The NFC & AFC East's Reaction to Week 15

We open up on Frederick, who is dancing in the snow, celebrating the Bills winning the AFC East. He sets up a table in the front yard and jumps through it, beaming the entire time.

After that, we cut to the NFC brothers, sitting around a table. Wildflower looks comfortable, Gus has a bloody napkin shoved in his nose after Carl broke it last episode, Rocky is acting completely and utterly insane (hey, you did trade Carson Wentz!), and Bruce is just shaking his head. Wildflower announces that a family meeting has begun, and the conversation begins.

Gus is acting all high and mighty after being placed second in the division, and Bruce tries to put him in his place. Wildflower remarks that the anger monkeys are out again and Gus presents himself as his right-hand man. Wildflower says that he prefers the left side, but then says, “Go with feet… I’ve always preferred feet over hands… this guy knows what I’m talking about.” He looks directly at the camera when he says this, and I think he’s talking to us (let’s get some feet in the chat!). Gus tries again to present himself as the left-foot man for Wildflower, but he cuts him off. Gus asks for some backup from his other two brothers, but they both give him the finger.

Wildflower finally cuts to the chase and says he brought everyone together so he could apologize. Bruce and Gus wonder if the apology was for the events of the last episode, but no, it’s for Wildflower’s jersey, because it still has the remnants of Wildflower’s past self on it (the name ‘Redskins’ is still visible). To fix this, he places a clear piece of scotch tape over it, saying the problem has been rectified, and the family meeting is over. Bruce cuts in, asking: “Has anyone gonna talk about the fact that Rocky is literally possessed?” Rocky screeches in the most high-pitched demonic way possible. Wildflower and Bruce then go back and forth about filling out forms for topics at the meetings. But, Wildflower drops another of his iconic lines, “A pigeon without a briefcase is just a bird.” This leads to confusion around the table, and the scene ends.

Carl is found sitting downstairs, looking depressed. We then see the Dolphins fan walk slowly down the stairs, and tells Carl that he’s ready to, “Take care of this Eagles guy.” Carl responds with, “I’m not in the mood, Danny,” giving the first official that the Dolphins fan is, in fact, Danny. The two then have a conversation about how Danny was brought there to take care of Rocky, but Carl won’t help because he’s too distraught over the season and the future of the Patriots. He doesn’t want to be like everyone else. He’s been fighting the truth that he might have to go back and be mediocre again.

Danny argues that the Dolphins have only had a winning record twice in the past decade, and Carl snaps back, “I guess Florida is just doing so great now, isn’t it?” He’s referencing Brady and the Bucs here, as well. He goes on to say that the Falcons choking away games was the thing that Tom (Brady) and himself did. He wonders how Tom could do that to him. Danny tries to cheer Carl up by saying, “It’s not the end of the world,” but Carl shoots back, “Not the end of your world.” (I love that line so much!) He begins reminiscing about Seattle and the one-yard-line, and all the other memories.

Taking off his ring, he talks about building a life with someone and having it all crash down. He moves on to talk about Frederick and his kingship, and his voice cracks before saying, “They used to fear me. They feared me, and it kept us together. Now that they don’t fear me anymore… what’s to say they don’t leave me, too?” After a moment of silence, Danny says that all he is there to do is kill Rocky, and that is what he is going to do. He storms out, but not before Carl stops him when he reminds him to use a barbecue lighter instead of matchsticks. Danny thanks him, and the scene ends.

We move to Bruce, who is walking into Springsteen’s bedroom. He turns to face the bed when he realizes something: Springsteen is missing. He looks through the room and then busts out the door. He runs down the hall to find Carl still in the same spot, and he sounds terrified when he yells that, “Springsteen is gone!” Carl wastes no time when he leaps off the couch and tears into the kitchen, where Gus is sitting, carefully taking out the napkins from his broken nose. He looks up to see Carl screaming, “Where is he!?” Gus gives out the… manliest… scream I’ve ever heard, and Carl jumps on him and starts punching, yelling, “Where… is… he?” Gus shakily says back, “I… I don’t know!”

Bruce walks in and Carl asks him to find Wildflower’s sword so he can interrogate Gus. Gus shrieks again as Bruce turns to look out the window. He freezes and stares. He slowly says, “Carl?” as he lays another punch on Gus. Bruce calls out for Carl again, and he finally listens, looking over to Bruce, who points out the window and says, “Look.” Carl looks over and stares, slowly getting up. We then cut to what they are both looking at: Springsteen, alive and well, sitting on the porch, holding the urn that Joe’s ashes are in.

The moment is broken when Gus, shaking on the floor, calls Carl a monster. Carl tells him to shut up, and then asks him if he's afraid of him. Gus replies that of course he is, and Carl is reaffirmed by the statement and thanks him for it. All the while, Bruce slowly walked towards Springsteen, opening and shutting the door-wall, not taking his eyes off his ‘brother’. After a moment, he says, “Hello, I am Bruce.” Springsteen sniffs from crying and slowly turns to look at Bruce. They have a long, long look. You can feel the history between these two, the connection that they share. Springsteen says, “And I am Springsteen,” his voice thick with emotion.

Bruce smiles for the first time in a long time. We then jump to a few minutes later, where Springsteen is explaining everything that happened with him, including the time with Joe on the beach. Bruce remarks that he missed a lot. Springsteen, naive as he is, says that the Jets still have the #1 draft pick, but Bruce breaks the news that they don’t anymore, because of the Jaguars. Springsteen considers this for a moment and then asks Bruce to grab the car keys and hit him again, because he’s a pro at it by this point.

Suddenly, Frederick meanders around the corner, still giddy about the Bills. He looks up at the porch to see Springsteen, and he says his name in disbelief. However, Springsteen starts ripping on Frederick and the Bills, calling them pieces of garbage. Bruce tells Springsteen, sadly, that the Bills won the division, and Frederick points at his crown. Springsteen then gets confused and then terrified, and the episode ends there.