"Smells Like Winner" is the first episode in the third season of the ABC drama series Make It or Break It. It is the forty first episode overall, and aired March 26, in 2012.
Synopsis[]
Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren are one step closer to making their dream of Olympic Gold a reality, but first they must endure eight weeks at the USA Training Center to make the final cut. With a new coach, new rivals, and new distractions, the girls must really up their game. Payson tries to focus on her training after receiving upsetting news, Kaylie feels torn between her boyfriend and her teammates, and Lauren worries that her new custom-created perfume is giving her dizzy spells. Meanwhile, an uninvited gymnast, Jordan Randall, is determined to secure a spot at the training center.
Plot[]
Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren arrive in Colorado Springs for an eight-week training camp at the USA Training Center. The camp will determine who will fill the five spots on the Olympic team, with their new coach, Coach McIntire (or Coach Mac), having the final say on the selection. The girls' parents all help the girls move into their dorms, and the whole scene has a "going off to college" feel to it, complete with tearful goodbyes from the parents and an onslaught of photos being taken. Kaylie's boyfriend, Austin, has already been there a few weeks training with the men's team, and he's quick to show the girls around, which includes a stop at the "lucky" bronze bust of Coach Otis in the quad. Supposedly you get good luck if you rub the bust, but there is a competition amongst the different sports teams as to who can kidnap the bust and keep it hidden the longest. On the first day Lauren is used as a distraction for the security guard as the wrestling team steals the bust. Lauren is mad that she was used in such a way and immediately makes enemies with the wrestlers, especially Rigo.
Sasha has also come to the Training Center to help the girls get settled in and wish them luck, but not before he tries to prepare them for what they are about to face. He knows Coach Mac personally and wants his girls to do well under his coaching. He warns them against being too attached to The Rock, as that will annoy Coach Mac. The girls don't quite understand Sasha's warning and are too distracted telling him how much they will miss him to care. Sasha gives Payson his gold medal again to give her confidence and Lauren teases her about her past crush on him. Payson reminds Lauren that she's Max's girlfriend now and any feelings she may have had for Sasha were both inappropriate and a passing fancy.
Meanwhile Jordan Randall is hitchhiking her way to the Training Center. She wasn't invited to train there, but she is certain that once Coach Mac sees what she can do that she will be a shoo-in for a spot on the Olympic team. She arrives at the gym late and breaks in to use the equipment and make a video of herself that showcases all of her best skills. While she's in there she sees the Rock girls come in to check out their new gym. She eyes up the competition and decides that she's better than everyone else, but she especially has it in with the Rock girls. The next day she approaches Coach Mac about being allowed to train and he tells her that since she wasn't invited, nor has she competed in any sanctioned events lately to qualify, that she must leave. Instead of leaving she camps out on the lawn of the Training Center and uses every opportunity to badger Coach Mac into letting her in. Finally, he watches her video and sees that she can do a triple back dismount off the bars and decides that he may have a use for her yet. Kaylie is upset that she's being allowed to train, as the two apparently have had a past.
Lauren isn't doing too well with the new rigorous training schedule and keeps getting dizzy spells and passing out. She sees the nutritionist (who turns out to be Coach Mac's wife) and they determine that he blood sugar's low, and the nutritionist assumes that it's because she's been skipping meals. Lauren promises to eat better, but we can tell that that's not really the problem. Whatever it is, she wants to keep it from Coach Mac, who has been very vocal about his not having time to babysit the girls if they can't take care of themselves properly. Lauren passes it off to Kaylie and Payson that her fainting is a result of the new perfume that she and her father are trying to market called "Winner", and that this must be an allergic reaction to it. Meanwhile, Lauren decides that she is going to take advantage of her single status by making herself available to the army of cute athletic boys that are roaming around. Of course, she runs into Rigo and the rest of the wrestling team and tries to find out where they've hidden the Otis bust. But even her feminine whiles are enough to convince the guys that she should get the bust, and she vows to get her hands on it another day. To make herself feel better about her trials, she intercepts Payson's letter from Max, only to find out that he's dumping her.
When Payson finally does read the letter she takes it very hard and finds it hard to concentrate during training, and even the simplest of elements aren't coming easy for her. Coach Mac loses his patience with her and puts her into the bottom seven of the girls at the Center. Kaylie, Lauren and Austin try to cheer her up after training, and Austin tells the girls that Max is bi-sexual, and that that's probably the reason he broke up with her. This news comes as a shock to all of them, and Payson feels even worse, because she thought they knew everything about each other. Later that night Coach Mac makes the girls burn their Rock training jackets as a symbol that they are fully committed to the National Team.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Ayla Kell as Payson Keeler
- Josie Loren as Kaylie Cruz
- Cassie Scerbo as Lauren Tanner
- Dondré T. Whitfield as Coach McIntyre
- Neil Jackson as Sasha Belov
Guest Starring[]
- Bre Blair as Mrs. McIntire
- Rosa Blasi as Ronnie Cruz
- Trent Garrett as Brad
- Zane Holtz as Austin Tucker
- Amanda Leighton as Wendy Capshaw
- Tom Maden as Rigo
Co-Starring[]
- Sandy Martin as Marge
- Jason Manuel Olazabal as Alex Cruz
- Russell Pitts as Jake
- Anthony Starke as Steve Tanner
- Chelsea Tavares as Jordan Randall
- Brett Cullen as Mark Keeler
- Juan Gabriel Pareja as Security Guard
- Frank Pacheco as Tug
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- Lauren says that Max was barely Paysons boyfriend, as he took off and left for the Hamptons. The Hamptons is where Josh Bowman's character on the show Revenge lives.
Gallery[]
