The New Deal is the first episode of the second season and the 11th overall episode of The Catch.
Short Summary[]
Con man Benjamin Jones has gone from committing the ultimate betrayal to performing the ultimate sacrifice, when he turned himself in to the FBI to save Alice from wrongful imprisonment. Now in jail, Ben is forced to reckon with his criminal past, while the team at Anderson Vaughan Investigations must come to terms with getting in bed with the bad guys. How will Alice and Ben game the system — and each other — to stay together and overcome their less-than-legal pasts?
Full Summary[]
Alice and Ben are having passionate sex in her bedroom.
Ben opens his eyes. He's on the bed in his cell. He sits up and looks at an old picture of him and Alice on the wall.
Ben is let out of his cell, hands and feet cuffed.
Ben's talking to Alice, who's visiting him. He tells her he didn't sleep at night because he knew she was coming that morning. She says she comes every morning. He says for now, but there's 10 to 15 more years of this. Alice says Dao said his supervisor can get him a deal for 3 to 5 years. Ben gave them the head of the Kensington Firm. Ben says that's the former head. Alice says she and Val can give the Feds Margot, but Ben tells her not to. The plan is for him to become a good guy so they can be together when he gets out. If she goes after Margot, Margot will come after her. He'll break out of here if that's what it takes to stop that from happening. Besides, Margot has other things on her mind now that she's running the Firm.
After Jamison collects guns, Margot enters a conference room and thanks all the men for flying in from London. The only way for the Firm to present in the US is to actually be there, here in L.A. Margot notices three empty seats at the table, as well as several men not paying attention to her speech. A guy gets up to answer a call, but Margot shoots him in cold blood. This draws all the others's attention.
Seth Hamilton's visiting AVI, where Alice and Valerie talk to him about all their firm has to offer him. Seth notices the empty desks and asks if they're up an running again. Alice replies they are, as soon as the FBI returns ther files, computers, and server, which the FBI promised to do. They're not under investigation, Val says, but Alice blurts out they're not sure about that.
Outside Alice's office, Sophie and Danny are observing the meeting. Sophie's confident that Seth will not fire them, while Danny thinks the opposite. Seth gets up and shakes hands with Val and Alice. They get out of the office. He thanks the P.I.s for understanding and leaves. Valerie says that was their last client. Danny suggests they take on lower-profile clients, but Valerie refuses. Danny answers the telephone and tells Alice that was the alarm company. There's been a break in at her house. Alice thinks it's Margot.
Alice and Danny arrive at Alice's house and find that it's Tommy, Alice's brother. He knows he should have called, but he wanted to surprise her and the key didn't work. He promises to fix the door. Alice assures the security guys that it's her brother. As they leave, Danny notices that Tommy's wearing his jacket. Alice asks what's going on. Tommy says he could use her help. She asks how much he needs. He says it's not that. He's got plenty of money, which is exactly the problem.
Back at AVI, Tommy tells Alice and Valerie about $3 million in a bank account in his name, somewhere. He has to pay taxes on it, but he doesn't have that kind of money. However, the document shows his social security number. Alice says whoever parked that money knew him well enough to think he'd never find it. She asks if there's a roommate or a girlfriend. He says sadly no. Tommy asks if they can help him. Alice says Sophie can use her own laptop to figure out where the money came from so they can let the IRS know. Tommy suggests he keep the money, so he can pay AVI and pay Alice back for all the money that she's loaned him. Valerie says they could use the money, so they'll look into it.
At the prison, Ben meets with Dao and his supervisor, Agent Justine Diaz. Justine tells Ben that Dao is now a Special Agent. He got promoted thanks to Ben. Because of him, they got Sybil Griffiths behind bars. Ever since, Dao has been after Justine to sign off on a deal that'll get him out in 3 to 5 years. Ben says he would be grateful for that. Justine asks how he'd feel about getting out tomorrow. Ben asks what the catch is.
Ben tells them no. He thinks their offer's a death sentence. Justine says they're offering him a way to live exactly like he did before, setting up cons and pulling off jobs. The only difference is that he has to loop her in so she can collect evidence and make arrests. Ben thinks word will get out, but the Agents say he's too good to let that happen. The fact is that they never caught him until he turned himself in. Ben says he did that to do the time and get married to Alice afterwards. If he takes the deal, he won't be able to see Alice without her endangering herself. Justine says that's why they are prepared to give him other incentives. He'd be on retainer with a generous expense account. They can get his case thrown out on a technicality, thus getting him out of here. They negotiate the duration of their agreement and settle on 18 months. He asks what jobs they're talking about here.
Tommy lists all the 16 jobs he's done in the past 3 months. Alice asks if he gave any of his employers his social security number. He mentions a weird ferret guy in Studio City. Alice asks how long he's been here. He says a few weeks. He wanted to get his life in order before calling her. He's not qualified for any job. Alice says he has problems with authorities. Tommy says he has problems with injustice, which gets him into trouble. Dao arrives in the office. Alice tells Tommy to write down all his employers and she and Val go to talk to Dao.
In Alice's office, Dao tells them about the deal that Ben took. Alice hates the deal because it ruins their plan. Dao says Ben's going straight by helping the FBI. Alice thinks the deal's gonna have him killed. Valerie asks about Justine. Dao says she's one of the best undercover agents. Alice and Val already hate her. Dao says the deal's done, so how they feel about it doesn't make a difference.
Sophie and Danny are watching Tommy work on his list. Sophie thinks he seems sweet. Danny says he fell for that, and now he's out 750 bucks and missing his favorite jacket. Danny also thought Sophie was interested in another manchild. Sophie says she was, but he never made his move. Danny defends himself, saying things have been crazy around here. She was just teasing. He says Friday night, at 8 PM, he's making his move.
Margot's working in bed as Jamison appears in front of her naked. She's not interested at the moment. He lies down with her. They talk about meeting. Margot's looking into the three men that didn't show up. All three of them missed payments this month. She's discovered that one of their freighters just vanished in the South Pacific, and that a gold transport was seized by the Swiss authorities. Jamison says there are always fires to put out. Margot asks if he means like the one that destroyed their hotel in Bilbao. She shows him an article about the fire, which happened today. Jamison knows what all three men have in common. They were all her mother's right hand before they got promoted. Margot says she's going to kill her mother.
At the elevators, Dao tells Valerie about his promotion. He wants to celebrate. She says they will the minute he gives her back all the stuff the FBI took from her firm. He says he'll hold her to that. He gets on the elevator and watches after her as she walks off.
Alice's trying to reach Justine, but he can't get a hold of her. Valerie appears and tells her that Ben will be fine. She stopped disliking him the minute he stepped up and turned himself in. He's in jail for her. And because he's a criminal. But he's a good one, meaning he's gonna be just fine.
Ben hides his photo as the guards come to escort him to the shower.
In the showers, another inmate attacks Ben and stabs him in the abdomen. Ben collapses as the inmate walks away.
Ben opens his eyes and sees Rhys smiling at him. Ben tries to get up, but it hurts too much. Rhys apologizes, but he had to make it look realistic in order to get him out of there. He hired someone to do this. The guy stabbed Ben just deep enough for the guard to call an ambulance, but he missed all the major organs. The wound looks a bit angry, and Rhys reveals he had to stitch him up on the fly. Ben says he needs a phone since Rhys has no idea what he's done. Rhys would prefer a thank you, given the lengths he had to go to to get this done. Ben then looks around in the house and wonders where they are.
Dao and Justine tells Valerie and Alice that Ben got stabbed. They don't know much because his ambulance never arrived at the hospital. Alice thinks they should be out looking for him. Justine says it appears to be a carefully orchestrated jailbreak. She suspects Alice had something to do with it. Alice says she wanted him to stay in jail. She thinks someone on the inside must have found out about the deal.
Over breakfast, Ben has told Rhys about his deal, meaning they are no longer partners. Rhys wishes he had known that before breaking him out of jail. Ben asks Rhys's phone to call Alice and the FBI. Rhys doesn't want him to call the FBI. He says in order for the knifework and this nice hideout, he had to guarantee Ben's involvement in a job. They will both get shanked if Ben doesn't do this. Rhys will allow him to call Alice, though.
Alice walks away from the Agents to answer the call. Justine's watching her as Alice tells Ben the FBI's thinking jailbreak. Ben tells her it was Rhys, but he doesn't want her to tell Justine. He doesn't want her to get involved. She tells him it's too late for that and returns to the Agents. She claims it was a client, but Justine tells her that next time she talks to her fiancé, she can tell him the deal's off.
Sybil's taken to see Margot, who's posing as a lawyer. Sybil says she looks tired. Margot brings up the missing leftenants and payments, but Sybil has no idea what she's talking about. She can hardly get a cup of tea, let alone stage mutiny. Sybil tells Margot that she and her father built up the business for her and Rhys. It was hers already, she didn't need to take it. Margot asks if she torched the hotel in Bilbao to teach her that lesson. Sybil says that hotel was their insurance policy. Margot's father stashed millions there just in case. No one except them the two of them knew about it, although that's what she thought. Margot has to find out who else her father told.
Danny and Sophie tell Tommy that they found the overseas bank account with his name on it. All they need is the answer to his security questions and they're in. His answers to the questions spark Sophie's interests, and they discover they have a lot in common. Danny grows more jealous and he's surprised to find out that Sophie grew up in Mumbai, where Tommy used to live. Danny specifies he was detained there under suspicion of drug trafficking.
Ben asks Rhys about the job. Rhys says it's more of an errand with some safe cracking. They don't even have to deal with their client, who's sending over his boys as they speak. It's Carl Mangels. Ben then refuses to do it. Rhys says Carl only mangles people who break promises. Carl's boys then knock on the door. Rhys says Carl knows about Alice, so he has to cooperate, for her sake and theirs. Rhys opens the door and Ben welcomes the boys.
Alice gives Tommy sheets and towels and asks if there's anything else he needs. He says he's thirsty. She gives him a bottle of bourbon, but asks him to go easy in case they need him for more questions tomorrow. She's going back to work. He's disappointed that she won't tell him what it's about. He really thought it was gonna be different this time. He was gonna buy her bourbon so they could hang out together, like back when they were both problem children. She says she was never a problem child. Tommy reminds her she taught him how to drink this stuff. She then decides to stay.
Alice and Tommy are drinking in front of the fireplace. She's told him about Ben, who may be dead. She can't call him with the FBI watching her. Tommy says her loving Ben makes sense given their father. Alice denies that Ben's anything like him. Tommy then calls him just an amateur cheater and liar. Alice says she has no daddy thing. Tommy says there's also Ethan. She says he was a mistake. Tommy says she was gonna marry him. Alice corrects him. Ethan was gonna marry her, no matter if she wanted it or not. Tommy asks if she's ever heard from him. Alice says he knows better than that. Tommy's heard from him, but not very often. Ethan was always good to him. Alice says that makes one of them. Tommy says for the first time, Alice's life sucks way worse than his. He admits that feels good.
Rhys tells Ben that their target is Galinda Mangels, Carl's soon-to-be ex-wife. Since the separation, Galinda's gone after all of Carl's assets, which is why there's an armed bodyguard with her at all times. Carl wants them to snatch a titanium briefcase, which is with Galinda in the Beverly Hills estate. There are alarm sensors located at every point of entrance, as well as lots of cameras. Carl's informed them about the location of the safe. Ben says they need a cover with all that security. Rhys says Ben has a cover: Galinda has massage therapists that guarantee deep, all over massage experiences. If Galinda gets her happy ending, they get theirs.
Sophie and Tommy are going over the list. Next up are the Kincaids, whose dogs Tommy used to walk. Sophie says he wants a dog, but she'd feel bad about leaving it alone all day. Tommy says it's good to know that she's single. He thought she had something with Danny. She says that's complicated.
Danny informs Alice that Sophie and Tommy found out that Jimmy and Cathy Kincaid opened the bank account. They are both school teachers. They found Tommy on Craigslist and paid him in cash, or sometimes with a check. Sophie says they could have used the checks to get his social security number. Sophie's looked into them, but the couple wasn't well off. Their combined bank accounts are worth $226. Their credit cards haven't been used in two days, and Tommy says both their phones are disconnected.
Alice and Danny enter the Kincaids' home, where they are greeted by two dogs. There's also a bunch of mail at the door. They start looking around and find the couple dead in the kitchen.
Tommy's shocked by the news. He asks if this means he can keep the money. Danny says the Kincaids were murdered, probably for the money. That's why Tommy can't go anywhere near the money. Alice makes it clear it's about his life now, not the money. Whoever murdered the Kincaids is gonna come after him once they discover that the money's in his name. Tommy says he can use the money to disappear. Alice tells him that she can't help him if he touches the money. He says he doesn't need her help if he takes the money. He hugs her and tells her he'll be fine. He walks away, but Alice follows him. She tells him she'll have the FBI freeze the money. Tommy thinks Alice is trying to keep him exactly where he is, so she can carry on being the successful one. Alice says it's not that. Tommy tells Alice that she's just like him, or maybe even worse. At least he's not pretending to be someone he's not. Justine gets off the elevator at that moment and asks Alice if this is a bad time.
Rhys is struggling to put a massage table in the trunk of his car as Margot and Jamison appear. She tells him someone's trying to steal the family business from under her. She was hoping he could tell her who it was, but he points out he's not exactly masterminding a takeover right now. Jamison lends him a hand with the table. Rhys says the Firm's all hers now, so this doesn't concern him. Margot says it's not just the Firm. Whoever it is is after her, their mother, and him as well. Margot says she went to visit their mother in prison. She wasn't angry, she was frightened. Margot needs Rhys's help. He recalls she got rid of him and Ben so she could get what she wanted. He's sure she'll handle this the same way as she's handled them, ruthlessly and alone. Rhys gets in his car.
Justine tells Alice that if Ben doesn't turn himself in in the next 24 hours, she'll arrest Alice as co-conspirator on his escape. Alice says she'll have a hard time finding evidence to support that charge. Justine wonders if she won't find any evidence on Alice's phone that Ben has contacted her in the last 24 hours. That's why the firm's equipment will remain in custody and the investigation into this firm will stay open. She hopes Ben's worth all this. Alice looks at Valerie, who nods, and then says the number he called her from was masked. Justine thinks maybe the FBI will be able to trace it anyway. Alice requests that in the meantime, she'll be allowed to talk to Jason Cooley, the man who stabbed Ben.
Rhys and Ben are outside the Mangels estate. Rhys warns Ben to wait for his signal before entering the house, or he'll be caught on camera.
While Ben walks up to the front door, his face masked for the camera by his cap, Rhys finds the circuit boxes outside. Galinda opens the door and she's surprised to see that it's not Thor. Ben claims he had some family issues. He spots the cameras while informs him that he still neds 20 seconds. Galinda says the agency didn't tell her about the replacement. Ben says Thor gave him implicit instructions, which Galinda seems to like. Right before Rhys can cut the cable, a security guard appears, but Rhys shocks him with his shock stick. He then informs Ben they're clear. Ben enters the house.
Ben is prepping the table when Galinda appears naked. He tells her they'll start with her face down. She tries to seduce him with a sexy pose, but he repeats what he just said. She turns around. He tries to cover her ass with a towel, but she says it's okay. He says he's gonna start with some oil. He lets her smell it, and she passes it as it contains chloroform.
Ben cracks the safe and takes the briefcase. Rhys has entered the mansion and, while looking at a naked Galinda, comments that Carl's an idiot. Ben wants to leave, but Rhys takes the briefcase and opens it. If it's leverage that Galinda's using against Mangels, maybe they can use it as well. They find a tube with a viable sample from Carl. It's from a fertility clinic. He almost drops it upon finding that out, but Ben manages to catch it. Suddenly, Galinda says she calls it 18 years of guaranteed child support. They turn around and find themselves at gunpoint. She asks for the tube.
Ben throws the tube at her, but she can't catch it and it shatters on the floor. She starts shooting at Ben and Rhys, who start fleeing, but she slips on Carl's juice and the fall renders her unconscious. Alice then appears, asking if they're alright. None of them has an idea what happened. They approach Galinda and Alice concludes she slipped on whatever it is. Ben asks her how she found them. She says Jason Cooley worked for Mangels. She and Ben are about to kiss when Justine walks in with FBI agents. She announces he's under arrest. Alice says that is until they've worked out the details of his new deal. Justine says their con gave them probable cause. If this gives the FBI enough to arrest the Mangels, the deal is on. Rhys tries to introduce himself to Justine, but she only pays attention to Galinda, who's taken outside.
Sophie appears at AVI, all dressed up for Danny's move. He tucked his shirt in. Tommy then appears and compliments Sophie's looks. He came to return Danny's jacket before leaving. Danny thinks he should stay. Tommy says Alice was right. He can't take the money. Alice then appears with a box and asks him to repeat that. He does, and this time adds that he can't take the money because she changed the password. Alice says he has to stay and find out whose money it is. At the end of the day, when it's free and clear, it's his. Alice says they can find that out now that Dao got them their equipment and files back. They can get back to work. Danny and Sophie decide to cancel date night and get to work.
Dao enters Valerie's office as she's putting stuff back. She puts her arms around his neck and reminds him of her promise to celebrate. Dao's not sure he wants to anymore. It turns out his promotion comes with a transfer to D.C. Valerie thinks he's playing hard to get. He suggests a long distance thing, but she doesn't believe that that works. He then suggests they walk away before someone gets hurt. Valerie says they celebrate until one of them gets hurt. She climbs on top of him and kisses him.
Alice and Ben are having sex at her house. When they're done, Alice says she's going to miss him when he's undercover for 18 months. He can't come over to her house when he's pretending to be a mobster. She can't come over to his place either, so they'll have to sneak around. They agree that secret sex is no fun. She imagined them going grocery shopping together, holding hands in public, without having an escape route at all times. He says that would be nice. They kiss and she climbs on top of him right when Tommy walks in to ask her something. He covers his eyes and turns around while assuring them he didn't see anything. He leaves. Alice then tells Ben that that was Tommy, her brother. Ben wants to meet him, but Alice says he's not going anywhere now.
Margot's in bed with Jamison. She can't believe Rhys accused her of treachery when he's the one who plotted against him in the first place. The truth is that she's better off without him. She claims she's absolutely fine on her own. He flips her so he's on top and tells her they'll see about that. Suddenly, there's a gunshot and her face gets covered in blood while Jamison falls off the bed. She looks and sees blood spreading from his head. She wipes some blood of her face and sees the hole in the window.
Alice and Valerie arrive at AVI while talking about how they're going to attract new clients. They are greeted by Margot. She says she found herself in need of a private investigation and security firm. She asks if they are available.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Mireille Enos as Alice Vaughan
- Peter Krause as Benjamin Jones
- Jay Hayden as Danny Yoon
- Rose Rollins as Valerie Anderson
- Sonya Walger as Margot Bishop
- Elvy Yost as Sophie Novak
- John Simm as Rhys Griffiths
Guest Stars[]
- T.R. Knight as Thomas Vaughan
- Lesley Nicol as Sybil Griffiths
- Jackie Seiden as Galinda Mangels
- Jake Green as Seth Hamilton
- Gina Torres as Agent Justine Diaz
- Jacky Ido as Jules Dao
Co-Starring[]
- Nick Hounslow as Jamison
- Marc Crumpton as Felix
- Brad Lee Wind as Galinda's Bodyman
- Julian Graham as Alfie
- James O'Halloran as Ivor
- James Aston Lake as Inmate
Cons and Cases[]
Benjamin Jones[]
Ben was in jail on multiple charges. He planned to serve his time and then get released so he could live his life with Alice. Dao said he could make a deal to get him three to five years so he'd be out sooner. Justine Diaz was also working on his case and was involved in making the deal. However, she didn't want to make a deal to get him out in three to five. She instead wanted him to be released and to continue running cons, but putting her in the loop so she could take down other con artists. He didn't want to do it, but he started to negotiate and eventually accepted on different terms. However, before that could happen, Rhys busted Ben out of jail by having him stabbed so he'd be sent to the hospital. Diaz said that because of the jailbreak, the deal was off. Ben was re-arrested at the Mangels house and was told that if they could get enough to put arrest Mangels, he'd get a new deal.
Thomas Vaughan[]
Tommy came to Alice asking for her help. The IRS sent him a tax bill on $3 million he didn't know he had. The money was in an account using his name and social security number. Sophie was able to locate the account with Tommy and Danny's help. They found out Jimmy and Cathy Kincaid, his old employers, had used his information to put the money in the account. Alice and Danny went to their house and found them dead. Tommy wanted to take the money and run, but Alice was worried about the people who put the money there (and killed the Kincaids) finding him. She changed the password to keep him from taking it and then suggested he stay and help them find where it came from.
Margot Bishop[]
Margot came to Alice and Valerie to retain their services after several of the firm's assets were destroyed and Jamison was killed.
Galinda Mangels[]
Rhys asked Ben to go crack a safe with him for Carl Mangels. Ben didn't want to, but Rhys got him to agree. Mangels wanted them to get a briefcase from his wife, Galinda, whom he was divorcing. It was in a safe in the house she was living in. Ben posed as a massage therapist to get access to the house. Once inside, he sedated Galinda and got the briefcase out of the safe. Rhys, curious, opened the briefcase and found that it was a viable sperm sample. Galinda woke up and held them by gun point to keep them from taking the sample, which she considered 18 years of child support. Ben tossed the sample and it broke on the ground, giving Rhys and Ben time to run. She shot at them as they left, but missed. Then she slipped in the sample and fell. Alice came in and found them, then the FBI came in and arrested Ben.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "High for This" | The Weeknd |
|
| "I Could Go" | Milck |
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| "Go Get It" | Sepalot (feat. Ladi6) |
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| "Writing on the Wall" | Bob Moses |
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Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode scored 3.67 million viewers.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Season 2 | |||
| #01 | "The New Deal" | #06 | "The Hard Drive" |
| #02 | "The Hammer" | #07 | "The Birthday Party" |
| #03 | "The Dining Hall" | #08 | "The Knock-Off" |
| #04 | "The Family Way" | #09 | "The Cleaner" |
| #05 | "The Bad Girl" | #10 | "The Mockingbird" |
| << Season 1 | |||