'Ballers' Season 2 Finale Review

Image from Screen Rant

By Darian Scalamoni

            Ballers season two has finally come to a close but it’s been a hell of a season, even better than its first. Part of the reason for that has been the expanding likability of many characters but it has to be the hardships that we’ve seen the central protagonist, Spencer Strasmore, deal with on a week to week basis. Spencer had made a $12 million offer to his former boss, Mr. Anderson to buy ASM for himself, but Anderson says no. This leads to a massive freak out for the former linebacker turned financial manager. Anderson then lets Spence know that if he is able to get his grievance lifted with the NFL Players Association and get his credentials, then he wouldn’t have to pay nearly as much and get half of the company.

            From here we see Spencer and his buddy, Joe head to Canton, Ohio as they must meet with the guy who filed the grievance against him in the first place, legendary running back, Eddie George. I’ll start by saying this, George can ACT. The guy had a few moments within this episode where he really shined and it’s clear to say that he’s been the best athlete cameo throughout two seasons of Ballers. He has a true, heart-wrenching emotional monologue in his hotel room contending with Dwayne Johnson explaining why he filed the grievance in the first place. As the viewer soon finds out (and was suspecting), George was one of the players who went in on Strasmore’s bad investment and lost all of his money in the process. Obviously hurt by this engagement, Spence and Joe decide to head to a strip club and loosen up. This leads to a montage of them, along with friends, doing mass amounts of drugs and drinking unbelievable amounts of alcohol whilst eventually getting kicked out of the strip club because of their behavior.

            After their long night of partying, the two financial managers head to check-out of the hotel before Joe convinces Eddie that Spencer had changed since screwing him over years ago. The reason why Eddie changes his mind is what’s the biggest payoff of the whole episode and maybe in the entirety of the season though as we see a great monologue from Dwayne Johnson telling his story of failure to all of rookies at the rookie symposium going on at the hotel. It’s a humbling moment but also one filled with sorrow as you really feel for the guy who seems to never truly get over how badly he messed up some of his friends’ lives. In addition to this, the last image we see of Ballers this season is Strasmore gearing up to have that hip replacement he’s been putting off since a tussle in episode one with Terrell Suggs.

            In terms of the other characters, Ricky Jerret has quickly become my second favorite character in the show behind Spencer. John David Washington’s performance has been so strong this year and his character has grown with great strides. He’s learning that if he ultimately wants to be respected in the league he’s in, then he’s going to have to care more about winning rather than the money. This is an idea his father plants in his head and leads to him getting an offer/audition from the prestigious NFL team, the New England Patriots to play alongside Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, who also make cameos in the season finale. It’s a true showcase of how Ricky is starting to care much more for his legacy over his riches. Once again, massive props to the son of Denzel for stepping up this season in terms of his acting ability. It’s now clear to see that talent runs in the family, similar to how talent runs in his family within the show creating an interesting parallel.

            Charles’ arc over the season hasn’t been as great as Jerret’s. He is told he can’t play anymore but then is hired by Mr. Seifert to work for the Miami Dolphins organization as a scout. He does such a great job at that job that in the finale, he’s offered to be his second-in-command. The only issue here is that Charles is a new father and isn’t spending much time with his family as it is, and now this new position would include travel for months. This will obviously devastate Julie and who knows what could happen in the long run, but we’ll have to find out next season as it leaves us on a cliffhanger.

            All in all, I’m extremely satisfied by this season of Ballers as it brought a dynamic unlike the first season. More stakes and drama were added and secondary characters are starting to really heighten the show to one of the better comedies in television. Also, this finale was pretty damn close to perfect so I’ll be providing it with a great score yet again.

9/10