The Golf Tourney – The episode begins at the Conch Plant, with Big Nate/Taser (Brandon Oakes) hustling Dewey (Jason Daley) in what appears to be an elaborately designed putt-putt golf course.
Elsewhere at the plant, Medhi (Raoul Bhanja) puts the final touches on his revolutionary flare stack design. He’s right in the middle of sharing those plans with Leonard (Eugene Sampang) when Todd Stool (Robb Wells) shows up to request Medhi’s assistance with schmoozing Jamar (Yan Joseph) at the plant’s annual golf tournament.
While Backwoods (Dan Petronijevic) picks up Jamar at his hotel, Todd spends the final minutes before his arrival going back over his strategy with Barb (Lindsay Watters), Bev (Koumbie), and Medhi.
Audrey Stool (Anastasia Phillips) arrives at the plant to learn that she’ll be spending the day training under Steph (Susan Kent).
Dewey attempts to atone for some of his earlier losses by not only proposing a double or nothing bet to Big Nate but by also getting Jimii (Enrico Colantoni). No sooner than the deal is made official, Jamar appears out of nowhere and raises the stakes even further. Just as he and Dewey shake on it, Chelsea Nakamura (Jennifer Spence) shows up in a cart to welcome Jamar to Imperial Valley. Much to her surprise, this isn’t his first visit.
As planned, Todd and Chelsea enact their strategy to convince Jamar that the plant is profitable. Jamar claims the numbers tell an entirely different story. Despite already being a bit tipsy and slurring his words, Medhi assures him that the plant is profitable and even has an idea to make it more so. Jamar agrees to sit down with Charles Conch (Alan C. Peterson) and hear them out after the tournament. Despite their success, things turn bad when they attempt to enact the final leg of their plan. Instead of Barb and Bev, it is Randy Bennett (Tom Green) who appears. No one including Jamar is happy about his arrival, but he doesn’t stay any longer than it takes to brag about retaking possession of the laptop. Todd leaves shortly thereafter in search of Bev and Barb.
Todd enlists Audrey’s help to find Mehdi’s flare stack modifications and bring them to the club. Audrey, in turn, enlists the help of Steph. After not finding the modifications in Medhi’s office, they decide to question Felipe from the garbage/recycling crew. Although they don’t have any luck there either, a nearby eavesdropping Homer (Jesse Camacho) claims he knows how took the plans. Instead of just telling them, he sets a covert meeting in the condemned trailer stationed at the back of the plant.
Todd’s search for Barb and Bev continues while his crew’s wild antics grow wilder and wilder on the golf course. Much to Todd’s surprise, he doesn’t find Barb and Bev in any danger. Instead, they are sipping champagne while getting a massage.
Audrey’s awkward cloak-and-dagger meeting with Homer proves to be worth the effort when she leaves with Medhi’s modifications. When she and Steph deliver the plans to the golf course, Jamar appears impressed as well.
Todd and Chelsea address the Conch employees as they sit down for lunch at the clubhouse. Todd quickly thanks the club for having them and announces the tournament winner as Dale. When Chelsea takes over, she confirms the rumors about the plant closing under the guise that it isn’t profitable. Everyone resents this before she tells them that the plant is one of the most profitable she’s ever seen.
The employees eventually grow frustrated to the point where Todd steps in and assumes blame for not catching the accounting errors earlier. He and Chelsea spend several minutes going back and forth getting the employees hyped about implementing the new changes to the flare stack. The mention of the modifications eventually leads to the realization that Medhi is missing.
As the day winds down, Audrey offers Chelsea a ride home. They share a short discussion before which leads to a kiss. Chelsea makes the first move but when she backs away and apologizes, Audrey takes over. Dewey watches the entire thing, astonished. Much later that night, Todd finds an annihilated Medhi taking a dump in one of the holes. Todd gives him a short lecture about straightening up his life while Medhi appears more concerned with his lost wallet. The episode ends with Todd dropping him off at the clubhouse.
The Trades Review
Once again, story progression and character development are right on. For me, that’s basically what the series is all about because the main story of blue-collar workers struggling to keep their factory open is kind of trite. I’ll admit, it’s cleverly spun here, but it’s the complexity of the characters, their connections to each other, and their ties in the small town. Like I’ve said since the beginning, under all adolescent humor, there are some truly interesting characters here.
The episode deserves a 5 out of 10. Get more The Trades recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Learn how advertising with us can help build your brand awareness. Join our newly established forum to discuss new and classic films and TV shows, crimes, and wrestling.
