Previously on Imposters, Poppy showed up in Mexico and is now tagging along with the Bumblers as they may their way back to the Blooms, Maddie left the wellness centre and started making her own way back home, and Patrick and Agent Cook decide to also make their way to the Blooms.
The episode opens with Maddie having made her way back to Pottsville, with a stylistically interesting montage of her making the drive. The trip back home, being faced with familiar surroundings, leads her to reminisce and remember about her teenage years. I still don't think teen Maddie is good casting in the sense of she doesn't look a whole lot like Inbar Lavi, but this flashback shows us just exactly how Maddie came to meet Sally and Max. As they surveil Maddie at work, they comment on how she's a natural when it comes to moulding herself to be what others want, and making a lot of money in the process. Thus, the recruitment probably starts of Maddie being a professional con artist. Just as Maddie is playing everyone in the diner, Max decides to play her in order to pique her interest. She takes the bait, and as they observe her more they clearly see how much talent she has, and how they would be able to develop it further. They let her in on the fact that they're aware that she doesn't particularly want to be there, and ask her if she wants to up her game and make real money, and that is how Maddie is in.
We see her on what appears to be her first real con with Max and Sally on hand. The con: distracting a businessman whilst Max swaps his briefcase with a similar looking one and Sally takes the real one away. The con is a success, and Maddie makes more money for 10 minutes work than she probably makes in a shift at the diner. The thrill leaves her hooked, and Sally and Max promise to stay in touch with her.
Back with the Bumblers (and Poppy), the heat and close proximity of having to share a car trunk means tempers may be rising and being together may be getting that much more difficult. As Poppy and Jules argue, Richie asks Ezra what kind of life he was planning to have with Sofia. Ezra doesn't know, and he's not entirely sure if he will even see Sofia again, but the main priority for him now is ensuring that his family is safe. Richie also confesses that he doesn't think he wants to be a con artist. This probably isn't a surprise for the audience, but it sure seems like it is for Ezra. It seems to me like Richie just wants the life he had with Alice, and seeing as Poppy essentially is Alice to him, it probably won't be long before the two of them hook up. As Richie and Ezra play games to pass the time of the trip up north, they suddenly come to a stop. Ezra suggests that it's just a spot check, but Richie is concerned that this may be it for them and advises that they play dead (bless Richie and his terrible ideas). The trunk is opened, and two soldiers with guns look down on them. They seem to have been paid off however, because after a bit of an inspection, they're allowed to go on their merry way.
In Pottsville, Maddie surprises her mom with her unexpected presence. Their reunion is fraught with tension, and Maddie apologises to her mom for lying and comes clean about not working for Unicef or living in Houston. This, however, is something her mom already knows thanks to Patrick. Her mom gives her the chance to confess to everything else, but Maddie doesn't take it. As she retires upstairs, her mom, completely suspicious of her daughter, goes through her bag to try and get some answers. In there, she finds a gun, and now knows for her certain that her daughter is in way over her head.
The Bumblers are finally dropped off on North American soil, where Ezra sets down exactly who is doing what. He will be going to rescue his family alone, whilst the rest of them go to Scottsdale and retrieve the ring. Jules protests, but Ezra explains that it's his family and his responsibility and she reluctantly agrees to the plan. With a hideout secured in New York, Richie and Poppy go off to secure transportation for themselves and Ezra. Just as Ezra is about to leave in the stolen car, Richie gives him a gun and the solid advice of 'try not to kill anybody, or die'. An interesting thing to note is that Jules tries to deliver their motto (Always Forward, Never Back) but Ezra doesn't respond. Maybe he truly is on his own path this season.
An indeterminate amount of time after the first flashback, a now adult Maddie meets The Doctor. Under the guidance of Sally and Max, she's honed her skills, and now The Doctor is ready for her to move onto the next level: having her targets fall in love with her and going for the long con. He tells her to have fun with her next target and then the Maddie we know is born. Maddie looks distraught at the memory (and honestly, Inbar Lavi probably doesn't get enough credit for the range of emotions she can easily pull off) and it seems like the more she does think about the life she had, the more she wants to escape it.
On the way to Scottsdale, Richie and Poppy's incessant flirting in the car is definitely not a good time for Jules. The whole experience is slightly awkward, especially when Richie tries to get Poppy to divulge secrets about Jules, but as they're pulling up to the house, the trio discover that it is now up for auction. Turns out Richie wasn't making the mortgage payments due to lack of funds, so this easy mission to retrieve the ring has suddenly got a whole lot harder. In preparation for the auction, the house appears to have been entirely cleared out. Whilst Poppy and Richie have a viewing, Jules looks through the trash in the slim hope that they may be able to find the ring. A very, very slim hope that doesn't pay off however, as Poppy discovers that all items of value in the house have already been auctioned off.
In Indiana, the FBI agents unknowingly close in on Sally and Max, as Agent Cook has a minor encounter with Max. Max must recognise her (possibly from the wedding) as he quickly exits when he manages to get a good look at her. Whils Max worries about the agents' arrival, Agent Cook gets a call from Maddie's mom letting them know that Maddie has returned to Pennsylvania. Whilst Max and Sally are distracted watching what the agents will do, Arthur takes it upon himself to attack Max with the spork he's been hiding up his sleeve and try to take the gun from Sally in the process, all directly in front of a window where anyone could see them. The agents don't however, as they drive back to Pottsville in order to see Maddie. It's a gamble that doesn't work, and Sally and Max manage to manhandle Arthur into the bathroom and hold him in there. As they do that however, it appears that they somehow kill him.
Back in Pennsylvania, Maddie is finally able to talk to her dad. She must be closer to him than she is to her mom, because she tells him about working for The Doctor and doing a lot of bad things for him, mainly tricking people out of their money. The flashbacks really do help in giving us a bit more reasoning as to the process of her getting involved with The Doctor, and therefore even if her admission of wanting to kill The Doctor is a little shocking (remember, they don't really kill people), it makes sense with how much her work has been tormenting her of late. She also knows that her dad is someone she can talk to about these things, because he's probably unlikely to remember the conversation, as evidenced when he goes to greet her again.
Ezra arrives at the hotel to meet Max and co, not knowing that his dad might not even be alive at this point. The gun Richie gave to him is quickly discovered by Max, who in turn doesn't dilly dally about telling Ezra that his dad isn't in the greatest of shapes. A distraught Ezra goes into the bathroom and repeatedly asks Max what he did. This right here, is probably going to be the turning point for him. He's allowed a few seconds to say goodbye, but then Max insists it's time for all of them to leave.
The episode ends with Poppy, Richie and Jules arriving at the Langmore's cabin in New York after failing to secure the ring in Arizona. Elsewhere Maddie opens the mysterious parcel that was sent to her parents to find a phone in there (which somehow is turned on and still has battery life left) and then leaving her parents' house. Unfortunately for her, the agents are already there lying in wait, and as she does leave, they set off to follow her. As Maddie is driving away, she gets a text from a mysterious number telling her that they'll be in touch soon. Somehow I think she hasn't been able to escape The Doctor's clutches at all.
