Well, this was a strange week! I ended the episode feeling like I had a lot to unpack - but also that nothing crazy happened (besides that ending…. WHEW! But we’ll get there). Becca’s finally got a man (maybe two men?), and Roy is officially integrated into the Richmond coaching staff. As always, each of these things come with a bit of baggage. So let’s dive.
Becca’s new boy-toy from one of her dating apps is PRETTY. It seems like she’s not really in it for a relationship, and that’s O.K. because she’s a girlboss. But even while she spends time with this guy, she’s still texting her Bantr crush, who has now been anonymous for a couple of weeks. I honestly felt like we were going nowhere with this storyline, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. The first half-ish of episode six still felt frustrating in that regard, but it was nice to see her get some. However, at the end of the day, it seems like her heart lies with Mr. Bantr.
On the soccer side, Roy is all aboard the Richmond train, and MAN is it nice to see him back in the locker room. I wish it didn’t take six episodes for him to get there, but I’m not about to be picky about having more Roy Kent screen time. Our dilemma, however, is that Roy absolutely refuses to set aside his beef with Jaime and actually coach him. He’s led the team to four straight wins since last week’s episode, but Jaime feels neglected (poor thing) and essentially begs Roy to give him some guidance. After a bit of prodding from both Jaime and Ted, Roy caves: he tells Jaime that he needs to regress and become an asshole again – but only sometimes! When Roy gives him “the signal”, New Jaime has the permission of the coaching staff to go full Old Jaime - selfish, tunnel-visioned, and an absolute nuisance to the opposing squad.
Jaime ends up leading Richmond to a last-second win in the quarterfinals, but there is a lot else happening during this monumental win. Ted has a full-blown, season one-esque panic attack, and leaves the field seconds before the opposing team scores a tying goal. Nate, after presumably being fed up with having to step aside for Roy during the past four weeks, uses his newfound courage to make a last-second substitution and play-call that results in Richmond pulling out the victory. As an aside, can I just say that I love the few scenes we get of them actually playing soccer? I get that it’s not necessarily the point of the show, but I feel like we’re getting way more action last season.
We’ve got a lot ahead of us in the next couple of weeks. I understand where some of the criticism of this season comes from - it seems to be expanding a ton of plot lines too quickly for anyone to keep up within 30-minute episodes. As an example, remember a couple of episodes ago when Sam almost got kicked off the squad for protesting the team’s leading sponsor? This week, without any reference to those events, we see Bantr is the new team sponsor, with the logo plastered across the Richmond jerseys. I thought Bantr was just a start-up? No way they could afford to replace a multi-million dollar sponsor.
We’ve got a lot ahead of us in the next couple of weeks. I understand where some of the criticism of this season comes from - it seems to be expanding a ton of plot lines too quickly for anyone to keep up within 30-minute episodes. As an example, remember a couple of episodes ago when Sam almost got kicked off the squad for protesting the team’s leading sponsor? This week, without any reference to those events, we see Bantr is the new team sponsor, with the logo plastered across the Richmond jerseys. I thought Bantr was just a start-up? No way they could afford to replace a multi-million dollar sponsor.
ANYWAYS, I’ll still be here next week. And the week after that. And next season. So I suppose the writers can do whatever they want.
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