Any fan of prestige TV knows it’s usually the penultimate episode of a season when stuff really hits the fan. Just a few of many examples: “Chiantishire” (Succession), “What’s for Dinner” (Severance), “Long Term Parking” (The Sopranos), “Middle Ground” (The Wire), “Mom City” (Ted Lasso), and, perhaps most infamously, “The Rains of Castamere” (Game of Thrones).

Season finales may get the headlines, but it’s often the episodes prior that reveal the most about the main characters, setting the stage for their inescapable fate.

That’s pretty much where we’re at in the 2023 MLS season. Save a few makeup games, Matchdays 35 & 36 – which comprise the final double-game week of the season – are the last chance most teams have before Decision Day (aka the regular-season finale on Oct. 21) to show what they’re made of.

Let’s take a look at which clubs with “main character energy” (winning histories, major expectations, star players, big-name coaches, etc.) have the most to prove.

Inter MIami CF

It’s fair to wonder if the clock is ticking towards midnight on Inter Miami’s rags-to-riches season. We all know Lionel Messi and friends are under contract for more years to come, so, ultimately, their place among MLS royalty for the foreseeable future is locked down. But Tata Martino’s side might be hitting that awkward phase in the Cinderella arc where the hero only has one glass slipper and her sick whip has turned back into a literal pumpkin.

That’s because Messi remains “game-to-game” as he deals with a muscle injury, and the Herons have been far less dominant without him, going 1W-1L-2D in all post-Leagues Cup matches the star No. 10 didn’t suit up for.

Currently 13th in the Eastern Conference and four points back of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line (albeit with a game in hand), Miami need to be near-perfect to make the leap into the postseason. If they don’t get results away at Chicago Fire FC and home against FC Cincinnati this week, their story (for this season anyway) may be a wrap.