Unstable (2023) s02e05 Episode Script

1
[whimsical music playing]
Ellis?
Hello?
Hello?
- What do you think?
- What do you want me to think?
I want you to be impressed
with what our MoCap team is capable of.
Okay. Uh, right. What am I looking at?
- [Ellis] The continuation of my legacy.
- Right.
The knowledge of light being passed
from one generation to the next.
[Anna] Is this a cartoon?
It's an early rendering. Picture this.
It's the main stage at BioTexpo.
Two ultra high-res holograms,
each 20 feet tall,
mine passing the torch of knowledge
to Jackson.
So, Jackson's come back around then,
just like that?
Oh no. But what better way to get him to
than this kind of action?
I just wonder if a sincere
and heartfelt apology would suffice?
Yeah, yeah. What could be more sincere
than his hologram playing the flute
to Flo Rida's "My House"?
It will fucking kill.
Look, as impressive as all of this is,
Jackson was pretty resolute last night,
and I don't think that a hologram flute
is gonna make him reverse course.
Well, I have faith in you.
- In me?
- Yeah. You're gonna fix it.
Rise!
[whimsical music playing]
[theme music playing]
- [music ends]
- [indistinct chatter]
[phone ringing]
What are you doing?
I just don't want people to think
we're walking in together.
We are walking in together.
I know. I don't want people to think
that we spent the night together.
We did spend the night together.
I want it to be clear
that nothing happened.
Why? You're scared
you're gonna get too much street cred?
[chuckles] Yes, sure. Exactly.
Okay, let's come up with a story
that protects both of our reps.
Like, uh, what?
How about you made your move,
- we kissed a little
- Mmm.
then I gave you the stiff arm?
How would that protect my rep?
Well, you get props for taking your shot,
and I remain pure.
- Could we workshop a different one?
- [Anna] Jackson. A moment.
Anything you say to Jackson,
you can say in front of me.
After all, we did spend
last night together.
He made a move, but I stiff-armed him.
- No, you forgot the kiss.
- Easy, perv.
Oh God. I don't want to know.
Jackson, Ellis has been working
on something really thrilling
that he'd like to share with you,
and I'm quite certain
that you are going to love it.
If this is about BioTexpo,
I'm not interested.
That's what I said last night.
In bed. [chuckles]
This is really important to Ellis,
so if you could
just go along with his plan,
it would make my life so much easier.
Look, that whole Peter thing last night
really sucked,
but it made something clear to me.
- I just wanna be in the lab.
- And I respect that decision completely.
But if you could just pop your head in,
just to see what he's got cooking.
It is a rather impressive proposal.
Like the proposal
Jackson made to me last night.
In bed. [chuckles]
- Okay, fine. Where is he?
- [Anna inhales sharply]
In the studio.
I really appreciate you being
such a team player, as always.
Ow, it's sore.
- Sorry.
- [Jackson] It's okay.
What's BioTexpo?
Nothing. It's this dumb thing my dad
manipulated me into thinking I wanted.
It's another way for him
to turn me into a puppet.
So you just let him pull your strings?
Yes. That's our dynamic.
So change it.
Mm-mm. I've tried. He ignores me
and hears what he wants to hear.
Okay, so flip it.
Hear what you want.
No, that's not gonna work.
Because your dad is smarter than you,
and you actually do want
to speak at BioTexpo.
What? That's not what I said.
But you see what I did there?
I heard what I wanted to.
Oh.
[uptempo instrumental music playing]
Peter.
Morning. I, uh [clicks tongue]
I just want to check in. See how you're
faring after last night's kerfuffle.
Oh, uh, honestly, I am pretty burnt.
You know, a night in the hospital
with your boss's therapist will do that.
That is what they say.
Happy to hear he's on the mend.
Oh, physically, Leslie's fine,
but we spent hours and hours
rewriting his will.
Oh, didn't realize
Leslie had that many assets.
Uh, hope he left you something
for your troubles.
He put a key in my hand and said I'd know
what to do when the time was right.
Sounds like you had quite the adventure.
[clears throat] Can I, uh
Can I ask you a question?
Sure.
- Um
- [clears throat]
How do you do it?
I'm talking about the whole
the whole father-and-son drama.
You know, Ellis, Jackson,
their whole thing,
can really just suck the oxygen
out of a room.
- You know what I'm saying?
- Mmm.
It's actually amazing
anything gets done around here at all.
Oh, it's, uh
It's not as bad as all that now, is it?
Anybody seen Jackson?
Seen Jackson?
You. Seen Jackson? Squirrelly fella.
About yay high. Malcolm!
I need a 20 on baby bird.
Oh, um, Jackson's been
in the lab all morning.
Anna said he was coming right to me.
[sighs] I guess Anna was wrong.
[whimsical music playing]
What's wrong with this picture?
- We're not supposed to answer that, right?
- I don't even think he knows we're here.
Jackson is supposed to be wearing one
of these and making hologram history.
We really don't have time for this now
'cause we're doing actual science.
- Right, Peter?
- What? Ye Uh, yeah.
I was just walking the team
through the next steps for the battery.
- I love that.
- [Peter] Yeah.
Hey, could the three of you
give me the room?
- Uh, sure.
- [Luna] Mm-hmm.
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
[door opens]
[door closes]
Hey. I'm just gonna try and be as real
with you as possible right now.
- I'm not getting in the suit.
- Uh, I hear you.
- Do you?
- Yeah.
What I'm hearing is
you don't wanna get into the suit
because you're worried
you won't look as good as I do.
Great.
We can use CGI to work on some
of your problem areas. A little fupa.
- CGI gets rid of the fupa.
- Mm-hmm. Sure.
- Maybe you can even give me one.
- [mouthing]
[Jackson inhales deeply]
You know what? I guess
I just have to respect your decision.
- Thank you.
- And guess what?
It's gonna be so frustrating for me
because I was really
looking forward to this.
But if Peter's the MoCap man,
then you do what you gotta do.
No. I I didn't say that.
You don't have to soften this
to protect my feelings.
You're making a great choice.
Peter's gonna crush it.
No. No, not Peter. You.
You're you're gonna crush it.
Oh, how? Like, from the audience?
I don't really see it.
But that's so sweet of you to say.
- Something strange is happening right now.
- I agree.
The two of us dillydallying
when we have two very important
and totally separate jobs to be doing.
Do you think we should step out together
and give Peter the good news?
No! No, we shouldn't do that.
Ha-ha! You want all the credit
to yourself, you sly dog.
Go get him, chief.
[percussive music playing]
[percussive music ends]
[Ellis groans]
[groans]
[Ellis inhales]
[Ellis sighs]
Something on your mind?
[sighs] Was it that obvious?
[chuckles] There's no use
in trying to keep something from you.
- Something's happened to Jackson.
- Is that something you?
No, it's something completely different.
He was just acting so strangely.
Open defiance. I've never seen
anything like it from him before.
Willful ignorance. Rakish charm.
You've trained him well.
Or someone else has.
[softly] Oh God.
And then my dad was like,
"What? No. I didn't say that."
And I just pretended I didn't hear him,
and it worked. I walked him out of there.
Am I a genius or what?
She just gets me, man.
I'm his new therapist.
Wow. [laughs]
That kinda sounds like gaslighting.
Thank you.
Doesn't that put Peter
in a weird position though?
Yeah, probably. I didn't think of that.
In war, there are gonna be casualties.
All right. Um,
I'm actually gonna head home
before I get hit by friendly fire.
- Are you sure? Okay.
- Yeah.
Bye.
What's going on with her?
Well, Luna was supposed to meet Peter
to discuss
heading up the bio-battery team,
but then your dad
kicked us out of the lab,
and, uh, Peter went home
because he was pretty upset.
Or he had diarrhea.
It's so fun when you and your dad
work your issues out at the office
[inhales]but it does make
some of our lives harder.
[chuckles]
Georgia, can I, uh, borrow you
for a second?
[Georgia] Mm-hmm.
[mumbles]
Can I ask you
what you're doing with Jackson?
Having drinks.
Getting in his head.
You really think I'm in his head?
I can't tell.
My job is to help Ellis Dragon
focus on his job,
and you getting in between him and his son
makes that next to impossible.
So it's, like, your job to turn Jackson
into Ellis's little MoCap man?
- That's hilarious.
- No.
Not for me, it's not.
I like the people who work here, Georgia,
and, despite your persona,
I suspect that you're starting
to like them too.
So just know
that they depend upon their paychecks
for a little something called rent,
and keeping Jackson out of that MoCap suit
may get in the way of them paying it.
[scoffs] It's not that deep.
Oh, it it is,
and and you are only making it deeper.
You are so dramatic.
Okay. Let me do my thing.
Oh. No, no, no.
Whatever your thing is, do not do it.
I got you, girl. I got you.
Shit.
You wanted to see me?
[Peter inhales, clicks tongue]
We are at a real inflection point
with the battery project,
and, uh, right now,
I need to be surrounded
by people that I can trust.
- Of course.
- Which is why I'm making you team leader.
- Oh.
- Oh.
- Okay.
- [laughs]
- Wow.
- Yeah. [laughing]
- I don't know.
- No, no, no. Hold on now.
You're you're more than qualified.
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
- Right? You're doing incredible work.
- And I appreciate that. [chuckles]
- Uh-huh.
Uh, it's just there are
a lot of qualified candidates.
Oh, so so this is about Luna?
I know how badly she wanted it.
It's called biotech.
Not bio-friends.
- True.
- Look, I'm new to Dragon.
But let's just be real.
This place is bananas.
- [chuckles]
- Okay, you and I both know that.
All right. In two weeks,
you or I could be out
on the streets selling loose cigarettes,
or we could be running the place.
Which is exactly why old friends like us
gotta stick together.
So it is bio-friends?
- In this case, maybe a little.
- Mm-hmm.
[whimsical music playing]
So there's no shot
that we could slip this bad boy on him
while he's sleeping?
No, Jackson's a light sleeper.
But what if the rest of his clothes
mysteriously disappear?
Well, then he'd have no choice.
He'd have to wear the MoCap suit
or risk being seen in the nude.
[Malcolm] Mm-hmm.
All right, I don't love it,
but write that down.
Yeah. Nude.
[clears throat]
Excuse me, boss man. You got a minute?
Um maybe another time.
I think I might be able to help
with your situation.
- [whispers] Could you
- Yeah. Sorry G-Train.
Ellis is very busy, so
I know how to get Jackson
in that MoCap suit.
- Really?
- Um.
We're in good shape.
Just landed on a really rich area, so
No, no. What makes you think
you can influence Jackson?
How's he been lately?
Difficult?
Hard to pin down?
Refusing to hear what you're saying?
That's all me, baby.
You?
I can be your man on the inside.
Just how inside are you?
Oh, I'm getting there.
Did you fire Georgia?
What other choice did I have?
What are you even talking about?
My sources tell me
that she has been a bad influence on you.
Your "sources"?
Who are your sources?
[chuckles] It doesn't matter.
My mind's made up.
So unmake it and hire her back.
You know, I just thought of something
that could get me to reconsider.
- Ah, that's nice.
- Wow.
Using Georgia to try and control me?
This is low, even for you.
You know, I learned a long time ago
that you don't get to the top
by playing nice.
[whimsical music playing]
Damn it.
[whimsical music ends]
Uh, so, what's this I'm hearing?
Ellis fired you. Then he rehired you.
Hmm. Something about this
isn't quite adding up.
The important thing is
Jackson's in that MoCap suit,
and I saved your bony ass.
What?
They're both in spandex right now.
I specifically asked you
not to get involved.
Oops.
Let's go!
Baby take control now ♪
We can't even slow down ♪
- We don't have to ♪
- [flute playing]
- Didn't know this song had a flute in it.
- I put it in there for you.
There's a flute in my pouch ♪
Put it in your mouth ♪
[Jackson chuckling]
[flute playing "My House"]
- Welcome to my house ♪
- Say what?
- [flute continues]
- [Jackson grunts]
- Play what?
- [grunts]
Welcome to my house ♪
[Ellis] Come on. You're loving
this MoCap stuff. Admit it!
I can. If you'll admit you were a jerk
for the way you got me into it.
Oh, I did it out of love.
If loving my son is a crime, lock me up
with him and throw away the key.
[flute playing]
[guitar music playing]
So from what you're telling me,
it sounds like
she's just looking for some attention.
Yes, and I don't want to give her
the satisfaction.
Okay. Well, you know,
I just think that's gonna push her
even further to rattle you.
Then I will go even further to ignore her.
[Peter] Hmm. [chuckles]
Thank you for listening to me blather on.
I didn't realize
how much I needed to vent about this.
Yeah, well, you know, it's not every day
that your stepdaughter
conspires with your boss
to make his son into a dancing hologram.
[chuckles] Let's hope not.
- Yeah.
- Oh, thank you. [smacks lips]
And I want you to know
that I heard your concerns
about Dragon's father-son sagas.
Yep.
[Anna] Hopefully, now Ellis has his way,
none of that drama should be showing up
on your doorstep anytime soon.
Good. But, you know,
some of that's on me, you know?
How do you mean?
I just think maybe my [inhales]
Ellis Dragon hero worship
stopped me from
setting some clear boundaries.
But, you know, it won't happen again
because I won't let it.
Good for you.
Good for us.
Sometimes you gotta stay in, in ♪
Welcome to my house ♪
Baby take control now ♪
We can't even slow down ♪
We don't have to go out ♪
Welcome to my house ♪
Play that music ♪
- Take the torch.
- Okay.
- Yeah, I got it! I got the torch!
- Hey, you got it!
Yeah!
Yeah. Wow.
I knew you'd love this.
You gotta trust me more.
It'd be easier to trust you
if you didn't leverage
personal relationships against me.
- Oh, you mean Georgia?
- Mm-hmm.
You don't need to worry about it.
That relationship's over.
Uh, what do you mean?
Whatever was going on
between you two guys, done-zo.
Close the blinds, let's ♪
What, are you seriously trying
to forbid me from seeing someone now?
[Ellis hesitates]
- [song ends]
- [Ellis exhales]
I'm saving you from a high-level operator
who's likely to get into your brain
and manipulate you.
[scoffs] You're protecting me
from someone manipulating me?
That's all you do.
[chuckles] No.
All I do is look out for you.
Okay, that's
that's what you like to call it, huh?
I think that's what
everybody would call it.
You may not like it. You may not see it.
But all I've ever done for you
is to set you up so you can rise
to the level of your abilities.
And what do what do I get? Eye rolling.
That's what I get.
How about a thank-you? Or some gratitude?
You don't think that I'm grateful?
You think I'm ungrateful.
Okay, sure, yeah. Uh, thank you
for buying Magma to keep me on your leash.
You're welcome.
And thank you for setting me up to fail
at the company retreat.
[spluttering] And thank you for forcing me
to wear this dumbass MoCap suit.
Actually, the suit is wearing you
because you have not engaged your core.
[Jackson sighs]
You are un-fucking-believable.
I'm done. I'm out.
Screw this MoCap bullshit. Seriously.
Bullshit? Bullshit, really?
Do you know how many people in this world
would kill to wear that MoCap suit
and be handed a golden torch
by Ellis Dragon?
Literally gazillions.
Great. Get one of them down here.
I don't think you'd like
how that would feel.
[laughs] All I'd feel is sorry for them.
[tense music playing]
Jackson!
[tense music intensifies, ends]
["Gen-X Cops" by Vampire Weekend playing]
[exhales]
[scoffs]
Welcome back, my oldest friend ♪
Are you cursed to depart again? ♪
Your ways and means ♪
Eternally obscene ♪
And always looking
For obscenity and hatred ♪
[knocking on door]
Oh, hey, I didn't know that
It's your academy ♪
Was that bad?
The opposite.
But in my time, you taught me how ♪
[knocking on door]
Peter.
- [smacks lips] Hey.
- Welcome to the big show.
- Uh, thanks?
- Jackson's out. You're in.
And this bad boy
is all yours.
[closing theme playing]
[closing theme ends]