Synopsis: In The Hustler Job, the crew takes on a phone scamming ring that uses deepfake technology to con their marks, run by an old school hustler who came up via the pool hall circuit. To infiltrate his organization, they have to best him on and off the felt.
The Story
When Harry’s mum gets scammed by a deepfake video call of her granddaughter claiming to be in trouble, he’s furious—and determined to get her money back. He asks the team to help him track down whoever pulled the con and get some justice for his mum. The trail leads them to an old-school pool hustler who’s running his club as a front for some Russian gangsters. To get close to the gang behind the scams, Harry and Sophie go undercover as pool hustlers, while Eliot and Parker team up to locate the servers and gain access to the gang’s Swiss bank accounts.
The Acting
The Hustler Job features some standout performances throughout the episode. Christian Kane has a few fun moments, especially during a sparring session where Eliot tries to teach Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) how to fall properly. But the real highlight comes from Noah Wyle, who has to convince another hustler that he’s a genuine pool shark. With a little tech support from Breanna, he pulls it off. We also get a solid turn from Michael Masini as Donovan Keyes, the mark the team is aiming to take down.
Overall
As episodes go, The Hustler Job is a fairly average one, using the old trope of pool halls and pool sharks as a backdrop to further develop Harry Wilson’s character. While there are quite a few cliché moments, the writers do manage to have some fun with the tech angle—Harry uses a pair of augmented reality glasses to cheat at pool, getting instructions from Breanna, who’s hidden just above the table in the ceiling. Despite these moments, it still feels like a fairly middle-of-the-road episode.
- Story6.8
- Acting8.5
- CGI & Stunts9.0
- Incidental Music8,5
