Hi All! Here’s a refresher before tonight’s episode.
In last weeks’ episode, we were treated to more of Alice‘s memories of her relationship with Christopher. Alice dreams about their first date, in which her subconscious kicks up clues that she probably feels that she should have picked up on. They are discussing how people are generally so into themselves that they aren’t interested in finding out about the other person, and when they do seem interested it’s because they want something. After a pregnant pause and a smile, Christopher says he’s interested. Cut to steamy naughty dream sequence. On the first date, Alice? Really? Did I mention that your kids should probably not be watching this show? Their date conversation continues with what each do for a living. Her job is 24/7 but she makes time for the important things. He is a Venture Capitalist, which, he flippantly explains, means he takes people’s money for a living. Any good lie has a kernel of truth, right?
At this point Alice wakes up, and eyes the painting. She makes the decision to bring in the firm’s newest recruit, lawyer and resident romantic Sophie Novak played by Elvy Yost. Sophie believes that Christopher is not messing with Alice’s head, but is actually saying that it was real. Alice thinks she should go to the museum and tell them everything, but Sophie advises against that plan for now. Sophie reminds Alice that they have a new client coming to the office, a very high profile one who has recently been acquitted of the murder of his very rich wife. Alice, from her perspective, is certain that he did it.
On the way to the office, she stops by the museum and discovers that the painting is there. Which one is the fake?
We find Christopher at a high end jewelry shop where he is telling the sales person that he needs a gift that says “I did something really bad, and I’m sorry”. The sales person goes off to the vault to find something appropriate, leaving Christopher free to look around at the other clientele. He circulates, very slickly lifting credit cards, watches and bracelets from the other shoppers.
Margot and Reggie meanwhile are planning a sting on a grieving Princess who is coming in to LA. They tell Christopher he cannot take part because he is burned; he is being sent to Shanghai where they will join him in a month.
While Alice is waiting at the office, she tasks Sophie with finding out if there is any way of telling which painting is fake. Partner Val is becoming progressively more pissed at her own ex, as he failed to show at their mediation session. The team gathers around a computer to watch clips of their soon to be client Jeffery Bloom (Adan Canto), being acquitted. Alice tells them that her gut is saying he did it, he had means and motive, and his alibi was a 4 hour opera during which he could have left, killed his wife, had dinner and still have been back in time to catch Act 3. Sophie thinks that it was a love story, Alice asks between whom; Jeff and his dead wife Edith Rockwell or Jeff and the $40 million dollar estate that he can now claim. Sophie says between Jeff and his new wife, award winning journalist Rebecca Bloom, played by Christine Woods, who believes he is innocent.
Jeff and Rebecca ask the firm to find out who really killed Edith. Rebecca tells them that the more she looked into Jeff’s case the more the evidence against him didn’t add up. She was so convinced that she not only fell in love with Jeff, she married him while he was still in prison waiting trial.
Jeff was a model (presumably penniless) and Edith a fashion designer which was how they met. They eventually married in spite of the 40 year age difference, which did not sit well with Edith’s son, Payton Rockwell (broody Greg Audino). Payton’s alibi is that he was in the bar, chatting up the bartender Tracy Lassin (Annabelle Borke).
The team takes a tour of the crime scene, Edith’s house. In Payton’s room, Danny finds his tablet. Rebecca points out that a very high Payton and his mother had an argument that night, presumably because of Jeff being the sole inheritor. Jeff says he and Edith were supposed to go to the opera with friends, but Edith was so upset by the fight that she stayed home, and he went alone. Ummmm, what happened to the friends? is the question I am asking myself. Tickets for the opera really aren’t cheap, so from my point of view, the friends would have gone anyway. Did anyone bother to question them during the original investigation? Anyway, I digress. The scene that Jeff found on his return looked like a robbery gone wrong. Jewels were missing and Edith had been strangled with her own scarf. Rebecca’s theory is that Payton did it, stealing the jewels to finance himself and his habit.
Meanwhile, Christopher has been sent packing to the airport, with a stern admonition to make no stops along the way.
Former Interpol and current FBI Agent Jules Dao is in a parked car outside of Alice’s office. Alice spots him and goes to confront him. Across the intersection, Christopher steps out of his ride, and stares longingly at Alice. Reggie has been following Christopher and tells him to get in the car. They see Agent Dao and realize that Christopher cannot leave, as all exits from the city will be covered. Agent Dao tells Alice that he has figured out that Mr X is Christopher Hall, her ex- fiance. She threatens to call his superior at the FBI.
Back in the office, she remembers some pillow talk. She had told him about her family, he tells her his are all dead. Convenient! Christopher tells Reggie that he is in love with Alice, and Reggie spells out what will happen to Alice if Margot finds out.
Meanwhile Danny and Sophie have found pictures of a beach house party complete with intimate pictures of Payton with bartender Tracy, on Payton’s tablet. Danny is tasked with finding out whose beach house it is, and Alice tracks Payton down to question him. Moody, broody Payton not only refuses to answer her questions, he backs into and pushes her car out of the way, and roars off, nearly clipping Alice in the process. What a JERK! Kind of points to him as the killer.
Christopher is told that the Middle-Eastern Princess (Medalion Rahimi) is not the mark. The real mark is her guardian and de facto controller of the kingdom Kassim Halabi ( Navid Negahban) The con is to get him to invest in some fictional, very expensive property development, but it has been discovered that the Princess does not plan to stay in LA long enough for them to work it. Christopher sees the opportunity to insert himself into the con. He shows up at the airport with a Hunter Green Austin Healey, the exact same car that was her father’s favorite. He whisks her away by letting her drive, leaving Kassim at the airport with Margot and Reggie. Christopher and the Princess have a conversation that fascinates the Princess enough that she decides she wants to stay in LA.
Danny has discovered that the beach house belonged to Payton’s grandparents. Sophie has found out the the artist of the painting always painted to the edge of the canvas which means that since a forger would only be able to paint what is inside the frame, this would be a way to determine which is the fake. Alice opens the back of her painting, to discover that the edges are painted. The painting in the museum is the fake. Sophie and Alice decide that they will not tell Val yet, but will instead find the forger, and use him or her to find Christopher.
Danny and Alice go to the beach house to try to find the missing jewels. Danny searches the house, Alice the property. She searches some kayaks stored under the pier, stepping in some oily gook. She finds the jewels, making it look bad for Payton. Payton is in the wind now which really makes him look guilty. Alice decides that since she was so wrong about this case, she should take time off. Val won’t let her.
Sophie has found the forger and has coerced the name of her client, one Julian Mersch. She has cross referenced this name with Christopher Hall and has found two obituaries, both with tragic back stories and no family, and both published in the NY Tribune. Alice and Sophie realize that this is how they can trap Christopher.
Alice revisits Jeff and Edith’s house to see if she can find any other clues about where Payton might be. She takes her shoes off when she realizes that they still have oily gook on them. While she is searching Payton’s room, she hears someone enter the house, so she grabs the nearest bat and waits. It is Jeff. She tells him that she hasn’t found anything yet, and notices that he has oily gook on his shoes. AhHA! She tries to leave, accusing him of feeding her the information she needed to frame Payton for him. He says that he can’t be tried again for the same crime. Rebecca is behind him, and has overheard his confession. Jeff lets Alice leave (??), she calls Danny and orders a security team while she can hear a very loud domestic going on inside the house, followed by a thump and the sound of a body falling down the stairs. She re-enters the house to find Jeff at the bottom of the stairs dead, and a blood spattered Rebecca in shock at the top. Alice can sympathize with how Rebecca is feeling.
Sophie has found a death that fits Christophers’ pattern. She and Alice realize that if they place an obituary, they can use it to track Christopher when he uses the dead guys’ social security number to build a new identity.
Later that night, Agent Dao shows up at Alice’s house to apologize, she is no longer a suspect in the investigation but what kind of detective would he be if he didn’t follow up on every lead? She closes the door in his face. She then places the obituary for Micheal Thorne in the NY Tribune, while Agent Dao is in his car listening in. He has placed a miniscule bug on her door.
Cut to Christopher reading the paper in the lobby of the hotel where the Princess is staying. She confesses that she really is the Princess Zara Al-Salim, and asks him if that bothers him. He introduces himself as Micheal Thorne, and tells her it does not.
I confess that I do not have any favorite moments for this episode. In fact, I am beginning to think that the whole premise for the show may be fatally flawed, in spite of starring Mireille Enos. But hey, I initially found The Killing boring as hell, so I will be watching tonight to see if The Catch can change my mind.
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