The AppleTV+ sports comedy series starring Owen Wilson, Stick, continues after a promising premiere last week, in which a group of characters had set out on a golfing tour across the United States of America. When a washed-up professional golfer, Pryce Cahill, spotted a teenager playing shots that would put many pro golfers to shame, he decided to support this young boy, Santi Wheeler, and help him get to the highest level of the sport. The only problem, though, is that Santi hardly has any interest in becoming a professional golfer, due to certain personal reasons, and Pryce’s effort to bring about a change in the situation is what mainly drives Stick episode 4.
Spoiler Alert
How does the whole group end up at a quarry?
Stick episode 4, begins a few hours after the events of episode 3, in which Santi Wheeler had showcased his brilliant golfing skills and won the minor tournament, although he was not able to impress Pryce. An argument, and then a misunderstanding, had marred the developing bond between the two central characters, as Santi lost his calm in the later stages of the tournament after having played a series of bad shots. In his effort to help the youngster out of this temporary slump, and more importantly, to motivate him to put his mind at ease and only then attempt the next shot, Pryce was a bit too harsh and aggressive towards the boy, which had worked terribly.
The only reason Santi had given up on playing golf despite having a brilliant start to his amateur career was because he felt humiliated and burnt out by the coaching style of his father, who would aggressively scold him every time the boy could not perform and probably even call him names. Therefore, when Pryce tried a similar type of coaching, or mentorship, on the boy, the latter immediately saw the same shades of his father in him, and thus the two fell apart. It was only when a teenage girl, perhaps a couple of years older than Santi, named Zero, told the boy to go back to the golf course and use his skills to win the competition for himself to prove his superiority to Pryce that he did exactly so.
At present, a few hours after the tournament has ended, Santi is nowhere to be found, and Pryce is losing his mind about the boy’s whereabouts. Santi’s mother, Elena, is comparatively calmer and more relaxed, as she says that she trusts her son enough to know that he will be fine and keep out of trouble and will most definitely return to the motel parking when he wants to. Pryce’s best friend and former caddy, Mitts, is also mostly unbothered, as he still does not see much point in this golfing trip, especially since he has been given the difficult responsibilities of driving the RV camper and cooking meals. Minutes after fretting about why Santi is not picking up his calls or replying to his messages, the boy does show up at the place along with Zero, whom he introduces to the group as his new friend.
Now that the boy is back, Pryce wants to have a word with Santi and firstly discuss his win in the tournament, because the ex-golfer feels that the kind of aggression and brute force that Santi sometimes implements in his game is not going to do him any good. Secondly, Pryce also wants to apologize to him after having learned how he had unintentionally hurt Santi by behaving like his father, but he just does not get a chance to speak. Santi goes swimming at the motel pool with Zero right after arriving in the evening, and everyone understands that it is not the right time to discuss strategies. The next morning, Pryce brings sandwiches to Santi’s room and tells him that he has set up a coaching session to improve his game, but the boy is still not interested. He half-heartedly informs them that he will be accompanying Zero and her friends for an adventurous swim at a quarry nearby.
When Pryce informs Mitts and Elena about this development, they are slightly concerned, especially the mother, since she cannot fully trust Santi’s instincts to have not just brought a random girl back to his motel room but then also to accompany her to an abandoned quarry. It is mostly Elena who advises that they all go to the quarry together so that Pryce can show the strict side of his mentorship to the teenager, because she feels that he now needs a bit of schooling. Although Pryce does not wholly agree with the plan, he also desperately wants to have his protégé’s mind back on golf at the earliest. Mitts is just not interested in the whole thing, but he really has no choice, since there are now two people to constantly nag him into changing his mind. Despite having started off on the wrong foot, Mitts and Elena have quickly become good friends, and we can even expect them to be each other’s support systems later in the season.
Did Pryce change Santi’s mind at the quarry?
When the three adults reach the quarry and are told by the solitary guard that they must buy a unicorn floaty in order to enter the place, Elena proposes that they buy only one floaty, and she heads into the place to drag her son back out. However, Pryce stops her because that would distance Santi even more from his mother and the group, which would be detrimental to his cause. Besides, Pryce also needs to learn how to step into the role of a stern mentor and guide at times, which he is really not good at doing. Thus, with the blessings of Elena and with the continued disregard of Mitts, Pryce heads into the quarry and reaches the group of teenagers gathered there for merrymaking.
Pryce is impressively tough and yet suave in his first approach, as Santi is genuinely startled to see him at the place. The man only reminds him that a meeting had been scheduled at the motel lobby, which Santi had obviously missed, and so Pryce has come down to the quarry to have a word with him. It is clear that the boy gets the crux of the lesson here—that he should not back down on commitments and keep people hanging just because he does not like the way things are going. Therefore, Santi quickly takes Pryce to the side to discuss what is up, and the mentor succeeds in reminding the boy about the upcoming amateur tournaments that serve as qualifiers. However, Zero now steps in, since she knows and feels that Pryce is being unnecessarily tough on her new friend, and so she takes the boy swimming.
In an even more impressive turn, Pryce sets aside the worries that naturally come with his age and jumps into the natural pool at the quarry, both to prove a point and also to get to his protégé to continue the discussion. The two of them finally get some time to sit down and chat, and this is when Santi opens up about how he had been let down by Pryce flipping out and going into a fit of rage when he was unable to make good shots in the later rounds of the tournament. It can be argued that Pryce commits a mistake again by trying to state how he did not flip out or mean to hurt the boy, but in a manner that might just seem like gaslighting to a teenager.
Santi further claims that he kept losing his calm and his skills with the golf club only because of Pryce’s reactions, and the conversation cannot ultimately bring any change to the situation. The boy states that he is far too aware of how certain kinds of men first mete out the harshest and most abusive kind of treatment to youngsters, especially prodigies, and then return the next morning with fake excuses and apologies, which are completely devoid of any feelings. After all, his father himself used to follow this very cycle of emotions, and so Santi has no intention of forgiving or listening to Pryce’s advice regarding golf or life anymore, or at least, for the time being.
What had caused Pryce’s emotional meltdown in the past?
Pryce Cahill’s emotional meltdown in the past, which had really been his last piece of action in the sports world many years back, is once again mentioned and discussed in this episode, as we learn a bit more about the reason it took place. During a professional golfing tournament at the Sawgrass golf course, Pryce lost control over his temper after some bad shots, as he threw his clubs around and even kicked and punched his playing partner right in front of the world. Not only was the whole fiasco witnessed by the several thousand players, coaches, and fans at the place, but it was also televised, which made the situation much worse and more complex for Pryce.
Although Pryce had been a generational talent who could have easily become the best in the sport of golf had things panned out differently, his personal life had been ripped apart when his young son, Jett, passed away at the mere age of four. Jett had been suffering from cancer, and his passing broke Pryce completely, and the worst part of it all was that he never spoke to anyone about this. Therefore, all the pent-up anger and frustration came rushing to his head during the Sawgrass tournament, especially after his insensitive playing partner, Clark Ross, made certain comments about his deteriorating performance. This is when Pryce punched Clark, shortly after his meltdown on the field, and the entire matter got him banned from the PGA.
We get to know about these events only because Mitts decides to stand by his best friend and inform Elena about how he had suffered extreme pain after she innocently tells Pryce that he would have known better if he ever had a child. The matter is also discussed when Clark Ross, now the owner of an insurance firm, appears in a TV advertisement in which he seems to be still poking fun at Pryce. One of the characters in the advertisement loses his calm after hitting the golf ball into the water and angrily throws his club into the water as well, almost injuring the other players, just like Pryce had once done. We can expect Clark and Pryce to come face to face once again, sometime in the upcoming episodes, in an experience that will further help Pryce heal from the wounds of his past.
How does Zero become the newest member in the group?
It is very evident to us, viewers, that young Santi is swooned by Zero and her rebellious stance against capitalism and all the established norms of the world, to the extent that it seems like she has a magical effect on his mind. Whatever Zero does or says, Santi follows without questioning her views or having any opposing beliefs of his own. Despite having had no qualms about devouring McDonald’s burgers at a stretch for days, he now suddenly believes that it is absolutely disgusting to eat mass-produced meat and contribute to the climate crisis, along with it being a horrible choice to support corporate companies like McDonald’s, only because Zero believes in the same. Naturally, it does not take long for the other characters to catch on to this development, and it is clear to everyone that Santi is so romantically interested in Zero that he is ready to change absolutely everything about himself to impress her.
Therefore, Pryce comes up with the most obvious plan in this scenario—what if he can use Zero as a sort of communicator between himself and Santi and use her to make him return to training? Santi will surely listen to whatever Zero will have to say, and if the young woman sings in the same tune as Pryce, then it will be good for everyone around. Thus, Pryce approaches Zero and convinces her that he is genuinely interested only in the development of Santi. While this feeling of doing good is not enough for Zero, Pryce promises to pay her 10,000 dollars once the protégé becomes a professional golfer. He even hands her the prestigious ring he had been awarded for being an integral part of the winning Team USA at the 1999 Ryder Cup as a sort of collateral till he can come up with the 10,000 dollars. This decision of his once again proves how much Pryce believes in Santi, as he is willing to bet the most prized award that golf has brought to him.
Zero finally agrees, and Pryce puts up a whole scene about him being too injured from his jump at the quarry to be Santi’s caddy anymore, although he will continue to be the youngster’s mentor. This opens up a discussion about who the new caddy should be, and Santi, of course, wants Zero to step into the position, as he believes that she will be a fun person to accompany them on the tour. This was exactly what Pryce had hoped for, and after Zero fakes some hesitation at first, she does eventually agree, much to the delight of the teenager. Thus, the ending of Stick episode 4, has Zero becoming the new caddy to Santi, while in reality she is just a puppet to Pryce, who still wants to pull the strings. However, this sets up for more disaster, as Santi finding out about this secret deal will hurt him even more, and more drama in this context can be expected in the episodes to come.
