‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 3 ‘Velveeta’ Has Steve and Nick at Odds Over Who’s the Big Cheese
The Hulu Original Welcome to Chippendales premiered last week with the first two episodes, which means we get to catch back up with our favorite entrepreneur of the moment tonight. Episode 3, aptly titled “Velveeta,” returns with Steve in India for his father’s funeral, while Irene, Denise, and Nick hold down the fort back in Los Angeles. However, while Steve was away, everyone played (mainly with cocaine), and he comes back to some changes that certainly don’t please him. Here’s our recap of Welcome to Chippendales Episode 3, “Velveeta.”
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ episode ‘Velveeta’ gives us some heavy-handed foreshadowing
“Velveeta” opens up with Steve trying to get in touch with Irene via payphone. (Hey, remember those?) The camera pans to the answering machine, which sits next to a wedding photo of Steve and Irene. Irene doesn’t answer because she’s at Chippendales watching the latest act called “Room Service.” Nick’s latest work of art has the male dancers dressed as hotel bellboys. They ravish a woman on a bed in the middle of the stage.
Afterward, Irene walks in to see Nick sulking with his head in his hands. He compares himself to Sisyphus, the character in Greek mythology cursed to forever push a boulder up a hill, only to let it roll down to the bottom again. Nick feels unable to keep up with the pressure of creating new shows each week, but Irene talks him out of his slump. In return, he talks her into going out for a night on the town with him and Denise.
Meanwhile, in India, we see Steve attempt to give his mother several boxes of Velveeta cheese and other American “treasures,” but she wants nothing to do with them. Disappointed that his mother isn’t proud of him, Steve asks her why she isn’t happy when he “has more money than all of their family members combined.” She warns him that not everyone is meant to be rich, which does not bode well for Steve at all.
Denise and Nick aren’t great influences, to say the least
As we hop back across the pond to see about Irene, Nick, and Denise in Welcome to Chippendales Episode 3, “Velveeta,” we see them living wild and free. Well, as free as Irene really gets as she sweetly orders her Coca-cola at the bar. However, Denise came to play, and she pulls out a vial of cocaine and offers it to Irene. Irene reluctantly takes it after Denise assures her that it’s safe. We’re then treated to one of the funniest scenes in the series, thanks to the brilliant Annaleigh Ashford, as she screams, “I love cocaine!” while she frantically dances her way through the night.
When closing time hits, Nick and Denise each take a boy toy home to bed. The next morning as Denise counts the abs on the beefcake in her bed, she’s hit with a stroke of brilliance. She runs to Nick’s room, and together they pull together their ideas for the next show – Dr. Hunkenstein. (Think Rocky Horror Picture Show with male strippers.)
Steve finally gets in touch with Irene, who happily recaps her night out with Denise and Nick. She even gleefully throws in, “I tried cocaine!” and he’s clearly not happy with any of these developments. Thankfully, his time in India ends, and Steve heads back to the States.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 3, “Velveeta,” features Steve and Nick going head-to-head
As much as Welcome to Chippendales showrunner Rob Siegel does his best to keep his audience upbeat and entertained, we all know how this story ends, and it’s not a happy ending. When Steve returns to Chippendales, he’s immediately greeted by a stranger repairing a sign outside. Steve asks who he is, and the man explains a blonde lady hired him and then asks, “Who are you?” Frustrated, Steve shouts that he’s the owner, much to the man’s dismay, and he walks inside.
Inside Chippendales, Steve walks in to see Nick and Denise making plans for the new show, while Irene watches, smiling. She runs to Steve to welcome him home, but he quickly becomes irritated with all the changes. He erupts, yelling at everyone there that he runs the show. Nick tries to talk Denise into quitting and starting their own club. He even mentions poaching Steve’s dancers, but Denise talks him down.
Later that night, Irene tries to comfort Steve but his inability to open up to her leaves her frustrated. After she walks out of the bedroom, Steve sees a print from his father’s printing business. This sparks the idea to create a Chippendales calendar.
The next day, Denise and Nick walk into an empty club and learn that Steve took all of the dancers to his house. They drive over and find Steve and Ray, the maintenance man from earlier, conducting a photo shoot of the scantily clad men. Outraged, Nick blows up at Steve for doing all of this without his creative input. Steve brushes him off and nonchalantly returns to posing the men for the photos.
Nick, however, has had enough. He leaves a bewildered Denise at Steve’s and heads to the airport. There, he buys a one-way ticket to New York City.
Check out Welcome to Chippendales Episode 3, “Velveeta,” currently streaming on Hulu.
