Unstable (2023) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[whimsical music playing]
There he is. Dragon's newest employee.
You excited?
You know what? I'm gonna give you
what you're looking for. I am excited.
Good. First day checklist.
Proud sternum, symmetrical smile,
and, of course, engage the core.
All right. Here's a thought. Since I'm
staying, maybe accept me for who I am
and don't try
to mold me into your own image?
- Just trying to help.
- 'Cause I'm the one who needs help.
- I'm glad you know that.
- Oh, boy.
Tonight, I was thinking
that we spend some time together.
- Maybe order in, see a flick.
- Actually, I may have plans.
Oh, already? Good for you.
It's not doing a whole lot for me.
- But I'm happy. To a point.
- Mm. Hmm.
Through another lens,
I'm bitterly disappointed.
- Where are you going without me?
- [doorbell rings]
Great. I'm gonna go get that
and thank whoever it is
for getting me out of this conversation.
- [chuckles] It worked.
- Leslie, what are you doing here?
I need to talk to you alone.
I wanna move back in.
- I thought this might happen.
- You've always seen me so damn clear.
I miss our friendship.
But is it about our friendship,
or that you have a hole in your life
because your wife left you a month ago?
I don't know. I mean, maybe we could have
a swim, and a jacuzzi, and a sauna,
and talk about it while we're wrapped
in those big, thirsty towels of yours?
- I know it was fun, but it's time
- Let me finish.
I really enjoyed my time with you.
I think you did too.
If you can look me in the eye
and tell me that you didn't miss this,
I'll just walk away.
You'll never hear from me again.
You know I can't do that.
[door closes]
He's coming back.
Bye. I'll be back with my stuff.
Oh!
I got us kettle corn.
[door closes]
Variety pack!
- There was nobody there.
- How odd.
Should we roll?
Yeah, but please,
I just want to have a normal day at work.
- So don't make a big deal out of it.
- For sure.
[whimsical music playing]
- [all] Welcome, Jackson!
- [loud popping]
[cheering]
What happens to my words
between my mouth and your ears?
Oh, come on, it's fine.
It's just a few people.
- Oh, well, we're saved ♪
- Yes, we're saved ♪
- I said we're saved ♪
- Yes, we're saved ♪
Oh, now that Jackson's with us
Don't you know that we are saved? ♪
- Let's hear it, we're saved ♪
- Jackson saved ♪
- Sweet Lord, we're saved ♪
- Jackson saved ♪
With Ellis and his gifted son
We know that we are saved ♪
- Oh, well we're saved ♪
- Jackson saved ♪
- Yes, we're saved ♪
- Dragon's safe ♪
'Cause with Jackson helping Daddy
Don't you know that we are saved? ♪
Jackson will save us
Jackson will save us ♪
- [exhales]
- I know you weren't expecting that,
but I think that we can both agree
that that song slaps.
If I say yes, can this all stop?
- I need to find a microphone.
- Goddamn it.
- You want Jackson to like it here, right?
- It's fine. He needs to learn to have fun.
Still, I'm gonna run to the parking lot
and send the Tahitian fire dancers home.
Boo.
So you're staying?
- I am.
- Hmm.
- Fantastic. I will see you around.
- Wait, Ruby.
Let's go out tonight.
Okay.
You're getting so good at this.
Cool.
Everybody, thank you. Thank you
for coming. How about that choir?
- Huh?
- [cheering]
That's not over-the-top at all.
For years, Jackson has been
on his very serious flute adventure,
but now, he has decided
to merely make it a hobby,
which is really the only plausible outcome
for a boy and his flute.
So now, he is on his rightful path
with a real job. Jackson, say a few words.
Wow.
Uh, you know, I wasn't always just a boy
on his flute adventure.
There's other stuff about me.
For a while, I thought
I was gonna be a wildlife photographer,
but you'd be surprised
how hard it is to find animals.
And even when you do [chuckles]
I once took a photo of a frog,
then looked it up
to see what kind of frog it was,
and I found it.
I can't remember the name.
It had a yellow head.
Anyways, I remember finding a ton of other
way better photos of that same frog,
so it's like, "What did I even do?"
Okay, you're bombing.
Everybody, we're gonna take a quick break
to regroup, uh, but we'll be back.
Enjoy the cake.
Okay, bud, so tell me,
how did you think that went?
I spent way too much time
talking about a frog.
What the hell was its name?
- We need to work on your public speaking.
- Why? So I can be another you?
Easy, Hoss. I love you. I love the idea,
but you're a long way from that.
Party's over.
After you left, the choir got religious
then everyone wandered back to their labs.
- Great. I'm gonna go do that too.
- Uh, hold up, Hoss. May need your help.
- Did you just call me "Hoss?"
- We spend a lot of time together.
- Is "Hoss" a good thing?
- Sure is, Hoss.
So Allison Davis from Time Magazine
is out there.
Funny, she just said that you invited her
for a couple of days with full access.
First, I thought,
"There's no way that Ellis would do that
because he knows
that his mental state is"
Let's call it unpredictable.
Having a Pulitzer-winning reporter here
is the worst possible idea.
So you didn't do that, right?
Right? Right, Hoss?
Oh, so "Hoss" isn't a good thing.
I think it's a great idea.
We've had some bad press recently.
Since Katie died, I've been,
let's call it interesting.
And this is a way to change the narrative,
to show the world that I am fine.
- And this is a normal place of business.
- [bird screeches]
My new hawk is here!
At the risk of introducing
a tiny bit of reality,
you squeaked through the board meeting,
but the twins are still gunning for you,
and you have what sounds like
a female northern goshawk in the lobby.
My father was a birder.
Until a long-tailed honey buzzard
took a piece of his nose.
My point is this is not a good time
to have Allison Davis snooping around.
Jackson, tell him I'm right.
Yellow-banded dart frog.
That's what it was.
Anna, I think this is the perfect time
to have Allison here.
Plus, she is here, so there is that.
All right. Fine. But we have to make
this look like a normal place of business.
No matter what she sees,
you may not kidnap her.
[whimsical music playing]
Malcolm.
There's a reporter here today.
When she tours the lab, I want it to look
like something exciting is happening.
Not just a bunch of pasty dweebs
hunched over microscopes.
You mean doing science?
Also, find all of Ellis's stuff
that might make him look crazy
and hide it the storage closet.
Start with this serenity jar.
Find that thing he uses
to electrocute himself.
Oh, the abdominal muscle stimulator
that he obviously doesn't need.
And the invisibility cloak, which might be
hard to find because it's invisible.
And there's a hawk around here
that needs silencing.
- I don't want to kill a bird.
- Oh, don't flatter yourself.
That thing would swallow your eyes
before you could say, "Where are my eyes?"
Just feed her some Nutri-Berries
to keep her calm and put her in a closet.
It seems like you know a lot about hawks.
Maybe you should be
I'm not going near that death machine.
Just do it.
[whimsical music playing]
Hey, Luna.
Hey, buddy. You okay?
Oh my God. Was my speech that bad?
No. Everyone's barely talking about it.
[sighs] I hate public speaking.
[sighs] Me too. When I gave
my grandfather's eulogy, I threw up.
I tried to scrape it off the coffin
with my note cards.
Then I couldn't read them.
So I panicked and gave the speech
from Independence Day.
Where the president says,
"We will not go quietly into the night?"
Yeah, but I only remembered
the part where he says,
"We are about to fight the largest
aerial battle in the history of mankind."
Oof.
It just all comes so easy to my dad,
you know?
I would never say this to his face,
but there are times where I wouldn't mind
being a little less me, a little more him.
Yeah, I'd love to be bold like your dad.
Or just like an average person.
- Right?
- [chuckles]
I've got this date tonight
with Ruby and I'm I'm nervous.
You're gonna be fine.
Just don't mention frogs.
- [chuckles]
- [door opens]
Aw, there he is. You okay?
So it was that bad?
No, no. You were very
[equipment beeps]
So, uh, I was looking at the stats
from the gene drive yesterday.
Take a look at this.
[door opens]
[Malcolm] Um.
- Are you guys on break?
- No, we're working.
Doesn't the propagation coefficient
seem a little low?
- 7.295. Yeah, that's weird.
- Okay, listen up.
A reporter is coming to the lab,
and you people are unwatchable.
So when she gets here,
Anna wants to make sure it looks like
something super exciting is happening.
- That's not how science works.
- Exactly.
What's the invisibility cloak doing here?
Uh, we were working on it.
It's not 100% yet.
Unless you close your eyes.
I'm supposed to gather anything weird
and hide it.
I think I got everything out
of Ellis's office.
There's a wooden box with a hole in it.
Anyone know what that is?
It's Napoleon's travel toilet.
- What?
- [Jackson] Yeah.
I'll go get it. You wanna grab it
a certain way when you pick it up.
When the reporter gets here,
pretend what you're doing is amazing.
Think of it
as the Broadway version of science. A-cha!
- Yeah, no one's doing that.
- No. Although I do want to be bolder.
Great. Go for it. Ruby?
I guess I can act mindlessly excited.
I'll pretend my niece is talking to me.
Oh my God, reporter, is that your snack?
Is it so yummy?
A little weird
but still better than science.
[sighs] It's not too late
to cancel this interview.
We could show Allison accounting.
Margie made cookies.
- You worry too much.
- Because I work for a crazy man.
I'm sorry. I'm under a lot of pressure
because I work for a crazy man.
You're going to be great.
Funny. That's not the message
I've been getting from you.
I told her no questions about Katie
or her passing.
I appreciate that.
Allison Davis.
I hate to fanboy right at the top,
but your reporting
on the corruption in the international
seed market was riveting.
I mean, you dug up dirt
on a very seedy industry.
Nice. Thank you.
And you, Ellis Dragon, the legend. I was
so honored when you reached out to me.
Oh, of course. Shall we?
Absolutely.
So I heard you went crazy
when your wife died. Tell me about that.
Um [sniffs]
- O Okay.
- O Okay. Allison, hold up. Time-out.
You're being bad. We talked about this.
- You know what? It's okay.
- I'm not sure that it is.
No, no, no. It's a legitimate question.
Is it true,
for the month after Katie passed,
you survived on nothing
but salad dressing and squirrel meat?
That is just a rumor.
I did not make it the full month.
Look, I loved Katie deeply.
To pretend that her loss hasn't affected
me in a profound way would be ridiculous.
She inspired me to do this work,
and if I can lock up greenhouse gases
for a thousand years,
I'd honor her memory
and give the planet a fighting chance.
A beautiful and very stable answer.
So, am I crazy?
Look, they said Galileo was crazy.
They called Nikola Tesla crazy.
Though Tesla did lose his mind
and fall in love with one of his pigeons.
Which I would never do. I do have a hawk.
But I'm not attracted to it.
But if I were also a bird,
I would never leave that nest
because that bird is an undeniably
beautiful smokeshow of a hawk.
- What are you writing?
- [Allison] That you want people to know
you are not attracted
to your beautiful smokeshow of a hawk.
That makes it sound like I am attracted
to my undeniably beautiful
smokeshow of a hawk.
- It's purely platonic.
- "Purely platonic."
Okay. Uh, I think that's enough.
Summing up, we're doing important work.
It's all in Katie's memory,
and birds aren't part of it.
Let's get you to the lab. That's where
the exciting things are happening.
- [Ellis] Perfect. This is Jackson, my son.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
- Where are you taking my
Cajón. It's a cajón.
It's a Peruvian percussion instrument
you sit on and drum with your hands.
- Why is there a hole in the top?
- It's where the sound comes out.
If you're sitting on it,
wouldn't you be covering the hole?
So you know more
than the Peruvians about cajón design?
Honestly, Allison,
that feels racist against Peruvians.
Let's get you to the lab before you say
something you can't take back.
- So, how'd the interview go?
- It started out strong.
And then I somehow wandered
into man-bird love,
which is going to need to be cleaned up.
Are your plans still on for tonight?
I'm bringing in sushi.
I have a little surprise waiting at home.
Actually, I do have plans, yes.
I'm hanging out with Ruby.
Ruby. I knew it.
God, I'm good.
You should listen to me more often.
Look, I'm already nervous,
and this is not helping.
- Would you like some advice?
- No.
Okay, yes,
but don't make me regret asking.
Stop caring.
Stop caring? I finally ask you for advice,
and that's what you have for me?
It works. Just keep telling yourself,
"I don't care." It rewires your brain.
Makes you feel like the stakes
aren't so high, so you can enjoy yourself.
I don't care.
Treat your date like you treat your core.
With complete indifference.
Don't treat your core
like you treat your core.
That is no way to get a lover.
[whimsical music playing]
So this is our Red
working on our most important project.
Ruby, Luna, why don't you tell Allison
what you're doing?
I hear you're on the brink
of an exciting breakthrough.
Yes, we are, Anna. And you never know
when it's gonna happen.
Oh my God. Ruby, come see this. I think
a breakthrough is happening right now.
You hear that? It's happening now.
- Really?
- Damn, science is watchable.
[Anna]
This graviton displacement is astonishing.
And so is the increased collision
rates between the gravitons.
This is thunderously boring.
Did they not understand?
Guys, you're losing us.
Don't be afraid to be bold.
- Gravitons are tiny particles that
- Bolder.
We cured gravity.
- What?
- What?
- What?
- That's right.
Finally, a world without gravity.
Is that possible?
And would we even want that?
I don't care what you want.
It's happening.
Wow, science.
Allison, why don't we continue your tour
with Malcolm?
Speaking of exciting,
we make our own soda.
What? Yes, we do. I'll show you how.
- What the hell was that?
- I'm curious too.
- I don't know. Everyone was yelling.
- You were the one yelling.
I went bold. No regrets.
The reason we have a reporter here
is to make this place look normal,
and you've just claimed
to cure a law of the universe.
- Obviously, some regrets.
- Just fix it.
- How?
- I don't know. I would suggest cleverly.
[whimsical music playing]
So how was your first day?
Well, technically, it wasn't my first day
since I was there yesterday.
Although, I wasn't
an official employee yet,
so, yeah, I guess today, my second day,
was really my first official day.
- What was the question again?
- Are you okay?
No, it wasn't that.
Something about my first day.
I'm gonna take that as a no.
[chuckles]
Honestly,
I'm a little out of my comfort zone too.
I typically date, like,
strong, confident alpha males.
Huh.
That did not come out right.
[chuckles] Cool. Yeah.
So a lot of this is really good.
Do you want to split a few things?
No. No way.
Is that you trying to be
a strong, confident alpha male?
That can backslide
easily into douchebaggery.
No, I just have this thing
where I can't let any of my foods touch.
Oh, brumotactillophobia.
- Yeah. Wow, yeah.
- My uncle struggled with it.
- And then he got better?
- No, he killed himself.
Unrelated. I think.
- [chuckles]
- [sighs]
- So do you have any pets?
- Yes.
I still have that cat
that you asked me about 20 minutes ago.
Right.
You're bombing. Care less. Care less.
But he is the cutest cat ever.
His name is Morton.
- He's a rescue, so he's super skittish.
- I don't care.
- Excuse me?
- I don't care.
Then why did you ask?
- Why'd I ask? Who gives a shit?
- Oh! What is wrong with you?
So many things. Um, well, hold on.
What are you doing?
Um, I'm leaving. This is awful.
[upbeat music playing]
- Say when.
- Not yet.
- Say when.
- Not yet.
- You're a madman!
- Not yet!
- I can't even see the bowl!
- Not yet. When, when!
[chuckles] Oh my gosh.
I can't even imagine
how many sprinkles you're gonna want.
[Leslie sniffs]
Mm. Oh, man, I needed this.
Things did not go well today
with that reporter.
Yeah, I had a hard day too.
Your hot tub gets so hot.
I kept having to get out,
but then I got used to it,
so then I stayed in.
[Ellis] Hmm. Interesting. Oh, you're home.
- We're doing sundaes.
- Wait, what are you doing back here?
I guess the better question is,
why did I ever leave?
'Cause you were kidnapped?
My God, he's so stuck
on that one little part of our journey.
I know. He obsesses. We're working on it.
How did it go with Ruby?
Awful. I took your "I don't care" advice,
and she walked out on me.
To state the obvious, you're not supposed
to say the "I don't care" part out loud.
It wasn't obvious at all.
I said it. A lot.
More than once?
Because after the first time
It wasn't obvious.
If I may,
Jackson, you seem to be
very upset with your father,
and he's a great guy,
so maybe you shouldn't be.
Moving forward, I'm not listening to you.
So don't tell me how to dress, stand,
talk on a date. Stop trying to help me.
I can't do that.
I'm your father. If I see you walking
towards a cliff, I'll say something.
That's beautiful.
Um, do you have any walnuts?
You can say whatever you want,
but moving forward, I don't care.
And listen, guy,
we don't have any walnuts.
I don't like 'em. They look like brains,
and they freak me out.
So, walnut-wise, are there any stores
nearby that might carry them?
In the pantry, behind the prunes.
Say nothing.
[whimsical music playing]
[phone ringing]
Last day with the reporter.
How about we finish strong, huh?
- Sure.
- What's wrong?
My son hates me
and never wants to see me again.
What's the version of that
that's not an overstatement?
- My son doesn't want my help.
- So don't try to help him.
But he needs it. You've met him.
Yes, I've known him since he was ten.
What he doesn't need is advice
designed to make him more like you.
Well, the millions who bought my book
Being Ellis might disagree, but go on.
Exactly. Everyone admires you.
It's hard for Jackson to find his own
identity with Ellis Dragon as his father.
So perhaps instead of trying
to turn him into you,
why not just try to help him
be the best version of him?
Maybe you're right.
[exhales] Maybe it's time to let go.
Thank you, Hoss.
You're welcome, other Hoss.
[whimsical music playing]
Excuse me, Miss Davis. I think
you may have misunderstood me yesterday.
- I wanted to clarify.
- Okay, sure.
Did you think I said we cured gravity?
You did say that. I heard it very clearly.
I even have it in my notes.
No, I wouldn't have said that.
Gravity's not an illness,
so it can't be cured.
- What did you say then?
- I said we "curred" gravity.
It means "measured." I was saying that we
measured gravity. So now that's all good.
- [Allison] Excuse me?
- No. It's all good.
[Allison] "Curred" is not a word.
Oh yes, it's just a word
we use around the lab.
We use a lot of made-up words.
Skeebop. Kerplump. Ooblek. Matzah.
- That' real, but we spell it differently.
- Why do you make up words?
Why?
You're asking why we make up words?
[whimsical music playing[
- There shouldn't be a reporter here.
- Oh God, what did you do?
- I made it worse.
- We're so mad at you right now, right?
I told Allison we make up words because
we think the lab's bugged by Elon Musk.
I also may have implied that's how he gets
the names for his children.
[inhales sharply] I know how to fix this.
You won't like it, but you have to do it.
- Because If you don't
- I don't need your help.
Exactly.
[whimsical music playing]
[pouring liquid]
Hey. I'm sorry about last night.
I'm sorry too.
- I'm kidding. It was all your fault.
- That's true. Um
Look, I was really nervous
about going out with you,
and my dad convinced me that it would
somehow help to pretend I didn't care.
But the truth is I do care. A lot.
You were that nervous
about going to dinner with me?
Yes, I was.
That's actually pretty sweet.
Um, I I got you something.
It's a catnip banana for Morton.
Aw.
He doesn't have one of these.
He didn't get you anything.
That's rude.
Yeah, sometimes he's a little rude,
but he has a big heart, so I forgive him.
I hope I'm reading
the situation correctly.
[chuckles]
Aw, it's good to see you two.
Talking, smiling.
- I don't care.
- Nice. Not supposed to say it out loud.
Does this creamer smell weird to you?
Son, this is a journey
you're going to have to take on your own.
Wow.
In your own strange way, I think
you're actually doing what I asked,
and I appreciate that.
[sighs] Thank you.
Because not helping you is very stressful.
[inhales deeply] I'm gonna go relax.
You know,
it's been so wonderful having you here
and getting to share our important mission
with your readers and,
well, the brilliant minds
with whom we get to work.
This man is taking me somewhere
so that I can have a nice rest.
Don't tell gravity where I am.
Luna is one of our best scientists,
but she pushes herself so hard.
Unfortunately, the pressure got to her.
So all that ranting
about Elon Musk and gravity was just
Yeah, sad. Sad little breakdown.
But it's okay
because she'll get the best help possible.
Because if there is one thing
that Ellis takes seriously,
- it's mental health.
- [objects clatter]
[Ellis] Ouch. Damn it!
Was that Ellis?
[sucks teeth] I didn't hear anything.
I'll be right back.
[whimsical music playing]
[reverberating] Where is the damn mallet?
- Oh, hell no.
- [Allison] Is everything okay?
[Ellis] Got it.
Oh my God.
[Ellis] Who's there?
Ellis?
[hawk screeching]
[whimsical music ends]
If only the invisibility cloak
wasn't inside-out, it might've worked.
If only a lot of things were different,
everything would be fine.
[whimsical music playing]
- We can use this, right?
- Oh, yeah.
Time to slay the Dragon.
Dude, that's sick.
[whimsical music ends]
[closing theme playing]
[closing theme ends]