Clouds in a Macadamia Latte
WILD CARDS – Season 1 Episode 9 – (limited spoilers) ⁓
Max and Cole
On a Saturday, Max (Vanessa Morgan) gets a call from her butler Ricky (Fletcher Donovan). She is downtown, and walking to some unspecified location. “I’m calling,” he says, “to remind you that the deadline is fast approaching.”
MAX: “Ugh. You don’t have to remind me.”
RICKY: “I beg to differ. What if he doesn’t show up?”
MAX: “He’ll show up. Am I ever wrong?”
RICKY: “Must I remind you f the Duke of Schlesweig and his iguana?”
MAX: “First of all, he was a count, not a duke and second of all, everyone’s entitled to an off night, okay? So don’t worry about me, worry about your begonias.”
Cole’s wise barista
She stops for a coffee and Barista Joe (David Kaye) wonders why Cole isn’t with her, then wishes her a “blessed day”. Somewhere across town Cole (Giacomo Gianniotti) gets a coffee, and has what will likely turn out to be an important conversation with another barista (Robegiene), who wonders why Max isn’t with him. “We just work together. Not for much longer now,” says Cole. “That’s too bad,” saysd the barista. “She’s dope. You must be bummed. It’s hard to find someone you work well with. That’s why I went solo. My own coffee island. No one to answer to, no one to rely on.”
Endings (Irma and Karl) and beginnings (Mr. Simpson and Mrs. Field)
She makes Max’s coffee by mistake, so we learn that Max’s usual order is a double shot latte, with macadamia milk, sugar-free caramel, and a kiss of whipped cream. Cole drinks his coffee black.
Max stops at a bank, and watches the other people inside. Rain (Jana Morrison) is explaining to a teller (Heather Feeney) that the cash machine ate her card. (Max finds out later that Rain’s mother refused to loan Rain, who had recently lost her job, money to go to a concert in Portland.) Mrs. Field (Kate Robbins) allows Rain ahead of her in line because she has a crush on the other teller, Caesar Simpson (Alvin Sanders). Flustered bank manager Karl (Sean Amsing) enters through a back door and speaks to Tracey (Doralynn Mui) who assures him the child is really his. Karl’s wife Irma (Fiona Vroom) is noticeably pissed. Then two bank robbers show up, and take all of them, including Max, hostage.
Jana Morrison as Rain — Morrison is also Louisa in AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES: SOMETHING NEW.
Because Max is always losing her keys, Ricky tagged them, and this, combined with an abbreviated phone call from Max lets Cole figure out what’s going on. Against orders, he sneaks inside the bank and with Max’s help, foils the robbery, getting shot in the process. (He is wearing a vest.) Mrs. Field and Mr. Simpson agree to have dinner together. Karl and Irma seem to be headed for a divorce.
Chief Li (Terry Chen) is less than happy with what happened. “The Commissioner asked for a review of what went down today,” he tells Max and Cole, “and it doesn’t look good for either of you…And you broke protocol in a deadly hostage situation. Ellis, you let your emotions for your partner’s safety cloud your judgment. One wrong move in there and you both could have gotten everyone killed, so as of now, your reinstatement and your probation are on hold.”
Chief Li
That, and the earlier conversation between Cole and the Barista suggest that Cole might decide to stop being a cop, and become a P.I. instead.
Cole drives Max home. They are about to kiss when her front door opens and a man (Dewshane Williams) steps outside. Cole asks “Who’s this?” and Max says “My husband.” It seems possible that the arrival of Max’s husband might have something to do with that conversation Max had with Ricky at the start of the episode.