- Title: Almost Paradise – Old Times
- IMDb: link
Setting up events for the season finale, “Old Times” features Alex (Christian Kane) looking into a murder at the Villegas Casino after both Ann (Max Collins) and the local authorities asked him to stay away from this case. Alex traces the unusual style of the murder back to that of a longtime assassin who he links to an elderly hotel guest (Kim Knuckey) and his wife (Carolyn Bock). What he doesn’t realize is the elderly couple are stringing him along and that he, not Ann, is their target. Alex’s interactions with the couple, while honestly liking the pair but attempting to pump them for information, are the highlights of the episode.
“Old Times” is notable for what appears to be the implosion of Alex and Ann’s romance, Kai (Samantha Richelle) admitting to herself her feelings for Alex and accepting a promotion in Manilla, and the late reveal that the Waterboarder (Dante Basco) orchestrated the hit from prison. The show attempting to build up a goofy one-off baddie into a major villain does end the episode in a bit of a lull. As for the Kai/Alex relationship, while the possibility was always there, the episode springs these emotions on her (and us) in a way that made me feel I’d missed an entire season of episodes building up to this moment.
