Breaking Down Season 6, Episode 3 Of “The League”: Height Supremacy

======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====

With the NFL season in full swing and Russell on board as the eighth member, the group was able to put the death of Ted behind them once and for all. The episode picked up where last week left off with Ruxin receiving punishment for his antics on the baseball diamond. Ruxin gets shipped off to Korea for a legal case, as the group back home has to deal with Jenny the height supremacist, Andre the apologetic, and Taco the budding entrepreneur. Darren Sproles and Mark Cuban guest star in this fast-paced and funny episode. Let’s break it all down. As always, if you haven’t watched this week’s episode, this entire article is one giant spoiler.

Jenny The Height Supremacist

The main storyline that drove most of the action throughout the episode was Jenny’s height supremacy. We learn early in the episode that she picks her fantasy football lineup based on height, as she starts Vincent Jackson instead of Darren Sproles. This leads the group to start calling her a height supremacist, which she spends the rest of the episode trying to defend herself against, failing every time. Kevin takes Jenny to a Chicago Bar Association event to meet his new boss, the district attorney, Mr. Lipscum (that name provided a good 30 seconds of banter between husband and wife). Jenny wrongly assumes the waiter is Mr. Lipscum because of how tall he is. She then tries to back out of it by saying he looks tall like a D.A., which only makes things worse and causes Lipscum to storm off. Jenny tries to save herself by having her daughter, Ellie, film a video inviting Darren Sproles to her school dance (Lipscum is a big Eagles fan). Darren agrees to do it, but Jenny inevitably ends up offending Darren and Lipscum when Darren goes to get a drink at the water fountain and Jenny tells him he has to use the kids’ fountain, but won’t say why (Andre had just peed in the big kids’ fountain).

My Take: According to Wikipedia, height supremacy is a very real thing. Tall people make higher wages, are perceived as more attractive, and are more likely to become CEO of a business (only three percent of CEOs are below 5-foot-7). It sounds like this is a very real issue in America. The state of Michigan even has legislation in place to prevent height discrimination. It’s nice to see “The League” taking a stand on important social issues. Next week on “The League,” the group deals with issues of domestic abuse, child abuse, and drug abuse. Oh, sorry–wrong league. That’s the National Football League, not the television show about a fictional fantasy football league.

Taco Corp Expansion

While the episode largely focused on Jenny, the funniest moments came from Taco and his efforts to expand Taco Corp. He opens the episode by trying to get into the real estate game with a handwritten flyer that says “I Buy Houses.” The group appropriately makes fun of Taco, but Pete, realizing the only way to get a raise at work is to present a competing offer, asks Taco to give him a job offer for $150,000. This leads to a hilarious scene where Taco interviews Pete in alternating locations going from his RV (the board room) to his trailer (the EBDB kiosk). Taco also drops a quote from his new friend, Mark from Cuba (stay tuned). Eventually, Pete just tells Taco he will draw up the offer and have Taco sign it. Pete gets his raise at work and then tells Taco that he is rejecting his job offer, which Taco does not take kindly despite the fact he was never going to be able to pay Pete $150K. At the end of the episode, we learn that Taco has officially sold his EBDB business for $1.1 million to Mark from Cuba. For those of you unfamiliar with the EBDB, here is a good synopsis. The group is shocked that anyone would buy EBDB until Taco opens his RV door, revealing a TV screen with Mark Cuban on it. Mark sees EBDB as a radical, new platform in the social media space, and he wants to incubate it. Pete is devastated to miss out on a big payday.

My Take: Taco once again proves to be the only member of the league capable of making it big. After selling DallasCowboys.com to Jerry Jones a few seasons ago, Taco has come back with another big win, selling EBDB to Mark Cuban. I have to imagine Taco now has the highest net worth of any member of the league despite being the highest member of the league. If life success translates into fantasy football success, then consider this a big week for Taco. I cannot wait to see what he does with all his new money. Maybe this will be a turning point for Taco getting his life together. That would be the ultimate screw you to the rest of the league, who have long treated Taco like someone with a mental disability (deservingly so).

Ruxin In Korea

The opening scene of the episode has the four guys in Ruxin’s apartment as he packs a suitcase. After Ruxin’s stunt on the baseball diamond last episode, his boss decides to send him to Korea. One of their clients is the company behind the ferry that tipped over, killing hundreds. Ruxin has to prove that the ferry tipped over because all of the passengers ran to one side of the ferry at the same time. His argument? They were running to look at the still-missing Malaysian Airliner that crashed. This turn of events leads to Ruxin appearing via iPad or laptop for the rest of the episode.

My Take: Ruxin’s trip to Asia leads to some pretty hilarious Asian humor that is rarely seen on “The League.” In fact, the only minorities who ever appear on the show are when NFL players guest star (and Ruxin’s Latina wife). I’m actually surprised no one has pointed this out before. Anyway, jokes about Ruxin not understanding the language, people yelling all the time, and Asian work ethic are all touched on while Ruxin is abroad. I assume Ruxin will be back stateside next week, but it was fun having him appear virtually for an episode.

Andre’s Self-Punishment

Also in the first scene of the episode, Andre comes in apologizing to the guys for being in cahoots with Jay Glazer, and he says he is ready to take his punishment. The group refuses to let Andre off the hook so easily. They plot to give Andre a “ghost punishment,” with the idea being that wondering what the punishment will be and when it will come is worse than actually giving him a punishment. Andre spends the whole episode fearful that his punishment will strike at any moment. At one point, he refuses to pee for so long, out of fear of what will happen in the bathroom, that he gets a UTI. Eventually, he tries to take matters into his own hands by dressing up in drag as Andrea and showing up at the bar. The group informs Andre that he cannot pick his own punishment and Andre storms out of the bar, breaking a heel along the way.

My Take: I love the idea of a phantom punishment. Andre was afraid for his life the whole episode. I doubt the group keeps this up, but it was fun watching Andre squirm. I still wish Andre had continued his streak of having the upper hand. It shook things up for a show that has largely followed the same formula for the last six years. The show is just as funny as ever, but it has become a bit repetitive and it feels like the writers are continually trying to outdo themselves with the ridiculousness of the jokes and scenarios. This episode definitely moved along with a faster pace and kept the laughs coming, but introducing a new character or a major character change might mix things up a bit and keep the show fresh.

Best One-Liners Of The Episode

• “I could be the Rudy for this sad sack office of losers.” – Pete trying to get a raise from his boss
• “Dickhead boss Heisman’d my attempt for a raise. I swear, I think he’s trying to franchise tag me.” / “You think you deserve to be paid the average of the top five people at your position?” / “That’s a good point.” – Pete and Kevin discussing Pete’s attempt to ask for a raise
• “I get that you guys are skeptical. When Steve Jobs invented the first job, everyone thought he was an idiot, but today, everyone has jobs, and look how well Steve Jobs is doing.” – Taco explaining to the group a new idea for Taco Corp
• “It’s like my good friend Mark from Cuba says, ‘How you do the small things is how you do everything.’ ” – Taco talking about a friend who turns out to be Mark Cuban
• “Where do you see yourself, five years in the past?” – Taco interviewing Pete for a job at Taco Corp
• “Come on, Adolf Heightler.” – Kevin to Jenny, the height supremacist
• “It’s a shitstorm horrorscape.” – Ruxin describing Korea
• “His name is Mr. O. He’s either the president of the company or he may be my assistant. I can’t tell. Everybody just screams all the time.” – Ruxin describing one of his coworkers in Korea
• “I think I had fish and soy milk for breakfast and this is more disgusting.” – Ruxin describing Andre dressed in drag
• “The Seahawks have Beast Mode and we have Yeast Mode.” – Kevin describing Andre after he got a UTI

Power Rankings (Previous Week In Parentheses)

1. (3) Pete – Pete makes a big jump in the rankings this week after successfully negotiating a raise at work. He did miss out on making it big with Taco Corp, but a victory is a victory.
2. (4) Taco – Talk about hitting it big. Taco selling EBDB to Mark Cuban for $1.1 million is probably the most successful thing anyone on this show has done. Does that translate to fantasy football success? Only time will tell.
3. (1) Andre – Andre dressing in drag in an effort to punish himself was the tipping point for me. I can’t keep him in the top spot after that stunt. This may be the beginning of the end for Andre.
4. (2) Jenny – Jenny lost her weekly matchup to Russell and was exposed as a height supremacist. That’s two strikes in one week.
5. (5) Ruxin – Ruxin continues to get shit on, as he is shipped off to Korea after he is exposed for encouraging Baby Geoffrey to juice on the baseball diamond.
6. (6) Kevin – Kevin is still not catching any breaks. This week, it was Jenny’s height supremacy that ended up screwing him over at work.

Prediction to win the Shiva: Pete
Prediction to win the Sacko: Kevin

Previous Recaps

Episode 1
Episode 2

16

Respond

Email this to a friend

Hey, I saw this on Post Grad Problems. Check it out.

CharleyFinance

Charley was born and raised in Chicago, and while he has been blessed to witness six NBA Championships and two Stanley Cups, he really wants that Super Bowl and World Series.

• @charleyfinance