Unstable (2023) s01e08 Episode Script

1
People, let me tell you
'Bout my best friend ♪
He's a warm hearted person
Who'll love me till the end ♪
People, let me tell you
'Bout my best friend ♪
He's a one boy cuddly toy,
My up, my down, my pride and joy ♪
People, let me tell you 'bout him
He's so much fun ♪
Whether we're talkin' man to man
Or whether we're talkin' son to son ♪
'Cause he's my best friend ♪
- Hey.
- Made your lunch.
No way! My old lunch box.
Chocolate milk? I love chocolate milk.
I know you do.
Uh, is this the shirt I got you?
It sure is, and you were right.
It does complement my figure.
This is nice.
Your mother would be so happy
if she could see this.
- The shirt?
- You.
You!
- Ah!
- Ah!
- What a beautiful morning.
- We have a problem.
Wait, Jackson and I
were playing badminton.
We were tied at 15.
You have to win by two
- The board's called an emergency meeting.
- Who called it? Also, I won.
I don't know who called it.
Also, I don't care.
- 20 to 18. Okay, I'm done.
- Lovely.
Since they didn't tell us what it's about,
it's probably about you.
Since it's an emergency meeting,
it's not a medal ceremony
for your badminton victory.
Anna, I wouldn't joke about this.
This sounds serious.
It is serious. Someone is coming for you,
and they're coming hard.
I wish I hadn't told you not to joke
before you said someone's "coming hard."
Oh God, we're doomed.
Look, we don't know who's behind this
or what they have,
but if by 8 p.m. you can show the board
actual solid concrete,
it might help save your job,
so don't blow it.
It could mean your job.
Don't blow your job.
Are you trying to get
"blow" and "job" close together?
To make the importance of it
stick in your adolescent brain.
Look, we're very close
to having an actual prototype of concrete
made entirely from captured carbon,
and I still have nine hours.
We will win the day
because the Earth needs us to,
and we're smart and fierce enough
to make it happen.
I have faith in you.
- We're in big trouble.
- Oh God, I had such a good morning.
There's an emergency board meeting,
and I think it's to oust your father.
What? We're making progress in the lab,
and I'm just starting to like him again.
This is so unfair.
I know. A corporate board
ignoring what's fair. I'm shocked too.
Now to buy your father more time,
I was hoping you could ask Jean,
who loves you, to postpone the meeting.
I don't know. I like to keep work stuff
separate from my friendship with her.
Okay, very healthy.
I completely understand.
Not sure I believe you.
No, no. If they do destroy
your father's life's work,
you can always go back to teaching flute
to those horrible children.
And, as for your father, well,
who gives a shit about that guy, right?
Okay, I'll talk to her.
That's my boy.
Wow. You must really be panicking.
You've never even patted me on the back.
Ooh!
We have nine hours to turn this
into concrete, and we have two issues.
One, it's not hardening.
Two, it smells like the devil's hot waste
after a chili cook-off.
- Why do we only have nine hours?
- I don't need you to worry about that.
- Oh God, what's happening?
- It must be bad.
But he said we shouldn't worry,
and he wouldn't lie to us. Would he?
Okay, we can go on and on speculating
about what I may or may not do,
but here's the plan.
I'm gonna go to my office.
I'm gonna work on
getting this to solidify.
You two are gonna work
on neutralizing the smell.
We have nine hours to save my
I don't know what I was gonna say
because everything is fine.
- Probably.
- What do you think?
I think we're part of a desperate plan
to avoid disaster.
- And he doesn't want us to panic.
- Sounds about right.
Jackson.
Did we have rehearsal?
Because I haven't iced my hands
or tuned up Theodora.
Love Theodora.
I almost named my flute Adrien Brody
because it's long and thin,
but he slouches, unlike my flute,
so it didn't add up.
But that's not what this is about.
Did you know
someone called an emergency board meeting?
Yes, I just heard.
Jackson, now's not a good time.
Could you get it pushed?
My dad is so close to delivering
on this carbon capture project,
just needs a couple of days.
Hey, is there
any more prosciutto?
I have a fig
that's feeling really naked right now.
Kind of wanted to
Oh, hey, Jackson.
What are you doing here?
You're the scientist.
Figure it out, genius.
You can't possibly be seeing this man
for therapy.
Look at him. Grasping at straws.
After your dad forced me
from your oh-so-sacred home last night,
I confirmed to Jean
that Ellis had, in fact, kidnapped me.
Karma!
Confirmed? What's going on?
In the basement when you told me
your father committed a felony,
I reached out to Leslie.
He gave me the evidence I need
to force Ellis to step down.
You're who wants to get rid of my dad?
Since your mother died,
he's erratic and unreliable.
But he's gotten so much better.
And I thought you were our friend.
If I run the company,
I know I can get everything back on track.
It's time for Jean.
Experience, stability, betrayal.
Jean.
So, what? The plan is
you bring Leslie to the board,
he tells them my dad kidnapped him
and you take over?
Oh my God. Do we even have a gig
at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,
or is that a lie too?
You're a monster.
Whoa, that was intense.
I hate interpersonal stuff.
Maybe you shouldn't be a therapist.
My parents will kill me
if I change careers again.
Think. Think, think, think,
think, think, think.
I am thinking. Shut up.
Relax, and the ideas will come.
One, two, three. One, two, three.
Ideas, come to me ♪
One, two, three, one ♪
Ideas come to me ♪
Please. Please. Please.
Smells like genius in here.
Oh, crap.
Come on. We can do this.
Come on. Here we go.
Squeeze something out of that
big brain of yours. Come on.
You can do it. We're all rooting for you.
One more big idea. Push it out.
It's over.
Okay. Maybe you could do with a break.
If Ellis gets fired,
they're gonna clean house.
- There's no way we all keep our jobs.
- I don't wanna look for another job.
Neither do I.
I don't want a new lab partner.
Neither do I. You're irreplaceable.
That's why I told you
not to go king crab fishing.
You were right. Those things are mean.
My cousin said one grabbed his beard
and pulled him into the ocean.
I'm gonna miss this.
- Me too. And what about Jackson?
- What about Jackson?
- What if he moves back to New York?
- What if he does?
I think I might miss him.
Would you miss him?
Luna, I want to be super clear about this.
I would not miss Jackson in any way
that would stop me being happy for you
because of how much
you would miss Jackson.
- Are you sure?
- Jackson and I are not gonna be a thing.
And I want you to be happy.
Thank you.
I can't stand this.
We have to find out what's happening.
We are scientists. We need facts.
It's true.
We don't do well with uncertainty.
That's why we threw up in Vegas.
Yeah, that's definitely why.
Tons of people have used me
to get to my dad,
but I never thought Jean would.
Why would you? She plays the harp,
the most angelic of all instruments.
It's literally played by angels.
But now the devil.
I'm such an idiot.
I was just starting to get along
with my dad.
He even cut my fruit
into tiny little stars this morning.
Now that could all go away
because of my big mouth.
That would be awful.
So are you gonna tell him
that you betrayed him?
Sorry, I didn't mean betrayed.
I meant a nicer word.
Sabotaged? No. Ruined? No. There's not
a lot of good words for what you did.
I'm hoping I never have to tell him.
Leslie is Jean's only evidence.
This all goes away if I can somehow
keep him from that board meeting tonight.
Yes. Murder.
It's an ugly word, but here we are.
No, we're not.
I know.
I've just always wanted to say that.
Everyone can hear you
talking about murder.
We're not murdering.
Good. I watch a lot of Dateline,
and this is sloppy.
I've got a meeting.
If you need any help
distracting Leslie, I'm your guy.
Also, I'm not sure if it's helpful,
but I do a mean Al Pacino impression.
It's not good. It's just him being mean.
Move it.
So a lot of craziness today.
Al Pacino, we all might get fired,
the kitchen's out of good milk.
No one's getting fired.
I just need to figure out a way
to keep this Leslie guy from the meeting.
Okay. Um, what do we know about him?
Not much. He's a very lonely man
whose wife left him.
And he loves hot cocoa.
- I think you should focus on the ex-wife.
- Yep.
Maybe you could use her to distract Leslie
from showing up tonight.
I like that. How?
With something romantic.
Something thoughtful.
Any woman would like that.
And women love things they like.
Good thing I'm amazing
at creating romance.
- You can tell I'm being sarcastic, right?
- Yes, you're amazing at it.
You're also amazing
at finding alternatives to cocoa.
And other stuff.
Oh, like, uh, what?
Just the way you are and the stuff you do.
Well, I could listen to you
vaguely compliment me all day,
but I need to figure out
a way to deodorize concrete.
And I need to figure out romance.
For my plan.
If the board does boot me tonight
and the whole place falls apart,
what would you do?
I have always wanted to take a break.
Get off the grid,
live in a tent next to a stream,
hunt for my own food
in a small, local market.
You, the owner of three phones,
living off the grid?
There's a lot about me you don't know.
When we're here, we only focus on work.
I included you in that just to be nice.
I do tend to get a little spread out.
That can't be easy for you.
Am I what your people would call,
"a bother"?
Oh God, yes.
I could never have done any of this
without you. You know that, right?
And I couldn't have done any of it
without you, obviously,
because without you,
there wouldn't have even been an "it."
What I mean is
I have appreciated working with you.
No, more than that. Enjoyed.
- No, even more. Relished? Oh God.
- You're not good at this, are you?
I wouldn't do anything differently,
and I'm going to miss you terribly.
Thank you for bringing me Jackson.
I know you did it for the company,
but you gave me my world back.
Maybe if this all goes to hell,
the two of you will go away together.
You always talked about sailing to Hawaii.
Oh, please. If we were trapped on a boat,
we would stab each other within a week.
We're like a positive sodium ion
and a positive chloride ion.
Without Katie as a bonding agent,
we have a very hard time
staying in the same place.
Yeah, I once had two canaries,
and one of them, Queen Elizabeth
Wait! Katie wasn't a bonding agent.
She was the electrons
that kept us from ionizing.
Instead of using a bonding agent
to congeal the concrete,
I need to figure out
how to ionize the strontium chloride.
- Did you want to finish your bird story?
- Go.
Malcolm, come here. I've got a plan.
I need your help.
We're gonna lure Leslie
away from the board meeting
by convincing his estranged wife
to have a romantic dinner with him.
Jackson.
Oh God, we're gonna fix this.
Don't say anything about Jean.
- Got it.
- Did you get Jean to postpone the meeting?
- Working on it.
- Good.
I think Ellis has a fix on the concrete,
but I'm not sure he has enough time.
- What's the matter with him?
- He's trying new ways to hold his face.
This one, not working.
Let's go.
If Leslie's wife
won't have dinner with him,
we could chain him to a radiator
for a few hours.
We're not solving our kidnapping problem
with another kidnapping.
Hello, young men.
Hi. Are you Barbara Clevenger?
Leslie Clevenger's wife?
Separated wife,
but you can call me Barbie, like the doll.
Except all of this is real.
It's good to know.
We're actually friends of Leslie's
who sent us here
to see if you'll have dinner with him.
Well, I don't know.
I don't think I want to
Before you finish that answer,
just know that he wanted us to do this.
Oh.
I I'm so in love with you ♪
Whatever you want to do ♪
Is okay with me ♪
' Cause you ♪
It's all we had time to rehearse.
Oh, well, that was nice.
You know, when we first started dating,
Leslie was so romantic.
We'd have picnics at Rustic Park.
He would put out candles
and get food from Chateau Marmont.
- That's what he wants to do tonight.
- Really?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
If he went to all that trouble
- So much trouble.
- So much.
Okay.
Legally, I'll need a ride,
but why don't you boys come in
while I get ready?
There's still plenty of wine left.
There is no way
there's still plenty of wine.
This is gonna work.
I'm gonna go set everything up
and tell Leslie
his wife wants to have dinner.
You stay here. Get her to the park.
Sorry to do this, but I'm panicking.
I need to know if we'll all lose our jobs.
If we are, I have to find another one,
and it's gonna be harder for me
than other people.
So I need as much time as possible.
My mother still can't believe I work here
and that I'm an actual scientist.
If I'm not anymore,
it's gonna destroy her.
Also, I just rented a condo,
which I probably shouldn't have done,
but it has a view of a park
that has this duck pond, and I love ducks.
They're so cute.
Now my love of ducks could be my downfall.
And, oh God, what was I thinking?
Thanks, John, I'll check the figures
and get back to you.
Sorry, I was on a call. What now?
Oh
I was just saying I'm sorry to do this,
but I'm kind of panicking. I need to know
if we're all gonna lose our jobs.
Got the gist.
Tremendous insecurity, job, mother, ducks.
I'm not like everyone else here.
I didn't graduate at the top of my class
with honors and accolades.
I'm not on anyone's
30 under 30 scientists to watch.
I don't even know why you guys hired me.
We hired you because in your interview,
when we asked you a difficult question,
you were the only one who said,
"I don't know,"
and didn't try to look smart
and fake your way through an answer.
And then at 3 a.m.,
you emailed us a solution
that was better than anyone
who had tried to solve it on the spot.
- I couldn't sleep until I figured it out.
- And Ellis loved that.
He could see you weren't happy
with any answer.
You needed to find the best answer.
So whilst I worry about everything else,
I don't worry about you
because you are a bloody good scientist.
Thank you.
- If I don't get fired, can I have a raise?
- We'd replace you in a heartbeat.
You all right out there?
You and Tina getting along?
Yes.
No need to be nervous. She's mostly tail.
How is that comforting?
Oh.
- Next time, you stay with Barbie.
- All set here.
I do good work.
I should seduce more women.
Or even one. How's it going over there?
I think Barbie's almost ready
Good Lord.
- What's happening?
- Shit's going sideways.
You know who else is mostly tail?
- Who's mostly tail?
- Change of plans, baby boy.
With you here alone, it feels more like
a stay-at-home kind of evening.
I'm gay.
Prove it.
Prove what? Malcolm? Malcolm!
- Hey.
- Oh, shit.
I got my tux altered
with accenting cummerbund. Orange crush.
- Where's Barbie?
- She, uh, said to start without her.
So, champagne?
I knew it. There's no Barbie.
Why do you keep torturing me?
It's bad enough
you throw me out of my home.
- What?
- Your basement.
To me, that's home.
You guys are like family.
Family that bludgeons its most loving
member for loving too much.
I'm gonna extra destroy your father
at that meeting tonight.
Ionized, ionized, ionized. Not ionized.
I don't know what I'm looking at,
but you seem happy, so yay?
Hell, yay!
Ah, excellent. Jackson!
Okay, it's gonna be close, but look.
By eight o'clock,
we're gonna have concrete.
- Won't matter.
- What are you saying?
Jean called the board meeting.
- Jean?
- Are you sure?
Yeah. A couple of days ago,
I told her that you kidnapped Leslie.
Now she's gonna use that
to have you fired.
Jean is behind this?
Why would you tell her about Leslie?
Because I trusted her. I'm so stupid.
I tried to fix it, and I can't.
You're gonna lose the company
because of me.
Okay. Jackson, you're gonna go to the lab.
Your dad's gonna send over his work.
We have one more card to play.
Finish this project.
So that's what we're going to do.
This isn't over.
Go on.
I'm sorry.
His whole life, that kid has had to worry
about who he can trust
and who's using him to get to me.
Ellis, you need to send your work
over to the lab.
Jean was his mother's best friend.
She knew where he was vulnerable,
and she still hit him there.
How could anybody do that to him? No.
No, you don't do that to him.
Ellis, whatever it is you're thinking
Jean totally snaked you.
People are so disappointing.
As much as Ruby's bias against snakes
is unfounded, I completely agree.
A month ago,
I didn't even want to come here.
Then spending time with my dad,
getting to know you two,
I can't imagine leaving.
- Neither can I.
- Anna says we should keep going.
We totally should.
We solved the smell problem.
Ellis solved the solidity problem.
Let's make concrete. We can do this.
We are bloody good scientists.
She's been saying that a lot
since she saw Anna earlier.
But I agree.
This is our home.
If they want to take it from us,
we won't go without a fight.
I watched a couple Westerns last night.
They fight for their homes a lot.
Yeah, people do not like
losing their homes.
Oh God, I have to do something.
Okay, he's out. Should we get to work?
- Let's fucking do this.
- Whoa!
- I'm riled up.
- I like it.
Please take your seats, everyone.
- Where's Ellis?
- Not answering his phone.
I swear to God,
if I could put a chip in that man's neck
I guess Ellis won't be joining us.
Just another example
of his erratic behavior.
I have information
that will quell any doubts
that this company needs new leadership.
And we shall be those leaders.
I'm so stoked right now,
I could have sex with any one of you.
- Except you.
- Sit down.
You all know the board hired a therapist
to evaluate Ellis's behavior.
What you don't know
is that therapist was kidnapped
and held captive by Ellis Dragon.
- No way.
- I know. It's hard to believe.
So I'll let you hear
from Ellis's victim himself. Leslie.
Is that guy a magician?
I hope so. I love magic.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
- Oh, he is a magician.
- So cool.
Dr. Clevenger, Ellis held you
in his basement, did he not?
Well, we were close,
but he never actually held me.
Let me be clear.
He held you, not like a lover,
but like a deranged captor.
- Correct?
- Got you.
No, he did not.
But you told me he kidnapped you.
Well, you offered me a place to stay
for a few nights,
so I just said what you wanted to hear.
Let he who has not lied about a kidnapping
for free room and board
cast the first stone.
Jean, what is going on?
It's so nice
to not be the only ones who are confused.
- Is that what's happening?
- I think so.
What is happening?
Why isn't he telling the truth?
I told Leslie if he denied the kidnapping,
he can move back home,
which, unfortunately, is my home.
And I told him he could live upstairs
in any room he wanted.
I'm really hoping he doesn't choose mine.
I'm so excited.
I'll see you at home.
Oh yeah. He's gonna pick mine.
I got us kettle corn.
I knew bringing you from New York
was a good idea.
I'd kiss you,
but I've already done that once today.
Okay, forget Dr. Clevenger.
There are many other reasons
Ellis isn't fit to lead.
Hey, Jean, you need to stop. Excuse me.
I'm not a great public speaker.
It's why I wanted to be
a wildlife photographer when I was a kid.
I want to talk about my dad.
Yes, he's eccentric,
but that's a good thing.
That weird brain of his is what makes him
a brilliant innovator and creative genius
that thinks mankind
is capable of great things.
I was hesitant to move out here
'cause it's difficult
to live in my dad's shadow
but I know now that that shadow is cast
by a man that is generous,
kind, and has a fiery passion
to do the right thing.
That's why
my dad should lead this company.
The fact is Ellis has been erratic,
and there's been no progress
on the carbon project,
so I think a vote on whether to end
his tenure is entirely reasonable.
I agree. Ellis's behavior
has been one hundo P inappropro.
That's true.
Come on, everybody.
They're in the conference room already.
- Okay, how are we doing?
- The illuminant still isn't solidifying.
Let me see. I'll bet
the graphene lattices aren't bonding.
Yep. There they are.
I can fix this.
Now that's a bloody good scientist.
Anna broke you.
So the motion is,
should we end Ellis Dragon's tenure
and begin a search for a new CEO?
- All those in favor
- Wait.
I don't have anything except "wait."
All in favor?
Wait.
- Still nothing.
- We did it!
Now I have something.
Ruby, do the honors.
We made
fricking concrete!
With carbon pulled
from our polluted skies.
Long live polar bears.
Not only is concrete
a $4 trillion-a-year global industry,
but with this, we will lock up
greenhouse gases for centuries,
saving the planet.
Whoo!
Oh, and Jean,
you're out.
Right?
Hey, I'm really sorry
I put you through all that.
You listen to me. You are the best thing
that ever happened to me.
It wasn't your fault.
- I'm so happy you pulled it off.
- I know, right?
I had to. Otherwise,
you might've gone back to New York.
- And you'd have to live with Leslie alone.
- Excuse me?
Hey, looks like
we get to keep working together.
That's good.
I would have missed you.
I would have missed you too.
Oh!
That was easy.
One day,
I'd love to get through a board meeting
where I don't sweat through my blazer.
Oh, come on.
You wouldn't have it any other way.
I know. Who am I trying to kid?
It would be nice
to have a few days without any drama.
Done. From now on, no more drama.