THE FINDER: The Great Escape

A magician, Preston Mill, needs Walter’s help finding his assistant who disappeared during one of their illusions, right in the middle of their casino act. The trick went wrong, fire engulfed the stage, and when it was over she was nowhere to be found. Not even in the hidden compartment beneath the stage where she was supposed be. Walter hates magic, but ends up taking the case anyway. Walter quickly finds a hidden crawlspace leading out of the compartment. His theory? The assistant, Angelica, snuck out, robbed the casino safe, then disappeared with the loot. When they go to check the safe, they find Jonni working there (a flamboyant character who only a couple of weeks ago Walter had gotten arrested for selling knock-off shoes). Once the safe is opened, they find it full of cash. Walter is shaken, he was sure he had found the answer, there shouldn’t be cash in the safe.

Leo is concerned when he spies Willa’s cousin Timo leaving her trailer early one morning. He takes it out on Isabel, who is spending her nights at the Ends of the Earth with Walter these days. Later, despite Willa having assured him that Timo slept on the floor, Leo asks Isabel to spend a little girl time with Willa and try to guide her in the right direction. She needs a woman’s influence.

Walter reenacts Angelica’s disappearance with his models, and Isabel arrives to tell him she checked into Willa’s background and learned Timo isn’t really her cousin. Gypsies call each other cousin. Walter can only think of the case right now, though, and drags Isabel with him to order Jonni to open the safe again. Walter throws a stack of the bills in the air, and they all land face down, which isn’t possible – they’re all counterfeit.

Secret Service Agent Judy Green is brought in to investigate the case. Angelica was using the name of someone who died 25 years ago, and they found $170,000 in counterfeit bills. Judy only responds to Walter’s questions, not Isabel’s, frustrating Isabel since she is actually law enforcement and Walter is just a guy in flip flops. I’m kind of rooting for Isabel the pistol whip her, but she’s showing incredible restraint, even though you can see she’s seething. Since Preston had shown an ability to open the safe with ease, he is arrested for the robbery.

Walter uses “Walter math” to figure out that the counterfeiter is probably an art student. He locates one that bought 200 lbs. of paper but not through his school, which seems suspicious. The student’s name is Maddox Holt, but his professor tells Walter the kid dropped out of class three weeks before. When Walter and Leo go to the students penthouse, which is extremely expensive for a student to afford, they find Angelica standing over Maddox’s body. She flees when she sees them and vanishes before Walter can catch her.

Isabel and Willa have their girl time, and Isabel confronts her about Timo not being her cousin. Willa thinks Isabel has nerve telling anyone else how to conduct their love life. She went from Walter to the perfect baseball player, then back to Walter. Walter interrupts the girl talk with a call to ask Isabel to go into his vault and get a ring to use for bailing Preston out of jail. Oh, and if she could mention to police that he and Leo wouldn’t have killed a kid in his underpants, that’d be great too. Willa pays close attention to how Isabel opens the vault and takes good notes. She’s been waiting for this day.

Walter and Leo are released when a witness confirms having seen Angelica running away from the scene. Walter and Isabel get Preston freed, and Preston feels very sorry for himself. All his assistants leave him, although Angelica was the first to do so for a life of crime. He’s going to give up magic and take a job cleaning windows for his brother’s company. Isabel tries to encourage him not to make life changing decisions while he’s down.

Walter has another of his illuminating dreams. He’s an artist, and has three models. Jonni is begging to be drawn. Timo says you have to know the rules before you can break them. Preston tells him magic is passed on, master to apprentice, generation to generation. When Walter returns to his canvas, it’s a painting of Willa, and she tells him some things can’t be taught, they come only with time and experience. He is awakened by Isabel speaking the same words. She’s rambling about Willa’s comments about her love life, and Walter is fixated on the realization that there was a third counterfeiter. They have the mastermind who can squeeze into small places, Angelica. They have the patsy who orders supplies and prints money, Maddox. They haven’t found the artist, the third man. Isabel has an epiphany about what she needs to do for Willa. Problems plaguing them solved, they go back to sleep.

At the art studio, Walter, Isabel and Agent Green watch over all the busy artists, trying to figure out which is the artist they seek. When it’s announced class is cancelled because the teacher won’t be there, Walter deduces that the teacher is the one they seek.

Isabel approaches Willa again, and tells her about her relationship with Walter. Isabel has ambitions. She plans to be the US Attorney General and live in D.C., and she doesn’t see that life mixing with Walter. Willa admits that she has been betrothed to Timo since she was five. She loves Timo like a brother, and he’s in love with someone else. Only Uncle Shad can call off the wedding, and they need a lot of money to get him to do that. Willa is terrified Timo is going to do something really stupid to get it.

Back at the art studio, Walter wants to open the printer because it’s showing a jam and whatever it is will likely be the last thing the art teacher printed. Agent Green refuses to let Walter near it, they have their protocol to follow. Walter takes his shirt off, pulls it over her head, and grabs the paper from the printer before she can recover and stop him. The teacher had printed a bus ticket to North Dakota. Walter has noticed Angelica has a ‘tell’, she always does the opposite of what’s expected. If they want them to think they’re going to Canada, they’re really headed to Mexico. When Walter and Leo get to the bus station, they immediately pick out the art teacher in the crowd. Agent Green shows up to help them, but she’s been suspended because of Walter’s stunt to get evidence from the printer. Walter wants Green to pretend she’s still an Agent to get highway patrol to help them. They stop a bus, and look through the art teacher’s luggage. When they open it, all that’s in it is lingerie. Walter looks at the passenger manifest, they are looking for a girl in a box…the opposite would be a boy, um, not in a box. Sure enough, Walter finds Angelica, disguised as a man. She runs, he catches her and after a struggle he shoves her in a suitcase.

Willa gets into Walter’s vault, and whatever she finds in there, she sounds kind of disgusted. She sadly reports to Timo that there is nothing valuable in the vault. He appreciates her trying. He’s leaving, but Willa catches him, and Isabel catches both of them. She calls a meeting with Walter and Leo and tells them the kids need help. They need $10,000. Isabel gives them more than a thousand dollars she was saving for a convertible. Walter has an expensive pair of earrings in the vault that he gives them, making me wonder if Willa had missed them or if she just couldn‘t go through with stealing from Walter. Leo takes Timo aside to show him a trailer he can stay in if he needs to stay overnight again. Walter confronts Willa about having taken something from his vault. She claims she didn’t take it for herself, but for Isabel. She gives it to her, and when Isabel opens it she finds a photo of Walter and the President, taken in the Oval Office. Maybe Walter can fit into that world.

Leo informs Preston that he’s been cleared of any wrongdoing. Preston still intends to take that job with his brother, he’s done with magic. Walter goes over some of Preston’s tricks, and shows him what he did wrong with his big fire trick. He just really needs a better beautiful assistant. Walter tells him he can give him the name of a trustworthy Secret Service Agent who is considering a career change. Walter tells him to do what he did…find someone you can trust, it’ll change your life.

The Finder airs Thursdays at 9/8c on Fox.

.