The Winners

Saturday night is the first cold night of fall. In the newspaper office, the editor finishes a phone call with the police reporting Tails’s vandalized car. Her father immediately identifies the lie, and the two debate the ethics of publishing a story based on an event they know to be false. She calls Tails to get his story, and Tails is thrown off that the editor has called rather than a less experienced reporter. Over the course of their conversation, she asks about the merger and the accounts. Tails is immediately upset when she mentions the finances, claiming ignorance, and she asks him to find her someone to talk to. She and her father then discuss how money is coming into the club from somewhere uncertain, and how a large amount of money was promised to build a training facility that has not been built. The father warns that this will put people in prison and that the editor must be prepared for that inevitability.

Matteo’s parents return with his sister’s ashes, and he marvels at how small they are. His mother sends him outside to ride bikes with his “school friends,” oblivious to the fact that Matteo has no friends. Matteo found his sister’s diary and now knows the things she suffered before she fled Beartown. It states that she was sexually assaulted but, because she had previously had sex, was not believed. Matteo reflects on everything Maya endured when she came forward about her assault, comparing her life to his sister’s and knowing she would never have gotten justice. He draws a butterfly on the box containing his sister’s ashes before going outside to ride his bike.

The whole town prepares to attend Ramona’s funeral. Benji is given a white tie to wear, symbolizing that he is Ramona’s family. Benji braces himself to see other community members and overhears aggressive comments about his sexuality. He starts to walk away but is stopped by the Pack when they embrace him and welcome him home. They integrate Benji into their group and protect him from others as they get his help carrying chairs into the church.

The fire chief calls Johnny and advises calm following the Beartown fight. He asks Johnny to pick up winter tires from Lev’s people for his wife’s car. Johnny impresses Lev when he does not lock his car upon arrival, and Johnny asks him to look at his van, which has not run well in years. They drink coffee while the mechanic looks at the van, discussing the Pack and their mutual dislike for Peter. Lev does not charge him for the spare parts and tells Johnny to call him if he needs anything. Johnny leaves disheartened that Beartown people have picked a fight with someone.

Kira and Peter struggle to support each other in the emotional intensity of Sunday morning. Kira is on the verge of asking for a divorce, but when he tells her he loves her, she repeats the sentiment, and they go to church holding hands. Ana and Maya walk to church together. They come across Benji and embrace him, then spot Leo smoking a cigarette while hiding. Maya goes to yell at him while the other two start for the church, teasing each other.

Matteo dresses himself for his sister’s funeral, naming her “Ruth” for the first time. They drive to the busy churchyard, where the priest takes them into a side chapel for Ruth’s ceremony. Matteo exits the chapel to cry and sees Leo smoking. Maya arrives, teasing him, and the two enter the church; Matteo takes the cigarette Leo dropped and finishes smoking it.

Peter and Kira arrive at the funeral, where members of the Pack have saved a space for him, to Kira’s consternation. Maya and Leo join them, and Maya gives Peter a white tie. Inside, Peter and Teemu discuss Lev, and Peter marvels at the fact that Teemu is now his ally. Maya writes a song outside the church until Ana arrives with beer.

The editor remains at the office while her father attends the funeral. He gives her a stack of contracts detailing land purchases and rent fees for a nonexistent training facility. The editor tries to decide who is culpable; Peter’s signature is on most of the documents.

Peter talks to old men in the church who compliment him and suggest he take Ramona’s seat on the council. When he thinks he is alone in the church, Peter cries, but realizes Zackell is still there. Zackell’s relationship with Ramona was close to friendship, and Ramona defended her against the men who tried to tell the coach how to do her job. She tells Peter that hockey coaches tend to get fired from their job within five years, and she is approaching her fifth year with Beartown. She then asks him to come look at a player with her tomorrow.

Kira sits in the car, waiting for Peter to come out of the church. Tails gets into the car to offer her the committee position. Kira explodes in confusion and frustration, then realizes that Tails wants her on the committee because he needs a lawyer. He confesses that the local paper is digging into their accounts. He asks to come over to her house to discuss the situation, and she is drawn in against her will when he asks her to keep it a secret.

The father sends the editor three pictures from the funeral: Peter entering the church with Teemu, Peter leaving the church with Zackell, and Tails getting out of Kira’s car.

Kira and Peter discuss their plans for the next day, each of them lying to each other. Kira hides her meeting with Tails, and Peter hides that he hopes his trip with Zackell is a way back into the hockey club.

Because so many people are attending Ramona’s funeral, the Beartown factory calls in employees from Hed to cover shifts. A young woman goes in despite having worked several hours earlier. The machine she works with has a fault that mechanics have not been able to fix due to the storm: The emergency stop button is too far away for someone to press if they are trapped.

Outside the funeral, Amat greets Mumble. Amat asks if they can train together to help him get back into shape, and Mumble agrees. Benji tries to sneak out of the funeral but is spotted by Bobo, who embraces him excitedly and takes him to Amat and Mumble. They walk through the woods until Tess texts Bobo to invite him over; Bobo asks his friends for a favor. Bobo gets his campervan, and the boys all tease him because of its poor condition.

Johnny and Hannah share a moment of intimacy before they are both called back into work. In the Beartown factory, the young woman on the broken machine tries to mend an issue by herself to make sure that her productivity numbers do not decrease; it sucks her in, and she screams. When the firemen appear to cut her free, her brothers tell the firemen that she is pregnant. Her brothers follow her to the hospital, where they start a fight with two Beartown boys on their way to a construction site. Rumors spread after the altercation. The young woman is flown to a larger hospital for surgery and miscarries.

Meanwhile, Tess picks up her younger brothers, who spy on her phone and see that she is texting Bobo. She asks them to keep a secret, and they agree to try.

Bobo arrives outside of Tess’s house to find Ted and Tobias playing hockey on the lawn. Tobias first sees Benji and assumes he is there to fight, but when Amat emerges from the van and Ted is excited, the tension eases. Bobo and Tess go inside to cook dinner while the rest of the boys play hockey. Benji and Tobias slowly bond as they talk about hockey and Ted’s obvious skill. Tobias opens to Benji about how hard it is to grow up as the child of heroes. Made uncomfortable by the emotional vulnerability, Benji starts to teach Tobias how to fight on the ice.

Bobo drives Mumble home after their day of hanging out. Someone sees the van and throws a rock through his apartment window.

Hannah mourns the miscarriage and the argument she had with Tess upon her arrival home. Her neighbor told Hannah about the “party” Tess had that afternoon, and Hannah bribed Ture to tell her the details. When Hannah confronted Tess, she was shocked when Tess argued back. Their fight escalated until Tess left the house. Tobias defends Tess and Bobo.

Amat is dropped off at his apartment; he and Bobo share a moment of nostalgia and regret as hockey fills their minds. Bobo and Benji tease some of the local kids before Tess calls Bobo to pick her up. Benji drives so Bobo can comfort Tess. Bobo gifts the van to Benji when he claims to like it.

Zackell picks up Peter and lets him look over information about the player. Aleksandr, who used to go by a different name, was one of the brightest talents in hockey but struggles to be coached. Peter starts to warn Zackell against recruiting him but realizes that there is no point in trying to talk her out of it.

Tails arrives at work, then sneaks out of the supermarket to go to the Andersson house with the hockey-club accounts.

Peter and Zackell debate whether hockey is a team sport or an individual sport as they drive. She argues that until A-team levels, hockey is individual because the best players are clear and must be supported. Peter is with her today because he is a leader, and Zackell believes he can convince Aleksandr to follow him.

Tails arrives at the Andersson household and presents Kira with the documents, claiming she must know the details of the case to be prepared for any fallout.

The editor and her father sit on the roof of the newspaper office as he smokes a pipe. The editor talks about the things she has learned while working here. Her father warns her about the magnitude of corruption but the necessity of revealing it.

To begin their meeting, Tails shows Kira a video of him interviewing children at the hockey rink. He interviews the young girl named Alicia and tells Kira that she is so good she played with the boys’ team until the mothers complained about her skill.

Peter and Zackell arrive at a hockey rink, where Aleksandr is on the ice and his father is screaming instructions. Zackell reveals hockey equipment and tells Peter to play with Aleksandr, then tells his father to get off the ice. Zackell offers her car if Aleksandr can get past Peter. Peter surprises everyone by having skill and speed, heightening the competitive spirit in Aleksandr. Aleksandr repeatedly fails to get the puck past Peter until Zackell calls him over and tells him to “Play like a total idiot,” describing how mongooses attack cobras to prove her point (399). When he follows her direction, he scores against Peter, and she throws her keys onto the ice.

Tails gets assurance of Kira’s confidentiality before they look over the contracts. Kira discovers that the club is on the verge of financial collapse, then requests the file Tails has held back.

Peter notices Aleksandr’s mother in the stands. Aleksandr’s father looks surprised and angry at her appearance; Peter realizes Zackell must have invited her to watch. Peter and Aleksandr talk about his mother and that he hates his father for having an affair. Peter sympathizes, understanding that Aleksandr’s mother is the one who decides where he plays, not his father. In the parking lot, the mother and Zackell shake hands.

Kira realizes that people associated with the club have been embezzling money, as well as performing fraudulent deals. She studies the contracts and sees how legal behavior slipped into illegality. Tails listed her business as a sponsor even though she denied his earlier request to sponsor, using her name and past associations to make the club look good. She then sees Peter’s signatures on many of the documents, even ones from after he was general manager. Kira storms out of the house in a rage. Tails waits for her return.

Monday, Amat goes running and returns home to play hockey with the children of the Hollow. He runs to Zackell’s and knocks on her door, but she does not answer. He runs to Peter’s house to confess everything.

Maya and Ana return home to find Tails in the kitchen. Amat arrives, intending to apologize to Peter, but finds Maya instead. Maya tells him that Peter is with Zackell looking for a new player, and Amat assumes it is to replace him. He leaves, heartbroken.