Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off” 

Who can you trust?

If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped in as devoted intern only to instigate trouble and Eddie (who was always a little shifty in my book) went from wife-kissing-agent-dude to cartel-stealing-arms-dealer. But in a show where nothing is as it seems, we should hardly be surprised!

Cortney: Tina, this episode had lots of lovin’ and lots of trickin’, so what do we want to address first, the rom or the con? Actually, never mind, I’m going to answer that question for myself and say that we have to start with the least criminal but, in my opinion, most disappointing betrayal of all – Tessa.

While we know she is definitely Team BenMargot, I have to admit that I was really enjoying her “interning” with Alice and putting her super sleuthing skills to good use for once. Thanks to her talent for digging up dirt and eye for designer duds, Alice was able to identify Ethan’s fiancee Gretchen as a money-grubbing imposter and save Ethan from marrying an already married woman.

So when Tessa got on the phone with Ben and tried to suggest that Alice was off on a secret unethical rendezvous with Ethan, I was a little broken hearted. Could I see it coming? Yes. Does that mean I have to like it? Nope.

Tina: It’s interesting that you started with Tessa. She’s definitely cunning and dangerous, but she’s also a teenager. I totally get her wanting her parents to be together even having only met them recently. She’s had a taste of the family life, and I guess she liked it. Who knew?

But, honestly? I didn’t feel the sense of betrayal that you’re feeling. She clearly didn’t want her mom to have anything to do with Felicity, especially after those two shared a night of reconnection. And it seems natural to me that even though she got along with Alice, she wants her parents together above anything else.

The difference is she knows how to manipulate things to her advantage. I’m going to wait and see if she does anything else. Because throwing Alice and Ethan in Ben’s face is bad, but not betrayal. And on top of that, I’m not sure she’s even going to be a factor when it comes to causing trouble for Alice and Ben. They’re going to do a fine job on their own. Well, maybe not on their own. Ethan is going to make for damn sure he’s a factor in causing trouble for them.

Cortney, the last scene between Ben and Ethan? Wow.

Cortney: Wow is right. I don’t even know how to process that stand-off. But if we’re being honest, after Alice and Ben’s disagreement in the office and that *look* Ethan gave Ben (you know which one I’m talking about), the confrontation was inevitable. Ethan came out all friendly and jovial, but it took a quick turn when he threw the “c” word in the mix — criminal.

Ethan: You should give Alice more credit, she knows what she’s doing. She’s smart, she’s strong, she deserves better, don’t you think?
Ben: You mean better than me?
Ethan: Alice can make up her own mind. There’s nothing you can do about it.
Ben: You don’t think?
Ethan: No, cause you’re a criminal. And the second you try and do anything to me, she will see that that’s all that you are. And she will leave you.

The look on Ben’s face when he realized Alice had told Ethan about his extracurricular activities was one of complete shock…and to be honest, I don’t blame him. He knows Alice and Ethan have been working together and getting closer, but this type of “sharing” takes things to a whole new level.

While this war is far from over, I will say this battle definitely went to Ethan in the end. I think we’ve been led to believe that Ethan can be sneaky from day one…however, I don’t think we’ve seen much of it up until this point. But I’m pretty sure that’s all about to change. What did you think about their face-off? And how do you feel about Alice’s apparent naivete regarding Ethan’s intentions?

Tina: The Ethan/Ben face-off was a great way to end the episode. A clash of two titans. Ethan put Ben on notice and then left him with “It’s been good talking to you, Ben. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Loved the delivery. Kudos to Warren Christie and Peter Krause in this scene.

What we have is a competition now. Ben always does well under pressure. Hopefully he won’t eff things up too badly, though. I’m still Team BAlice even though I’m slightly torn because Ethan’s so hot. (Sorry, I had to be shallow for a moment)

And I think Alice takes the blame for what happened to her relationship with Ethan. But I believe at one point recently Ethan said he felt bad for the way he acted at the end there. We don’t know everything that went down right? Because I feel like I want to get to know what happened. Whatever he did, whichever way he acted, Alice has put that part out of her mind. It feels like she simply remembers the good times and how she doubted him and thought he could be a murderer.

Which is why she thinks she can work for him exclusively and have it be okay. When she looks at Ethan, I don’t know how to describe the look. But it’s not a look that she should have on her face when she’s engaged to someone else. But also witnessing Gretchen hurt and con Ethan like that probably did to her what it did to me. It made me feel for him. It showed me he was human and could be hurt. It made me dig him even more.

Hmm…you don’t think he’s conning Alice to get her back, do you? This whole Gretchen thing wasn’t a ruse was it? This thought just entered my brain. Because on this show everybody is either conning or being conned or doing both at the same time.

Cortney: I’ll be honest, the thought definitely crossed my mind! For someone who was engaged, Ethan got over Gretchen and was game to pursue Alice AWFULLY quickly. That being said, the look of shock on his face when he found out about Gretchen also felt genuine….so this guy is either a better con man than we thought or his intentions were noble and Gretchen’s exit just provided a convenient opportunity for him to reconnect with his original red-headed love.

And nope, we definitely don’t know exactly what caused Alice and Ethan to break up….although I always just assumed it was her ratting on him to the police…I mean, that can’t be good for a relationship, right?! I’m sure there’s more to it and like you, I’m eager to see how this plays out. I’m sure Alice’s guilt and inherent desire to feel that people are good and can change (we all remember the Tommy airport scene, yes??) has something to do with her willingness to work with him.

That being said, I am firmly Team BAlice, despite Ethan’s obvious hotness. There is something about him that feels shady…and yes, I realize that I am saying this while comparing him to a con man….but Ben’s love feels more real to me and like less of a “competition” as you mentioned earlier.

Speaking of “real love,” I’m eager to hear your thoughts on Detective Eddie going rogue. I’ll be honest, I was annoyed that the first shot of him and Justine was them making out in the doorway (honestly, this show’s attempt to “sexy-it-up” is starting to feel a bit forced and too much for me, but more on that later), so I didn’t much care that he ended up being written out in handcuffs. We hardly even knew him so it was hard to really care or feel invested in him, in my opinion. That being said, it did lead to some great moments for Rhys and Justine, which you know I always love.

Tina: Yeah, even though this storyline had some good moments that mostly had to do with Rhys, Eddie turning out to be the big bad of this gunrunning organization was the least twisty twist this show has offered so far. The impact of finding out was almost nil. I’m simply happy that Justine’s freed up. Like I said last week, Eddie’s out of her league.

I’m in total agreement with you. I was annoyed by the public make-out session. Super annoyed. Especially when practically in the next breath he was outed as having offed McLeland and taken over the Argosy organization. Seeing him in handcuffs should have been satisfying but it didn’t cause me to feel much of anything which is worse than either loving or hating something in my book.

But what I was here for was Rhys and his interactions with Justine and Troy (who was shirtless again! #win). A couple of my favorite moments:

1) When Rhys let his bad guy flag flow free when Undercover!Ben was doing his con thing and Rhys, Justine and Troy (Nolan Gerard Funk) were being held hostage in a room on the floor above.

Rhys: I’ve been on my best behavior for you, for the FBI, hoping to convince you that I’m not a bad guy.
Justine: Rhys.
Rhys: But I am. (he gets the gun away from the super hot henchman and disposes of the bad guys in the room) I am a bad guy.

2) I did love when Rhys and Troy said goodbye to each other. I think they could have easily fallen in bed and in cohabitation but it wouldn’t be good for Troy. Troy needs to find a purpose. But there was something else at play here. You see, at this point, Rhys still thinks Felicity is dead. He refused Troy staying with him…

Rhys: Because bad things happen to people who stay with me.

He’s still feeling guilt. But there’s more there than just Felicity, right? Who else is he talking about? Ben? Margot? Who? And before I hand it back over to you. I loved what he said after urging Troy to call the FBI like Justine suggested.

Rhys: You already look like a superhero now go and be one.

I could talk about Rhys all day. But there’s also the matter of his sister and Felicity. Is this where you want to talk about the “sexy-it-up” situation?

Cortney: It is, but first I have to back up and talk about your two moments. I honestly could not have loved the Rhys “bad guy” scene more. Although to be honest, he felt less bad and more badass in my book. I mean, when gunrunners are holding an FBI agent hostage and pointing a gun at your head, it seems downright noble and heroic to disarm them and rescue the team, no? It felt very James Bond-esque to me, but maybe that’s just because I know how much Rhys loves his martinis.

As far as Troy, I absolutely loved the superhero line. And yes, there was definitely some suggestive innuendo going on, but then when they hugged at the end, there was also something very paternal about it. I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it, but ultimately I did like that Rhys, who supposedly claims not to care about anyone else, was genuinely doing what he believed was best for Troy. Speaking of “what he thinks was best,” I feel like it was an obvious set up for the Felicity situation, but knowing this show, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more stories waiting in the wings.

So back to Felicity and Margot, was it just me or did that first scene feel over the top and a bit unnecessary to you? Maybe just because it was the FIRST scene and I felt like there were so many other things I’d rather see, but it was not my favorite. That being said, the fact that Felicity came back to “buy in” only to “grab the whiskey and go go” was interesting. And I did enjoy the whole casino con that she and Margot pulled.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure for a second if Felicity’s roulette ball exposure and ruckus was part of the plan or not, but I should’ve known better. These two are pros, everything is always part of the plan. Or most always, as it was clear Margot didn’t see this betrayal coming…unless it came from her brother, who was also in for quite a surprise. While I don’t love Felicity, I do like that it brought Margot and Rhys back together since we really haven’t seen any interaction between these two this season.

Tina: I don’t think we’re supposed to love Felicity at all. As for the love scene at the beginning, I think it fit the confines of the show. I don’t think it was necessary but it fit. I guess the writer felt we needed to see them reconnect before the whole thing fell apart. I don’t know. It’s hard to feel sorry for Margot getting conned when she lives her life doing so. But if you ask me to choose sides I’m, of course, going to choose Margot. This time anyway.

This con that she and Felicity perpetrated — they needed to steal this super rare super expensive bottle of scotch. It’s something like a hundred thou per shot. Did you notice who Margot was trying to score the bottle for? She wanted Kensington to become the supplier for Matthew Keegan, who was played by the very awesome Brennan Elliott aka the host of the fictional TV show Everlasting on Lifetime’s UnREAL. Also, he is a staple of various Hallmark Channel movies and series. Love. Him.

And as we know, Felicity got to him first. You recognized Brennan, right? I know you did. You’re as big an UnREAL fan as I am.

Cortney: I did! Although his role was far less entertaining here.

Tina: That’s because he was barely on. Boo.

Cortney: Okay, back to the romancin’, Justine & Eddie and Margot & Felicity weren’t the only duos pairing off this episode. Margot and Danny also had a brief elevator tryst and I have to admit that while Justine & Eddie’s front door make-out session frustrated me, this one frustrated me that and then some. But more in a “what are you thinking, Danny?!” type way than anything else. The whole time they were making out, I was trying to figure out if the elevator doors were still open because I couldn’t imagine he would be THAT stupid. Turns out I was wrong. He was. And then some.

I honestly can’t even wrap my head around what he was thinking. Did he want Sophie to see? And if so, why?? Then to add insult to injury, his biggest concern after was that Sophie was going to tell Val and Alice….really?! I mean, its like he never had feelings for Sophie at all. And throwing that Tommy line back at her was just uncool. However, I will say that I really enjoyed how Sophie handled it, not only did she mock him by pointing out that he “felt a real connection to a murderer” but the looks on her face as he repeatedly tried to impress Margot like a pathetic puppy dog were priceless. Especially since Margot barely gave him the time of day. Danny is just digging himself further and further into a hole and you know that isn’t going to lead anywhere good.

Tina, I know you’re a big Danny/Sophie fan, so what did you think of his inane stupidity?

Tina: I still am a Danny/Sophie fan but I must confess, I am a fan of this twisted thing he has going on with Margot. I think Danny had every right to go after someone else after Sophie’s weirdness with Tommy, but having said that, one has to question his decision process. Margot’s not someone you build a relationship with yet like you said, he sort of acts like a pouty puppy when she doesn’t give him the validation he needs. This isn’t what anyone would call healthy.

I do think he wanted to get caught. Maybe he wants Sophie to be the reasonable voice he doesn’t seem to be able to channel for himself right now. It was a little sad, however, to see Danny really wanting Sophie to keep this a secret from Val and Alice. Last week I saw the sparks between Danny and Sophie reignite. This week they were gone again. I’m a little perplexed.

Random Notes

-There are only two episodes left. Is Val going to get another chance to shine this season? I hope so. She hasn’t been getting the opportunity to do much of anything (or anyone — #missyouagentdao) recently.

-Love that Troy’s a hugger. I want him to be in the final two episodes. I feel like if this show ever got a third season, he’d make an awesome series regular addition.

-Rhys STILL hasn’t met Tessa. This needs to happen.

-The Ben and Justine role-playing scene was a definite Moment of Goodness. Justine won, of course. Because that’s what Justine does.

-Ben knows everything about everything. He can make restaurant quality sushi and discuss the basics of gunrunning and semi-automatic weaponry. He’s awesome.

-I did love a particular conversation between Ben and Alice. Ben took the blame for Alice being immediately suspicious about Gretchen. Before him, she wouldn’t have suspected her at all. Since him she doesn’t trust anyone right off the bat.

-I adored Rhys asking if Justine was all right.

What They Said: Favorite Quotes from “The Knock-Off”

Alice: “Is she pretty?”
Valerie: “He definitely has a type.”

Alice: “I feel like I know you already.”

Tessa (about Felicity): “Am I about to have another stepmommy?”

Tessa (to Alice): “Hello, Stepmummy”

Ben (to Alice): “You changed me or at least made me want to change.”

Ben (to Alice about Ethan): He wants to know you still care.
Alice: Well I don’t. You don’t believe me. What can I do to convince you?
Ben: Do you take requests?

Alice: I kind of want to hug you right now.
Tessa: Oh, I think you should resist that urge.

Justine (to Eddie): “I’m so glad I’m the one that gets to do this. By the way, we’re getting divorced.”

The Catch airs Thursday nights at 10/9c on ABC