Mano a Mano
Davis tells Ike that he’s been following his progress and is interested in what he’s doing. He also offers to help with the training for the state championships, which Ike accepts. The focus then shifts back to Ike as he begins to work on his new project. He starts by creating a video game prototype, but soon realizes that it won’t be enough to win the state championships. He needs more help. Davis comes back into the picture and offers to help out with that too, but Ike is still not satisfied. He wants more from Davis, and he wants it now.
Lester wants to sponsor the team and take over coaching duties from Ike. He is confident that Ike will take this lucrative deal, provided they win their next game. ..
Crystals is excited to hear from Jace, who just had an earlier car accident where he may have injured his hand (especially with the way he hangs it in his pocket). He even has his own personal basketball court too. Crystal is still annoyed by Jace’s attitude the previous evening.
The team at Gladiator is planning to take advantage of young students in order to make money. They are hoping to get them on special sponsorship deals and convince them to do things that they may not otherwise want to do.
Ike is having a tough time with his new coach and Lester. Coach is stressed, but he’s not the only one. ..
Jenna’s car accident has left her with a lot of money to spend, but she’s been able to find a way to get the repairs done. Jenna struck a deal with her mechanic and got him to do the work for a lower price than he would have charged if Jenna had gone through the regular channels.
Ike takes the group down to the pool for a training session. He teaches them how to work harder than their opponents so they can win the day.
Jace Mendez is the clear favorite to win this match. He has a better game plan and work ethic than his opponent Mendez, who is clearly talented but also has a lot of weaknesses. Who will come out on top?
Jack is frustrated with her coach’s hands-on behavior.
Jace is in pain and decides to turn this match into a 1 VS 1 instead. Mendez scores some great solo baskets, but it’s all for naught as Jace gets revenge with a big shove.
Jace and Swagger win the match, with Jace playing a very strategic fourth-quarter role to help Musa impress his crush. The rest of the team refused to congratulate Jace for his one man show, which alienated them.
Jace looks out for the team and Ike encourages him.
That evening, Ike heads over to see Lester again but there’s a catch to signing on following this win. He needs to apologize. That’s one step too far for Ike, who bitterly retorts that the only person he needs to say sorry to is the person buried in the ground.
Jace’s post with Lester starts to blow up after Ike rejects the deal. This will cause a lot of drama going forward.
The Episode Review
That’s great! Swagger does a great job of focusing on the basketball story and leaving out the racist cop subplot. This show is well-done in depicting the trials and tribulations of youth basketball, wrapped up in a lovely third chapter showcase of rich VS.
In this 50-minute episode, Lester highlights the growing inequality between the two worlds. Now that Ike has rejected a deal on the table, Jace will react to that. And what this means for Jace’s social media post that blew up is still unknown. ..
There’s a lot of talk about working together in this episode of basketball, which is a great message to promote. Especially in a sport like basketball, the execution is much stronger than in other episodes.
The ending of “The Crown” leaves things wide open for the rest of the show. It hints that there may be more drama to come, and that leaves the show with plenty of potential for further story development.
