Portrait of a Thief

After Lily talks to Will, Irene tells her that Will has no right to be upset with her, because if they’d kept doing heists, they would have gotten caught. Lily says this is not why Will is upset. Irene considers how much Will wanted her to believe in him. Then, she asks Lily to go to Boston with her. As they drive, they talk about their future jobs at a consulting firm and Microsoft with a shared tone of resignation. Lily asks Irene what she would have done if they’d completed the heists, and Irene says “I’d do something of my own” (285).

In Boston, Lily and Irene visit Will. While Irene and Will talk, Lily receives a text from Zhao Min saying, “Your turn.” She finds a news article indicating Norway’s KODE Art museum was robbed that morning; every item from the Chinese Collection was stolen except the next zodiac fountainhead. Min’s text feels like a challenge, but Lily is uncertain if she should tell the crew.

Will apologizes to Irene, acknowledging his former resentment. Irene admits she always measured herself against him and felt she came up short. She helps Will realize their parents are proud of him and his art. He says she was right to stop the heists, that his want blinded him.

Lily and Irene help Will prepare for his interview at the Met. They advise him to tread carefully around the subject of colonialism and repatriation, because museums don’t want to acknowledge these subjects. Lily helps Will finish cleaning out his art studio and tells him about Min’s text. Will decides to rob the Met.

Before a medical school interview, Daniel receives a text from Liu Siqi asking if he has an alibi. After his interview, he learns the KODE robbery just occurred. His father knows he wasn’t involved, and Daniel doesn’t answer when asked if he knows who was responsible. Yaoxian offers to not go to Norway for the investigation, saying some things are more important. Daniel reassures him that he’s fine.

Irene calls and tells Daniel that the crew are planning something. She reassures him that he doesn’t need to get involved, but can join them in New York if he wants. Daniel says he won’t help, but he’ll come.

Alex returns to New York, as her grandmother had a stroke and was admitted to a hospital. Irene calls and tells Alex that the crew are going to rob the Met when Will interviews there next week. Alex admits she saved backup copies of their research files. The crew stays at Alex’s home while in New York. Irene accompanies her to the hospital. Afterward, Irene tells Alex that they don’t have to be antagonistic toward each other.

Will’s interview at the Met goes well. Afterward, he asks for a tour of the restoration rooms. When the tour’s done, he meets with Lily and she looks at the museum’s art while Will sketches it and her. They also finalize their preparations for tomorrow’s theft. As they spend time together, Will thinks about what their relationship might become once the heists are over.

The evening before the heist, the crew decides to spend what might be their last night of freedom doing something fun: They go to a karaoke bar in Korea Town. Alex goes outside for some fresh air, and Daniel follows. As they talk, she realizes Daniel loves Irene, and Daniel notes Alex feels the same. Alex changes the subject, but doesn’t deny it.

Lily is up late thinking about Will. She goes to his room and finds him still awake. They admit they want each other and are about to kiss when Lily says she doesn’t care if their relationship doesn’t last. To her surprise, Will says he does want it to last. She pulls away, not wanting things to get complicated before the heist. Instead of returning to bed, Lily talks with Daniel late into the night about their strategy, in which Will, Irene, and Alex will break into the museum. Lily and Daniel both expect them to get caught.

Early the next morning, Daniel calls his father in Norway. Thinking about how he and his friends were never good enough to get away with their heists, he tells his father he needs to come back.

Lily and Daniel drop Will, Irene, and Alex off near the Met. Alex initiates a program to disable the Met’s lights, security cameras, and door locks. When they reach the Chinese art gallery, they hear “Freeze!” and the lights come on.

The scene skips ahead to Will being interrogated by Daniel’s father. Will says he, Irene, and Alex were in the neighborhood and found the door to the Met unlocked. Yaoxian points out that Will was born in America and asks why he would want to take from it. Will explains he doesn’t feel like he fully belongs to either China or America, but doing the heists for China felt like it might mean something.

During Irene’s interrogation, she tells Daniel’s father that all she, Will, and Alex are guilty of is trespassing. When he asks why she was trespassing, she tells him that she was trying to impress a girl.