Wild Cards Season 2 Finale Spoilers Ahead
Welcome to ElliMax Chats, a column dedicated solely to highlighting Cole Ellis and Max Mitchell’s interactions during the latest episode of Wild Cards.
There are good finales and then there are excellent finales—and Wild Cards Season 2 finale is among the latter. It effectively wraps up the season’s primary storyline with Ellis and his brother through an arc that feels earned, and it simultaneously gives Max, Ricky, and her dad the freedom to do everything they’ve always wanted. And the romance? Well, we’ve got the best kind of angsty journey.
On a show like Wild Cards, Max Mitchell and Cole Ellis are it for each other. They’re the endgame, and no matter how long the journey will be, “Sunrise Sunset” proves that they’re going to keep choosing each other.
You Matter to Me
There’s nothing quite like the TV moment when two people say I love you without actually using the three little words. For Max and Ellis, they do this frequently. Neither of them expected to find their person in the other, and despite the fact that nothing is set in stone right now, he’s her choice. She is his.
Ellis’s belief that he doesn’t matter is so heartbreaking when you examine the grief and guilt he holds onto. He couldn’t be there for his brother during his final days, so how does he even matter to someone else? In his mind, it’s impossible. But for Max, accepting him into her life and caring for him has been the easiest thing she’s done. And for a character who’s all about secrecy and the next big con, it’s so beautiful that she holds very little back when it comes to Ellis. When she said she’d be his cricket, she meant it, and she continues to stand by that fact.
The Wild Cards Season 2 finale also effectively pulls off the miscommunication trope by having external forces pull the couple apart. Max had every intention of going back to Ellis. Here, he’s her choice and the fact that we also see her dad accepting it works to showcase just how genuine her adoration is. If her dad sees it, then it’s clear as day. She can’t hide any part of her feelings for him, no matter who’s standing before her. And the person standing before her is…well, her mom.
In addition to all this, the angst that we get in this episode is what’ll lead Max and Ellis back to each other in a manner that proves to both of them that this isn’t a fleeting romance. Ellis doesn’t believe that she’ll show up because, despite her own words, he fully believes he doesn’t matter. It’s going to take time and work for him to get to that place where he accepts it, too. It’s going to take time for him to realize that he’s her person in the same way that she is his.
It’s also fascinating how intimate the last hug on the boat is because Max does it in a way where it’s obvious she can’t hold back. She’s close to walking away, and maybe a part of her believes that she’ll have to stay with her dad, so the choice to turn right back around and give him another part of herself is so lovely. The way he pulls her close and the undeniable solace that dawns on his face!? Ellis shows us everything in that moment. At the same time, Max’s inability to linger and the decision to immediately leave without looking at him again reveal just how raw everything is for her. Maybe it’s because she held his gaze, then she wouldn’t be able to walk away. If she held his gaze, everything would be too real, too vulnerable. And while they’re both pretty great at giving each other parts of themselves freely, this one feels more real. After everything they’ve been through, it all feels a little fragile.
The Wild Cards Season 2 finale might be an angsty feast, but it makes it abundantly clear that Max and Ellis are it for each other. What’s been brewing between them has reached new heights, and no matter what happens in Season 3, they’ll continue orbiting around each other.
Now streaming on The CW: What are your thoughts on ElliMax’s scenes in the Wild Cards Season 2 finale? Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©The CW