“6th Quarter” capitalizes excellently on the tension of the previous episode, forcing Chad to drive Coach Hudson to the hospital in his Cybertruck. At practice, Ricky hilariously confirms her suspicions by simply pulling Chad’s arm band down. Chad has a meltdown with Danny as Ricky has an emotional scene with her dad in the hospital. The Hudsons talk about Chad, with Hudson seeming to think that Ricky is emotional because of her romantic feelings for Chad. Similarly, Danny encourages Russ to visit his father, which Russ does in order to return the makeup. In a trailer, he and Danny have an emotional scene with Russ’s father, in which Russ is forgiven and encouraged to return to his team as they face Georgia. Gerry is given the chance to be the quarterback, which he cherishes deeply, and Tricia kindly visits Coach Hudson at the hospital. Just before the game, Chad returns and gets into a massive fight with Ricky, who threatens to expose him. He counters, pointing out how exposing him would ruin her father’s career. Chad replaces Gerry, Ricky reluctantly sticks up for him, and the Catfish jog onto the field. 

With “6th Quarter,” Chad Powers delivers another strong episode, not wasting any time with Ricky’s suspicions. Despite the tension, the show still manages to balance hilarious bits and quick lines, notably with Russ’s father’s costume. That said, “6th Quarter” had an impressive grasp on when to be serious, delivering on the hospital scene, the scene with Russ’s father, and especially the fight Russ has with Ricky. The hospital scene was sweet and emotional, if held back a little bit by the misunderstanding trope. The scene with Tricia was surprisingly sweet as well, deepening Tricia’s character and setting up a more compelling relationship between her and Hudson in the future. On this note, “6th Quarter” did a great job with side characters, such as Russ’s father and Gerry. In particular, Gerry’s explosive meltdown and growing resentment for Chad were natural, satisfying, and even set him up as a potential antagonist at some point. 

The highlight of this episode, of course, was the fight between Russ and Ricky. Going into the episode, this show ran the risk of taking the easy way out and having Ricky unrealistically forgive Russ. Thankfully, she slaps him across the face and screams at him in an extremely satisfying moment, with her comment about losing Chad as a friend being surprisingly powerful. Finally, the ultimatum they reached was extremely interesting, shaping their dynamic from a potential romance to a standstill rivalry with a reluctant allegiance. Overall, “6th Quarter” was a great episode of Chad Powers, successfully prioritizing dialogue scenes that put its complex characters in the spotlight. 

Rating: 9/10