The AppleTV+ sports comedy series, Stick, wraps up its first season this week with an episode that takes the central characters through a topsy-turvy ride, which ultimately ends on a very positive note. The teenager at the center of the plot, Santi Wheeler, had gotten off to a terrific start at the Ready Safe Invitational competition, his first ever PGA tournament, but the return of his father, Gary, at the end of the previous episode had potentially made the situation more intense. Stick episode 10, has all the drama that we could have expected from the series, with both Santi and Pryce having to make some tough choices.
Spoiler Alert
Why is it so important for Santi to perform well?
From its beginning, Stick has been as much about Santi Wheeler and his mother, Elena, as it has Pryce and his struggles with life, with their worlds eventually coming together. Pryce had first spotted Santi at a local golf course in Indiana, practicing shots by himself, and that too by sneaking into the place without paying. But Pryce was more than impressed with the shots that he saw the youngster play, and soon approached the family with his plan. It was very evident that Santi and Elena were not in a financially stable position at the beginning of the series, with both of them having to work meager jobs to make ends meet. While Elena worked at a party supplies and gifting store, Santi had to work as a teller at a local convenience store all while balancing his school education. It was very evident that Elena needed money to secure her son’s future, and this is why she stated that she would agree to Pryce’s plan only if he paid them 100,000 dollars. Elena clearly did not expect Pryce to pay the amount, and so she was really convinced of her son’s golfing potential when he went ahead and agreed. Although she planned on investing this entire amount in helium stocks, it was still a very risky investment, as Mitts had earlier pointed out. Therefore, it is no wonder that Santi needs to perform well at whatever opportunity he gets, and especially so at the Ready Safe Invitational event. By now, Ross Clark had also put faith in Santi’s skills, and although there is no monetary risk involved in this regard for the family, the Wheelers would still love to prove their worth to the pro-golfer-turned-businessman.
What makes the situation even more intense is the fact that Santi actually has a solid start to the tournament, his first ever PGA competition, and he quickly starts to make a name for himself in the golfing world. However, we have already seen enough competitions to know that Santi opens the first rounds with brilliant performances, and by the end of the first or second day of the event, he positions himself towards the very top of the leaderboard. It is only when his confidence gets to his head that the teenager starts messing up his shots, and sadly his estranged father, Gary, taking up the role of the caddy works against him. Despite initially pretending to have learned from his previous mistakes and to be a changed man, Gary once again returns to his old ways as soon as Santi makes bad shots and is affected by his overconfidence. Within just a few rounds, Santi significantly drops down in the leaderboard rankings, and he is just not able to get out of his slump. Even the commentators and the audience take pity on his situation, and it looks like his tournament is going to end in utter disappointment, only because of Gary’s egoistic and forceful attempt to take over his life once again.
Why does Pryce choose to intervene?
When Santi asks Pryce to step away from the position of his caddy and make room for Gary, the protagonist does not refuse, even though he is extremely hurt by this sudden switch. In reality, supporting Santi not just with regard to golf but with life in general has been a very emotional and healing journey for Pryce, who has actually been moving on from the death of his young son, Jett. Although Jett had passed away from cancer many years ago, Pryce had not been able to move on from this loss for all these many years, after the tragedy had completely ruined his professional and personal lives. While he started the journey with Santi solely based on the teenager’s golfing skills and also out of a strong desire to bring about a positive change in his life, different dimensions gradually took shape.
The fact that Pryce was actually trying to fulfill his wish of being a father, or a father figure who could guide, help, and sometimes even be disappointed at the actions of a teenage son, was also gradually coming into play. It is even suggested that Pryce had particularly put all his remaining wealth at stake to help out Santi because he knew deep down that Jett would have been the same age as the teenager at present had he not passed away. We even saw Pryce daydreaming about scenarios about how his life could have been had his son still been alive, which contained one particular scene about him being disappointed at Jett walking away from a difficult conversation. When a similar scene played out between Pryce and Santi only some time later, the protagonist accepted the fact that he was indeed looking to replace his son, in a healthy way, in his life.
Over the previous weeks, Pryce and Santi’s relationship had gone through all the ups and downs that can be associated with a bond between a father and son, in which there is genuine love from both sides at all times, but it is sometimes disrupted by feelings of anger and frustration. Santi had reacted badly when Pryce first turned harsh with his words after the boy lost his composure on the golf course a few tournaments ago. He had then gone through an emotional breakdown after finding out how Pryce had technically planted Zero as his caddy so that he could still be in control of his game at all times. Although Pryce’s action was not really comparable to Gary’s selfish ways, Santi still equated the two men, and their journey together was brought almost to the brink of being over. Yet, the bond had survived so far, and Pryce had successfully managed to get Santi into his first PGA tournament. Now, when the teenager terribly suffers on the course because of his father’s egoistic behavior, Pryce initially decides to maintain his distance for the sake of Santi. After all, the boy’s earlier request to have Gary as his caddy had been a cruel and harsh reminder to Pryce that, despite his proximity to him and Elena, he was not actually a part of their family in reality. Therefore, he now chooses to not do anything, even though he genuinely wants to help the boy out of the difficult situation deep down.
Pryce actually needs just a convincing push to act, and Mitts provides him with his push by accepting that his assessment of Santi at the beginning of the series had been correct. Mitts also adds that Santi is a nice person as well, and more importantly, he suggests that Pryce should really intervene if he has been genuine in his attempt to treat Santi like his son. Pryce realizes that it is not Santi the golfer who needs his help at the moment, for the boy will surely get many more bigger opportunities to shine later on in life, and this one tournament will not affect him much in the long run. But it is Santi, the talented but emotional teenage boy currently stuck in an extremely difficult situation who needs Pryce’s help desperately, and so the protagonist steps up. Finally assuming the role of a fatherly figure to Santi, which he has been yearning to do for some time now, Pryce steps up and intervenes, helping the teenager get out of his bad streak almost immediately.
What happens to Gary?
Pryce has to get back to the role of the caddy by bringing about a pause in the middle of the round, which he manages to do by setting off the sprinklers on the course. He knew that Santi most definitely did not expect him to return and take over from his father, and there was no chance Gary would willingly give up the position, so something drastic had to be done. This results in the two men battling for the position of Santi’s caddy, and so the referee has to step in and demand a resolution, with the player given the choice to select one of the men. It is no wonder that Santi now chooses Pryce, having learned his lesson about giving his father chances in life, and the umpire calls for security personnel to come and take Gary away. The real intention behind Gary’s decision to come to Tulsa is now revealed to have been a strong desire to reap some monetary benefits for himself, as well as to gain the fame that he expected to follow.
Gary had basically realized that his son was about to achieve something terrific at not just the invitational tournament but in the world of golf as a whole, and he had simply come to take advantage of this. But his ways had not changed, and so he does not hesitate to go off on his son when Santi makes a series of bad shots, which ultimately leads to him getting escorted off the golf course by the security personnel. But before he leaves, Gary has a final confrontation with Elena, who quite sternly tells him to stay out of their lives. Gary is obviously not pleased about this statement, and he reminds her that he is Santi’s father and also the one who had introduced him to the world of golf many years ago, suggesting that he deserves praise and acknowledgment for his contributions to his career as well. Moreover, Gary tells Elena that he deserves a part of Santi’s success as well, meaning that he clearly intends to take money from him once he has become a popular pro golfer. But Santi and Elena do not have to worry about this for now, as Gary is pushed out of the scene for the time being.
Does Santi win the Ready Safe tournament?
Santi makes a brilliant recovery at the end, with the help of Pryce’s guidance and extremely composed mentorship. Pryce once again manages to boost Santi’s self-confidence, and he makes a series of excellent shots, to the jubilation of his fans and his team. He takes a few shortcut shots on the way to the final, which is clearly a game plan straight out of Pryce’s book, and the talented teenager manages to succeed in each of these attempts. Even his final shot is not just entertaining but extremely unique, as he putts the ball away from the hole to make use of the elevation and successfully scores.
Ultimately, Santi’s last-minute efforts are not enough for him to win the Ready Safe Invitational tournament, as the much more experienced and long-time professional, Collin Morikawa, wins the competition because of his consistent performance. But Santi definitely makes the mark that he needed to at this tournament, both among the authorities in the sport and also the golf fans. As is evident from a newspaper clipping seen towards the very end of the episode, Santi Wheeler has been the most talked about player at the tournament, which is simply remarkable considering that this was his first professional competition.
Stick season 1 ends with Santi and Pryce practicing shots some time after the Ready Safe Invitational tournament, with the youngster now insisting his mentor make a comeback to the sport. Pryce says that he is not ready and that he will probably need some more time to think about it, although he does seem quite interested deep inside. Thus, when Pryce takes a fantastic shot at the very end, it is clearly made to keep us guessing whether we will actually see his comeback in the next season of Stick.
Do Santi And Zero Remain A Couple?
Santi’s relationship with Zero has been like a rollercoaster ride throughout the season, just like his bond with Pryce. While Santi had initially become very good friends with Zero and was then admittedly smitten by her, he had perhaps not expected to actually become lovers with her so soon after their meeting. But what broke his heart was the realization that Zero had actually made a deal with Pryce behind his back, one that she herself felt guilty about as well, to essentially manipulate him into performing better on the golf course. This had led to a fallout between the two youngsters before Santi realized that he was actually being too self-centered, as Zero had only attempted to help him out with his career by agreeing to work with Pryce. The two have remained lovers since then, with no more misunderstanding to follow, and at the end of Stick season 1, the teenagers are still a couple. When his posse invades the course out of excitement after Santi’s unbelievable last shot, Zero is one of the first to embrace him, and the two exchange their feelings of love too, confirming that their relationship is probably going to last for long in the future season(s).
