(S03E06) This was another great episode, but I was kind of disappointed finale-wise. The characters didn't develop any further, the story's complications weren't much more intricate than those of the previous episodes, and the sexual tension was still virtually untouched (hasn't really been talked about since Season One). I guess this is because each and every episode wraps up really nicely so that, even if you watch them out of order, everything still makes sense. I want Hustle to do something extreme for once. Have the gang royally screw something up! Have a con go horribly wrong, resulting in the death of a member's loved one and the eventual crippling depression of the aforementioned member. Something.

The episode started right in the middle of the gang's latest cons. Stacie was just about to work her "sex kitten" act when she stopped dead in her tracks. She just spotted someone that she recognized... her ex-husband, Jake. A crazy twist within the first two minutes? Bravo, Hustle. Anyway, Stacie's ex-husband ran out on her years and years ago, taking all their savings with him. To exact revenge on this jerk that betrayed their beloved Stacie, the gang decided to make her ex the new mark. Stacie explained some of his background to the group and they decided that, by working off his love for poker, they would fool him with a bent Hold 'Em competition.

This episode revolved around a con that takes advantage of a vengeful, rich wife, a con called "The Congeve" (named after William Congreve, the man who penned the phrase "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"... It's paraphrased, but that's how everyone knows it, anyway). The group pondered the possibility of conning a woman named Katherine Winterborn, a real "psycho bitch", as Stacie put it. After Ash revealed that he's been secretly caring for his ex-wife and former grifter, June (she use to play "The Flop" like Ash, but after one went wrong, she suffered from partial brain damage). He's desperate for some money to provide some proper care for her so the group eventually decide to go through with the risky, but profitable, Congreve.

While Stacie and Danny busied themselves with a game of strip poker (which Danny easily lost), Mickey met Victor Maher, an ex-fraud squad man turned bank security head and the person to ever catch Albert. Maher explained to Mickey that he had some footage of a young Danny when he used to work as a look-out for some thieves. He used this as bait, luring Mickey into helping him catch a robber who has been troubling his bank. Maher decided to use a con artist to catch the thief so he wanted Mickey to befriend the robber, Sam Richards, and then help Maher catch him by accompanying Richards during the actual robbery. Despite Albert's advice to stay away from Maher (because he's always one step ahead), Mickey agreed to save Danny (and his ego).

The episode started out with Mickey and Stacie, disguised as fumigators, shooing a couple of store-owners out of their shop because of a rat infestation (rats courtesy of Albert). After the couple leave, Mickey and Stacie stripped out their jumpsuits into sophisticated suits just as Danny Blue rushed in. Moments later, a woman named Meredith Gates walked in and had a serious conversation with Danny (or "Mr. Pomeroy" as she called him) about splitting the cost of a painting 50/50, £250,000 each.

Saturday marked the American premiere of the BBC drama, Hustle, on AMC. The show revolves around the secret, underground world of grifters -- or con artists -- and, more specifically, a close-knit team of five. As someone that really enjoyed Matchstick Men (both the Eric Garcia book and the movie starring Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell), I was excited to see a series all about conning. To put it simply, Hustle does not disappoint. Although some of the activity borders on far-fetch, it's all intriguing enough to make you wonder if con artists really do have to go through that much magic just to make something work.