S01.E08: Gaslighting

[sjankis630]

Spencer tries to save Vernon by confronting his past; Ricky tries to reconcile with Bella; Charles finds that his football skills come in handy.

 

 

Ok I am not sure if we are allowed to start an episode topic so merge/delete as necessary. The show has been shown over 2 hours ago so I have one question.

At the end when Spencer left the bar and then chugged that bottle of pills; the same pills I was assuming he was just told earlier that he didn't need because there was nothing physically wrong with him.

Are we to assume that he is now hooked on them?

Also good for Spence for sticking up for himself and his buddy.

Edited August 10, 2015 by radishcake
Yes you absolutely can add episode threads! Thanks!

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, I wasn't sure what the deal with the pills was either.  I guess it was showing that he addicted or something.

 

I cracked up over Spencer singing to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off", because that was the song Dwayne Johnson did on that Lip-Singing Battle months ago, and killed it.  The Rock knows his Taylor Swift!

 

No surprise, Richard Schiff was pissed as hell, and openly lets Spencer know how little he thinks of him.  Spencer does end up meeting this Angie face to face and it all seems good on that front, but now Joe is mad at how Schiff treated him, and is thinking about branching out on his own.  I guess the question is will Spencer follow, unless he has some strange reason to stick with Schiff.

 

Charlie is continuing to get closer to coming back, after adoring all the cheers for the truck pushing, and approach Dule Hill's character, since there is another opening.

 

Ricky being Ricky, thinks he can win his girlfriend back by buying her an expensive ring.  It didn't work.  Ricky isn't very bright.

 

I was thrown for a loop when Michael Cudlitz randomly showed up in that commercial, but next week's previews seem to explain it.

[Muffyn]

I could watch Dwayne Johnson singing "Shake It Off" in his car for hours.  

[grannygeek]

 

I could watch Dwayne Johnson singing "Shake It Off" in his car for hours.

 

Oh yeah, especially because it requires a close-up and the impact of this man's physicality and charisma just comes at you in waves.

[Traveller519]

I read the pills as him confronting that he had to feel something he really didn't want to feel and trying to get it off in the easiest way possible.

 

I am glad Victor Cruz can hold his own among all the actors on the show.

[damalanop]

I was thrown for a loop when Michael Cudlitz randomly showed up in that commercial, but next week's previews seem to explain it.

 

I was so happy to see Cudlitz.  I miss him and Southland.

 

I'm happy that Spence doesn't have CTE.  That's the best thing I could take out of this episode.  Actually, that and him singing Taylor Swift after getting the good news.  I keep watching, hoping that things will pick and/or get better, but it's not happening for me yet.  The trouble for me is things get built up and then when there seems to be a big "gotcha" thing, it turns out to be not all that big of a deal.  Case in point: the Angela situation.  That whole thing was blown up, not really addressed, and then finally tied up rather neatly.  After all of that, I think I'd rather that the Angela thing not have been a *thing* at all.

 

Anyway....I'm going to keep watching...I love a challenge!

[ribboninthesky1]

The Taylor Swift thing was funny, if a bit odd, but I was most amused at his immediate reaction to the news.  From his "so...I passed!" like it was a test to "Get in here!" to "Shhhh! Let me enjoy this moment" as he hugs her closer had me rolling.  Bless the actress who played the doctor - she kept it professional.  I would have needed multiple takes to ensure we nailed that scene, ha!

 

Arielle Kebbel is gorgeous, but she has zero chemistry with Johnson.  Her line readings indicate she's an established, savvy professional, but I keep thinking they should have cast another gorgeous woman who was a bit older, at least mid-30s.  Carla Gugino, where are you, girl?  Cause I mean, Dwayne is fine and all, but he looks his age.  I was side-eyeing the "Spencer is 39" stuff, but okay, football/anything over 30 is old/blah blah.   

 

Victor Cruz is yummy.

 

In earlier threads, Playmakers was mentioned as the superior show.  I don't necessarily disagree, but the only thing tying these shows together is professional football. Ballers is a 30 minute comedy more focused on life after football while trying to dip its feet in the deep end without fully committing. Playmakers was more sobering, if not dark, and more about current players, the team dynamic and politics, etc. Two very different tones and lens, in my view. 

[portfino]

How good can this show be when they don't know what gaslighting means?

 

I agree that the show wants you to ignore the rather obvious more than a decade age gap between Johnson/Kebbel.

[Joimiaroxeu]

How good can this show be when they don't know what gaslighting means?

I think their usage of the term was relatively correct. When someone

• starts doing a slow fade on their romantic partner,
• gets called on it by their romantic partner,
• denies it by insinuating the accuser is overreacting/reading into things, or
• denies it by straight up calling their partner "crazy",
• and then actually leaves that partner...

 

That is in effect gaslighting. It's basically telling someone, "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" and then later confirming by their actions that the partner's suspicions were in fact correct. The only problem I saw in this episode is that there wasn't any gaslighting going on; it was only referred to as something Spencer allegedly did to his extortionist ex-girlfriend in the past. Seems to me that somebody behind the scenes liked the idea of using of "gaslighting" as plot point but couldn't really take the time to develop the premise via the writing.

[Ottis]

I could watch Dwayne Johnson singing "Shake It Off" in his car for hours.

 

 

It went on way too long. I kept expecting a truck to ram him, Alias-style.

 

In earlier threads, Playmakers was mentioned as the superior show.  I don't necessarily disagree, but the only thing tying these shows together is professional football. Ballers is a 30 minute comedy more focused on life after football while trying to dip its feet in the deep end without fully committing. Playmakers was more sobering, if not dark, and more about current players, the team dynamic and politics, etc. Two very different tones and lens, in my view.

 

 

I think you are missing the point of people comparing Ballers to Playmakers. The people behind Ballers have claimed publicly what you just said ... it's a comedy, not the same as Playmakers, and that is why it is only 30 minutes. But Ballers features: 

 

- Multiple players getting their last chance to hang on to a life they loved (or else), or who have retired and don't know what to do with their lives (and one off camera ended up dead)

- Drug addiction

- Failing or at least challenged marriages

- Redemption arcs (Ricky, especially)

- Concerns about brain damage from playing football

 

Those situations are dramatic. You throw in an older player coming back from rehab, and anything about concussions affecting a family, and you just about have Playmakers.

 

Ballers has been lighter the past two episodes overall. But the best parts of the show are the dramatic ones. The funny stuff almost seems odd at times because so much of the show is dramatic.

 

That's why people make the comparision. If Ballers is supposed to be a comedy, it's practically a dark one.

[ribboninthesky1]

- Multiple players getting their last chance to hang on to a life they loved (or else), or who have retired and don't know what to do with their lives (and one off camera ended up dead)

 

Multiple players getting their last chance to hang on? When did this happen? I don't remember Playmakers featuring any characters who were already retired. They primarily focused on a team, during the season, with significant focus on locker room interactions.  None of this has been a focus of Ballers.  

 

- Drug addiction

 

Is this alluding to Spencer? I know others have speculated based on that final scene, but I didn't read it that way.  Not saying it's impossible, but I took "wait and see what happens in the next episode" approach. Because otherwise, whose drug addiction has been highlighted? Certainly nothing like the cocky running back from Playmakers. 

 

- Failing or at least challenged marriages

 

Because of the time constraints, we haven't seen much of Charles' marriage.  His arc seems focused on retirement fallout (which happens to be football, but could be any sport), not how the game and his commitment to/obsession with it overshadowed and adversely impacted a marriage.  

 

- Redemption arcs (Ricky, especially)

 

Eh, Ricky's arc is about his personal life and lack of discipline, not proving himself on the field. I can't recall the last time we've even seen him suited up, if at all.  None of this is specific to football - he could be any athlete in any sport on a professional team and can't keep it in his pants/have a hair-trigger temper. Same thing with Vernon - he's a supporting character, but his story is about leeching family and friends and his naivete.  Plus, Playmakers didn't have a problem showing their characters as assholes or unlikable. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I think we're supposed to like Ricky in spite of himself. 

 

- Concerns about brain damage from playing football

 

This is about the only storyline that had potential for any darkness and parallel with Playmakers, but they nipped it in the bud.  Even went so far as implying that Spencer's issues were psychosomatic.  Contrast this to the Playmakers' opening episode where a man is paralyzed because of the hit he took from an opposing player. Or the quarterback who, in addition to his voiceover about how football players have a significantly shorter lifespan than the average man, damaged his kidneys because of the anti-inflammatory pills he took just to walk and get through the week.  Or the player (don't recall the position) who was diagnosed with diabetes because the team mandated a certain weight.  Ballers had Spencer popping a few pills, but they barely scratched the surface of the physical toll and damage FOOTBALL inflicts.

 

I don't know, after recently watching Playmakers, it felt like that show really took the time to laser in on football, the men engaged in the game, and the collateral damage.  Ballers seems much more superficial, with football being the background sport about athletes in varying stages of their lives.  And that's okay by me; it's why I disagree with comparing the two shows.        

 

The only problem I saw in this episode is that there wasn't any gaslighting going on; it was only referred to as something Spencer allegedly did to his extortionist ex-girlfriend in the past. Seems to me that somebody behind the scenes liked the idea of using of "gaslighting" as plot point but couldn't really take the time to develop the premise via the writing.

 

Agreed. Though by the way Angie accepted his apology, I assume Spencer did gaslight her?  Without knowing the nature of Spencer's relationship with Angie, it's hard to tell.  And how much could there have been if it was six months and Spencer was on the road most of that time? If it was a Bella/Ricky type of relationship, then okay, but all of the drama because of a scorned woman? I guess. 

Edited August 11, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[guilfoyleatpp]

During the party on the boat (or rather, the party prior to the boat), the love interest/reporter called Spencer on his use of vicodin. She said something like "you are doing that thing where you pretend like you have it all together, but really you're spinning inside" and then made a reference to his pills.

And he said he'd been clean.

 

I assumed the pills were vicodin, which even if he doesn't have a brain injury, are probably pretty valuable or standard to a former pro-football player. He probably relies on them emotionally and as a way to relax and less for pain. 

 

That was my read.

[Vixenstud]

 

The Taylor Swift thing was funny, if a bit odd, but I was most amused at his immediate reaction to the news.  From his "so...I passed!" like it was a test to "Get in here!" to "Shhhh! Let me enjoy this moment" as he hugs her closer had me rolling.  Bless the actress who played the doctor - she kept it professional.  I would have needed multiple takes to ensure we nailed that scene, ha!

 

Yeah, I would have been fired for trying to wrap my legs around his waist to help him celebrate, hee!  Err'time I hear SIO I think of that fool.

 

Ricky, Ricky....I'm feeling him, I know what it is like to have fucked something up and realize that no matter how you try to make it right, you are actually making things worse.

[DrSpaceman]

Still bugs me about how they are handling the CTE storyline.  MRI being OK to does not mean there is no long term damage.  I know its TV and its more symbolic than anything, but as mentioned before, with such a serious issue, I hoped they would give a more realistic and accurate portrayal

 

I have never heard of gaslighting, but I can't be too hard on Spencer and the relationship with the girl extorting money without knowing more about it the nature of their relationship.  It sounds to me like she was way more into the relationship and serious about it than he was, he wanted a casual fling and she viewed them as a serious couple.  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  Seems to me more like a spurned ex just pissed she couldn't snag the NFL player though just based on what we know. 

 

I never saw Playmakers so I can't compare them

[marcee]

I wish someone who matters would tell someone else who matters that this show needs to be an hour.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I wish someone who matters would tell someone else who matters that this show needs to be an hour.

I agree that right when it starts getting good the episode is over. Problem is, not only would expanding it to an hours be more expensive, as far as the Emmys are concerned 30-minute shows are comedies and 60-minute shows are dramas. I think if Ballers has any hope of winning Emmys they need to stay out of the drama category because they'd never be able to compete with the "real" dramas like Game of Thrones, House of Cards, True Detective, Downton Abbey, etc.

 

Did anyone catch the season premiere of Survivor's Remorse? I'm kind of surprised there isn't a previously.tv forum for it since the show exists in a parallel universe to this one. (But without such a charismatic lead actor.)

[SFoster21]

They can't compete with any real comedies either. This show isn't funny.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I think Rob Corddry could get a supporting actor nod.