Initial thoughts on Game Changers: S01E02 – Dusters

Following on from my thoughts on the first episode…

Nick: still the greatest thing in this show by a country mile. No matter how funny Bombay’s lines are, this kid kills it.

The Don’t Bothers’ first game is against The Cardinals, the first opponent for District 5 under their new branding as Ducks in D1.

The Wrap-Around podcaster is awesome. So’s her dad.

Bombay had some proper laugh out loud lines. “That wasn’t even the darkest thing I did that day.”

(Also, Gordon, did you drink? Do we need to talk?)

(Also-also, Bombay loves fire.)

I see beach balls on the ice. Where’s Coach Stansson?

Speculation

Ok, if you’re not familiar with Cobra Kai… seriously, what’s wrong with you. If you’ve been on this site before Game Changers, then you’re the right age. Go fucking watch it.

Did you watch? Ok, good.

Right. So, we’ve seen which old Ducks are officially attached to this series. Someone is copiously absent. Someone super important. Someone who was in all three movies. Someone whose head disappeared up his own ass in D3. Someone who was once the heart of the team, and billions* of fanficcers have theorised would be utterly lost without hockey. And someone, let’s be real here, who still has the acting chops.

(*Ok, like, eight of us. But don’t quibble. It’s childish.)

Where is Charlie?

You watched, Cobra Kai, right? Same thing.

I think the big reveal of Season 1 is going to be that kid with the floppy hair is not the main coach of the Ducks, he’s just the assistant. Who’s the main coach? Charlie Conway, that’s who.

Sure, Bombay could hate hockey because of his truncated career in the minors that went nowhere thanks to that knee injury. But he was still coaching at that point. He still loved it in D2. And by D3, he was made Ambassador of the Junior Goodwill Games. Maybe that’s not directly hockey-related, but he was still involved – and by the same token, if he wasn’t so attached to hockey at that point, how could he get burned by it?

I mean, sure, this theory will probably be debunked. Maybe even on the reunion episode, where Charlie is a surprise guest.

But seriously, wouldn’t Bombay’s favourite, his surrogate son, turning into Coach Reilly, be a great motivation for Bombay’s hatred of hockey?

PLEASE. I don’t ask for much. I knew D4 wouldn’t happen. I didn’t even think this show would happen. But please please let me be right about this.