by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
In the penultimate episode of Chad Powers, The South Georgia Catfish are flying high at 5-0, and Chad Powers is riding the wave of sudden fame. But that spotlight starts to expose the cracks in his double life.
During a fan event, Chad is asked to sign an autograph for a young leukemia patient. The emotional parallel to his past shakes him, and he accidentally begins to sign it “Russ“ before catching himself, covering it up with a classic Chad flourish. The moment rattles him more than he lets on.
Later, Chad is interviewed by College GameDay, but Russ Holliday, the man behind the disguise, is unprepared. He fumbles the interview, unable to create the myth of Chad Powers. Tricia, the ever-watchful booster, steps in and pressures Coach Jake to assign his daughter, Ricky, to help Chad clean things up.
Meanwhile, the coincidences of Chad’s new life mirroring Russ’s old one start to mount, and Russ spirals. He becomes convinced that God is targeting him for abandoning his identity. His friend Danny talks him down somewhat, but the paranoia lingers.
In a quieter moment, Ricky tries to help Chad prep for the interview redo, but the lines blur. She inadvertently admits she likes him, and Russ, still under the mask, awkwardly thanks her before realizing what just happened and bolting out of the room.
Lost in his identity crisis, Russ ends up at a bar and hooks up with a woman who recognizes him, not as Chad, but as Russ Holliday. She tells him he deserves to be happy, giving him the clarity he’s been lacking. That night, he makes a firm decision: Chad Powers is who he wants to be. Russ is gone.
But the universe isn’t done with him yet.
The next morning, Chad shows up at Coach Jake’s house for the rescheduled GameDay interview and walks into chaos. The woman he hooked up with? She’s Wendy, Jake’s wife. And when tensions erupt, Wendy casually drops the bomb that she slept with Russ Holliday and did it in his Cybertruck.
The GameDay segment goes off the rails again as Jake and Wendy fight. Chad and Ricky excuse themselves. With the fight having ended, Coach Jake joins Chad and Ricky, sits on the couch, and gasps to Ricky, “Call 911. I’m having a heart attack.“
With the end of the series coming next week, there appear to be too many things going on to resolve. Will Chad be exposed? Will Russ be able to share his feelings for Ricky, even though she knows that he slept with her mother? Will Russ attempt to reconnect with his father? Are the Catfish headed to the National Championship? Let’s get prepared for a cliffhanger tease for season 2.
Chad Powers – Fifth Quarter (season 1 episode 5), can be seen on Hulu now. New episodes premiere every Tuesday.