Alvey accepts his demons while Jay confronts Christina about hers.
We need to talk about Jonathan Tucker.
Every mannerism, every look, means something, making it impossible to look away.
Credit: Justin Lubin/Audience Network
And that gives Tucker the opportunity to take this character and make him both hilarious and heartbreaking.
But more than anything else, he makes him magnetic.
Okay, Im done.
We can recap now.
Half of mes a criminal, the other half … just hasnt gotten caught.
Alvey
That line is so significant in Alveys journey as a man.
He isnt suddenly going to become the perfect partner for Lisa or the perfect father.
Instead, Alveys convinced hes going to die alone, because thats just the way it goes.
(And its safe to say he wont be making more investments with Sean Chapas either.)
Meanwhile, Nate is making his way home from a guys house (!!!)
to sleep away the day and throw himself a pity party because his dad ended his fight.
In other words, hes coping.
Its here that we find out that her last fight was seven months ago.
And it ended with her competitor putting her to sleep.
Yeah, its not great.
With that, Alvey turns his attention to Alicia, sending Ryan into a fit.
How come Alicia gets an entire night dedicated to her?
Why is Alvey focusing solely on her?
He just thinks Alvey should know how to manage that by now.
and lets him know about the party before heading outside to do one of his favorite things: cocaine.
But how could they make this party even better, you ask?
The contrast between Jay and Keith only makes everything better (and each of them more lovable).
Jay without Keith, however, doesnt always make things better.
Instead, the two talk, and we get our first glimpse into how Nates feeling as a fighter.
As for Alvey, he fights because, I like to hurt people, punish them.
And that is why this man makes for such a compelling central character to build a show around.
(Or one reason, at least.)
The party doesnt last much longer after that.
He instantly knows what that means and heads home to find her stash.
And when he does, he clears everyone out of the house, including Nate.
When Christina comes home, we get one of the most traumatizing and oddly beautiful scenes of the series.
This time around, Jay isnt going to yell at his mother.
Hes not going to beg her to change.
Instead, hes going to hold up a mirror to her.
The result is a sobbing mother, an ill son, and all around heartbreak.
(But how good were those two?!)
And if the specialist sees fit, she might need an amniocentesis.
And because the doctor thinks sooner is better than later, Lisa has to miss Alicias fight.
And that brings us to fight night: Navy St. versus Black House.
If she wants to get out of her car, then she better go take this girl out.
Then Alvey says the magic words: Do your job or find another gym.
Spoiler: Alicia does her job, beating her opponent until Joe Daddy stops the fight.
By the end of the night, Slaughter Water is more than pleased with her.
Ryan, however, isnt too happy when she tells him they should take it easy for a while.
Hes a father, hes a criminal, but more than anything, hell always be a fighter.
