The Catch Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Pilot

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Were you reeled in by The Catch?

On The Catch Season 1 Episode 1 we were introduced to Alice Vaughan, a fraud investigator who found herself defrauded. 

It's a great premise for a TV show, but you could argue that it isn't going to be enough to sustain a whole TV show around it. That's where the Scandal of it all comes into play. The show seems ripe to be a procedural with a big recurring series long arc running in the background. 

At first, it comes off as a light version of Scandal, and not because it's set in a sunnier locale. It just gave off all the same vibes I got while first watching Scandal, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Scandal turned out very well after a rough beginning, so I have high hopes for the future of The Catch. 

The main thing that irked me about The Catch was that it was drastically different from the original trailer ABC delivered at the upfronts last year. Obviously, there were a lot of casting changes, but it has me wondering what management at ABC didn't like about the original product. 

Back to the goodies. Mirielle Enos shines as Alice. She was a marvel on The Killing, but her role this time round is a drastic departure from Linden. The show's success was always going to ride on whether Enos could pull off the role, and she turns in an outstanding effort. 

She's a hard ass who has her life turned upside down by the charm of Peter Krause's Benjamin. Props to Benjamin (or whatever the frak his name is!) for pulling the rug out from under her. She let her guard down, and based on the flashbacks, this is a plan that required a lot of time to pull off. 

Things always get a little more complicated when you've been hitting the sheets with someone, so he's in quite the predicament right about now. His cover is well and truly blown, and Alice won't stop until she catches her mouse. 

It's pretty evident they're going to go for another tumble between the sheets before the season is over. It doesn't take a scientist to figure that one out, but it should be interesting to see what sort of revenge Alice has in store for him because let's face it, she's going to catch up with him very soon. 

Out of the supporting players, Danny quickly emerged as a front runner. That's not to say the others were bad because they weren't. There was no bad acting in sight. There were just some very cringe worthy moments. 

The final scene was intriguing, but I'm just not buying him getting Alice that damn painting. It was just a little too far, but I guess that it solidified just how good he is at staying in the shadows.

It showed Alice that in order to get close to getting her money back she's going to need to up her game. Don't expect her to take Benjamin up on his offer of running away if he asks again. Then again, maybe she should have thought twice about rejecting him.

For a series premiere, The Catch started off in a good place. It introduced us to a world filled with characters that are sure to keep us tuning in for more and set up some juicy storylines that could only work in Shondaland. Don't believe what you've heard. This is the show you've been waiting all season to catch. 

What did you think of The Catch? Are you in it for the long haul? What did you think about the casting changes? Hit the comments below and chat with me!

Pilot Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0 (41 Votes)

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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