Wild Cards – Season 1 Episode 7 “Con With the Wind” Recap & Review

Con With the Wind

Episode 7 of Wild Cards brings a new partner for Max and Ellis. George has got a three-day furlough – on account of his help with the previous case – which has coincided with his birthday. The daughter-father duo are all set to spend quality time with each other…until Ellis calls for help. JJ, a teen boy Ellis’ brother Daniel was helping, is in trouble. He has been arrested for breaking into and entering a house.

JJ goes to the Preswood Academy, a highly expensive school where he is on a scholarship. He is very talented and Daniel helped him get into the school. However, his future is in jeopardy given this development. A drone that JJ made is found on the site of the robbed house. He pleads his innocence to Ellis, who gets them 24 hours by requesting Chief Li to delay processing him to a juvenile home.

Max accepts the callup but George decides to accompany her. While investigating the homeowner, Ellis learns that she was in Italy when it went down. The alarms were not triggered but strangely, she learnt about the robbery because she heard the cries of a baby on her nanny monitor.

Dana, the principal of Preswood, does not cooperate with Ellis, making him take the harder, “wilder” way. Max and George set up a ploy where the former gets access to the school playing a substitute teacher. JJ’s friends in the robotics class – Brittany, Vince, and Anne – are persons of interest. JJ said earlier that the drone is kept in the school’s lab, to which they all have access.

Anne is “mothering” a robot baby, which is a science experiment. It mimics everything a real one does. This allows Ellis to connect the dots and conclude that Anne was present at the time of the robbery – because of the baby’s cries. To confirm, Max smartly takes the baby out of Anne’s possession and her friend Ricky does the rest. Anne was indeed at the site of not just one robbery but two others as well. 

Meanwhile, Ellis’ confidence in JJ is shaken when the campus’ security footage reveals that he hacked into the servers and tampered with them on the night of the robbery. JJ refuses to tell Ellis the reason behind it but maintains his innocence. Simmons, who is worried that Ellis might be making the same mistake that got him demoted by becoming too emotionally involved, tries to get an answer out of JJ. But he is unsuccessful. 

Anne confesses to the accusations. She says that the robotics trio robbed the houses. Upon digging a bit more, Ellis and Max learn that the trio were propositioned to rob by a secret society called the Skull and Key. It is considered the most prestigious group that can skyrocket any member’s career. JJ is left off the hook as a result but still won’t concede why he tampered with the footage. It might get him expelled from the school but he is willing to take the hit. 

Dana, who is herself part of the society, confirms that the letters the trio received are forgeries. Yaes and Simmons learn that the cleaning staff on all three robberies is the same.

Estelle and Teresa are tricked by George and Max to rob again. And they take the bait. The police and the robotics trio make a plan where the latter pretends to follow the instructions of robbing the place. This way, if anyone is watching them, they won’t get suspicious. The stolen goods are left at the drop-off place –  a dustbin at the school.

Despite keeping a watchful eye, the police are outsmarted by the mastermind. He uses a hole at the bottom of the bin to take it without alerting anyone. However, one tiny detail that Ellis observed helps them catch the mastermind. It is Christoper Day, a teacher at the school, who is about to retire. Ellis saw the bandage on his hand, which he contracted while retrieving the stolen goods as the opening at the bottom of the bin was too small. Day exclaims that his paltry pension left him no other options.

When Vince comes to Ellis’ boat where JJ is working with him, the true reason behind the tampering of the footage is revealed. JJ and Vince were in a relationship. Each night, JJ would sneak off to meet with him. But Vince’s parents have no idea about his orientation. Hence, to protect him, JJ wouldn’t divulge the reason and it is also why Vince actively tried to protect JJ during the investigation. 

The Episode Review

Episode 7 is undoubtedly the best one in Season 1 so far. I know I have said it before but this one feels complete, like a template that the makers can follow for the future. The weight of the drama is perfect, the characters are emotionally involved, and the pacing isn’t pushy either.

However, the shades of forced comedy indicate that the department needs marked improvement, although Vanessa Morgan is effortlessly charming. Her personality suits her character’s traits. She breezes through her dialogue and elevates their appeal. 

Jason Priestly gets an opportunity to shine in this episode and he nails it. Perhaps he should be freed from jail for the rest of the season! He has the best lines in the episode and also does justice to them. The buildup to Max’s perspective about her childhood vis-a-vis the Preswood Academy culminates in a meaningful father-daughter reunion.

A few more scenes between Simmons, Li, and Ellis could have made a further impact. When Simmons gets concerned with how involved Ellis has become with the case, I feel it could have become a larger part of his character’s arc. Anyway, Wild Cards has progressively become better in recent weeks and Episode 7 is the icing on the cake.