TV Recap: “Big Shot” – Coach Korn Loses His Temper During a Game in “Carlsbad Crazies”

The Sirens take on their biggest rival, the Carlsbad Cobras, in the sixth episode of Big Shot. Titled “Carlsbad Crazies,” this episode puts Marvyn, Holly and Louise through their paces. Here’s a play-by-play episode recap.

Marvyn is scrolling through comments about Louise’s dad, Larry Gruzinsky, while eating his breakfast. Emma walks in wearing her uniform carrying a big cardboard box that was on their doorstep. She tells him it’s from his dad’s estate and he tells her he will open it later, asking if she’s ready to go. A horn blares outside and she tells him that Lucas is giving her a ride today. Lucas hits the horn again, annoying Marvyn, who takes another look at the box before heading out the door.

Emma is in Political Science, Ms. Grint’s class, listening to a lecture on the Magna Carta when the bell rings. Kelsi stands up and announces that she has started a petition to have Larry Gruzinsky’s name removed from the gym. Ms. Grint adds that she believes his name devalues Westbrook’s legacy and Kelsi leaves the petition on the desk for the girls to sign. Ms. Grunt adds that the girls should consider boycotting all basketball games until the name is changed.

Louise walks through the halls feeling all eyes on her, cold stares from her classmates as she passes. She is soon surrounded by the rest of the Sirens, plus Emma. Olive and Samantha tell Louise it will blow over tomorrow, but when they step away, Emma tells her it will get worse if it’s anything like her experience being bullied for her dad’s actions. “Well, no offence Emma, but your dad actually did something wrong. My dad didn’t,” Louise tells her as she walks away.

Just then, Marvyn walks around the corner and wraps up a call on his phone. Emma walks with him and he tells her an old colleague, Randy Edmonds, is in town and he’s the assistant coach at USCB. He knew he was scouting Savannah at Carlsbad and he wants him to look at Louise, too. Emma warns him about the petition and boycott and he tells her he can take care of that.

Passing Principal Sheralyn, Marvyn veers in her direction and asks her to shut down the petition and boycott. “People have the right to have their voices heard.” He argues that a boycott could compromise their chances of winning against Carlsbad. “It better not, I expect you to beat Carlsbad,” she tells him, adding that there’s a tradition and when they lose, she has to kiss a pig. “I’ve had to do it 6 years in a row. If I have to kiss another pig, Korn, I’m putting you on study hall duty.”

Kelsi stops by the Siren’s table in the cafeteria to gloat that she already has 87 signatures, adding that she’s organized students to protest outside the game. Louise arrives at the table with her tray, bumping Kelsi and saying “You can leave now” as she takes her seat. Kelsi tells them to get used to being alone since it’s what it will be like at the game. “Oh, and Destiny, I wanted to thank you for signing the petition and standing up for integrity,” Kelsi adds before walking away. Louise is stunned and Destiny looks embarrassed as Louise tells her she feels stabbed in the back. “I’m not doing that, I’m voting my conscience. Besides, you talk bad about your dad all the time,” Destiny defends herself. “I'm allowed to, you’re not,” Louise says as she gets up and walks away. Destiny looks to her friends for support but finds none, they all feel like she crossed a line. She gets frustrated and leaves the table, too.

In practice, Holly and Marvyn watch as Louise refuses to pass the ball to Destiny. Holly tells Marvyn that she really thinks Louise would be a better player as a shooting guard, but Marvyn turns the idea down, saying they’re on a winning streak with her in her current position. Just then, a woman barges into the gym in a purple Carlsbad tracksuit, and Holly tells Marvyn it’s Joyce McCarthy (played by guest star Camryn Manheim), the coach at Carlsbad. “Hey big shot, forgive me for barging in,” she says as she interrupts practice and points out Marvyn’s championship rings, causing him to hold his hands up for her to see them better. “Big rings, tiny little hands, tiny little feet, you look like some kind of doll,” she insults him as she hands him a gift wrapped in pink paper, congratulating Holly on becoming assistant coach in a way that can only be received as an insult. “I knew cutting you from the team back in the day would give you the kick in the keister you needed.”

Joyce’s level of bullying doesn’t stop at Marvyn and Holly, she addresses the team in a condescending tone. “Aren’t you all just trying your best.” She calls out Samantha, who used to play on her team, loudly bragging that they called her “Sit-mantha” because she was always benched. Then she points to Louise and says “You listen to me, honey. Your father has not been proven guilty yet so you keep that out of your pretty little noggin during our game.” Pretending that she didn’t come to intimidate everyone, Joyce turns to Marvyn and tells him she’d like Westbrook to release their tickets to Carlsbad so more of their fans can attend the game since their school is boycotting. “No, if our fans can’t be here, your fans can’t be here,” he says, turning to Holly to let her know he will asks Sheralyn for permission. Joyce throws in another jab, asking if he’s afraid of all strong women or just Sheralyn. When Joyce leaves, Marvyn opens the gift and finds a signed photo from Savannah Gibson, the student he almost recruited who now plays for the Carlsbad Cobras.

Meeting with Sheralyn again, Marvyn tells her that it’s ridiculous that Carlsbad can have fans at the game but they can’t. “Fine, then I’ll just take down the Gruzinsky scoreboard and the problems solved,” she retorts. “That's not what I’m asking for and you know it.” Marvyn asks her to level the playing field and the camera pans out, revealing that guidance counselor George Pappas is standing there because this is his regularly scheduled meeting time with Coach Korn. He tells Sheralyn that he agrees with Marvyn, that having fans for the other team would be bad for the girls without their own support system. “I’m on the side of the girls of Westbrook,” he defends himself when they’re both shocked. Marvyn asks Sheralyn what it tastes like when she kisses a pig. “Fine, I will call McCarthy. No fans at the game.” Exiting with George, Marvyn says “I don’t have a problem with strong women,” confusing George who says “I never said you did.”

After school, Destiny gets picked up by her aunt in a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, who is in town for three weeks. They have a deeper bond than Destiny and her mother and she confides in her aunt what happened with her friends and the petition. “As your friend, she should respect your beliefs,” Destiny’s aunt tells her.

Lucas studies with Emma and gets filled in on the drama with his father’s name on the Westbrook gym. He tells her that his school already took down their scoreboard donated by his dad and adds that he’s thinking about changing his surname to his mom’s maiden name. Randy arrives and Emma tells Lucas that her dad is trying to get him interested in recruiting Louise.

Out on the patio, Marvyn pours Randy a drink and they clink their glasses in cheers. Marvyn tells Randy about Louise Gruzinsky and he recognizes the last name, asking if she’s the daughter of the man making headlines. “That’s her dad, not her… This girl is the best kept secret, I’d take her over Savannah any day,” Marvyn promises, inviting Randy to come see the game where she plays against Savannah. “You seem a little less radioactive,” Randy tells him, with Marvyn crediting Emma for his big change. “Well, the basketball world misses you. They want to forgive. Keep up this changed man thing, they might have a reason to do it,” Randy encourages him. “Everybody loves a good comeback.”

Outside the gym, Kelsi has a small group of protesters when students from Carlsbad arrive. She sees one with a sign turned backwards and thinks he’s on their side, asking him to sign the petition. “To what, Criminal Gyminal?,” he teases her. His sign has a photo of Larry Gruzinsky behind bars and says “Free Larry.” Harper storms through the crowd and sees Olive using her phone to record the protest, confronting her about encroaching on her responsibility to document events for the school. The crowd from Carlsbad begins chanting “Free Larry,” holding up their signs. Louise watches from the gates of Westbrook and as Olive records them, she turns around and meets Louise’s eyes just as she turns around to walk into the gym.

Olive runs into Coach Korn’s office to warn him. “They’re trying to shame Louise. She’s upset, you have to do something.” He tells her he can’t go screaming at fans like a lunatic and she tells him to think about Louise. Venturing into the hallways to try and find her, Marvyn bumps into Maggie who gives him an unexpected peck on the cheek, saying it’s for good luck. He’s worried that people will see and she makes the case that neither of them are teachers and there’s no rule against adjunct employees dating. He apologizes for not calling after their date and she says “I have suitors, you have suitors, it’s free love.” He gets a jealous look and she finds it endearing, setting up a second date before Marvyn realizes what just happened.

The walls of the locker room aren’t able to block out the “Free Larry” chanting from outside. When Destiny and Louise’s eyes connect, Louise tells her to “Spit it out.” Destiny asks if she should warn her dad in case he’s coming to the game, but Louise walks away, not wanting to talk to her anymore. Holly gets the girls into a circle as Coach Korn enters, telling them that their losing streak with Carlsbad ends today, telling them that the chanting of the fans aren’t on the floor. “That’s what I love about sports. When you’re out there, when you’re on the court, all the noise goes away and it becomes about you and your teammates. It’s about trusting and committing to them and having each other’s backs, no matter what.” He asks them to put aside their issues and be a strong team. “Let’s go win a basketball game!”

Randy takes his seats in the stands, which have been filled with cardboard cutouts of Carlsbad students and a giant pig. Marvyn is shocked to see it as Joyce McCarthy hollers “Hey big shot, looks like our fans showed up after all.” Joyce taunts Marvyn through the game and when Savannah makes a score between Louise and Destiny, they get into a verbal fight. “Hey! Take it out on Carlsbad, not each other,” Korn instructs. At one point, Joyce gets Louise’s attention and points to her phone on a tripod, live streaming the game. She chants “Free Larry” into her camera and the chanting outside gets louder. Marvyn starts to walk towards Joyce to intervene and the referee gives him a foul for leaving his box.

Calling a timeout, Marvyn talks to the Sirens while Joyce throws more jeers at him, suggesting he should be coaching middle school instead. He ignores her, telling the girls they’re better than this. But when the “Free Larry” protesters from Carlsbad burst into the gym, Coach Korn asks the referee for help and he tells him it’s not his job to restrict the fans. “Alright, if you’re not going to kick them out, I am.” The ref tells Marvyn to get off the sideline or he will be thrown out of the game.

Standing in his box, Marvyn watches as the game continues and the chanting persists. He looks up at Randy who has a look of disappointment in his eyes as he remembers him says “You seem a little less radioactive.” Marvyn Korn’s world slows down as he has another flashback to the previous episode where he told Louise “Your real friends will protect you.” He cuts across the court through the middle of the game and the protesters switch their chant to “Throw a chair” as Marvyn grabs the sign with Larry Gruzinsky behind bars and tears it in half. The ref blows his whistle, kicking Coach Korn out of the game. As he passes Louise, he says “Play your game.” Holly looks shaken as he tells her to “Keep it under 20” as he leaves.

Holly leads a new pep talk in the locker room, reminding the girls that they’re down by 22 points, accusing them of playing like they’ve given up. “What, is their coach too mean? Well guess what, she doesn’t feel sorry for you so you better not feel sorry for yourself.” She turns to the door and locks it before continuing her speech. “You all know that I played for McCarthy, right?” She tells them how she worked hard, but wasn’t the best player. She loved the game and when she was a junior, she expected to become a starter. Instead, Joyce recruited star players from other teams and Holly was kicked off the team. “Maybe this is a little bit personal for me, but the way that she’s treating you, it should be personal for you.” She announces that she’s moving Louise to shooting guard for the rest of the game and Louise protests, saying the scout is watching and will think something’s wrong. “Well, if he sees you playing a better game, he’s probably going to think I should recruit that girl,” Holly tells her. Louise nods her head in quick agreement. “Now, what do you say we go out there and we destroy Carlsbad?”

Back on the court, the Sirens play with renewed vigor and make a comeback. Randy takes notes as Joyce screams at the Cobras while the Sirens narrow their lead. The crowd outside watching the live stream gets frustrated and Joyce calls a timeout when the score reaches 50 to 51 with just a few seconds left on the clock. “What is the matter with you idiots?,” she asks the Cobras, threatening to return Savannah for a refund if she doesn't improve her game. Holly brings the Sirens together for a huddle, knowing exactly what Joyce’s special play is and telling the girls exactly what to do. “Go out and win this game,” Joyce yells at her team as the timeout ends. Moving exactly how Holly told them to, Samantha ends up in possession of the ball, taking it down the court and gettin it through the hoop just in time to give them two points, making the final score 52 to 51. The Sirens jump up and down in celebration of their victory. Holly extends a hand to Joyce and says “Coach, great name.” Joyce walks away as the Sirens chant Holly’s name.

Marvyn waited outside the gym sitting on the stairs where Randy finds him asking the game, telling Marvyn that he knows why he did what he did in the game and confessing to having done that, too. “For what it’s worse, Gruzinsky was impressive as hell out there once your AC slid her to the 2 spot.” Marvyn looks confused. “Louise was playing shooting guard?” He pretends that it was something he and Holly had discussed for a while. “I guess we’ve gotta wait a little longer on that comeback of yours. Take care of yourself,” Randy tells him as he leaves.

Holly is the next to exit the building, sitting down next to Marvyn on the stairs and noticing that he looks defeated. “You know we won, right?,” she asks him. “Yeah, I knew me getting kicked out would fire up those girls.” She looks annoyed at his assumption that he’s responsible for the win. “Oh yeah, it was definitely your incredible coaching that won the game,” she says sarcastically. “Don’t sell yourself short, you had a lot to do with it. You helped out.” She tells him she’s going home to celebrate by drinking some wine she can’t afford. “Yeah, alright,” he says, Holly’s face projecting a look that suggests she expected him to want to celebrate with her.

In the parking lot, Holly sees Joyce getting into her minivan and can’t hold back what she needs to say. “You were out of line, coach. You’ve had too much success to not have more class,” she tells Joyce. “Shut up, Holly.” Joyce rants about how she had to fight hard to get people to take notice of girls basketball. “None of that justifies how you treated my team today,” Holly responds. “It’s not your team, it’s Korn’s team. At least as long as he’s slumming it here. Let me tell you something, I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I will be damned if I’m going to let him come into my district and make me feel like nothing.” Holly responds, “He didn’t. I did. I just beat you with a player that you didn’t think deserved a place on your team.” Joyce smirks. “Well, if you would’ve had that steal when you were playing for me, maybe I wouldn’t have cut you.” Holly begins to walk away before Joyce stops her. “You know, you’re gonna make a pretty decent head coach someday.” Holly can’t help but smile as she turns around and heads to her car.

At the gelato shop, the Sirens giggle over comments about their win on Facebook. They see a picture of the Carlsbad principal kissing a pig and Louise is smiling. Destiny suggests they all put their phones down to live in the moment and the girls congratulate Louise on her performance as shooting guard. They add that Holly was great as a coach and how proud they are of Marvyn for defending them the way he did. Sitting next to each other on the couch, Louise and Destiny make up.

Later that night, Emma finds Marvyn working in his living room on the laptop, the box from his dad’s estate still sealed. “Why don’t you just open it?,” she asks. “Because it’s probably just a bunch of meaningless junk from a guy who didn’t give a crap about me.” She tells him she heard about what he did at the game. “Hearing about you blowing up at a game again… back home, after what happened with you, some people were really unkind to me.” Marvyn is shocked by the news and Emma doesn’t want to go into detail about the bullying she endured. “I’m sorry, but I’m glad you’re out here and I regret not having you come out sooner,” he tells her. She says he might have more regrets if he doesn’t open the box. “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

The next day at school, Louise stands in the hallway watching Kelsi, who has set up a table to get more signatures for the petition to remove her dad’s name from the gym. Marvyn finds her and realizes what she’s doing. “You know, this isn’t your fault,” he tells her. She confesses that the gym at Westbrook is her favorite place on Earth. “I know the idea of taking that sign down hurts, but maybe the idea of leaving it up is hurting you more. Don’t let your dad’s mistakes ruin the thing that you love. You deserve to have something that’s just yours. It doesn’t make you a bad daughter for wanting that. But if you want that sign up, I’ll make sure it stays up. I’ve got your back.”

Another sign-up sheet is on a clipboard outside the teacher’s lounge and Coach Korn scares away a student as he enters. Ms. Grint is standing and he catches the end of her statement. “,,,Over 200 signatures, it can no longer be ignored.” She looks smugly at Marvyn. “Oh yeah? Well I’m ignoring it. It’s my gym and I’ll do what I want in there.”

Principal Sheralyn is pouring a cup of coffee as Ms. Grint likens Marvyn Korn to the Pope in Vatican City. “Everyone in this room is in agreement that the Gruzinski name should go except for the man so violent that he couldn’t even make it through a children’s basketball game.” Holly speaks up in defence of Marvyn, saying the sign is about Larry Gruzinski, not Marvyn Korn. “Well Stockholm Syndrome is never a pretty sight,” Ms. Grint adds, shocking Holly. Maggie and George Pappas are at the same table, both also coming to Marvyn’s defense. “George, whose side are you on?,” Ms. Grint is shocked. “As I have always said, I am on the sign of the girls of Westbrook” (The whole room quotes his catchphrase with him). “In this instance, so is Coach Korn.” Ms. Grint is visibly embarrassed as she asks Sheralyn to do something. Looking out the thin window in the door, the principal sees Louise approach the petition and sign it herself. “It looks like something is already being done. Well, that was unexpected. Looks like you might get your way after all, Ms. Grint.” Marvyn sees Louise through the window and smiles.

Arriving at his office, Marvyn finds the box from his dad on his chair with a Post-It note from Emma that says “Rip off the Band-Aid dad!! TCKS” He uses his ruler to open the box and begins removing items, finding his dad’s cologne and spritzing himself. The next item he removes is a framed picture of his dad standing in front of a bronze statue of Marvyn Korn.

Cut to Marvyn in a meeting with George Pappas. “I didn’t even know that he knew it existed, let alone visited,” he tells the guidance counselor, adding that his father looks proud in the photo. George asks if the statue is still there and Marvyn shows him a video of UW students knocking it over. He tells George that Emma has been affected by his past behavior. “I’m not good at this stuff George. Can you help me?” George smells something and asks Marvyn if he’s wearing cologne. “It’s my dad’s,” Marvyn tells him as George makes a note. “He was a great guy,” Marvyn adds about his dad.

Marvyn finds Holly in her office reviewing footage from the game, looking for weak spots. He asks if she’d like to go for a drink to celebrate and she tells him she’s waiting to celebrate until they get to Division 2. “I’ve created a monster, haven’t I?,” he asks. “You know, I think the monster was always here. I think she was just dormant for a while.” Destiny knocks and asks if they can come see something.

Entering the gym, a crew uses a cherry picker to remove the Gruzinsky scoreboard as the Sirens watch, Louise included. Olive is filming and Marvyn asks what she’s doing. Destiny stands next to Louise, asking if she’s okay. Something goes wrong and the sign falls, crashing into the gym floor and cracking some of the boards.

A new episode of Big Shot will premiere on May 28th on Disney+ titled “Kalm Korn.” Here’s the episode description from Disney+:

Marvyn’s statue resurfaces, and he stops undermining Holly. Emma accidentally throws a party.