Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Stick season 1, episode 9.In the penultimate episode ofStickseason 1, Owen Wilson’s golf comedy finally introduced the most important character that we hadn’t yet seen. Thecast ofStickhas, so far, been a fairly tight-knit found family. WhileStickepisode 9did include several cameos from professional golfers, the series has mostly focused on Pryce (Wilson), Mitts (Marc Maron), Santi (Peter Dager), Elena (Mariana Treviño), and Zero (Lilli Kay).
SinceStickhas mostly focused on those five characters, we’ve gotten a great look into their backstories and histories with one another. For instance, we know thatPryce had a son named Jett who died of cancerat an early age. We also know about Mitts' late wife and Elena’s ex-husband, but we haven’t actually seen the latter. That is, until now.
Gary Wanted To Reconnect With Santi When He Heard About His Son’s Pro Golf Career
Image via Max
After nine episodes,Stickhas finally introduced Gary Wheeler (Mackenzie Astin), Santi’s father and Elena’s ex-husband. Gary initially introduced himself as a big fan of Pryce’s before Elena identified him. He also explained that he had reconnected with Santi and Elena because he wanted to see his son.
Elena and Santi have revealed over the course ofStickseason 1 that Gary was a real jerk of a husband and father. He was the reason Santi originally gave up golf, asGary would shower Santi with love when he played well and emotionally neglect him when he played poorly. He also abandoned the family when Santi gave up the sport, only to make his return years later.
Gary Will Likely Be A New Source Of Stress For Santi On The Links
Despite the bad blood and clear trauma that Santi has from Gary’s abuse, he actually embraced his dad.When Santi saw Gary inStickepisode 9, he ran up and hugged him, and the two seemed to have a tender moment as the episode ended. Clearly, Santi doesn’t mind Gary showing up at the eleventh hour, and he’ll probably have an impact on the finale ofStickseason 1.
We can also predict how Gary is going to impact Santi in the finale. We know that Santi had trouble dealing with the dips in his game because of Gary, and he’s only just now figured out how to stay mentally tough while golfing.Gary will probably start yelling at Santi again when he has a bad shot, which could destroy his confidence and lead to an exponentially bad day.
Gary’s Return Is Setting Up Disaster In Stick’s Future
Gary Could Rock Santi’s World Again, Especially If He Loses The ReadySafe Invitational
It’s clear that Gary is probably going to be a bad influence for Santi on the links, but he’s also got the potential to wreck Santi in the real world.Now that Gary is here, it looks likeStickis setting up some disastrous developments for its season 1 finale. He clearly only returned because he heard that Santi had started his professional golf career, and he probably hasn’t changed much.
If Gary does end up stressing Santi out to the point that Santi ends up losing the ReadySafe Invitational, Gary might end up leaving again.
It is possible that Gary worked on himself and is less emotionally abusive now, but the odds are that he’s just as much of a jerk as he ever was.If Gary does end up stressing Santi out to the point that Santi ends up losing the ReadySafe Invitational, Gary might end up leaving again. Santi would be devastated all over again, and that old father wound would rip right open again.
Déjà Vu All Over Again
July 23
Even if Gary does turn out to be a disaster, there’s still a bright spot for the finale ofStickseason 1.Stickhas been setting Pryce up as Santi’s surrogate father all season long. Pryce has already shown himself to be a lot more patient and understanding when Santi’s in a slump, and if Gary leaves but Pryce stays, Santi might accept Pryce as his surrogate dad inStick.
