In Clipped episode 2, "A Blessing and a Curse," V (Cleopatra Coleman) tries to regain favor with Donald Sterling (Ed O’Neill) after receiving notice of Shelly’s (Jacki Weaver) lawsuit in Clipped episode 1. However, when V's reminded that Shelly is the wife and she's the mistress, the level of "disrespect" is intolerable and she goes nuclear, releasing damning audio of Donald making racially disparaging remarks.
Elsewhere, Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne) shapes the Clippers into a championship-contending team.
Here's what happened in Clipped episode 2.
V wants Donald to help with the lawsuit
V and her friend Deja (Yvonna Pearson) are sitting in V's car at a drive-thru. As Deja reads through the lawsuit paperwork, she notes Shelly is alleging V cajoled and cheated her way into getting items from Donald Sterling, which should be classified as marital community property. V is livid, believing everything she received from Donald was a gift and that she did nothing wrong.
Allowing her anger to take over, V darts out of the drive-thru and starts driving to pay Shelly a visit. Deja warns this is a bad idea and eventually convinces her friend to pull over and think, as it wouldn't look good to the judge overseeing V's adoption of her foster children if she gets into a confrontation with Shelly. Instead, Deja directs V to make Donald so afraid of losing her that he persuades Shelly to back down.
After both buying and stealing some lingerie from the mall, V shows up at the Sterling residence and startles Donald while he's on the phone with Doc Rivers. Donald didn't expect to see her and fusses at her for interrupting his call (Doc wasn't paying attention anyway and hangs up). Donald wants to immediately get to the bottom of her visit. V claims she's scared Shelly will take everything, including Donald, from her. Donald reassures her that won't happen.
As V leaves, Shelly spots her car on the property and becomes furious. She takes family photo albums and dumps them into the pool. Donald tries to calm his wife down, but she blasts him for having V around. He tells Shelly she doesn't have to worry about V, she's his girl. Shelly doesn't believe that, as he doesn't stroke her hair anymore and they no longer sleep in the same bed. This prompts them to recall how they met, again feeling warm and fuzzy about one another, they call a truce and end up hugging. The next morning they're by the pool getting a couple's massage.
The "Clippers Curse"
Chris Paul (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and DeAndre Jordan (Sheldon Bailey) are in an arcade when they hear some kids say the Clippers are cursed. The one boy runs down the facts that the team has botched drafts, missing out on Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller and Kobe Bryant. He also notes that any good players they have get injured. The basketball stars dismiss the notion of the curse.
The next day, Doc is having a meeting with the front office bigwigs about the team. He wants to keep things as predictable for the players as possible as it will help with the team's success. Doc mentions his players are creatures of habit and need stability, sharing that Chris has to do everything in threes or he gets nervous, and JJ Redick (Charlie McElveen) has to eat a baked potato at 4:30 or "he can't walk straight."
Doc later goes to the grocery store and runs into Clippers legend Elgin Baylor (Clifton Davis). Elgin admits he's not been watching any of the games in the current season as working for Donald ruined Clippers basketball for him. When Elgin asks how Doc is managing to work for Donald, Doc says he's dealing with him. Elgin doubts that. Before Elgin walks away, Doc asks him to attend a game, but Elgin passes.
Explaining the encounter to LeVar Burton in the sauna, Doc mentions he heard about the Clippers Curse but didn't buy into it until he saw Elgin, who looked as if he had a curse on him. Doc also states Elgin looked at him as if the curse was on him as well. Regardless, Doc is determined to prove the Clippers can win a championship, dispelling any notion the team has bad luck.
Why V leaked the audio
Having reconnected with Shelly, Donald has an assistant from the front office staff text V that she's not be permitted to sit on the floor for that night's game, but she does have box seats in her name. V feels slighted, knowing that likely means Shelly will be arm-in-arm with Donald on the floor. V calls Donald, who doesn't answer. When V shows up at the game hoping to talk her way onto the floor, security quickly stops her, leaving her furious. In her frustration, she sends one of the audio recordings she has to the front office, which leaves Clippers president, Andy Roeser (Kelly AuCoin), in a tizzy the next morning.
Andy goes to the Sterling home and tries to explain to Donald that V sent a damning audio clip to the office, but Donald doesn't want to be bothered by the news. Overhearing the conversation, Shelly takes Andy to the side and gets her hands on the clip, which she plays in her car.
Concerned how the audio could impact the Sterling's reputation, Shelly meets with Pierce O'Donnell (Corbin Bernsen). He's a disgraced attorney but he's good at helping people deal with these sorts of problems. She plays the tape, where Donald can be heard blasting V for taking pictures with minorities. Donald says things like V is a "delicate white or delicate Latina girl" and she shouldn't be placing herself in such a position. V insists she's "Black and Mexican." Donald's adamant he doesn't want her to "hate black people" but rather she "love them privately."
Wanting to help Shelly put this genie back in the bottle, Pierce does some digging into V's background, evening meeting Deja, which freaks her out. When Deja discusses her encounter with Pierce, V also becomes nervous and thinks about her two boys. Deja asks why she just didn't entice Donald to make the lawsuit go away, and V says they don't actually have sex, but are just friends.
Doc rips into the team
The Clippers manage to lose game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs to the Warriors, and Doc is livid. The next day at practice, Doc makes the players scrimmage and he wastes no time tearing into each one. He tells DeAndre that maybe Donald was right and they should have traded him. When it comes to Chris, Doc says he won't win a ring like Lebron James because he doesn't have tough skin. The Clippers' coach even tells Matt Barnes (Sarunas J. Jackson) that it's no wonder his wife left him. Miraculously, the insulting practice turns things around for the team as they win the next two playoff games.
TMZ gets the Donald Sterling audio
Prior to game 3, the team is preparing to get on the bus to go to the Warriors' arena when Vice President of Communications Seth Burton (Rich Sommer) intercepts Doc for a conversation. He shares that TMZ got their hands on a clip involving Donald and V and is preparing to release it. At that point, he assumes it's a pornographic video. Doc doesn't want to be bothered, but does pass along the news to the players who don't want to imagine such a video.
It's not until after the Clippers win the game and the players have disbursed to their hotel rooms that the truth comes to light. As Doc and his coaching staff are reviewing game footage, Seth interrupts and says the audio has officially leaked and suggests Doc listens to it to be brought up to speed.
Episodes of Clipped continue to debut on Hulu on Tuesdays in the US, and on Disney Plus in the UK.
