After two seasons, The Catch has come to an unsatisfying conclusion. Here’s why it should have been given another chance to tell its story.
There’s nothing worse than when a show that you love ends on a cliffhanger because it didn’t get a chance to finish its story. Unfortunately, fans are disappointed by this event all the time, and fans of The Catch just became the latest victims. ABC pulled the plug on the Shondaland drama after two seasons, removing it from the TGIT lineup.
Right from the start, The Catch had mighty big shoes to fill, stepping into How to Get Away with Murder’s slot alongside TGIT heavyweights Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. Before the show even premiered, everyone was wondering if it would live up to the Shondaland hype.
The answer, at first, was quite simple. No. It’s no secret that The Catch struggled to find its voice in season 1. The progress of The Catch was stifled by its commitment to a procedural format, and the tone was, at times, difficult to decipher as the show tried to figure out what role it had to fill in its already drama-saturated lineup.
When The Catch essentially dropped the initial P.I. being conned by her fiancé premise after its fourth episode, things got even more confusing. Everything we thought we knew about the show was tossed aside, and we had no idea what to expect. It was a risky move, for sure, but it turned out to be the perfect one for the show.
Once we were through the awkwardness of the mid-season 1 tonal shift, The Catch began to find its voice. Fans learned to appreciate the fun dynamic that the team of con artists brought to the table. We were able to fully root for Alice and Ben as a couple, knowing who Ben was truly loyal to. We got to love to hate Margot, and love to love Danny and Sophie.
Once the Kensington firm entered, the show really leaned into its comedic side. John Simm, as Rhys, brought a level of humor to the group that the other characters hadn’t been allowed. Once he joined, however, both Ben and Margot got to play alongside him, and their characters shone all the brighter. Scenes where Ben and Rhys teamed up, or where the sibling rivalry between Margot and Rhys came to light became a highlight of The Catch, very quickly.
When Mama Kensington (not anyone’s actual last name) came onto the scene, the deal was sealed. The show was a wonky, caper comedy, and the complicated dynamic of the firm was its star.
By the end of season 1, The Catch had found its voice, and in season 2, it learned how to use it. Going into the sophomore season, the show was even rebranded as a “romantic comedy.” AVI lost its random case-of-the-week, and focused their attention on characters more central to the story. Namely, Margot and Ethan. Ben and Rhys became a permanent con man duo, with the fantastic Gina Torres often as a welcome addition to their team.
Where The Catch once felt disjointed, and at times like two separate entities, everything became much more fluid. The lines between the “good side” and the “bad side” became more and more blurry. Magic happened when characters who at one point despised one another were forced to work together, and in some cases, even fell in love!
The Catch began to weave a story where any pair of characters could share the screen and have a complex, delicate, and above all, fascinating dynamic. The Catch became a story that was absolutely bursting with possibility. Also, a fact that shouldn’t be overlooked is that the show was also fantastic for its portrayal of powerful women, and its racial and LGBTQ+ representation.
Unfortunately, just as the show was reaching new heights, and we were beginning to beg for more, it’s been cancelled. We’ll never get to know if Margot can achieve redemption through her love for Danny and Tessa. We’ll never figure out if Rhys is actually more friend or foe (definitely leaning toward the latter, at this point, though). Sophie will never leave that hospital, AVI will never recover, and Alice and Ben will never get their happy, peaceful ending. Although, if Ethan had his say, they never would have anyway.
Sure, we got a Casablanca style ending to send these characters off, but what we really want is season 3! Unfortunately, in today’s world of media oversaturation, so many shows get cancelled before their time.
In the case of The Catch, a wonderful second season couldn’t overcome the stigma of its first instalment. It simply found its voice too late. When it got there, though, it had the potential to be great.
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