Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
What’s not to like about Wild Cards Season 2 Episode 2?
We had Ellimax two-stepping, Ally Sheedy, and Martin Sheen. Yee-haw on all fronts, including the Ellimax angst that the series delivers.
“Once a Con a Time in the West” is a fun installment and has enough Yellowstone vibes to make a girl smile more than I did watching Yellowstone Season 5, but that’s neither here nor there.
Wild Cards Channels Yellowstone with a Ranch Rivalry Case
The case is an opportunity to see another side to Cole, who has an endless bag of talents. It’s not something exclusive to Max, which is part of what makes their partnership intriguing.
Cole can ride a horse like a cover model in a romance novel, and I love it. It was endearing as Max was out of her element on the ranch, and she seemed to be afraid of horses.
It gave Ellis a chance to show off his abilities and be someone Max can lean on even though there’s still some tension between the two. But it also meant that he was more attuned to this special case he had to take for their boss.
My familiarity with the horse game comes from episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star, but it was still jaw-dropping to learn that one horse could cost so much freaking money!
Ally Sheedy Made the Ranch Fiasco Worthwhile
Millions and millions of dollars for a horse who was a prime stud prompted Ellimax to head out to the rural community to solve an attempted murder charge.
Someone wanted this poor horse dead as a way to stick it to Rose and her family, and what unfurled was a messy plot point that nodded at the epic family drama of Yellowstone.
It included warring family members, decades-long vendettas, and proper and land grabs, and it was difficult for Ellis and Max to sift through most of it when people were resistant to their presence.
Frankly, the case was neither here nor there as the most excitement I got from it was seeing Ally Sheedy.
I’ve adored her since sitting on the couch with my feet barely touching the floor and watching what would become one of my all-time favorite movies, The Breakfast Club, under the watchful eye of my cinephile uncle who never considered ratings when exposing me to classics.
The Bad Guy was Predictable, But the Shenanigans were Fun
As far as the case went, the perpetrator was evident early on, as the vet seemed shady from the moment we met her. And she didn’t seem particularly pleased to be working on Rose after “someone” shot her on the ranch.
Also, vets aren’t supposed to operate or perform medical procedures on humans, but whatever. We’ll roll with it.
In the interim, as our devoted duo tried to figure out what was going on, we saw them butting heads with Rose’s children, a business-minded Shane, who was less diabolical than Jamie Dutton at least, and Callie, who lived her best life out in the elements.
One of the turning points of the hour, however, was Max and Ellis heading to a town watering hole, channeling Darlene and Earl to get a lead on the person wearing the scorpion boots.
In the Heat of Cases, Max and Ellis Work Through Their Relationship
Wild Cards will spend the season with Max and Ellis attempting to work through their relationship via these cases, and the series knows how to play it just right.
From this hour, what’s abundantly clear is Max has fallen for Ellis hard. It’s killing her that she destroyed their relationship, and she’s doing everything imaginable to make it right as best as she can.
But she also doesn’t know what to do with these feelings. At the very least, she’s aware enough to make peace with them, and Ellis will have to catch up to her in that regard.
Go figure that we have a “catch me if you can” situation happening with their affection for one another.
One of the most notable moments was when Max heard someone talk about loving someone who frustrated them, and her first instinct was to look at Ellis.
It’s something that may have escaped him, but not the viewers, as it confirms how deeply Max feels about him, but also how aware she is of those feelings to the point of not even attempting to hide them.
Max Has Fallen Hard for Ellis…
I find Max brave in this regard. She knows falling for Ellis is dangerous to her profession and even puts her at odds with her father and Ricky, but she loves him anyway.
It’s through that love that she’s willing to give him whatever he needs to get their trust back, and in the interim, she’s also trying to crack through his facade to allow his own feelings for her to spill through.
Their slow dance was illuminating as well. She jumped at the chance to share this sweet moment with Ellis, lost in the world of playing his wife in this bar and using that opportunity to prod at him again.
She knows they can never go back to what they were before the betrayal, but when she offers up that they can be something new, it’s clear that there’s a deeper meaning behind those words.
… And She’s Aware of Those Feelings and Taking Them in Stride
And she’s unafraid to let that meaning hang between them until Ellis knows what to do with it. I’ll go on a limb and argue that Ellis fell for Max first, even though he’s tried to deny it and push it away.
But Max has fallen for Ellis the hardest, and she’s afraid, sure, but willing to take significant risks when it comes to them and what they could be for one another.
I imagine it’s costing her bits of herself to put herself out there, but she’s doing it anyway, and that’s what makes Max an endearing and even inspiring character.
She’s also smart enough to know that Ellis has strong feelings for her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have hurt him so much when she betrayed him.
Max continues to make space for his feelings regarding that betrayal while also digging at what lies beneath them so he’ll catch up to her and recognize that he loves her but also wants to pursue something with her.
Wild Cards Teases Potential Rift as Max’s Feelings for Ellis Conflict with George, Ricky, and Conning
His panic when he thought something happened to her after confronting Lana and her delight in recognizing how scared he was in those brief seconds was ‘shipper catnip.
Of course, we’re not the only ones who sense that Max and Ellis are at the point of inevitable. Ricky and George know the same. Falling in love in the con game is dangerous, and it’s even worse when the object of one’s desire is on the other side of the law.
George is handling the loss of the egg remarkably well, but he knows his daughter and that her feelings for Ellis are clouding her judgment and interfering with their plans.
It’s no wonder he wanted her to study the advice of an elusive con man played by the iconic Martin Sheen. And, of course, this man’s primary rule is that you cannot trust anyone and that to beat the con game, one has to accept the fate of being alone.
It’s something that Max has to mull over while she and Ricky cozy up in their new kickass apartment loft. It fits them perfectly, and Ricky’s indulgence made me smile.
Wild Cards Plays the Ellimax Slow Burn Just Right
I love their relationship. More than anything, as much as Ricky acts as if he disapproves, he’s more resigned to Max and her love for Ellis than he lets on.
We leave things with both Max and Ellis on the brink of reaching out to one another but holding back from doing so. Whatever words they have for each other are left unsaid, but their desire to end the night speaking to one another tells us everything we need to know.
Ellis can’t stay mad at Max for too long. She’s the person he wants to talk to at the end of the night, and she’s been an unexpected confidant. Max’s feelings for Ellis compel her to reach out to him, but she’s trying to give him space.
The angst is so good, and this pairing remains one of the cutest onscreen.
Over to you, Wild Cards Fanatics.
How do you feel about Ellis and Max’s relationship right now?
Will Max ever tell Ellis how she really feels?
Sound off below!
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