Cinemax's Jett - Episode 1.06 "Josie"
Reconnecting with McKay, a fellow con she met on a diamond heist with Quinn, Jett orchestrates the heist of a vintage Mercedes from a tony lakeside estate. The plan goes smoothly enough - until a pair of interlopers crash the party. Josie tries to break things off with Dillon, but ends up being sucked into a dangerous game with Junior and his henchmen, Taggart and Hopper.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Cinemax's Jett.
"Josie" was written by Sebastian Gutierrez and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez
Jett and Josie present as the calm and collected people who can get difficult jobs done. They are the ones with a practical view of the world and the understanding of what they have to do in order to survive. Yes, they have both had personal relationships this season. It's fascinating to see them approach those dynamics even though they aren't as open as some other people in their lives. Josie was willing to have an intense sexual affair with Jackie. And yet, she was the one with the common sense that it wasn't going to go anywhere and she needed to get out of it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Jett is collecting information that can perhaps get her out of this business partnership with Bestic while continuing to do jobs for him. She is so sly and confident. She creates these plans with every expectation that they will work out for her. Even when things go awry, she knows how to remain calm and grounded. She can adjust on the fly while still ensuring everything goes according to plan. That's an aspect of her personality that has really allowed her to flourish in this profession. Sure, there are many men in this world who wish to see her solely as a sexual object. She wants to be respected because of all the skills she brings to the table. She isn't afraid to use sex to her advantage. But it's not the sole way she conducts business. Instead, she forms personal relationships in the hopes of exploiting them to pull off these jobs. She is the one who understands that the man who brought this car heist to Bestic and Evans can't be seen loitering outside the scene of the crime. She also knows that the crew shouldn't do anything to alert the wealthy couple that anything has gone wrong during the night of the heist. Sure, they may have reason to suspect the free tickets and driver given to them for their generous support of the local playhouse in the aftermath. But everyone has a role to play in this world. Jett is the one leading the charge and concocting the plans. She pushes for everyone to understand the exact place they have in this world. The doctor who is nervous can't be the one who blows this whole arrangement for everyone involved. Instead, it just happens to be his receptionist who has been waiting for him to act on this idea. That leaves Jett in a precarious situation. She is the one knocked out after she asserts that she's still important to the success of this job. Her partners may be able to help her. That's a luxury she may be afforded at the moment. She may not know who this stranger is and how he could disrupt this carefully calibrated plan. And yet, she is now working with a crew that she has a history with. She is no longer going up against the rest of the world by herself like she was forced to do with several jobs earlier this season. But that also makes Josie incredibly vulnerable when the narrative shifts to her also being trapped in a dangerous situation. She has compassion in this world. She wants to save Bobby from Junior because she knows how scary and lethal he can be. The police have just been slow to actually arrest him. Jackie has been drowning his sorrows and trying to control how Josie can leave him. That's so destructive and proves how this was never a healthy relationship. Josie had the rational mind. And yet, she's the one caught all by herself by Junior's henchmen who carry her away to her possible death. In that moment, she is confronted by these figures she has been monitoring closely. The tables have been turned and she's fighting for her life. It certainly seems grim at the moment. It's brutal to watch her hand get sawed off. It's important to see that she keeps fighting no matter what. The episode just cuts to black the moment it seems like it all ends for good. That's bound to increase the stakes of the narrative for the remainder of the season. It just likely comes with the side effect of Jackie being more important because he'll feel the need to personally avenge this woman he holds strong feelings towards despite him also causing her pain. He also wasn't her true partner on the job when she needed him to be that the most.
