The Big Door Prize – Season 1 Episode 3 “Jacob” Recap & Review

Jacob

Episode 3 of The Big Door Prize shifts our perspective over to Jacob, who works at the General Store. We jump to when the MORPHO machine shows up, and it catches Jacob off-guard, given he was just outside have a smoke.

Jacob is the one who calibrates the machine, where we get several screens that flash by quickly. The first mentions how the MORPHO butterfly is a symbol of change. The second points out that the company are not liable for anything that occurs through interpreting the cards.

Jacob cycles through the rest at breakneck speed and then uses the machine himself, which spits out the card we saw before reading “Hero”. He scoffs at this, as we fast forward through time to the present timeline.

Jacob’s mother passed away a while back, while Jacob’s father is being unusually friendly with him. Since he called 911 for Principal Pat, everyone is calling him a hero, which Jacob doesn’t particularly like. He grows more and more uncomfortable throughout the day, as all the students keep bringing it up.

In fact, Principal Pat decides (via a facetimed call) that he should take her place and dunk the basketball in her stead. Jacob doesn’t feel like a hero, as he’s experiencing Imposter Syndrome and since his brother and mother have passed away, he’s feeling distracted and distant, even having panic attacks too.

That big dunk in front of the school isn’t going to help, especially since his father is unemployed and is way more psyched than Jacob is for the dunk.

Anyway, the big half-time show goes ahead and everyone arrives ready for the big dunk. Dusty and Cass end up having more little fights as the evening progresses, as Cass reverts back to what she enjoyed before, including spicy food and discussing how Dusty could be more in the future. She’s also pretty eccentric too, getting up and encouraging everyone to chant Kovac’s name, rather than Jacob. Jacob misses the dunk but Cass manages to convince everyone to cheer Kovac’s name all the same.

However, Jacob loses control and heads outside. As he does, Trina follows and kisses him. It would appear they’ve actually been dating for a while, given their dialogue, but we’ll have to wait and see on that front.

Meanwhile, Father Reuben uses the machine after all, despite saying he wouldn’t, and heads out into the street. When he does, he breaks down crying as the card reads “Father”. His laughs turn to sobs, as he drops to his knees.

The Episode Review

This episode, more so than the others this season, really typifies that idea of interpreting one’s card in a positive or negative light. It’s that whole argument about the glass half full once more, and this differing interpretation of what each card may mean, is partly what makes this such a fascinating watch.

Jacob interprets his card as a negative omen for much of the episode, until he confronts the demons of his past, typified by that dunk, and then ends up kissing Trina, which is a whole different kettle of fish right there!

The light bites of humour work surprisingly well too and it’ll be interesting to see who the show decides to follow for the rest of the season. There’s plenty of potential here for extra drama, and given how this one ends, Father Reuben is going to be up next for an exploration of what his card entails.