Mike (Trevante Rhodes) starts the episode by describing why he couldn’t respect women. He never respected women because he didn’t respect himself. Through a plethora of girls, Mike sees Robin Givens (Laura Harrier) on television. Mike sets out to meet this girl.
To Mike, it was like he was in the middle of his own romantic comedy. After multiple inquiry’s, Mike arranges a date, but at dinner, it’s not just Robin. Her mom Ruth and Robin’s publicist are along for the ride. Though he is uncomfortable with the setup, Mike stays because Robin asks him too.
Pursuing Robin, Mike tries his best to buy her. From expensive gifts to acres of flowers, Mike is in love, but unable to stay faithful. Robin sees her and Mike as role models for black youth. Mike just wants to get married. After tricking her into a wedding, the two become a power couple. When one of Mike’s managers dies, Robin tries to intervene to help her husband.
With the vacancy in Mike’s promoters, Don King (Russell Hornsby) enters the picture. The opportunity to promote Mike is too good for the promoter to pass up. The fairy tale comes crashing down at home for Mike and Robin. The commitment of monogamy for Mike is too much. Arguments about cheating explode into confrontations and fights between Mike and Robin.
From infidelity to business dealings, Mike and Robin’s relationship deteriorates. In Russia, an explosive fight erupts between Mike, Robin, and Ruth, which brings the story to the infamous Barbara Walters interview. Here Robin talks about Mike’s abusive behavior while the boxing champ looks on.
As Mike reflects on these moments, he admits that he was so high on drugs, that he isn’t sure what happened or how accurate the details are of what Robin describes. The marriage ends, and Mike is lost in a thought of how when you hate yourself so much it is hard to love something else. Mike’s abusive behavior might have been tabloid fodder, but the people still love him, and Mike keeps on drinking.
Bill’s Perspective
This is a very different episode of Mike. This is the first time we see Mike try to create a new relationship on is own, and the result is a disaster. The reason for his failure is his drug use, and his inability to see Robin as a person who is equal to him.
Mike’s addictions are destructive. They show how he is bound for disaster long before it takes place, and the fact that he is on top of his game as a boxer, means that no one, but himself can stop the self-destructive route that he is traveling.
Trevante Rhodes has another standout performance, but I feel like we could have got more perspective from Robin Givens side. Having their relationships wrapped up in a thirty-minute episode is not enough time. Robin deserved more narrative, and the shortchanging of her story is unfortunate.