Crew Girl’s series premiere on Netflix begins by introducing us to our title character, Teagan Tao, as she prepares for a big race, her parents, David and Ella, on hand to cheer her on. As Teagan is racing, her father is called away for work after getting a message from an unknown number, missing Teagan’s big win. As Teagan returns to the docks, her celebration is cut short as her mom gets a text from Teagan’s dad apologizing right before the FBI shows up to question her mom.
Turns out her dad defrauded investors out of millions and disappeared. In turn, the FBI takes all of the Taos' money except for the education trust her dad set up, forcing Teagan and her mom to leave LA and move to her mom’s old town to start fresh.
Teagan and Ella hit the road and make their way to Eagle’s Ridge, which is giving serious small-town coastal energy. After driving through town, they make it to Ella’s childhood home, and Teagan isn’t exactly thrilled about her new digs. She’s also worried about D1 row coaches being able to scout her for a scholarship in the middle of nowhere.
Crew Girl's premiere introduces fans to the core season 1 cast members little by little
Annoyed, Teagan grabs a bike and goes for a ride before literally crashing into a handsome stranger, who helps to fix her bike chain. As they talk, he finally introduces himself as Cam Dillingger, but this isn’t exactly a meet-cute, as Cam is a bit short in his responses and blames her for crashing into him.
The following day, Ella drops Teagan off for her first day of school, and she meets Britney and Amber, the most popular girls in school who are giving mean girls energy up front. We’ll see if we judged the book by the cover incorrectly or if they end up being a thorn in Teagan’s side as the season continues.
While this might not be LA, Easton Prep is not your small-town school. This place is fancy; we’re talking equestrian club, students arriving via helicopter, and the works. Teagan is eventually pulled away from her encounter with Britney and Amber by Juliet, who is her guide to the school and helps acquaint her with the workings of the school.
Their tour before class ends with a quick introduction of one of the school’s most elite: Josh Regis, a sixth-generation student, former prom king, and Mr. Popularity. Teagan later gets the chance to properly meet Josh when he forgets his book in English and settles in next to Teagan to borrow her book.
We then get to meet another key character with the introduction of Coach Hayden, the rowing coach. Coach Hayden is an alumnus of Easton, and he was hired under the promise of getting the rowing crew back to the top, and the pressure is on as the principal of Easton makes clear. It's also made clear that while he might be a coach, meddling parents are preventing him from actually leading the team to success by making changes needed to win, to which she reminds him that this is his last year under contract and there is no room for excuses.
After class, Teagan heads to the boathouse and meets Lana, the assistant coach. She’s informed there is no girls' rowing crew, as there wasn’t enough interest for the school to form one, and Lana mentions there is a rowing club a few towns over Teagan can pursue.
The next day at school, Teagan is telling Juliet about rowing being a bust as Josh interrupts the conversation to invite her to a party. Teagan turns the invite down, which is when Britney arrives to mark her man by laying a kiss on Josh as we learn the pair have been dating since freshman year. Juliet warns her not to mess with the pair, as before Teagan is called to the principal’s office.
Turns out Teagan was caught taking a boat out without permission, and she’s assigned dock cleanup duty as punishment. While cleaning, one of the row crew, Liam, tries to lay it on hard, which is when Cam arrives and helps break up the conversation. As he strikes up a conversation with Teagan, he reveals he’s a FADE, i.e., a scholarship kid, which is something the others like to remind him of often. Juliet arrives and takes in the view as Teagan walks her through the seating assignments of the boat and how they play various roles in the success of the team.
During practice things do not go smoothly, and it’s clear this rowing team is not solid. As Coach Hayden and Lana return after the failed practice, Teagan quickly points out what she would do to improve the dynamic of the crew and impresses them with her knowledge. Coach Hayden takes Teagan’s advice and shakes up the seating, much to Josh’s displeasure, and the team ends up shaving eight seconds from their time.
After the practice, Josh confronts Teagan, having seen her talk to the coach before he changed things up. Josh is not happy being bumped from the stroke seat, aka the stroke, and she holds her own, pointing out how he’s not as good a rower as he thinks. He's not happy about being called out, as he warns her to watch herself as he exits, making it known that his family has power as he leaves and makes sure Teagan realizes the boathouse is named after Josh’s family.
Teagan's secret is quickly exposed
On the way back from school, Teagan’s tire blows on her bike, and Cam stops by to give her a ride. He heard about Josh calling her out and encourages her not to back down, as she’s not less than anyone despite how the school will make them feel like it. He encourages her to come to the dock party as he arrives at her house and gives her his number before leaving.
Later, Juliet drops by to help Teagan pick out an outfit for the party. Kesha calls in with a message to wish Juliet happy birthday and also informs her that her parents won’t be there for her birthday. They head out for the party with things still icy between Teagan and her mom, partially from her mom’s impromptu $250 purchase earlier in the day when she was ashamed to ask for a job and bought it from an old classmate at her shop. Ella heads to Jim’s and accepts a job to help around the restaurant.
Teagan and Juliet arrive at the party and meet up with Cam, who is thrilled she decided to come as he gives her his spare wristband. He prepares to head out as Juliet, a true girls' girl, exits so the pair can enjoy some fun without her being a third wheel. Cam and Teagan grab a drink as Baloo comes up and thanks her for helping him get upgraded.
Teagan and Cam enjoy a game of beer pong and get to know one another along the way. It becomes a bit one-sided as Cam is better at the game as she tells him a fake story about why she moved, informing him her dad died and they moved to get a fresh start. As the conversation continues, we do learn a bit about Cam including the fact that he’s hoping to become the first in his family to go to college and has big dreams.
Elsewhere at the party, Josh is mad about Baloo taking his spot as Baloo pulls him in for a bear hug before Britney and Liam show up to bring him a drink. Josh isn’t happy about how the new girl is making him look like an asshole, and Britney isn’t happy about him thinking about the new girl. Britney tells Amber things have been weird since he got back from Baltimore training camp and seems to be hiding things from her. They then spot Teagan, and Amber informs Britney about her cyberstalking, which Britney quickly uses to her advantage. She takes to the mic and gives a PSA saying they have a thief in their midst as she pulls up a news clip about Teagan’s dad and his crimes, as she then comes up to Teagan to ask where the money is. Teagan sends Cam off as she grabs Baloo’s tequila and heads out.
She meets Juliet outside at her car. Juliet lights up her sports car as a clear plan to get her parents' attention, leaving Teagan without a ride and leaving her to call her mom to pick her up. Ella helps get a drunk Teagan up to the house as she apologizes for messing up. To her surprise, Ella isn’t mad. She’s glad she’s talking to her, which gives Teagan the opening to press her mom for the truth. Her mom admits she hates this place and vowed to never come back, but here they are because of Teagan’s dad’s actions. She’s furious, but they both admit they still miss him.
Crew Girl season 1 episode 1 ending sets Teagan up for her next chapter
The following day, Teagan gets back to scrubbing the docks and passes the time with Coach Hayden, who is waiting for all of the guys to get ready. After showing up late, Teagan confronts Liam for complaining and notes that she’d love to be in the boat, which gives Coach Hayden an idea: Teagan and Liam will race for the coxswain spot. The winner will take the spot.
They each pick a four-team squad, and Coach Hayden encourages her to rise to the occasion. Teagan’s team ends up including Baloo and Cam, as well as Josh’s sidekick and cousin, Ryder, who Teagan incentivizes by pointing out how Josh will never respect him until he beats him.
As Teagan predicted, Liam pushes his team to an early lead by burning them out too hard, which gives Teagan’s team the opening to push through for the win! After the win, Liam quits the team as Teagan secures her place as the crew’s new coxswain. When she gets the chance, Teagan apologizes to Cam for lying about her family, admitting she’s kind of a mess and he understands telling her he needs to focus on the team.
As the episode draws to a close, Teagan races home excited to tell her mom the news about making the rowing team and finds a letter in the mail informing her tuition has been declined and she needs $25k for the semester. And just like that, it seems Teagan’s new beginning is in jeopardy, and she might be left up a creek without a paddle.
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