The Catch recap: 'The Knock-Off'

Nervously fixing your makeup in the mirror right before you meet your ex-boyfriend’s new fiancée might mean you just want to look your best — or it could be a sign you’re not as over your former flame as you once thought, especially if you recently found out you were wrong for thinking he was a murderer. Either way, that’s how tonight’s episode of The Catch begins, perfectly setting up Ben’s hour-ending confrontation with Ethan outside Alice’s office.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s back up a bit.

Gretchen — who, just like Alice, is a petite redhead — accompanies Ethan to the AVI office intending to hire the firm. The seemingly perfect Princeton and Columbia grad, who works for a charity and wants to launch a fashion startup (that will somehow benefit the needy, too… I forget exactly how) needs the private investigators to vet a potential investor before the deal is finalized. Alice, of course, agrees to take the case, even if she is a bit jealous of her replacement.

Tessa, whom Margot dropped off earlier for safekeeping while she’s off running her criminal enterprise, does some Googling and discovers the would-be investor, Charles Bergman, actually owns a string of sweat shops overseas and had been fined for various workplace violations in the past. Seeing as how that won’t line up with Gretchen’s plan to “save humanity,” as Val hilariously puts in, Alice pays her new client a visit with Tessa in tow. After sharing a ridiculous story about finding fabric inspiration during a trip to Peru, Alice gives her the truth about Bergman. Unsurprisingly, Gretchen’s upset and seems worried that failing to get her fashion line off the ground would disappoint. Feeling guilty about being the bearer of bad news, Alice offers to hook her up with other investors she knows — and all the while, Tessa’s busy browsing Gretchen’s clothing and looking incredulous at her stepmommy’s offer.

But when Alice calls Gretchen a little later to set up a meeting between her and a potential backer, Gretchen shares the good news: Ethan’s handed over $2.5 million of his own money to help her make her dreams come true. Immediately, an alarm goes off in Alice’s mind, and she thinks Gretchen may have known about Bergman the whole time and only hired AVI to dig up dirt on the guy so Ethan would agree to invest. Against Val’s advice, Alice calls her ex to share her suspicions, but he doesn’t think he’s being played. And when Gretchen shows up to confront Alice and insist she’s not after Ethan for his money, Alice feels guilty all over again.

When she later vents about her mistake to Ben, he blames himself for turning Alice into someone who’s suspicious of everyone — after all, if he hadn’t swindled her, she might be more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. He also thinks Ethan put Gretchen in Alice’s orbit to see if she still cared about him, but Alice (a little too quickly, methinks) laughs off his theory and starts kissing him as a distraction.

However, Gretchen’s case isn’t over just yet. After some more internet digging, Tessa presents Alice with evidence that Gretchen’s designs are actually knockoffs from other collections. Turns out her entire business is a sham, and while Gretchen was pretty thorough in setting it up — her employees are real, her name is on the building lease, etc. — AVI discovers that all of her shipments are going to the same address in Santa Monica, a home owned by Joel Hansen. But Joel is none other than Charles Bergman, the fake angel investor… and he’s also Gretchen’s husband. Essentially, they’re the new version of Ben and Margot.

Alice asks Ethan to meet her in Santa Monica, just outside the home Gretchen shares with her real beau. After sharing how Ben duped her when they first met, she draws his attention to Gretchen, whom we see planting a big ol’ smooch right on Joel’s lips. The jig is up, yo.

Ethan is so grateful for Alice finding out the truth that he offers to put AVI on exclusive retainer and pay them “a fortune” for their services. As they’re talking over the proposal with Val, Ben shows up to drive Tessa home and learns of the potential partnership. He’s not too thrilled at the idea of Alice spending even more time with Ethan, and he warns her the guy is just trying to “own her” all over again. Alice, for her part, maintains it’s just a business decision and not-so-politely tells Ben to stay out of it. She asks him to leave, at which point Ben and Ethan make eye contact from across the office. I don’t know about you, but I thought Ethan looked shady AF at that moment.

Ben, having obviously agreed with my excellent judgment, is waiting for Ethan outside AVI and unceremoniously tells him to find a new PI and security firm. Ethan contends that Alice can make up her own mind and “there’s nothing [Ben] can do about it.” Then, he goes in for the kill when he calls Ben a criminal and says that if Ben tries anything, Alice will see him for who he really is and leave him (and presumably run right back into Ethan’s arms). As a stunned Ben silently stands there, knowing Alice betrayed him, Ethan drops a smug “I’m sure I’ll see you around” and walks off.

Up until then, Ben was having a relatively good day working with Rhys, Justine, and the Human Hard Drive (a.k.a. Troy) to take down the Argosy group and save Justine’s hubby from his solo undercover job. The idea is to take down the group’s leader, Billy McClelland, who’s been underground since Eddie’s team arrested six of his lieutenants a few months back.

They need to draw McClelland out of hiding, so Ben has Rhys set up a meeting with his old Argosy contact. Ben will pose as a Department of Defense official looking to make some extra coin by unloading some military-grade weapons. He shows up with a sample of goods borrowed from the FBI’s armory and arranges a buy for 300 weapons at $2,000 a pop. (I’m clearly in the wrong line of work.) Rhys’ contact isn’t authorized to make a deal at that rate, but his boss is. And just like that, they’re in.

When Justine tells Eddie the good news, he pulls a gun on Rhys, Troy, and his startled wife. His jig is up, too: The truth is he killed McClelland months ago and has been in charge of Argosy ever since. (That’s seriously shady stuff, Eddie.) Unbeknownst to Ben, he shows up to the exchange while his partners are under armed guard elsewhere in the building. Just as one of Eddie’s henchman is about to shoot Rhys in the head, the lovable Brit tells Justine he’s a “bad guy” before getting the upper hand on his would-be murderer, stealing his gun and saving the day.

Rhys is still worried about Benji (does anyone else love this affectionate nickname?), but Justine cryptically says Ben’s not alone. Thankfully, part of the plan wasn’t shared with everyone: When Eddie’s guys open Ben’s van to unload the guns, a bunch of FBI agents storm out and put an end to the Argosy group once and for all. My favorite part is when Justine triumphantly walks up to Eddie, punches him in the gut, and places him under arrest. And oh, yeah, they’re getting a divorce for real this time.

Once the dust is settled, everyone goes back to Rhys’ house, where Justine sets Troy free but encourages him to think about putting his photographic memory to work for the FBI. Not knowing what to do next, the Human Hard Drive asks Rhys if he can stay with him — but Rhys, who’s been struggling all season to balance his good nature with his criminal instincts, turns him down. “Bad things happen to people who stay with me,” he says, and I wish I could give him a big hug.

Meanwhile, after Felicity’s surprise arrival at Margot’s door last week, the two enjoy a night of sexy time before the new head of the Kensington firm asks her sometimes-lover for the real reason she’s back in town. Felicity doesn’t tell Margot the truth about Rhys shooting her, but she does offer her services, a proposal Margot eventually accepts on a provisional basis. She needs help closing a trade deal with Matthew Keegan, a club owner who provides clients with “all the pills and powders they need.” He’s looking for a new supplier, and Margot wants to grease the wheels by bringing him a bottle of rare scotch worth more than $1 million. The liquor is locked in a cabinet behind the bar of an illegal gambling establishment called the Wolves’ Den, and Margot asks Felicity to help her steal it.

With a little security intel courtesy of Danny and Sophie (who found out this week about her coworker’s dalliances with their murderous client!), Margot and Felicity infiltrate the club and proceed to cheat the house on its roulette table. When Felicity wins enough to afford a couple of $100,000 shots from the ridiculously expensive bottle of scotch, Margot takes the chips to the bar to make her purchase. Things take a turn when Felicity gets caught with the rigged roulette ball, prompting the security guards to pull their guns. Luckily, Felicity throws suspicion off her by planting the house roulette ball on another unsuspecting gambler. During the distraction, Margot manages to trade the expensive scotch for one in an identical bottle (which probably contains Wild Turkey or something), and the two make their exit.

Unfortunately, Margot’s celebration doesn’t last long: When she meets with Keegan to finalize the deal, he tells her he already made a deal with someone else, a mystery guy who goes by the code name Mockingbird. Given no one else knew Keegan was looking for a new supplier, Margot realizes Felicity scammed her and shows up at Rhys’ in an angry tirade. Rhys, understandably confused about why his sister is looking for the presumed-dead Felicity, confesses to killing her — and when Margot blurts out that she recently had sex with a very much alive Felicity, the look on his face is nothing short of priceless.

Odds and Ends

• “Oh, god. Don’t tell me you picked now to start a lesbian phase.” —Tessa to Margot, when she sees her mother with Felicity
• “Shouldn’t you be leaving? A good piece of tail doesn’t overstay her welcome.” —Tessa to Felicity
• Alice: “Her name is Gretchen.”
  Ben: “Oh, my god, you hate her.”
• Alice: “Our services do not include childcare.”
  Margot: “They do if you’re the stepmommy.”
  Tessa: “Hello, stepmommy.”
• Alice: “I kinda want to hug you right now.”
  Tessa: “Oh, I think you should resist that urge.”
• Rhys: “Do you think she’s alright?” (asking about Justine)
  Ben: “Would you be?”
  Rhys: “Of course. But then again, I don’t care about anyone or anything.”
• “Well, gentleman, it’s been fun. And life-threatening, as usual.” —Ben to Rhys and Troy