Fatal Attraction (2023) s01e04 Episode Script
Beautiful Mosaics
1
Previously on Fatal Attraction
[MOANS]
Quincy. Ah!
DAN [LAUGHS]: Oh, my Oh, no.
- Are you okay?
- Oh, I've lost an earring.
I always have time for my friends.
What I don't have time for, though,
is criminals.
In fact, I have
a professional obligation
to report criminals.
I mean, obviously,
I work in the criminal courts.
Why is there an invoice from the
cleaning service on the counter?
I came home from work really late
and he had torn the place up.
- [LINE RINGS]
- BETH: Hello?
- Hey, baby.
- Uh-oh.
They got a situation
up at Men's Central Jail,
so now they all need
to be interviewed right away.
[ALEX MOANS]
Can I take these socks?
To each according to his needs.
The walk of shame
closet is a Marxist utopia.
What, so you're admitting
you're doing the walk of shame?
You honestly think I could
pull it off? Living like you?
[SOUTHERN ACCENT]: Tot Mom Casey Anthony
with her hair in a ponytail
like some demonic cheerleader from hell
- expects us to believe
- Oh, my God. Wow.
She makes it all seem so simple.
BETH: Um, this is Alex
- Forrest.
- Alex Forest.
- My husband Dan.
- No, I know him already.
It's starting to make me feel like
maybe I misunderstood something,
except I really don't think that I did.
[DAN COUGHS]
ALEX: And I'm not going to be ignored,
Dan.
ANGELA: You were what, eight?
Did you even know what an affair was?
No.
That was too much information
for you so young.
What did you make of it?
I mean, I didn't.
You know, like you said, it was just
it seemed bad.
And my mom was different after it.
Different how?
I don't know.
I think she was probably scared.
I know I was.
I was thinking about asking her now.
Asking her about what?
We've just never
talked about it before.
Ever. I mean, it's not like
like, it's not like
it's, like, a secret,
but just like what
that was like for her.
You know? 'Cause maybe she really wants
to talk about it,
for us to talk about it.
But also maybe she really doesn't.
I'm gonna relieve you
of the job of taking
care of your mom here.
It's been a long time,
and she's a big girl.
But she's been a good mother.
Loving, supportive.
Right? Would you say?
So,
maybe with everything
else happening recently,
now you're just feeling this needs to be
out there between you, finally,
in some form.
Yeah.
Yeah, I just don't know where to start.
Well, I don't want to give you a script.
Unless you want one.
[SIGHS]
You could start like,
"So much has been
coming up for me lately,
"coming back to me.
"Memories, emotions.
"I feel like I'm rethinking everything,
"and because I love you,
"I want to tell you about the things
I've been carrying
that I didn't ask to know."
[SIGHS]
ELLEN: I'm excited to move.
BETH: Me, too. I love our new house.
ELLEN: Well, I'm excited for the pool.
BETH: You have mentioned that.
ELLEN: I'm not excited
about having to pack
all the rest of my stuff
and then unpack my stuff,
but I love my new room,
and Quincy's going to love the backyard.
Does it smell weird in here to you?
Smells nice, like lemon flowers.
Yeah, that's what I mean.
We've been gone for four days.
It should smell like Quincy.
Maybe Daddy had
the cleaning service come.
They're scheduled to
come the day after we move.
Maybe he cleaned it himself.
Uh, no.
Smells so good in here, it's
making us smell so much worse.
Go shower, he's going
to be home any minute.
Okay.
BETH: Don't try to be cute.
You know you ate my Patriots blanket,
and I'm still angry at you.
What
Is this your new thing now?
You're eating things that aren't food?
Hope nobody posted flyers
saying they lost an earring.
Come on. [KISSES]
They're withholding approvals,
not allowing access to work areas.
Remember when we excavated their patio
and there was another patio underneath?
And Bruce thought we should pay for it
because we should have
known it was there. I do.
I do remember that.
Fuck it. I'm ordering
honey walnut shrimp
because I can't work all night
on steamed chicken and vegetables.
Okay, so I had Lena
print out clean copies
so that we can triage
- on a blank slate.
- [PHONE RINGS]
Oh. Julia?
Hey.
Well, just tell her Gretchen
always flushes out your PICC line.
Look it, this is well within
the duties of a chemo nurse.
Baby, just-just put
her on the phone, please.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
- Hello?
- DAN: Hey, baby.
- Uh-oh.
- Yeah, there's been an incident
down in Men's Central Jail.
- No.
- Frank's supposed to be on call,
but they can't reach him
and he's not picking up,
so I got to go.
Fucking Frank.
Hey, Bethy, you want a salad?
Arthur and I are going to
have to work through
all this shit over the phone,
and we need an actual dinner plan.
Your mother made a thing.
- Locking it up.
- Put the oven on 400.
- Cheers.
- Mm-hmm.
WARREN: Mm-hmm.
SOPHIE: "In love, the faithful must
pay with the blood of their hearts.
"Otherwise their love
is not worth a grain of rye.
"So you are leading me,
"revealing the true faith of love,
"even if your faith shall
remain hidden from me forever.
"Let my love for you be
the guardian of my secrets.
"Let the grief which this love brings me
be my soul's caress."
Wow, she's got it bad.
It's not a "her."
SOPHIE: No, it's a Romeo,
not the Juliet.
I beg your pardon.
Although this is a thousand
years older than that,
so actually, Romeo was the Majnun
of Elizabethan drama.
ELLEN: Layla's parents
wouldn't let Majnun
marry her, and so he
went out to the desert
and went crazy.
- SOPHIE: Hmm.
- Mmm.
What would you have done if your parents
hadn't let you marry Grandpa?
Are you kidding?
Grandpa was a naval lieutenant
going to Wharton.
My parents made me marry Grandpa.
So did they end up together or not?
Well, the man that Layla's
parents made her marry dies,
and so then she goes out to the desert
to tell Majnun they can
finally be together,
and he says no.
SOPHIE: Yeah,
because he had embroidered on her
so much in his mind
all those years alone,
so the actual her just couldn't live up.
You know, it's an
allegory, but for what,
I don't know.
I just like the part
where he lives in the cave
with all the animals.
- SOPHIE: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- That is the dream.
- [SOPHIE LAUGHS]
- I'm gonna check on dinner.
"Not only have I lost you,
I no longer know myself.
I keep turning upon myself
and asking, what is your name?"
"Are you in love?
"With whom?
Or are you loved? By whom?"
Hey.
[ELLEN CHEERS]
You did it.
Hey!
SOPHIE: "Do I still know where I live?
Do I still taste what I eat?"
"The fire burns within me.
"The fire beyond measure,
which has turned my being to ashes."
- It's that one.
- This one?
No, baby. Aw. No, no. No!
Baby? Oh. Babe?
- Welcome to your new home.
- Babe?
SOPHIE: "I'm lost in my own wilderness."
"Do not try to bring me
back to the world of humans.
I'm a stranger to them."
Hello, hello,
you darling girl. Oh, my God.
How-how are you this big?
How are you this big?
SOPHIE: "I am drawn to death.
Death is within me."
The suitcase that sat on the
landing for three weeks after
they got home from vacation
because neither of them
would bring it upstairs.
That pool cover is our suitcase.
And I even tried to do a Debra
and make it into a competition.
Which didn't work
'cause we don't actually
live in Everybody Loves Raymond.
JULIA: Wait, isn't it just
like a button you have to press?
It's not like you have to
break rocks in the hot sun.
DAN: No,
it's not a button you have to push.
You got to hold that fucking
thing down for, like, a minute.
Who has the time to
stand around for a minute?
Well, not you. Have you met you?
You've got important shit to do.
You two like to poke the bear.
BETH: Or you could just go out there,
and do it right fucking now.
It's still open right now?
No. [LAUGHS]
I thought this was just like
- an ongoing bone of contention.
- BETH: No, no.
- Danny
- I was just about to do it.
I was, I promise, I really was.
But then they arrived,
and we had guests,
- I didn't want to be rude.
- JULIA: Oh, my God.
- ARTHUR: That makes perfect sense.
- Okay, I'm going to do it.
- No, no, no.
- Somebody tell me how to do it.
- No, you're not. I made cake.
- Sit back down.
You're going to eat cake.
The cake? The With the cream?
Yeah, it's in the fridge,
so sit your ass down.
- Your favorite.
- Yes, ma'am.
Oh, did they ever find that woman?
The one you thought was dead?
I still think she's dead, but no.
What's this now?
Sylvie Rubidoh.
- [PHONE CHIMING]
- Her kids report her missing,
husband says that he's at work,
but we know he's lying
'cause he gamed
the login system and snuck out.
ARTHUR: So where does
he say he thinks she is now?
Well, he says she ran off
with a boyfriend, but
- ARTHUR: Ah.
- JULIA: Have you arrested him?
Or can you arrest someone
for murder if you don't have the body?
DAN: Yeah, you can,
but we usually don't.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[SIGHS]
Aren't they just going to keep calling?
Yeah. Yeah, they will, until
they give up and pass it off
to Frank, who needs to redeem himself
after that whole county jail thing
that he foisted on me.
Am I right?
When you're right, you're right.
Yeah, get it.
- DAN: It's awful, right?
- ARTHUR: Good, right?
Thank you.
- MAUREEN: Good morning.
- Oh.
12th floor called.
What about?
Just said come as soon as you get in.
- Thanks oh.
- Oh.
MARCELLA: Dan. Good.
Listen, we've got
a kind of a turf dispute,
and I need you to weigh in.
Assaults where victims were targeted
for being females over 70 are
obviously crimes against women.
I don't understand what
we're even doing right now.
DAN: So just to catch up,
Jorge caught a case, and Earl's here
'cause he brought it to Jorge?
Also because people assume I got
no other shit to do but be here.
Earl's been working it for six months,
- and it's definitely a pattern.
- Against women.
A pattern against women.
Patterns are historically
Major Crimes Bureau.
Because historically
the Crimes against Women Bureau
didn't exist, Marcella, which is why
you set it up. For this specific reason.
Not to conform to history.
And you guys have been
doing amazing work,
which I've supported right
from the very beginning.
Literally was like this when I got here.
I mean, why someone would make something
that's supposed to be a globe
in two pieces, I don't know.
It's a fucking ball.
How many victims do we have?
11 is a major case. We have
the resources. We'll handle it.
You have the resources
because you get the cases.
I hear you, but Jorge and
Earl have an amazing shorthand.
As we get into the investigation,
we're bound to turn up more victims,
and then once it goes to trial,
I'll take the lead.
Well, since it came through
Major Crimes, let's keep it there.
I want updates.
Thanks.
Well, it's fun watching
you guys match piss.
I mean, not compared
to something actually fun.
Don't worry, nobody
was under the impression
that you were having fun.
That's pretty disrespectful to the boss,
who is my direct boss
and your boss, too.
You think I don't know who
the boss is and who it isn't?
No, actually, sometimes
I think you don't.
Well, we all can't be political
animals like you, Danny.
I mean, but it's okay, though,
'cause somebody's got
to be the audience, right?
BETH: Hi, welcome.
- I'm Beth Gallagher.
- WOMAN: Hi.
I'm the owner, as
in "For sale by owner."
Thank you.
I'm right here if
you have any questions.
Mm-hmm.
So I actually did the remodel
myself through my company.
- [DOOR OPENS]
- Um, hi, I'm Beth. I'm the owner.
- Uh, the sign-in is in the kitchen.
- Okay.
I'll be with you in a second.
Thank you. Sorry.
- Oh, hey. I'm the owner.
- Mm-hmm.
Uh, if you have any questions
about the house, come find me.
Otherwise, have fun looking around.
Oh, hey, I'm Beth.
I'm the owner. I did the remodel myself,
so if you have any questions
I'll find you.
Great. Oh, here,
let me get that for you.
Thank you.
It's lovely through here.
It's so cute.
It's nice.
I'm sure you've been
hearing this all day,
but this place is amazing, Beth.
Why would you ever want to leave it?
I have that exact thought once a day.
I'm like, "You're
making a terrible mistake.
"Think of all the memories
you have at this place.
You're out of your mind."
But I think any big move
in life is like that, right?
Right?
Right.
Yeah, giant, life-changing leaps
always seem like a-a great idea
until you actually have to take one.
Exactly.
What about you?
What, I don't know, life-changing leap
would this maybe be for
Sorry, what's your name?
Sorry, I should have asked you already.
Alex Forrest. My first house.
Wow.
Oh, I love that.
And I love this for you.
Me, too.
All the best things that happened
in my adult life happened here.
I got married,
started a business with my best friend,
I had a kid.
She had all her first milestones here.
It's truly been magical. No fooling.
But you're headed somewhere
even better next, I assume.
Not better, just different.
Oh, then the best is yet to come.
[DOOR OPENS]
Or just keep telling yourself that.
- [LAUGHS]
- [DOOR CLOSES]
Hey.
Hi.
This is Alex. I'm so sorry,
I forgot your last name.
- Forrest.
- Alex Forrest.
My husband Dan.
Dan, this is Alex Forrest.
I know him already.
[CHUCKLES] From, uh,
the criminal courts.
I work in Victim Services.
DAN: That's with Conchita, right?
- ALEX: Right.
- BETH: Wow.
Are you kidding? [CHUCKLES]
[PHONE VIBRATING]
ALEX: You were right, Beth.
This place, I mean, it's-it's magical.
BETH: We've been very happy here.
ARTHUR: No, she-she had a bad reaction,
that's why they switched her.
No, no, he did. I mean,
he warned us about the nausea,
but still.
She's IV, though.
Can they do saline
hydration for IV only?
Great. No, no, no. Thank you. Thank you.
Hey. Sorry.
Pironen Plumbing.
Apparently they are
independent subcontractors,
so Andy can't tell them anything
about their appearance or their odor.
What's the matter?
What, this isn't enough?
I know what this is,
but what's the matter?
Nothing.
Nothing real.
Well, if it's real to you,
it's real.
Put it into words.
Change its nature.
Take its power.
Thought into action.
What's the action?
Saying it out loud.
No?
[SIGHS] Well, it turns out, um,
Julia's cancer is what
they call platinum resistance.
And the doctors don't know
what drug to put her on next,
and whatever they do needs to work.
And here I am, over here,
not knowing anything.
And I can't do anything about anything.
You can fire the plumbers.
Yeah?
But you love to do that.
Okay.
You don't have to appreciate the effort
it's taking for me not to get
super fucking salty right now,
but you are going to tell me
what the fuck is going on.
One time? Ten times?
More than one.
Okay, so then why is she
throwing acid on your car,
if you had to guess?
Mike, I thought I had this handled.
Then the other day,
we're having the open house,
and she shows up in my fucking home.
Goddamn it.
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry, Mike.
You have no idea how sorry I am.
Okay, okay.
But I need to know what to do here.
This is a pretty big
fucking play on her part.
Yes, it is, and it's
designed to generate
a big response, and my vote
is don't respond at all.
If you tell someone to stop calling you
and they keep calling,
and the 20th time, you pick up
and say, "Would you
stop fucking calling me?"
What you've just taught them is
that 20 calls is what it takes.
And how many times
have I told you to park
where the fucking cameras
can see your car?
Fuck. Honestly, now do you get it?
Goddamn, man.
Morning, humpy.
Hey, don't mind me.
I'm not naked.
Anymore.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Ahem.
- Get out of here.
- Yeah.
Is this really your old
lucky testimony tie,
or does it just look like it?
What, you think you won't get hired
because my tie is out of style?
I don't know, Mike.
[SIGHS]
I don't know what
the fuck I'm doing. I mean
who's going to hire
a convicted murderer
to be in their paralegal
department? Seriously.
You want to know how
many job interviews I went on
before my dad called
the D.A.'s office for me?
Hmm?
Zero.
I've literally never done this before.
Look, what law firm
is going to turn down the chance
to get the head of Major Crimes Bureau
on a paralegal salary? Hmm?
It's just the kind of greedy,
sneaky, advantage-taking shit
that lawyers live for, right? Now, look,
stop psyching yourself out
and go out there and get a job.
You know, your rent
may be next to nothing,
but if you don't pay it,
your landlady's going to come
down on you with both bunions.
MACKSEY: So,
you remember when Jung's wife
saw that house with the beautiful door?
And then he went back and
there was no house there.
- Yeah.
- Right.
So a little while later,
Jung is in Italy
with a colleague named Toni Wolff,
and they were visiting a church,
and inside the baptistry there
they saw these beautiful mosaics,
huge tile scenes on every wall.
- Oh, shit.
- Yeah.
So when they get back,
Jung had another close colleague
who was going to Italy,
and he told him, "You have to
see these amazing mosaics."
That didn't exist.
[CHUCKLES] Right.
So now Jung had had the same experience
as his wife,
and plus, his had been shared
because there was another person
that had participated simultaneously,
and still, apparently,
it hadn't happened.
So how did he explain it this time?
Well, remember [CLEARS THROAT]
Jung considered his wife
totally trustworthy,
so he'd believed her even before
the same thing happened to him.
So his position was,
when we have an experience
that we can't understand
or that doesn't
match conventional reality,
then we can't use
that reality to explain it.
Also, it might be relevant
that when they were in Italy,
Toni Wolff was Jung's mistress.
I'm s It might be relevant?
And which his wife knew
and was okay with.
Well, what was Jung's
source of information
on that? Was it him?
[LAUGHS]
No.
There are a lot of books out there
that you can read
that talk all about it.
I want to read that stuff.
Oh, good. Then maybe you will find
something in them to write about.
'Cause it bears saying out loud,
even by a generous timetable,
you are behind.
I know.
You should be outlining by now.
Yeah, I've been distracted.
I've been seeing my father,
and I haven't seen him since I was ten.
Oh, then
that, uh, that could be difficult
no matter what the reason is.
He was in prison
for second degree murder.
Yeah.
But he's paroled.
And he's out now.
Do you
need an extension?
Um, I think I'm okay.
But thanks.
And thanks for, uh, for all this.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
This, this? This is all
This is fun for me, really,
being an armchair Jung expert.
Or not even. [CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS]
He says he's innocent.
And what do you think? Or do you?
I can't use my reality to explain it.
Yeah, El Segundo, uh, Burbank, Simi.
We've opened so many
new ones the past two years,
I almost forgot
we already had one in Pomona.
Yeah, I've-I've seen
the billboards all over town.
Congratulations.
Yeah, thanks.
You know, it didn't take
a genius to figure out
that auto accidents were the niche.
The further away
people need to live for work
because of real estate prices,
the more they're going
to be driving in their car.
The more they're driving in their car,
more accidents they're going to have.
It's just it's just
fucking science, right?
Yeah. It's fantastic, man. Congrats.
Yeah. No, hey, and-and you, too.
Congratulations. Freedom!
Right?
Anyway, uh, I'm glad you reached out.
Yeah. Um
You know, I didn't want
to make any assumptions,
uh
about anything, really, but
you know, I've been making the rounds
at the law firms, and [CLEARS THROAT]
with my
baggage, there's not a lot
of options out there for me.
So I wanted to reach out to you
because I know that you know
that I know the law,
and anything that
I don't know, I can learn.
Yeah. No, Danny, I I remember you.
Do you remember what
you said when you found out
I was prosecuting your case?
This is before Marcella
took it away from me,
that high-handed bitch.
[SIGHS]
You know, anything I said back then
And keep in mind, this came from,
like, six or seven people secondhand,
so I'm talking like,
a whole courthouse's worth
of the telephone game here.
But it was basically,
"If Frank's in the chair,
"then we're golden,
because that dumb shit
couldn't convict John Wilkes Booth."
Even still,
there's part of me that
would love to have you
grinding away in the basement
for 28 bucks an hour,
but the rest of me,
I wouldn't validate your parking
if you had a fucking car.
Hey.
What are you doing here?
I'm picking you up. You see Frank?
Yep.
- He giving you a job?
- Nope.
Yeah, of course he's not. Come on.
It was worth a shot.
No, it really wasn't.
There's just no universe
in which he wasn't just bringing you in
to see the look on your face
when he told you to go fuck yourself.
Tell me how this is better
than me taking the bus?
Well, because I brought snacks.
- Oh.
- Oh.
Oh, and also,
we got to go by Alex's
old apartment building
and talk to the super
who remembers them both.
Both who?
Her and that Dr. Paul Halliwell guy,
the pill mill drug dealer?
Lived across the hall from her.
And he remembers them both together?
He saw them together?
Well, we're going to see.
Hey, get that glove
compartment, will you?
- Oh.
- Oh, shit.
- Goldfish.
- Yes.
Do they give you
Goldfish on the bus, Dan?
Oh, my God.
No, they do not.
BETH: So we're like, "That's terrible,"
but it also sounds like the contractor
was very inexperienced, and that was
- most of the problem.
- Right.
She's nodding,
agrees she should have
vetted the company better,
but then she says
the second company she hired,
they were very experienced,
and then launches into
this whole thing about
how she had all
these problems with them.
Okay. Yeah. Run away, run away.
So it was the classic,
if you meet an asshole,
they're an asshole.
If you meet assholes all day,
you're an asshole.
Mm-hmm. The asshole. Yeah.
She's the asshole.
Anyway, how are you?
Um, you know,
I'm-I'm okay.
Uh, it's just
So much has been, um,
coming up for me lately?
Like, coming back to me, um
You know, like, just
memories and emotions,
and, uh, I feel like
I'm rethinking everything.
And
I
just, I just love you.
So
I just wanted to
say that.
I love you, too.
- Aw.
- Mwah.
You know how many
codefendants were on my case?
How's there anything left
to even talk about?
Well, South Bixel Street's an angle,
what you got up to when you lived there.
I don't know, that's
that was, like, 16 years ago.
It was a long time ago.
Statute of limitations.
Long time ago, so
There's no statute of limitations
on what we're talking about.
Yeah, which is what?
You and Alex Forrest,
and why your fingerprints
were found in her apartment.
Uh, well, we were friends.
Were you friends when she was killed?
Fuck
When you broke your lease
and skipped out,
did you ever see her again?
You keep in contact?
Uh, uh
Why not?
I don't know.
Or I-I-I do, but I don't know
I don't know
I-I don't I
I don't know how to describe her.
How she was, um,
which she wasn't at first.
She was great at first. She
She knew so many random, funny things,
had such a smart take on the world.
Were you lovers?
Did she want to be lovers?
Uh, uh, I don't know what she wanted.
Uh, no, that's
that's not true.
We liked all the same things.
Or I thought we did.
And-and then
And then I-I realized,
no, I like things.
And then she liked things
because I liked them.
You know, she-she'd, she'd like things
it wouldn't even
make sense for her to like.
Uh
You know, one night I laughed,
and then she laughed, and
But it was not her laugh, it was mine.
She was not And not-not teasing me,
exactly like me.
I can still hear it.
And-and
when I asked, she acted
like I was crazy for asking.
Uh
Just so many things like that.
[LAUGHS] She would, she would always
make fun of me having bad handwriting,
even for a doctor. She'd say it was
because I was left-handed.
I was always smearing ink.
And I was over at her place,
she was writing a list,
and she was a lefty now.
And she-she saw me seeing her,
and she smiled at me, and
and just
I-I know it all sounds stupid, and
it-it really did not feel stupid.
It felt like
like I was getting swallowed up.
Anyway, I don't even know
why we're talking about this,
because a guy's in prison
for killing her, I thought.
What happened to that?
Okay, not a jilted lover.
Not a lover at all of the ladies.
But there's more than enough
there without any of that.
DAN: Victim lived across the
hall from an active drug operation.
Dangerous addicts
had access to the floor.
The head of said operation's prints
were found inside her apartment.
And he knew she worked for the D.A.
In fact, he admitted
that she threatened him with exposure.
That's a pretty good opening paragraph.
Viable alternate suspects with motive.
You still remember how to
fill out your own paperwork?
- Excuse me, sir.
- [LAUGHS]
I have filled out many
new trial applications
while I was a guest of the state.
- Just none of them were for me.
- All right, all right.
You know what else
I've been thinking about?
What Brooker's gonna do
when you get a new trial?
When the Longhorns beat USC in '06,
he broke his coffee table.
- Conchita Lewis.
- Hmm?
She ever talk to you after the trial?
Oh, no.
But not a lot of people
wanted to talk to me back then.
Uh, how come?
I always wonder what happened there.
Why she chose to side with Ruiz.
I thought about reaching
out to her while I was
But
[PHONE VIBRATING]
Anyway, I think I should do that now.
Yeah.
Well, that's all you, buddy.
Hello?
She just told me to be back at 11:00.
I'm not actually even sure
who it is I'm supposed
to be meeting with.
Give me a minute. I'll find out.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
He's here.
Yeah. Okay.
[OFFICE PHONE RINGS]
Gagan, Ollen, Bibb.
How may I direct your call?
[SIGHS]
[SCOFFS] Art, am I right?
Jorge?
I had no idea that
you worked at this firm.
You're probably a partner here,
aren't you? That's great.
Head of litigation, man. It is great.
But it's also why I didn't know
you were in the building
the first time around
until you were gone.
I want to catch up,
find out how you're doing.
But first, you you really
looking to be a paralegal?
Yeah, I am.
Well, okay, then. Welcome aboard.
I mean, duh. Or-or you got other offers.
Well, what are they?
We'll-we'll be competitive.
I do not.
Well, shit, what other firms
were dumb enough to pass you up, then?
I need names, because obviously
they must be making all kinds
of other dumb mistakes
I can capitalize on.
You can tell me while we go
deal with your start paperwork.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Come on.
Jorge.
Thank you.
Of course.
Thank you. For back then.
I just got out of your way.
Detective.
Uh, please, could you, please,
sign my grand jury subpoenas, please?
Why don't you ask Jorge to do it?
Oh, you let Jorge make decisions?
I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't aware.
Just
You know, got to hand it to you.
You seem pretty calm.
Here I was, wondering
how much you were regretting
sticking your neck out
for my old lady case.
Leyva asked me to be there.
You wanted Jorge, you got Jorge.
Why are you busting my balls?
I'm just backstopping him.
"When it goes to trial, I'll lead."
That's you backstopping him?
Whatever I said,
I said to support Jorge.
Well, nobody bought it, including you.
Anyway, so it turns out
the junkie fuck who beat up
all the old ladies has a dad
who owns all these pay-for-parking lots,
and guess who he hired for the defense.
Rolando Cabral.
Right?
So maybe you want to
reconsider grabbing lead,
not just because Jorge deserves a shot
but because, I don't know,
Cabral never destroyed Jorge in court.
[SPRAYING]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Hey. What are we doing?
Talking.
Just us this time.
Whatever.
I'm gonna water my squash.
You know, in all the ways of this world
that we did not make,
I ever do anything specific to you,
specifically, to make you
not respect me? I mean specifically.
So when it's two guys who did the job
Fine. Maybe you deserve more slack
than I cut you the other day,
and maybe I could say that
because he's not standing in front of me
with his big fucking face.
- Okay.
- What? I never liked him.
I'm going to like him now?
I who like no one?
It's just not irrelevant, that's all.
And I didn't go after him
because I didn't like him, Mikey.
- The facts presented themselves to me
- I know, I know.
If it had been me, I would have done
everything the same as you did.
We just saw things differently, is all.
Fuck, yeah, we did.
And all those years
of kissing lawyer ass
worked out pretty goddamn well
for you till they didn't.
Wouldn't change what I did either.
Yeah? I bet you would like to retire
instead of getting forced out.
And why weren't you
able to do that again?
That's a separate issue
from if he killed her,
because I know he didn't.
You want some cucumbers?
Persian, seedless.
I'll slice them up,
throw a little olive oil on them,
a little lime juice, red onion.
Listen, I'm just going
to talk about food
right now 'cause I'm done
talking about the other thing.
Dan's not a murderer, Earl.
He's a liar, Mikey.
So you'll never, ever
be able to say for sure
what the fuck else he is.
[SIGHS]
[SPRAYING]
Well, now I'm confused.
What?
You asked me did I want some cucumbers,
and I'm not getting any cucumbers.
I'm not giving you any of my cucumbers,
you fucking neckbone. That was
just a figure of speech.
You could have a beer
and shut the fuck up. How about that?
Done.
SOPHIE: Who do they
think has the leisure time to
wait at home for
a five-hour window, or more,
- on a weekday?
- Um, you do.
It's not my home.
Are we going to that
consignment place on Ventura,
or just Wertz Brothers?
Uh, if we have time. Why?
I'm just timing my trips to the pisser.
What are we looking for?
Um, an end table
and a bench for the hall.
Why a window? A window of time?
Because it has a frame.
Because it closes.
Well, so do doors.
Why not a door of time?
We are leaving.
Go to the bathroom.
- Mama?
- Yeah?
Gas and electric will be here between
10:00 and 3:00 to trim the trees.
- WARREN: Maybe.
- We live in hope.
The gate is unlocked. The key is here.
- Got it.
- When they come,
they're going to prop the gate
open to get their equipment in,
and when they leave, they might
close it, but they won't.
- Hmm.
- If you let Quincy out,
he will run off.
So if he has to go potty, I do what?
You take him out in the yard
- on leash.
- Okay.
When they leave,
you need to close the gate and lock it.
- Then you may take Quincy out.
- Okay.
Ellen gets off the bus
between 2:30 and 2:45.
I know that.
Grab her,
and then, please, give her a snack
that is not mac and cheese.
SOPHIE: Okay.
10:00 to 3:00.
The key lives in the bowl.
Don't let Quincy out
until the gate is locked.
And give Ellen mac and cheese.
You look lovely, Bethy.
So fresh.
- Ugh, no, I don't.
- Well, you look like
a flower. You do to me.
- You're fresh.
- She is fresh.
She takes liberties
you would not believe.
- SOPHIE: Stop.
- Are you ready?
Maybe one time I'd like to go
help pick out antiques.
No, no, Mom, you don't have Daddy's eye.
My beady flinty eye.
Your surprisingly eclectic
and beautiful eye
for someone who is friends
with Caspar Weinberger.
WARREN: "Friendly."
You always say friends.
There's a difference.
- BETH: Is there, though?
- No, there really is.
Rolando Cabral.
What are you doing?
[CHUCKLES]
I-I heard there was
a dartboard with my face on it
- in here somewhere.
- No, you didn't.
- Oh, didn't I?
- No.
Is there?
Never seen it.
Wait, d Do you even know
why there would be one?
Has he told you?
[LAUGHS]: Wow.
I mean, I wouldn't want
to relive that shit either,
but still.
Nando Winston.
Mid-level coke guy on the rise,
not a care in the world
other than the fact
that he's Black and
he's driving a 7 Series.
So two hair-bags pull him over.
First, they say Nando failed to signal.
Obviously a pretextual stop.
Then they say Nando, who fully knows
he's got a loaded
nine millimeter under the seat,
consented to these two
motherfuckers searching his car.
BETH: Okay, well, you being
worried that I'm making you look bad
in front of your Navy buddy you've known
for less than five minutes
is not a good reason for me
to buy a $2,600 antique
that's not an antique.
It's the man's trade.
You were second-guessing him
in the field
where he's established
and where he's known.
Yeah, he's probably known as a crook
who tries to pass off
thrift store shit as antique.
ROLANDO: So these Sherlock Holmeses
search and find this gun,
at which point they say
Nando tells them it's his.
No actual shit in the alleged
statement is "That's my gun."
They call it an excited
utterance prior to arrest
for illegal possession of a weapon,
which is adorable,
and as long as we're dreaming,
I'd like a pony.
WARREN: You embarrassed him.
An antique end table
has single spot screws,
and every one of
those screws is different
because they're handmade.
But I should not point that out
to the guy trying to sell me a table
that has factory-manufactured screws
with tapered ends? Um, okay, got it.
Oh, at last, a place
to rest a drink
on this end of the couch,
instead of on the floor where
the dog can knock it over.
Please, he could knock
a drink off the roof
if he was motivated.
Let's find out.
Let's wave some vermouth
at this thorny quest.
Uh, let's you guys go home and
spill drinks on your own rugs.
Where is the dog?
[SMACKS LIPS]
ROLANDO: So I immediately
take it to trial. Why do I do that?
One, the cops are lying.
But two, your boss is feeling cocky.
He's on one of his
yearlong winning streaks.
He's running up the numbers.
No way is he ready for moi.
BETH: Quincy? [SMACKS LIPS]
Quincy?
[SMACKS LIPS]
- Hi.
- No one was there waiting.
You were early.
I was about to come out.
Can you run upstairs
and find Nana and Papa?
And your laundry's on your bed.
Please put it all away,
but not in the same drawer.
Okay.
[WHISTLES]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[SHUDDERS]
Quincy!
[SCREAMS] Help!
- [BARKING]
- Help!
WARREN: Bethy? Beth?
- What is Oh, my God!
- [SCREAMING]
No, Mom!
WARREN: Here, here!
Here. Oh, God.
- [WARREN GASPING]
- Help her!
Anyway, so the cops lied,
Dan looked like he was
suborning perjury, and the jury
walks Nando's ass out
the door in 42 minutes.
Are we going to conduct some business
or are you just here for story hour?
[PHONE RINGS]
BETH: The Clarks brought him back.
They heard barking and looked out,
and there he was, in their yard.
Don't know how long he was loose for.
The gate was closed.
I know.
You keep saying that.
Well, I just don't
understand why she would
close the gate if she didn't
know where Quincy was.
Maybe she assumed she did.
Or maybe she wasn't thinking,
because, clearly, she'd already
broken the seal for the day
even though Ellen
wasn't even off the bus yet.
Even if she was drunk,
it wouldn't make her cruel.
She wouldn't turn into somebody
who didn't care about Quincy.
She couldn't get out of the pool, Dan.
She was something.
- Yeah.
- Even if
he can't admit that,
we can.
- ELLEN: Mommy.
- Hi, sweetie.
♪
DAN: She was here.
MIKE [OVER PHONE]: Oh, come on.
And what's your mother-in-law doing
while Alex is in your house?
I don't know.
But it's not like
we've never seen somebody
go from destroying property
to destroying people, right?
But why? Why would Alex do that?
I don't know.
If it makes sense to her,
does it have to make sense to us?
So, what, we're going from
floor stripper on your car to this?
I don't know.
I'll go talk to her. Fuck.
Okay, go be with Beth and them.
They need you.
[BARKING]
[BARKING CONTINUES]
[DOOR CLOSES]
CONCHITA: Sorry about that.
He usually settles
a little quicker than that.
Don't worry about it.
He's very cute. Zeke?
Uh, Ziggy.
I was all ready to change his name,
even though they say you
never change a rescue's name.
But then the longer we had him,
the more he just was a Ziggy.
Whatever a Ziggy is.
Oh, it's German. Short for "Zigmund."
It means, uh, "victorious protector."
Here I was thinking
it was just a Bowie song.
You know, we can totally
do this over the phone.
I'm the one who told you to come over.
It's just I, uh,
don't know what this is
or how to do this.
I-I, uh
I was fine being done
with it, with all of it.
Because you thought I was guilty.
Because you made me think that you were.
Not at first.
I mean, that's Dan Gallagher.
I'd worked with you for years,
speaking up for people, ruined people.
I'm thinking to myself,
"Could you betray them?
"Could you have dealt death to someone
with everything that you know?"
I didn't believe it. I couldn't.
And then I heard about your defense.
That you were putting it all on her.
That was a strategy.
Someone gets assaulted.
What did they say to make
the guy go after them?
They must have been drunk.
Someone gets raped.
What were they wearing?
Why did they leave with him?
Someone gets robbed and shot.
What were they doing
in that neighborhood
that time of day? Must have
been a drug deal gone wrong.
It was your thing that you always said,
that I always repeated.
I think I told every single newbie
at the VSB at some point.
I'm sure I told her.
When they don't have the law,
they argue the facts.
When they don't have the facts,
they argue the law.
When they don't have either,
they blame the victim.
The guilty always blame the victim.
Is that what you still think?
I don't think about you, Dan.
Or no, I do. A little,
when I remember how well
I used to think I knew people.
Including myself.
[SIGHS]
A while before she died,
I received an unofficial
complaint about Alex.
Inappropriate behavior towards
a criminal courts employee.
I met with him and
his union rep off the record.
He had rejected her,
and she had backed off,
but only sort of.
And he was afraid for
his job and about gossip.
He had had an affair once,
and his wife had made it very clear
that there would be zero tolerance.
Alex had not gotten ugly,
and he was not looking
to have her disciplined.
He was just trying to get on the books
with his side in case she did.
- So she was stalking him?
- No.
Harassing him, then.
Enough to make him want to come forward.
Unofficially, off the record.
Right.
Which means that you
could have done anything
that you wanted with that information,
including give it to me when
you knew how much I needed it.
She was dead, and someone killed her,
and you wanted to make that her fault!
The guilty always blame the victim.
♪
[SIGHS]
Who made the complaint, Conchita?
Please, after all
this time, just tell me.
Gabriel Ibarra,
the bailiff from courtroom M71.
[ZIGGY BARKING]
Ziggy really wants you to go.
[BARKING CONTINUES]
♪
Hey, there.
Mike Gerard. I met you at Andolini's.
Right. Hi.
What are you doing here?
Oh, I'm on my way home.
Thought I'd talk to you.
This is a beautiful building.
I-I can't believe
they made it residential.
You know, it started out
as a vaudeville house
and a garment depot?
Yeah, somebody said that.
You live downtown?
No. No, I don't like
to live where I work.
Huh.
That's what I like about it.
Yeah, I got that.
I just think we need some separation.
You know? The terrible
things we see on this job.
Need a little distraction now and again.
That's what gets us
into trouble sometimes, though.
I mean, you spend all day
doing good for other people,
you start to feeling like
if you want to get up to
some shenanigans on your
own time, it's your business.
And it is.
You know, until it's not.
You know, Dan Gallagher?
I've known him a long time.
Half his life.
You know,
he's a good man in
the most important ways,
but he should have left you alone.
He knows that.
Does he know that you're here?
Does she know?
Are you going to tell her?
- No.
- Hmm.
I don't think I'll have to.
Anyway
Safe home, Mike.
Wherever that is.
Hey.
How's she doing? Is she down?
What about him? How is he?
I've never seen him like
whatever this is.
I actually got him to take a pill,
that's how he is.
Are you sick?
[DAN SIGHS]
You okay, baby?
I have to tell you something, Beth.
Now? Does it have to be now?
Yeah, I think it does.
BETH: Oh, hey, I'm Beth.
I'm the owner.
I did the remodel myself,
so if you have any questions
I'll find you.
I have to tell you something, Beth.
AMANDA: Well, I think with
these kinds of scenes,
once Beth finds out
about the infidelity,
Alexandra and I were just
sort of playing around
with how much she truly
believes everything he's saying
versus just has these more
subliminal kind of hunches
and suspicions, as one
does in a marriage,
so I think we dialed up
and dialed down for different takes
to see how it would work
eventually in the editing room.
Hey.
Hi.
This is Alex.
I'm so sorry, I forgot your last name?
Forrest.
Alex Forrest, my husband, Dan.
Dan, this is Alex Forrest.
I know him already.
ALEXANDRA: This is a triumvirate.
It's not a duo.
There's three people here.
I just knew that I wanted
to do that scene
and have Beth actually picking
up on the energy in the room.
You are gonna tell me
what the fuck is going on!
One time? Ten times?
More than one.
Okay, so then why is she
throwing acid on your car?
JOSHUA: The house of cards
that Dan has created for himself
psychologically to survive
all of this is to do
anything that he can
to avoid taking responsibility,
to project it out.
It's, "I was failed by Conchita,"
or "I was failed by Mike,"
or "I was failed by Brooker"
or "I was failed by Alex."
It's all out here,
and, you know,
he's still not in the place
where he is able to accept
that he is the one who lit the fire
or pushed the first domino.
He did engage in this.
Then he made a sequence
of incredibly stupid decisions
that cornered himself.
That's a pretty good opening paragraph.
Viable alternate suspects with motive.
You still remember how to
fill out your own paperwork?
- Excuse me, sir.
- [LAUGHS]
I mean, Mike would never cop to it,
but he was devastated.
He and Dan were gonna kick some ass,
and they were gonna make
a name for themselves,
and those plans went awry.
He was crushed in some ways,
not only for his friend,
but for himself.
- The facts presented
- I know if it had been me,
I would've done everything
the same as you did,
and we just saw things
differently is all.
Fuck yeah, we did.
Mike and Earl, they're of the same ilk.
You know, they were both on the job,
so there's a shorthand.
They've been out in the streets,
they've been out in the
trenches with each other.
There's a certain community
and a club that they're in.
You asked me did I want some cucumbers,
and I'm not getting any cucumbers.
I'm not giving you any of my cucumbers,
you fuckin' neck bone.
That was just a figure of speech.
You could have a beer
and shut the fuck up.
- How about that?
- Done.
[DOG BARKING]
ALEXANDRA: Conchita,
in her position as the head
of Victim Services,
would work very closely
with prosecutors,
and they have a genuine friendship,
but it's based on the kind
of person that Conchita
thought Dan was, which is, you know,
the person he thought he was also
until his freedom is threatened.
I mean, that's Dan Gallagher.
I'd worked with you for
years speaking up for people,
ruined people, and then I
heard about your defense.
The idea that he
immediately would disregard
all of those things in his
desperate attempt to stay free,
it just rocked her world.
A while before she died,
I received an unofficial
complaint about Alex.
So she was stalking him.
No.
Harassing him then, enough to
make him wanna come forward.
Unofficially, off the record.
JOSHUA: You know, there's
a deep, deep sadness
to not just getting
the piece of information,
but the recognition
that there were alternate paths
that could have kept him out of misery
for the last 15 years.
To my mind, it doesn't really matter
whether or not he's exonerated.
He doesn't get to see
his daughter grow up.
He doesn't get to be
remarried to his wife.
He doesn't get to reenter
society as a whole human being.
Like, all of those things
are forever foreclosed to him
and, at this point in the story,
he's still arguing
with the central fact,
which is that he is responsible
for what happened to him.
Previously on Fatal Attraction
[MOANS]
Quincy. Ah!
DAN [LAUGHS]: Oh, my Oh, no.
- Are you okay?
- Oh, I've lost an earring.
I always have time for my friends.
What I don't have time for, though,
is criminals.
In fact, I have
a professional obligation
to report criminals.
I mean, obviously,
I work in the criminal courts.
Why is there an invoice from the
cleaning service on the counter?
I came home from work really late
and he had torn the place up.
- [LINE RINGS]
- BETH: Hello?
- Hey, baby.
- Uh-oh.
They got a situation
up at Men's Central Jail,
so now they all need
to be interviewed right away.
[ALEX MOANS]
Can I take these socks?
To each according to his needs.
The walk of shame
closet is a Marxist utopia.
What, so you're admitting
you're doing the walk of shame?
You honestly think I could
pull it off? Living like you?
[SOUTHERN ACCENT]: Tot Mom Casey Anthony
with her hair in a ponytail
like some demonic cheerleader from hell
- expects us to believe
- Oh, my God. Wow.
She makes it all seem so simple.
BETH: Um, this is Alex
- Forrest.
- Alex Forest.
- My husband Dan.
- No, I know him already.
It's starting to make me feel like
maybe I misunderstood something,
except I really don't think that I did.
[DAN COUGHS]
ALEX: And I'm not going to be ignored,
Dan.
ANGELA: You were what, eight?
Did you even know what an affair was?
No.
That was too much information
for you so young.
What did you make of it?
I mean, I didn't.
You know, like you said, it was just
it seemed bad.
And my mom was different after it.
Different how?
I don't know.
I think she was probably scared.
I know I was.
I was thinking about asking her now.
Asking her about what?
We've just never
talked about it before.
Ever. I mean, it's not like
like, it's not like
it's, like, a secret,
but just like what
that was like for her.
You know? 'Cause maybe she really wants
to talk about it,
for us to talk about it.
But also maybe she really doesn't.
I'm gonna relieve you
of the job of taking
care of your mom here.
It's been a long time,
and she's a big girl.
But she's been a good mother.
Loving, supportive.
Right? Would you say?
So,
maybe with everything
else happening recently,
now you're just feeling this needs to be
out there between you, finally,
in some form.
Yeah.
Yeah, I just don't know where to start.
Well, I don't want to give you a script.
Unless you want one.
[SIGHS]
You could start like,
"So much has been
coming up for me lately,
"coming back to me.
"Memories, emotions.
"I feel like I'm rethinking everything,
"and because I love you,
"I want to tell you about the things
I've been carrying
that I didn't ask to know."
[SIGHS]
ELLEN: I'm excited to move.
BETH: Me, too. I love our new house.
ELLEN: Well, I'm excited for the pool.
BETH: You have mentioned that.
ELLEN: I'm not excited
about having to pack
all the rest of my stuff
and then unpack my stuff,
but I love my new room,
and Quincy's going to love the backyard.
Does it smell weird in here to you?
Smells nice, like lemon flowers.
Yeah, that's what I mean.
We've been gone for four days.
It should smell like Quincy.
Maybe Daddy had
the cleaning service come.
They're scheduled to
come the day after we move.
Maybe he cleaned it himself.
Uh, no.
Smells so good in here, it's
making us smell so much worse.
Go shower, he's going
to be home any minute.
Okay.
BETH: Don't try to be cute.
You know you ate my Patriots blanket,
and I'm still angry at you.
What
Is this your new thing now?
You're eating things that aren't food?
Hope nobody posted flyers
saying they lost an earring.
Come on. [KISSES]
They're withholding approvals,
not allowing access to work areas.
Remember when we excavated their patio
and there was another patio underneath?
And Bruce thought we should pay for it
because we should have
known it was there. I do.
I do remember that.
Fuck it. I'm ordering
honey walnut shrimp
because I can't work all night
on steamed chicken and vegetables.
Okay, so I had Lena
print out clean copies
so that we can triage
- on a blank slate.
- [PHONE RINGS]
Oh. Julia?
Hey.
Well, just tell her Gretchen
always flushes out your PICC line.
Look it, this is well within
the duties of a chemo nurse.
Baby, just-just put
her on the phone, please.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
- Hello?
- DAN: Hey, baby.
- Uh-oh.
- Yeah, there's been an incident
down in Men's Central Jail.
- No.
- Frank's supposed to be on call,
but they can't reach him
and he's not picking up,
so I got to go.
Fucking Frank.
Hey, Bethy, you want a salad?
Arthur and I are going to
have to work through
all this shit over the phone,
and we need an actual dinner plan.
Your mother made a thing.
- Locking it up.
- Put the oven on 400.
- Cheers.
- Mm-hmm.
WARREN: Mm-hmm.
SOPHIE: "In love, the faithful must
pay with the blood of their hearts.
"Otherwise their love
is not worth a grain of rye.
"So you are leading me,
"revealing the true faith of love,
"even if your faith shall
remain hidden from me forever.
"Let my love for you be
the guardian of my secrets.
"Let the grief which this love brings me
be my soul's caress."
Wow, she's got it bad.
It's not a "her."
SOPHIE: No, it's a Romeo,
not the Juliet.
I beg your pardon.
Although this is a thousand
years older than that,
so actually, Romeo was the Majnun
of Elizabethan drama.
ELLEN: Layla's parents
wouldn't let Majnun
marry her, and so he
went out to the desert
and went crazy.
- SOPHIE: Hmm.
- Mmm.
What would you have done if your parents
hadn't let you marry Grandpa?
Are you kidding?
Grandpa was a naval lieutenant
going to Wharton.
My parents made me marry Grandpa.
So did they end up together or not?
Well, the man that Layla's
parents made her marry dies,
and so then she goes out to the desert
to tell Majnun they can
finally be together,
and he says no.
SOPHIE: Yeah,
because he had embroidered on her
so much in his mind
all those years alone,
so the actual her just couldn't live up.
You know, it's an
allegory, but for what,
I don't know.
I just like the part
where he lives in the cave
with all the animals.
- SOPHIE: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- That is the dream.
- [SOPHIE LAUGHS]
- I'm gonna check on dinner.
"Not only have I lost you,
I no longer know myself.
I keep turning upon myself
and asking, what is your name?"
"Are you in love?
"With whom?
Or are you loved? By whom?"
Hey.
[ELLEN CHEERS]
You did it.
Hey!
SOPHIE: "Do I still know where I live?
Do I still taste what I eat?"
"The fire burns within me.
"The fire beyond measure,
which has turned my being to ashes."
- It's that one.
- This one?
No, baby. Aw. No, no. No!
Baby? Oh. Babe?
- Welcome to your new home.
- Babe?
SOPHIE: "I'm lost in my own wilderness."
"Do not try to bring me
back to the world of humans.
I'm a stranger to them."
Hello, hello,
you darling girl. Oh, my God.
How-how are you this big?
How are you this big?
SOPHIE: "I am drawn to death.
Death is within me."
The suitcase that sat on the
landing for three weeks after
they got home from vacation
because neither of them
would bring it upstairs.
That pool cover is our suitcase.
And I even tried to do a Debra
and make it into a competition.
Which didn't work
'cause we don't actually
live in Everybody Loves Raymond.
JULIA: Wait, isn't it just
like a button you have to press?
It's not like you have to
break rocks in the hot sun.
DAN: No,
it's not a button you have to push.
You got to hold that fucking
thing down for, like, a minute.
Who has the time to
stand around for a minute?
Well, not you. Have you met you?
You've got important shit to do.
You two like to poke the bear.
BETH: Or you could just go out there,
and do it right fucking now.
It's still open right now?
No. [LAUGHS]
I thought this was just like
- an ongoing bone of contention.
- BETH: No, no.
- Danny
- I was just about to do it.
I was, I promise, I really was.
But then they arrived,
and we had guests,
- I didn't want to be rude.
- JULIA: Oh, my God.
- ARTHUR: That makes perfect sense.
- Okay, I'm going to do it.
- No, no, no.
- Somebody tell me how to do it.
- No, you're not. I made cake.
- Sit back down.
You're going to eat cake.
The cake? The With the cream?
Yeah, it's in the fridge,
so sit your ass down.
- Your favorite.
- Yes, ma'am.
Oh, did they ever find that woman?
The one you thought was dead?
I still think she's dead, but no.
What's this now?
Sylvie Rubidoh.
- [PHONE CHIMING]
- Her kids report her missing,
husband says that he's at work,
but we know he's lying
'cause he gamed
the login system and snuck out.
ARTHUR: So where does
he say he thinks she is now?
Well, he says she ran off
with a boyfriend, but
- ARTHUR: Ah.
- JULIA: Have you arrested him?
Or can you arrest someone
for murder if you don't have the body?
DAN: Yeah, you can,
but we usually don't.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[SIGHS]
Aren't they just going to keep calling?
Yeah. Yeah, they will, until
they give up and pass it off
to Frank, who needs to redeem himself
after that whole county jail thing
that he foisted on me.
Am I right?
When you're right, you're right.
Yeah, get it.
- DAN: It's awful, right?
- ARTHUR: Good, right?
Thank you.
- MAUREEN: Good morning.
- Oh.
12th floor called.
What about?
Just said come as soon as you get in.
- Thanks oh.
- Oh.
MARCELLA: Dan. Good.
Listen, we've got
a kind of a turf dispute,
and I need you to weigh in.
Assaults where victims were targeted
for being females over 70 are
obviously crimes against women.
I don't understand what
we're even doing right now.
DAN: So just to catch up,
Jorge caught a case, and Earl's here
'cause he brought it to Jorge?
Also because people assume I got
no other shit to do but be here.
Earl's been working it for six months,
- and it's definitely a pattern.
- Against women.
A pattern against women.
Patterns are historically
Major Crimes Bureau.
Because historically
the Crimes against Women Bureau
didn't exist, Marcella, which is why
you set it up. For this specific reason.
Not to conform to history.
And you guys have been
doing amazing work,
which I've supported right
from the very beginning.
Literally was like this when I got here.
I mean, why someone would make something
that's supposed to be a globe
in two pieces, I don't know.
It's a fucking ball.
How many victims do we have?
11 is a major case. We have
the resources. We'll handle it.
You have the resources
because you get the cases.
I hear you, but Jorge and
Earl have an amazing shorthand.
As we get into the investigation,
we're bound to turn up more victims,
and then once it goes to trial,
I'll take the lead.
Well, since it came through
Major Crimes, let's keep it there.
I want updates.
Thanks.
Well, it's fun watching
you guys match piss.
I mean, not compared
to something actually fun.
Don't worry, nobody
was under the impression
that you were having fun.
That's pretty disrespectful to the boss,
who is my direct boss
and your boss, too.
You think I don't know who
the boss is and who it isn't?
No, actually, sometimes
I think you don't.
Well, we all can't be political
animals like you, Danny.
I mean, but it's okay, though,
'cause somebody's got
to be the audience, right?
BETH: Hi, welcome.
- I'm Beth Gallagher.
- WOMAN: Hi.
I'm the owner, as
in "For sale by owner."
Thank you.
I'm right here if
you have any questions.
Mm-hmm.
So I actually did the remodel
myself through my company.
- [DOOR OPENS]
- Um, hi, I'm Beth. I'm the owner.
- Uh, the sign-in is in the kitchen.
- Okay.
I'll be with you in a second.
Thank you. Sorry.
- Oh, hey. I'm the owner.
- Mm-hmm.
Uh, if you have any questions
about the house, come find me.
Otherwise, have fun looking around.
Oh, hey, I'm Beth.
I'm the owner. I did the remodel myself,
so if you have any questions
I'll find you.
Great. Oh, here,
let me get that for you.
Thank you.
It's lovely through here.
It's so cute.
It's nice.
I'm sure you've been
hearing this all day,
but this place is amazing, Beth.
Why would you ever want to leave it?
I have that exact thought once a day.
I'm like, "You're
making a terrible mistake.
"Think of all the memories
you have at this place.
You're out of your mind."
But I think any big move
in life is like that, right?
Right?
Right.
Yeah, giant, life-changing leaps
always seem like a-a great idea
until you actually have to take one.
Exactly.
What about you?
What, I don't know, life-changing leap
would this maybe be for
Sorry, what's your name?
Sorry, I should have asked you already.
Alex Forrest. My first house.
Wow.
Oh, I love that.
And I love this for you.
Me, too.
All the best things that happened
in my adult life happened here.
I got married,
started a business with my best friend,
I had a kid.
She had all her first milestones here.
It's truly been magical. No fooling.
But you're headed somewhere
even better next, I assume.
Not better, just different.
Oh, then the best is yet to come.
[DOOR OPENS]
Or just keep telling yourself that.
- [LAUGHS]
- [DOOR CLOSES]
Hey.
Hi.
This is Alex. I'm so sorry,
I forgot your last name.
- Forrest.
- Alex Forrest.
My husband Dan.
Dan, this is Alex Forrest.
I know him already.
[CHUCKLES] From, uh,
the criminal courts.
I work in Victim Services.
DAN: That's with Conchita, right?
- ALEX: Right.
- BETH: Wow.
Are you kidding? [CHUCKLES]
[PHONE VIBRATING]
ALEX: You were right, Beth.
This place, I mean, it's-it's magical.
BETH: We've been very happy here.
ARTHUR: No, she-she had a bad reaction,
that's why they switched her.
No, no, he did. I mean,
he warned us about the nausea,
but still.
She's IV, though.
Can they do saline
hydration for IV only?
Great. No, no, no. Thank you. Thank you.
Hey. Sorry.
Pironen Plumbing.
Apparently they are
independent subcontractors,
so Andy can't tell them anything
about their appearance or their odor.
What's the matter?
What, this isn't enough?
I know what this is,
but what's the matter?
Nothing.
Nothing real.
Well, if it's real to you,
it's real.
Put it into words.
Change its nature.
Take its power.
Thought into action.
What's the action?
Saying it out loud.
No?
[SIGHS] Well, it turns out, um,
Julia's cancer is what
they call platinum resistance.
And the doctors don't know
what drug to put her on next,
and whatever they do needs to work.
And here I am, over here,
not knowing anything.
And I can't do anything about anything.
You can fire the plumbers.
Yeah?
But you love to do that.
Okay.
You don't have to appreciate the effort
it's taking for me not to get
super fucking salty right now,
but you are going to tell me
what the fuck is going on.
One time? Ten times?
More than one.
Okay, so then why is she
throwing acid on your car,
if you had to guess?
Mike, I thought I had this handled.
Then the other day,
we're having the open house,
and she shows up in my fucking home.
Goddamn it.
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry, Mike.
You have no idea how sorry I am.
Okay, okay.
But I need to know what to do here.
This is a pretty big
fucking play on her part.
Yes, it is, and it's
designed to generate
a big response, and my vote
is don't respond at all.
If you tell someone to stop calling you
and they keep calling,
and the 20th time, you pick up
and say, "Would you
stop fucking calling me?"
What you've just taught them is
that 20 calls is what it takes.
And how many times
have I told you to park
where the fucking cameras
can see your car?
Fuck. Honestly, now do you get it?
Goddamn, man.
Morning, humpy.
Hey, don't mind me.
I'm not naked.
Anymore.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Ahem.
- Get out of here.
- Yeah.
Is this really your old
lucky testimony tie,
or does it just look like it?
What, you think you won't get hired
because my tie is out of style?
I don't know, Mike.
[SIGHS]
I don't know what
the fuck I'm doing. I mean
who's going to hire
a convicted murderer
to be in their paralegal
department? Seriously.
You want to know how
many job interviews I went on
before my dad called
the D.A.'s office for me?
Hmm?
Zero.
I've literally never done this before.
Look, what law firm
is going to turn down the chance
to get the head of Major Crimes Bureau
on a paralegal salary? Hmm?
It's just the kind of greedy,
sneaky, advantage-taking shit
that lawyers live for, right? Now, look,
stop psyching yourself out
and go out there and get a job.
You know, your rent
may be next to nothing,
but if you don't pay it,
your landlady's going to come
down on you with both bunions.
MACKSEY: So,
you remember when Jung's wife
saw that house with the beautiful door?
And then he went back and
there was no house there.
- Yeah.
- Right.
So a little while later,
Jung is in Italy
with a colleague named Toni Wolff,
and they were visiting a church,
and inside the baptistry there
they saw these beautiful mosaics,
huge tile scenes on every wall.
- Oh, shit.
- Yeah.
So when they get back,
Jung had another close colleague
who was going to Italy,
and he told him, "You have to
see these amazing mosaics."
That didn't exist.
[CHUCKLES] Right.
So now Jung had had the same experience
as his wife,
and plus, his had been shared
because there was another person
that had participated simultaneously,
and still, apparently,
it hadn't happened.
So how did he explain it this time?
Well, remember [CLEARS THROAT]
Jung considered his wife
totally trustworthy,
so he'd believed her even before
the same thing happened to him.
So his position was,
when we have an experience
that we can't understand
or that doesn't
match conventional reality,
then we can't use
that reality to explain it.
Also, it might be relevant
that when they were in Italy,
Toni Wolff was Jung's mistress.
I'm s It might be relevant?
And which his wife knew
and was okay with.
Well, what was Jung's
source of information
on that? Was it him?
[LAUGHS]
No.
There are a lot of books out there
that you can read
that talk all about it.
I want to read that stuff.
Oh, good. Then maybe you will find
something in them to write about.
'Cause it bears saying out loud,
even by a generous timetable,
you are behind.
I know.
You should be outlining by now.
Yeah, I've been distracted.
I've been seeing my father,
and I haven't seen him since I was ten.
Oh, then
that, uh, that could be difficult
no matter what the reason is.
He was in prison
for second degree murder.
Yeah.
But he's paroled.
And he's out now.
Do you
need an extension?
Um, I think I'm okay.
But thanks.
And thanks for, uh, for all this.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
This, this? This is all
This is fun for me, really,
being an armchair Jung expert.
Or not even. [CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS]
He says he's innocent.
And what do you think? Or do you?
I can't use my reality to explain it.
Yeah, El Segundo, uh, Burbank, Simi.
We've opened so many
new ones the past two years,
I almost forgot
we already had one in Pomona.
Yeah, I've-I've seen
the billboards all over town.
Congratulations.
Yeah, thanks.
You know, it didn't take
a genius to figure out
that auto accidents were the niche.
The further away
people need to live for work
because of real estate prices,
the more they're going
to be driving in their car.
The more they're driving in their car,
more accidents they're going to have.
It's just it's just
fucking science, right?
Yeah. It's fantastic, man. Congrats.
Yeah. No, hey, and-and you, too.
Congratulations. Freedom!
Right?
Anyway, uh, I'm glad you reached out.
Yeah. Um
You know, I didn't want
to make any assumptions,
uh
about anything, really, but
you know, I've been making the rounds
at the law firms, and [CLEARS THROAT]
with my
baggage, there's not a lot
of options out there for me.
So I wanted to reach out to you
because I know that you know
that I know the law,
and anything that
I don't know, I can learn.
Yeah. No, Danny, I I remember you.
Do you remember what
you said when you found out
I was prosecuting your case?
This is before Marcella
took it away from me,
that high-handed bitch.
[SIGHS]
You know, anything I said back then
And keep in mind, this came from,
like, six or seven people secondhand,
so I'm talking like,
a whole courthouse's worth
of the telephone game here.
But it was basically,
"If Frank's in the chair,
"then we're golden,
because that dumb shit
couldn't convict John Wilkes Booth."
Even still,
there's part of me that
would love to have you
grinding away in the basement
for 28 bucks an hour,
but the rest of me,
I wouldn't validate your parking
if you had a fucking car.
Hey.
What are you doing here?
I'm picking you up. You see Frank?
Yep.
- He giving you a job?
- Nope.
Yeah, of course he's not. Come on.
It was worth a shot.
No, it really wasn't.
There's just no universe
in which he wasn't just bringing you in
to see the look on your face
when he told you to go fuck yourself.
Tell me how this is better
than me taking the bus?
Well, because I brought snacks.
- Oh.
- Oh.
Oh, and also,
we got to go by Alex's
old apartment building
and talk to the super
who remembers them both.
Both who?
Her and that Dr. Paul Halliwell guy,
the pill mill drug dealer?
Lived across the hall from her.
And he remembers them both together?
He saw them together?
Well, we're going to see.
Hey, get that glove
compartment, will you?
- Oh.
- Oh, shit.
- Goldfish.
- Yes.
Do they give you
Goldfish on the bus, Dan?
Oh, my God.
No, they do not.
BETH: So we're like, "That's terrible,"
but it also sounds like the contractor
was very inexperienced, and that was
- most of the problem.
- Right.
She's nodding,
agrees she should have
vetted the company better,
but then she says
the second company she hired,
they were very experienced,
and then launches into
this whole thing about
how she had all
these problems with them.
Okay. Yeah. Run away, run away.
So it was the classic,
if you meet an asshole,
they're an asshole.
If you meet assholes all day,
you're an asshole.
Mm-hmm. The asshole. Yeah.
She's the asshole.
Anyway, how are you?
Um, you know,
I'm-I'm okay.
Uh, it's just
So much has been, um,
coming up for me lately?
Like, coming back to me, um
You know, like, just
memories and emotions,
and, uh, I feel like
I'm rethinking everything.
And
I
just, I just love you.
So
I just wanted to
say that.
I love you, too.
- Aw.
- Mwah.
You know how many
codefendants were on my case?
How's there anything left
to even talk about?
Well, South Bixel Street's an angle,
what you got up to when you lived there.
I don't know, that's
that was, like, 16 years ago.
It was a long time ago.
Statute of limitations.
Long time ago, so
There's no statute of limitations
on what we're talking about.
Yeah, which is what?
You and Alex Forrest,
and why your fingerprints
were found in her apartment.
Uh, well, we were friends.
Were you friends when she was killed?
Fuck
When you broke your lease
and skipped out,
did you ever see her again?
You keep in contact?
Uh, uh
Why not?
I don't know.
Or I-I-I do, but I don't know
I don't know
I-I don't I
I don't know how to describe her.
How she was, um,
which she wasn't at first.
She was great at first. She
She knew so many random, funny things,
had such a smart take on the world.
Were you lovers?
Did she want to be lovers?
Uh, uh, I don't know what she wanted.
Uh, no, that's
that's not true.
We liked all the same things.
Or I thought we did.
And-and then
And then I-I realized,
no, I like things.
And then she liked things
because I liked them.
You know, she-she'd, she'd like things
it wouldn't even
make sense for her to like.
Uh
You know, one night I laughed,
and then she laughed, and
But it was not her laugh, it was mine.
She was not And not-not teasing me,
exactly like me.
I can still hear it.
And-and
when I asked, she acted
like I was crazy for asking.
Uh
Just so many things like that.
[LAUGHS] She would, she would always
make fun of me having bad handwriting,
even for a doctor. She'd say it was
because I was left-handed.
I was always smearing ink.
And I was over at her place,
she was writing a list,
and she was a lefty now.
And she-she saw me seeing her,
and she smiled at me, and
and just
I-I know it all sounds stupid, and
it-it really did not feel stupid.
It felt like
like I was getting swallowed up.
Anyway, I don't even know
why we're talking about this,
because a guy's in prison
for killing her, I thought.
What happened to that?
Okay, not a jilted lover.
Not a lover at all of the ladies.
But there's more than enough
there without any of that.
DAN: Victim lived across the
hall from an active drug operation.
Dangerous addicts
had access to the floor.
The head of said operation's prints
were found inside her apartment.
And he knew she worked for the D.A.
In fact, he admitted
that she threatened him with exposure.
That's a pretty good opening paragraph.
Viable alternate suspects with motive.
You still remember how to
fill out your own paperwork?
- Excuse me, sir.
- [LAUGHS]
I have filled out many
new trial applications
while I was a guest of the state.
- Just none of them were for me.
- All right, all right.
You know what else
I've been thinking about?
What Brooker's gonna do
when you get a new trial?
When the Longhorns beat USC in '06,
he broke his coffee table.
- Conchita Lewis.
- Hmm?
She ever talk to you after the trial?
Oh, no.
But not a lot of people
wanted to talk to me back then.
Uh, how come?
I always wonder what happened there.
Why she chose to side with Ruiz.
I thought about reaching
out to her while I was
But
[PHONE VIBRATING]
Anyway, I think I should do that now.
Yeah.
Well, that's all you, buddy.
Hello?
She just told me to be back at 11:00.
I'm not actually even sure
who it is I'm supposed
to be meeting with.
Give me a minute. I'll find out.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
He's here.
Yeah. Okay.
[OFFICE PHONE RINGS]
Gagan, Ollen, Bibb.
How may I direct your call?
[SIGHS]
[SCOFFS] Art, am I right?
Jorge?
I had no idea that
you worked at this firm.
You're probably a partner here,
aren't you? That's great.
Head of litigation, man. It is great.
But it's also why I didn't know
you were in the building
the first time around
until you were gone.
I want to catch up,
find out how you're doing.
But first, you you really
looking to be a paralegal?
Yeah, I am.
Well, okay, then. Welcome aboard.
I mean, duh. Or-or you got other offers.
Well, what are they?
We'll-we'll be competitive.
I do not.
Well, shit, what other firms
were dumb enough to pass you up, then?
I need names, because obviously
they must be making all kinds
of other dumb mistakes
I can capitalize on.
You can tell me while we go
deal with your start paperwork.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Come on.
Jorge.
Thank you.
Of course.
Thank you. For back then.
I just got out of your way.
Detective.
Uh, please, could you, please,
sign my grand jury subpoenas, please?
Why don't you ask Jorge to do it?
Oh, you let Jorge make decisions?
I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't aware.
Just
You know, got to hand it to you.
You seem pretty calm.
Here I was, wondering
how much you were regretting
sticking your neck out
for my old lady case.
Leyva asked me to be there.
You wanted Jorge, you got Jorge.
Why are you busting my balls?
I'm just backstopping him.
"When it goes to trial, I'll lead."
That's you backstopping him?
Whatever I said,
I said to support Jorge.
Well, nobody bought it, including you.
Anyway, so it turns out
the junkie fuck who beat up
all the old ladies has a dad
who owns all these pay-for-parking lots,
and guess who he hired for the defense.
Rolando Cabral.
Right?
So maybe you want to
reconsider grabbing lead,
not just because Jorge deserves a shot
but because, I don't know,
Cabral never destroyed Jorge in court.
[SPRAYING]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Hey. What are we doing?
Talking.
Just us this time.
Whatever.
I'm gonna water my squash.
You know, in all the ways of this world
that we did not make,
I ever do anything specific to you,
specifically, to make you
not respect me? I mean specifically.
So when it's two guys who did the job
Fine. Maybe you deserve more slack
than I cut you the other day,
and maybe I could say that
because he's not standing in front of me
with his big fucking face.
- Okay.
- What? I never liked him.
I'm going to like him now?
I who like no one?
It's just not irrelevant, that's all.
And I didn't go after him
because I didn't like him, Mikey.
- The facts presented themselves to me
- I know, I know.
If it had been me, I would have done
everything the same as you did.
We just saw things differently, is all.
Fuck, yeah, we did.
And all those years
of kissing lawyer ass
worked out pretty goddamn well
for you till they didn't.
Wouldn't change what I did either.
Yeah? I bet you would like to retire
instead of getting forced out.
And why weren't you
able to do that again?
That's a separate issue
from if he killed her,
because I know he didn't.
You want some cucumbers?
Persian, seedless.
I'll slice them up,
throw a little olive oil on them,
a little lime juice, red onion.
Listen, I'm just going
to talk about food
right now 'cause I'm done
talking about the other thing.
Dan's not a murderer, Earl.
He's a liar, Mikey.
So you'll never, ever
be able to say for sure
what the fuck else he is.
[SIGHS]
[SPRAYING]
Well, now I'm confused.
What?
You asked me did I want some cucumbers,
and I'm not getting any cucumbers.
I'm not giving you any of my cucumbers,
you fucking neckbone. That was
just a figure of speech.
You could have a beer
and shut the fuck up. How about that?
Done.
SOPHIE: Who do they
think has the leisure time to
wait at home for
a five-hour window, or more,
- on a weekday?
- Um, you do.
It's not my home.
Are we going to that
consignment place on Ventura,
or just Wertz Brothers?
Uh, if we have time. Why?
I'm just timing my trips to the pisser.
What are we looking for?
Um, an end table
and a bench for the hall.
Why a window? A window of time?
Because it has a frame.
Because it closes.
Well, so do doors.
Why not a door of time?
We are leaving.
Go to the bathroom.
- Mama?
- Yeah?
Gas and electric will be here between
10:00 and 3:00 to trim the trees.
- WARREN: Maybe.
- We live in hope.
The gate is unlocked. The key is here.
- Got it.
- When they come,
they're going to prop the gate
open to get their equipment in,
and when they leave, they might
close it, but they won't.
- Hmm.
- If you let Quincy out,
he will run off.
So if he has to go potty, I do what?
You take him out in the yard
- on leash.
- Okay.
When they leave,
you need to close the gate and lock it.
- Then you may take Quincy out.
- Okay.
Ellen gets off the bus
between 2:30 and 2:45.
I know that.
Grab her,
and then, please, give her a snack
that is not mac and cheese.
SOPHIE: Okay.
10:00 to 3:00.
The key lives in the bowl.
Don't let Quincy out
until the gate is locked.
And give Ellen mac and cheese.
You look lovely, Bethy.
So fresh.
- Ugh, no, I don't.
- Well, you look like
a flower. You do to me.
- You're fresh.
- She is fresh.
She takes liberties
you would not believe.
- SOPHIE: Stop.
- Are you ready?
Maybe one time I'd like to go
help pick out antiques.
No, no, Mom, you don't have Daddy's eye.
My beady flinty eye.
Your surprisingly eclectic
and beautiful eye
for someone who is friends
with Caspar Weinberger.
WARREN: "Friendly."
You always say friends.
There's a difference.
- BETH: Is there, though?
- No, there really is.
Rolando Cabral.
What are you doing?
[CHUCKLES]
I-I heard there was
a dartboard with my face on it
- in here somewhere.
- No, you didn't.
- Oh, didn't I?
- No.
Is there?
Never seen it.
Wait, d Do you even know
why there would be one?
Has he told you?
[LAUGHS]: Wow.
I mean, I wouldn't want
to relive that shit either,
but still.
Nando Winston.
Mid-level coke guy on the rise,
not a care in the world
other than the fact
that he's Black and
he's driving a 7 Series.
So two hair-bags pull him over.
First, they say Nando failed to signal.
Obviously a pretextual stop.
Then they say Nando, who fully knows
he's got a loaded
nine millimeter under the seat,
consented to these two
motherfuckers searching his car.
BETH: Okay, well, you being
worried that I'm making you look bad
in front of your Navy buddy you've known
for less than five minutes
is not a good reason for me
to buy a $2,600 antique
that's not an antique.
It's the man's trade.
You were second-guessing him
in the field
where he's established
and where he's known.
Yeah, he's probably known as a crook
who tries to pass off
thrift store shit as antique.
ROLANDO: So these Sherlock Holmeses
search and find this gun,
at which point they say
Nando tells them it's his.
No actual shit in the alleged
statement is "That's my gun."
They call it an excited
utterance prior to arrest
for illegal possession of a weapon,
which is adorable,
and as long as we're dreaming,
I'd like a pony.
WARREN: You embarrassed him.
An antique end table
has single spot screws,
and every one of
those screws is different
because they're handmade.
But I should not point that out
to the guy trying to sell me a table
that has factory-manufactured screws
with tapered ends? Um, okay, got it.
Oh, at last, a place
to rest a drink
on this end of the couch,
instead of on the floor where
the dog can knock it over.
Please, he could knock
a drink off the roof
if he was motivated.
Let's find out.
Let's wave some vermouth
at this thorny quest.
Uh, let's you guys go home and
spill drinks on your own rugs.
Where is the dog?
[SMACKS LIPS]
ROLANDO: So I immediately
take it to trial. Why do I do that?
One, the cops are lying.
But two, your boss is feeling cocky.
He's on one of his
yearlong winning streaks.
He's running up the numbers.
No way is he ready for moi.
BETH: Quincy? [SMACKS LIPS]
Quincy?
[SMACKS LIPS]
- Hi.
- No one was there waiting.
You were early.
I was about to come out.
Can you run upstairs
and find Nana and Papa?
And your laundry's on your bed.
Please put it all away,
but not in the same drawer.
Okay.
[WHISTLES]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[SHUDDERS]
Quincy!
[SCREAMS] Help!
- [BARKING]
- Help!
WARREN: Bethy? Beth?
- What is Oh, my God!
- [SCREAMING]
No, Mom!
WARREN: Here, here!
Here. Oh, God.
- [WARREN GASPING]
- Help her!
Anyway, so the cops lied,
Dan looked like he was
suborning perjury, and the jury
walks Nando's ass out
the door in 42 minutes.
Are we going to conduct some business
or are you just here for story hour?
[PHONE RINGS]
BETH: The Clarks brought him back.
They heard barking and looked out,
and there he was, in their yard.
Don't know how long he was loose for.
The gate was closed.
I know.
You keep saying that.
Well, I just don't
understand why she would
close the gate if she didn't
know where Quincy was.
Maybe she assumed she did.
Or maybe she wasn't thinking,
because, clearly, she'd already
broken the seal for the day
even though Ellen
wasn't even off the bus yet.
Even if she was drunk,
it wouldn't make her cruel.
She wouldn't turn into somebody
who didn't care about Quincy.
She couldn't get out of the pool, Dan.
She was something.
- Yeah.
- Even if
he can't admit that,
we can.
- ELLEN: Mommy.
- Hi, sweetie.
♪
DAN: She was here.
MIKE [OVER PHONE]: Oh, come on.
And what's your mother-in-law doing
while Alex is in your house?
I don't know.
But it's not like
we've never seen somebody
go from destroying property
to destroying people, right?
But why? Why would Alex do that?
I don't know.
If it makes sense to her,
does it have to make sense to us?
So, what, we're going from
floor stripper on your car to this?
I don't know.
I'll go talk to her. Fuck.
Okay, go be with Beth and them.
They need you.
[BARKING]
[BARKING CONTINUES]
[DOOR CLOSES]
CONCHITA: Sorry about that.
He usually settles
a little quicker than that.
Don't worry about it.
He's very cute. Zeke?
Uh, Ziggy.
I was all ready to change his name,
even though they say you
never change a rescue's name.
But then the longer we had him,
the more he just was a Ziggy.
Whatever a Ziggy is.
Oh, it's German. Short for "Zigmund."
It means, uh, "victorious protector."
Here I was thinking
it was just a Bowie song.
You know, we can totally
do this over the phone.
I'm the one who told you to come over.
It's just I, uh,
don't know what this is
or how to do this.
I-I, uh
I was fine being done
with it, with all of it.
Because you thought I was guilty.
Because you made me think that you were.
Not at first.
I mean, that's Dan Gallagher.
I'd worked with you for years,
speaking up for people, ruined people.
I'm thinking to myself,
"Could you betray them?
"Could you have dealt death to someone
with everything that you know?"
I didn't believe it. I couldn't.
And then I heard about your defense.
That you were putting it all on her.
That was a strategy.
Someone gets assaulted.
What did they say to make
the guy go after them?
They must have been drunk.
Someone gets raped.
What were they wearing?
Why did they leave with him?
Someone gets robbed and shot.
What were they doing
in that neighborhood
that time of day? Must have
been a drug deal gone wrong.
It was your thing that you always said,
that I always repeated.
I think I told every single newbie
at the VSB at some point.
I'm sure I told her.
When they don't have the law,
they argue the facts.
When they don't have the facts,
they argue the law.
When they don't have either,
they blame the victim.
The guilty always blame the victim.
Is that what you still think?
I don't think about you, Dan.
Or no, I do. A little,
when I remember how well
I used to think I knew people.
Including myself.
[SIGHS]
A while before she died,
I received an unofficial
complaint about Alex.
Inappropriate behavior towards
a criminal courts employee.
I met with him and
his union rep off the record.
He had rejected her,
and she had backed off,
but only sort of.
And he was afraid for
his job and about gossip.
He had had an affair once,
and his wife had made it very clear
that there would be zero tolerance.
Alex had not gotten ugly,
and he was not looking
to have her disciplined.
He was just trying to get on the books
with his side in case she did.
- So she was stalking him?
- No.
Harassing him, then.
Enough to make him want to come forward.
Unofficially, off the record.
Right.
Which means that you
could have done anything
that you wanted with that information,
including give it to me when
you knew how much I needed it.
She was dead, and someone killed her,
and you wanted to make that her fault!
The guilty always blame the victim.
♪
[SIGHS]
Who made the complaint, Conchita?
Please, after all
this time, just tell me.
Gabriel Ibarra,
the bailiff from courtroom M71.
[ZIGGY BARKING]
Ziggy really wants you to go.
[BARKING CONTINUES]
♪
Hey, there.
Mike Gerard. I met you at Andolini's.
Right. Hi.
What are you doing here?
Oh, I'm on my way home.
Thought I'd talk to you.
This is a beautiful building.
I-I can't believe
they made it residential.
You know, it started out
as a vaudeville house
and a garment depot?
Yeah, somebody said that.
You live downtown?
No. No, I don't like
to live where I work.
Huh.
That's what I like about it.
Yeah, I got that.
I just think we need some separation.
You know? The terrible
things we see on this job.
Need a little distraction now and again.
That's what gets us
into trouble sometimes, though.
I mean, you spend all day
doing good for other people,
you start to feeling like
if you want to get up to
some shenanigans on your
own time, it's your business.
And it is.
You know, until it's not.
You know, Dan Gallagher?
I've known him a long time.
Half his life.
You know,
he's a good man in
the most important ways,
but he should have left you alone.
He knows that.
Does he know that you're here?
Does she know?
Are you going to tell her?
- No.
- Hmm.
I don't think I'll have to.
Anyway
Safe home, Mike.
Wherever that is.
Hey.
How's she doing? Is she down?
What about him? How is he?
I've never seen him like
whatever this is.
I actually got him to take a pill,
that's how he is.
Are you sick?
[DAN SIGHS]
You okay, baby?
I have to tell you something, Beth.
Now? Does it have to be now?
Yeah, I think it does.
BETH: Oh, hey, I'm Beth.
I'm the owner.
I did the remodel myself,
so if you have any questions
I'll find you.
I have to tell you something, Beth.
AMANDA: Well, I think with
these kinds of scenes,
once Beth finds out
about the infidelity,
Alexandra and I were just
sort of playing around
with how much she truly
believes everything he's saying
versus just has these more
subliminal kind of hunches
and suspicions, as one
does in a marriage,
so I think we dialed up
and dialed down for different takes
to see how it would work
eventually in the editing room.
Hey.
Hi.
This is Alex.
I'm so sorry, I forgot your last name?
Forrest.
Alex Forrest, my husband, Dan.
Dan, this is Alex Forrest.
I know him already.
ALEXANDRA: This is a triumvirate.
It's not a duo.
There's three people here.
I just knew that I wanted
to do that scene
and have Beth actually picking
up on the energy in the room.
You are gonna tell me
what the fuck is going on!
One time? Ten times?
More than one.
Okay, so then why is she
throwing acid on your car?
JOSHUA: The house of cards
that Dan has created for himself
psychologically to survive
all of this is to do
anything that he can
to avoid taking responsibility,
to project it out.
It's, "I was failed by Conchita,"
or "I was failed by Mike,"
or "I was failed by Brooker"
or "I was failed by Alex."
It's all out here,
and, you know,
he's still not in the place
where he is able to accept
that he is the one who lit the fire
or pushed the first domino.
He did engage in this.
Then he made a sequence
of incredibly stupid decisions
that cornered himself.
That's a pretty good opening paragraph.
Viable alternate suspects with motive.
You still remember how to
fill out your own paperwork?
- Excuse me, sir.
- [LAUGHS]
I mean, Mike would never cop to it,
but he was devastated.
He and Dan were gonna kick some ass,
and they were gonna make
a name for themselves,
and those plans went awry.
He was crushed in some ways,
not only for his friend,
but for himself.
- The facts presented
- I know if it had been me,
I would've done everything
the same as you did,
and we just saw things
differently is all.
Fuck yeah, we did.
Mike and Earl, they're of the same ilk.
You know, they were both on the job,
so there's a shorthand.
They've been out in the streets,
they've been out in the
trenches with each other.
There's a certain community
and a club that they're in.
You asked me did I want some cucumbers,
and I'm not getting any cucumbers.
I'm not giving you any of my cucumbers,
you fuckin' neck bone.
That was just a figure of speech.
You could have a beer
and shut the fuck up.
- How about that?
- Done.
[DOG BARKING]
ALEXANDRA: Conchita,
in her position as the head
of Victim Services,
would work very closely
with prosecutors,
and they have a genuine friendship,
but it's based on the kind
of person that Conchita
thought Dan was, which is, you know,
the person he thought he was also
until his freedom is threatened.
I mean, that's Dan Gallagher.
I'd worked with you for
years speaking up for people,
ruined people, and then I
heard about your defense.
The idea that he
immediately would disregard
all of those things in his
desperate attempt to stay free,
it just rocked her world.
A while before she died,
I received an unofficial
complaint about Alex.
So she was stalking him.
No.
Harassing him then, enough to
make him wanna come forward.
Unofficially, off the record.
JOSHUA: You know, there's
a deep, deep sadness
to not just getting
the piece of information,
but the recognition
that there were alternate paths
that could have kept him out of misery
for the last 15 years.
To my mind, it doesn't really matter
whether or not he's exonerated.
He doesn't get to see
his daughter grow up.
He doesn't get to be
remarried to his wife.
He doesn't get to reenter
society as a whole human being.
Like, all of those things
are forever foreclosed to him
and, at this point in the story,
he's still arguing
with the central fact,
which is that he is responsible
for what happened to him.