‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ Episode 9: FAM 37th anniversary telethon allows Krystal to plot Garbeaus’ downfall by giving press Judd’s story
You wouldn't have expected it. The Krystal Stubbs (Kirsten Dunst) who shot an alligator in episode 1 is reduced to petty acts of defiance like secret middle fingers and cigars covered in saliva by episode 9.
The tone of this episode is distinctly campy. The humor is more slapstick, shifting away from the dark tone of the first few episodes and it feels like another show entirely. With just one more episode to go, it is also action-packed enough to not miss the strangeness and understated melancholy of the show that had set it apart in its initial episodes.
After the water park coup d'é·tat of the last episode, Krystal is at the mercy of the Garbeaus for employment. Obie Garbeau (Ted Levine) rubs it in her face, by getting her to do menial tasks like fetching his cigars.
Louise Garbeau (Sharon Lawrence) is more circumspect but equally clear that Krystal has to "pay her dues" for her past behavior, including her "Splashercize" initiative. Krystal, having run out of options, is compliant.
When Cody Bonar (Théodore Pellerin) implies Krystal's docile behavior is an act, she points out that, unlike him, she needs to work to take care of her baby and the only job she can get right now is the one Louise Garbeau has given her.
As the FAM 37th anniversary draws near, there is a big TV charity telethon "for the orphans". Buck Bridges (David Paymer) finally rides into town. He heads FAM's West Coast business while Obie handles the East Coast.
Despite being the two heads of FAM, the two can't stand each other and trade insults and barbs each time they meet. After the attack on his protege, Patrick, in the last episode, Bridges is plotting Obie's downfall because "his man" was attacked.
He tricks Krystal into meeting him and asks her to steal a tape from Obie's records that will vilify him in front of his downline. Krystal gets her chance when Louise tells her to get the costume hats for their dance performance from Paradise Cay to the television station.
At the house, while she is snooping around for the tape, she runs into Judd Waltrip (John Earl Jelks), who stops her search and retrieve mission in its tracks. It is only when Krystal drives out of the house that she realizes Judd has stowed away in her car's boot.
He tells her that the tape Buck Bridges wants has been destroyed long ago. We finally get to hear Judd's story and why he is at the Paradise Cay despite despising the Garbeaus. Turns out, his story is similar to Krystal.
Despite being part of FAM's top echelon he was barely breaking even. So he wrote his own book and sold his own tapes to make a little money. It was a mutiny the Garbeaus refused to tolerate.
Just like they found a way to leverage Krystal's poverty to get her to back down from her "Splashercize" initiative, they also found Judd's weakness -- his family. The Garbeaus convinced his wife he was sleeping with men and had abandoned "family values".
With his family in their clutches and with Roger Penland burning down his boat-home, he had no choice but to start working for the Garbeaus in the hope that his wife will let him see his daughter once again. He convinces Krystal to sneak his daughter out of the TV studios so he can meet her just once.
In return, Judd promises to tell his story to the press. Krystal finally has her plan of action to take down the Garbeaus. She plans to sell Judd’s story to a newspaper and expose Fam’s predatory business practices. Ernie (Mel Rodriguez), unfortunately, doesn't seem to have any plan of action besides FAM.
Still having flashbacks to the pizza parlor shootout, he bails on the meeting with their pastor and Bets (Beth Ditto) to talk about what had happened. Bets, accusing him of "hiding behind FAM", indignantly refuses to go with him to the FAM telethon, inadvertently also ruining Harold's plan of debuting his singing and dancing talents on TV.
Ernie, who has been asked to talk about family and FAM values, ironically, turns up sans family at the TV studios. When Harold sees Ernie on TV with a "fake family" on the telethon, he lashes out at Bets for driving Ernie away. The disintegration of the Gomes family seems complete, poisoned by FAM and Ernie's refusal to see the harm it is causing.
Meanwhile, Cody still suspicious of Krystal sees her taking Judd's child while her mother, Louise, and the rest of the FAM wives are doing their big dance number for the cameras to Gloria Estefan's 'The Rhythm is Going to Get You'. But just as he is about to stop her, he is felled by Patrick, who is in a cast and on crutches and aching for some retribution.
Patrick is still under the misconception Cody is the one who attacked him in the previous episode and is encouraged by Roger Penland (Kevin J. O’Connor) to take his revenge. With just one more episode to go, things will come to a head next episode and we will finally see if Krystal (and Judd) get the better of the Garbeaus and if Cody can get the better of the crippled Patrick.
'On Becoming a God in Central Florida' airs Sundays on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET.