I may not have understood it when I was younger, but now I see why procedural shows with a will-they-won’t-they element drag things out for as long as they do. With a case-of-the-week type of story, where things reset more or less to zero at the end of the episode, there needs to be something to keep you coming back, and when that thing is a relationship, it’s a nice change in dynamic. Break that tension too soon, and that creates an entirely separate issue. I’ll admit, I had my doubts by the halfway point of Wild Cards Season 1. If the series rushed Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan) and Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) into a relationship, it would break that will-they-won’t-they tension way too soon, and shake up the dynamic of the series before it really had a chance to get going. Fortunately, Season 2 manages to reset its leads not quite to zero — there is all that unresolved angst from Season 1, of course — but to a place that allows for a lot of delicious tension moving forward.
What Is ‘Wild Cards’ Season 2 About?

Wild Cards Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, with Max (Morgan) revealing to Cole (Giannioti) that she’s found the identity of his brother’s killer. However, as the reveal of this information also comes with the bombshell that she double-crossed him in the Season 1 finale, and used their connection to steal a $33 million artifact, the Imperial Egg, that she was supposed to be helping him recover, Cole isn’t super receptive to the news.
Because this is a procedural, however, and the status quo needs to be reestablished fairly quickly, Max is brought back on board the Metro Police team after covertly returning the stolen artifact to the evidence locker, and is once again partnered up with Cole. But while their partnership had previously been based on a begrudging trust — with Cole realizing she may be a con artist, but one with a heart of gold and a tendency to help others — things are different this time around. This time, Max has been caught pulling a con that impacts Cole. This time, his anger and hurt are personal, and the two of them have to build back up to the same level of trust they had reached in Season 1: the “do anything for each other” type of level.

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‘Wild Cards’ Season 2 Ups the Swoon Factor

Image via The CW

At its core, and on paper, Wild Cards is a police procedural series. But the best part of the series, and the part that truly makes it worth the watch, is Max and Cole’s dynamic. Morgan and Gianniotti’s sparkling chemistry really is the highlight of the show, and with the added tension of the season throwing fuel on that particular fire, it’s better than ever. As opposed to an opposites-attract sort of flirtation, the series is now working within the world of angst and broken trust, and doesn’t that always make the payoff that much sweeter? With the premise of the show firmly back in place, and with Max once again working alongside Cole as his partner of sorts, the show is free to play with more outlandish premises that, in some cases, feel ripped right from romance novels. Cowboy romance? We’ve got that. A Fast & the Furious-style romance? We’ve got that too.
That’s not to say that that is all Season 2 is, as Cole tries to use the evidence Max gives him to track down the person that killed his brother, and Max continues to work with her incarcerated father, George (Jason Priestly), on an even bigger score than the $33 million they would have gotten from the Imperial Egg. What works so well about Wild Cards Season 2 in the first three episodes provided for review is that this overarching plot doesn’t supersede the “problem of the week” format, or push Max and Cole’s swoony flirtation to the backburner. Instead, it acts as a wonderful complementary balance to those other elements, adding dimension to their personal and professional relationship as the three develop in tandem, setting the stage for a second season with higher professional, personal, and yes, even romantic stakes than the first.
Wild Cards Season 2 premieres February 5 on The CW.

Wild Cards

Wild Cards refreshes the tension between its two leads, slowing down the slow burn in an entertaining Season 2.

Release Date

January 10, 2024

Network

The CW

Showrunner

Michael Konyves

Writers

Alexandra Zarowny, James Thorpe, Noelle Carbone, Morwyn Brebner

Giacomo Gianniotti

Max Mitchell

Pros & Cons

Broken sexual tension? Not here! We’re back on the slow-burn train!
The introduction of larger plot elements doesn’t come at the expense of the procedural nature of the show.