Running Point Season 1, Episode 9, “The Playoffs,” tips off the playoffs and new chapters just ahead of the season finale. This episode, written by Michael Chung & Bronson Diallo and directed by David Stassen, sees Isla put distance between herself and her brother & father as far as The Waves are concerned. However, that professional success comes with personal setbacks that may change everything for Isla. Meanwhile, “The Playoffs” finds itself up against the end-of-the-season clock. Running Point harnesses that pressure into the tournament and interpersonal developments – for better and worse.
MORE: Running Point Season 1, Episode 1 Review: ‘Pilot’
Jackie Helps Sandy Win Charlie Back
“The Playoffs” features an intriguing combination of pros and cons in Sandy and Jackie’s storyline. On the one hand, Running Point’s overall pacing works against Sandy and Charlie’s reconciliation. Sandy only entertains the idea of winning Charlie back in Running Point Season 1, Episode 8, “The Streak,” after learning that Charlie is seeing someone else in Running Point Season 1, Episode 7, “A Special Place in Hell.” Charlie doesn’t get to be single for one episode before forgiving Sandy after his Taylor Swift-inspired (!) rom-com (!) grand gesture.
It never feels like Running Point will entertain an alternative relationship for Sandy, so it’s even easier to anticipate that he will win Charlie back at some point. It’s only unfortunate that the characters barely get time to exist between the milestones. On the other hand, there’s no denying that Running Point exists in a precarious TV landscape where shows, particularly streaming ones, rarely get the time to grow and find their audiences. So it is a relief that “The Playoffs” finds some closure for Charlie and Sandy before the season’s finale. It’s also challenging to entirely fault a storyline that delivers a Macaulay Culkin cameo. Is it too presumptuous to go ahead and thank Brenda Song for that surprise?
Regardless of its pros and cons, this story finds additional propulsive energy in the slow-burn sibling dynamic between Sandy and Jackie – they have real potential. Sandy and Jackie have had one of the consistently weaker relationships among the family. They can find resolution in Running Point’s season finale, at least some positive progression. There’s still longevity in how their relationship – and the entire family – will ebb and flow.
MORE: Running Point Season 1, Episode 2 Review: ‘Joe Pesci’
The Waves Players Are People, Not Horses
After all, Running Point’s reality is that the family pulls more narrative weight than The Waves as a team, let alone as individuals who happen to be professional basketball players. Refreshingly, “The Playoffs” addresses that disconnect through Isla’s perspective. One of the show’s most consistent themes is Isla saying she’s not like her dad. It occurs so often that it almost starts to lose all meaning – until “The Playoffs” brings the truth under the uncomfortable lights of the Sean Murphy Show. It feels earned that Sean Murphy drawing those parallels between Jack and Isla forces Isla to make a different choice. Sean only becomes Isla’s biggest champion when her behavior resembles Jack’s – a believable reality check after a season of exchanges.
That moment of clarity feels as earned as Marcus eventually getting through to Isla. They’re essential perspectives that get to the conflicting heart of how Isla wants to run The Waves. Where Sean hopes that Isla follows in her father’s footsteps, Marcus looks to Isla to be the managerial change that the franchise desperately needs. Marcus’s perspective is particularly valuable as he has become one of the team’s most defined voices and characters. Other players – beyond Travis and (barely) Dyson – don’t have the same dimension.
Beyond episode count and their pacing, that also feels like a direct reflection of Isla’s only starting – at the end of the season – to see the players as people, not horses. It’s a genuine relief that Isla makes the right choice for Travis’s life by taking him to rehab, even though it may jeopardize the team’s longevity in the tournament. Choosing the people over the franchise is Isla’s most definitive step to be different from her father and make The Waves better.
MORE: Running Point Season 1, Episode 3 Review: ‘The Travis Bugg Affair’
Isla and Lev Take a Much-Needed Break
Running Point finds great conflict by putting that right choice against Lev’s difficult one to leave Isla – at least for now. Though this season often struggles to balance the Gordons’ professional and personal lives, that component works towards the payoff of Isla and Lev’s confrontation. Max Greenfield and Kate Hudson play that scene with such authenticity. Both Lev’s exhaustion with Isla’s disinterest and Isla’s dedication to her job are understandable. The unfortunate truth is that Isla can’t meet Lev where he’s at, and they should take a beat.
It’s the most honest move for the characters and the story. Refreshingly, “The Playoffs” doesn’t frame Lev’s frustration in some outdated disdain for Isla’s passion for her job. This new professional development has only exacerbated the issues that already existed. Still, this turn works as a cliffhanger because, despite all the signs, Isla never sees a twist like this coming.
MORE: Running Point: Kate Hudson Manages a Basketball Team in Netflix Comedy
—
What did you think of Running Point Season 1, Episode 9, “The Playoffs?” Let us know in the comments below!
Running Point Season 1 is streaming on Netflix now.
