All on the Line
Episode 6 of “Swagger” begins with the boys heading home after taking out Crystal’s coach. Phil is confident that things will be fine but Musa is nervous and concerned about what the repercussions could be. Phil rallies the kids around this cause though, believing Jace has everything under control. ..
COVID’s latest news story begins to circulate as usual, this time thanks to Crystal’s inquiry about the attack on Coach. Jace readily admits responsibility, but Crystal is not pleased, walking away in anger. ..
Ike finds his commitment to the boys tested by his need to work. Ike doesn’t show up to the pre-game talk, leaving the boys to play on their own. If that wasn’t enough, Musa isn’t there either given his grandfather has caught the virus and he’s been taken into hospital. ..
The Swagger boys take the court for their game against the rival team. While they play, news of NBA players catching the virus spreads. There’s another problem brewing though, and it comes from Jace’s distracted mind. He fails to score simple dunks and he’s eventually subbed after only scoring 9 points. ..
The game ended in a tie, but there were concerns over Jace’s performance. He was able to take down Coach Warwick, but it was because of an attack on him. Thankfully though he won’t be able to do that anymore.
The kids gather together in confidence after the Coach Warwick attack. With Phil unwilling to go home, attention is drawn to his bruises, which didn’t come from the attack on Warwick. Phil breaks the news that his father has an anger problem.
Phil fails to tell his dad where he is, hiding out at Drew’s place. A mini-intervention soon ensues. Phil understandably has his back up and refuses to divulge what’s really going on. Eventually it falls to Tonya’s soft touch, taking Phil out for a walk, to understand that there’s an element of abuse at work here. For now she doesn’t press further but does feed this back to Ike in the car. ..
The NBA has announced that they will not suspend the season after all. This is a huge relief for the players and fans who have been waiting.
Not long after, Ike approaches Jace and tells him that the NBA are about to suspend their season. Jace finds himself distracted, reeling over this news while attending his sister’s recital. To be honest, this whole sequence just feels like padding at this point.
The episode closes out with Jace and Crystal kissing while the threat of COVID looms over them. ..
The Episode Review
Swagger returns this week with a slow-paced episode that doesn’t add anything of note to the show beyond Phil’s backstory. Some of the material here around the abuse definitely hits hard and to be honest, I wish the show would just lean into its character drama rather than trying to cram COVID into this. ..
This story has already been dragged out far too long, and it does not look like we’re gearing up for COVID commentary.
Swagger is a great show that definitely has some great potential. However, in the wake of drawn out drama, it seems to have lost its shine. Hopefully next week’s episode can bring it back to life.
