Review: Lucky Season 1, Episode 3: “Read the Room”

Written by Ariel Levine Directed by Greg Yaitanes

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Lucky has hidden in the back of Dutch’s truck. That takes her to Priscilla’s ranch, where the poor guy that Priscilla assumed knew about her son Cary’s whereabouts is being tortured. Things do not end well for that man, to say the least. Priscilla is not fooling around, if that was ever in doubt.

I like how this moment shows Lucky afraid and unsure what to do. Much of the first two episodes was all about showing how good a con artist Lucky could be. But here, we see that she has her limits, when pushed far enough. But a quick call from her father helps her reset and figure out a path forward.

So the episode becomes all about chasing down Cary. Priscilla and Dutch are at a bit of an impasse, but Lucky and Agent Rand are still pressing forward. Rand is intent on finding Cary because he can presumably deliver Priscilla, who in turn can presumably deliver her Wayne Whitaker. But even Rand runs into obstacles and dead ends, because she’s so intent on tracking what Priscilla is doing or has done.

Lucky’s first task upon escaping Priscilla’s ranch is to get herself new clothes, a new vehicle, and a good amount of cash. This entire sequence is another opportunity for the writers to show us how deft Lucky can be at manipulating people and situations. She’s definitely in her element. She might feel a little guilty about stealing gifts from a kid at a birthday party, but given how obscenely rich everyone at the party seems to be, she probably gets over it pretty quickly.

We also get flashbacks throughout the episode that suggest that Lucky was schooled in the criminal life by her father, but ultimately, she really would rather not be living the life. She wanted nothing to do with the scheme that brought her to this mess. These scenes hint at motivations for what Lucky may (or may not) do as the story progresses. One can assume that she’s looking for an exit strategy on more than one level.

In the process of getting documentation for a new identity, Lucky stumbles on Cary’s new location and alias. This brings us to another sequence where we get to see how cool and collected Lucky can be in getting her way. I don’t feel at all bad for the real estate jerk that she manipulates; he was ready to force himself on her, after all. So it’s a joy to see her play him like a fiddle from the moment she steps into the bar.

It all leads Lucky to Cary’s new place, and here is where we see Lucky’s control over the situation falter. Despite warnings from her father to stick to the mission, as it were, and not let her emotions over Cary’s betrayal get the better of her, that’s exactly what she does. It’s a nice contrast to the breezy way she manipulated the situations at the party and the bar. There’s some purpose in tearing the furniture apart, but she's anything but cool and clinical when doing it.

If Lucky had found the money, would she have left without confronting Cary? I have my doubts. Especially when she left that gun within easy reach, sitting there waiting for him. (I think she probably should have been holding that gun instead; I’m anticipating that this will be an important mistake.) But we only get the moment Cary discovers he has been found. The rest of the confrontation is left for the next episode.

I like that this wasn't just another episode of Lucky on the run. Instead, we get more evidence of how competent she is as a con artist. I find that a lot more interesting in the long run, so I hope that they continue to focus on that aspect of her character.