Silver & Gold: Five Episodes of Capers with Colleagues in Crime

Alonge Hawes’ Silver & Gold, a five-episode heist series, follows four thieves in their various crimes and capers while developing bonds that supersede their jobs and natures. The first episode of this ambitious crime thriller series,titled The Birth Of The Cool is a 16-minute introduction to the main players involved: two teams who join up to pull off bigger cons than they could only dream of on their own. 

Charles (Quentin Williams) and Bahiya (Brittaney Traylor) are the lead characters. A Bonnie and Clyde duo—smooth talking cons who are also dating—the two work their way into valuables with sheer confidence. In the very first scene, very valuable jewellery changes hands, thanks to Bahiya’s latest act: the rich English heiress type. Her partner, Charles pulls off a sleight of hand at the same venue, only he is interrupted by Sosa and thus we meet the second con team. Sosa Gerena (Roberto Cruz Jr.) and Cierra Valentine (Shani Hawes), both brilliant at what they do and clearly old acquaintances of Bahiya and Charles. The two, like the pair before them, are introduced with the same freeze-frame and superimposed titles combination.     

Sosa and Cierra are unlike Charles and Bahiya. Where the latter duo use their looks, charm and confidence to pull off jobs, Sosa and Cierra are more of the brains and brawn combo. Cierra is a genius who can handle any element of technology thrown at her. Unlike the more elegant Bahiya, Cierra is bubbling with energy. Sosa functions in more old-fashioned ways than Cierra, but quietly and with subtlety, unlike Charles. 

The first episode establishes the series’ tone: thrill, humour and heart. As the four team up (despite Bahiya’s reluctance), the series signals the start of heists and shenanigans that drive the stakes higher than what it has already shown.

The Laws Of The Score (episode 2) focuses on a major heist involving twenty gold bars. Bahiya, Charles, Cierra and Sosa have teamed up to steal from a prosperity theology pastor (Alex Patterson) whose popularity boomed during the pandemic. 

The 27-minute episode introduces a new character, Aiyden (Julian Robinson). A more hardcore tech guy than Cierra, he is a recurring character that the others occasionally turn to for help. In this episode, Aiyden assists them in stealing gold bars from Parker Benjamin, the pastor who is only holy in front of the camera. 

Charles demonstrates his fidelity to the laws of the score: an archaic set of rules for thieves on the job. Charles recounts in voice-over to stock footage (as well as a little snippet from The Great Train Robbery): it is a set of rules that give thieves nobility. Effectively, a code of honour. An important line in contrast to one oft-repeated in the series: there is no honour among thieves. 

Charles decides to abide by the laws of the score on this caper. Bahiya’s charm comes in handy once again, as she flirts her way into the den of the lion to retrieve the data they need. Cierra accompanies; they are in and out in a matter of minutes. But the stakes climb much higher as Sosa and Charles try to win the game. On the other side, Cierra controls and guides the whole operation on her computer. The climax brings together thrill and heart as Charles falls back on his faith in the rules; whether they make it out safely and with the bounty all depends on Charles’ judgement.

The Brilliance Meijin Affair, the third episode in the series, has the game turn on the players. The four characters are not only foiled and fooled in their job, they are now suddenly faced with a force to be reckoned with. Someone who is powerful enough to hack into Cierra’s system, make the group do their bidding, and repeatedly play them for fools. 

The 50-minute episode is the longest yet in the series, a testament to the significance of the events beyond mere tricks and treasure hunting of the last two episodes. The group is being looked at by someone that they themselves cannot see, but the anxiety and frustrations is balanced with the show’s typical humour. 

Known only as Brilliance Meijin (Joshua Dennard), the unknown, omniscient person confronts the group with riddles that concern them all, but that only Cierra can solve. Needless to say, she is the key player in the episode, and therefore, Brilliance’s direct target. She painstakingly works through the cryptic clues while the other three take turns to do the fieldwork. Parallel to the action, the episode delves into Cierra the person beyond just a brilliant mind. She opens up to Bahiya, showing the loneliness and resilience that came with being atypical. 

The final riddle, which threatens to undo everyone and everything, comes as a literal ticking bomb. The only one who can save them all is Cierra. Previous, easy assumptions are brought to question, making her reassess everything she knew and believed in order to find the right, less obvious answer.

The episode, like the others, grafts stock footage and CGI into its narrative to highlight tension. All other aspects of the series are maintained to bring to light the bonds between the four members, and where Cierra’s place is. 

Two more episodes follow, a two-part story titled The Sword Of The Morning Part. Silver & Gold sees its ambitious project to the end, rough hewn but entertaining in its humour. The episodes range from 16 to 50-minute runtimes, with episode three being the longest single episode, while episodes four and five are parts of a single story. 

Between the colourful characters and their many adventures, it is the characters who are the real pull of the series. Whether it is Bahiya’s sleek efficiency, Charles’ cocky confidence (the two are complementary to each other and sometimes the same), Sosa’s measuredness, and Cierra’s vivacity, it is their dynamics with each other that makes Silver & Gold fun.