Stumble Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Hildebünch

Stumble Season 1 Episode 11, “Hildebünch,” has the buttons scrambling to prepare for the fast-approaching Daytona competition.

Last episode, the team successfully qualified for Daytona, but that doesn’t mean they’re in the clear just yet. They need four more members and approximately $19,000 to actually afford the trip.

“Hildebünch” consists mostly of recruiting and fundraising. It’s a fun episode, and it’s always so sweet to see the team come through for their coach.

Previous episodes of Stumble have been a bit too chaotic. This episode, however, manages to reel itself in while still retaining the fast-paced, bombastic humor the show is best at.

There are two main goals for the episode: to complete the team and raise money, and it does a good job of tying everything back to them. While Courteney is recruiting, the team is coming up with fundraisers.

Notably, their car wash and the routine that went along with it is a lot of fun. They really put on a good show, even if standing on top of the cars seems counterproductive.

Even the segments that focus on Sally and Holden’s relationship circle back into the main plot. Holden decides to join the team to Sally’s brief chagrin.

And speaking of people joining the team, this episode introduces five new buttons. There’s Holden, as previously mentioned; Silent Mike, who lives up to his name; Eric, who was a linebacker on Boone’s team; the wildly talented Mr. Button; and Hildebünch, Augustus Schlimpf’s slightly terrifying daughter.

Stumble already has a lot of characters to keep track of, so adding even more into the mix runs the risk of things getting a bit crowded. So far, though, the other four have taken a backseat in importance with the introduction of Hildebünch.

Even though Augustus more or less bribed Courteney to let her on the team, she turns out to be incredibly skilled. Meaning, Courtney has to decide whether to bench one of her kids so they might have a better chance of winning.

Because nothing can be easy, they do lose the money from the carwash, but in a heartwarming moment, the team comes together raise money by selling some of their stuff.

That, plus the money from Augustus, puts them over their goal. It also means Courteney could afford to buy back Boone’s vintage stretch Armstrong (and testicle, for some reason) that he sold to raise money in another sweet gesture.

It can be difficult to keep track of all the characters, but it’s really nice to see the team come together like this.

But with all that sweetness, the drama of Hildebünch’s introduction is definitely welcome.

Hildebünch is going to put Couteney in a tough position where she has to decide if winning is more important than supporting the team she’s already built such a close bond with.

The show is setting up Hildebünch as somewhat antagonistic, given how she immediately insults the team. However, it might be nice to see her come around eventually.

It would definitely be simpler to just make her comically evil like her father, but it might be fun see her develop a bit.

Daytona is right around the corner, and with a few episodes left, there’s no telling what’s about to unfold.

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Stumble airs Fridays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

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