From the get-go, “The Company You Keep,” created by Julia Cohen and Phil Klemmer, is an ironic series in almost every sense. Charlie Nicoletti and his family, as con artists themselves, get conned by a girl named Tina and find themselves in a mess. Charlie then begins a whirlwind romance with a CIA agent named Emma, which will probably push them into a deeper mess. It is a romantic thriller that has a healthy dose of drama and chill vibes that are good for relaxing over a drink or two. A recommended watch as the series is bound to make a splash as an intriguing watch.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Series ‘The Company You Keep’ About?
“The Company You Keep” revolves around a romance blossoming between a con man, Charlie Nicoletti, and an undercover CIA agent, Emma Hill. Charlie has been duped out of money and dumped before his marriage by his girlfriend Tina, while Emma finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. The heartbroken duo meets at a bar, where they hit it off immediately. They have a romantic fling before both of them return to their lives, only to meet again at a DC Gala Party before duty calls them both away. They seem keen on pursuing a relationship with each other, but their “jobs” might prove to be a thorn in their sides.
Do The Nicolletis Get Betrayed By Someone They Considered Their Own?
The first episode begins with Charlie posing as a warehouse owner, looking to sell his warehouse to an infamous drug dealer, Patrick Maguire. Daphne, a member of Patrick’s team, was proving to be a hard nut to crack as she advised him against the deal. This ticks off Birdie, Charlie’s sister, who is on lookout, and she informs Charlie immediately about her. Charlie goads Patrick into buying an empty warehouse to start their production for around 10 million while his family keeps a watch on any other suspicious activity which might lead Maguire and his team to back out. As soon as Patrick hands the cash over to Charlie, Charlie’s family sounds the sirens and hijacks the scene in their FBI costumes. Charlie pretends to get arrested while banking the money without selling off the warehouse. Maguire and his lackeys immediately flee the scene when they hear the sirens, with Daphne giving Charlie a smug smile. The Nicolettis, after securing their money, immediately drop their pretenses once Maguire is out of the picture. Tina and Charlie have their moment of celebration before the family heads off to the bar to celebrate their heist together. While Charlie’s parents discuss their retirement and also tease Birdie a little, they get the news that Tina is ditching them. Charlie and Birdie immediately try to follow up with her; however, Tina vanishes, leaving the Nicolettis without a single penny from their heist.
How Does Charlie Meet His New Beau, Emma?
Depressed and betrayed, Charlie ends up in a bar to drink away his sadness, where he meets Emma. Emma had had a bad day as she had found her boyfriend cheating on her with a girl named Stacy, and the affair had been going on for three months. Both Stacy and Emma had no clue about each other, and it would’ve stayed that way had Emma not investigated her boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend then started to gaslight her once he found out and also tried to make her admit that she had never really loved him. Emma decided to hit the bar, and as she rejected another guy making a pass at her, she met Charlie. Their conversation lightly had some fun flirting in it as they challenged each other to come up with wittier lies, but among the lies, they eventually admit the truth about their jobs; Emma confesses to being a CIA agent while Charlie admits to being a crook, but they both laugh it off as they think the other is lying. Charlie and Emma instantly click as they share similar pasts, although Charlie breaks away after paying for their drink, and Emma later follows. They spend the night eating and talking as they get intimate in the morning, followed by a relaxing weekend where they gently unravel their clothes and their souls. All good things come to an end as they decide to bid each other adieu after the long weekend, and Charlie quickly looks for a new project where they could make up for the loss they suffered due to Tina.
How Does Charlie Make Up For The Mess Caused By Tina?
Charlie gets in touch with a friend of his, who hooks him up with another job to make up for the disaster Tina caused. She brings him the intel about a Televangelist who has been making big money through some shady tactics. The priest gets sponsored, and he turns the illegal money into white money through his sermons at his church. Charlie immediately gets to work as he informs his family about the big fish and starts cooking up some bait for the priest. Over the next few days, they keep a close eye on the priest and his livelihood as they prepare a plan to sabotage the priest’s next drop.
While carrying out their plan, Charlie and Birdie end up at an invitation-only DC Gala party. They hijack another invitation and a Ferrari to keep up their appearances as Birdie keeps an eye out on the priest while Charlie gets distracted by a party attendee. Emma turns out, coincidentally, to be attending the same party with her distinguished family. Charlie immediately goes over to talk to her, as he forgets about the mission and is rudely reminded about it by Birdie as soon as Emma has to leave for a call. He gets cold with Emma as she returns and joins Birdie to secure their drop. They get the money, and they return only for Charlie to be given a pep talk by his parents as they encourage him to seek love again and be happy.
‘The Company You Keep’ Episode 1: Ending: Does Daphne Track Down The Nicolettis?
Emma, during that night, was called into the office as they had gotten intel about Patrick Maguire’s whereabouts. The FBI and undercover CIA agent Emma rushed to freeze his movements, as Patrick had been preparing to fly out at that exact moment. Daphne escapes while he is arrested and is chased by Emma, who gets injured during the car chase and is visibly distressed in the morning. Her morning gets better as Charlie has come down to win over his lady love and also to apologize for his cold behavior. They reconcile, and Charlie returns to his family after being threatened by Daphne, who is revealed as the crime syndicate’s consultant. She wants Charlie to cough up the $10 million he stole plus $5 million more for interest, and she also wants him to bail out Patrick from prison. She leaves him and his family with the sweet threat that the Nicolettis now have to figure out how to get out of this situation as their plans for a vacation are shot down yet again.
What To Expect From ‘The Company You Keep’ Episode 2?
The Nicolettis are a con family that shares similar traits with every other heist ensemble gang who have planned remarkable heists in the Hollywood industry. A glimpse of George Clooney’s and Sandra Bullock’s “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise can be found in the first episode, as it shares the same sort of vibe and energy. However, the con family only really cons the illegal trades. “The Company You Keep” Episode 2 will focus on the budding relationship between Emma and Charlie, as Charlie is visibly going to get distressed when he has to save his family from Daphne and her goons.
There is a high chance that Emma might find out about Charlie’s con history, as she does have photo evidence of him meeting up with Maguire and Daphne; however, the CIA has not provided any intel about him just yet. If Charlie does bust Patrick out of jail in the next episode of “The Company You Keep,” then he might get under their radar and find it difficult to stay out of it. Their relationship is really a castle built in the clouds, as it will come crashing down as soon as they reveal their jobs to each other. The first episode seems interesting, and I’ll be patiently waiting for the next ones.
