GayTV Recap: The Big Leap (Episode 1x3)

Episode 3 of the new FOX series The Big Leap put some focus on one of the show's main gay characters, Justin (played by Raymond Cham Jr.). The ragtag group of reality show contestants learned from their coaches, Monica & Wayne (played by Kevin Daniels), that they would be taking a trip to Chicago to see a real ballet performance, which would be followed by their live rehearsal to be judged by the ballet's professional dancers. This was followed by reality show producer Nick (played by Scott Foley) conducting individual on-camera interviews with the dancers, including Justin.  

Nick listened as Justin explained that he was confident as an amateur dancer, but he admitted he was nothing compared to actual dance professionals, especially ballet dancers. Nick quickly steered the conversation to Justin's past, looking to get to the bottom of his confidence issues. He asked about his estrangement from his family. Justin reluctantly mentioned his father kicking him out of the house when he came out and his mother's death. Nick probed for more but Justin cut things off and walked away. Left alone with his assistnat Alan, Nick ordered him to find Justin's father so they could bust open Justin's mysterious past for the cameras. 

This led Nick and the cameras to Justin's brother and his father Earl (played by Robert Ray Wisdom). Earl disputed that he kicked Justin out for being gay and explained how Justin interrupted a football game that Earl and his other sons were enjoying because he wanted to tell him something. They talked about the importance of the game, sharing their intense fandom, as Nick claimed to understand and figured they circled back to Justin's homosexuality and Earl's support after the game, but Earl said he didn't want to talk about anyone's sexuality. Nick then invited Earl to Chicago to surprise Justin, lying that Justin really wanted to see him. Earl was surprised to hear that and further enticed when Nick mentioned football player Reggie was also part of the show and would be there. 

Meanwhile, the reality show dancers prepared to leave for the trip, boarding a large, branded bus. Justin boarded the bus right behind his fellow gay dancer Simon (played by Adam Kaplan). Justin remarked that they were only going on a two-day trip, as he saw how much clothes Simon had brought aboard the bus. He told Justin that he needed options for all of his moods. Justin playfully asked how many moods he had. Simon told him there were seven and he listed them, leading Justin to laugh before going to sit with his best friend, and fellow contestant, Gabby. 

Later in Chicago, the group headed to the ballet. Justin handed Gabby her ticket outside the venue, where she told him about sharing a moment with Reggie (played by Ser'Darius Blain) that had potential sparks. He encouraged her to take a chance with him but she revealed that it was useless now that Reggie was under the spell of fellow contestant Brittney and she didn't measure up. Simon joined them, apologizing for his twin sister Brittney's behavior towards Gabby. He & Justin then shared compliments over their outfits for the ballet. Justin wondered what his mood was with this outfit. Simon said it was slay, of course.

After the ballet, the group of contestants were informed by the coaches that one of them would be going home immediately for lying about something major. They learned that Claude was in the country illegally, sending him packing. Given that he was playing the prince in the group's upcoming Swan Lake production, it left the part unclaimed. Gabby was the understudy and Justin pointed out that it would go to her then. Monica quickly shut that down, saying that Justin would be playing the prince instead, shocking both of them.

Justin pointed out that he couldn't perform the lead part of the prince because he didn't know the choreography and couldn't do it. Monica disputed that, saying he was the best dancer in the group now. A furious Gabby called out Monica for passing her over on purpose and she stormed away. Justin told Monica again that he couldn't do it, but she said he would learn it with her help. She called Simon to join them, given that Simon was assigned the role of the Black Swan, making them partners now.

Gabby ran off, with Reggie following and helping her feel better with some public dancing. Meanwhile, Justin was joined by Simon on a rooftop, where Monica directed him through the choreography for the Swan Lake performance. The montage of dancing showed Justin & Simon getting closer, as the Prince and the Black Swan. 

The next day brought the dance rehearsal. A nervous Justin was shown warming up backstage when he spotted Simon arriving in full costume, surprising him. He wondered if he was going a little overboard for this, but Simon revealed that he's been sewing his own costumes since he was a kid and he wasn't performing in front of professionals looking like a beggar. 

 

The performance began and Justin made his way out onto the stage, performing as the prince. Simon was shown watching from just off-stage, standing next to Reggie. He attempted to explain some of the context of Swan Lake, including telling Reggie that his character was Simon's father. Reggie then revealed he had earbuds in and heard nothing. They joined the group on their cues. Justin & Simon began dancing together when Justin caught sight of his father sitting in the audience, immediately distracting him from the performance. 

Simon did his best to get Justin to refocus, but he began screwing up all of the choreography, causing Simon and several other dancers to fall all over the stage. The coaches called upon Gabby to make her way to the stage, given that she was taking over for Brittney as the White Swan. This salvaged the performance, but Justin noticed his father getting up and leaving, causing him to yell after him, with the cameras following. 

Justin confronted his father, wondering what he was doing there in Chicago. Earl told him that he thought Justin wanted to see him. Justin immediately looked to Nick, who feigned confusion. Justin wondered why he would show up there when they haven't spoken in years, since he kicked him out. Earl claimed that he never did that. Then, Justin wondered why he was leaving and he claimed that it looked like Justin needed more practice. 

This caused Simon to intervene, telling Earl that Justin is a gifted dancer and that this was a rehearsal. Justin urged Simon to back off, saying he wasn't helping. Earl again disputed that he kicked Justin out for being gay, bringing up the football game that he interrupted. This caused Justin to lash out, saying that day was not about the game. Justin then brought up his mother, causing Earl to get angry, telling him not to bring up his mother. 

 

Justin then got angrier, confronting his father about abandoning his mother when she was ill and leaving her alone in the final days before her death. This caused Earl to reveal that he was doing what Justin's mother wanted and she was not alone. She had a woman with her. Justin was caught off-guard, as he understood Earl was talking about his mother's best friend. Earl told him that she was the one his mother wanted to be with at the end, not him. Their confrontation was then interrupted by Reggie, whom Earl wanted to get a picture with, causing Justin to storm out of the auditorium.

Nick and the camera crew followed Justin outside, where he warned them that he didn't want to talk about things on camera. He accused Nick of orchestrating the entire thing and Nick admitted that he did but they got the footage they needed. He just wanted to know how Justin was doing. Justin then shared his anger at his father and his history with his family of brothers, all caring about nothing but football. He talked about growing up as the weird kid who preferred to dance and how his mother nurtured his love of music. Now, he knew that she might have been more like him than he ever realized. 

Justin opened up, saying that the only thing he ever wanted was for his father to tell him that he had done something well and to tell him that he was proud of him. Nick told him that he may not have had the family he wanted or needed to build him up, but he told him he could have that family now with his fellow dancers on the show. He then told Justin that he was an incredible dancer. Back inside, the cameras were on Earl, as he shared pride in his son after learning that Justin was in fact playing the Prince, one of the leads in Swan Lake. 

Justin later returned to the hotel and Gabby checked on him to make sure he was okay. She then revealed that she organized a bit of a dance party on their floor to help everyone unwind after their stressful day on stage. This led to a dance montage across the hotel floor as the various characters all danced around, ultimately leading back to Gabby & Justin in the hallway. As the group came together and chanted his name, Justin showed off his freestyle dance moves with a smile.

The next morning, Justin was all dressed as he approached one of the hotel room doors. He knocked and it was revealed to be Monica on the other side. He told her that he wanted to be good at ballet. He then corrected himself, saying he wanted to be better than good so he was putting all his focus on it and putting himself in her hands. Monica said that was a good thing because she was going to work him so hard he'll wish he was dead. He nodded in agreement with that. She closed the door, leaving him with a smile on his face.