TV Jots

Tie ‘Em Up Before They Fray

[Episode 1.02] While the first episode of Smith was all about the botched Tanner Museum job in Pittsburgh, the second episode focuses on the inevitable subsequent FBI investigation, as well as the activities of Bobby’s team members.

The FBI, led by Agent Dodd, immediately deduces that six criminals were responsible for the theft of three paintings worth $100 to $200 million: DECOY WOMAN, a blonde, blue-eyed female across the street who functioned as a decoy after renting two of the vehicles involved under a false name; the muscular DRIVER seen only from behind in the alley; the white PHONE MAN with dark hair; the slightly built white guy with an unidentified ACCENT; the white guy with shaggy blond hair and a TATTOO; and SMITH, the 6-foot white guy with black hair, blue eyes, and expensive clothes who was calling the shots.

Dodd’s not kidding when he says the FBI is coming for Team Bobby.

Meanwhile, Annie shows her true greedy colors at the team’s first meeting after the job. The payout split is supposed to be 50 percent to Bobby as leader, and 50 percent divided among the rest of the team. Annie cops an attitude and asks Bobby why she and the guys are receiving only $100,000, or a one-fifth split, when Shawn is now dead and there are four of them left.

Bobby cops a bigger attitude in response and explains Shawn’s share is going to Macy and their son. You can just sense it — one day soon, Annie’s greasy little fingers are going to get her exactly what she deserves. Can’t wait.

Annie figures heavily in this episode for another reason, too. Since Bobby insists on laying low for a while, she comes up with a supplementary identity-theft job to tide herself over, and she lets Tom and Jeff in on it.

But, unbeknownst to her, while she’s busy planning that crime, her old high school buddy Nancy Scialfa (you know — the poor woman Annie zapped with a stun gun in the alley near the museum) is busy informing the FBI about her younger days as dark-haired Dorothy Collins. Dodd and a colleague visit her parents, who both claim ignorance of her whereabouts. Yet, Annie’s father secretly calls and warns her as soon as the Feds leave.

Things aren’t going much better for Bobby, although he remains clueless for now that his wife Hope suspects he’s behind the Tanner theft and is determined to prove it. She’s sneaking peeks at news reports and searching his belongings the second he steps out the door to go to work.

When she comes up with bubkes, however, her sleuthing and suspicions just grow more intense. She branches out to calling every criminal she knows for a lead on what Bobby’s up to, and she finally hits paydirt when she bumps into Macy, who reveals Shawn has been AWOL in Las Vegas since the preceding Thursday.

Out on the Venice Beach boardwalk, Tom and Jeff are doing their yin-yang thing, and they reveal that Tom spent eight months in jail because he was caught during a job while Annie got away because she was already outside the building. Tom doesn’t blame her for not giving herself up, but for some reason, Jeff does.

And, just so we know how impetuous Jeff is, he steals a guy’s “sweet bike” with the owner sitting right on it after the guy makes the huge mistake of winking at Jeff while he’s admiring the vehicle. Bet the dude will never do that again. And, no, Tom, who just wants to complete his parole in peace, is not pleased.

Now is a great time to note the very weird vibe between Annie, an incurable and probably dangerous flirt, and Jeff, who acts like he hates Annie’s guts but actually seems to be struggling mightily to hide his lust for his best friend’s woman. I wonder where all that will lead. No doubt, nowhere good.

However, there’s even more trouble brewing for Jeff because, unknown to him, Kala Tafattafua (Sidney S. Liufau), the brother/cousin of the two men Jeff assassinated on the beach in the first episode, visits the police in Honolulu. A cop played by The Closer‘s Michael Paul Chan gives him a sketch of the murderer who killed his relatives, thanks to a witness.

The lawman also discloses that Jeff’s car was rented with a license stolen during a robbery in Los Angeles. So, Jeff is in big trouble because Tafattafua is huge and he’s coming stateside just to track Jeff down.

But first, Tom and Jeff sign on for Annie’s three-minute Ram Raid — their words, not mine. During the robbery, they literally storm the walls of data company IDA (Information Data Associates) with a SVU outfitted like a battering ram. The target? Not money, but rather over a half million stored accounts that include mothers’ maiden names, birth dates, and social security numbers.

Jeff initially balks at the $50 grand payday, yet agrees after snarkily asking if Annie will be inside with them or outside waiting to run at the sound of the first siren. Ha ha! Funny guy, although Annie clearly doesn’t think so.

Elsewhere, at his financial advisor’s office, Bobby is immensely disappointed to learn he only has $4,262,000 saved up and won’t be able to turn it into $10 million with his current investment strategy. See, that’s the main difference between me and fake people on TV — I’d be perfectly happy, thrilled in fact, with the first amount. But Bobby isn’t, and the $5 million shortage is what motivates him to take the five-week, $500,000 precious metal job from Charlie when he knows it would be better to wait longer following the Tanner disaster.

If only Bobby also knew his wife Hope, terrified his suspected illegal activities are going to ruin their happy suburban life, is investigating him harder than any cop ever will. Yet, first Bobby has to deal with Charlie, who considers Macy a loose end from the Tanner job. Despite the problems Shawn has brought, Bobby is determined to protect Macy, especially from Charlie.

At the garage, Joe is having a hard time keeping Macy in the dark about her husband Shawn’s death. Why, I don’t know, but he’s come up with the brilliant plan (Not!) of sending her $5,000 here and $10,000 there, with fake notes supposedly from Shawn to make her think her husband is in Las Vegas gambling.

Macy has a better idea, though. How about she just do what most wives would and assume he’s stepping out on her. That’s much more likely in her mind, gambling problem or not.

The episode ends with the team congregating once again after a call from Bobby, this time to brainstorm the half-ton precious metals job. As they discuss details like using rumored drunk Mark Langley as their new electronics guy, Hope stares worriedly at her kids playing in the pool and Tafattafua arrives in Venice Beach to take care of business with Jeff. You know a man is as cool as a cucumber when he wears flip-flops to seek fatal revenge.

Up Next on Episode Three: The FBI continues closing in on the team, even as the members prepare for their second heist by stealing an armored truck, and the situation with Macy grows more complex when an unexpected visitor arrives out of the blue.