‘Paper Is Paper’ Brings Us to the End of Steve and Nick’s Relationship

‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 7 Recap: ‘Paper Is Paper’ Brings Us to the End of Steve and Nick’s Relationship
If you know the story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, then you know it ends in tragedy. By this week’s episode of Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales, the audience feels that creeping dread showrunner Rob Siegel has continued to escalate since the first episode come to a head. Here’s our Welcome to Chippendales Episode 7 recap.
Steve reaches his breaking point with Nick in ‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 7. | Photo by: Jessica Brooks/Hulu
Bittersweet is the name of the game in ‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 7
Welcome to Chippendales Episode 7 opens up with a montage of the Chippendales dancers performing, Nick and Bradford doing coke, and Nick kissing Denise and Bradford as money falls from the sky. Back at Bradford’s apartment, the three of them play monopoly and snort cocaine, all of them thrilled about how well the tours are working out.
Denise calls to book a location for the tour, but the man tells her someone else already booked the Chippendales for that night. Steve has started a competing Chippendales tour, enraging Nick. Nick tells Steve to expect to hear from his lawyer before hanging up.
Nick files a restraining order against Steve’s competing tours, and Irene tries to brainstorm to find a different idea. She sarcastically tells Steve that Nick duped him and none of this was his fault at all.
Nick and Denise prepare to leave for another tour, and Denise pesters Nick that it’s time to leave. Bradford becomes annoyed with Denise’s constant presence and tells Nick he wants him to come back to New York with him. However, he says he can’t leave Denise on the tour alone and gets on the bus.
The beginning of the end
Back at Steve and Irene’s, Steve wakes up to find her side of the bed empty. He finds her in her office crunching numbers. She tells him she thinks it’s time to sell the house, but Steve refuses to let Nick be the one who continues to make Chippendales successful, screaming, “I’m capable, Irene!”
Steve begins taking pills, snorting cocaine, and loses all regard for the laws about maximum capacity in the club. Women begin to fight and fall over onto the stage when the fire department shows up, shutting everything down. This leads to the city revoking the club’s fire permit and forces them to close the doors.
Irene finally puts her foot down, saying, “It’s over, Steve.”
Viewers watch as Steve holds the notice from the fire department as the lights shut down around him and the club closes up shop. Ray and Steve look at one another, silently forming a plan.
In Texas, Nick and Denise prepare for the show, and Nick tells Denise he’s going back to New York. She doesn’t want him to leave and realizes this is all so Nick can go home to Bradford. Nick tells her he loves Bradford, angering Denise. She’s appalled Nick picked Bradford over her, and they part angry at one another.
Back in New York, Nick and Bradford make plans for the European tour. They begin to make out before Bradford leaves to use the restroom. We see an unknown man walk in and later hear gunshots as Bradford washes his hands. He returns to find Nick dead and breaks down. The camera pans to his unicorn statue, a salute to his award-winning work on the show, Unicorn Tales.
Nick’s murder immediately puts the spotlight on Steve in ‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Episode 7
In California, Steve returns home to Irene shouting his name. She breaks the news that Nick was murdered, and Steve acts horrified. He continues to question if anyone saw the murder happen, but his demeanor is off, and Irene notices.
The next morning, Steve wakes up to Denise banging on his gates and screaming, “Murderer!” She knows Steve is behind the murder, and when Irene comes out to calm her down, Steve tries to write it off because Denise is drunk. Irene wants to call the cops, but Steve snaps at her, refusing to let her call and scaring Irene. Irene says she’s going to check on the kids, but before she walks out, she says, “Steve, I noticed there was $15,000 missing form the safe. What did you do with that money?”
Irene figures out Steve had Nick killed, and she gathers the kids and leaves in a panic. Steve apologizes for what he’s done, but when Irene asks what he’s sorry for, he can’t answer.
Steve gets a call from an FBI agent, and they bring him in to talk to him. The agent asks how long Steve and Nick worked together as partners, but Steve quickly corrects him by saying, “We weren’t partners, I was his boss.”
The FBI is involved because Chippendales is considered interstate commerce. They continue to question Steve about his relationship with Nick, agitating Steve. The agent points out the issues with Steve’s failed club, needling him about Nick’s success.
Both of the FBI agents know Steve’s guilty, but they don’t have any hard evidence.
At home, Steve goes to his office and pulls a Chips Ahoy package out of a bag. Opening it, a gun lies inside. Steve sits at his desk with the gun in front of him before the end credits roll.