The NFC & AFC East's Reaction to Week 16

We begin with Wildflower on the front porch, talking to William, one of the trees. Wildflower is rambling about how everything is going wrong for Washington, and that he might lose the crown. He says that he still has some fight, unlike Margaret, and we see a tree stump. Wildflower bids goodbye to the two, and he walks inside.

When he gets inside and turns around, he exclaims, “Oh my!” We see Rocky, sprawled out in the middle of the room, not moving. Wildflower says that they got another sleepy man when Gus steps into the room, and freezes at the sight of his brother. He says his name as he rushes to his side. His voice is somber when he tells Wildflower that Rocky is dead, and he has been murdered. Wildflower remains a bit too upbeat when he says, “A murder? Looks like we got a mystery on our hands… or feet.”

We then jump a few minutes into the future, where every person is gathered around Rocky’s body. Carl and Danny look serious, Frederick looks sick, Bruce and Springsteen look like… Bruce and Springsteen, Wildflower is acting like Wildflower, and Gus looks super pissed. Gus begins by straight-up asking: “Who did this?” He says that no one will leave until answers are found. Wildflower cuts in, saying, in his weird way, that Gus needs to remain calm, which Gus basically ignores, saying he will not be calm. He announces that he will interview every single person to get to the bottom of Rocky’s death.

Bruce and Springsteen begin some banter about resumes for the interview, and the whole exchange feels exactly like the summer episodes. Gus looks tired of the two already. While this is happening, Carl and Danny share a look and they both nod their heads. Wildflower slows down the talking, saying that Gus is acting like he has the crown. Springsteen juts in and says, “This guy talks funny.” Wildflower shoots back, “And you’re a sound sleeper,” which shut him up.

Wildflower asks Gus if he should lead the investigation, but Gus says no, since there were flower petals from that crown found in Rocky’s hands. Springsteen gasps as Wildflower says, “What a twist!” Springsteen remembers that he doesn’t know anyone’s names, and then we move on.

We see Gus walk into the basement, slamming the door and sitting down in front of Frederick. Gus asks what Frederick has done in the past 24 hours, and Frederick hesitates before he recounts the day. We see him lying on the couch, surrounded by beer cans. He rolls over and wakes up to the sound of one of the packs hitting the floor. It is clear by now Frederick is hungover, and he is feeling it. Hard. He whispers to himself, “How many tables did I jump through last night?” He stretches and knocks another pack of drinks onto the ground, and he groans, “Oh god.” He slowly gets himself up, and it’s very, very clear that he is hurting. He slowly gets off of the couch and kicks the previously knocked-over cans, and he groans again as he heads towards the door.

We sneak a peek at what’s behind that door: Carl and Danny, who are having a conversation. They both shut up as Frederick pokes his head through the door, looking awful. Danny sighs and says, “I’ll do it myself,” and storms off. Carl asks what Frederick wants, and he responds that he just woke up, and he had a crazy night. He then asks if anything is going on, and Carl replies, “Nothing, go back to sleep.” Frederick says that’s a good idea, and he turns around, shuts the door, lays back down on the couch, and falls asleep. Carl gives the door a lingering look, and then we cut back to the present.

Gus seems underwhelmed at Frederick’s story and quickly recaps it. Frederick confirms it all, saying that he went upstairs when he heard the commotion. Gus asks if he had any interaction with anyone in the house, and Frederick replies, “Nope! Just interacted with a 24-pack... and your end table.” Gus tells him to get out, and we move on.

Next, Gus is interviewing both Bruce and Springsteen, and he looks tired already. He asks them what they have been up to, and Springsteen begins on a tangent, thinking that this is a job interview. Gus demands that the two ‘morons’ (that’s hurtful) tell him where they have been. Before they do, Springsteen asks to use the bathroom and returns 90 minutes later (keep this in mind). He and Bruce have a quick whispered conversation about how Springsteen pooped in a closet full of Cowboys flannel sheets, and this ticks off Gus even more. He fights to keep his voice steady when he asks him if he crapped in his closet, and Springsteen says no. After all of this, we now see what Bruce and Springsteen were up to.

The two are back in the bedroom, and Bruce is telling Springsteen he can’t go back into a coma. Springsteen thinks he can do it if he shuts his eyes hard enough and gives himself a concussion, but when he tries to do that, it doesn't work. Bruce says that he should be happy his team won, but Springsteen says it’s terrible. They then talk about Adam Gase and his chances to have a job next year, and after a minute, Bruce says it’ll be okay. Springsteen says that nothing is okay since the year has been terrible, and lists off several reasons why. Bruce adds on to say that, “And to think we also have a pandemic,” to which Springsteen replies, “*That’s still happening!?*” (Yes, it still is, sadly.)

We then move back to Gus, fighting off a headache. He recaps what the duo has said, saying that they spend the entire 24 hours making sure Springsteen was up to date on everything. Gus tells the two that they exonerated themselves because they are too dumb to do anything to anyone, and that concludes their interview.

Next up, we have Carl, staring into Gus’s soul, who looks very uncomfortable. Gus tries to tell him some things, but Carl keeps replying, “No.” He then cuts to the chase and says that since Carl has said that he was going to kill Rocky, he is the prime suspect. He straight-up asks him, “Did you kill him?” and Carl gives a very even, “No.”

We then jump back to what Carl has been doing, which starts with the conversation between him and Danny. Carl is trying to tell him that if he is going to do 'it’ (kill Rocky) he has to do it now. Danny says that it would be easier if he helped, but Carl replies that he has to focus on his family. Danny replies that, “Dad was your family too,” and Carl shoots back, “Barely.” Then Frederick opens the door and the whole previous exchange happens. Carl opens the door to see Frederick lying on the couch, already asleep. He slowly walks in and notices the crown laying on the ground. He slowly picks it up and gives it a look, and then glances over to Frederick. Gently, he places the crown on the AFC East king’s head and steps back. He says quietly, “It’s your turn now,” and it seems that the passing of the torch is complete.

When we move back to the present, we see Gus is giving into Carl, acknowledging that he won’t tell him anything. Gus calls for Danny, and we cut to him, standing in the living room, staring at Rocky. He is just about to move in to get a closer look when Carl comes up the stairs. Carl gets straight to the point and says, “You need to get out of here.” Danny says that he can’t because something doesn’t feel right. Carl says that Rocky is dead and that Danny was successful. But, Danny drops a bombshell when he says, “Carl, I didn’t do this.”

Carl becomes confused, and then we cut to see Danny’s point of view for the past day. He is in the kitchen, prepping the lighter. After he is ready, he walks into the living room to see Rocky, and with a small smirk on his face, he says, “You gonna make this easy?” (Tom's dog makes a cameo here). Rocky’s back is facing Danny, and he doesn’t respond. Danny says that he’s talking to him, and Rocky slowly turns around with a maniacal grin on his face. He says, “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… you’re gonna die, just like Daddy.” He sounds absolutely insane. Danny scoffs, and Rocky replies, “You won’t be laughing soon.” Danny says that he is going to enjoy this, and then we smash-cut back to the present, hearing the sound of a thud.

Danny recalls “That’s the last thing I remember. When I woke up, he was dead.” He seems pretty shaken up about the experience. Carl seems to take it all in when he says that all he knows is that Rocky is dead and that the NFC brothers are pretty upset about it, so Danny should leave. Danny says that he isn’t going anywhere because there’s more to the story.

Now, we cut to see Wildflower facing off with Gus in the basement. Wildflower asks him, “How does it feel to be so close to the crown?” Gus ignores the question and tries to steer the conversation towards what Wildflower was doing, but he asks Gus what he was doing. Gus ignores him again, saying the flower petals were found in Rocky’s hand, and that Wildflower needs to explain. Wildflower just says that Gus needs to be careful and that the motive of Rocky playing Wildflower next week is irrelevant, since he has several more motives than that, and for Gus, too. "The Castles we build in the sand always wash away with the tide" exclaims Wildflower, and Gus cuts to his story.

He begins explaining what he was doing. We then see Gus, staring in the mirror, asking for help, answers, and guidance. We see Scooter Magruder in the mirror, and he is talking in parts, leaving everything vague, saying that the season might be over, or it must just be beginning. This starts off a chain of scenes where we jump back and forth between a couple of different rooms and a couple of different times, so stick with me.

We’re back at the present, and Carl is in the living room, leaning in for a closer look at Rocky. You can see the gears turning in his head… he’s trying to figure out the mystery. We cut back to Gus in the bathroom, opening the door, and looking surprised at what is behind it. Then it’s Carl again, and he’s kneeling over Rocky. Back to the bathroom, and it’s Rocky standing behind the door, with a dead look in his eyes. Gus whispers, “Rocky?” His brother says back, with a hollow voice, “I have an idea.”

We’re back in the living room, tight on Rocky’s dead face. Except… is he dead? Carl is almost touching him when Rocky opens his eyes and pulls a knife out. He rolls over and stabs Carl. He stumbles back, losing his breath, trying to get away from Rocky. He can only watch in pain as Rocky rises up and rolls his head, very much like a certain someone from Coach. Knife in hand, he plays with it as he turns toward Carl.

Then we cut to Wildflower, who wonders aloud at what the commotion is upstairs. Gus, looking smug, pulls out a gun and points it at his own brother, saying, “New beginnings.” Wildflower looks at the gun, his expression not changing.

We cut back to Carl, who is breathing heavily and shaking, clearly in a lot of pain. He is seeming to try to keep his face expressionless as Rocky, still tooling around with the knife, kneels down in front of him. The two stare at each other, the tension palpable. Voice shaking, Carl mutters, “You gonna say some stupid one-liner?” Rocky replies, “No,” and plunges the knife into Carl again. Helplessly, he loses his breath as the knife is shoved into his chest. We hear his quiet, shaking breaths as Rocky smiles from the work he has done.

Behind him, Wildflower walks out, hands in the air. He looks over at the two, and his hands drop when he realizes what is happening. He exclaims, “What are you doing, man?” Rocky’s smile broadens as he turns to face Wildflower, and he says hey. Gus, who is still pointing the gun at him, orders Wildflower to pick up his sword. Carl seems to understand what is happening now. Wildflower whips around, confused. Gus demands him to do it, and Wildflower obliges, unsheathing his sharp stick. Gus checks to make sure Rocky is done, and then yells, “Help! Wildflower’s gone crazy! He stabbed Carl!” Wildflower is still in disbelief, and we cut back a few weeks when Rocky ran away. He took off the crown… and took some petals with him as he ran. This dawns on Wildflower as we jump back to the present. Rocky turns around and says, “Bye Carl,” and leaves. Gus continues yelling, “He killed Rocky, too! I just caught him trying to dispose the body.” Then he whispers, “And now I take your crown.” And, the episode ends there, leaving only the finale left.

p.s. if it wasn't obvious: Gus and Rocky conspired to fake Rocky's death in order to frame Wildflower and kill Carl.