True Story – Season 1 Episode 5 “Hard Feelings” Recap & Review

Hard Feelings

Episode 5 of True Story begins with Carlton advising against meeting Gene in private. If he blows up the video of Kid online, things could get rough.

Carlton though has his own issues, eventually meeting Savvas and Nikos. They believe a guy called Ray may be responsible for Ari’s death, given he was working with the man. So naturally, the brothers tie him up and squeeze info from him. Unfortunately this leads them to the Four Seasons Hotel, as Ari was bragging about scheming on “some whale.”

Carlton tries to call Ray out as a liar, but to no avail. The brothers kill the man and decide to check the hotel out.

With Billie starting to blow up following a great comedy gig, Todd rings Kid to let him know. Curious, Kid watches the video but he’s not exactly in a laughing mood. That much is especially true when he learns the brothers are on his scent.

So just like we’ve seen across this entire season, Kid flaunts his wealth and lives the lavish lifestyle. This time though it falls to photoshoots and taking Gene out, bringing him into the limelight. Well, temporarily anyway.

During Kid’s comedy routine that night, he turns toward Will, the obnoxious fan from the airplane in episode 1. It turns out he’s a big businessman and Kid lays into him hard, calling out his behaviour and how he loves using the N word.

Unfortunately it also leads to Will getting fired and ruining his life. Gene watches this take place and immediately becomes uncomfortable, especially when Kid shakes off the man’s concerns.

Back at Gene’s apartment, Gene points out that he could ruin Kid’s life with a single button press. Kid though admits he made a mistake and tries to talk him around to granting him a second chance. Eventually he deletes the video, much to Kid’s relief.

Carlton though is concerned. Along with Gene essentially taking his spot by Gene’s side, he’s also concerned about the Greek brothers. They’re checking the cameras at the hotel in the morning and that could see Carlton in hot water.

For now, Carlton heads over to see Gene, finding loads of pictures of Kid in his hotel room. It turns out he actually helped Gene through a dark time, stopping him from hurting himself, courtesy of his motivation. Carlton also hands over Ari’s watch as a gift and leaves, immediately incriminating him for Ari’s death. He phones the Greek brothers and tells them where Gene is hiding out. Killing two birds with one stone?

The Episode Review

True Story continues to pedal its different stories, but it can’t help but throw Kid back in the limelight and see more of his celebrity life. It’s been a recurring motif throughout this season and honestly, it feels a bit much. I get that he’s a celebrity but do we really need to see the photoshoots, the live-stream videos, the constant celeb references etc. It just feels a bit overkill.

However, the story is just starting to get interesting now and with Carlton incriminating Gene, it seems like he’s about to take the blame for Ari’s death. If that’s the case, what does it mean for Kid in all this?