S01.E02: A Sparkling Reputation

[Guest]

Quote

After Daphne sets a quick turnaround for payment, the Nicolettis devise a plan to steal a valuable necklace at an auction. As Emma and Charlie are both pursuing Daphne, their worlds nearly collide.

Air date: February 26, 2023

[AnimeMania]

Michael Reilly Burke as Claude Ellsworth

Kristin Carey as Mrs. Ellsworth
Josh Braaten as CIA Director
Rahul Nath as auctioneer

For some reason this show continues to rub me the wrong way, Charlie shows up late to his date at a fancy restaurant and I thought he looked like rubbish, then they go park in an alley and make out next to a dumpster filled with actual rubbish, "how romantic", I am surprised this wasn't the "Valentine's Day" episode. The con although it had more twists and turns than the last one, still didn't interest me that much.

Birdie is still the MVP of the show, although I am starting to like Emma's Dad and her Brother.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Didn't Charlie dump Emma at the end of last episode? 🤨

 

[Trini]

Good, I got what I wanted: more info on Emma's family. I liked the relationship between her and her brother -- but that was the one that was most fleshed out, though. I don't think they gave a reason why Emma is living with her parents? I'm sure she could afford to be out of there if she wanted.

So, baby steps with Charlie and Emma. They do have chemistry, but the show still has a ways to go to convince me that this relationship can last long-term. Also, making out in a van is kinda a step down from the previous episode.

William Fichtner is always great. Him being here is just a great bonus.

So Daphne has already identified Emma -- kind of soonish for that plot twist? Hmm - her finding out about Charlie and Emma might come sooner than I thought!

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Didn't Charlie dump Emma at the end of last episode? 🤨

 

No. He went to her later and told her he was lying. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

8 minutes ago, Dani said:

No. I went to her later and told her he was lying. 

Pardon?

Edited February 27, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

Pardon?

That’s what happened in the last episode after he told her he wasn’t interested at the fundraiser. Did I misunderstand your question?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Can you elaborate a bit about what he said, because I have forgotten this.

Can somebody explain Daphne's whole deal to me?

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Can you elaborate a bit about what he said, because I have forgotten this.

He told her that he wanted to take her on a date and that he was lying when he said there wasn’t something between them. It was right before he told his sister he wanted to go for one last score so they could all get out. 

[Trini]

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

He told her that he wanted to take her on a date and that he was lying when he said there wasn’t something between them. It was right before he told his sister he wanted to go for one last score so they could all get out. 

Tumblr for the win: the whole conversation where they decide to try again in GIF form: https://bodybebangin.tumblr.com/post/709804326341705728

----

But back to this episode: So Daphne is the Mobster's daughter? That doesn't really change anything; at least for me. But now it looks like they might be exploring a third set of complicated family dynamics. Which might be too much?

[Ms Blue Jay]

9 minutes ago, Dani said:

He told her that he wanted to take her on a date and that he was lying when he said there wasn’t something between them. It was right before he told his sister he wanted to go for one last score so they could all get out. 

Thank you!

5 minutes ago, Trini said:

Tumblr for the win: the whole conversation where they decide to try again in GIF form: https://bodybebangin.tumblr.com/post/709804326341705728

----

But back to this episode: So Daphne is the Mobster's daughter? That doesn't really change anything; at least for me. But now it looks like they might be exploring a third set of complicated family dynamics. Which might be too much?

Thank you!

[buttersister]

William Fichtner is the MVP. As usual.

[Dowel Jones]

Methinks the little kid is going to play a large part in the series with her pickpocket skills.

You would think that, at a large public auction, someone in charge of research would have discovered that the jewel was in fact stolen from a temple.  It was rather prominently displayed.

[CarpeFelis]

14 hours ago, Dani said:

No. I went to her later and told her he was lying. 

The misunderstanding was because you said “I” instead of “he” here.

I liked Emma’s brother and dad. The mom, not so much. It may be a struggle to keep Emma’s actual job under wraps around her for long because she seems like the type to be intrusive and pushy.

Nothing against Polly Draper but this show would be more fun if Katey Sagal was playing Charlie’s mom.

[Sarah 103]

I like that in one scene, they completely set up and defined the relationship between Emma and David. From the few lines of dialogue, I now have a great sense of what their relationship was like when they were younger, especially as teenagers. 

[KaveDweller]

21 hours ago, Trini said:

Good, I got what I wanted: more info on Emma's family. I liked the relationship between her and her brother -- but that was the one that was most fleshed out, though. I don't think they gave a reason why Emma is living with her parents? I'm sure she could afford to be out of there if she wanted.

I think she was living with the guy who she caught cheating on her in the pilot. Not sure if it was a boyfriend or a husband. But my impression was she moved in with her parents when that blew up, until she gets a new place.

[Simba122504]

All of these family ties are annoying. Even the villains are tied by blood. I'm still not feeling the main couple, but the series is still a fun time killer. 

[circumvent]

This show recycles too many old plots from different shows and movies.

The super villain: the woman is flawless, she is the smartest, she sees all. She has resources everywhere and gets what she wants. 

The criminal family: are we supposed to glorify crime just because the family is tight nit and have a cute and smart kid? I don't care who they are stealing from, it is still a crime. Unlike Leverage, they are not helping people, just themselves.

The romance between people who lie: the whole season will be the family trying to pay the super villains, missing by a little each time, and/or increasing their debt so the writers have more "ideas" for episodes. The two main characters are going to cross each other's path often, not knowing they are so close and fighting the same "enemy". At some point they will see who they really are and then Emma will either hide the fact she is dating/not dating a criminal, becoming a criminal herself, or enlist Charlie as an informant/consultant, which he will accept because otherwise he goes to jail

The kid will be kidnapped more or less half way through the season. She might manage to scape by herself because she is so awesome, or the character will fade to the background. 

None of this is new, all of it - or a version of it - will happen.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Dammit. I realize that despite its many flaws that I’m going to keep watching.  I just hope they don’t learn who the other really is for at least two seasons.  

[Trini]

On 3/1/2023 at 9:23 AM, circumvent said:

The criminal family: are we supposed to glorify crime just because the family is tight nit and have a cute and smart kid? I don't care who they are stealing from, it is still a crime. Unlike Leverage, they are not helping people, just themselves.

Yeah, this definitely will be an issue going forward. I mean, are they going to be conning/stealing from a supposedly worse criminal every time?

[Dowel Jones]

As long as the family is more photogenic than their targets, I guess so.

[desertflower]

I’m not sure how long this show will last but I find it fun. I started watching because of Milo and I always love a good con/heist story. William Fichtner is always great, I first remember him from As the World Turns in the 80s when I was a teen. it’s weird though that last week they mentioned he was starting to have memory problems yet they still use him in these cons. Seems risky. 

The scene where they go to the shipping container and realize they’ve been made reminded me of a great scene from the awesome movie Heat, where the cops go to an area where they had seen the bank robbers plotting something, but then they realize it was a trick to get the cops out in the open. “We just got made!” I love it. (And hey, William Fichtner was also in Heat, though not that scene.)

Edited March 4, 2023 by desertflower

[UncleChuck]

Seems like Emma could make a smarter choice about her living arrangements.  As a super-secret, as in super-super-secret spy working for a fake, super secret organization, the LAST place she should be living is at home with nosey, buttinsky, helicopter mom.

 

[gingerella]

1 hour ago, UncleChuck said:

Seems like Emma could make a smarter choice about her living arrangements.  As a super-secret, as in super-super-secret spy working for a fake, super secret organization, the LAST place she should be living is at home with nosey, buttinsky, helicopter mom.

 

Yes but she's the daughter of Asian parents and culturally, it's very normal for a daughter to live at home until she marries, even today. So I just assumed that's why she lived at home. Her parents seem like a handful so I'm guessing her moving out to live alone isn't up for discussion.

I'm liking this show, stumbled onto it and I like when the scsm ramps unto place because I'm never quite sure who's doing what to whom. It's like Sopranos Lite.

[Deskisamess]

I'm liking the show, but there are a bunch of weak points. One of the key players has beginning dementia issues, making him extremely undependable with short term memory necessary to run the scams. Milo's character keeps doing really stupid stuff, like walking out of the rich folk's house with a bag full of money, then sitting in the van to make a phone call. He is constantly distracted by his crush.

And those rich folks? Live in a huge home right on the street? And the house has a fuse box? When people have the kind of money they were supposed to have, they would live in a gated community, and the house wouldn't be 40 feet from the road. And the fuse box, if there had been one, would have long ago been replaced by breakers. There would be cameras everywhere, with a full security staff watching those cameras 24/7.

The show is fun, but not believable.

[circumvent]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:48 AM, desertflower said:

it’s weird though that last week they mentioned he was starting to have memory problems yet they still use him in these cons. Seems risky. 

It is by design. They are setting up for a plot involving him and his lack of memory, he will put everyone in jeopardy and someone will then save the day. The episode writes itself, it is another recycled script, on a semi-recycled show. 

I will watch for a while, at least but still think Leverage did it much better.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, gingerella said:

Yes but she's the daughter of Asian parents and culturally, it's very normal for a daughter to live at home until she marries, even today. So I just assumed that's why she lived at home. Her parents seem like a handful so I'm guessing her moving out to live alone isn't up for discussion.

Most of the people I grew up with are Asian and I don't find it common at all.

[gingerella]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Most of the people I grew up with are Asian and I don't find it common at all.

People where I live, about half the daughters stay at home until they marry. 

[Dowel Jones]

13 hours ago, UncleChuck said:

Seems like Emma could make a smarter choice about her living arrangements.  As a super-secret, as in super-super-secret spy working for a fake, super secret organization, the LAST place she should be living is at home with nosey, buttinsky, helicopter mom.

She could always go for the 'truth is stranger than fiction' move:  "Mom, I work for the CIA".  "Don't lie to me.  You've been working all this time as a lingerie model, haven't you?"  Case closed.

[Raja]

On 3/6/2023 at 8:17 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Most of the people I grew up with are Asian and I don't find it common at all.

Well the Hill's are a political dynasty in the making so not exactly normal as appearances must be kept up for the family business just like the Nicoletti's have their  characters when working. Being a Pan-Asian Chinese and Korean family according to wiki I haven't picked up how many generations removed from the ancestral homes  they are. Could the Senator have run for President or was he the immigrant?

[Sandman]

What’s the CIA doing chasing some mobster, anyway? The Company is not law enforcement. (And has no domestic mandate at all, I thought.)

[Raja]

9 minutes ago, Sandman said:

What’s the CIA doing chasing some mobster, anyway? The Company is not law enforcement. (And has no domestic mandate at all, I thought.)

The mobster is from a gang operating in Ireland and instead of the CIA just offering information for  the gang's US operations, they have an FBI Agent along for the legalities. It would be like a Coast Guardsman aboard a US Navy ship chasing drug smugglers.