‘The Company You Keep’ Episode 2 Recap: ‘A Sparkling Reputation’ Reveals a Family Secret
The Nicoletti family has gotten themselves into a lot of trouble in ABC‘s The Company You Keep. During the series premiere, they conned an Irish mobster, Patrick Maguire, and scored $10 million. However, the woman behind the curtain, Daphne Finch, is now out for blood. And with Charlie’s ex-fiancée Tina on the run with the cash, the Nicolettis had to find a way to come up with the $10 million (plus interest) in The Company You Keep Episode 2, “A Sparkling Reputation.”
[Spoiler alert: The following contains spoilers from The Company You Keep Episode 2, “A Sparkling Reputation.”]
Charlie and Emma go on their first date in ‘The Company You Keep’ Episode 2
The Company You Keep Episode 2 begins with the Nicoletti family undercover at an auction. They plan on grabbing one of the items up for bid — a black diamond necklace — to help settle their debt to Daphne. But as Birdie says, “Stealing for other people sucks.”
The couple, the Ellsworths, pay $500,000 for the necklace. And Birdie discovers that the couple transfers the money into their own corporation. So why would they buy a piece of jewelry they already owned? Claude Ellsworth is the former ambassador to Russia who helped the country lift energy sanctions. So, the couple is likely laundering the necklace for Russia.
Later that night, Charlie and Emma go on their first official date after their hotel rendezvous in the series premiere. The conversation is initially awkward as they lie about their real jobs, but it becomes less uncomfortable when they ditch the restaurant and start making out in Charlie’s car.
Unfortunately, they get interrupted when a bus with Emma’s brother’s face on it drives by. David Hill is apparently running for a U.S. Senate seat that once belonged to his and Emma’s father, Joseph. And the mood between Charlie and Emma is definitely ruined when Birdie texts Charlie telling him that Daphne wants to meet up.
Emma heads back to her family’s house, where she is staying. There, David’s team, including the Hill matriarch, Grace, is working on his campaign. Grace wants to rebrand the family as the “Asian American Kennedys,” or as Grace puts it, the Kennedys were the “Irish American Hills.” And Emma tries to abide by Grace’s pleas to help by informing them that David’s poor polling numbers come from predominantly Asian neighborhoods.
At the bar, Charlie promises Daphne that they will have her money within the next couple of weeks. And she gives him three days to make his first payment. If Charlie doesn’t meet the deadline, Daphne threatens to call Maguire’s son and have him deal with Charlie in The Company You Keep Episode 2.
Emma and Charlie almost learn the truth about one another
In episode 2 of The Company You Keep, Leo Nicoletti gets the schematics for the Ellsworths’ safe, but Claude’s thumbprint is the only thing that can open it.
Leo and Fran scheme to bring one of Leo’s infamous personas, Milosh, to play to one of the Ellsworths’ weaknesses — their vanity. They find Mrs. Ellsworth at a salon and put on a show to convince her to invite them to her home. Leo plays it up like he’s a photographer looking for a power couple to pose for a spread in an arts and styles magazine. And their con works.
Meanwhile, Birdie discovers the hotel where Daphne is staying and gives the address to Charlie. The brother-sister duo figure that if Daphne knows their family’s vulnerabilities, they should know her’s. But we know they will run into problems because Emma is staking out the hotel to prove that Daphne is up to no good.
Dressed as a maintenance worker, Charlie gets into Daphne’s hotel room. He finds a hidden notebook containing a photo of Daphne’s mother. Charlie snaps a picture and sends it to Birdie, who is in the lobby. However, Emma, who is running her own mission, enters the room, forcing Charlie to hide in the bathroom.
Emma plants a bug, but when Charlie accidentally makes a noise, Birdie helps him escape. She knocks on the front door, drawing Emma away from Charlie, and opens the adjoining door to the next room. Both parties leave having not seen each other. So, for now, Charlie and Emma’s occupations are still a secret, but, oh man, was that a close one.
That night, Charlie and Emma meet again and finish what they started in his car in The Company You Keep Episode 2. But when Charlie asks about her family afterward, Emma closes off and tells him they are just “two emotionally unavailable people with a strong physical connection clearly on the rebound.” Charlie calls her out on her B.S., but she clarifies that he doesn’t know her as well as he thinks he does.
The Nicolettis learn a game-changing secret about Daphne in ‘The Company You Keep’ Episode 2
Fran, Charlie, and Birdie pose as a photography crew while accompanying Leo at the Ellsworths’ home in The Company You Keep Episode 2. They run into a few issues during the shoot, but if anyone can handle the pressure, it’s the Nicolettis. Ultimately, Charlie gets the necklace, hides it in the Ellsworths’ dog’s collar, and retrieves it as they leave.
Birdie later discovers that the black diamond, named the Black Orlov, was stolen from a Hindu temple in the 19th century, meaning they can’t sell it. But Charlie has another plan up his sleeve. He returns to the Ellsworths’ house with the necklace and convinces Claude to pay him $500,000. In return, Clause will be lauded as a hero for returning a stolen diamond to the Indian government.
Charlie later hands the $500,000 over to Daphne at the bar. And Birdie implores Daphne to leave her daughter, Ollie, out of their business.
Elsewhere, David asks Emma to work for him as a strategist on his campaign. And after a wine-filled heart-to-heart, she comes clean about her government job. It looks like Charlie and Emma aren’t the only heartwarming brother-sister duo in The Company You Keep.
Emma calls Charlie and apologizes for what she said in the car. She admits she’s scared of how well he can read her, and they seemingly make up (for now). At the CIA, Emma’s bug catches Daphne setting up a deal. But they only find the broken bug when they arrive at the location. So now, Daphne knows who Emma is and relays the information to Maguire.
At the end of the hour, Leo points out that the photo of Daphne’s mom was taken at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Based on this information, they believe that Daphne is Maguire’s daughter. And they have finally found her weakness.
The Company You Keep airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
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