01x08 - Caregiving

[bunniefuu]

Previously on
Fatal Attraction...

People are talking.
You've been seen.

YVETTE: Stella Chapman.

When's the last time
you talked to her?

I mean, she hasn't showed up
to work study since Tuesday,

and she's not
answering her texts.

I-I wish I could help.

Is this a picture of the woman

- who took you to the park?
- That's her.

She took my f*cking kid.

She kidnapped her
right off the bus.

EARL: Alexandra Forrest, she's
saying that you showed up

- at her place and you assaulted her.
- DAN: She's lying.

But she's dead. I'm
gonna find her body,

then I'm gonna put
you under the prison.

We're gonna do it. Pay for it.

The lawyer, the retainer.

I've been so worried that
you aren't gonna know

how much I loved you.

DAN: It's my paperwork
for a new trial.

Why I deserve one.
Alternative suspects.

I read your
application. You lied

to the investigating detective.

You lied under
oath at your trial,

you lied at your parole hearing.

I'm denying your
motion for a new trial.

I don't need another
trial to tell me

what I already know.

Thank you for coming.

Why wouldn't I?

How else was I going to
find out what you want?

[quiet chatter]

I don't know where to start.

It doesn't matter. Just
start anywhere. Dive in.

You asked what I want.

I want to give you the
benefit of the doubt,

as far as what you might
have known and when.

What Dan told you,

said to you. Let you believe.

Whatever it was, by
now you gotta know

that none of it was real.

I'm sorry about this.

Thank you.

I really, really
am, about all of it.

I just can't imagine what you
must be feeling right now.

You've been put in such
a terrible position.

[inhales]

Or that's how it must seem.

Until you make yourself realize
that it's how you look at it.

What do you mean?

Well, if there's only one
way for something to end,

there's only one
decision to make...

how are you gonna
get to that ending?

Are you gonna fight,

even though fighting
is pointless?

You'll just exhaust yourself
and everybody around you

until they can't even
feel bad for you anymore,

if they ever did.

Just make it as hard and ugly

as possible till you lose,

which you were always
going to do, or...

not?

Were you...

Did you do something
to my mother?

I'm pregnant.

Yeah, no.

I don't believe you.

But there is something wrong
with you, I can see that.

I don't know what you're
trying to do here,

but you're delusional.

You need help.

Did you tell Dan
that you called me?

Does he know that
you're doing this?

Oh.

[clicks tongue, inhales]

Oh, you don't even know
what you don't know.

Which is what?

Don't act like you
have some secret here.

You don't have anything.

Just stay the f*ck
away from my family.

I just want to give you
the benefit of the doubt

about what Dan's
been telling you,

about what he's been
letting you believe.

About what's real.

[sobbing]

DAN: I just need you to
remember who they are!

- It's very important.
- You're right in her face.

- We need to do this right now.
- MIKE: Give her a minute, Dan.

Ellen, Daddy is not mad at you.

Did they tell you
where they took you?

- Did they...
- BBETH: That's enough!

Ellen, did she tell
you who she was?

BETH: Come here.
- Did she tell you her name?!

BETH: What happened?

Nothing.

So, Ellen, this is important.

Nothing bad.

We walked around.

What?

We had cotton candy.

[exhales]

That's fine. I don't
care about that.

I only care that you're okay.

She knew you.

- Both of you.
- How? Knew us how?

She knew things about you.

Knew your name, knew
where you worked.

She said Dad sent her.

He didn't. And we
don't know her.

What else did she say?

I have to go to the
bathroom. Is that okay?

Of course it's okay, silly.

- Are you hungry?
- Grilled cheese?

BETH: I think I did
this. I made it happen.

ARTHUR [over phone]:
Made what happen?

By talking to her,
making her angry.

You made her burn a house down?

She f*cking tried to k*ll me.

She didn't care if I
died or if anyone died.

You-you were there.

Yeah, I was.

I can't think.

But why, why would
she take Ellen,

but then bring her back?

To prove she can.
To send a message.

It's not a message if you
don't know what it means.

She knows.

She knows, she knows
what she's thinking.

She knows what
she's gonna do next.

All I can do is just wait

and react after it happens.

Well, where's Dan? I
mean, what does he say?

He's off somewhere with Mike
pretending that they can

figure out something to do,

- pretending that they can read her mind.
- Beth...

But the truth is, is
if he could stop her,

he would have done it before
I ever knew she existed.

But he didn't...

because he can't.

[sniffles]

[door opens]

[door closes]

[lock clicks]

Where were you?

With Mike.

We're going to the FBI.

When?

- What are you gonna tell them?
- Tomorrow.

[inhales]

And we're gonna tell
them everything.

- And then what happens?
- We can talk about this

some more if you like, but...

I really need to lay down.

[footsteps receding]

[sighs]

JORGE: What the
f*ck? This is crazy.

You deserve that f*cking trial.

I mean, obviously, I saw
you were getting Judge Webb

when I read it, and I knew
she was up for reappointment.

But for real, what the f*ck?

Webb must really be scared
of the D.A. or something?

No idea why that would be,

considering how far
back they go, but...

[sighs] I'm sorry.

- It's okay.
- No, it's a bunch of bullshit.

Mikey, how could
you let this happen?

What?

I'm smart, but I can't
see around corners.

Breakfast buffet
still not set up?

Eh, they're doing it now.
I didn't want to hover.

JORGE: You're gonna
appeal it, right?

What were you thinking you
would do while you do that?

Well, I was hoping that
I could come back here

and get the job
that I used to have.

JORGE: Yes,
exactly. Great plan.

Also, before all this, I'd
actually been thinking about

a more supervisory role for you.

Managerial. Paralegal
program director-type thing.

More, but not
astronomically more money

for a way more annoying gig.

It's great, right?
You're welcome.

Stop trying to snatch defeat
from the jaws of victory.

Yeah.

Separate, but not unrelated,

I have the authority
to offer you

a legal investigator gig.

Oh, dear. And I have
the authority to accept.

I know none of this makes
the other things better,

but at least I'm
getting what I want.

ELLEN: I take the first two entrees
on the menu, and I compare them.

And then, whatever
one that wins,

then I take the third one,
and I compare it to that.

And then so on. And then,
whatever the winner is

of all of the entrees, and
I compare to the specials,

if there are any, and
that's how I decide

- what I'm going to order.
- Mm.

Is the restaurant still
open at this point?

Maybe you like paying money
to feel vaguely dissatisfied

after you eat, but
I, however, do not.

That reminds me of something
your mother use to say.

Which I can't actually
remember right now,

but I promise you
it was perfect.

Did your mother
talk to you about

what she and I were discussing?

[sighs]

I'm not gonna be
getting a new trial.

The judge denied me.

Can you go to another judge?

I can appeal, yeah.

Are you going to?

[sighs]

I have 30 days to file notice.

But then, after that,
there would probably be

another year or so of process.

And even at the end of all that,

the likelihood of a
new judge overturning

the old judge's decision is...

unlikely.

So...

I have to think about it.

BARTENDER: Here you go.

Thank you.

There used to be this
dive bar on Pico.

Mike loved this place.

And when you ordered
one of these,

the swizzle stick,
instead of being this,

was a slab of thick-cut bacon.

That slaps.

- Sounds awesome.
- Mm-hmm.

[breathes deeply]

Yeah.

It really was.

Is that place still there?

I'm gonna assume no.

To freedom.

Hey, you're Dan Gallagher.

I am. What can I do for you?

Steve Scirocco. I
do criminal defense.

I know. I watch the news.

You consulting with one
of the partners here?

No, I am one of
the partners here,

as of, uh, day before yesterday.

Merged my practice
with these guys.

Let them pay my overhead, right?

Let me focus on
the razzle-dazzle.

Congratulations.

They must be very excited.

- Or they should be.
- Is right.

But, also, they are.

Speaking of excited,
I'm excited you're here.

Not sure why, but thank you.

Well, imagine you're me.

Imagine you find out
that Dan Gallagher,

former head of
Major Crimes Bureau

before going to
prison for m*rder

is now a paralegal at
the firm you just joined.

The spit take I did
ruined my favorite shirt.

Unless you lost your
memory or something.

- You haven't, have you?
- No.

There you go.

Couldn't be more useful to me

if I'd baked you myself.

In fact, I got a case on deck

I've already told everyone I'm
pulling all your free hours

to help me out on.

You watch the news. It's
been getting a lot of play.

Rebecca Richter?

Yes, the... the
m*rder Mistress.

Pretty lazy headlining, I agree.

Especially when "Home Richter's"
right there for the taking.

That case seems pretty
light, unless...

No, no. What you
saw is all they got.

They offered to plea
to manslaughter,

which tells me
they're scared, so,

I want to go all-in.

According to Rebecca,
the husband had a temper.

She thinks the wife
found out about them,

confronted him, and then
he figured out a way

to pin the k*lling on Rebecca...
Who's loaded, by the way.

Her father made a
sh*t-ton developing

in the Central Valley.

- So what's your strategy?
- My strategy's to get you the case file.

Then you tell me
what my strategy is.

How's that? [chuckles]

That sounds great.
I'll take a look.

Great. Hyped to be working
with the man, the myth.

And, um...

I'm looking forward
to hearing the story.

- What story?
- What you did.

And how. The real one.

I mean, they took
their pound of flesh.

You paid the piper.

You don't have to go
wide, or even public,

but you don't have
to pretend anymore.

At least not with me.

I'm not pretending. I
didn't k*ll that woman.

Of course. Of
course you didn't.

Because we don't know each
other well enough yet.

But we will.

So eventually you'll tell me.
You won't be able to help it.

I can't wait. [clicks tongue]

He said, "You know, well,

obviously she fell
off the roof."

I say, "She fell off the
roof. What if she was thrown

off the roof?" He goes,

"Well, I got nothing
to indicate that."

- [laughs]
- sh*t. f*ck.

You know, I used to hate...

You get a report
from a guy like that,

and it's all, you know,
"the undersigned conversed

with the oversigned about
the f*ck' aforementioned."

- What the f*ck are we doing?
- Exactly.

- Here you go, sir.
- Oh, hey. Thank you.

- [speaks indistinctly]
- That's you.

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

Yeah, write... write the sh*t

so that when you read
it in front of a jury,

they can understand the sh*t.

Thank you. And so after
you get transferred,

the guy who picks
up your f*cking case

and has to work it, he
can understand the sh*t.

- Yeah.
- You know?

"The premises in question
were presently unoccupied."

- So... Just say nobody was home.
- "He wasn't home."

[both laugh]

[groans]

Thought you told me 1:30.

- I did.
- He did,

but when I'm hungry, I eat.

So how's it going?

I can tell by your face

you already know the
answer to that question.

Sorry.

Why? If you're so
sure I'm the guy?

Yeah, but you don't
think you're the guy,

so it must have been a
gut punch, considering.

- You gonna appeal?
- I told you he isn't.

Yeah, I-I know you did,
but it just seems like

something a guy who says
he's not the guy would do.

The guy who's not really the
guy is f*cking tired, okay?

EARL: Mm-hmm. It's
tiring, isn't it?

Thinking about people
k*lling other people and why.

Next question. So, out
of all the alternates

that you guys have found,
who you think it is?

Drug dealer doctor makes
the most sense to me.

You know, somebody he's
working with or working for.

Told 'em what she said.

They told him she's gotta
go. Bibbity-boppity-boo.

How did you read my application?

Well, you filed it with
the court, cool guy.

The records room
pulled it for me.

What, you're surprised
that I'm motivated

- by my own f*cking case?
- DAN: No.

I'm just confused,

- since you're so sure I did it.
- Which he didn't.

- Except he's so sure that you didn't do it.
- Yeah.

- And if he's right...
- Which I am.

Which he isn't, I
want to be there

to see it for myself.

So what happens now?
You guys drive around

in a van solving mysteries?

[laughs] No, not mysteries.

A mystery.

Who k*lled Alex Forrest?

[whispers]: You did.

But yeah.

[upbeat song playing
through speakers]

♪

BETH: He said he
hadn't decided.

Uh, yeah, but he was just
talking about how long

that process would be, you
know, like... like a year.

And how at the end of it he was

pretty much already sure
that the answer would be no.

So why bother?

ELLEN: Yeah, that's
what it seemed like.

[groans]

- What?
- Nothing.

It's just, whatever
you're up to over there,

it feels a little bit to me

like the difference between

tactics and
strategy, that's all.

Oh, that's all, is it?

ARTHUR: Mm-hmm.

So he's done, then?

He's just gonna...

let it all go?

ELLEN: Guess so.

But, I mean, isn't
that what you thought

that he should do to begin with?

Yeah.

I just never thought he would.

Strategy is your
broad-spectrum goal.

Tactics are your short-term
steps you take to achieve

your strategic goal.

ELLEN [Muppety voice]: Meh,
meh-meh meh-meh-meh, meh meh meh.

[continues babbling]

How does he cook in
Mike's mom's garage?

Or is it just takeout?

ELLEN: Uh, there's
a kitchenette.

But I think Mike cooks
for both of them.

By which you mean
he melts cheese

- on top of Tater Tots?
- And the problem with that would be what?

- [chuckles]
- So hang on.

Let me just understand this.

Me hanging onto the
eight of clubs because

I knew that you were
waiting for it was tactical,

not strategic?

Gin. Or was it maybe both?

ARTHUR: What are you, like,
some type of Bond villain?

- ELLEN: Mm-hmm.
- Hmm?

Should we have him over

to eat or something?

Or would that be too weird?

We'll find out when we do it.

JORGE: Perfect timing.

Thank you.

You all right?

Steve Scirocco came to see me.

Oh, sh*t, yeah, I was
supposed to give you

a heads-up about that.

- He's a lot, huh?
- Mm-hmm.

But he's also our
managing partner's friend

since high school, so he's here
till he doesn't want to be.

Pretty much the definition
of "necessary evil."

- He wants you on that m*rder Mistress.
- Yeah.

Yeah, that's what he said.

Well, I-I won't let him
monopolize you, okay?

I got something
on deck right now.

I can fit in two, three pro bono

criminal cases a year.

Steve would just
have to share you.

What?

He thinks that I k*lled her.

Wanted me to tell
him everything.

He wants me to have done it.

What is that?

[sighs]

You know Sammy "The Bull"
Gravano's got a podcast?

Or YouTube Channel, maybe.

Talking about k*lling
his best friend,

his brother-in-law,
16, 17 other people.

Sitting in a big armchair
next to a f*cking fireplace.

That's what that is.

m*rder is a brand now.

You want people to know
you're not a k*ller,

but a lot of them would
like you better if you were.

[indistinct chatter]

- Hey. Where have you been?
- Really?

People have been asking
questions about you.

Yeah? What'd you tell them?

I said I didn't know.

You are unbelievable.

What are we talking about now?

Someone called Admissions,

said that I lied
on my application

about the probation,
the conviction.

They kicked me out of school.

Without my aid package,
I can't even stay in L.A.

I'm gonna have to go back home.

Who?

Who called them?

- You, Ellen.
- They told you that?

No one here knew but you.

People always assume
no one knows things.

It was a juvenile
record. It was sealed.

Are you sure?

- Are you f*cking kidding?
- No, really. Are you sure?

Did you do everything
that it takes

to make sure that a
juvenile record is sealed?

Because you know that
it doesn't actually

just happen
automatically, even though

they would like to make
you think that it does.

Ellen, you did this.

Why?

[sighs]

I don't know.

Why would I do it?

I can't even...

You're a f*cking liar.

Well, you would know.

[exhales]

Marked patrol car,
me and my partner.

Midnight to 8:00 a.m. in
the springtime, lovely time.

We stop in and get a
coffee. I come out,

and this couple's
running toward me.

"Help, police! Help!"

What's going on? They go,

"We were at a house
party over on Magnolia."

And they're looking
out over the, uh,

you know, one of
those glassed-in

kind of backyard
greenhouse type of things.

But it's got furniture
in it, too, a table

and there are some
chairs, and they got this

slice of tree trunk
coffee table in there.

How do you remember what the
coffee table looked like?

Wasn't this the '90s?

[scoffs] And anyway,
they look down,

and there's a guy in there,
and he's walking around,

- and he's talking to himself.
- Yes, please.

They go, "Oh, look at this.
He's probably just an actor

rehearsing his
lines or something."

But then he stops
and he bends down,

and he picks up a circular saw
that he'd plugged in already,

- and he flops his arm down on the tree trunk...
- No.

Coffee table, and crank!

- Oh!
- Ah! Ugh.

- He saws it off.
- Will you get out of here?

- No, he did. He really did.
- No, no, get out of here

with your limb-sawing
gross story

at my brunch table.

Hey, don't get all
sensitive on me.

- We all saw what you did to those eggs.
- [Dan chuckles]

- You scrambled the sh*t out of 'em.
- ELLEN: Egg after egg

after egg; you were
out of control.

- All I could do was watch helplessly.
- Well, anyway,

there was a big green planter
in the corner of the courtyard.

Nice emerald deep
green, and well done.

Anyway, that's where I found it.

- The arm? - The arm.
- BETH: What!?

- It was planted in there?
- No, no.

He just laid it in there.

He didn't plant it.

[laughs]

DAN: Sylvie Rubidoh.

Her kids report her missing.

- [phone ringing] - Husband
said that he was at work,

but we know he's lying, 'cause
he gamed the log-in system

and snuck out.

Can you arrest someone

- for m*rder without a body?
- [phone buzzing]

DAN: We can, but
we usually don't.

- [Julia sighs]
- All right.

They're just gonna keep
calling if you do that?

- That's your favorite, right?
- DAN: Yeah, until they give up

and pass it off to Frank, who
still needs to redeem himself

after that whole
county jail thing

that he foisted off
on me. Am I right?

When you're right, you're right.

- Let me help.
- Want to do the honors?

Please.

- All right.
- BETH: Mm-hmm.

JULIA: Mm, bigger.

Really?

- All right.
- [chuckles]

Well, how's this?

That'll do, pig.

So, wait, you were saying
you don't usually arrest

a suspect if you don't
have the body; why not?

It's hard enough to
win a m*rder case

when you do have a f*ck' body.

And at the end of the
day, we want to win.

Or at least not know
that we've already lost.

ARTHUR: Honestly,
I think it's better

if we keep it like
we had it last time.

Or if we're gonna
change the schedule

from last time, I think
we should put Saturday

at the end of the week,
not in the middle.

Okay, so that...
Yeah, that's fine.

- So we'll do Friday chemo...
- Mm.

Saturday I'm full of steroids,

and I can run
errands and whatever.

Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, ooh. Uh,

But then I'm okay,
usually, by Wednesday.

- Right?
- Yeah. That works.

You have to tell them that
we want to change, though.

I'm scared of Eileen.

She doesn't have to think
you're funny to like you.

I know.

But why doesn't she like me?

- I'm the best.
- Well, true.

- [Julia chuckles] - I mean,
but give the woman a break.

I mean, her job is
oncology scheduling.

- You know who doesn't like you, though, is Rosie.
- Ugh!

I wouldn't, either,
if I were her.

My veins are the worst.

They're so deep,

so hard to get
to, so collapse-y.

Not like your veins,
just out there, springy.

Your veins laugh at my veins.

- Yep, that's what they do.
- [giggles]

- How's it feel now?
- Good.

Yeah?

But now the other foot is numb
and tingly all over again.

- Really?
- No.

[both laugh]

I would've did it.

JULIA: Go hear live music.

- We used to do that all the time.
- Mm.

Snowmobile the
Continental Divide again.

Yeah, I liked that.

That tree, the redwood
that you can drive through.

- Mm.
- The Chandelier Tree.

Some of these are gonna
take some logistics.

I know.

Plus, Dr. Anastasia has to

- clear me for travel.
- Yes.

- Watch Singin' in the Rain with Ellen.
- Mm.

Meet Cindy's baby.

See the sun set

- over the ocean from a boat.
- Mm-hmm.

Read the final book of
the Morrigan quadrology.

I thought you told me no one
knows when that's coming out.

They don't.

I asked the guy
at Barnes & Noble,

and apparently she hasn't
even started writing it yet.

- Where does she live, Maine?
- Mm.

- I'll go talk to her.
- [laughs]

"Ms. George, you don't know me,

but my wife is
your biggest fan."

"So I'm gonna need you to
put 19, 20-hour days in

"on this thing until it's done,

"'cause I'm not
leaving without it.

- Show me to the guest room."
- [laughs]

- How great would that be?
- Mm.

I... I'm almost...
I'm almost sorry

I read the first three books.

I mean, not really, but...

I can't believe I'm not
gonna find out how it ends.

Remember, I was gonna take
the boat out every weekend

after the divorce.

You did say that a lot, Bruce.

It just never happened.

And now there's Joanna,
who hates the ocean.

Oh, uh, keys.

Lockbox codes.

Uh, the marina has
24-hour access.

Guard fees are paid
up. Go nuts. [chuckles]

- I appreciate it.
- Yeah.

Consider her your boat, okay?

I'll just, I'll kick
selling it down the road

until...

until you don't
need her anymore.

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

Okay?

- Thanks a lot.
- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Baby, we're here.
- Hmm?

Oh. Oh.

Right now?

Well, it could be now.

Or it could be another day.

Maybe that's the move if
you're not feeling up to it.

Um... [clears throat]

No, because I'm not up to it

is why it has to be
now. Okay? [chuckles]

- All right, let's do it.
- All right.

- It's gonna be beautiful, come on.
- [laughs]

- You're gonna love this.
- Ooh. [grunts]

I'll get it.

JULIA: Okay.

ARTHUR: My God, I'm so sorry.

He said it was only a few
times, that it's over,

that it ended
badly. [sniffles]

Well, do you believe him?

I... He thinks that...

she came to break
in, steal things.

She didn't think
anyone was home,

and that my mom surprised her.

W-W-Wait a second.

Wh-what are you,
what are you saying?

Is there any evidence?

He's a f*cking prosecutor.

Would-would he believe him?

ARTHUR: Look, I'm sorry,
this isn't helping.

So what-what can I do?

BETH: Don't tell
anyone, especially her.

ARTHUR: What can I do, huh?

What can I actually do, though?

BETH: Nothing.

What could you do? Make
it so it didn't happen?

You can't do anything.

[exhales]

[indistinct chatter]

♪

[siren wailing in distance]

[door shuts]

Oh, hey, I rang the bell
for the super, no answer.

A guy coming out let me in.
I'm here for the walk-through.

I'm the super.
What walk-through?

Oh, come on, nobody
gave you a heads-up?

Baratta Properties
send you? Ugh.

I don't need any more
oversight bullshit.

I take good care of this place.

I need somebody to
look at the elevator.

That's who needs to
walk through here,

a f*cking actual
elevator repairman.

Well, good, 'cause here I am.

I thought you said walk-through.

Well, 'cause how am I gonna know

whether it's the hydraulics,

or do I, do I need
to get a part built?

- I mean, if I don't look at it...
- Okay, sh*t.

Great. Finally. Sorry.

Uh, I gotta go buy a
P-trap, some other sh*t.

- You good to do your own thing?
- I'm good.

All right, you need
to come in and out,

just use the fire
door, it's broken.

Great.

[grunts]

♪

ARTHUR: So, you, uh, you
up for some mac and cheese?

Is it the frozen kind?

No. Beth made it, but it-it
doesn't have to be that.

But it has to be
something, because...

I know, I know.

- Uh, just don't heat it up.
- Okay.

I need it to not
smell like anything.

[chuckles] All right.

Oh, and a side of
ibuprofen, please.

You got it.

Don't move, I'll be right back.

♪

♪

[sighs deeply]

It's ready. Come on.

Let me help you.

Sorry it took me a minute.

All right.

[buzzing]

BETH: She knows. She
knows what she's thinking.

She knows what
she's gonna do next.

All I can do is just wait

- and react after it happens.
- Where's Dan?

He's off somewhere with Mike
pretending that they can

figure out something
to do, pretending that

they can read her mind.

But the truth is, is
if he could stop her,

he would have done it before

I ever knew she existed.

But he didn't because he can't.

[Beth crying]

- Mm...
- Baby.

I need...

Beth needs help.

- I'm gonna go help her.
- Mm.

Help her. Mm-hmm.

He said that I knew
that he was married.

That I knew, and
that I did it anyway.

And so that I only
have myself to blame.

STANLEY: Wait,
what did you do?

He said he's gonna
have me arrested!

He said that he could just
make up a bunch of charges,

and that everybody's
gonna go along with it

because he'd just do that.

When? When is
that gonna happen?

I don't know. He said
it when he was leaving.

I don't know, I don't know.

Well, they can't arrest
you if they can't find you.

Come here. Grab your
stuff, get in the car.

You leave right now, you'll
be here by tomorrow night.

- We'll figure this all out together.
- Okay, okay, okay.

- Go now.
- Let me call you from the road.

[siren wailing in distance]

[cries out]

[gasping, grunting]

[glass shatters]

[gasping, choking]

[Arthur panting]

[Arthur groans]

[Arthur whimpers, exhales]

[Alex breathing quietly]

♪

[Arthur panting]

[grunting]

[punching keys]

[door buzzes open]

ANDREA: They're both set
in Victorian England,

but you want the Inspector Pitts
ones; I'm in love with him.

I know he's not real.

JULIA: Have you ever
read Louise Penny?

- Mm.
- First two books in a series

set in this cozy
little town in Quebec.

Everyone leaves
their doors unlocked.

Hot chocolate,
tobogganing, m*rder.

- In.
- [chuckles]

What's tobogganing? Sledding?

All the way in.

You need the coffee and
the sleep, Artie, honey,

not the coffee
instead of the sleep.

And by you, I mean we.

Oh, I know.

Skinny caramel latte,
extra shot, right?

Yes. Are you
kidding? The best.

Absolute best.

JULIA: He really is, isn't he?

ANDREA: All right,
I'm-a get going.

I'll be back Tuesday
unless there's something

you need before
then. Just call me.

So, but that's a
real thing, right?

I mean, I pay the consult
fee, so now you...

I'm ethically bound, yeah.
Is that what you mean?

Yeah, uh, whatever
you talk about,

I, uh, I will never,

I can't ever disclose.

Good?

- Okay.
- So,

what are we talking about?

I have a friend that's in prison

for a m*rder that
he didn't commit.

Okay. How do you
know he didn't do it?

Well, I know it because, um...

- because I did it.
- Okay.

What are you
looking for from me?

I want to come forward, confess.

Get him out, get him
back with his family.

I know I should
have come forward

and done this before, but,
look, my wife, she has cancer.

And I don't...

Look, I don't know,
I just thought...

I'm sorry, is this something
that you can help me do?

Do you have evidence for
this, what you're saying?

I mean, what can you show
to prove that it was you?

Well, I can talk
about how and why.

I mean, the details
of what I did.

- So just your word?
- I mean, unless the police have something

that they didn't know or
use that was important.

That didn't fit on focusing
on Dan being their guy.

On Dan? Dan who?

Dan Gallagher.

Wh...

- Your friend is Dan Gallagher?
- You know him?

Well, I mean, I know of him.

Of course.

I never thought
he'd get arrested.

Then I couldn't believe that
he couldn't figure his way out

of something that he didn't do.

- I mean, of all people, if he couldn't, who could?
- No one.

He never had a chance.

I mean, even in a world
where prosecutors admit

that they're wrong,
he was a whale.

One of the biggest gets the
D.A.'s office ever put down.

- He's innocent.
- Not to them.

To them, he's a resounding
victory that they won

from a judge and a jury
with shock and awe.

And now you just want to show up

- and-and tell them it was really you?
- Yeah.

They'll keep Gallagher
exactly where he is,

and they'll lock
you up for perjury.

What-what kind of cancer are
we talking about, your wife?

Ovarian.

Hmm. Well, is she
hanging in there?

[sighs] Look, you
paid for my counsel,

so here's my counsel.

Go home and take care of her,

and be grateful you
got away with it.

- [scoffs]
- If you even did it.

I'm not even sure I believe you.

[breathing deeply]

Hey, pal.

Hey, Beth said it'd
be okay if I...

Yeah. Sure. Thanks for coming.

What, are you kidding? Of
course, of course, yeah.

I mean, it's a hard thing here.

I mean, I know it
was a hard thing,

and now it's different.

Which is also hard.

Yeah.

It's better to have loved and
lost than to never have...

loved... I don't know.

Yeah, no, I know. I
mean, I don't feel it,

- but I know it.
- Yeah.

[kids laughing]

Oh. Hey.

- Hey, could I ask you something?
- Sure.

Why do you think he cut
them off, Beth and Ellen?

I mean, what was he thinking?

To do that just seems...

- Crazy?
- No.

It seems impossible to me.

Not to me.

It's painful, devastating.

Not impossible.

Not to someone who knows
what he's up against.

- What, the time, you mean? The years?
- No, the system.

What he knows it is. I mean...

what he knows it can be.

How once you're
inside, it's over.

Once that thing has you,
you're f*cking done.

And you worked for that
thing all these years, right?

I mean, what you're
describing is what you served

for all that time, no?

That's how I know what it is.

I mean, you go in
pretty wide-eyed,

thinking institutions
are people.

And then, one day, you realize..

No institutions,

no people.

It's just a f*cking machine.

It chews.

It f*cking spits.

It's not what you
thought it was at all.

And in its service,
neither are you.

You know, I...

Oh, sh*t. Yeah.

There I go.

That's my specialty,
making sh*t about me.

- I'm sorry. Uh...
- It's okay.

Julia was... Um, she is...

She's a beautiful soul, she is.

Yeah.

- Yeah, hey.
- Thanks, Mike.

You tell anybody I
cried, I'll k*ll you.

ARTHUR: Okay, so a run is...

YOUNG ELLEN: Um, at
least three in a row,

all of the same suit,
and aces are low.

ARTHUR: Very good.

All right, so why don't we
just do one, see how it goes.

We don't have to keep
score until you get it.

We're gonna keep score.

Well, of course we are.

'Cause we've been
talking about it

a whole two minutes,

and you already
know as much as me.

All right, no mercy.

Hardly any mercy.

Maybe a little mercy.

- I don't know as much as you.
- Oh, stop it.

It's actually weird
how tiny your head is

with all the stuff you know.

- You know things, too.
- I do.

I mean, I know somethings.

Like, for instance,
I know you can't hum

while holding your nose.

No, don't even try it.

- Just believe me.
- [door opens]

- Hi, Mom.
- [door shuts]

BETH: Hi.

No, no, just believe me.

[chuckles]

MIKE: So I run it
under cold water,

and I pack it in ice in a towel,

and I run it over
to the hospital,

but it didn't matter,
they couldn't save it.

- The cut was too clean.
- Circular saw.

Yeah, but don't worry,
'cause they gave him

a new plastic arm

with a little metal
hook on the end of it.

- Aw.
- Oh, that's nice.

Then, one cold winter night...

- He cut it off.
- No, he did not.

We get a 911 call from
a restaurant downtown

saying there was a naked guy
standing outside their windows

holding his
thinger-dinger in a hook

that he had for a hand.

- Hey!
- Oh...

Okay!

- Coffee, anyone?
- No, I'm okay, thanks.

- Not now.
- You know what I would love?

Could I have one
more little piece

of the red raspberry
muffin cake thing?

Yes. It's good, isn't it?

- Yeah, it's great.
- Arthur made that.

- ARTHUR: Yeah.
- Wouldn't expect any less.

- Cheers.
- Salud!

♪

[birds singing]

- Taking off soon?
- Yeah.

Yeah, me, too, but...

my ride doesn't look
like he's in a hurry

to get anywhere, does he?

- Do you want me to bounce him for you?
- [chuckles]

Broom him from
the establishment?

- That's okay, thank you. Maybe in a little bit.
- Okay.

It's nice out here.
It's very peaceful.

I'm happy to hear that
the thesis is going well.

[exhales] Yeah, me,
too. [weak chuckle]

It's... it is tricky, though.

Toni Wolff didn't do a
lot of writing herself,

so most of what's out there
is, like, through people

who knew her talking
or writing about her.

Or not.

Like, for instance,
supposedly Jung wrote

this entire chapter about
her in his autobiography,

and then just deleted it.

Which, if you wanted people to
be less interested in her...

Yeah, it's maybe not
the move. Mm-hmm.

She did write this one,

like, really
groundbreaking essay,

though, on the four
feminine structural forms.

- Four, you say?
- Mm-hmm.

Not three, not five.
So there's the Mother.

- Makes sense.
- Right? Amazon.

She's, like, the boss,
fighter, multitasker.

- Um, Hetaira.
- No, you lost me now.

[laughs] Friend, lover, wife.

And then the Medial,

which is the psychic,
intuitive healer.

Yeah, I guess that
about covers it.

Plus, they have these
shadow sides, too, right?

So it's like the "smother,"

or the "career-driven b*tch,"

or the prost*tute or mistress.

It's hard to
describe exactly what

the Medial woman's
shadow side is in a word,

but if she misinterprets

the messages she's getting,

she will destroy you.

- That all sounds fascinating. I can't wait to read it.
- Yeah.

- Me, either.
- [chuckles]

I just, um, I just
want to say that...

[sighs]

I know that you think
that you already know

what's gonna happen, but I
think that you should appeal.

Just keep asking
for a new trial.

Even if it takes a
year, or however long,

I just feel like
you have to try.

You have to always keep trying.

Jung said, "It's important
to affirm one's own destiny.

"Because in this
way, we forge an ego

"that endures the truth,

and is capable of coping with
the world, and with fate.

"And then, to experience defeat

is to also experience victory."

[exhaling]: Hmm.

See you.

[sniffles]

[exhales]

MACKSEY [on recording]: The
first stage was to confront

what he called the persona,

a structure made up of the
societal masks we wear...

A child, parent, boss,
fri-friend, lover...

To confront those masks
and separate them from

[recording garbles] true self.

The next stage of individuation

is confrontation
with our shadow.

Our shadow self is the part
of us that's been hurt.

And then we reject it,

[recording garbles] trying
to protect ourselves

from being hurt aga-again...

Acknowledging our shadow means

admitting our capacity for
darkness-darkness-dark-dark...

Darkness.

I should really
start doing that,

using the recorder.

I mean, it's right there.

There-there-there...

there. Also, it might
be relevant, Toni Wolff

- was Jung's mistress.
- ELLEN: Might be relevant?

MACKSEY: Which his wife
knew and was okay with.

ELLEN: Well, what was Jung's

source of information
on that? Was it him?

Was it him?

MACKSEY: Don't make me
chase you... girlfriend.

[recording garbles]
Don't make me chase you.

YOUNG ELLEN: All the
birds and animals.

Like antelope and
deer and stags.

ALEX: Stags and deer are
actually the same thing.

A stag's just a really big
male deer with antlers.

I think you're right.

But they started to realize

that Majnun would
never hurt them,

that he was like them.

- That he avoided people, too.
- Yeah.

And they could've attacked him,

but they didn't. They
helped him instead.

The foxes swept the floors
clean with their tails,

and the vultures would
block his eyes from the sun

so that he could see,
and the predators

stopped k*lling, even for food.

The lions and tigers and bears.

And wolves and
jackals and hyenas.

Majnun had this big,
giant, peaceful family.

That sounds amazing.

I want that for you.

I do, too, but with dogs, too.

Tigers and foxes and dogs.

Oh, and hippos.

Yes, of course, hippos.
Hippos are the most.

Are you okay?

Yeah, I just want to
tell you something.

It's... it's
something that I wish

somebody had told me,

so I didn't have
to learn it myself.

I probably would not
have liked hearing it,

but it would have been
better just to know.

What is it?

It's who you can trust

and who you can't.

You probably think you
already know how to tell,

but I promise you,
you really don't.

I mean...

your parents, they're...

they're pretending
that nothing's wrong,

and they're saying everything
is okay, but it's really not.

They're lying to you.

Both of them, but
especially your dad.

That doesn't mean that
he doesn't love you.

I know that he does.

But someone can love you

and still lie to you.

Some people...

it's just what they do.

It's what the world is like.

But... you can handle it

if you know how.

How?

You let them think
they're fooling you.

You act like you believe them,

but you never forget
who they really are.

And you never let them stop you

from getting the
life that you want.

And if they try...

you leave them.

They don't get to leave you.

Ah, it's such a beautiful day.

I really like being
here with you.

Where's the book?

I want to know how it ends.

MACKSEY [on recording]:
Ellen, I've been afraid

to be this direct with
any... another person.

No matter what my colleagues

[distorted]: think or
say, I-I-I need you.

Please be with me.

I didn't think it was possible

to even dream of
a woman like you.

[clears throat] So
completely generous...

[distorts] ...and loving.

I want you in my life
for the next morning

and every one after.

We can be together forever.

If you abandon me now,
there is only darkness.

What's going on?

Hello to you, too.

How did you get in here?

You have a hide-a-key rock.

I used to have one, too,
when I was in middle school.

Ellen?

Why are you in my house?

I feel like you're mad at me.

Are you mad at me?

[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]

ALEX: There's only one
way for something to end.

There's only one
decision to make.

How are you gonna
get to that ending?

I have no idea how
people are gonna react.

When you read it, it's
kind of like this,

"Oh, sh...!"

If we're watching this
and it's being told to us

like a mystery,

is it gonna feel satisfying
if the actual k*ller

is the same k*ller
from the movie?

I spend a lot of
time thinking about

what the lives of people

who are taking care of
other people in extremis

are like psychologically,
the way that grinds you down.

When I was deciding
to do the show

and on the fence about it,

I had a friend who had
been suffering from cancer

for many years.

So, I said to her, "I've
been asked to do this

but I don't think
I'm gonna do it."

And she said, "Oh, I totally
think you should do it."

And then shortly after
that, she passed.

And so, I wanted
to commemorate her

as a character in the show.

[INHALES] I have a
friend that's in prison

for a m*rder that
he didn't commit.

ALEXANDRA: And then just
sort of thinking about Arthur

as a person who knows
how to get things done.

He's there with his
sleeves rolled up

and he would approach his
wife's illness the same way,

but he feels totally powerless.

It gets me emotional even now.

To know that Julia
was dying of that

and there was nothing
more I could do.

And at the same time,
I'm watching somebody

who I love and care about,
her life get destroyed.

ALEXANDRA: And so,
when Beth comes to him

when her life is in devastation,

part of his, you know, lizard
brain starts to work on,

"I could fix this somehow."

Beth needs help.

I'm gonna go help her.[SIGHS]

Help her. Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: Whoa, wow,
whoa, wait a second.

Because that means
he got in the car,

started it, hit stop
signs, red lights,

and didn't change his mind.

He went there and did this.

So, of course, he's had
to have snapped, right?

Who's Arthur to get to
play judge and jury?

Who is he to decide?

Well, I know it because, um...

because I did it.

ALEXANDRA: It kind of
was a natural evolution

to start thinking about Arthur

and to not make him just a
mustache-twirling villain,

to make him a person who
is doing a terrible thing

for a good reason

and then having to live with it.

ALEX: Yeah. I just wanna
tell you something.

It's something that I
wish somebody had told me

so I didn't have
to learn it myself.

It's who you can trust
and who you can't.

SILVER: We just get
these very quick glimpses

of Ellen in the feature film

and Alex really
wanted to explore

what that trauma did to Ellen

and what happened
in the years since.

I think the theme of it
is very Greek tragedy

in the sense of your
sin will find you out.

It felt important to show
Dan the consequences.

It can be dealt with,
but it can't be erased.

I think now is an ideal time

to re-examine this
story, reopen it.

I would want to know more of
her side of what's going on.

It can be a constant
conversation.

You couldn't watch it
without asking more questions

or finding sympathy for her.

Your parents, they're...

they're pretending
that nothing's wrong.

They're lying to you.

ALEXANDRA: She's
going down the road

that Alex is going down.

She's just better
at lying about it.

SILVER: Making
Ellen become Alex.

It's not punishment necessarily,

but it's something that
he never did the math

of how the women in his life

were actually gonna
be impacted by this.

To freedom.

ALYSSA: I think it's like a
incredibly complicated journey.

There's a lot of pain and
a lot of misunderstanding

throughout the whole show.

If she misinterprets
the messages

that she's getting,

she will destroy you.

ALYSSA: Her overall
goal has always been

that she wants to have
this man in her life.

I think her allegiance
has always been with him

but he's just done too much
to her to live in that space.

ALEXANDRA: She's very aware
of everyone else's shadows,

but she's not aware of her own.

SILVER: We all remember
that scene where

Alex made a tape for Dan,
from the original film,

and he's listening to it.

So, I think the audience
is gonna be going,

"Wait a minute, what
are these tapes?"

"And who is this?"

And then, the reveal that
she herself is stalking

is going to, I think,
blow everybody's mind.

Why are you in my house?

I feel like you're mad at me.

ALEXANDRA: "Are you mad at me?"

really is just
sort of a hallmark

of the emotional
relationship insecurity

that someone with a
personality disorder

in that realm would feel.

Even though Ellen and Alex
are different in some ways,

in some ways they're
very the same.

And so, to use that specific
wording also felt important

to connect those two people.

Are you mad at me?