Though “The Travis Bugg Affair” still bears some of the shortcomings of the first two episodes of Running Point, its third half hour is a noticeable improvement, streamlining some of its emotional journeys by forcing numerous characters into new positions that challenge their perceptions of self (neatly marrying themselves to the core story of Isla’s quick ascent to president of the Waves, of course). Though its clearly a series still trying to decide if it wants to be acerbic or aspirational (the Ted Lasso-ish vibes are heavy in the third act), there’s a little bit more confidence in the show’s voice as it develops, an encouraging sign for the young sitcom as it heads into the heart of its first season (it also remembers there is a basketball team, a noticeable improvement from the empty girlbossing of “Joe Pesci”).
It’s Jackie’s first day in the Waves front office (spurred by a Rich Eisen interview question catching the three OG siblings off-guard), which gives Running Point a jumping off point for its collection of stories about people adapting to the new roles and perspectives they find themselves in. Though Jackie is the catalyst, his story is unfortunately the weakest of them; as Isla’s new assistant, he predictably stumbles his way through his first set of tasks, endearing himself to his newfound half-sister not through his business acumen, but by removing Cam’s secret drug drawer so Isla doesn’t keep banging her leg on it in every scene.
Though Jackie’s story provided the pilot was a necessary narrative kick, it hasn’t exactly borne fruit in the first three episodes; something that becomes clear in the episode’s final moments, when Jackie looks a picture of him and his mother on his desk, smiling solemnly to himself in a dark office before the episode cuts to credits. It’s a moment that, without the proper tension preceding it, feels a bit pandering as the episode’s lasting emotional resolution; we know Jackie is an earnest, wet-behind-his-ears counterpart to the selfish, indulgent personalities of the three Gordon siblings, and simply playing out that string with a few background jokes and an ‘aw, shucks’ moment of self reflection is an underwhelming way to bring Jackie even closer into the Gordon family structure, especially when such easy comedic tensions – like his developing, one-sided conflict with Sandy, who wants nothing to do with Jackie – lie neatly within the episode’s grasp.
Regardless, it shows a bit of direction for the character the second episode lacked; the other thing “Joe Pesci” lacked was the presence of the basketball team, which makes a welcome return in this episode. After Travis makes a video disparaging Sephora (who are annoyingly front and center again this episode, begging the question of why we need such obvious product placement on a channel that costs $20+ a month?), Isla decides to buck family tradition and take him out to dinner instead of emasculate him in front of the team; which immediately turns into a disaster, when Travis tries to kiss Isla, and then gets suspended arguing with her the next day at practice.
Putting aside how Running Point fundamentally misunderstands the power players hold over front offices in modern basketball, “The Travis Bugg Affair” bifurcates the story of its young, brazen shithead star in an interesting way, even if only one of the stories works. Everyone mistaking Isla and Travis for a couple is pointless fodder neither Hudson or Hanks seems particularly engaged with the humor of; but when the episode shifts to focus more on how Travis’s behavior is affecting the team, Running Point begins to tap into something infinitely more engaging than some of the sloppy comedy previewed in the season’s first hour.
Though the prologue to what I assume is Travis’s arc of maturity isn’t exactly an original one (the Jamie/Roy Ted Lasso arc being the obvious blueprint), it does present the character as something more than barely-serviceable punchlines about basketball rappers and Travis confusing ‘Sommelier’ with ‘Somalia’. After suspending Travis, Marcus comes to Isla’s office and notes the importance of Travis to the team, both in terms of their success and his ability to maintain his health (Running Point nodding towards the emerging era of late-30s athletes maintaining their athletic viability is an extremely welcome note).
Smartly, Running Point doesn’t try to build a big, abundantly familiar conflict between Travis, the young star, and Marcus, the 36-year old getting ready to pass the torch; Marcus makes a rare trip to a teammate’s house, and gets Travis to open up about his insecurities about his lasting abilities to be a star in the league. And though there hasn’t been a lot of time to spend on Travis and Marcus’s individual personalities or dynamics within the team, “The Travis Bugg Affair” beginning to develop a dynamic between characters without the Gordon surname is encouraging – and surprisingly, allows Chet Hanks to show a tiny bit of range with his character, even if there are clearly moments where the script pushes on the edge of his abilities.
“The Travis Bugg Affair” doesn’t completely resolve some of the shortcomings of Running Point‘s first two episodes – and there’s certainly still a lot of tonal dissonance for the series to resolve, as it decides whether it wants to fully embrace some of its Nicecore tendencies (the show’s score being the show’s biggest culprit in this regard), or if its willing to engage with an emotional palette a litter darker and more complex. There’s clearly still some wrinkles to work out, but there are hints of a successful blueprint in the episode’s most promising moments; and though they are fleeting, are an encouraging sign the young series is starting to find its footing as it heads into its second act.
Grade: C+
Other thoughts/observations:
- Travis’s interview answers are hilarious: “Would I hit? I refute to say I would, indeed.” I appreciate that the character is dumb, but not an idiot.
- Isla’s opening voiceovers are strange; they don’t fit the pace or the voice of the series itself, strangle preambles that give a sense of perspective and inner monologue the rest of Running Point hasn’t really engaged with.
- There’s a whole subplot about Ness accidentally tweeting from a burner account that feels teleported from 2017. It’s not really a significant part of this episode – though him answering a call from Isla while having sex with his wife certainly is.
- Rich Eisen reflects on Jackie’s quick ascent in the Waves organization: “Now that is some nepotism I can get behind!”
- Lev warns Isla on her entree selection at dinner: “avoid any long noodle… you don’t eat pasta pretty.”
- Ali has children, and has been married for 12 years? Unexpected character note for what’s typically the overworked, undersexed assistant – I’m glad to see Running Point bucking trend, and I’m interested to see whether the series continues to build her