From "YOLO" to "I Know"

Picture your stereotypical never-grew-up high school jock. You know the type--in their late twenties and still partying like it's high school; the kind of guy who has way too much money and too many girls, the kind that seems too unruly to even attempt managing and leaves his friends to do damage control. Terence King is all of this and more.

A prominent character in USA's Necessary Roughness, TK is exactly what you'd expect of a man who has too much talent and not enough discipline--a mess. More than that, though, he's an example of a “Joker.” Jung's archetype is specific--a character that lives with a no-care attitude and has no problem playing jokes to keep the mood airy; someone who says YOLO (or the slightly classier “Carpe Diem”) as an excuse for every stupid thing they do. Again, all of these traits are evident in our go-to irrational character. But what else is there to TK? What makes him matter?

He learns; and with him, so does the audience. Terence, for all his attitude issues, for all his pride and irrationality and moments of pure stupidity, starts to see past himself. He picks up on the importance of other people, of his actions, and of his past. He starts down the slow path to self-awareness. That’s not to say that TK is perfect; he stumbles sometimes, makes some stupid choices and ruins his own opportunities, but that’s what makes it real. Jokers aren't perfect and no one changes overnight--especially in a show that centers around therapy.

Again, though, we are drawn to the "So what?" Besides being an age-old cliché, why should we care about him? Yeah, sure, we learn life lessons, but we could do /that/ listening to a country music station for a few hours (ignoring the drinking songs, of course). Why does TK matter?

The answer is simple—his character provides hope. In the dozens of cases that the show has filtered through, a smattering of successes and failures and even, in the most recent season, suicides, TK makes the steady trek towards growing into himself. And in growing into himself, he grows out of the Joker mentality. The show’s creators aren’t just providing another “you can do anything you work towards” cliché or dreams-come-true Disney moment, even in his growing up, Terence faces trouble, but in the process of that, he also provides a goal. A dream for the viewers—TK as a better person, as someone who makes the right decision not because it benefits him, but because he knows he should.

It’s an easy thing to say, but quite difficult to do; no one is perfect or good or rational all the time; no one is enough to be the ultimate “after” story. But the fact that we keep trying—a fact represented in Terence King, as well as other characters throughout the show—proves that we want to achieve something greater. We believe that we can be better, so we try.

On the trek from Joker to “Rational,” Necessary Roughness has made a resonating point through their never-grown-up jock: we may not be able to do anything we set our minds to, but we can do something if we want it bad enough.