Showtime 1.7 - Laredo

Showtime : Laredo
Genre : Drama / Comedy / Sports
Showrunner: Steven Soderbergh
Writer : Chad Taylor & Mo Buck

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Joe Manganiello, Dacre Montgomery, Nick Offerman, Cooper Andrews, Paul Walter Hauser, Zoey Dutch, Anna Gunn, Clayne Crawford, Tom Hopper, Alan Ritchson, Paul Rust and Pedro Pascal

Plot: The next TCW show is set for Laredo, their southernmost tour spot. Being right on the Mexican border, this also one of their most Hispanic fanbases. As such, Diane (Anna Gunn) wants to make a blockbuster match for her "Hispanic" star Ricky Santana (Joe Mangianello). She gets in contact with Federacion de Lucha Libre, a top Mexican promotion, to bring in their top star Oscar "The Blue Tiger" Sanchez to face Ricky. FLL want this to be an exchange so she offers Clem Sanders (Paul Walter Hauser) but they say they want Thunderjack Haynes (Dacre Montgomery). Diane is hesitant as she is protective of Thunderjack but she accepts. She meets with Thunderjack and tells him he will need to be traveling to Monterrey for an FLL show. He asks if Tea (Zoey Deutch) can come with and Diane says yes.

On the road, Dicky (Paul Rust) tells Loto (Cooper Andrews) that he needs to make a detour. Loto is annoyed by this but Dicky is not having much of it, considering the state he found Loto in the night before. Plus, this will be to the benefit of the both of them in the long run. He gives a mischievous smile while Loto shakes his head, knowing Dicky is up to some shit. Their car pulls up to Shirley's diner, just as she is getting off of work. She drives to her apartment, with Dicky and Loto following. When she gets home, she relaxes and looks at a poster of Ricky on her wall, smiling as she would on a crush. She then goes to her typewriter to start her latest newsletter, presumably to talk about the bombshell of Santana planning to leave TCW. Dicky tells Loto to wait in the car, he needs to do something. He knocks on Shirley’s door and he presents himself. She says he needs no introduction, she knows who he is, she just wants to know why is he in her apartment. Dicky asks her if she likes Ricky Santana and Shirley says that she’s a fan. Dicky her to cut the shit. He knows about her affair with Ricky and he could ruin both their lives. Shirley asks him what she can do to prevent that and he asks to reveal what’s Ricky’s little secret. Shirley reveals Ricky received an offer from APW. Shirley says she’ll hold her end of the bargain, he needs to hold his. Dicky mischievously smiles and says it won’t be a problem.

The others make it to Laredo early and start to plan out matches. Brad (Clayne Crawford) asks where Tea is and Diane tells him that Thunderjack and Tea are traveling to Monterrey for a show. He is angry at her for doing this but she calls him into her office and tells him the news before anyone else: they’re going to the Astrodome. As they have been, Ben (Barry Keoghan) and Bill (Nick Offerman) continue their series against Tom (Tom Hopper) and Don (Alan Ritchson) Jackson, which is playing well in every city they go to. Oscar Sanchez (Pedro Pascal) arrives, already wearing his Blue Tiger mask to protect his identity. Oscar walks with a pep in his step and goes to meet Ricky, speaking in Spanish as he does. Ricky stumbles through his response, with Spanish being his second language. Oscar jumps on this like a predator to an injured prey, immediately questioning Ricky's hispanic heritage. Ricky grows red but defensive, aware that Oscar's assumptions are true as he and Roy conceived this character to appeal to Hispanic fans. He's really an Italian-American. He plays it off but you can tell this has shaken his confidence. Brad, facing his own mid-life crisis, walks by and pokes fun at Santana's embarrassment. Dicky laughs at Ricky, thinking about everything he knows about him and how he can use it to its advantage.
Brad comes back from his match against Clem. He warns Ricky that this is a tough crowd, but Ricky reminds him that it is always a tough crowd for Wolfe, everybody hates him. Wolfe says that just means he’s good at his job. It is now time for the main event. The Blue Tiger makes his way to the ring to a standing ovation. Diane tells him that it’s going to be a tough crowd out there for Ricky, but she wishes him luck.

The match starts off strong and Ricky does his trademark moves to get the crowd behind him, to no avail. Despite his apparent desire to win the crowd over, they just seem to be behind Sanchez no matter what. Sanchez hits a series of high-flying move to get the crowd back into it. Ricky notices it’s a lost cause for him, so he calls an audible in the ring, so he acts as a heel in the match. Sanchez agrees to the change of direction, on the condition that he comes out on top. Santana accepts and he tries to rip Sanchez’s mask off. The crowd gets behind his attitude change and it looks like they found their footing for the rest of the match.

Thunderjack sits in the corner of the locker room in Monterray with Sweet Tea next to him. He looks upset and she tries to calm him down. He says he just needs to get the hell out of here and she follows him.

Santana jukes Sanchez, but The Blue Tiger hits him with his finisher, out of nowhere for the win. He celebrates in the crowd as Santana retreats in the locker room. He waits for Sanchez to arrive and he says it was really nice working with him. Sanchez compliments him too and before they enter the locker room, Santana reveals to Sanchez that’s he’s not truly Hispanic, he’s just Italian-American. Sanchez says he likes that he’s honest and he enjoyed wrestling with him, his secret is safe with him. Diane welcomes them in the locker room, where they receive a standing ovation for their excellent match.

Thunderjack is back at the hotel, He’s still mad that people made fun of him because he couldn’t wrestler. He asks Sweet Tea if it’s really what he is, a laughing stock and Sweet Tea says it doesn’t care what other people think. She says she liked it when he was dominating his opponent in the ring. Thunderjack asks her is she’s serious and she says she is. He leans forwards and kisses her. They share an embrace and end up having sex on the bed.