The tension between Nick and Steve really starts to rise in the hulu The original Welcome to Chippendales episode 5, “Leeches,” and viewers begin to see the extent of Steve’s emotional immaturity. At this point, he can’t stand anyone else getting credit for anything Chippendales related, and Nick uses this to annoy Steve. while we know Steve is the true villain of this story., it’s hard not to sympathize a little with him when it comes to Nick. Here’s our rundown of everything going on at Welcome to Chippendales Episode 5, “Leechs”.
[WARNING: This article contains detailed spoilers regarding Welcome to Chippendales Episode 5, “Leeches.”]
An attempt at a fun snowball fight quickly turns nasty in ‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 4
As the episode opens, we see a tailor altering Steve’s tuxedo. He continues to ask the tailor to make his sleeves shorter, though the tailor thinks it’s a mistake. Nevertheless. we learn it’s because he wants to show off his Rolex. Steve reeks of desperation to look like the owner of a wealthy club, and we learned in episode 1he sees Rolexes as a great status symbol.
When he travels to the Chippendales location in New York, he watches, impressed by everything Nick has prepared. This includes the stage performance, which is Dr. Hunkenstein.
Backstage, Steve congratulates Nick, and Nick quickly reminds him that this is the show he turned down in Los Angeles. Steve says he doesn’t remember, but he can’t seem to take the blow to his ego. Nick gets frustrated and goes out the back, with Steve following. Snow falls from the sky, and Steve watches in almost childish wonder. We take a look at the friendship Steve and Nick could have if they were both not so insistent on being in charge. Nick throws a snowball at Steve and discovers that Steve has never seen snow. A sweet moment unfolds as Nick shows Steve how to make one and explains the basics of a snowball fight.
However, the moment melts as fast as snow. Nick begins relentlessly snowballing a cowering Steve, who keeps begging him to give up. Finally, Steve explodes and pushes Nick against the wall behind him. He tells Nick that he is a bully and quickly walks away.
Chippendales VIP cards lead to lawsuit
Steve returns from New York and we see his and Irene’s luxurious new house and a very pregnant Irene. When she asked him about the new club in New York, Steve’s response immediately hinted at her irrational jealousy.
“Everything is bigger and better than Los Angeles,” he tells her with a groan. Trying to prevent a tantrum before she starts, she replies, “You can’t be jealous of your own club.”
We soon learn that someone is suing the club for racially discriminatory profiling. A man claims that Steve use VIP cards to keep minorities out of the club. Irene, unaware of the VIP cards, asks Steve about them, and he lies to her, saying they don’t exist.
To cover his tracks, Steve immediately goes to the doorman and tells him that the cards never existed. The bouncer criticizes Steve’s made-up story, angering him before storming off.
Of course, we know where this is going.
Later in the episode, an exhausted Irene searches Steve’s drawers for aspirin, where she stumbles upon a stack of supposedly non-existent VIP cards. She immediately confronts Steve, shocked and horrified that the allegations in the lawsuit could be accurate. Angry, Irene tells him that she doesn’t know if it’s worse that she lied about the cards or that she tried to keep minorities out of the club.
Steve makes matters worse by stating that “when people see black people in your club, it doesn’t look fancy to them.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we have the makings of a truly terrible person.
Nick is crowned Mr. Chippendales
Back in New York, Nick takes Denise to an empty office where Bradford is waiting. He explains that he wants this to be the Chippendales’ new headquarters in New York City, but she doesn’t know why they need an office away from the club.
However, a call from a representative for Phil Donahue quickly puts the conversation on hold when Denise answers the phone and learns that Donahue wants the Chippendales on his show. She calls Irene, excited. Steve and Irene celebrate with a kiss, and a short time later, the Los Angeles dancers, along with Steve and Irene, gather to watch the show. Nick, Bradford and Denise are waiting backstage while some of the men perform on stage.
Donahue credits Nick for Chippendales, calling him “Mr. Chippendales. Steve fumes as he watches, and we see Ray looking at Steve, upset that Steve doesn’t get the credit. Steve then rants to Irene, convinced that Nick deliberately asked Donahue to call him Mr. Chippendales.
Nick appears on another news show where the hosts, again, call him Mr. Chippendales, and Steve confronts him on the phone. Nick laughs at Steve, acting like the idea of him correcting people to avoid being called that is ridiculous. They argue and Steve says that he forbids Nick from appearing on national television anymore. Nick doubles up and is in every show he can book.
Back in Los Angeles, Ray irritates Steve and tells him to fight fire with fire. He encourages Steve to run his own press, but it ends in disaster. He just doesn’t have the charisma that Nick has to charm people through his televisions.
On the way home, Ray tries to cheer Steve up, but makes him stop when he sees a club that features male nudity. Steve confronts the owner and claims that the man conned the idea out of him. When Steve tells him that he invented the Chippendales, the man scoffs that he believes that Nick owns the clubs after his appearance on The Merv Griffin Show.
A montage of all the times people were disappointed in him or laughed at him plays in Steve’s head, and he vows to “burn that place to the ground.” Ray tells him that he shouldn’t do that, and Steve says, “You’re right. You’ll make it.
Steve manipulates Ray into thinking he owes him a favor after helping Otis with the calendar in the previous episode. He demands that Ray prove his loyalty to him. Welcome to Chippendales Episode 5 ends with Steve seeing the story about the club burning down on the news. He makes a drink and drinks while he coldly stares at the screen.
Welcome to Chippendales Episodes 1-5 are currently streaming on Hulu.