Joan Plans Her Own Heist & Boisie Gets Jealous in "Highs & Lows"

There are a lot of words to describe Joan Hannington in Joan, but one of the first adjectives needs to mean "a quick learner." After a disastrous meeting with social services in Episode 2, Joan is determined to make much money quickly to regain custody of her daughter. Boisie has a plan for them to steal a painting from a divorcée up north, and it's time for Joan to get her wigs back out. 

For this gig. Joan dresses up as a lost hiker who twists her ankle on the property and charms the divorcée to let her stay the night until a friend can pick her up. Boisie arrives in the middle of the night, and the pair attempts to steal a horse painting off the wall, but they are interrupted when the divorcée's ex drunkenly stumbles home and starts shouting that he wants his wife to forgive him. Boisie tells Joan to scream, and he entirely takes on the role of burglar while Joan escapes out a back window. Boisie knocks the man unconscious and runs out to join Joan in the van with the painting. 

They escape, but the unintended assault changes the stakes of the heist. They couldn't replace the painting with the fake they had drawn up, so it's evident that it was stolen and is too hot to fence. That means there's no immediate cash in for Joan to get the money she needs to buy a house and get Kelly back. 

Joan is never one to let things happen to her, so she hatches her plan to get some fast cash. She wants to steal a £250 thousand ring from an upscale jeweler in London, and she initially asks Boisie to do the scheme with her. He doesn't like the idea of being her assistant in a heist, though, so he brings in Albie (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.) to help Joan instead. But when he sees how well his former business partner and girlfriend get along, Boisie's green-eyed monster arrives promptly. 

The job goes smoothly, and Joan nicks the ring. Boisie even makes a camo experience during the scheme, so he's part of the fun, and the heist helps Joan get in with one of their local jewel fencers. She's coming into her own as a thief much faster than Boisie anticipated, already coming up with plans and insisting that she gets to make her own connections. He hates that she and Albie get along so well, and his distaste is even more noticeable during a celebratory party with Albie, his wife, and Joan's sister. He doesn't turn angry, but he does *surprise!!* propose to Joan. 

This feels more like a way for Boisie to control her than a whirlwind romance, but Joan says yes, and the party turns into a total rager. That's unfortunate because social services decide to show up the following day to check on how Joan is doing before she can clean up. She makes her best excuses, but instead, she's informed that Kelly's foster family wants to adopt her, and social services will ultimately decide whether they can or not. As Joan still doesn't seem ready to get her daughter back, it is looking like she may lose her forever. 

The episode's closing scene shows Joan sneaking into Kelly's new bedroom and watching her foster mother tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. It's a painful moment for Joan to realize that her daughter is doing so well without her, but is she really ready to let go? 

There is also the question of Boisie's true alliances. When Boisie initially turns down working with Joan on her own scheme, she asks, "Do you even want me to succeed?" Boisie retorts, "As a thief or as a mother?" The question goes unanswered, but it should be one that Joan is sure she knows the answer to. It's unclear whether Boisie wants her to succeed at either, especially without him. 

Joan continues on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CW and airs/streams weekly through mid-November. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on the CW app. The series will also be available to stream on BritBox beginning December 5, with two episodes premiering weekly through December 19, 2024.