Marvyn Korn’s quest to take the Sirens to Division 2 continues in the fourth episode of Big Shot on Disney+. Titled “Great in the Living Room,” Coach Korn is forced to reconnect with the reason he fell in love with basketball in the first place. Here’s a play-by-play recap of the latest episode of this hit Disney+ original series.
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Marvyn is in his kitchen eating breakfast while watching his faculty profile video that Harper was making in the previous episode. It starts with images of Lance Armstrong and O.J. Simpson, placing Coach Korn in a league of disgraced sports stars and showing the video that cost him his job. The exposé is called “Throwing it all Away: The Marvyn Korn Story” and the way the introduction is edited, it looks like the Sirens are talking about his chair throwing incident. George Pappas is included in the interviews, who labels Korn as having a “Narcissistic personality disorder.” But when Emma comes on the screen, saying “He’s not the monster they make him out to be,” he calls his daughter into the kitchen.
Watching as the Emma on his screen tells the world that he cried when his dad died, she comes in to make her breakfast and says she’s already seen the video, adding that it makes him look good. Marvyn says it makes him look weak and she says she just wanted to help tell the truth about him, destroying the character everyone sees him as. “I created that character,” he says defensively. “I spent my whole career building a character of strength and invincibility.” Too upset to continue, Marvyn stops the video.
In Principal Sheralyn’s office, she tells Marvyn that she loved the video, too. He tells her that he’s upset that Emma was in it, saying he doesn’t want people to think of her as “Marvyn Korn’s daughter” and that he wants her to have her own identity. Sheralyn says it will be impossible for her not to be seen as his daughter, but she agrees that Emma should find something just for her. Worried that everyone has seen the video, Sheralyn tells him nobody watches Harper’s videos. “She’s training to be a journalist in a world full of BuzzFeed quizzes. But when Coach Korn steps into the hallway, he not only sees pity in everyone’s eyes, but every smartphone screen he passes is playing the video.
Emma is sitting at lunch with the Sirens, who think Harper’s video was well done. Emma tells them her dad doesn’t like it, adding that he feels like it makes him look weak. They mention that Olive had a business meeting and couldn’t come to lunch, talking about how crazy that is. We see Olive at an outdoor restaurant with Katrina, a brand representative for Hanakia Swimwear, who wants Olive to wear their suits in her Instagram posts and be their brand ambassador. After giving Olive a bag of product worth over $2,000, she pulls out a contract for her to sign and writes her a check. It’s Olive’s first gig as an influencer.
In the locker room, Olive tells the Sirens about her deal and she has already made her first post wearing the Hanakia brand. As the girls check out the post, they notice that more than half of the comments are negative, saying the company has unethical practices to make the suits. Louise adds that she had a swimsuit from them once that faded after just three washes. Olive tells them she can’t back out, she signed a contract.
Entering the teacher’s lounge for coffee, Marvyn feels the same pitying eyes on him from his colleagues. He taps Felix on the shoulder, who helped him make coffee the first time her visited, and he finds Ms. Grint pouring herself a cup of java. Seeing that Marvyn was about to get some, she makes sure to empty the pot so he has to make more. He tells her he figured she would be more of a tea person since she’s British and she smiles, saying he’s right as she dumps the last of the coffee down the drain and goes to the cupboard for some tea. Felix asks Ms. Grint is she watched the profile on Coach Korn and she says “And spend 15 minutes with Mr. Korn?” Making small talk with Marvyn, Felix mentions that Laguna is losing their star player, Savannah Gibson, who got recruited away by another school. Marvyn asks if that’s legal and Felix tells him it’s private school, they can’t stop it.
Confidently entering the gym, Marvyn tells Holly that he knows exactly how to get the team to D2. She’s coaching and when he tells her his plan is to recruit Savannah Gibson, she tells him it’s a bad idea. Blowing her whistle, she yells to the girls “Don’t be lazy.” He asks if that was meant for him and she blows it again, saying “Don’t cut corners.” When he protests, her last whistle prompts her to say “Cheaters never win.”
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Emma is reading a book on the stairs waiting for practice to be over for her ride home when Sheralyn finds her on her way down. She asks Emma what she liked to do at her other school and lures out of her that she was in a school play. She asks Emma to follow her and leads her to the drama department where Ms. Goodwyn is starting rehearsals for “Beth Macbeth,” her gender-flipped adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Sheralyn introduces Emma, making up an award for Wisconsin theater and forcing Ms. Goodwyn to write a part for Emma when she tells her all the parts have been cast.
On their way to school the next day, Emma tells Marvyn about the play. She tells him that Principal Sheralyn led her to it and he realizes that she’s trying to help Emma find her own thing. In Sheralyn’s office, Marvyn pitches his plan to recruit Savannah Gibson, but he can’t bring himself to ask for a favor. She makes him repeat after her: “I need a scholarship.” She says she will grant the request.
Facing pressure from both her followers and the Sirens, Olive makes a video where she talks about how bad Hanakia Swimwear is as a company, apologizing for partnering with them and saying she’s done. “I stand with their workers,” she closes out the video before posting. Asking about the money, Olive tells them she ripped up the check and the Sirens are proud of her.
Holly finds Marvyn at his locker in his office, using the mirror to comb his hair. She says he looks confident and he tells her “Yeah, I’m great in the living room,” which prompts her to remind him that he’s not going to Savannah’s house, she’s coming to Westbrook for a tour with her parents. She reiterates that she thinks it’s a bad idea, revealing that she was a star player in high school until a recruit replaced her. “I’m just telling you, it’s a confidence killer.” Marvyn tells her that players want to play with the best and she tells him high school is different from college.
Putting on all the charm, Marvyn schmoozes up to Savannah’s dad on the tour while his daughter looks at the other girls with disinterest. Looking through the window to the cafeteria and bragging about the private chef and salad bar, Savannah pulls out her phone. Inside the cafeteria, the Sirens see Coach Korn leading Savannah and her parents on a tour and start to worry. Olive gets a call from Katrina and she declines it.
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Walking into the gym, Marvyn has confetti cannons go off and a poster of Savannah in her number, 11, drops from the ceiling. Asking what she thinks, Savannah tells him that they have most of the same perks at Carlsbad, the school that recruited her. Her mom speaks for the first time, showing her own negotiating power, telling Marvyn that Savannah’s future is with the WMBA and that Carlsbad is a Division 1 team. Marvyn argues that if Savannah joins the Sirens and wins, she will become a legend, revealing that Westbrook can give her a full scholarship. “And?,’ her mom asks, revealing that Carlsbad is also giving the family a nice car and a tropical vacation in addition to a free ride to lure her to their basketball team. Marvyn tells them that what Carlsbad doesn’t have is him and he can make Savannah a better version of herself on and off the court. “If you want to be a winner, you come to Westbrook. And if you wanna be the best, you get coached by the best, and I’m the best.” Savannah’s dad smirks, telling him “You used to be Marvyn Korn,” implying that he’s no longer the best. Her mom tells Marvyn that Savannah coming to Westbrook would help him a lot more than it would help her.
Back in Sheralyn’s office, Marvyn tells her about the counteroffer and she refuses to provide more than a scholarship. Quoting his line earlier about being great in the living room, she jokes that she could be great in the living room too if she was handing out free cars and vacations. She asks him how he lured great players to his team before. “Because I used to be Marvyn Korn,” he says, quoting Savannah’s dad. Sheralyn tells him to go figure out how to be Marvyn Korn again so he can attract better players.
In his office, Marvyn pulls out his phone and calls some of the star athletes he used to coach, asking them to call Savannah and recommend she join his team. The Sirens come in and ask him if Savannah is coming to Westbrook, her poster still hanging from the ceiling. Samantha asks if she’s getting cut from the team, pointing out that she’s already number 11. “So much for no stars on our team,” Louise scoffs as Marvyn tells her Savannah would fold into the team. “Aren’t we enough?,” Destiny asks.
At the gelato place after school, Olive gets another call from Katrina, blocking the number and telling the girls that she’s done with them. Samantha is still upset about possibly losing her number and Emma tells them that recruiting players is just something her dad does. Mouse is the only Siren to defend Coach Korn, saying that Savannah could help them get to D2. Since Savannah plays the same position as Louise and Destiny, they feel like they’re the ones who could get kicked off the team. Olive gets a worried text from her mom asking her to come home now and she leaves.
Earlier, we saw Olive recording a video outside of a mansion on the beach, but she enters one half of a modest looking duplex where her parents are furious, saying they got a call from a woman named Katrina threatening to sue for defamation and breach of contract. Because of the call, they took a look at Olive’s Instagram and noticed that she’s presenting a false version of herself as if she’s ashamed of their life. Her mom blames Wesbtrook, saying that she and her father break their backs working overtime to pay her tuition and it’s given her the wrong idea of what’s important in life. Her dad tells her they’re pulling her out of Westbrook at the end of the semester and her mom takes her phone, banning her from social media.
Marvyn is at home with Emma, pouring himself a drink. He tells Emma about the phone calls Savannah should be receiving tonight and Emma tells him the team is upset about him recruiting her. He brushes her comment off, but she tells him he should really finish watching the profile Harper made on him. Later, after Emma has gone to bed, Marvyn finishes watching the video. Harper included an old interview of Marvyn in his college years talking about how much he loves basketball, so much that he would play for free or even just in a driveway if that was his only option. Another interview from his early coaching career talks about how winning isn’t what matters, playing your best is. Harper then draws a conclusion that by throwing the chair and getting fired from college basketball, Marvyn was trying to get himself back to that mentality, out of a position where winning was required. The video ends with the Sirens talking about how much faith Marvyn has in them as a team and how proud they are. Marvyn leans back in his chair thinking about what he just saw.
At school, Olive comes clean with her friends, telling them the truth about her life, the lawsuit from Hanakia Swimwear and telling them that her parents are pulling her out of Westbrook. She tells them that she didn’t mean to lie but it snowballed out of control, starting with getting likes on a post of her with an expensive bag she received as a gift, and then a picture in front of a mansion that got a lot of attention. “I know I messed up, I lied to you guys.” The Sirens tell her she belongs at Westbrook and they forgive her, but Destiny is upset that Olive thought they wouldn’t want to be her friend if she wasn’t wealthy.
Walking into Holly’s office, Marvyn tells her he needs her help to lure Savannah, asking him to join him on a visit to her house. We see them both at a table as Marvyn talks about how he’s never bribed a player before and he doesn’t need to. Simplifying his offer to nothing, not even a scholarship, he says all she needs is him. The camera pans back and we see that he and Holly are actually at Olive’s house now, recounting how the meeting with Savannah’s parents went and saying they turned the offer down. He then says that the girls helped him realize he was losing his way and he was pursuing Savannah for the wrong reasons, telling Olive’s parents that he wants her for the right reasons.
Holly tells Olive’s parents that her parents were like them, working overtime to pay for her tuition as Marvyn offers the scholarship that was approved for Savannah to Olive. Her dad turns the offer down, saying that Westbrook isn’t working for their family anymore. Olive’s mom tells him that seeing her social media was like looking at a stranger. “You can’t hide who you are on the court,” Marvyn tells them, adding that Olive is the first player to pass the ball to a teammate and she gives her all in every game. “Your daughter here, she’s a heart with legs and I would’ve loved to have been her teammate.” Begging, he tells Olive’s parents that he can’t afford to lose her.
Back in Sheralyn’s office, Marvyn finds the principal upset that he took a scholarship that was meant to give the school a new star player and used it on a player they already had. She asks him if he knows about the Hanakia issue and he says yes. Putting the phone on speakerphone, Sheralyn gets Katrina on the line and tells her she heard about a lawsuit against a Westbrook student. Katrina tells her she’s not at liberty to discuss the case and Sheralyn says “Good, then you’re at liberty to listen.” She tells Katrina that Westbrook has a top law firm on an expensive retainer and that the lawyers are looking for something to do if they want to fight Olive in court.
Olive records a new video for her Instagram, confessing that she’s been falsely representing the life she leads. “I thought I had to be different for you all to like me, but I was wrong. I’m enough. We’re all enough.” Finishing the video, she hands Destiny back her phone.
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Walking into the teacher’s lounge, Marvyn finds Ms. Grint on her way out. She tells him she saw the video. “I might have misjudged you. I’m not saying I like you, but I don’t like you just a tiny bit less,” she tells him.
Inside the gym, the Savannah poster is removed and the Sirens talk about how they’ll play against her at Carlsbad in two weeks. Olive enters Marvyn’s office with a basket of muffins from her dad’s bakery, telling him that Hanakia has dropped the lawsuit. She tells him she’s going to dinner with her parents tonight for the first time in a long time now that they don’t have to work overtime to afford her tuition. He smiles.
Emma is in play rehearsal and Marvyn comes in, interrupting the tongue twister she was working on to warm up. “I just want to check out your things,” he tells her when she asks what he’s doing. He asks if she wants to go out to dinner tonight and she says yes. He realizes that her eyes are on a boy, Lucas Gruzinsky, Louise’s brother. He asks her what boys are doing in the play (Westbrook is an all girl’s school) and she tells him the play is a co-production with another school. She gets up and walks over to Lucas, giving him a hug as Marvyn watches.
Big Shot will return on May 14th with another new episode called “This is Our House." Here’s the episode description from Disney+:
Louise’s dad is arrested. Louise and Olive get caught cheating on a test. Marvyn dates again.