S06.E10: Mass Appeal

[KWalkerInc]

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Spencer finds himself struggling at the NFL combine when prospective coaches dig into his past; Jordan convinces Layla to take a day for herself while he handles her first brunch service at the lounge; Asher receives some unexpected news.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Huge swings of super important moments, to utter silliness.

Although it was needed for tension in the arc, I loved the interactions Spence had with coaches and execs in Indy.  The assertion that millions and millions are on the line with the choices teams make is absolutely true.  Watching Spence forget that was almost farcical.  Besides, he wasn't coached specifically on the "quitting" deals by his representation?  Unpossible. 

While I appreciated Spence's rallying the prospects for morality in the League, I have to wonder if the teams would see it as a positive, or a negative.  I suspect there would be a fair share of both reactions.  Value his leadership, or see him as a troublemaker and/or difficult to control?

Olivia's turnaround as an Oracle reached new heights.  She flew to Indy.  Without benefit of a plane!   Transporter?

The Jordan we saw at the beginning of the ep "ordering" everyone to come to the brunch and HAVE A GOOD TIME was all kinds of odd.  This is especially the case given how the dynamics with Layla had radically changed.  I will say that this is the Jordan I would expect as he grows: Smarter than everyone else and knowing what they should do.  It's fundamentally who he is, acting out of a deeply-seated, self-belief of inadequacy.

Very nice farewell for Coach Montes.  It felt off that his wife was so abrupt with AJ, though.  I very much appreciate that AJ, of all of them, actually had to go through a crucible having had very limited experience in his chosen pursuit (be a coach).  He really did earn it.  Montes saw to that.  I also love that there was no offer to join him in the new gig.  Very true to the profession, imo.  If AJ wants to make it his life, he'll need to go through more fire with no guarantees.  However, Montes would be backing him all the way, which is no small thing.

If I had to bet, I would wager that Wade will be a higher pick than Spencer.  A QB with his abilities is the single greatest commodity in the NFL.  Spencer would be a first round pick, imo.  

The team banners at the interviews were fun.

Knowing the Patience trial arc is returning to prominence, not so much.

 

[KWalkerInc]

I wonder if Spencer might have been better prepared if his actual agent, Eric, who is supposed to be caring and all that had been there.  Of course the other guy shows up just because Spencer's draft stock was up and he wanted to try to get his hooks into him now.  That doesn't explain why Eric didn't try to prep him before he was actually in Indianapolis though.  It seems like Laura could have even warned him, given her experiences with Billy.  (And most people who follow football have probably heard about the combine and that time when they asked a draft prospect if his mother was a prostitute.)  But then they couldn't have had Olivia help save the day, which was nice, but I still feel they're trying to make it look like she and Spencer are now doing really well before she moves back to London in the finale or something (or they're together but she gets dropped from the cast next season for some character we've never seen before).

I noticed the fake NFL teams, but I was too busy cringing at Spencer's interviews to pay too much attention to the team names.  I guess the guy at the house at the beginning was supposed to be coach of the fake Rams.  I think they might have mentioned the NFC title game, but they're probably angling for Spencer to stay in L.A.  If they wanted him to get picked by the fake Chargers, it's probably likely that Spencer Paysinger knows Justin Herbert from events, but the show doesn't really want him acting if his appearances in local car ads are any indication.  (Though he was better for Subway.) 

Wade might still have some red flags from his past, but would likely still get a chance in the first round.  I don't know how high Darnell is supposed to go, so that could be interesting.  (But when he compared Spencer's speech to their Pops, I was thinking that he'd know much more about that than Spencer, who barely had Corey around.)

I was confused about Jordan's injury, especially because it wasn't given as a reason for him not being at the combine, and I don't know if he said he was going pro or staying at GAU.  I couldn't tell if they just had him be injured to complicate his bartending in this plot, or if Michael has some type of off-camera injury and they had to write it in like what happened to Matt LeBlanc once on Friends.  Now that Layla has stepped back from the lounge,  I wonder if they will just not have it in the show much, or if there was really any point to Ryan.  (Maybe he'll still be teaching Patience to beat people up.)

I'm glad they had a positive reason for Coach Montes' departure, and it was well done and of course very sad.  I thought that Asher should have said to Coach Mrs. Montes that they both were crucial to him getting as far as he has.  Of course the point was to honor and pay tribute to Kamar de los Reyes and his character, but I wish Asher had made just a small reference to her championing him before they moved on to the phone call.

Is Olivia doing her own artwork for the book?  I can't remember if she also draws or not.  The baby was very cute.