Wild Cards’ Betrayal-Tinged Finale Cements This CW Procedural as Must-See TV

After just 10 episodes, the first season of The CW’s delightful consultant procedural Wild Cards has come to an end, but not without bringing its most heart-pounding case and a healthy dose of heart-wrenching drama. The series, which has been essential appointment viewing each week since its premiere in January, rounded out its first season with a major gut-punch, all leading into a potential second season that is hopefully on the horizon. (Seriously, CW, can we do more than eye a renewal?) 

Wild Cards follows disgraced detective Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and conwoman Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan) as they attempt to work together to solve cases after being assigned as partners; if they succeed, Ellis gets his badge and desk back, and Max stays out of jail. In the finale, the series answers for the major cliffhanger at the end of Episode 9 by introducing Olivier (Dewshane Williams), Max’s husband and uncatchable, international thief. Max makes him an offer he can’t refuse: a second chance at an egg worth a cool $33 million, but what he doesn’t know is that she’s playing him—to get revenge for his role in getting her father put in jail, Max makes a deal with Ellis and the police force to finally nab Olivier. But in a final excruciating twist, Max was running an entire other con of her own, catching Ellis in the crossfire. 

In a season that featured polyamorous witchy cults, murder on the set of a vampire TV show, more references to movies and TV than I could actually count, and various classic procedural set-ups (Max getting caught in a bank robbery-turned-hostage situation was a particular highlight), ending with one final, major heist was the perfect way to wrap up the season. By creating a con within a con within a con, the series edges closer to the smart pacing and plotting of its consultant procedural peers, while also setting itself apart in its final moments. Instead of catching her flight to freedom with the egg and her mysterious accomplice Ricky (Fletcher Donovan), insurance in hand, Max makes a detour; she shows up to Ellis’ houseboat, coming face-to-face with the man she just betrayed for a payout. And even though Ellis doesn’t want to hear it, Max makes one final plea before the season cuts to black: she knows who killed Ellis’ brother, and she has proof on that flash drive (first seen in Episode 5). 

Max’s con puts her in direct opposition to Ellis after spending the entire season being both partners and eventually friends (with something more definitely brewing under the surface), so it’s difficult to imagine that things can ever go back to the way they were. If anything, the finale sets up a second season more akin to a cat and mouse game, where Ellis keeps good on his promise to “hunt [Max] down” were she to ever end up on the opposite side of the law as him, and Max “expects nothing less” from their once-partnership. Or, if Max decides to stick around after handing Ellis the flash drive, a second season that features our favorite dynamic duo as reluctant partners once again could be brewing as well. Either option would be an interesting twist that could spell an end to the delightful case-of-the-week shenanigans we have come to know and love from this season so far, but allow for Wild Cards to enter a new era of storytelling that separates it even more distinctly from its inspirations. It will always share DNA with Psych, Castle, and White Collar (especially since the series so lovingly riffs on the genre these shows thrived within), but this shake-up is extremely exciting for the future of the series, and will allow it more freedom with its episodic structure and within the central relationship between Max and Ellis. 

Speaking of which… Max and Ellis’ slow-burn relationship has been a delight to watch blossom throughout the course of the season. From their very first kiss in the first episode (all for show, of course) to the very real almost-kiss from Episode 9, these two have made each other better in every sense of the word. Max forced Ellis to open up, finally letting himself get close to someone again for the first time since losing his brother, being demoted, and closing himself off; her belief in him allowed him to finally earn his detective badge back. And Ellis clearly made an impact on Max too; her father always told her to never trust anyone outside of her family and to be careful when making connections, but it’s clear that Max wholly and truly trusts and cares about Ellis.

The fact that she showed up with the flash drive is all the proof anyone needs that she has actual, real feelings for Ellis (whether that be deep friendship or a blossoming romantic interest), and Max all but sacrificing a clean getaway and a free future to make sure Ellis gets closure for his brother’s murder is incredibly satisfying development for a character that has been the genuine heart of this show. From the beginning of the season, it was tough to parse out whether or not Max’s show of empathy towards those she swooned to get answers (like the under-appreciated secretary in Episode 2 or the blackmailed teenagers in Episode 7) were just a means to an end or a genuine connection, but her sacrifice for Ellis at the end of the episode cemented her status as a deeply caring and genuine person, cons and all. 

Overall, Wild Cards’ final episode was a perfect ending to a funny, delightful, and endlessly entertaining season, and I can only hope that this is just the beginning for this series. It’s a new entry in a subgenre that TV has been sorely missing, led by an undeniably charming cast and a writers’ room that clearly has a true love and appreciation for the medium and the genre; it’s the kind of series that you just can’t help but want to see succeed. Here’s hoping for a second outing, but in the meantime, I’ll be rewatching this first season, as its breezy cases and silly humor will be deeply missed as the spring season rolls on. 

Wild Cards is now streaming in full on The CW app.

Anna Govert is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For any and all thoughts about TV, film, and her unshakable love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you can follow her @annagovert.

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