TV Dad Review: Motorheads Episode 3 (Prime)

When the song “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. comes on it only feels right to start bobbing your head. The episode opens up with a flashback from 17 years earlier as Kelly rides her bike to meet up with Samantha. A helicopter is then seen flying by and this is when we learn that the helicopter is trying to locate the bank robbers. When young Samantha touches her belly, it is evident that she is pregnant with the twins and was hoping to tell Christian this news until she saw him being chased by police cars on tv. Skip ahead to present day and Logan gives Marcel the news about his blown engine after Zac races the Sunfire on that festival evening. Logan offers to strip it down and sell it for parts to which Marcel mournfully agrees. Marcel loved that car.

     Subsequently, Harris is seen browsing on his phone when he encounters a racing video from the night before in Ironwood led by a Pittsburgh crew. He is upset because neither him nor Noah got an invite to race. Noah is tasked with locating the people who put the racing list together because Harris wants to be part of the next race to represent his town.

     Sam takes her kids on a weekend trip to places she used to go to when she was little, including a visit to a custard shop she once loved. Unfortunately, when she drives them to the house she grew up in, she learns that the neighborhood no longer exists and now consists of brand new housing developments. This spoils her day and she decides to drive back home. She finds herself questioning whether she made the right decision to return to Ironwood. Logan convinces her that her return has made Ironwood feel like its old self and thanks her for it.

     Cate and Curt are together once again since they are the ones mainly working on rebuilding the Charger. Curt explains to her that he cannot stay to help her sand the car because he is expected back home for his family’s weekend barbecue. Cate hints that she wants to attend, but Curt doesn’t think it is a good idea given that his parents don’t get along, his brother doesn’t even go, and it’s just an all around sad reminder for him to think about the united family he once had. Cate does not care and is happy to attend either way. Curt is surprised by her answer and allows her to join him. He is later embarrassed by the events that transpire at the barbecue but she still ends up liking his family. When Curt finally has some alone time with Cate, he tries to express how he feels. Just as he says, “I think that we um,” Cate finishes his sentence and says they “are better as friends.” However, it doesn’t seem like that’s what he really wanted to say. It seems as though he only agreed to that because she’s the one that said it first. Will they really continue  to view each other as friends or will they be honest with themselves in the next episode?

     In this episode, Zac spends his time trying to restore the friendship that he had with Marcel because he feels bad that he ruined his Sunfire. Zac doesn’t know how to show him that he is truly sorry for what he did so he takes him to a kart racing track which doesn’t feel safe to them especially since minors aren’t allowed. Still, he hopes that this bonding time will help them forget about what happened with the Sunfire. Surprisingly, it works and Zac promises to make amends. However, Marcel does get hurt behind the wheel so he ends up needing stitches. No longer able to work, Zac offers to cover for him at the diner that evening for movie night. Zac

bumps into Logan there and asks him to restore Marcel’s car at whatever cost because he’s willing to pay for it. Marcel’s friendship means that much to him.

     So far, I really like Marcel in the show. He’s very genuine, but sadly allows people to take advantage of him. He is willing to help others even if it means that he won’t gain anything from it. His father Wade is an alcoholic who humiliates Marcel and doesn’t treat him like a son. Wade can’t get over the loss of his diner where Marcel currently works. Despite being a nerd and constantly grammatically correcting others, I find him to be kind, funny, and a great friend. People just don’t take the time to get to know him to see that he has a warm spirit. It really made me sad to learn that he thinks that he’s just not worth anything for people especially because he knows that his mom, who isn’t a part of his life, feels that way about him. He truly believes that others see him as a temporary friend. I hope I see better things happening for him in the upcoming episodes.

     When Noah arrives at the diner to see Harris, we learn that Noah was able to secure a spot on the race list later that evening with Sideshow. However, they won’t learn of the location for the race until 10:20 pm. A ding to Harris’s cellphone lets us know that he has been given the location of the race which happens to be at a lot in their town. A bunch of people start rushing to the nearby lot to watch the racers make donuts and take over the streets. Even though there is a police station nearby, this doesn’t stop Harris from rushing to the race. In this scene, you can definitely see the love that the community has for racing. Not only is it seen as exhilarating, dangerous, and challenging, it provides the adolescents with a space for socializing. Though not the best way to socialize, this show is called Motorheads after all. Harris is able to showcase his skills at the lot while Noah records from the passenger side. They want their online followers to see what they can do in the streets.

     The episode ends with a flashback of Sam calling Logan during the speed chase. We then find out that during the speed chase, Christian drove the vehicle off of a bridge and fell into the water to avoid getting captured by the police. Ever since then, Christian vanished. Was Christian not able to escape from the vehicle and drowned on scene or did he survive but decided to disappear from the town? Hopefully we are able to uncover the answers to these questions in episode 4. Until next time.

-Lily N.