Showtime 1.8 - The Jacksons

Showtime : The Jacksons
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, Toby Huss and Treat Williams

Plot: Plot: Tom (Tom Hopper) and Don (Alan Ritchson) Jackson are walking around in a cemetery. The sky is grey and it starts to rain. Soaking wet, the two brothers stop in front of a tombstone and start to cry in each other’s arms. The grave reads Ron Jackson. They place a now ruined bouquet of flowers on the grave and bid his farewell. They head to a local bar to drink their sorrows before their match this evening.

Thunderjack (Dacre Montgomery) and Sweet Tea (Zoey Deutch) reunite with their colleagues in the locker room. Diane (Anna Gunn) asks them how it went, she heard that he had a good reaction. Sweet Tea says he doesn’t want to talk about it. Two of the locker room veterans, Loto (Cooper Andrews) and Clem Sanders (Paul Walter Hauser) isolate Thunderjack in the locker room and they want him to tell them what really happened down in Mexico. He says they ridiculed him because he couldn’t wrestle and Loto says it’s a different product down there and he’s going to do just fine here. He thanks for them for their support. Not far away, Dicky (Paul Rust) grabs a hold of Brad Wolfe (Clayne Crawford) and points out to him how Thunderjack and his sister seem closer ever since they got back from Mexico. Brad says he’s right and reaches over to his sister to ask her what happened. She’s distant and doesn’t seem to want to answer the question, indicating that something definitely happened. He goes to Diane to complain. She says there’s nothing she can do stop two young souls to love each other. He suggests that she could split them up, but Diane thinks they make a good pair. She reminds him that she’s the boss around here and she calls the shots. However, her door remains open for him.

Tom and Don are drinking at a local bar when a fan recognizes them. He points out that they don’t look too good. They remember that they have to keep up the act in public, so they try to act tough, even though, deep down, they are immensely sad. They decide to leave when the fan starts to be a drag. They do their signature pose in the doorway on their way out to please the fan, but you can see they aren’t into it. They leave for the arena.

Dicky waits by the door and when Ricky (Joe Mangianello) arrives, he immediately follows him to a corner. Ricky asks him what Dicky wants and Dicky whispers that he knows about Shirley. He wonders what Nadine and his boys would say if they learn their father slept with a fan. He can smell a divorce from here. It wouldn’t do a lot of good for his finances either, she stays at home and take care of the kids, she doesn’t have money. He bets she would milk him down to his last cent. He orders Dicky to mind his own business, he could knock him out right here if he’d like. Dicky knows he won’t do that, it would arise suspicions, but you know what Ricky could do to prevent all of this? He asks Ricky to drop the title to Loto at the Astrodome. Ricky says he would never do that, but Dicky also knows he got an offer from APW. It would be a shame if Diane knew, right? Ricky says Dicky is a twisted individual and walks away, saying he will do it, but he will watch Dicky and make sure he holds on to his end of the bargain.

Since they are in the hometown of the Bruiser Brothers, Diane tells them that they will be in the main event that night. Ben (Barry Keoghan) overhears this and is giddy at main-eventing a show but Bill (Nick Offerman) calms him down, pointing out the circumstances of why they are in the main event. Ben puts his head down and says he understands. When he goes out to set up the ring, he notices that Tea is out there as well. He tells her she doesn't need to do that. She says she is just as new as him and she wants to pay her dues in the industry. He says Brad would be pissed if he knew she were out here. She shrugs her shoulders and says she's grateful that she got him the job but she's getting annoyed by how controlling her is. Ben can empathize - he says he feels the same way about how Bill acts towards him at times, like a protective parent. They bond over having came to the company at the same time and ponder why Thunderjack doesn't have to be out here doing this work. Tea tells him Thunderjack is Diane's favorite. Ben says he thinks she has...a different favorite. Tea does not understand what he is referring to.

In her office, Diane is told she has a phone call. She picks up and learns that Paul Martin (Toby Huss) is on the line. Paul Martin is head of Martin Wrestling Association out of Atlanta, a family business for the last 40 years and the second biggest promotion in the U.S. Diane says this call was unexpected. Paul tells her that he's heard rumblings that APW is making moves and is looking to go national. Their plan to cherry-pick the top stars from various territories and effectively end the territory system. So he has to be on the defensive: what if MWA teams up with various other promotions to form an alliance to share stars and prevent APW dominating the American wrestling scene. He's already got Sun Belt Wrestling out of Memphis on board. After sitting in a prolonged silence, staring at the calendar on her wall, she tells him she'll have to decline. TCW has a big Astrodome show coming up and she is confident that this will propel them in a prime position to challenge APW on the national level. She doesn't play for second place. The answer is no. After hanging up, she smiles to herself.

In the main event, the Bruiser Brothers get a rapturous reaction from the crowd in their match against Ben and Bill. As they make their entrance, they notice there is only one person (Treat Williams) in the front row not standing or cheering. They stay focused on their match and act as if they don't see him. The teams have developed excellent chemistry at this point and they tear the house down once again. Near the climax of the match, they set up for a three-person move that they would usually do with Ron. Realizing they accidentally did this, they become lost in their train of thought and the match stalls. Bill, who is the ring with them, calls the match on the fly and works towards a finish that sees the Bruiser Brothers win - leading to an explosion of cheers from the crowd. As he pins him, Tom whispers "thank you" to Bill. Afterwards, Tom and Don leap the guardrail and go to the man who was sitting. They all show emotion for the first time as they hug and cry, in remembrance of Ron. 

When they return to the locker room, everyone is patting them on the backs. They introduce the locker room to Malachi Jackson, himself a 50s wrestling star and father to three talented triplet wrestlers. Malachi gives them a pep-talk about how well their show went and the momentum the promotion seems to be building. Diane enters with a bag in her hands and says that she has an announcement to make. Because the Best-of-7 series is now even, The Bruiser Brothers and Carr & Gundy need to have their blow-off match on a big stage. And so this match will take place in the Astrodome to crown...*she pulls golden belts out of the bag* the first ever TCW Tag Team Champions.