The Wild Cards premiere features such a strong and compelling pilot that I immediately stopped watching afterward because I wasn’t sure the show could continue upholding such a gripping narrative. Picking it up a few months afterward, I was thrilled to see that not only does the debut season do a great job of telling a riveting story, but Wild Cards Season 2 doesn’t fall into a sophomore slump, either.
Procedurals like Wild Cards generally aren’t meant to be sensational showstoppers, and that’s part of the reason why it’s so easy to tune in week after week. The series is surprisingly fresh, fun, and full of solid performances that enhance character dynamics and make the journeys feel rewarding. In many ways, countless fans are likely tuning in for the romance between Vanessa Morgan’s Max Mitchell and Giacomo Gianniotti’s Cole Ellis, and the show’s second season delivers worthy material for the two of them.
From the first episode, “Con in 60 Seconds,” to the season finale, “Sunrise Sunset,” we get solid, enduring proof of a gripping partnership that’s worth investing in because the narrative is giving us the space to thoroughly get to know the characters. The cases are interesting, yes, but it’s Max and Ellis’s dynamic that makes the series stand out in a time when there are plenty of procedurals just like it.
At the same time, Wild Cards Season 2 also follows a relatively straightforward narrative as we slowly begin to uncover the truth about Ellis’ brother’s murderer while solving the other crimes that surface weekly. In placing this arc centerfold, the season gives us a thematic showcase of how important found families are, taking Ellis from someone who has very few people in his corner to giving him Max and her small family. And then, of course, there’s the jaw-dropping finale, ensuring that fans will wait with bated breath until the next season.
In the past, shows like Wild Cards have pulled off cheap tricks like throwing in a love triangle as a wrench in the main couple’s path, but here, Season 2 does none of it. Instead, it thoughtfully and meticulously continues to fortify Max and Ellis’ bond while concurrently developing their characters individually, too. It explores what it means when an unexpected bond changes everything a person knows for the better, allowing growth to come naturally. There’s plenty to still explore with the upcoming seasons, but the striking balance the series provides with cases and character development is no small feat.
With thirteen episodes, we get generous moments to explore character journeys with solid performances that amplify emotional scenes and make them memorable. It’s cohesive, fun, deeply moving, and tender, giving all characters a space to grow in ways that can make the show one of the strongest procedurals to date. We could learn so much from Canadian television, which properly allows its characters to have meaningful conversations, and I really, really hope we do. Wild Cards is for romance fans who are always itching for something more with procedurals, and it’s for the people who especially adore thoughtful narratives woven into mysteries that feel both nuanced and amusing.
All two seasons of Wild Cards are now streaming on The CW.
First Featured Image Credit: ©The CW
With Cole having concluded the arc and catharsis around Daniel’s death + the way s2 ended, I’m assuming s3 will be Max’s turn for more focus on her emotional vulnerability and personal drama, and Cole being her rock through whatever she’s going through.