Saagar Kote
Apple TV+’s ‘Stick’ takes golf and drama to new heights, leading to a complex web of emotionally intricate relationships between friends and family. In the previous episode, Santi is left heartbroken after learning that Pryce and Zero had a money deal, and he assumes that Zero never truly loved him. Zero is on the verge of an emotional breakdown as Santi offends their gender identity. Pryce is stuck in a tough situation as he cannot handle Santi’s outburst, potentially putting the whole team and the plan in jeopardy.
An Imagined Past of Love and Tragedy
The episode begins with a dive into an imaginary past, most likely something that Pryce is dreaming about. Glimpses of Pryce’s imaginary past with his family, especially his son, throw light on what made him reach a low point in his life. Pryce plays happily with his seven-year-old son Jett (though in reality, Jett passed away when he was 4, due to cancer), looking happy and content. Amber-Linn, Pryce’s wife, shares the joy of family with her husband and son. The golfer calls his son ‘Mutant Boy’ for fun, and discovers that in a rather hilarious fashion, Jett has flooded the toilet by dropping a brontosaurus toy into it. As the sequence of the past moves, Jett is seen as a thirteen-year-old, driving his father mad due to a late-night underage driving adventure at McDonald’s.
Pryce and Amber-Linn advise their son on how to approach a girl he seems to have a crush on, following which Jett ignores their advice and finds his own way of impressing the girl by doing push-ups instead of handing her a lemonade by the poolside as his parents tell him to. As time passes in the imagined past, Pryce prepares to say goodbye to his grown-up late teen son, who is preparing to move out of the house to go to college. The golfer finds it difficult to let his son go, even mentioning how hard it is for his wife to do it.
In a deeply symbolic goodbye, the imagined late teen Jett tells his father about the importance of Grossweiner’s Law and the art of letting the past go. As the made-up story comes close to ending, an unknown girl at the park approaches Pryce, who is staring at the sky endlessly, asking him why he’s sad. The protagonist replies that he is sad because his son left him, possibly referring to him not just leaving for college, but something deeper, connecting the fictional scenario to reality.
Goodbyes, Departures, and Everything in Between
As the narrative comes back to the real world and into the present day, Elena calls Mitts to ask him about the deal between Pryce and Zero, while Mitts is driving Zero to a bus station. Santi and his mom sit at a diner, having an emotional conversation. Elena tells her son that despite the money and deal with Pryce, she believes that Zero actually liked Santi. This makes Santi even sadder, as he refuses to accept it, and just intends to leave everything. Elena says that Santi’s dad had emotional issues, but loved his son. Hearing this makes the prodigy even more emotional, as he says that his dad left him because he refused to play in a golf tournament, and that everyone, including Zero and Pryce, thinks of him only as a golfer, and refuses to see his human side.
Mitts drops Zero off at a bus station, which doesn’t look like an easy goodbye. Zero says they are sad due to Santi’s harsh words on their gender identity, and also brings up the fact that they got intimate with Santi because they trusted him. Mitts says he gets what Zero is saying, but also points out the fact that they broke the prodigy’s trust, causing him a lot of pain, which led to him being harsh.
Mitts, the older and wiser person in the situation, goes on to say that Zero hurt Santi, despite not meaning to, and sometimes people offend others even if they didn’t intend to do so. The former caddy offers a valuable piece of advice to his young friend, telling them to be emotionally more resilient and not take everything to heart. Zero says they really liked Santi and find it difficult to leave. As they prepare to leave, Mitts gives them some money for food and hugs them goodbye.
The Fine Line Between Leaving and Staying
Elena and Santi prepare to leave for Indiana at the airport; however, the flight company refuses to allow their two pets to travel together on the airplane. Elena makes a deal with a strange fellow passenger to handle one of their pets, as only one is allowed per person to be carried inside a flight. The mother and son wait for their boarding, and have a conversation about the future. Elena says she can get her old job back in Indiana and that Santi can continue his education and explore other options for the future. As the two prepare to board, Pryce walks into the area, just in the nick of time. He has a heartwarming conversation with Santi, saying that the last eight weeks haven’t just been about the golf for him, but about the memories that he shared with Santi and the rest of the RV team.
Pryce makes it clear that he cares more about Santi as a person and doesn’t see him only as a golfer. The protagonist proceeds to apologize to Elena and leaves. As Santi and his mother walk onto the airplane, the prodigy has a change of heart and rushes back to the airport lounge to catch Pryce. Elena chases after him. In an emotional moment, Santi says he wants to continue his partnership with Pryce, and not wonder what his life would’ve been like later, and regret leaving the sport. The older former golfer says that it’s too late, as Santi has already left the US Amateur, to which the younger golfer says he wishes to participate in the ‘Ready Safe Invitational’ hosted by Clark Ross at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Elena isn’t ready to let her son go back into the grind of golf with a person who broke his trust, but Santi convinces her, saying he really wants to keep pursuing his passion. Sitting by the RV, the team realizes that a hindrance that could affect Santi’s plans is that the Invitational cannot be played by anyone who wishes to do so, as it is a high-level tournament. However, Santi says that he has a ‘zero handicap,’ which is the ability to score consistently, and his record so far, which will allow him to play the tournament.
Mitts figures out that since Clark Ross, Pryce’s former opponent, is hosting it, the team might be able to hustle him to let their young golfer play, despite the complicated history between Pryce and Ross. The team also decides that they will need someone else to help with the whole hustle, and Mitts indicates that Zero is the one missing from the picture. In the final moment of the episode, Santi goes to the bus station, and as Zero turns to look at him, he smiles wholeheartedly.
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