Everyone Needs a Way Out in ‘The Gold’ Season 2

We’ve reached the midpoint of The Gold Season 2, and while the hour starts off looking like Boyce and company are finally getting somewhere, things quickly derail. Still, the hour opens on a hopeful note: Boyce has the papers to allow wiretapping in Baxter’s offices on the Isle of Man and at Miller’s house across the Mediterranean from Tenerife. Both Nikki and Lundy yell, “Finally!” into their respective payphones, probably unaware (or in Lundy’s case, not caring) that if any of this gets out, Boyce will have to resign.

The two make their way into their respective residences, with Lundy entering Miller’s house and Nikki heading into Baxter’s. While Lundy has plenty of time to get things done, as Miller is off laundering money and thinking about buying boats, Nikki isn’t as lucky, so she leaves Tony to waylay Baxter while she escapes. It’s fine; Nikki completed the mission, and everything is still running as planned. But Tony is a little freaked out – Baxter’s seen his face now; he’s not sure if that means he should take himself off the case and head home because this puts everything in jeopardy or not. Nikki tells him to pull it together. It doesn’t matter that Baxter saw his face; Baxter is an idiot and a drug addict, and the chances he’ll remember are slim. Besides, the next time they see him, Baxter will be in cuffs.

As a result of all this wiretapping, the team now listens in as Miller and Baxter make various calls to each other and to Scott in Tortola over the course of the episode. Not that there’s much going on other than conversation – sure there are various minions tossing bodies overboard behind Scott, but it feels very removed from the central action. Not that viewers are looking for Reservoir Dogs-style violence from PBS, but there are definitely times in this episode where it feels like the interesting stuff got left on the cutting room floor, and we’re only allowed a few seconds of the actually interesting developments.