The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7 Recap & Ending Explained

The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7: Previously, ‘The Big Door Prize’ focused on Beau’s story who struggled to come to terms with his son, Kolton’s death. He finally realized that the person who was in a relationship with Trina is none other than Jacob. It broke his heart for a moment. But he decided to do right by the son who is still with him (Jacob) instead of holding grudges.

Now the latest episode follows the superstar Giorgio’s story. The previous episode revealed that he is bald but wears a wig in order to present an image of himself. It gave a peek into his emotional struggles and now we see them explored along with his infatuation toward Cass.

*spoilers ahead* 

The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7 Recap:

Episode 7: Giorgio

After spending a night at Giorgio’s (Josh Segarra) house, Hana (Ally Maki) wakes up to a bobble-head next to his bed. He comes into the room and talks about his ambitions to grow his restaurant into something bigger. He asks Hana if she would like to continue dating. She however considered it a one-night-stand and nothing more. Once she walks out, he lies on his bed, feeling empty inside.

Giorgio is clearly craving an emotional connection and we encounter it for the first time. Until now, he seemed only like a playboy trying to woo a married woman. This scene, however, digs deeper into his attention-hungry behavior to realize his unrealized potential as a baseball player & a superstar.

Later at his restaurant, Giorgio scolds his staff members over an embarrassing service. When they share the reasons behind their mistakes, Giorgio preaches the can-do attitude he expects from them. That’s why he keeps legendary sportspersons’ memorabilia around. Then he brings their attention to Cass’s (Gabrielle Dennis) big gala coming up the same night. He wants them to be on their toes for this event. Why? He goes into detail to explain that and makes Trina (Djouliet Amara) awkward about him, sexualising her mother.

Since Cass’s event is about the youth of Deerfield realizing their true potential, Giorgio wants everyone to show their Morpho life-potential cards and act accordingly. An employee shares his result as ‘Gum’ and neither knows what that means. Then, Trina walks up and shares her result as a Gondolier. Turns out, she took one of the empty cards from Jacob and scratched it to write down this potential. Anyhow, Giorgio sends her to the duty to take care of the canals outside.

Back in her house, Cass gets all dolled up in a designer gown. Dusty (Chris O’Dowd) however wears a dark shirt so that he won’t have any stains. He wants the function to gain more attention and not his silly mistake. Cass, on the other hand, cares more about presentation. Still, she does not make him change but asks him to keep his cynicism about the morpho card aside before entering the event. She wants the night to go just perfectly.

Outside the event, Giorgio invites Cass with a grand gesture as always. He tries to make her feel like royalty and sends Dusty to bring some ice for the event. Dusty being Dusty goes out to be helpful. But it was just Giorgio’s way to have Cass for himself for the night. Giorgio sends Gum to give Dusty a ride to the shop.

Dusty recognizes Gum as his past student, Xander (Seoum Tylor Aun) from the European history class. He recalls Xander calling him the best teacher. Xander corrects him calling him rather a ‘favorite teacher’ among the staff since he always had multiple-choice questions. Dusty believes that his lessons matter more than his methods of teaching. Unfortunately, he does not have much to back it up with, since Xander ended up working in Giorgio’s and has no mature plan for his future. Xander rather considers music as his full-time gig. Dusty realizes that Xander isn’t particularly good at that, either. His failure as a teacher (his life potential) starts creeping in.

Anyhow, Dusty reaches the store to meet Jacob, who says that Trina bought it all early for the event. Dusty realizes that he was fooled into leaving the event. He is embarrassed and makes an awkward attempt to mask it. He tries to tell himself that Cass wouldn’t leave him despite Giorgio’s countless attempts. That’s when he starts to have a panic attack. Jacob says that weed helps him with his attacks. He calls his dealer, who happens to be in the store – Xander. The three decide to smoke a joint and get high together.

Meanwhile, Giorgio treats Cass like a princess and shows her the gelato stand he brought in just because she loves it. He shares his personal story of how he’s actually Puerto Rican, how his father left him when he was pretty young and then his step-father took care of him. He emphasizes the importance of chosen family, with the people who choose to step up for you when it is needed. His desperation to have her becomes as clear as day.

Despite all her efforts to bring this event to life, Cass sees that no one is donating. Trina shares a possible confusion about the name – potential funds. She believes people are saving up for their own kids to achieve their potential. Izzy (Crystal Fox) walks in and criticizes Cass as always. She also feels strange that Cass is the one picking the winner. What makes Cass think she is so special? Izzy says that without saying it. Overall, Cass gets triggered by Trina’s disinterest in the event and Izzy’s biting insults toward her ambition.

Cass takes centre stage to inspire people with her vision of their life potential. After her speech, Giorgio plays a clip of his own. However, instead of speaking about the event or its purpose, Giorgio makes it just about himself and keeps bragging. Meanwhile, Father Reuben (Damon Gupton) also arrives at the event and meets Hana for the first time after the night they danced together in her bar. He wanted to stay away from alcohol for a while to not spiral back into alcoholism. Besides, he understands that he is currently a priest and wants to prove himself as an ideal example than a failure.

When they see Giorgio’s video and his desperate cry for attention, Hana reveals that she and Giorgio had sex, after the night of Principal Pat’s wedding, since Giorgio was feeling low. Reuben remembers it as the same night he shared his secret with her, they danced together, and where he felt a strong connection with her. As a result, he now feels betrayed by her. The video also hurts Cass since Giorgio shifted the focus just to himself. Besides, Dusty’s absence from the event hurts her even more.

Back in the store, Dusty, Jacob, and Xander start talking about their anxiety while sharing a blunt. Jacob says that he was with a girl but ended the relationship since things started getting complicated. He does not name Trina. Dusty tells Jacob to not let go of someone if he finds a person he truly wants to be with. That brings Dusty back to thinking about his life and how Cass does not want him around anymore. He is afraid to speak to her about their issues. He believes they possibly can end their relationship.

Dusty reveals that Cass gave a theremin as a gift for his birthday despite knowing that he has no interest in it. While he keeps talking about his feelings about it, Xander asks whether he even tried to play it. He hasn’t. That’s when it dawns upon him that she has always brought him things or gifts to take him out of his comfort zone and explore things beyond his present interests. But he never gave them a chance, just like this theremin.

Back in the gala, no one donates any amount to Cass’s event. They probably believe that the tickets are in themselves a donations for the cause. Cass gets embarrassed and starts panicking. She notices Izzy and gets angry at her for disrespecting her vision. She also realizes that she can’t force people into following a potential against their will. Anyhow, seeing her outburst, Giorgio takes centre stage to donate $500, himself. He invites others to participate. Beau raises his hand and offers money in exchange for one of Giorgio’s prized possessions. Nevertheless, he agrees to sell it just to see the smile on Cass’s face.

Then, others start pitching in, one after the other. Hana offers some money in exchange for Giorgio’s in-house wine fridge. Unfortunately, Reuben leaves the place, deeply hurt by it. Izzy keeps badmouthing Cass’s event and its success. Trina walks up to Izzy and says that her Gondolier result was because she scratched an empty card and wrote it herself. Trina is hurt that Cass even forgot that she got Potter as her result before. Then, Trina and Izzy think the event is a way for Cass to gain a spotlight for herself.

The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7 Ending Explained:

After making the event a success, Cass has a drink with Giorgio. She ruminates over her days in Europe and how much she loved that time. She had to return because she and Dusty wanted to get married. Since Dusty’s mother was sick at the time, she chose to be in Deerfield. While his mother got better, Cass never got a chance to go back to Italy on her own. She regrets that. Giorgio senses her regret and opens up about his feelings for her.

He holds her hand and says how he hasn’t felt like a superstar for a while. Then, he goes up to propose to Cass for a hand in marriage. He even approaches Cass for a kiss. Izzy turns on the lights just then to bring her back to her reality.

Cass returns home to find Dusty working with the theremin. She is hurt that he never came back after going out to get ice. He apologizes for bailing out on him. She says she really needed him there and sweeps the matter under the rug. Unfortunately, that is how it has been for them for a while. They live in fear of losing their marriage.

Giorgio calls Cass right then to say that he could not finish what he wanted to say. She stops him from trying anything like that ever again. While he sinks deeper into his misery, Izzy walks up to the Morpho machine with a baseball bat – determined to destroy it. Right then, Jacob holds the bat to stop her from destroying it.

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The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7 Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia
The Big Door Prize (Season 1) Episode 7 Cast: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Sammy Fourlas, Damon Gupton, Ally Maki, Josh Segarra

Where to watch The Big Door Prize