Not quite a bottle episode, the fourth episode of FX’s Clipped breaks format through four flashbacks that give backstory for Doc Rivers, V. Stiviano, Shelly Sterling, and Elgin Baylor. In the present timeline, all that’s happened is that the Clippers have flown from San Francisco home to Los Angeles. But in the past, we learn a lot about what each of these four characters has been through, leading to their present predicament.
(Kelsey McNeal/FX)
Episode 4 – “Winning Ugly” – Written by Tearrance Chisholm
Doc Rivers’ Story – 1992
The LA Riots are in full swing as young Doc Rivers (Freddie L. Fleming) of the LA Clippers returns home to his wife, Kristen (Nicole Paggi), and their children. His father, Grady Rivers (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), is visiting. Doc talks about the guilt he felt driving past the riots in his nice car to his comfy home. He’s very upset and wants to call Bob Costas to put out some kind of statement after his coach, Elgin Baylor, looked at him with disappointment when he suggested they sit out tomorrow’s game. Grady refers to Elgin as a sellout, accepting an indefinite position as Donald Sterling’s general manager. One of Kristen’s friends, Susan (Erin Coker), brings over a bag full of oranges from her backyard, asking Doc if the playoffs will be canceled due to the riots.
(Kelsey McNeal/FX)
Doc is distraught, and he’s taken his frustrations out on his wife, which his dad scolds him for. Doc tells his dad that he feels like property, and he’s angry. Grady advises his son not to destroy the life he worked so hard for with a boycott. Kristin and Susan come into the backyard to drink wine and enjoy the oranges. Doc sits with them and pretends everything is fine.
That night, Doc enters the living room to find his dad asleep on the couch. The TV is playing a retrospective about Elgin, sharing an anecdote about a time he sat a game out while on the road in protest because the hotel the team was staying at refused to offer him a room due to his race. Doc goes to his backyard basketball hoop with the bowl of oranges, furiously destroying them.
V. Stiviano’s Story – 2004
(Kelsey McNeal/FX)
V.’s food truck, “Catering to the Stars,” is serving the cast and crew of a pizza commercial. V. Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman) watches as a woman gets out of a rich man’s car and approaches her truck – Deja (Yvonna Pearson). V. had just gotten off a frustrated phone call with her agent, having learned that she was passed up as a contestant for several reality TV shows. V. is aware of who Deja is from her work on MTV, and she even read Deja’s book. This is their first time meeting. Deja invites V. to a party that night where several reality TV producers will be. V. is reluctant to go since she has an early start tomorrow with her food truck, but Deja gives her the address anyway and tells her it’s a “Mask party.”
Wearing a bunny mask, V. arrives at the party, and Deja gives her a more appropriate masquerade mask. V. isn’t prepared for the nature of this “Sanctuary Party,” a scene out of Eyes Wide Shut. Deja sees that she’s uncomfortable and talks to her, encouraging V. to find a sugar daddy. V. points out that Deja didn’t have to do this to catch her big break. Deja reveals what wasn’t in her book – that her real entry into showbusiness came through a producer for Girls Gone Wild. V. is worried she will get in trouble even being at this party since she’s on probation for shoplifting at Old Navy. Deja tells V. that if she stays, the bus back will leave at 7:00 am, the exact time her next shift is supposed to start.
(Kelsey McNeal/FX)
V. goes to the kitchen for some solace from the kinky party, where a man approaches her – Scaramouche (Fred Melamed). He’s a sports agent who seems out of touch with the lavish lifestyle he lives. V. tells him he needs someone who can help him appreciate how great his life is. She likens herself to “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid, feeling desperate to belong on a higher level of existence.
The next morning, Deja sees V. giving Scaramouche a goodbye kiss, accepting a gift, and getting in a private car to take her home. V. answers a call from the gig she was supposed to be working, lying and saying her food truck was in an accident.
Shelly Sterling’s Story – 2006
The Sterlings are the subject of two lawsuits. Shelly Sterling (Jacki Weaver) was told that her husband was being stalked by a con artist who convinced him to buy her a house, so she filed a lawsuit. A group of tenants from an apartment in Korea town are suing as well, which Shelly has been led to believe is the work of a nonprofit trying to take advantage of them. But at a meeting with the lawyers, the truth begins to come out.
In front of Shelly, Donald Sterling (Ed O’Neill) tells his attorney (Martin Kildare) that Alexandra, the woman Shelly is suing, is nothing more than a prostitute. But amidst the evidence, which includes an audio recording of Alexandra talking about how she and Donald had been trying to get pregnant, it becomes clear that this was a full-blown affair. When Alexandra broke up with Donald, he convinced his wife to sue her, claiming he was conned. The attorney advises Donald to settle because they have an even bigger case looming – a housing discrimination suit from the DOJ. Donald refuses to settle.
Shelly’s friend Justine (Harriet Sansom Harris) recently separated from her husband and is living with the Sterlings. When she gets back from the store, Shelly tells Justine about the meeting with the attorneys, telling her about the affair and giving new details about the discrimination suit, which includes a claim that the Sterlings are responsible for the death of a tenant. Among the testimonies is a supervisor who claims Donald told him to evict the woman because she was Black. Justine suggests they listen to the deposition. On a DVD, they watch as Ebony Jones (Dani Woodson) talks about the poor living conditions her mother suffered at the Sterlings’ Korea Town apartment building, that management never did anything about the issues she raised, and how her mother died of a stroke after being told she was being evicted.
Over wine, Justine tells Shelly how much better her life is after leaving her husband, encouraging Shelly to do the same. When Shelly goes back inside, she finds her husband lounging naked on the couch with a box of chocolates. A cist on the back of his neck burst on a pillow, and Shelly snaps. She asks him to settle the cases. “Nobody’s coming after us, you’re being paranoid,” he tells her, refusing to settle. She kicks him out, forcing him to live in a separate house.
Elgin Baylor’s Story – 2008
(Kelsey McNeal/FX)
Donald Sterling is dressed as Santa Claus at the Clippers office Christmas party, with a new young girlfriend on his arm. While everyone else is partying, Elgin Baylor (Clifton Davis) meets with Andy Roeser (Kelly AuCoin), who has handed him a new contract. He’s being demoted, and his new job pays half the amount of his previous salary. Elgin is furious, telling Andy that he’s been the team’s scapegoat for 22 years of bad performance, all of which is Donald’s fault. Elgin demands to talk to Donald, who has conveniently fled the party moments before. Elgin threatens to sue for racial discrimination. Andy is surprised, asking who has discriminated against him. “You and Donald and the NBA,” Elgin declares. He accuses NBA Commissioner David Stern of looking the other way while Donald faced discrimination suits from his housing residents and of destroying player’s moral with league rules surrounding player’s off-court attire, which was fueled by Donald’s requests. Andy points out that Elgin’s longevity with the Clippers won’t look good if he speaks up now, adding that he will lose. “People need to know,” Elgin says, balling up his contract and throwing it in the trash.
Elgin’s claim is dismissed.
Clipped returns next Tuesday, June 18th, on Hulu with Episode 5, “The Best Words.”
V. tries to explain herself to Barbara Walters. Doc finds himself doing everybody’s job. The Sterlings face consequences.