I sincerely thought that I was gonna take a break from ABC shows this week, but I just couldn’t help myself. Before there was Whiskey Cavalier and Take Two there was Deception.
Seriously what is it with ABC they are one of the worst offenders, or maybe ABC shows are just right up my alley, so their cancellation is something that I notice more.
This feels like a good time for you to make a plea for you to watch The Baker and the Beauty. It’s a tv rom-com and we don’t have nearly enough of them. Besides that it’s just a great show. So go watch it right now, you can stream the first episodes on Hulu and ABC now, so what are you waiting for? No one wants The Baker and the Beauty to end up on Gone Too Soon.
But enough about that back to the show at hand, Deception. It ran for one (good grief ABC) season, 13 episodes in 2018. Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that Deception doesn’t really reinvent the wheel, but tropes and formulas exist for a reason. They work. I mean people watch them and have for years. Take a by-the-book FBI agent who gets partnered with a disgraced, informal magician and you get the same formula as Castle and Take Two. Although the magician part is new, I will give them that. It’s fun nonsense, which is my favorite genre of tv, looking at you Ravenswood.
The Gist
Cameron Black (Jack Cutmore-Scott) was a Celebrity Illusionist, until it was revealed that his biggest trick was having an identical twin. How was it revealed, you may ask? Well his twin, Jonathon, was arrested for a murder that he swears that he didn’t commit.
A year later Cameron, whose career was ruined, sees a plane explode on television and realises that it was an illusion. In exchange for his team helping the FBI on cases, they will also work on figuring out who really commited the murder that Jonathon’s is in prison for.
Though in secret societies, conspiracies, and a few magic tricks and you had a show that was worth watching. Not only were there cases of the week, but there were also clues to a bigger reason that Jonahton was framed for murder, and a secret society they were unknowingling born into.
Team FBI is made up of Kay Daniels (Ilfenesh Hadera) Cameron’s partner and Mike Alverez (Amaury Nolasco) and over on team magic we have Dina Clark (Lenora Crichlow), Jordan Kwan (Justin Chon, Twilight), and Gunter Gustafen (Vinnie Jones, She’s the Man). (I know that there were many other things that Vinnie Jones is known for like: Arrow, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and Galavant, a show I’ll be covering soon, but She’s the Man is one of my favorite movies.)
Should You Watch It
Do you like magic, cause if you do then this is the show for you? They explain some of the magic tricks that I have always been curious about. Not to mention secret societies and a mystery that I was engrossed in. This is a show worth watching and it really should have gotten a second season. Deception was good with a fun premise and great cast.
Stand Out Moment
Okay so in one episode there is an entire illusion involving mirrors and a sniper, which is too complicated for me to even attempt to explain, but it was fascinating. I love magic and I hate that I don’t understand it, so any chance to see behind the curtain is appreciated. If you too would like to learn a little more about magic then Deception is worth checking out.
Sunken Ships
Deception was actually setting up two ships. So let’s start with the least complicated one: Cam and Kay. They are the main ship on the show. Partners who shouldn’t fit, but actually work well together. They were on their way to being a great couple and I’m sad that we will never see what they could have been.
Now I know you’re probably wondering how the secondary couple could possibly be more complicated? Well Dina and Mike started dating, but Dina had been with Cam’s in-jail brother Jonathon and it seems that there were still some things left unresolved there.
Caution: Cliffhanger
OMG does Deception in with a shocker. Obviously I’m about to spoil some of the fun, so you may want to not read this if you haven’t watched the show. I will tell you to bookmark this article till after you’ve watched it. This interview tells you what would have happened if we would have gotten a season 2. Spoilers ahead.
I’m not going to go into the secret society, the clues, or the mysterious painting, but I will tell you that the show ends with Cameron in jail because Jonathon betrayed him. That’s right, the brother that Cam was trying to free is working with the Mystery woman, who set everything in motion starting with the frame job, now. Jonathon switched places with Cam and left him in prison while Johnny is now out. Not only that but he pushes Kay away after she opens up to him, thinking that he’s Cam.
Cliffhanger wise, this show still doesn’t match the absolute heartbreak from Stitchers, but it isn’t wrapped up like iZombie either. Although that’s a bit of an unfair comparison since it knew it was ending. Let’s say it’s like Eye Candy, part of the mystery might have been solved, but viewers were left with a lot of questions.
Where to Watch
Like Take Two you can actually buy Deception on Amazon and YouTube! Thanks ABC, now if you can just let me buy Whiskey Cavalier. I would love to be able to see Prague on tv whenever I want!
Did you watch Deception? What network do you think cancels shows too soon the most? Check out my other Gone Too Soon articles: Daybreak, Hap and Leonard, and Deadly Class.