The Franchise Season 1 Episode 6: Scene 110: Baptism of Fire
The latest episode of The Franchise kicks off with Daniel (Himesh Patel) trying to rally a less-than-enthusiastic crew for the long haul ahead. The team is gearing up for a Fraturday shoot, meaning a Friday night into Saturday morning marathon to film Eric's big fireball scene. As Daniel delivers a pep talk that loses steam as soon as it starts, Bryson (Isaac Powell), wearing an inexplicable eye patch, attempts to ease the tension by offering free Jenga sets as compensation for the grueling hours. It's an odd but oddly fitting gesture for the chaos about to unfold.
Meanwhile, Dag (Lolly Adefope) expresses her excitement about a party on Saturday night, hoping to see Party Man, a mysterious figure who's clearly important in her world. Before any plans can be solidified, Daniel checks his voicemail to hear from his young son, which grounds him for a moment amidst the absurdity of it all. Eric (Daniel Brühl), however, is less concerned with family matters, rushing into his trailer for a mysterious reason, only for Steph (Jessica Hynes) to reveal that he's battling a severe case of the hiccups.
As the crew prepares for the wild night ahead, we get a glimpse into the interpersonal drama brewing between the cast and crew. Peter (Richard E. Grant) reveals to Daniel and Dag that he's struggling with a... persistent problem — an erection that just won’t quit. And when Adam (Billy Magnussen) suggests serenading the team with some upbeat blues from his band Flight Mode to lift spirits, Daniel’s immediate reaction is to stop him before the entire crew turns on Adam for forcing them to endure yet another musical distraction.
Elsewhere, Anita (Aya Cash) and Pat (Darren Goldstein) navigate the murky waters of a press interview while Pat struggles to come up with an appropriate soundbite. His repeated use of the phrase "Sparks will fly" provides some comic relief, but underneath it all, Anita knows Pat’s trying to sabotage the film after Eric’s misstep with China. The tension among the crew continues to grow as Eric walks everyone through the fireball scene, where Peter's character, Eye, will absorb the fireball and undergo a transformation into a full-fledged villain.
While Daniel wrestles with keeping the crew on track, Dag and Steph gossip about sex, revealing Steph’s not-so-secret crush on Rufus (Justin Edwards), her work crush who’s always a little too close for comfort. Meanwhile, Bryson’s overworked and barely-functioning, dealing with his bizarre eye issue after wearing a contact for days. As frustrations boil over, Adam’s frustration with Eric only intensifies when his band’s musical contributions are rejected outright, and he tries to stir the crew into a rebellious frenzy.
Things come to a head when Eric retreats into his trailer, claiming he's "mulling" over the fireball scene. Daniel takes charge, reassuring the crew and making the necessary adjustments to Eric’s constantly evolving script. Amidst the turmoil, it’s clear that Eric’s vision isn’t as solid as he thought, and even the arrival of Christopher Nolan to set doesn’t seem to help Eric’s growing insecurity. Eric's fireball, compared to the massive explosion in Oppenheimer, feels underwhelming, but with a little help from Daniel and the crew, the scene finally gets off the ground.
After some last-minute rewrites, including Peter’s now famously minimal line, “It’s a hot day in Hell, and I’m the Devil,” the fireball scene goes off without a hitch — complete with a ridiculously evil laugh from Peter.
But even after the scene wraps, things don’t settle down. The crew's chaotic energy is nowhere near spent, with a full moon adding an extra layer of tension. Steph kisses Rufus impulsively, and Dag discovers that Party Man has gone home with Breanne instead. The film set winds down, but not without further absurdities — Adam, finally freed from his musical duties, gets to play his guitar (but it’s not the last time he’ll be seen with an instrument). Meanwhile, Daniel learns that Dag is 35 (despite looking much younger), and she and Bryson are left pondering the future of the film, as well as their own personal paths.
In the final moments, Dag’s chance encounter with Christopher Nolan and Tom Cruise in a bizarre Hollywood hitmaker moment offers a strange, dreamlike climax. And Pat, ever the self-promoter, tries (and fails) to get Nolan to direct their next comic book tentpole. The episode closes with Pat’s increasingly absurd attempts to direct himself in the perfect line read — proving that, in this world of chaos, everyone’s just trying to grab a little piece of the spotlight.
The Franchise continues to deliver a hilarious, frenetic look at the madness behind the scenes of movie-making, with an ensemble cast that perfectly captures the bizarre dynamics of a film set that’s about as chaotic as the movies they’re trying to make.
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