AVI’s case of the week is a constant in the format of The Catch, but would the show be better off if it wasn’t?
We’re now at the halfway mark of The Catch season 1, and there is one thing that has remained more consistent than anything else. No, it’s not the split screen of death, the fact that Alice’s outfits are on point, or even that Margot steals the world’s collective heart, although all of these things are tied at a close second.
The one thing that can always be said about an episode of The Catch is that AVI’s case of the week is the least interesting part! With the intriguing chemistry between Alice and Ben, the unfolding complications of Margot’s past, and the fun that the cons bring to the show, I always find myself waiting for the case of the week scenes to be over so that the real show can continue.
It’s not that the AVI team members aren’t interesting. Alice and Valerie’s friendship has so much potential to be a highlight of the show, and after Alice finally came clean about (some of) her transgressions, it is already on its way there. Sophie and Danny have a fun dynamic together and they also have the potential to be great characters individually, when used correctly.
No, the problem isn’t the people that are investigating the cases, it’s the cases themselves, and the fact that it would be nearly impossible to make them as compelling as the rest of the things happening on The Catch. So far, they have mostly served as unnecessary filler for the episodes, except for one small quote or moment at the end of the episode that ties everything up in a bow, and applies to our characters’ lives in some minuscule way.
In other investigative procedural shows, like Veronica Mars and Elementary, the premise of the show is centered around detectives or private investigators who…well…investigate. Therefore, in those shows, the procedural aspect is integral, and a huge part of what makes them interesting.
The premise of The Catch is that a woman who’s a private investigator is betrayed by her fiance who’s actually a con artist. The fiance/con artist is really married to a woman who’s even further involved with other, elite con artists. Throw in the added complication that is Agent Jules Dao, and an episode gets very busy, very quickly.
The con artist procedural aspect has been more interesting to watch than the AVI cases because the cons have been extended over multiple episodes. If Princess Zara had just been around for one episode of The Catch, she would have been just as forgettable as…see, I literally can’t remember a single name from a case of the week. Since she stuck around for a few weeks, she ended up having a real effect on Ben, and actually became a fan-favorite character!
If AVI were to adopt a similar format, and stretch their cases out over multiple weeks, the cases would potentially be more interesting. If, rather than having an investigation that is neatly tied up after one episode, they offered more complicated cases, fans would have more time to speculate about the outcome and it would be much more impactful when Alice eventually solved the case. This could make the investigations much more interesting than the current, open and shut in one episode, format.
Another option would be to incorporate more cases that are personal to the characters we know and enjoy. Procedural shows are at their best when the weekly cases highlight something about the main characters’ lives. If the investigation had a personal meaning to Alice, Sophie, Danny, or Valerie, as was the case when Gordon was involved, or the procedural aspect had more to do with Ben’s team and Jules Dao, it would tie into the overall show a lot better.
Alice’s coworkers could also be incorporated into the show in different ways. They are obviously important people in her life, so I think it’s important to showcase them, but there may be better ways of doing it than the case of the week format.
The most we’ve seen of Valerie is when she was helping Alice take down Jules (which was completely awesome). Sophie was also able to showcase her skills when she was helping Alice investigate Ben, and to be honest, I still don’t fully understand what Danny’s role is, even though he’s been involved in every case. They all have potential to be great characters, but if they’re consistently only involved in the most boring aspect of the show, they may never reach it.
Felicity is now becoming a focal point of The Catch, and the benefactor will be making his first appearance soon. With these additions, the case of the week will be even more sidelined, in favor of more interesting story lines. Now that the show and the main characters have been established, I think it’s time to drop the case of the week format (or at least alter it to be more interesting), and involve the characters in more interesting parts of The Catch!