Showtime 1.9 - Brawl

Showtime : Brawl
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, Mark Boone Junior and Lake Bell

Plot: Following the news that TCW will be going to the Astrodome, “Slim” Clem Sanders (Paul Walter Hauser) walks up to Diane (Anna Gunn) and he asks her if she has any big plans for him for the Astrodome show. She says he’s currently booked to face Brad Wolfe (Clayne Crawford) and lose, again. He gets everyone’s attention and he announces everyone that the Astrodome event will be his last wrestling match. He’s retiring from the business that is clearly not for him. It makes him immensely sad to take this decision, but he feels like he’s making the right choice. It’s been in the back of his mind for a while now and he thinks that it’s the perfect opportunity to go out. Diane says that they will stop in San Antonio before heading to Houston and everyone is allowed to go out and drink for Clem’s departure. Ricky (Joe Manganiello) walks up to Clem and gives him a warm hug. He tells him he won’t be able to make it, he’ll head home to his wife and kids. He reminds Clem that he’s a good guy and wishes him luck for what’s next. Loto (Cooper Andrews) also bids farewell to his old friend, promising they’ll keep in touch. He won’t go to the bar, everyone knows what will happen if he does. In the corner, Ben (Barry Keoghan) asks Bill (Nick Offerman) if they’ll go and Bill says he’ll make an exception to his no-bar rule before Clem is leaving and he likes Clem, he’s a good guy.

Ricky is back in San Antonio with his wife Nadine (Lake Bell). She’s making dinner for her two boys when Ricky comes back home. They share a kiss and Ricky says he has something to tell her. He knows she doesn’t agree with it, but for him and his family’s benefit, he decided to accept APW’s offer. Nadine can’t believe it. She says she’s had enough about him and his selfish tendencies. She never sees him and his boys barely know they have a father. She says things are over between them and Ricky argues that they could try to work this out. Nadine reminds him that she barely sees him now and he only works around Texas, imagine what it’ll be like once he wrestles all around the country. She’s crying now and she asks him to leave and to never come back. She’ll send him the divorce paper, he’ll sign them whenever he has to time to think about his family. She pushes Ricky out of his home and locks the door behind him. Ricky gets in his car and leaves.

Dicky (Paul Rust) is in a hotel room with Loto. His protegee asks him if he’s tired of always losing to Ricky and Dicky says the tables have turned now. Loto doesn’t understand what he means by that. He just feels like he’s tired of losing and he doesn’t think sticking with TCW is what’s best for him. Dicky says that’s where he’s wrong, he’ll win the title at the Astrodome. Loto doesn’t believe him, he’s just saying it to raise his morale, but Dicky says he’ll definitely win. Loto wishes him luck selling that idea to Diane, but Dicky says Diane doesn’t need to know. Loto asks Dicky what he’s been up to and he says he doesn’t want to get into details, but he has an arrangement with Ricky to drop to title to Loto at the Astrodome. Loto asks Dicky what he did, but he doesn’t want to say much. They celebrate their future title win and Dicky tells Loto that he’s going to be the star of TCW.

Diane, dressed in business attire, goes to ritzy San Antonio restaurant to have dinner with Leonard (ACTOR), an executive at a national TV network. She gives him the pitch on Texas Championship Wrestling, including their Astrodome showcase show. Leonard is particularly impressed with Santana, who he could see becoming a TV star. Diane is very pleased to hear this. Leonard tells her that he will go to the Astrodome show to see it firsthand.

At the bar, the wrestlers make a toast to Clem before he leaves the company. Brad looks on, seething, as Thunderjack (Dacre Montgomery) hits on Tea (Zoey Deutch). It is Bill's turn to toast Clem and he is boisterous about it. In the background, we see the biker (Mark Boone Junior) who Bill embarrassed the last time they were in San Antonio. He promptly leaves the bar.

Santana drives by the bar everyone is headed to but passes it up to go to Shirley's apartment, instead. Shirley (Sofia D'Elia Black) is surprised to see him there and tells him about Dicky coming to harass her. He tells her he knows as Dicky approached him as well. But he has more important news: he told Nadine he accepted APW's offer and she kicked him out. She says she's sorry, knowing this separates him from his kids. Ricky then tells her he has a wild plan: she move to New York with him. She is taken aback by this. He tells her that she reach more readers with her newsletter and have access to what is about to be the biggest pro wrestling company in the world. Plus...she gets to be with Ricky Santana! After mulling it over, she accepts and they kiss.

Back at the bar, everyone is still having a good time when the biker re-enters, this time with the rest of his gang. They take Bill by surprise and attack him six-on-one. He tries to fight back but this does not work. His fellow wrestlers are quick to react in different ways. Brad, seeing this as a way to redeem himself after failing to protect Tea from the bikers the first time, is quick to Bill's aid. His old buddies the Bruiser Brothers are right behind him. Thunderjack, afraid of conflict, dips out to the bathroom - hoping he isn't seen. However, Ben notices this and sees that it has left Tea unprotected (in the presence of the people who harassed her). He rushes over to her and offers to escort her out. Meanwhile, the bar is in all-out chaos as everyone is fighting everywhere used pool sticks, beer bottles, stools, you name it. The wrestlers end up winning it and chasing the bikers out of the bar. However, it has come at a cost: Bill looks down to a knife his thigh. The Bruiser Brothers tell him he needs to get help right away but he says he's fine. Ben sees this and won't take no for an answer - he'll drive Bill to the ER. They ask who should tell Diane and Brad offers that he will.

When he gets home, he is surprised to find Diane there waiting for him with champagne. She tells him they are about to land a TV deal and so she's in a celebratory mood and wanted to share. He shrugs his shoulders and smiles.

As Diane and Brad lay undressed in bed, he tells her it is convenient that she is here, actually. He's got...some news for her. She looks optimistically nervous. So they were at the bar...