Lucky for “Ballers“ viewers, Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson) is going to be fine. His brain is intact according to his doctor. An early demise by Spencer and this show would not make it on Youtube, much less HBO. I will give credit where it’s due. This episode eight was not terrible. I guess that’s a compliment at this point.
Spencer is still not living the best possible life from a health standpoint. He is still having some psychological issues and still turns to that little brown bottle when things get stressful. He does leave the doctor’s office feeling great and singing along with the radio. The Rock must have the biggest smile in show biz today. Even a phone call from Vernon can’t throw him off after the good medical news. Vernon is wearing a robe fit for a king or a fool, you pick. He is stressed about his contract and those pictures that are still in the hands of vengeful Angela.
How did A-Rod and Jeter get tossed under the bus in this episode? Ricky is called classless by his buddy and compared to A-Rod for his bathroom escapades. Jeter wasn’t hit too hard, and maybe gift baskets are a good way to say farewell to a one night or couple week stand. This is an even numbered episode so I guess that is the pattern for a changed Ricky. Look for episode nine to be more scummy behavior from old #18.
I can see where Spencer and Joe’s boss would be upset about the yacht party. I can see how his other clients could get nervous about having their financial lives tied up with a business that allows drug fueled orgies on their sea vessels. I don’t know if shutting the operation down is a level headed move, but the guy owns a yacht so I’m guessing he knows his business.
The boss makes it clear he never wanted Spencer aboard anyway so he best fix the situation pronto. Spencer didn’t back down, making it clear he was the bridge to NFL type clients. Corporate guys would never stand a chance of signing guys like Victor Cruz, Ricky Jerret, or Vernon Littlefield. Spence sees himself as some kind of knucklehead whisperer I guess.
Stop me if you’ve heard this story line before. Joe wants to set up his own shop along with Spencer. Mad Men anyone? Ari Gold anyone? It’s cool though. I don’t know where the show should go from here so what’s the harm.
Clearly Charles Greane has what it takes to still make an NFL team. Pushing a full sized truck while in neutral is a feat only an All Pro lineman can perform. Actually it can be done by any moron who runs out of gas. The SUV push up the ramp was more impressive and Charles really did seem fired up. The guy loves the spirit of competition so he’s not long for the car dealership gig.
Ricky makes a bold, yet still insane move by buying Bella a $400K ring. Girl is one bad lady, but half a mil? I’m not sure she couldn’t have been replaced a bit cheaper with a newer model. Either way she was unhappy with the effort so she tossed the rock into a fountain. Ricky looked like a buffoon as he searched the water for a ring that would feed a third world village in Detroit for a year.
Spencer’s good day continued as his lady friend Tracy gave him some good advice on dealing with Angela. Tracy doesn’t know how many pills her guy is eating daily or she would not have been so free with her praise.
It took me a second to realize Joe was listening to some rap tunes as he was driving and getting ready to poach Victor Cruz from his soon to be former boss. He manages to get Cruz to agree to come over to the new shop once open, but is required to get a tattoo of Cruz doing the salsa. Probably hard to explain that one to any ladies in the future. Cruz empathizes with Joe not having a boss that appreciates his hard work. Cruz will really feel the same once N.Y. has to give Odell Beckham a fat contract that will leave Cruz on the chopping block in real life.
Spencer’s meeting with Angela went OK once he apologized to her for making her feel “passed around.” They had built her character up to be pretty damn unreasonable, and she caves that easy? Well, she did get a nice payday in the process. Vernon is safe for the moment until the next dumb move. He best sign a deal with Dallas before Reggie gets him in another mess.
Ballers has two episodes left to make a major impact on the audience in preparation for 2016. I need to see much more of the positive points and a lot less of the weak ass characters like Reggie in order to keep my DVR set to catch the show next year.