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What Does ‘Gaslighting,’ the title of “Ballers” Episode 8, Mean?  Did the Show Get It Right?

“You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” - Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patankin), The Princess Bride (1987) The title of Ballers’ (2015) Season One, Episode Eight is “Gaslighting,” but it is unclear if the…

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How Did the “Ballers” Pilot Episode Set-up The Central Conflict?

The tagline for HBO’s new half-hour show Ballers is “Legends Don’t Retire. They Reinvent.” The opening sequence provides a framework for the show in a microcosm: A retired football player gets into a fight with his volatile mistress in his…

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Does “Ballers” Episode 9: “Head-On” Comedy Hit Hard Enough?

A core concept for making fiction funny is to inflict pain on your characters—put them in the toughest situations imaginable. This comes to mind when watching Ballers Episode 9: “Head-On.” In this penultimate episode of Season One, story…

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How Does “Ballers” Make the Most of its Miami Setting?

Placing the action in Miami is one of the most important storytelling decisions made by Ballers (2015) creator Stephen Levinson and his writing team. Miami and South Florida function as the ‘twelfth man’—the fictional extra player attributed…

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How Does “Ballers” Resolve Its Core Conflict in the Season One Finale?

[Spoilers ahead] In the same week that Ballers (2015) wrapped up its first season, news surfaced that Chris Carter, NFL Hall of Famer gave some very dubious advice to the 2014 incoming class of NFL rookies: If you have to have a crew and you’re…

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Did “Ballers” Miss the Boat With its Elaborate Party Scene in Episode Three of Season One?

Episode Three of HBO’s Ballers, “Move the Chains,” takes place almost entirely at one party hosted by Spencer (Dwayne Johnson) and his boss Joe (Rob Corddry) on a borrowed yacht. Spencer has his back against the wall financially and he needs…

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Does “Ballers” Deal With the Issue of Concussions in Football?

It would be irresponsible, given all of data and the tragic stories surrounding current and past football players, for Ballers (2015) not to address the issue of concussions in football. Earlier episodes have hinted at Spencer’s own issues…

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Is Ricky Jerret on “Ballers” a One-Note, Bad-Boy Character?

The female characters in Ballers (2015) didn’t fare much better in Season One, Episode Five: “Machete Charge” than they had earlier in the season, but Ricky Jerret, played by John David Washington emerged as a character worth caring about…

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Is Spencer’s Confession on “Ballers” about his MRI actually TMI?

During Season One, Episode 6 of Ballers (2015), titled “Everything is Everything,” viewers were given a direct glimpse into what is going on in Spencer’s head, pun intended, related to his health concerns about his concussion history.…

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Why is Season One Episode 7 of “Ballers” Significant in the Three-Act Story Arc?

The turn of the second act in a three-act story is, generally speaking, where we will find the main characters facing some of the most difficult challenges set up by the central conflict of the narrative. Blake Snyder, best selling author of the…