Gauntlet 2.12 - Bring the Pain

Gauntlet : Bring the Pain
Genre : Sports / Drama
Showrunner: Antoine Fuqua
Writer : Matt Parker

Cast: William Fichtner, Josh Duhamel, Trevor Jackson, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jared Keeso, Corey Hawkins, William Sadler, Dana Delany, Brock Lesnar, Jaimie Alexander and Matt Barr

Plot: In practice on Thursday, Alex Wright (Patrick Schwarzenegger) struggles with his disappointed father Marvin (William Sadler) looking on from the sidelines. After Wright throws a rare practice interception, Coach Ken Heath (William Fichtner) sense something is wrong and has Tim Collins (Josh Duhamel) go over and talk to Wright to figure out what's going on with him. Collins asks Wright what's wrong, but Wright says nothing is wrong. Collins catches Wright glancing toward his father as he says this. Collins reports back to Heath and Offensive Coordinator Stan Swift (Jared Keeso) that Wright's dad being there is messing with Wright's head. Heath walks over to Marvin and tells him that the team's practices are closed to the public and asks him to leave. Marvin says he isn't a member of the public, but rather a guest of his son's. Heath tells Marvin that players don't have guests at practice and that if he doesn't leave so now so his team can practice, he'll have security escort him off of the property. Seeing Coach Heath and his father arguing, Wright puts his head down in embarrassment.

Jefferson Thomas (Trevor Jackson) and DeAndre Colson (Corey Hawkins) are going over game tape with Swift when Herc Mueller (Brock Lesnar) enters the locker room for the first time since he arrived in Memphis following his trade from the Chicago Crusaders to the Pharaohs. The locker room is abuzz as Heath introduces him to the team, saying that hopefully with his help they can reach their championship goals. Herc thanks Coach Heath for the kind words and says he's excited to get out there and play some football with them.

Wright goes home and talks to his mother Trudy (Dana Delany). He asks her if she's heard about what happened at his practice yet, but she hasn't. He turns on the television to some sports news where they see Natalie Cornish (Jaimie Alexander) reporting on the argument between Coach Heath and Wright's disgraced high school coach father. Trudy says that Marvin is not going to handle it well. Meanwhile, Marvin is at a bar watching the same report as he drinks. A few of the patrons at the bar recognize him from the television and ask him for an autograph. Marvin punches one of the patrons and threatens to break a beer bottle over the head of the next person to mention the incident to him. Next on the sports news, Natalie Cornish interviews the all-pro quarterback of the Detroit Diesels, Brent Hammil (Matt Barr), asking him how he feels about the Pharaoh's acquisition of Herc Mueller. Hammil says he isn't too worried about it and he doesn't think his team will have a problem beating Memphis that weekend.

With the team preparing to travel to Baltimore for their game that weekend, Heath and the other coaches are trying to strategically plot out roommates for their night at the hotel in Detroit. Collins suggests that they should mix up offense and defense, and Heath like the idea, but is nervous about who to have room with Alex Wright. They want him in the right head space going into the game. Collins asks what about rooming him with Herc. Swift is aghast at the idea, but Heath is more receptive. Collins says that Herc may be pretty aggressive, but he's one of the toughest players in the league, and it wouldn't hurt if a little bit of that rubbed off onto Wright.

On the plane to Detroit, Coach Heath asks Collins to deliver the news of the roommate situation to the players. Collins asks why him, and Heath says that players never like to receive this kind of news, and that Collins will have to get used to giving the players bad news if he wants to continue coaching in the future. Collins announces the room pairings, and as predicted, the team is less than happy. When they get to the hotel, Wright doesn't seem particularly interested in chatting with Herc, so Herc turns the television onto a hunting show. Herc says that the show is therapeutic to him since he likes to think of himself as something of a big game hunter out on the football field, and suggests Wright try that mentality some time. Wright says he's never gone hunting before and puts an eye mask over his eyes.

With the score knotted 10-10 in the second quarter of the game between the Pharaohs and the Diesels, Heath calls for a blitz on Detroit's quarterback Hammil. Herc Mueller breaks his way through Detroit's offensive line and begins chasing after Hammil, who makes a break for hit. Herc grabs Hammil from behind and furiously slams him to the ground. Hammil fumbles the ball on the hit, which is recovered by Herc, who takes it into the end zone for a touchdown. Hammil was knocked out cold by the hit, and is taken off the field on a stretcher. Without Detroit's star quarterback playing, Memphis is able to pull away for a 24-13 victory over the Diesels.

In the locker room after the game, the Pharaohs hear that the rumor is that the doctors at the hospital believe Hammil suffered serious spinal damage on the hit. Herc kneels down and offers a prayer for Hammil's speedy recovery. The other players are surprised that someone as vicious on the field as Herc would be the first to pray, but they all join him in the prayer for Hammil. 

As much as I enjoy Fichtner, Roberts, Duhamel and Keeso, there's Schwarzenegger and Brock Lesnar who struggle to keep up with the veterans' acting presence, bringing the quality down a bit.

Gauntlet is and remains one of my favorite series on LRTV. From the constant drama and various intertwining storylines, there's so much to like about Gauntlet that it's almost impossible to not find something compelling about it

I really have to give it up to Matt Parker for writing an entertaining show that accurately represents the highs and lows and the ins and outs of a football team, all while making it interesting for people who don't like the sport.