WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Young Rock Episode 5, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
NBC’s Young Rock has really shown us a side of Dwayne Johnson we didn’t expect, not just touching on the happy-go-lucky days of his youth. Sure, we’re getting insight into him learning about the wrestling business and entertainment in general from his dad, Rocky Johnson, but it goes past the gimmick as 15-year-old “Dewey” in 1987 was experiencing serious trouble as a criminal who loved shoplifting.
In “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” we finally discover the impetus for Dwayne leaving the small-time crime behind and it all has to do with the person he loves most: his mom, Ata (Stacey Leilua).
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Dwayne finds himself in trouble after knocking out a bully in school. As such, he’s suspended, drawing the ire of Ata who wants him to change, and who’s feeling the pressure of parenthood now that Rocky’s on the road more trying to make ends meet.
Dwayne, though, is superficial as ever and wants fine things to make the cosmetic Karen feel good. After all, she’s the most popular girl in school and really into him, so he wants to impress her at a double date with his best friend, Gabe, and her bestie, Stephanie. The problem is, after he storms off a bus and tries to get jewelry at the mall, his mother marches in after him, scolding and embarrassing him. She bans him from the date and decides to take him to the Tampa mansion she works at so he can work and learn respect too.
Sadly, Dwayne does the total opposite, and when Ata gets home she finds all the stuff he’s been stealing from the mall since the start of the season, including Girbaud jeans under his bed. Now, she finally realizes where he’s getting all his gear, but the real shocker is that she locates a purse stolen from Diane’s home. Ata takes it to try to place it back but Diane catches her, inspiring a motherly conversation. The rich woman surprisingly isn’t angry as she knows the Johnsons are good people who’ve fallen on hard times.
It leads to one last confrontation where Ata shows Dwayne the error of his ways, ashamed and broken. Dwayne admits that he needs nice things, informing how he tries so hard in college later on, but after Ata reveals that she could have lost her job, he comes around and donates all his loot.
They eventually spend a night bonding, singing and eating Chinese food like the old days, with Dwayne standing up Karen. Here, he vows to make Ata proud, with the episode concluding with his real mom phoning in on the campaign trail to admit how thankful she was that he moved past the mistakes.
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa and John Tui, Young Rock airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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