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The Princess and the I.P. is the fourth episode of season one and 4th overall episode of The Catch.

Short Summary[]

Anderson Vaughan and Associates take on a new client, a government agency that may have just lost the only person with the blueprints for a very deadly weapon. While the AVI team tries to track her down, Ben continues to pursue his mark, Princess Zara Al-Salim. As he gets closer to making his deal, however, Alice proves she’s one step ahead.

Full Summary[]

Alice is giving a presentation about Princess Zara Al-Salim at AVI. She says that her guard, Qasim Halabi, disappeared two days ago, leaving her vunerable to a man who'll seduce and rob Zara the same way he did her.

At the hotel, Zara gets in a car with Ben.

Alice says Zara's demeanor has changed completely. She's not just stepping out, she's inviting people in. She's meeting with local entrepreneurs about investment opportunities. She's opened herself up in a way that'll allow them to monitor her every move. That way, they can catch Christopher in the act. That is if Dao is willing work together. He says yes.

Dao and Alice leave the conference room. Dao asks how Valerie feels about them working together. Alice says she doesn't know. Valerie thinks Christopher has taken too much from her already. Dao thinks she may be right, but Alice points out he's been trying to catch Christopher for two years now. He needs her help. Dao says he's a killer. She corrects him. He's an alleged killer. Dao says he'll stop at nothing. Neither will Alice.

She recalls them talking about Mr. X. Ben tells her that she hasn't caught him yet because she's too good. She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. Mr. X doesn't deserve it. She needs to start thinking like a criminal if she wants to catch him.

Ben tells the local entrepreneurs that they'll be in touch. They leave the room, leaving him alone with Zara. She's upset over something on her phone. Her brother has informed her that Qasim never arrived in Kuroq. He's coming to Los Angeles to bring her home in a week. Zara says she's not going. Women can work and go to school here, or go see a doctor without a man's permission. Qasim was a thief, but maybe taking money and disappearing is the right idea. Zara asks Ben to help her disappear.

Danny is talking about the firm to new clients. He points them towards the head of their personal security detail, Shawn Sullivan, who's talking with Sophie.

Alice arrives and Sophie tells her that the new client is Phillip Thompson, CEO of Olympic Edge. It's a tech company with huge military contracts. Danny comes over and asks Shawn if he shouldn't be with security. Valerie says they won't know why Phillip and the woman with him are here unless they sign an NDA. Alice is not sure they want to take this case, but Valerie doesn't think they have a choice.

Alice and Valerie are watching a video of a woman giving a presentation about victims of an earthquake in Haiti. Phillip pauses the video and says this is Gwen Ericsson, who, along with Marie Sherwood, designed the ThruSight technology. Gwen's an extraordinary and genius woman. She's missing. Gwen hasn't been since Friday night. Marie went to her apartment, but Gwen hadn't been there for days. They couldn't locate her cell or laptop. They can't contact the police, because this is ThruSight. Marie starts a presentation as Phillip explains that ThruSight was developed to locate disaster victims under rubble. It sees through all kinds of walls. It can also track and detect troups, or basically anything. In the wrong hands, it's a dangerous weapon. They're still a few weeks away from production. The only person who has a full copy is Gwen. She and her laptop could have been taken by anyone, from their competition to a terrorist group. It's essential that they find her.

On their way out, Marie stays behind to tell Alice that sometimes, Gwen disappears for days when she can't figure something out. Marie didn't tell Phillip because she thought Gwen would show up, but now it's been four days. Alice promises that they'd find her.

Ben tells Margot that Zara wants him to make her disappear. Margot asks how much money he's stolen from Zara as her financial advisor. Ben says he won't use Qasim's tactics. Ben says he's earned her trust now. Margot says they need the money, because their payment is now officially past due, meaning they'll soon have someone coming after them. They enter their hotel room as she says that means they have two options: deliver or die. They see someone sitting on the bed, holding a gun. The woman says she's taken the words right out of her mouth.

Margot says they'd like to request an extension. Felicity is sure of that, but that's not possible. She only hasn't shot them yet because it appears their benefactor has a soft spot for them. Felicity says she's not the messenger. She's the collector. She knows who Margot is. She's got quite the reputation back home, making it difficult for anyone else to measure up. Felicity asks how much they got. Ben replies 1.5 million. Felicity will give them 24 hours if they give that money to her now. Ben requests 48 hours. Felicity says done and leaves the room. Margot says he'll need to convince the Princess to invest in something, but he says the Princess feels trapped by all the luxury goods. Margot then tells him to sell Zara freedom. He has to convince her to write a check for 15 million for a charitable foundation that she'll put him in charge of.

Ben's talking to Zara about creating a foundation in her name that invests in education and equal rights for women all over the world. Zara says her family doesn't believe in that. They'll disown her. Ben says that's the idea. If she makes enough noise with this, she'll be granted asylum and she'll be free to do whatever she wants. Zara doubts that it'd work. Ben says standing up for yourself is always better than running away. If she's gonna do it, she should do it now, before her brother shows up and takes her textbook away.

Danny's telling the others about Gwen. In high school, she made a device that uses sound to detect bombs. In 2010, she returned to the US after the Haiti earthquake to develop ThruSight. She didn't have money, so she partnered with Marie, her best friend and roommate. They launched Pegasys, a tiny startup that caught the eye of Phillip Thompson. While Gwen developed ThruSight, Marie was busy selling Pegasys to Olympic Edge. That got Gwen all the money she needed. Gwen never missed a deadline, so they're thinking kidnapping. Sophie's looking into the darker corners of the Internet. She has had no luck with Gwen's laptop, but they did manage to track her car to the San Alvarez Trails. Danny says he and Sophie are heading to Lamplight Peak, Gwen's favorite trail there. Valerie tells him to take Shawn with him in case they're dealing with terrorists.

The three park their car next to Gwen's, which looks like it's been there for a while. Shawn wants to go first to make sure there's no boobytrap. It's clean. Danny wants to use a metal rod to unlock the car, but Shawn finds that it's unlocked. Sophie smiles. Shawn searches the car, but there's no laptop. They decide to take the trial, with Shawn going first. Sophie tells a frustrated Danny that Shawn's just doing his job.

While hiking, Sophie asks Danny why he doesn't like Shawn. He's nice. She thinks Danny's jealous. Danny says he's just good looking. Sophie says he graduated summa cum laude from Yale. She asks if he's ever even talked to Shawn. Danny thinks Shawn would rather talk to her. Danny says they can split up, then adds that Sophie can be alone with Shawn that way.

Danny's leading the way. He trips over a brench and spots a corpse in the bushes. He goes to take a closer look and sees that the Pegasys logo is tattooed on the woman's arm. He says it's Gwen.

Zara tells Ben that she's gotten responses from 12 charities, but she thinks she's found the one. It's called the Worldwide Woman's Fund and it's run by an incredible woman. Zara would love for him to meet her, which is why she called him. She introduces him to Paige Baker, who he finds out is actually Alice. Alice greets him by saying Michael Thorne. He's shocked.

Zara asks how they know each other as they're staring at one another. Alice says they worked together on a project, but he bailed out unexpectedly. Ben says that when they last spoke, he got the impression she was pursuing other avenues. Zara says that's a misunderstanding. She hopes it won't get in the way of them working together. Alice says it won't because Michael's the best at what he does. Alice comments they make quite the powercouple. Zara says they're just business associates. She says Michael's in love with another mysterious woman. She broke his heart. Zara gets a call and she leaves to answer it. Ben sits down with Alice and tells her to love. Alice says she has the power here. She can expose him and have him arrested. Ben says she has all the stolen money back, so she's got nothing on him. Dao, who's listening in, tells Alice that they need a confession. Alice asks Ben why he targeted her. He says he didn't. The people who he works with did, and they also targeted Zara. Per Dao's instructions, she asks about the people he works with. Zara returns before he can answer. Ben says they were going over some logistics. Dao wants Alice to set up a private meeting with him. Ben says he has her number, so he'll call her.

Alice enters the hotel room where Dao's staying. He tells her she did well since she got him to talk. He'll stay here to follow Christopher in case he leaves. Alice says he'll play this con out. Dao says they'll be there when he does. Alice gets a call and she says she'll be right in. She receives some upsetting news and quickly leaves.

Alice is looking at the photos of the corpse. Valerie says they're still waiting for the coroner's report. Alice says they have to proceed as if this were murder, and assume that whoever killed Gwen has the laptop. Valerie says the laptop came back online an hour ago. It's masking its locations, but Sophie has used an intricate technique to narrow its location to one block in Downey. They take off.

Shawn, Danny, and Alice are investigating a house. All the doors and windows are locked and they didn't see anyone inside. Alice and Shawn block the view as Danny tries to force the door open. Before he can do so, Sophie opens the door from inside. She got in through the doggy door. She found the laptop. They all enter the house.

Standing around the laptop, Sophie says it's 67% through a massive upload, presumably ThruSight. Alice says they can't have that. She closes and unplugs the laptop. She gives it to Sophie.

As they're driving off, Sophie wonders if they shouldn't stick around to catch whoever did this. Alice says that wasn't their assignment. As Shawn's turning the car, another car drives right into them. Everyone ends up okay, but someone tries to take the laptop out of Sophie's hands through the broken window. Alice quickly gets out of the car and slams that person onto their car. It's Gwen.

Back at AVI, the PIs are discussing what happened. Valerie suggests that maybe Gwen was trying to sell the software on the black market herself. Sophie doubts that. Gwen's burner phone shows lots of calls to the morgue, which explains the body. The last place she called was a place near the airport. Valerie recognizes it as one of the many places that sell fake passports and IDs. Alice thinks Gwen was planning on leaving the country with ThruSight. The team wonders if they should call their client.

Gwen tells the team they cannot give ThruSight back to Phillip. He's selling it to terrorists. When they sold him ThruSight, it was on the condition that he tell them every client he sold it to. As they got closer to the launch, she started trolling black market sites for anything that looked like ThruSight. She found a listing on a site dedicated to illicate weapons sales. Valerie asks why she didn't go to the authorities. Gwen replis that a weapon is a weapon, no matter who has it. She had to disappear and take the software with this. Alice asks if Marie knows this. Gwen says no. She didn't want to put Marie in a position where she had to lie for her. Marie shouldn't have to pay the price for the mess that she created. She begs them not to give the laptop to Phillip.

Margot's going out. Ben says she looks dangerous. After a kiss, he asks where she's going. She's going to solve their collection issues, but he probably shouldn't ask how.

At the hotel bar, Felicity joins Margot for a drink. Felicity reminds her the clock is ticking. Margot asks if she looks wired. Felicity says she looks pretty fit. They share a look.

Felicity and Margot are naked in bed together, panting after sex. Felicity really hopes she won't have to kill Margot. Margot suggests she goes rogue and joins their merry band. Felicity says her replacement would just kill all three of them. Felicity asks how close they are to getting the money. Margot doesn't want to ruin the fun. Felicity asks why she's left the family since she was next in line. Margot says she was never next in line because she's a woman. Felicity says things have changed since then, including the benefactor. He's still insane, though. Margot says that's why she left. She's in debt because of it, but freedom has its price. Felicity says it's not real freedom. Margot calls it part of the job. Felicity asks if it's also part of the job to use sex to get what she wants. Margot asks if it's working. Felicity suggests they try again to find out.

Alice gets a call from an international number. She picks up and tells Ben she can't believe he actually called. He says they had a deal. He asks if she'll stay away if he answers all her questions. That's the only way to keep her safe. She says fine and asks when and where. He says Friday, 5 o'clock at Grand Park. She agrees to that and hangs up.

Dao is listening in from his car, waiting for Alice to text him about the meeting. She hesitates for a moment, but sends him a text after looking at the painting. He smiles.

Ben arrives at Zara's hotel room and finds that her stuff's packed. Zara says her brother Bashir wouldn't let her ring him. Bashir appears behind her and Ben introduces himself as the Princess's business advisor. Bashir says she doesn't need one. Ben shows him the documents of the foundation, but Bashir tears them up.

In the hotel lobby, Zara and her entourage are on their way out. Ben manages to find a moment to talk to Zara alone. He wanted to make sure she's okay. She says her brother's not a bad man, just old-fashioned. He underestimates women, making it easy to manipulate him. They promised Paige Baker 15 million dollars, and she shall have it. She did some creative accounting.

Shawn leaves Alice's office, where Gwen's asleep on the couch. Sophie has found the Tor listings, offering ThruSight for sale with no questions asked. She traced the seller's IP address back to an encrypted data server at Olympic Edge. The team realizes they were hired by the bad guys. They're contractually obligated to their bidding, meaning they have to give them the laptop. Alice says they'll give it back to Phillip and see what he does with it.

Alice explains her plan to her team and Gwen. Valerie will shake hands and collect the fee. Phillip will want to unload the software quickly, meaning they'll have to catch him in the act. He'll be selling it to them. Sophie will pose as an online bidder and make a play for the tech. They'll set up an overseas dummy account to make themselves irresistible and they'll set up a face-to-face meeting when they win the bid. Danny says Phillip knows their faces, so they can't bee seen. Alice says they'll monitor it from closeby in their van. She has a front man in mind to broker the sale.

The plan's carried out accordingly, with Dao being the front broker. Danny thought they didn't like him. Alice says she's keeping her enemies close. The seller arrives at the location, on top of a parking garage. Dao asks where the man in charge is. The men request money first. He completes the transaction. One of the men opens the car door and Marie comes out. She's here on Phillip's behalf. As she hands over the hard drive, he puts her in handcuffs while armed men and police vehicles appear out of nowhere, blocking the exits and holding Marie's men at gunpoint.

Gwen tells Alice and Valerie that she and Marie have been inseparable for 10 years. How did she not see this? Valerie says she was focused on her work. Marie and Phillip took advantage of that, and they'll pay for it. Gwen says she's an idiot. Alice says it was just business to them. Gwen says she can't let ThruSight out into the world. Valerie thinks it's too late since Olympic Edge has the laptop, but Gwen reveals she has corrupted the software. However, she's still under contract for the company. They'll come looking if she runs. Gwen says she was better off dead. Alice says they may be able to help her with that.

Shawn's in awe of the team. He and his team mostly stand around in suits, but Sophie and her team actually get to do things. He thanks her and Danny for letting him be part of the team. He walks off. Even Danny admits that Shawn's perfect. Sophie doesn't think so. He has too much muscles. It'd be too much upkeep. Danny asks if she wouldn't date that guy. She's not sure. She asks why. He claims just out of curiosity and walks off.

Back in Zara's room, Ben finds out how Zara's managed to get the 15 million dollars. She's auctioned her stuff online, anonymously. What Bashir doesn't know won't hurt him or her. Besides, she has enough stuff. Ben says she's a way better person than he is. She says there was a time in her life where stuff made her happy. Then she met him, and this stuff has made her happy in a whole different way. Zara hands Ben the check.

In Alice's office, Gwen's looking at a photo of a tombstone with her name on it. They got her a whole new life as Alison Aykle. Alice says they can always help her if Gwen Ericsson needs to come back from the dead. Gwen thanks them. Alice and Valerie says she can always call them if she needs them. She promises she will and leaves. Alice says Marie and Gwen were just like them. Valerie doesn't think so, because she and Alice spend every day together and they tell each other everything. They don't have secrets. Alice smiles and says right.

Danny tells Sophie it's customary to throw someone a wake when they die, so he was wondering if she'd like to get a drink with him. She's surprised. She has dinner plans with Shawn. Danny tells her to have fun. Sophie leaves with Shawn, who'd been waiting for her at the exit.

Before getting in a car to the airport, Zara walks up to Ben and tells him she's going to be a nightmare back home. She'll make such a progressive nuisance of herself that they have no choice but to send her back here. She gives Ben her necklace so he can give it to his mystery woman. He says he can't accept this, but she tells him he deserves love. Bashir calls for Zara. After giving Ben one last hug and reminding him to call his woman, she gets in the car.

Alice gets a text from Ben, asking if they're still on for Grand Park. She's hesitant to reply.

Margot joins Ben outside the hotel. She supposes that Zara didn't leave him a check. He says she did. Margot thinks her brother froze the account. He nods. She sees the necklace and takes it. She wonders how much they can get for it. He says not enough. Margot plans on giving it to Felicity to buy them more them. Ben gets an affirmative reply from Alice.

In Dao's car, Alice is wiring herself. He reminds her that Grand Park is noisy, so she'll have to get close to Christopher. She can't be nervous, or Christopher will know that it's a trap. Alice tells him to keep his man out until she's got her confession.

At the Grand Park, Alice spots Dao's men, but it takes her a while to find Ben. She walks up to him and says she wants to know why. He says he never wanted to hurt her. It was an assignment. She gathered that. Ben says it started as a job. She says it ended that way, too. He's sorry. He wasn't supposed to go after her, just her company. He'd come in as a client and he'd go out after 3 months. He was going to tell Alice everything. He asked her to disappear with him. She remembers that. He says he had to choice between leaving with her or staying with the people he works for. He chose her. It was real. He truly loves her. That's why he's here today. He gives her Zara's check. Nothing else matters, he says. He wants to continue talking, but she silently hushes him. She opens her blouse and shows him the mic. She mouths that she's sorry. He smiles and she wipes her tears. He then says that this fantasy she has about him being a con man who's after her money is pathetic. It's desperate and beneath her. She needs to let it and him go.

Dao realizes what's happening and orders his agents to move in.

Ben mouths to Alice that he loves her and runs off. Dao's agents run past Alice, after Ben. Dao arrives and Alice acts mad, saying Christopher ran away because he and his men barged in before she had her confession. Alice asks on what grounds he was going to arrest Christopher. Dao notices she doesn't appear too upset. Alice proves she is upset. If he wants to blame somebody, he should blame himself. She did her part. She gives him back his mic and walks off with a smile on her face.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Cons and Cases[]

Zara Al-Salim[]

After finding out that Ben, as Michael, had been spending time with Zara, she started investigating the situation, with the help of Jules Dao. At the same time, Zara dreaded the idea of her brothers coming to the US to take her back home. She asked Ben to help her disappear. In order to pay their benefactor, Margot and Ben planned to get Zara to donate money through a charity in her family's name. Alice then posed as Paige, helping them set up the charity, Worldwide Women's Fund. However, Zara's brother arrived to take her home. Zara then revealed she had sold her things online anonymously to raise the $15 million dollars for the foundation. Before she left, Zara took off her necklace and gave it to Ben to give to Alice, encouraging him to call her. Ben, instead of using the money to pay their benefactor, gave it to Alice.

Pegasys[]

Phillip Thompson, owner of Pegasys, came into Anderson/Vaughan Investigations wanting to retain their services. He refused to talk to them until they signed an NDA. After they did, he showed them video of Gwen Ericsson, who had disappeared. No one had heard from her in days. They hadn't contacted the police because she'd been working on THRUsight, a program that allowed them to find people after a disaster. It had the potential to be used for terrorism, but they said it wasn't designed for that. After the meeting, Marie Sherwood confessed to Alice that sometimes, Gwen takes off with her laptop when she can't figure something out, to clear her head and find the answer. Alice, Danny, Valerie, and Sophie started looking into Gwen's past, hoping it would lead to her. They tracked her car to a set of hiking trails. Danny took Shawn and Sophie with him out to the trails. Out on the trail, they found female human remains with a tattoo that matched Gwen's. Gwen's laptop then came back online and Sophie was able to track its location. They went to the house and found Gwen's laptop uploading something, so they took the laptop and wen too leave, but as they left, someone rammed their car and tried to take the laptop. They discovered that it was Gwen, alive after all. They took Gwen back to AVI headquarters while Sophie looked into things. Gwen pleaded with them not to give Phillip THRUsight, saying he was selling it to terrorists. So she tried to disappear with the software. Despite this, they decided to give Phillip back the laptop, but set it up so they could track what he did with him, hoping to catch him doing something illegal. Instead, they found that Marie was part of the illegal exchange. She was arrested and Gwen said that the version of THRUsight they had had been corrupted so it wouldn't function. They then helped Gwen get a new identity so she could live her life without fear.

Benjamin Jones[]

Alice and Dao kept looking into "Michael Thorne's" actions. When Ben called Alice to set up a meeting, Alice told Dao about it. Alice went to the meeting wearing a wire. At the meeting, Ben told her about the con, which was only supposed to last three months. She thinks he got greedy, but he said he chose her and he really loved her. He then gave her the $15 million check from Zara. She then revealed to him that she was wearing a wire. Dao's team started to move in, but Ben was able to get away.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Don't Wanna Fight" Alabama Shakes
  • Alice talks Dao through her plan to catch Ben through Zara.
  • He's willing to work with her.
"Crest" The Antlers
  • Felicity and Margot have sex.
  • They talk about the money.
  • Felicity wonders why Margot left the family.
  • She says the benefactor's changed.
  • They go at it again.
"Dreams" Robot Koch (feat. Stephen Henderson)
  • Sophie leaves with Shawn.
  • Zara gives Ben her necklace to say goodbye and tells him to contact his mystery woman.
  • Alice receives a text about meeting in Grand Park.
  • Margot takes the necklace, wanting to sell it.
  • Ben receives Alice's reply, saying yes to the meeting.

Notes and Trivia[]

The_Catch_1x04_Promo_"The_Princess_and_the_I.P."_(HD)

The Catch 1x04 Promo "The Princess and the I.P." (HD)

  • This episode scored 4.76 million viewers.
  • This marks the first episode where one of the main cast (Alimi Ballard) is credited, yet does not appear. 

Gallery[]

Promotional Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Alice: I want to know why.
Ben: I need you to know I never meant to hurt you.
Alice: You just meant to bankrupt my company and steal my life savings?
Ben: It's an assignment. It's a job.
Alice: Yeah, I gathered that.
Ben: It started as a job.
Alice: It ended that way, too.
Ben: I'm sorry.
Alice: Why me?
Ben: It wasn't you. It was your firm. I was supposed to come in as a client. It was supposed to last three months, and then I'd be gone.
Alice: But you got greedy.
Ben: That's not what happened. I was going to tell you everything. I tried. Then I asked you to get on a plane with me and disappear. Do you remember that? I had to make a choice. Either stay with the people I work for, or leave with you, and I chose you. It was real. What we had was real. And I love you.

Margot: We'd like to request an extension.
Felicity: I'm sure you would, but you know that's not possible.
Ben: Then why haven't you shot us yet?
Margot: Darling, she's having her tea.

Zara: How do you two know each other?
Alice: We recently collaborated on a special event, but he dropped out unexpectedly.

Dao: You don't seem too upset to have lost him.
Alice: Really? I don't seem upset to you? You want to blame somebody, you blame yourself. I did my part.

Ben: You want to know why you haven't caught this guy yet? Because you're too good, too decent.
Alice: You of all people should know how indecent I can be.
Ben: You give everyone the benefit of the doubt whether they deserve it or not, and Mr. X doesn't deserve it. You want to catch him, you need to start thinking like a criminal.

Dao: How does your partner feel about working with the FBI on this one?
Alice: She doesn't know, and I'd rather she didn't find out. She does not approve. She thinks Christopher's taken too much from me already.
Dao: She's not wrong. Perhaps you should let me take it from here.
Alice: No offense, but you've been after him for two years on your own.

Zara: A foundation in my name?
Ben: Using your family's money to donate to a charity supporting the education and equal rights for women all over the world.
Zara: But my family doesn't believe in education and equal rights for women.
Ben: I know.
Zara: They hate that. They'll disown me.
Ben: That's the idea. But I promise you, if you make enough noise with this, you'll be a symbol. You'll be granted asylum. You can do whatever you want, you can live wherever you want.
Zara: It can't possibly work. Can it?
Ben: Well, in my experience, standing up for yourself and other people is always better than running away.

Jules: Are you sure you're all right?
Alice: If I was a man, would you be asking me that?

Alice: They were us, Marie and Gwen. They were just like us.
Valerie: They are not us, Allie. We spend all day, every day together. We tell each other everything. We're private investigators. We have no secrets. We're not them.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

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