Whiskey Cavalier Review: When In Rome (Season 1 Episode 3)
Whiskey Cavalier Season 1, Episode 3, “When in Rome,” sends the team to Italy in the midst of their first family fight. It is a tame, yet amusing hour that shows that this team is stuck with each other whether they like it or not.
Europe itself is emerging as a star cast member as the opening image features a birds-eye view of London’s Millennium Bridge. Could you imagine working on this show? Simultaneously making television and bouncing across Europe would be the dream.
A burning question I’m left with following these opening scenes is why does Frankie still not trust Will? She’s annoyed he keeps bringing it up, but Will’s point is valid. He really did save her life in France. The whole purpose of that scene in Whiskey Cavalier Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” is to get Frankie to trust him.
I thought we were past this, but apparently not.
SCOTT FOLEY, LAUREN COHAN
Jai officially has the coolest job on the team (that weaponized engagement ring, though!), but unfortunately acts like a complete jerk. Not caring whether Standish is offended is funny, and the tiny gun Jai later trolls him with is even funnier. He hits below the belt, though, telling Susan her opinion does not matter. He is lucky she is so forgiving. I wouldn’t be.
Susan is not entirely in the right, though. Constantly psychoanalyzing everyone including your teammates is not a good look, but I have a feeling she will realize that soon.
Her relationship with Will is interesting because Will welcomes the analysis. Where Frankie is the opposite of Will, Susan makes him a heightened version of himself. That seems to be where their friendship works, however, as Will also does the same for her.
ANA ORTIZ, VIR DAS, TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS
Edgar continues to be a comedic standout. He 100% does not need a gun but wants one simply to fit in. Convincing Will that he needs two guns while dancing around making “pow!” noises is one of the standouts of the night. We just won’t talk about the whole shooting Jai thing.
Seeing more of Edgar and Jai together is nice as they have the makings of a fun #brotp. Edgar’s remark about being a “diverse Batman and Robin” is a seemingly perfect way to describe them.
Instead of balancing each other, Will and Frankie are more like two repelling magnets. They are at odds the entire time, and at times are more irritating than cute. Though it is pretty amusing when Frankie realizes Will took the bullets out of her gun before she interrogates Andrews.
TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS, VIR DAS
It’s crystal clear how someone like Frankie joins the CIA, but it’s less clear how someone as sweet and pure as Will joins the FBI. He is a Pillsbury Doughboy of feelings, and it’s the cutest thing. The “dance with me so I can get to know you” move he pulls with Frankie is right out of our favorite early 2000’s rom-coms. (No, seriously, go watch The Wedding Planner. It’s the best.)
Frankie and the spy she used to know, Marco, have a total Mr. & Mrs. Smith vibe going on. I suppose it’s no surprise that she was an assassin before joining the CIA, but does the government know about this? I feel like that is something they’d want to know.
The ass-kicking Frankie and Will later give Marco is impressive. Frankie is definitely my chosen player for future games of Mortal Kombat. Plus, who knew you could get someone to stab themselves like that?
SCOTT FOLEY
It turns out that disabling a bomb – a huge one, at that – is the best way to work out your differences. This particular near-death experience softens Frankie just enough to call Will “adequate,” which if I’m Will, I take as a huge win.
Frankie really does need to learn how to trust, though. If her stubbornness and insistence upon being a one-woman show hasn’t bit her already, it will. This episode ends in a big boom if Will doesn’t slide under that bomb to help guide the detonator to safety
In the same way, Susan is similar to Will, Jai is similar to Frankie. This is not as endearing as it is with the former pair, though, because Jai is more of an impeccably-dressed devil on Frankie’s shoulder.
Also, how about the story Jai references of Frankie nearly killing him the first time they met? It makes me wonder if Jai starred on Scandal before coming to Whiskey Cavalier. That is some fierce loyalty.
The team rejecting the idea of “family” is a reminder that we are only two weeks in. Frankie balking at the word is at first disheartening, but with many more adventures ahead, they will definitely begin to bond. Hell, they already have.
What did you think of this episode of Whiskey Cavalier? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Whiskey Cavalier airs Wednesday at 10/9c on ABC.
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Gina Zippilli
Gina is the co-host of Meet Us At Molly’s, the first-ever Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. podcast. Outside of One Chicago, she has never met an ensemble-driven cop show, post-apocalyptic drama or true crime whodunit she has not liked.