Sports Night: Season 2, Episodes 14, 15, and 16

Date: June 15, 2021

Season 2, Episodes 14, 15, and 16

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Interstellar News: This weekend was wonderful, even with an unexpected hike, but I was totally brain fried when I returned. To make up for it, here are three episodes of Sports Night for your reading pleasure.

Episode 14 – “And The Crowd Goes Wild”

“I’m supposed to hand over these things that are ours.”: Casey gets his eyes looked at, the police want footage from the team regarding a riot, it’s Sam Donovan’s last day, and there’s fallout from the Natalie/Jeremy break up. As much as I disliked their breakup I do love the way it was handled because it was very believable to me. Casey seeing his eye doctor is one of my favorite bits, because Danny fucks with him and then eventually Casey runs into a wall and it’s just a wonderful bit of physical comedy. I hate we didn’t get more of Sam Donovan, and I sort of dislike that he and Dana were just thrown together in his last outing, but there were hints to it wasn’t completely out of left field. It’s a neat little episode that continues the story of our team of media professionals nicely.

Episode 15 – “Celebrities”

“You really shouldn’t watch those kinds of movies, Jeremy.”: Jeremy is excluded from the group’s game of “Celebrities” because Natalie is in charge, Casey makes a list and Dan doesn’t, and Jeremy meets a woman who turns out to be a porn star. I absolutely love that Danny and Casey’s team gets creamed, because it wouldn’t be fair for them to win and be the face of the show. There’s a bit about Casey being named to the 100 most influential people in sports that sets up Danny losing his absolute shit because he is too privileged beyond words and can’t deal with disappointment. I see this all the time with brilliant students who have never learned to deal with failure. My favorite part, though, is how Jenny and Jeremy interact. He completely changes his demeanor when he comes back from getting the proof that he was right all because he’s a judgemental prick. He doesn’t want to be, but all that’s going through his head is “what will my parent’s say and what will my friends say?”. When you treat every relationship like it’s a precursor to marriage, you wind up with Jeremy’s attitude. He wouldn’t know fun if it bit him in the ass and announced itself. I’m so glad they finally showed him for who he is and not just through Natalie’s rose colored glasses.

Episode 16 – “The Local Weather”

“I believe they prefer to be called “adult-film actresses.””: Dan has a session with his therapist while he stands in the doorway explaining how he doesn’t need a session, there’s a new world record, and Jeremy and Jenny progress. Danny’s session with Abby is wonderful, because she keeps getting more comfortable as Danny just stands in the doorway, sort of inviting him to sit down without actually saying those words. The whole bit about Oscar Parrish breaking the world record only to have it taken away from him 5 minutes later was completely heartbreaking, but it’s completely awful that Danny is comparing himself to Oscar. Oscar was on his last shot doing something physical that he just can’t do anymore or any better than right in this moment. Danny, on the other hand, is young and in his prime and has so many more chances to prove himself as an influential person in sports. The fact that he thinks he’s out of the game shows how out of touch he really is and how much he really needs the therapy.

The Jenny and Jeremy bit here is where I’m not really caring about their relationship anymore. Will Jeremy get over his misconceptions? Will Jenny realize he won’t be able to change because he’s too set in his ways? I do like the way the episode was framed, but otherwise it’s not one of my favorites.

TA Out!