Owen Wilson’s Golf Show Remains Flawed & Predictable But Is Winning An Emotional Game

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Stick season 1, episode 6.

Viewers who are still watching Stick past its midpoint are well aware that Owen Wilson’s golf comedy show is not actually about golf. The introduction of Zero in Stick episode 4 divided audiences, creating a challenging lie that Stick episode 5 tried its best to drive out of. Stick episode 6, titled “RV Shangri-La,” quickly establishes that this cross-country journey is not turning itself around anytime soon and is doubling down on some of its questionable and disappointing developments in both character and plot.

Stick episode 6 takes the day off from the golf course before Santi’s big day at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Love is in the air as Zero makes a bold move on Santi using many a golf pun. The expected romance between Mitts and Elena finally arrives in the form of a surprise kiss, followed by a painfully awkward silence. Meanwhile, Pryce takes the reins of the narrative as he reflects on his lost son, Jett, and thoughtfully opens up about the experience of fatherhood that was robbed from him.

Stick Episode 6 Scrambles To Recover After Its Last 2 Episodes Swung & Missed

Stick Continues To Underperform In Humor, Chemistry & Story Development

Stick episode 6 still has many of the same flaws as its previous two episodes. Besides Zero being unlikable and the golf comedy show being mostly unfunny and hardly about sports, there are even more consistent flaws that carry on throughout episode 6. Elena accepting $100,000 from Pryce remains one of her less admirable attributes, while Marc Maron’s “old man yells at cloud” character continues to find the most on-the-nose Gen Z complaints to poke fun (and get incredibly annoyed) at. For a show that tries to tackle real-life problems, these characters are mostly overdone.

The real issue with Stick so far is that it doesn’t seem too motivated to make viewers laugh, which, for a comedy show, is hard to make sense of. There are a lot of moral stances taken by the characters (other than Zero) that feel a bit too like Full House with all the life lessons, some of which are overplayed or miss the mark.

Pryce offers Santi a healthy reframe about “body count”, but Elena’s meltdown at Mitts about investing $100,000 in helium misses the point. Elena has a right to be tired of “men” telling her what to do, but that type of generalization overlooks Mitts’ actual point of concern, which was that she should not put all her eggs in one basket.

Lastly, some of the acting in Stick is unfortunately not all that convincing because the actors are not given much to work with. The romantic scenes between Zero and Santi could really use some more chemistry, especially between two young adult characters who are supposed to be each other’s firsts. Owen Wilson’s signature shtick is enjoyable and works perfectly fine, even when the plot switches on a dime from dull to deep.

Owen Wilson’s Portrayal Of A Heartbroken Father Is The Best Part About Stick

Pryce’s Story Of Resilience Has The Best Chance To Turn This Show Around

Owen Wilson has the best shot of turning this series around by the end of its first season. While it’s not the golf comedy show many viewers were hoping for, Pryce’s redemption arc is compelling and emotional, especially considering what he and his wife Amber-Linn (played by an underutilized Judy Greer) have gone through.

The best moment in Stick episode 6 is when Pryce tells Elena that the worst part about losing his young son, Jett, is not missing the graduation and wedding, but not being able to be a dad. It becomes clear by the end of Stick episode 6 that Pryce still deeply longs to be a father, but the last thing Santi wants is some new guy repeating his own father’s bad mistakes. This is also warmly yet tragically felt when Pryce visits a child named Molly, who pretends to be a doctor as he pretends to be a dad.

It’s moments like these that make me wish Stick played the greatest hits with its storyline, much like it does with its soundtrack, instead of veering off into a different territory. Stick’s simple premise has gotten quite messy these past three episodes, and the vulnerable Santi now wants nothing to do with Pryce or Zero. Still, the more Wilson’s Pryce tees off on his backstory and redemption arc, the more Stick connects and succeeds in its emotional game, even though many other areas still miss the cut.