No cold open this week. Just the classic credits set to Beastie Boys' "Sabotage".
The catwalk above the shark tank collapses
Mac disarms the bomb with an ice sculpture
Nash slides across the roof of the building into the stolen bus and blows a kiss
Maddie slow motion walking into the Paris club
Mac in a bikini on a beach
Nash drops the Sisi Star from his hand on the roof of the Sydney Opera House
Maddie drops the sandbag onto Dawn Montana
Mac hands out a ton of of fake Sisi Stars
Danya directing Nash with her hands on proper tough guy etiquette
Nash and Ninotchka going through the bus window
Mac hands off the dossier out of nowhere to Raphael
Maddie shoves Cormac in the portable fridge
Danya and Luke face off in the hotel room
Luke picks up the Scotch as it arrives in the VIP room
Nash getting hit on by Katherine Hanratty while wearing a priest outfit
Maddie gets Raphael's necklace
Luke brutally taking out his competition
Luke having a drink with Julia
Danya dances a jig with the archbishop
Nash handcuffed to the bed
Maddie holding a gun in a swimsuit
Luke punching out the DJ
Nash surrounded by K-Rome's crew
Mac offering a cutting sideways glance
Danya leaning against the doorway before dealing with K-Rome's crew
Maddie admiring K-Rome's obnoxiously overblinged Desert Eagle
Luke on stage with Loretta
Nash ziplines into the thugs
Maddie giving her leadership speech
The door shuts on Danya and Sterling
Cairo. City of the living. We're back to a standard opening after last week. Though there only seem to be three members of the crew listening to Mr. X and the Red Smartphone in the redressed Penthouse.
Luke, Mac and Nash get the lowdown this week. The game in Cairo is to hit a mark by selling him a worthless artifact for a ton of money. The bigger the difference between how much the item is worth and how much the get for it, the better they do. If you can believe it, Luke is even more openly contentious of Mr. X than before. His dislike of the organizer of the competition has started to infect the rest of his team.
Mac hands Luke the list of Marks...I mean, auction attendees. She also points out a technicality.
MAC: He said that our score is based on the difference between what we paid for it and what we sell it for. If we steal it , it doesn't cost us anything, right?
One name stands out: Skylar Koss. Nash has a history with this technological wunderkind, Mac fears/respects him, and Luke decided that it's time for Nash to step up an run a job. Nash bounces off some ideas off the Crewmembers there and suddenly finds himself with a drink in his hand now that he's the Mastermind.
LUKE: Don't mind him, he's drunk. (takes a sip from his own drink)
Nash's plan slowly comes together. It's interesting to watch Nash and Luke interact here and walk the like between Nash coming up with his own ideas and Luke steer them in the right direction.
LUKE: Boss, if I can make a suggestion...
Skylar likes to use his money to lord over people he knows. Nash had a part in his rise by conning his father. They never quite got along, so Nash is going to convince Skylar he wants an item and that Skylar taking it would ruin his day. Nash sets off to find his Grifter and Hitter. Luke decides he'll do his own thing until he's needed.
NASH: Thank you for coming...
Danya and Maddie are in an open bar somewhere in Cairo. The table is loaded with empty glasses and the briefcase full of money Luke delivered back to Danya. Their conversation can be summed up by the following exchange:
DANYA: Fucking Luke.
MADDIE: RIGHT?!?!
Nash delivers the briefing in his own unique manner. The way everyone is drinking, The Hangover is going to be epic.
NASH: Our mission, should we choose to accept it-
MADDIE: Will you blow up after telling us this?
NASH: If I have two more of these...
Meanwhile, Luke is being proactive and stealing the item the Crew wants to use in the con. He's also got his own bulletin boards set up with a backup plan should Nash fail. Everything goes relatively smoothly, right up until we realize who Luke is stealing from. The canoptic jar was Stolen From CIA Section Chief Daniel Copeland. No wonder Luke has No Friends Left.
Nash handles the briefing well, explaining how the Crew will target Skylar's jealous streak, but Maddie trips him up as usual.
DANYA:Are you calling me a toy?
MADDIE: In a good way.
NASH: Uh, where was I in the explanation?
MADDIE: Jealous?
Luke delivers the jar the next morning in a theatrical manner. He brings in a breakfast cart and reveals it by pulling off the main course dome.
DANYA:What is the artistic shit around it?
LUKE: Fruit salad.
Mac tells the team where the jar came from. Danya is unhappy about it and storms out.
LUKE: It's because I'm black isn't it?
Nash sets up Luke and Danya's role in the plan. Once Skylar is primed by Nash and Maddie, Luke and Danya will play the sellers and coax Skylar to bid higher.
NASH: Are you cool with being black Indiana Jones?
After Nash lays out the plan, Luke confirms how this is going to run.
LUKE: So you going to piss off the Mark, draw his aggression to you, and let everyone else take him down while he's distracted?
NASH: Yeah, good plan, isn't it?
Mac has to put the jar on the block first. She hacks it, but she also discovers KossWare Protects the Auction. So her hacking the auction itself might be tough on the fly.
Everyone but Luke heads out to Apep, a high-class club to rendezvous with the Mark. Skylar Koss proves to be an epic tool and a shadowy reflection of the privileged rich kid Nash could have been. Nash convinces Skylar that Danya is the Princess of Monaco. To establish her cred, Mac engineers a purchase of the club in the Princesses name. Skylar almost gets scared off to another club but Nash recovers just in time for Skylar to insist upon firing one of his bartenders just because he can.
Luke gets info on the auction while the rest of the Crew is at Apep. While casing the joint, he notices another criminal is also out and about.Seems someone else has designs on the auction. A quick call to Mac who gets the info while dancing at the club. The rival is Sulemain al-Masri, a local boy looking to move up to an international status.
Luke lays out the story for Skylar and suggests that whoever picks up the jar will win the attention of Maddie's affections. This hits Skylar right in his Spoiled Punk.
LUKE: Attaboy, Nash.
Of course, Skylar makes his case for getting both Maddie and Danya in the sack. See, Skylar Wants It All.
SKYLAR: I was with someone like her for a couple months. We crashed out at her family's castle. It was like fucking in Narnia, dude.
Maddie steps up to complete the sales pitch. Skylar shows his interest and whips off a quick text. Skylar Knows Dr. Hawass, the foremost expert on Egyptian artifacts. Mac swoops in with a neat drink tray gadget that also pulls the info off Skylar's phone. She can't recall the text but at least they'll know if Dr. Hawass gets back to him.
SKYLAR: Great. Mom's here.
Skylar's sister Regan shows up and chucks a wet blanket over everything. Regan is the Responsible Sibling and Nash realises the company will be in better hands once he takes down his old friend. Except Regan is none to pleased to see Nash.
NASH: Sorry he's a little messed up. That's my fault.
REGAN: You don't even know how right you are.
Regan tells him that Nash's stunt didn't just lose Leonard six figures. Skylar pulled the rug right from underneath the old man and leveraged his way into the CEO spot. Skylar pushed his dad into alcoholism and Regan makes it clear that she thinks Nash helped.
Nash broods back at the hotel. Mac sets up Luke and Danya in another hotel to help their cover identity. Also, because it's hilarious. Luke and Danya have it out. Luke apologizes for what happened in Malta. It doesn't help much because Danya leaves in frustration.
LUKE: I handled that badly, didn't I, Mac? I know you're listening.
MAC: ...I'm pretty sure it's only me.
He chases after and Luke kisses Danya. Huh. Figured they'd save that for the finale next week. Her reaction? A commercial break?!?! You guys suck.
The auction day arrives and Skylar is there in full hangover recovery mode. Skylar Has His Secrets, too. He talks with Luke and his on Danya in full Sexy Librarian mode. The bidding starts and Luke realizes something is wrong. Nash is Skylar's Best Frenemy. Skylar has brought Sulemain in to just take the artifacts rather than bid on them.
Sulemain soon strikes and Sulemain Brought His Top Crew. Skylar has His Secrets
Luke and Danya are trapped inside the auction. Nash, Maddie and Mac have to break in while the others fight their way out. Nash knows how Luke will handle his side of things.
NASH: He's going to be pissing someone off any minute now.
Luke and Danya make a formidable team. His power and her mobility make short work of the thieves. Luke calls in his old friend because Danny Boy Goes Way Back. Maddie also reveals that she Also Knows Dr. Hawass Through Eric just as she debunks the jar in front of Skylar.
The wrap-up occurs on the balcony of the Crew's penthouse.
Luke settles up with Station Chief Daniel Copeland. Sulemain's boys flip on him under CIA interrogation.
Dany crept into Luke's secondary headquarters and read the boards he has set up to back up Nash's plans. She was aware of both sets of plans and able to mesh them deftly.
Mac went over Danya's head and contacted her sister Alexa for information on the legality of Skylar's claims. She pulls evidence of Skylar's wrongdoing. The money Leonard Koss lost wasn't the reason he became an alcoholic. Skylar pushing him out is what did it. During the conversation she discovers something else. Alexa has never heard of Agent Poston.
Maddie brings in Dr. Hawass to look at the artifact to verify it. It's not worth what Skylar has ended paying up for it. He inquires about Eric for some lovely awkwardness. Looks like Maddie hasn't forgiven Luke for what he did.
Nash gets Regan installed as CEO of KossWare. Though their rift is not fully closed, there's a warm moment where Nash apologizes and Regan accepts.
REGAN: So, you're like Robin Hood or something?
NASH: Something like that.
REGAN: And you lead these guys?
MAC: (over coms) SAY YES!
Under that smooth, competent demeanor, Mac is actually quite the romantic.
Of course, rifts appear elsewhere in the team. Just as things are getting better with Danya, Maddie gets into a blistering argument with Luke. She leaves him speechless after she wonders how he has the right to make a life-or-death decision on Eric's crimes. Danya follow her out, silently, as we cut to black.
Fixer's Commentary:
A lot more trust was bought this game. The players had a hard time deciding which jobs to spend because they love doing callbacks for Plot Points.
Conversely, it's going to be a long, long time before Maddie trusts Luke.
We're encouraging Danya to purchase her Briefcase Full of Money as a signature asset. Though I wonder if at some point we need to figure out where that suitcase truly belongs.
It's pretty clear Luke doesn't care about the competition anymore. He's only sticking around to find out what Mr. X has in mind.
Next time is the Season Finale. I don't know how they did in the final standings yet.Even if they didn't get picked by Mr. X, I doubt this Crew will be standing around idle for very long.
Assets:
Skylar Has His Secrets
Maddie Knows Dr. Hawass Through Eric
We Were There First
Danny Boy Goes Way Back
Regan is the Responsible Sibling
Skylar Wants It All
Complications:
The Hangover
Sulemain Brought His Top Guys
Skylar Knows Dr. Hawass
Stolen from CIA Station Chief Daniel Copeland
Skylar's Best Frenemy
KossWare Protects the Auction
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