Government Cheese Episode 5 Recap: Father Facts, Figures, and Failures

Apple TV+’s comedy drama series, ‘Government Cheese‘, presents the story of an ex-con who wants to be reformed. Hampton Chambers is trying his best to move on from his life of crime and focus on being an inventor. But on discovering that the Prevost gang was behind getting him out, he is told that he owes them a lot of money. If not paid, this debt can cost him dearly, especially when it comes to the lives of his family members. So, he decides to dip his toes in crime again, but this time, he hopes to be more cautious, so that he doesn’t sabotage himself.

Hampton Uses the Trip With Harrison as Cover

When Hampton Chambers discovers he has to get the money for the Prevost brothers, he turns to his friend, Moody’s, idea of robbing a synagogue. At first, he is a bit hesitant about robbing a place of faith, but then, his need for money is much bigger than his concerns. Still, he doesn’t want his family to find out about it, so he plans a fishing trip with Harrison, making it look like a me-time with his son, who only agrees to it when he reads it in Rudy’s letter to forgive Hampton, which he doesn’t know was forged by his father. In any case, the duo sets out for their camping trip, and Hampton is particularly excited for it. He even takes Einstein’s camera and captures as many moments as possible.

The day is spent as Hampton tries to teach his son to fish, and they race each other across the ground. By the evening, they are talking about how Hampton used to do all sorts of crazy stuff when he was younger. When he tries to tell his son that everything he did was for his family, he discovers that the boy is already asleep. Generally, this would mean that the day has ended, and Hampton would also slip into the tent and sleep. However, the true purpose of coming all the way has to be fulfilled now. Convinced that his son is sleeping, Hampton drives away from the campsite and meets Bootsy at Temple Hillel.

Bootsy’s Unpreparedness Causes Trouble During the Robbery

Before we watch the Chambers family take a picture together and Hampton and Harrison drive away for their trip, we get a short clip about Temple Hillel. The rabbi tells the viewer about the place and the etiquette required inside it. He talks about wearing the yarmulke inside and about not touching the Torah scroll with hands because it is too sacred, and anyone who touches it with their bare hands must be buried bare, i.e., without clothes on. All this while, Eli, the man in charge of the safety and security of the place, among other things, hangs around in the background.

Jumping back to the night of the robbery, Bootsy and Hampton talk about the plan, which they hadn’t really discussed in detail due to the lack of time. Bootsy reveals that he broke the latch of a window a couple of weeks back. The rabbi kept asking Eli to fix it, but the man is too complacent to do his job on time. Bootsy gives it a one-in-a-million chance for the latch to be fixed. However, when they reach the window, the odds turn out to be in Eli’s favor as the latch is fixed and secured. Hampton takes it as a sign of not robbing god’s place. But then, Bootsy notices the keys on the temple’s door, most likely left behind by the careless Eli. Could it be a sign from god to go forward with the robbery? The duo certainly thinks so, and they move in.

Once inside the rabbi’s office, they start finding the safe, and when they do find it, it turns out that it is not the company that Bootsy mentioned. This is a huge problem because Hampton doesn’t know anything about the safe, which means he will have to work with his instincts and hope to get lucky. Meanwhile, Bootsy goes around the temple, opening doors he should not have touched, and touching things he shouldn’t even have looked at. He touches the Torah scroll with his bare hands and is so impressed by it that he believes it could sell for a lot of money. Hampton tells him to leave the scroll as it is a sacred thing, and believes that they should get what they came for and leave everything as is.

A Remark from the Stick Man Saves the Day

Before Hampton and Harrison leave for their trip, Einstein tells Hampton that, should things get tough, he should take the Stick Man’s advice and follow the sun. While trying to open the safe, Hampton remembers this and decides to give it a go, even though he still doesn’t understand who the Stick Man is and what he was trying to tell Einstein. With no other option, he decides to drill into the safe at its west point, following the sun. Luckily, the trick works and the safe opens. As expected, there is a lot of money there. However, some of it has been set aside by the rabbi for the temple’s repair and charity. This is where Hampton is caught in a dilemma. Should he take all the money, or should he leave behind the one set aside for charity and repair?

He struggles with the decision, and almost keeps the entire money before changing his mind and leaving the charity money behind. Meanwhile, Bootsy gets his hands on whatever he can. As they run towards their car, Bootsy remembers that he has not put the key back in the lock. He runs back while Hampton waits for him. Bootsy leaves the key on the door as they’d found it and runs back. This turns out to be a good decision, because moments later, Eli drives up in his truck and gets the keys back. Perhaps, he finally remembered that he had forgotten the keys. Hampton runs towards his car, and for a second, we see Bootsy right behind him. But as soon as Hampton reaches the car, a plate that Bootsy was carrying falls to the ground. When he looks back, there is no one in sight, not even Bootsy.

He calls out for his friend, but there is no reply. It is as if the guy has vanished into thin air. When Bootsy does not show up, Hampton decides to drive back by himself, believing that Bootsy can take care of himself. While driving, he throws the pamphlet for Temple Hillel out of the window, but it flies back into the car and gets stuck in the backseat without Hampton realising it. When he arrives at the campsite, he quickly goes back to check on Harrison, who is still sleeping. He is relieved to see that his son is safe and still there. With this, the day ends as Hampton looks on in the distance, believing that the plan is a success and his criminal troubles will finally end. However, it seems that certain things have already gone wrong. He just hasn’t noticed them yet.