'The Catch' Review: "Pilot"

Jess Guida ’19 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

For years, ABC has found success through Shonda Rhimes, the woman who created Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and most recently executive produced How To Get Away With Murder. All three shows have been major hits, gaining both media buzz and critical acclaim. Now, Rhimes has moved forward to produce yet another primetime drama, The Catch, which looks like it may end up being another win for ABC.
The series is set in Los Angeles, California and centered around an elite team of private investigators at Anderson/Vaughan Investigations who use their skills to catch con artists, criminals, and everything in between. The Catch has created a world in which they utilize a style of fast-paced storytelling. Instead of creating a confusing environment though, it’s completely enticing and makes watching the overall story unfold even more interesting.

Mireille Enos leads the cast as Alice Vaughn, LA’s top private investigator, who is definitely not a woman you want to mess with. She leads the team, alongside her partner Valerie Anderson (Rose Rollins), and flawlessly demonstrates wit, sex appeal, and unwavering strength. However, her seemingly perfect life and persona is shattered when her fiancé, Christopher Hall (Peter Krause), cons her out of millions of dollars and disappears. It is irony at its best, for the woman who catches con artists for a living has now been conned by one. From there, the story is set up to be the ultimate cat and mouse game between Alice and Christopher—whose real name is Benjamin Jones—but it just wouldn’t be a Shonda Rhimes show if it wasn’t laced with some surprises.
As it turns out, Benjamin was also playing with Alice on a professional level. He was the elusive one known to the team as Mr. X, who consistently sent them the message “Are you ready to play?” before pulling off a scam on one of their clients. However, Benjamin was not working alone. Benjamin and Reggie Lenox (Alimi Ballard) were working for Margot Bishop (Sonya Walger), who doubles as their team’s mastermind and Benjamin’s lover.

The two sides of this conflict seem pretty black and white. The investigators at Anderson/Vaughan Investigations are the good guys while Benjamin, Reggie, and Margot are the bad guys. But, the line is not so distinct when it comes to Benjamin and his feelings for Alice. It is clear that the show is falling into the sort of overdone idea that Alice started out as a mark and then turned into someone he fell in love with, so will Benjamin end up being the bad guy? It’s hard to tell at this point, but the most interesting aspect of the Alice/Benjamin dynamic is what happens at the end of the pilot. Basically, Alice agrees to play this game that Benjamin has created, and the anticipation of that is enough to hook fans and keep them coming back for more.
As far as acting performances go, Enos is definitely the one to watch in this episode. Not only is she committed to the strength and certainty of Alice Vaughn, but she also dives into the vulnerability and betrayal that she feels after she finds out that her fiancé is not who she thought he was. Krause as Benjamin was also pleasantly surprising. Since the actor had just recently ended his six-year run as Adam Braverman on NBC’s Parenthood, it was unknown whether he would be able to shake that dependable, good-guy character, but he definitely transformed and became the mysterious Benjamin.

Walger’s Margot Bishop will also be fun to watch as the series moves forward. Although there wasn’t much of a chance to explore her character in the pilot, her position and her dynamic with Alice and Benjamin will create an interesting and highly anticipated conflict.
The pilot episode of this new crime drama set the tone for the series and laid out the premise for the plot. With Rhimes on board and their new spot in the TGIT line up on ABC, The Catch is going to be a show to watch out for.

Overall Grade: B+