There’s nothing more frustrating than watching two people who are clearly meant for each other refuse to admit it and friend-zone each other.
In the case of Wild Cards Season 3, specifically Wild Cards Season 3 Episode 7, that frustration has officially hit a breaking point.
Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and Max (Vanessa Morgan) officially friend-zoned each other, and while the show wants us to believe it’s complicated, fans who have been watching and rooting for these two for three seasons know exactly what it is: a stall tactic that’s wearing thin.
And it’s the biggest misstep the series made this season.
The disappointment runs deep not only to the characters but to the fans.
Season 2 came the closest the show has ever gotten to giving us what we want, with Max nearly riding off into the sunset with Ellis on his boat. And then, just like that, the possibility was yanked away. She stayed behind when her dead mother returned to the land of the living, while Ellis “moved on” and returned with a girlfriend named Jessica, and suddenly, we were back to square one.
Wild Cards — “Barking Bad” — Image Number: WCD209_0459r — Pictured (L-R) : Giacomo Gianniotti as Detective Cole Ellis and Vanessa Morgan as Max Mitchell — Photo Credit: Justine Yeung/The CW — © 2025 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Jessica. She’s not the problem. She seems lovely, and in another universe, she’d be a perfectly fine match for Ellis.
But Ellis’s heart is already spoken for, even if he refuses to admit it to himself. Jessica doesn’t deserve to be in a relationship where she’ll never be anyone’s first choice, in the same way Max doesn’t deserve to play third wheel, even if she does it with remarkable grace, compartmentalizing by telling herself that Jessica is a fine choice… if it can’t be her.
And that’s what she believes—that it can’t.
Max is pulling back because she doesn’t think she’ll be around much longer with the heist looming, so why ask Ellis to give up someone compatible? It’s selfless and heartbreaking, sure, but also, frankly, exhausting to watch.
We get episodes where they tiptoe around their feelings, slapping a BFF label on feelings that are anything but platonic, convincing themselves it’s the noble thing to do.
The obstacle is there, in theory, but Jessica’s presence also isn’t actually creating much of an obstacle. She’s just there, in the background, keeping them apart after hours, all while they continue their dance around the obvious at work.
If we’re committing to Jessica, then why not commit?
The episodes that worked best were the ones that forced Jessica into their orbit, pushing them to fight the obvious chemistry. It makes Jessica impossible to ignore, but also emphasizes that she doesn’t have the same hold on Ellis as Max does—the chemistry isn’t as strong, their bickering doesn’t exist, and Ellis doesn’t light up around her in the way he does when Max says something out-of-place and silly.
There’s something to be said for slow burns, and shows love to explore them, understandably. Building anticipation and prolonging tension keep fans invested.
The payoff is much better when friends turn into lovers, but Ellis and Max have explored friendship for two seasons.
But it also reaches a point where fans get frustrated. We’ve hit a threshold, and we’re ready for the payoff.
We want to see more than Ellis and Max’s friendship and relationship on the surface level.
We’re ready for messy. Really messy.
The heist is coming, and with it, hopefully, the moment that finally breaks through this friendship barrier for good. I’m talking the kind of dire, no-going-back situation that forces one of them to sacrifice everything for the other. Even if it forces him to bend the rules a little bit and her to walk away from everything she’s ever known.
Because you can’t just casually acknowledge that Max was ready to drop everything and leave town with Ellis and then act like that meant nothing. Feelings like that don’t just disappear because it’s inconvenient. They both know it. We all know it.
What fans want and need to see finally is Ellis and Max navigating their feelings as romantic partners: messy and imperfect and on the clock. The will-they-or-won’t-they has simply run its course and isn’t doing the series justice anymore.
The friend zone is a slippery slope because it’s so hard to bounce back from, but if anyone can do it, Ellis and Max can.
And the heist is the perfect opportunity to put it all on the line and see where love takes them.
Sorry, Jessica, but your time is up.
Read more: Vanessa Morgan Is Finally Getting the Recognition She Deserves With ‘Wild Cards’