It felt like I had to wait such a long time for the newest season of Shorsey, but I’ll tell you what, they are consistent with their releases. Practically a year on the dot every year for all five seasons. I’m just impatient.
But, word on the street is that it may be the last season. At least that’s what one of my friends has heard. Though no news of a renewal yet makes it seem like that is a possibility even with all eyes on hockey for very different reasons thanks to Keeso’s creative buddy, Jacob Tierney. I’ll still keep my hopes up for now. With just six episodes a season, it’s always hard for me to believe that they will tell a worthwhile story, but I’ve come to the realization that the stories are usually simple. Something able to digest in just under three hours total. Maybe that was the inspiration for the first episode, aptly titled “Keep It Simple.”
Now of course that translates to hockey terms, but still. Shorsey solicites this advice to last year’s junior hockey star, Jack, whose having a bit of a rough go. The advice is to make people remember you, mess people up, and score some goals. I don’t think he’s wrong when he says that people play hockey to score goals. It wouldn’t be a good story arc if Shorsey doesn’t circle back to his own advice at the end of the season, but don’t worry, this is good storytelling. After a win with Jack, he’s treated to a loss when he learns that the NOSHO has folded due to a lack of teams.
Though a lot more time could have been spent with Shorsey aimlessly trying to cope with this loss, instead it works out that there is European team trying to say North American hockey isn’t tough anymore. It sparks the fire in all the right people, so Nat gets a game set up, only it ends up being played at an outside rink, which lent itself to a fun dose of nostalgia. Back to their roots. But in order to beat this monster of a European team, it means they need to recruit all of North American’s best players. They come together regardless of past beefs in the single goal to show these Europeans what’s what.
As someone who doesn’t like or care about hockey, I always find the scenes of the team interacting together off the ice to be the most entertaining, and this band of weirdos together is no different. Shorsey keeps harping on creating “a winning culture,” but my goodness do the effects really work. Some of these guys made me cackle, but at the end of the day, they are all good dudes trying their best. I can’t quite decide where I would rank this season of the show, but the plot was fresh and as always, was accompanied by some killer music. I really hope this isn’t the end, but if it is, it was still a good ride.