Not every ‘will they or won’t they’ couple is worth the episode-by-episode investment for the slim chance they’ll end up together. However, the chemistry between Wild Cards’ unlikely partners against crime is absolutely worth it. Here’s a breakdown of their season-by-season ‘will they or won’t they’ relationship as season 3 ends!
Wild Cards, a CW hit, follows con woman Max, Riverdale’s Vanessa Morgan, and hopeful detective Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) as partners solving crimes. The show combines detective work, comedy, and romantic tension. Every case adds to their romantic arc. Max and Ellis’s relationship is a roller coaster, but fans hope it ends happily—maybe even this season. Regardless, their unusual dynamic makes for a fun ship to root for. Let’s look back at Max and Ellis’s journey starting in season one.
Season One
Season one is about unlikely partners building trust and connecting beyond their biases.
Max and Ellis are true opposites. Ellis, recently demoted from detective to boat patrol, is stoic and serious, slow to smile. Max, a con artist, is easygoing, quick to smile, and unpredictable.
After Ellis books her for robbery, Max tries to be friendly, despite Ellis’s dismay. She asks questions; he gives terse answers. Her curiosity is obvious; he hides his.
Their partnership forms when Max provides valuable information and earns a get-out-of-jail-free deal. She helps the police and avoids jail. Ellis, working alongside Max, gets a chance to return to detective work.
They both have reasons to make this partnership work.
As the season continues, their relationship shifts from reluctance to reliance. They might not admit to needing each other, but they work together as partners.
In season one, shippers (myself included!) enjoy every fake hug while undercover, angsty eye contact, and private conversation on Ellis’s boat. We realize we’re shipping not just romance but their real friendship.
Ellis shifts from wanting nothing to do with Max to asking about her, protecting her, and showing he cares. Max, who avoids stability, becomes protective of Ellis and considers a life where she stays with him.
In the final two episodes of season one, Max and Ellis face their most challenging moments together yet. Their lives are at risk when Max is a hostage in an armed robbery. It’s at this moment that it’s obvious that not only do Max and Ellis care about each other, but that they may actually love each other. It’s blurry, the kind of love it is.
Though eventually all that’s been built between the two of them is put at risk, when one little problem shows up, Max’s ex-husband.
Season two
Season two is about two people realizing they deeply care for each other, but life is getting in the way of taking that deep care to the next level.
In season two of Wild Cards, the stakes are higher. At this point, Max and Ellis have proven they can work together; the question is whether they want to. The trust that was established in season one is threatened when Max’s past starts to creep in, causing Ellis to question his trust in Max.
Max does not intentionally try to hurt Ellis; however, when she pushes forward, he steps back.
When he pushes forward, she steps back.
Their relationship, while mostly platonic, becomes chaotic whenever romantic tension arises. At this point, it is apparent they care about the other person.
A season game-changer is when they share an emotional moment. Ellis, the hesitant, spills his heart about a childhood hurt, which leads to tears on both sides and a kiss.
The kiss is a wake-up call that there is something there, while also reminding them they aren’t ready to define what it is.
They continue, now both aware of an undeniable attraction, interest, and care for the other. However, they’re confronted with the reality of secrets, fears of being hurt, and the risk of completely trusting each other.
A defining moment that sets up season three is when Ellis asks Max to join him on a boat trip, just the two of them, and she agrees, but never shows. Ellis thinks she didn’t choose him, though something important popped up in Max’s life: her mother’s return.
Miscommunication trope at its finest, which caused another hit in their relationship, leading to season three.
Season three
Season three of Wild Cards is the turning point; either they will or they won’t.
Season three immediately shows the consequences of the miscommunication between Max and Ellis. Ellis believes Max left him, while Max knows why she couldn’t make it (her mother returning). Regardless, Ellis is ready to let go of Max romantically (before it even starts).
The kiss in season two was not the answer to the underlying tension in their relationship; it actually created more questions.
Questions that Ellis and Max do not fully answer, which makes the ‘will they, won’t they’ swing back full circle, especially when Ellis is given another romantic interest (one he met on the trip, he invited Max to!).
The love interest appears to match the side of Ellis that’s stable and predictable, unlike Max, who throws him into the wild side of life.
By this point in the show, Ellis and Max both know their relationship is not romantic (especially given Ellis’s girlfriend), which shifts how they relate to each other. They notice when they modify their behavior. Yet their chemistry remains palpable.
The only solace for shippers is that Ellis’s relationship with the other woman solidifies a truth in his life: that Max is his best friend, something Ellis admits to Max.
Every shipper knows that before the ship sails, having an established best friendship is one of the best things for a future relationship (unless we’re all delusional of course!).
With season three wrapping up, fans want Ellis to feel what it’s like to see someone you love with someone else, to get a taste of his own medicine (sorry, Ellis!).
The hope is that the little bit of jealousy is a wake-up call that he is with the wrong girl when he sees Max with or soon to be with another guy. It builds the tension and engages viewers’ love while keeping the main ship at the forefront.
Season four (my hopes)
Wild Cards is renewed for season four, yay! Hopefully, Max and Ellis will finally become official. While a slow burn is fun, dragging the ‘will they, won’t they’ dynamic beyond four seasons risks losing the audience invested in their relationship. With season three ending, there’s a good chance they’ll unite by the finale.
If I were writing the show (can you imagine?), I would hold off on putting the characters together in the season three finale.
I would introduce a love interest for Max to challenge Ellis’s stance on choosing between his girlfriend and his best friend. Instead of something cliché like ‘who will survive,’ I’d make the choice about who he runs to first after a serious situation. I obviously would make it Max (I mean, they are the couple I ship after all!)
I would start season four with the reality and consequences of his choice. Maybe his current girlfriend doesn’t answer his calls, though he’s barely tried, and maybe Max has someone who showed up for her as well, and he realizes he is at risk of losing her.
Options, options, options. The writers have a chance to make this a slow-burning romance worth remembering. Or it could be another ruined love story that loses its spark before it gets to really burn.
Final Thoughts
Ellis and Max’s relationship is at a turning point. Fans want to see something move, but we also want it done right. I will speak for most fans when I say we do not want a real love triangle. That takes away from something good that Max and Ellis have going on. The only way a real love triangle can be avoided is if his care for Max is proven to be more than his current girlfriend’s. It may sound extreme, but fans know when a ship has sailed after the push-and-pull game went on too long. Eventually, we will believe he really doesn’t care for Max romantically, and then that will be the end of the road for Max and Ellis. Writers, please, get this one right!
What to watch after season three ends
If you need a show to watch now that Season three is coming to an end, I’d highly recommend Nikita.
Nikita is the perfect show for fans who like Wild Cards for the crime/detective aspect. Nikita is an agent trained as an assassin by a secret government; she’s made her life mission to destroy (so the action is heavy). The show deals with espionage, undercover missions, and government conspiracy. There is a spectacular romance in the show (seriously, this romance will change your life), and it will give you the fix you need while waiting for Wild Cards to return for season four. You can currently watch it on Tubi or The Roku Channel for free.
