We Good?
In the fourth episode of Swagger, Jace and Crystal are in the past eating brownies. The sound of their laughter is drowned out by a locker slamming, as we cut back to the present. Crystal is still angry at Jace but he’s convinced that she’s actually jealous, given he’s now “getting some love.” Jace is definitely getting too big for his boots, especially after gaining 2 million views on his latest photo, but as we know this is going to blow up in a big way. ..
Bruce tries to get Teresa to sign a contract with Gladiator Sneakers, but she won’t. Nick Mendez is one of the brightest young players next to Jace, but his mum is clued in to the contract. When Bruce mentions taking guardianship of Nicholas, alarm bells ring and she refuses to sign.
Teresa approaches Ike and the crew first, asking for help, as Ike deliberates over whether to put Jace on the team or not. Mendez has the potential to sign for Swagger, so Ike decides to put him on the team.
Jace has skipped practice with the team to hang out with Lester. The rest of the team find out, noticing the video online and starting to resent their star player. Basketball is a team sport and Jace puling further away from the others isn’t a good look.
Jace is the only one who doesn’t apologize for not passing during the big game. He calls out the other boys for their actions online, and we learn later that this was Musa who did it.
Nick Mendez and Lester Davies are in a heated battle for the Dubz sponsorship. The two are trying to outdo each other by bringing in new sponsors, but Jace is just another player in the game. Lester is also playing with Ike, trying to get him to defect to their side.
G. Dubz went up on top at halftime in a predictable match against Swagger. Unfortunately, problems with Jace led to him being benched in favor of Royale and the team lost. Lester gave Jace a knowing glance before the match and it seems as though he was trying to help him. Despite valiant efforts, Swagger lost the match. ..
The main focus of this story is Royale’s father’s grillings of Royale for his lack of effort in school. Royale tells his father that he does work hard, but the kid is exasperated because his dyslexia is holding him back.
Ike meets with Mendez later in the episode and a contract is definitely on the table - both literally and figuratively. Mendez has a few conditions to joining the team though, including a desire to be number 21, given his father and grandfather both shared those numbers on the court. As the meeting concludes, Ike decides to take him up on this offer. ..
In this episode, we follow Crystal as she goes through a session with her creepy coach. We are left to assume the worst possible outcome, as the door shuts and we’re left to wonder what will happen next. As the episode comes to a close, Crystal walks toward Jace on the basketball court distraught, burying her head in his chest.
The Episode Review
Jace’s departure from the basketball team is a reminder to him that he needs to put the team’s needs first. This is an important lesson for him to learn and hopefully enough to teach him how to put the team’s interests first.
Nick Mendez, the newest player on the team, could well cause Jace to step up his game too as the competition heats up and Jace is put in a difficult position to try and compete. ..
Swagger is a watch that has been enjoyable so far and while it’s pretty formulaic and cliched in its approach to the sport genre, it’s a decent watch nonetheless.
