Showtime 2.2 - The Wrath of Khan

Showtime - The Wrath of Khan
Genre : Drama / Comedy / Sports
Showrunner: Steven Soderbergh
Writer : Chad Taylor & Mo Buck

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Dacre Montgomery, Nick Offerman, Cooper Andrews, Zoey Dutch, Anna Gunn, Clayne Crawford, Tom Hopper, Alan Ritchson, Paul Rust, Toby Huss, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Samara Weaving

Plot: In a doctor's office, Bill Gundy (Nick Offerman) sits staring at a blank wall. The doctor walks in and tells him the update on his scans. They have a frank discussion about his body being pretty banged up and he is advised to take an extended period off to heal or just to retire straight up. The doctor apologizes, knowing Bill doesn't want to hear this. He tells the doc not to worry about it. The doctor leaves and Bill sits in loneliness.

The show cuts to a newcomer (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), built like a Mack Truck and a certain air of confidence about him. He flirts with the women as he leaves the airport, a big gold belt strapped around his waist. 

At the TCW show, Dicky (Paul Rust), Loto (Cooper Andrews), the Bruiser Brothers (Tom Hopper and Alan Ritchson) and Brad Wolfe (Clayne Crawford) debate and brainstorm who they think will be arriving. They then wonder if that means Loto will be leaving TCW if he wins. Thunderjack Haynes (Dacre Montgomery) is above this type of gossip as he prepares in isolation for his match outside of the arena. This leaves Ben Carr (Barry Keoghan) sitting alone, looking concerned. Sweet Tea (Zoey Deutch) approaches him and asks what's up. He says that he is concerned that Bill hasn't shown up yet and is worried about his mentor's injury. She tells him he'll be fine. Bill is like the dad of the locker room and dads are always there for you. Ben makes a face that begs to differ. She asks him who he thinks it will be showing up and he says he knows one of them because he knows who the MWA Heavyweight Champion is and some people will not be happy. She is confused and asks what he means by this before Paul Martin (Toby Huss) and Diane Brown (Anna Gunn) enter the locker room. Brad casts a suspicious eye on them, concerned to see Diane around another man. Paul says that his champion has arrived as Cain Kahn (whom we saw earlier) strides into the locker room. Brad and the Bruisers subtly scoff as Loto whispers to Dicky "I wonder if they know that TCW has never had a black wrestler before". Dicky points out that Loto is Samoan and Loto says they're not the same thing. Diane says that Kahn has been put on the card for later tonight.

Meanwhile, as Thunderjack trains, he is approached by a gorgeous scantily-clad blonde (Samara Weaving) who asks if he is Thunderjack Haynes. Before seeing her, he says he doesn't have time for fans as he is training. When he turns around, he changes his tune and says that yes it is. She says she's not a fan, which slightly offends him. She laughs and says that's because she's never seen him before. No, she's not a fan, she's a valet. From MWA. Honey Moon is the name. Thunderjack cracks a smile and says he'll show her to the arena.

Cain Khan introduces himself to the TCW locker room. He lists his accolades with pride and he reminds everyone that he played college football, so they better not mess with him, because he’s physical beast. He says that as long as they stay on his good side, they’ll be good. Thunderjack enters the locker room with an arm around Honey Moon’s shoulder. Cain Khan notices him and he yells at Thunderjack to get his hands off her. He introduces everyone to Honey Moon and he adds that you can’t touch her, you can’t hurt her and you can’t flirt with her, because she’s his valet and no one else’s. Brad whispers to the Jacksons that he doesn’t like him already. Diane interrupts him and she says they have a show to prepare for so everyone better get ready. As Paul and her get back to her office, he stares at her for interrupting Cain. 

Brad, Tom and Don approach Cain and they introduce themselves as the leaders of this locker room. He says it’s a good thing, because the competition doesn’t seem to stiff. Things are about to change here and if they’re the ones standing in his way, then his job is going to be way easier than he thought it would. He tells Brad to stay out of his way, they’re not in the same league. Paul interrupts them. He tells Cain that he’s facing the Jackson brothers tonight in an handicap match and Cain will dominate the bout. They need to establish his dominance. Furious, Brad runs into Diane’s office and he asks her if she agrees with what Paul came up with. She says she doesn’t have the time to caress his ego and change Paul’s mind. She has her hands full with him already. He asks her if they have a plan for him tonight and she says they don’t. Brad leaves the locker room and slams the door on his way out. 

The TCW show is ongoing with a rematch between Thunderjack Haynes and Ben Carr. The crowd is demanding more from the wrestlers as it feels like they are just turning around in the ring. Ben decided to give Thunderjack the reigns to see what he’s truly capable of. He doesn’t know what to do, having no in-ring psychology, so Ben taunts him. It enrages Thunderjack who starts to bully him in the ring and stiffs him a couple of times. Ben knows he awakened the beast in Thuderjack, but he doesn’t want to get injured, so he puts Thunderjack in technical submission holds. Backstage, Paul says he’s impressed by Ben so far. In the end, Thunderjack wins, as expected. 

They walk back to the locker room, and as the Jackson brothers make their way to the ring, Tunderjack is pissed at Ben for making him look like a fool out there. Sweet Tea calms him down, saying he brought this on himself and Ben was just defending himself. Ben mouths her thank you and finds a monitor to watch Cain Khan’s debut. 

Cain makes his way to the ring with Honey Moon. The crowd is unsure how to react at first and one man yells a racial insult at Cain from the crowd and it’s enough to kickstart a wave of racial slurs directed towards Cain. It pisses him off and Honey Moon tries to calm him down, to no avail. The match starts and you can see that Cain knows his way around a ring. He tries to forget the hostile crowd reaction, but it’s way too loud. The Jacksons’ hearts aren’t in it and they job to Cain quickly. The crowd is upset the main event was so short and that Cain won. They throw trash in the ring as Cain yells at the crowd that they haven’t seen the last of him.