitchell thinks she sees a murder in the building across from her apartment, while recuperating from a broken foot. However, the case Ellis simultaneously works with his former partner, Det. Simmond, eventually takes an Agatha Christie turn. That means Simmons’ current partner, Det. Yates, find herself reluctantly snooping on behalf of Mitchell. In previous episodes, Amy Goodmurphy’s portrayal of the gripe-prone Yates indulges in a lot of shtick, but she is kind of funny in “Alibi.”
Throughout the first four episodes of season two, Vanessa Morgan and Giacomo Gianniotti maintain an appealingly odd couple chemistry together. Their Tracy-and-Hepburn relationship drives the series more than the procedural business, but the formula works pretty well. This is not groundbreaking television, but it is a smooth and easy viewing experience. Recommended for the breezy crime-fighting flirtiness, season two of Wild Cards starts airing this Wednesday (2/5) on CW.