Stick Season 1, Episode 6, “RV Shangri-La,” takes some big swings for the characters, but not all of them are complete successes. This episode, written by Kate Fodor and directed by Jaffar Mahmood, makes some significant plot developments. The biggest of which feels like it would traditionally come a lot later in the season, like a penultimate episode. However, Stick comes up against the modern streaming age of stunningly shortened TV seasons.
Optimistically, its plot unfolds faster in response to those constraints, and there is much more to anticipate in the next four episodes. “RV Shangri-La” can’t have revealed all of the sports comedy’s cards. After all, this episode does a predominantly great job of investing in the characters so that the story carries weight. Stick’s usual confidence only budges because of the episode’s pacing.
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Elena and Mitts Lean into Fear
That is not the case with Mitts and Elena. Everything for and between them has been wonderfully steady. The characters are independently defined; their voices are clear. Their respective arcs have been consistent and interesting, which lends itself to “RV Shangri-La” developing Elena’s helium investment idea. It becomes a device to learn more about both characters, as well as a compelling metaphor alongside Stick’s more dominant one with golf. The risk of helium, like that of Mitts and Elena, is calculated and considered; it’s not just some game.
All of this works on screen because Stick takes its time before it puts Elena and Mitts in the middle of a lake with only each other. The characters and their dynamic are rich before the show ever entirely commits to them becoming richer together through a romantic lens. By the time “RV Shangri-La” takes that next step with them, it feels more than earned for the characters and the overall story. The composition of Elena and Mitts’s first kiss is as perfect as their reactions to it. Stick crafts a memorable scene, and Mariana Treviño and Marc Maron play it beautifully. Even as “RV Shangri-La” leaves Elena and Mitts in a bit of an unsteady place, there’s excitement about what’s to come. Stick has only strengthened their dynamic by giving them this new, revelatory conflict.
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Santi and Zero’s Relationship Takes a Turn
Alternatively, Stick moves far too fast with Santi and Zero’s romantic relationship. That first kiss happens in “The Birdie Machine,” but then they lose so much time in that montage. It’s a bit jarring that Santi and Zero are ready to take their relationship to the next level by the time “RV Shangri-La” catches up with them. The pacing undercuts their romantic relationship, as well as Zero’s dynamics with everyone else. The previous episode feels like a positive step forward in everyone getting to know each other better, but this episode doesn’t do much more. Instead, it relies on that montage that only emphasizes the small amount of time between Santi and Zero having sex and breaking up.
That final scene between Santi, Zero, and Pryce is intense – the stakes reach their peak and unravel in minutes. Unfortunately, that context doesn’t lend itself too kindly to Santi and Zero’s relationship because of how quickly everything develops between them. The alternative could be true if Stick had better pacing, and the other developments in “RV Shangri-La” prove as much. For instance, even beyond Elena and Mitts, this episode does great work with Santi and Pryce’s dynamic, as well as that between Pryce and Elena.
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Pryce, Santi, and Zero Face the Truth
Stick is particularly excellent at ensuring that Pryce’s grief is ever-present. It never feels like the show shoehorns it into a scene or an episode, but it always exists as a hum that varies in volume. So, it’s extraordinary when Pryce finally opens up to Elena about what he missed out on having lost his son, Jett, so young. Owen Wilson’s performance is outstanding; it comes across as one of those moments when it’s easy to forget that you’re watching a TV show. It feels authentic, and, for the show, it works in coordination with how Stick characterizes Pryce so far. Even something as simple as a young girl named Molly, who plays doctor and “heals” Pryce, holds greater significance.
That bit works well in response to the phone call between Pryce and Amber-Linn. It’s a simple scene with such effective dialogue and moving performances. Hopefully, Stick’s season will include more of their dynamic because Wilson and Judy Greer are doing some incredible work together through an iPhone. That device works there, like the montage works best for Pryce and Santi by cutting some of the tension out of their mentorship. The pickleball game does the rest, with Santi pulling Pryce out of a dark spiral without even realizing it.
The last six episodes naturally ebb and flow so that Stick makes its case as to why Pryce is resistant to telling Santi the truth. The complexities of why Pryce wouldn’t want to hurt Santi make that final scene truly compelling. The show almost knocks the wind out of you when it ends on one of those lines (“Don’t walk away from me!) Pryce wishes he had gotten to say to his son. Wilson’s delivery is perfect. It’s so well done that the episode’s rockier moments mostly become speed bumps in Stick’s rearview mirror.
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What did you think of Stick Season 1, Episode 6, “RV Shangri-La?” Let us know in the comments below!
New episodes of Stick stream on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
