Chad Powers Season 1 Episode 5 Review: 5th Quarter

The graphic description Russ Holliday uses to describe his bad luck probably shouldn’t be repeated here (something about the fist of God going up your you-know-what). However, it’s an apt description for how he’s feeling after the events of Chad Powers Season 1 Episode 5, “5th Quarter.”

Things are looking up for Chad. He’s the starting quarterback, has some sweet new digs for him and Danny, and ESPN even wants to feature him on College Gameday. The problem persists, however, that Chad doesn’t exist.

The College Gameday package is an opportunity for the program, but a risk for Chad who struggles to answer even basic questions because of his flimsy backstory. Unfortunately for Chad, Tricia is hell-bent on making sure South Georgia gets the spotlight.

Russ is Icarus flying too close to the sun, his wings (prosthetics) ready to melt off and expose him at any minute. It’s not only the conceit that keeps the show going but rich text to explore Russ’ psyche.

His improved relationship with Danny is nice to see (shout out to beautiful singing), but there’s still a lot of unhealed trauma. He refuses to even reach out to his dad knowing he’s still a disappointment.

When running tape with Ricky, he questions whether people would still like him if he wasn’t good anymore, if she would still like him if he wasn’t as good as she thought. You’ll swoon when Ricky says she’d still like him either way, but there’s a bitter taste to their burgeoning romance.

He’s talking about football, of course, but he’s also using “good” in the moral sense. Like his dad, he knows Ricky wouldn’t like the real Russ.

The cold open of him awkwardly interacting with a sick kid and panicking when he accidentally starts signing the ball as “Russ” is a reminder. He can’t truly outrun his past. 

A hook up with a seemingly random woman in a bar inadvertently gives Russ the answer he’s looking for. If he can’t make Russ better, he’ll just kill him!

In a scene that will probably end up on Powell’s Emmy reel, Russ has a complete mental break insisting he’ll “kill” Russ and become Chad full time, even seeking permanent surgery. It’s funny but only in the bleakest sense reminding you once again this is not a typical feel-good story.

Powell’s ability to deliver both absurd humor while also becoming completely vulnerable as Russ when the prosthetics are off is a master-class in acting in an unexpected package. If you saw his film Hit Man it won’t come as a complete surprise, but it’s still an impressive turn in the same show that makes jokes about poop and tiny pee holes.

That very ill-thought out plan is put into question when Chad arrives at the Coach’s house to redo the College Gameday interview and realizes the woman Russ hooked up with is the coach’s wife Wendy. Yeah, maybe God really does love to [redacted] Russ’s [redacted].

The shift in music, from the hopeful score to a Jaws-worthy menacing track ratchets the tension of the scene. When Wendy melts down over her marital problems and reveals she hooked up with Russ Holliday you’ll want to disappear as much as Chad does.

Listening to Coach Hudson and Ricky tear into Russ, with Coach calling him a cancer, is devastatingly full circle on an episode where Russ is considering whether people could ever accept the real him. It turns out the answer is a big fat “no.”

The cliffhanger ending of Coach having another heart attack, foreshadowed earlier in the episode, leaves viewers wondering how the heck this “comedy” became one of the most stressful shows of the year.

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Chad Powers airs Tuesdays on Hulu. 

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