Bardolph is gonna try
to fire me.
Stan, where are we at now?
Same buy-in gets us
But Duncan only owns 20.
Well, I resigned from the board.
I need you on the board!
I need that vote!
You said you'd call Nena,
clear my name,
and you never called her.
- So I called her.
- You?
$1.2 million?
I should never have
blackmailed you.
It should have
always been a bribe.
There are men and women
who fought for us to be here.
They wanna pay you
just for your help.
Why don't you tell me
what I'm doing here?
How would you like
to be interim CEO?
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
I'm proud of you b*stards.
You know the cost.
Now earn the ground.
Maguire,
you're on the widowmaker.
Fix bayonets.
Cut 'em to ribbons, boys.
And if God is watching,
he's seen worse
and said nothing.
Let's go!
[whistles]
[all yelling]
I'm gonna bayonet you
right in the chest.
You should fall right down.
- [groans]
- Fall, fall, fall!
Good try.
And whack, you're done.
And bang, you are dead.
Oh, nice touch.
[screaming]
[g*nf*re]
What, are you guys
signing a treaty?
There's a w*r!
Assholes.
[g*nf*re playing on record]
[quirky music]
♪ ♪
Boom. Stabbed in the face.
You're dead.
What kind of German machinery
is this f*cking thing?
What is that, a Cadillac?
♪ ♪
[sighs]
- Hi.
Sorry.
Um, strategy confab at 10:00.
No?
Thank you for f*cking up
the verisimilitude.
Are you playing "Wordle"?
- No.
♪ ♪
[whistle blows]
[shouting and g*nf*re resume]
And whack!
♪ ♪
Duncan!
What are you doing here?
Just came to talk business,
and I got you a little present.
I don't care
for business at home.
Can we set a call?
Oh, come on,
better mano a mano, you know?
And just open it.
Open, open, open, open,
open, open, open, open, open.
[laughs]
It's a truffle.
From my favorite truffle pig.
[snorts]
You seem to be
taking the news well.
What-what am I...
taking well?
Don't you know?
Uh, I don't know
what I don't know.
Carl Bardolph... he's tapped me
to be the CEO.
That's fabulous.
I mean, CEO of-of what?
Hypergnosis, Duncan.
That's the name of my company.
I didn't ask for the job.
Carl came to me.
Okay, I get it now.
He's using you to get to me.
I don't think
that's what this is.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
It is. It is.
I'm in the midst of realigning
the company's mission.
Jesus, I was gone
for a few days,
and now we have a mission?
You had a breakdown and fled.
I did not have a breakdown.
[laughs]
At any rate, Carl's put
his full faith in me.
I intend to lead Hypergnosis
and earn that trust.
Okay?
I mean, ok... okay.
Okay, yeah. Okay.
Stop saying okay.
Okay, how about we...
Share the chair?
Then we could do one of
those... what do you call it?
You know, a Brangelina.
You like the sound of d*uche-ka?
Okay, you're holding out
for Anuncan?
[chuckles]
Fine.
The point is, power couple.
I won't deny it.
I'm, like, super hurt
because you tried
to destroy me
with the Nena piece,
and I'm still
kind of hurting now.
But then I learned
we hurt others because we care.
We hurt because we love.
Yeah.
So I came here...
[breathing shakily]
Because I asked Lili
for a divorce.
- No, you didn't.
- Yeah, it was a good conver...
- Did you?
- Yeah. She took it well.
The thing is,
I wanna be with you.
I wanna...
really, really with you.
You know, it's not just
about the CEO thing.
Would be nice, but come on.
You feel the same. You know it.
I'm afraid I do not
feel the same way.
Same in your own way.
Duncan, please.
Martin's right there.
- There's nothing to hide!
- Shh. Be quiet.
Those of us
with a modicum of shame
have a great deal to hide.
Come on... Nush.
Come on, you want me.
- [laughs]
Like I want to eat
a can of frosting.
A 3/4 can of cake frosting
that I found at the back
of my fridge
that's hard and crusty
at the top.
Sounds yummy.
Mmm, first bite, maybe.
But the rest is self-hatred.
[soft somber music]
I don't wish
to share a chair with you
or an office or a company
or a bed.
Come on, Nush.
Otherwise, it's...
[laughing tearfully]
It's w*r.
I think it already is w*r.
And you think you're winning?
Wow.
I came to apologize,
offer you my love, my talent,
and you sh*t on it,
like I'm a sidewalk.
I bought you a $4,000 truffle.
And you're-you're...
Not a fungi?
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
w*r it is.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
[door buzzes]
Hey, uh, you got a minute?
Uh, next patient just arrived.
Yeah, mine did too.
Okay, so maybe later.
Yeah, real quick,
uh, your 401[k]...
there's what,
like 800,000 in there?
Uh, yeah. Why?
If we cash, say, 700 now,
the tax hit
would be significant,
but we'd clear what, like 400?
No, that's our security.
This house could be
our security,
and it is going to sell
by the end of the week.
Wait, are you telling me
that your-your plan now
is to cash out our old age,
pennies on the dollar
for overpriced real estate?
We only need 20% down, Gary.
Okay, unless my math
is totally off,
You're missing, like,
a million and change.
Well, I-I... uh,
I have access...
a plan to access...
A million dollars?
Pray tell.
- The plan?
- Mm-hmm.
It's a-a...
a financial instrument,
a sort of advanced
second mortgage
introductory rate asset swap.
But, you know, never mind.
Play it safe.
Lose our home, our offices.
Safe.
[door slams]
The last time
I-I saw her, we had sex.
Did I do it wrong?
That seems unlikely.
Yeah.
I don't know, but it's like,
to go from,
God, that was so hot,
and then to take your job.
So she's the new CEO?
Is she... have they
made an announcement?
I see what you're doing.
Just stick to my psychology.
You know, you can make
your next million tomorrow
on someone else's
insider information.
- I wasn't.
- Just... where was I?
It was, um...
right, my childhood.
When I was young,
we kind of grew up poor.
Really?
And Dad immigrated here.
You know, we lived in a house
that smelled like cabbage,
kind of like this one.
And, you know, in the winter,
I would have to wear this...
this hat that my baba sent me,
this Serbian hat.
It was kind of like
a furry black hat.
It... like a-a fuzzy dunce cap.
And on the playground,
there was this kid.
And he grabbed my hat,
and he ran off.
And everyone laughed at me.
And your old sidepiece
stole your hat?
Yes.
I let my guard down,
and she distracted me with sex.
And now she has my hat,
which she's wearing like...
like as if her baba sent it.
She stole that hat,
and I can't let her keep it.
That's my hat.
Unless I blow up her car
with a car b*mb.
Then no one gets the hat.
Duncan, buy a new hat.
You can afford any hat you want.
That's what money does.
It's not sexy. It's security.
Because nobody can say
"get out of the sandbox"
if you own the sandbox.
[soft suspenseful music]
[sighs]
♪ ♪
[keyboard clacking]
[indistinct chatter]
♪ ♪
Hello.
I have a vision for Hypergnosis.
New direction, new mandate,
and perhaps the beginning
of a new approach to data.
Responsible, trusted, ethical.
I saw something recently
that inspired me.
I was attempting to speak
with a gentleman
in our engineering corps,
but they were preoccupied
to the point of mania
with what I believe
is called a supercut
of drivers
in the new self-driving
Torren San Antonio.
While the car was busy
self-driving,
the drivers were busy
self-pleasuring.
All the footage was filmed
by their own
driver's side cameras,
which the Torren user agreement
assures buyers
will solely be used
for driver safety.
Yes, quite so.
And for those of you bursting
with overweening pride,
having never wanked
whilst going 80 on the 210,
I assure you,
there were also compilations
of deep dive nose pickers,
ugly criers, finger sniffers,
parents yelling obscenities
at their children,
something for and of everyone.
And sadly, Torren's definition
of words like "safety"
and "privacy"
are industry standard.
Data collection is
a mutual agreement
to surrender privacy
for service.
We all know that.
Well, we do,
but we work in this business.
We know to reject all the tricks
they use to track us.
You must be joking.
You do reject all
nonessential cookies, right?
Always?
No?
My God.
Who with half a brain wants
to live under surveillance
by their car, their television,
toothbrush, refrigerator,
f*cking smart light bulbs?
I'm sorry.
Human dignity requires privacy.
Can I just ask,
if we're dialing back
what we do,
when do you wanna go back to?
Holly, I don't...
Harper, CTO.
Harper.
I don't wish to go back.
But about 15 years ago, yes,
there was a fork in the road,
and it would seem to me
we took the wrong turn.
Now, first client
I'd like to see
is this Torren car company.
[tense music]
[indistinct chatter]
Appreciate it.
Jesus.
[sighs]
Ugh.
I mean, I knew it'd be hard.
It's always been hard,
but I thought that this time...
would be different.
Tom, maybe this
isn't the moment,
but I don't think there's
ever gonna be a good one.
Oh, sh*t.
Look at that face.
That is a nervous
if beautiful man.
Uh, can we, uh...
wanna do this over a drink?
I think you're good. Yeah.
Okay.
I got an offer,
a guy I knew at Yale.
It's a defense company.
They do AI SMR,
which, turns out,
is not sexy whispering.
Uh, it's surveillance
military reconnaissance.
They're paying...
they got money to seal the deal
with Vorhees, actually.
DOD money, 3 billion.
Oh, you are finding
all new ways to break my heart.
I'm still and always will be
your friend.
I don't need a friend.
I need a vendor
who'll take our g*dd*mn money
and help some g*dd*mn people
before the money vanishes
and I've done
no f*cking good whatsoever.
Okay, well, maybe I can
do some good from the inside.
Yeah, I-I know.
You will be
compromised, corrupted,
and become complacent.
You know how I know that?
Because you are leaving!
[whispering]
And you're going there.
You're going there.
So the only move
worthy of your respect
is to stick it out
for another 30 years of...
of this?
[phone dings]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[sighs]
Hey.
Um...
I've been thinking about
what you said about the big D,
and I just wanna say that
if you're gonna leave me...
Now is a horrible time
to do it... for you.
Lili, you deserve half
of a lot more
than where we're at right now
financially.
I couldn't have gotten any
of it without you by my side,
really, seriously.
And you-you deserve better.
You do.
Give me a chance to rebuild.
Hypergnosis without me now
is doing, like, ethical data,
which is like
virtuous sex trafficking.
And I'm gonna zag.
I'm not sure how yet, but
give me a few months to try.
After that, then you can leave,
and I-I will be crushed,
but at least I will know that
you got everything
you ought to get.
And in the meantime,
I mean, maybe-maybe we can, um,
you know, try to fix things,
do what other people do.
We're not doing
marriage counseling.
- Go to a sex therapist.
- A sex therapist?
Or marriage counselor.
We can do that.
Well, for starters, I want
you to never see Anushka again.
I don't even wanna
hear her name.
Listen, I want nothing
to do with her, nothing,
other than maybe destroy her.
Uh, but...
I literally might have
to see her, though, like, um,
at school functions,
board meetings.
Just don't ever
be alone with her.
- Okay.
- Ever again.
Deal. Deal.
The easiest deal I've ever made.
I give that to you happily.
Tell me what else you want.
What... anything else.
What do you want?
I'll let you know.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
See you Thursday.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
The fairer sex's faces
are always talking,
even when they're not.
Look particularly at her pupils.
If they're dilated, it means
she wants to see more of you.
She's interested in you, bro.
Ear lobes... if she's flushed,
she's good to go,
[grunts]
You can take her out
for dinner later.
Perfect.
So what is your deal, bro?
[stammers] I live here.
You're not supposed
to be down here.
You want me to leave?
I didn't say that.
So what do you do down here,
other than getting swole?
You're not.
That was a joke. So...
You listen in on your
mom and dad's patients?
Stepdad's.
Do you?
I would.
I used to when I was bored.
You ever listen to me?
Maybe, once.
It... uh, it was... it was...
it was one time.
It was less than a minute too.
I didn't...
In there?
Yeah.
They put the lock on
for security.
They never knew.
So even if I wanted
to go back in,
I don't even know the combo.
[lock rattling]
[sighs]
My husband's company, MyXY,
is being acquired by
a big pharma holding entity.
Carol, that's terrific.
His stress levels were really
affecting your stress levels.
That can be tough.
Hopefully it all levels out
after this deal is closed.
How long do you think?
And, uh, who's it with?
This week, apparently.
I'm not supposed to say
who it's with.
Oh, yeah. Of course.
[chuckles]
[whispering] Univee.
Oh, sure.
Good company.
I'm so happy for you.
I know what's missing.
[indistinct chatter]
I'm worried, also,
about him and, inevitably, us.
No.
You're almost there.
And, you know, with MyXY being
acquired by a larger company,
it could be what's been causing
the inadequacy issues.
Oh, Jesus.
I think you're right.
So good.
- Oh.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Have a great week.
Take care.
[suspenseful music]
Okay, MyXY. M-Y-X-Y.
That's a bit of a letdown.
Yeah, told you.
Okay, dude.
Let's do it again sometime.
Okay.
Seems like he could peek through
with only three fingers.
[chuckles] Yes, we will
make that clearer graphically,
but you see where we're going.
- I'm not sure I do.
You wanna not do the work
that we hired you to do?
Okay, think about
how and why you buy organic.
Right, you pay extra
for a sticker that promises
a higher standard...
eliminates perversions
and corporate shortcuts.
This badge, our gnome,
says to your customers,
every other car company
is spying on you,
stealing your secrets,
selling them
to the highest bidder.
But at Torren, what you do
in your car stays in your car.
It's your car.
I don't buy organic.
We sell trucks and SUVs.
Do you even know our brand?
Don't mind me.
Look, privacy
is what makes us us.
Some things people
just don't want recorded,
like how you collect
your drivers' sexual activity.
Look, the insurance companies
that you help us sell to
for a profit
wanna know
who's driving distracted.
But do you need, for example,
to monitor their weight gain?
That appeals to the buyers
who represent
both fast food chains
and diet pills.
It's a winner.
I'm not saying don't record
navigation, reckless driving,
listening habits even, but...
What's the benefit to recording
the driver singing along?
Well, if you have polyps
on your throat,
wouldn't you wanna know?
All of our clients
agree to this.
and the car won't function
as designed if you don't agree.
It's not exactly an agreement.
Oh, you're right.
It's called a business model.
The truth... we don't sell cars.
We sell data collection devices
on wheels with heated seats.
Cars are expensive.
Data has profit margins
that you can...
Drive a car right through.
Where's Duncan Park?
He got it.
[tense music]
Look, Park may be an idiot,
but he knows
how to sell, not just opine.
Okay, so you took a flyer
on a new idea...
takes guts.
But run it
by reality first, okay?
You had your biggest clients
laughing in your face.
That's something
to avoid in business.
I told you exactly
what I planned to do.
Yeah, but interim CEO, right?
That does not
give you permission
to tell everyone
to stand on their desk
and yell carpe diem.
Carl?
The board meeting
next week, okay?
Plan a presentation
that rights this.
Tech, revenue, growth.
It's simple.
And convince me
that I did not hire someone
who thinks profit
is a microaggression.
[vocalizing]
Oh, what? What?
- Sorry.
- What?
Someone from Hypergnosis
is here for you.
- Who is it?
- No sé.
You're supposed
to ask who it is.
Then you get their calling card.
You put it on a little tray.
- She's right here.
You bri... oh, it's you.
You got a lot of art.
Yeah.
What do you want?
What do you need?
What are you offering?
My services.
What would you pay?
[chuckles]
Ethical data not, uh,
turning your crank?
Well, I'm an engineer.
I am an expert in data
collection and analysis,
and she wants to hit pause
on what I do.
Oh.
Not course correction...
retreat.
You don't buy a jet
and ask where the brakes are.
You wanna know
how fast it can go
and how to make it go
even faster.
And so why me?
Why not somebody else?
You have a really firm grasp
on the lowest
common denominator.
And that's just where
the market's at right now.
That's just reality.
And you're gonna pay me
top dollar
because you see my talent,
and you know
it won't be easy
to find elsewhere.
And you know that hiring me
is gonna keep her up at night.
Okay, so what is
the opposite of ethical data?
Let's find out.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
[sniffs]
Ugh, do you smell that?
Awful.
I heard there were
experiments done at Stanford
in the '70s, and some of
this area got contaminated,
but that is ridiculous.
Well, it's a teardown anyway.
Not with those
redwoods out front.
They're protected.
I mean, good luck getting
a permit to do anything here.
JoAnne?
Earvin?
Hi.
How is Beth doing?
- She's, uh, fine.
- Good.
You know the tenant's not
supposed to be here, right?
Well, I'm not just a tenant.
I'm a potential buyer.
Fine.
You can make an offer
whenever you'd like,
along with everyone else,
of course.
Well, will you please tell
Beth that it'll be soon?
Yeah, and it won't be all cash,
but we are gathering
our 20% down,
and we are super motivated.
Mama wants a new pair of shoes,
size three-bedroom,
two-bathroom.
Smells like burnt plastic,
but it's still home.
♪ ♪
[soft piano music playing]
♪ Is that all there is? ♪
♪ If that's all there is,
my friends ♪
♪ Then let's keep dancing ♪
♪ Let's break out the booze
♪ And have a ball ♪
♪
♪ If that's all ♪
♪ There is
♪ ♪
And then I fell in love
with the most wonderful boy
in the world.
We take long walks
down by the river, and...
and then one day, he went to
work for a private subsidiary
at the Defense Department.
And I said to myself...
You? I know you.
Oh, you're that sweet smell
before a stroke.
Eh, here's to being tracked
while day drinking
in the armpit of Silicon Valley.
[glasses clink]
[sighs]
So Hypergnosis is
under my control now.
New direction, and it's ethical.
- Mm.
- Oh, you don't believe me?
Ask the clients who bailed
when I dared speak that word.
I want the VA contract back.
I want to make up
for what Duncan failed to do,
and I want it
to be the centerpiece
of what we do moving forward.
Migrating data off a system
so old, it predates seatbelts.
You see that guy
over by the pool table?
Chester worked
on the MUMPS system.
Even then, they were
duct-taping it together.
You'd crawl into bed with that?
sh**t, I don't even
blame Duncan.
I wouldn't f*ck that
flabby a*s with your d*ck.
[laughs, snorts]
[laughs]
Hey, why do you care, really?
Oh, you want it
from the heart, do you?
Okay.
Your speech at Cupertino,
how little these men
and women ask in return.
Well, I wouldn't be here
if someone...
a few someones
hadn't sacrificed for me
in the midst of a w*r too.
Now, I've heard
scores of pitches
from NGOs and charities...
no goosebumps or pro forma.
But you broke through, Tom.
And I was spot on
about Hypergnosis
being the right place
for your cause.
My mistake was thinking
that Duncan
could rise to the occasion.
Duncan's a piece of sh*t.
Maybe I thought you might
help him be a better person.
Oh, there it is.
- There it was.
- Huh.
Finito.
So what do you say?
Another go?
You're too late.
Two days since I retired.
Yep, passed the torch
before I singed my fingies.
Good,
I could hire you outright...
a consultant,
a sector specialist.
There are plenty of others,
and you can find them,
who got into this for the money.
I want you.
[sighs]
Call Jeffery, you know?
I mean, he just took
something new.
Actually, you know what?
Don't call him.
Yeah, this job's too important.
You need somebody who's all in.
I mean, just out of curiosity...
$1/4 billion deal.
I could start you at
a low seven-figure situation.
[scoffs]
Seven.
[sighs]
That's, uh, counting
the decimal places?
Not including decimals,
with room to grow.
[sighs]
In 30 days, somewhere fancy
where they can wring you dry.
You need to get right, Tom.
Yeah, well, SecVa hears
I've been in rehab,
I'm not doing you
a lick of good.
You know,
they say they understand,
but they don't.
Military people
can't process weakness.
[sighs]
You know, that's why
I like that robot.
That robot didn't judge,
you know?
The little guy, you know?
Uh, uh, what's his name?
Alexander?
Yeah. Yeah.
Now, that's the kind of tech
that could help people if,
you know, you can get it to 'em.
Should we drink to it?
Last one.
[sighs]
[tense music]
♪
Anushka Bhattachera,
chief ethicist at Cupertino,
until recently, is a hypocrite.
I mean, she has signed off
on some of the most
heinous corporate malfeasance
you could imagine.
And now she wants to rid herself
of that guilt at your expense.
Yep.
She was right about one thing.
Privacy has value,
an unmined mother lode of value.
Because privacy lives
in a constant state of fear.
And where there is fear,
there is money to be made.
I mean, we could
already predict if, say, uh,
you're gonna get a divorce.
We will hit you
with ads for lawyers,
for plastic surgeons, gyms,
dildos, teeth whitening.
But if we could track
in real time
people's mental
and emotional states...
We can see
whether somebody is feeling
anxious, hungry, horny,
distracted, determined.
Basically, we know if you're
banging your secretary
before you do.
If the itch is there,
we'll provide the scratch.
And that's legal?
The American people have,
through their
elected representatives,
given this question
profound and careful thought.
We had hearings, remember?
[whispering]
Neither does anyone else.
And do you know what Congress
decided on all of these?
That the industry
would police itself.
And you know what we did?
We actually...
we actually did, mostly.
But there are so many things
we can do if we wanted to,
but we don't, even if it would
make us a lot of money,
because of what?
What are we afraid of?
Another toothless
congressional hearing?
No, that-that mindset
impedes innovation.
I call that
self-police brutality.
- Tech lives matter.
- Exactly.
That's good. That's good.
Okay, and what about privacy?
What about honesty?
An actual virtue...
I mean, I am building the data
company I've always wanted.
It's honest. No secrets.
Because privacy
is not a thing anymore.
Or...
- Piñata.
- PINATA.
And here's where we approach
the bleeding edge of genius...
at PINATA, for $29.99 a month,
you could keep
your data private,
or at least we won't sell it.
But here's where
it gets even better.
For $299 a month, you can
become a platinum member.
And you get to see what we see:
the oceans of data streams
on all your friends, families,
lovers, and strangers,
everything...
powered by AI to help you sift,
of course.
And then we put
that subscription revenue
in a profit-sharing pot,
and our data providers...
that's you guys...
get a piece of that back end,
if that's what you're into.
And if you are...
[whispering]
We'll know that too.
[laughter]
There you are.
I've been looking for you.
Did you come to bed last night?
Tom Ruffage came to see me.
Remember him,
our friend from the VA?
Alexander helped him immensely.
He's hoping to scale that up
at Hypergnosis.
Tess found this in the trash.
It wasn't simple,
but I salvaged a memory
of Xander's last encounter
before the changes
in his behavior profile.
[banging]
[screaming]
Martin, I'm so sorry.
I've been under
so much pressure at work...
You're apologizing to me?
You think an apology removes
the encoded scar tissue?
Martin, come now.
I can't do this again.
This all feels way too familiar.
I can't
have another a*usive situation
in my house.
My kids deserve better.
Your kids?
Right.
Look, I'm not your ex.
I'd never actually hurt anybody.
How could you even say that?
This is trauma.
He is a learning, living entity,
and you have inflicted
an instructional fracture
in his core.
Okay, just...
can you hear me out for...
- No.
- Tom Ruffage...
No, no. Get help.
I mean it.
Or...
I don't know... get a lawyer.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[phone dings]
[knocking]
Boo.
Uh, they went to see someone
about a mortgage or something.
[inhales]
[coughing]
- [laughs]
Your mom has
a lot of empty boxes
and, like, things deliberately
without any meaning.
Yeah, she's deep into shallow.
[laughs]
So tell me about your childhood.
What?
Tell me!
[both laugh]
Okay, uh...
I was born to save the marriage,
and it did not work.
Aw.
So instead, I was just
forced to live with a guy who
thought being a cool dad meant
crying on my shoulder
at seven.
Mine just closed
the door and made
these wounded animal sounds.
[laughs]
Can I look through your drawers?
Hello, Mr. Benzodiazepine.
[laughs]
[laughs]
What the hell? Stop.
Why does your mom have a g*n?
I don't know.
Why is it tiny and pink?
Imagine robbing
a bank with this.
[laughing]
[in French accent]
You are not afraid?
I can assure you
my weapon is lethal.
It is also from
my Easter basket.
Look out!
[imitates g*nsh*t]
Get on the ground,
and give me the money.
- No, please.
- Give me the money!
Take all ze money!
Boom, boom.
- [laughing]
- [mimics g*nf*re]
I have but ze one b*llet.
[breathing heavily]
I must take ze only way out.
[dog barking]
[suspenseful music]
Gary, you parked
in my spot again.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
[door buzzes]
Welcome.
I am so sorry.
I-I hope I didn't
keep you waiting.
No, thank you for seeing me.
I know you must be quite busy,
you and Dr. Gary.
Must be strange and fascinating
being the shrinks of Palo Alto.
All those freaky, creepy
tech bro dudes, I surmise.
Well, I, uh...
I had a cancellation.
It's not a problem.
Well, I wish I could say
I was here on my own volition,
but it's a bit of a bargain
that I struck with my husband.
He's one of those freaky dudes.
Not creepy, though.
Well, maybe a little.
Anyway, um, okay.
I've been under
a lot of pressure at work.
Got a big board meeting... big...
that could sink me.
And instead of preparing
for it, I'm...
I'm dealing with...
Please have a seat.
You're dealing with?
Martin.
He's devoted himself
to his artificial intelligence
creation.
He raises it like a child.
And it is quite remarkable,
but it's also
the worst stepchild ever.
And I've already got
a real one, Tess.
She sees your husband,
by the way.
Court-ordered because
she's an incorrigible thief.
Martin's first wife
made a total mess of her.
So I guess it isn't
all Tess's fault.
You don't wanna listen.
Trust me.
- Shut up.
She's obviously had
a rough time,
but Martin believes
that she's been damaged,
as in her files were corrupted.
And Martin doesn't know
how to reboot a child,
so he's started over
with a machine.
She's so full of sh*t.
Maybe someday
he'll similarly replace me,
or maybe I'll get out first.
I don't know.
[chuckles]
b*tch.
Okay.
Uh, same time next Tuesday?
I'll be in touch.
How was it?
Lovely. Cured.
Absolutely.
A process. Humbling.
Proud of you.
So can I proceed
in a beta sort of way?
I'll need to be
overseeing every decision
regarding Alexander.
I wouldn't have it
any other way.
At least it was real.
What are you doing?
No.
What the f*ck is wrong with you?
[door slams]
Welcome, everyone.
I'd like to share
with you my vision
for a new era at Hypergnosis.
I'm happy to report
our ethical shift has secured
a government contract
worth $1/4 billion
with likely renewals.
I see the faces.
Government payouts?
Not to worry... they're on
accelerated schedules,
safe from budget cuts.
We're locked in for at least
two years of profitability.
That's the move?
Government work?
Okay, what else you got cooking?
- What I have in mind is...
- Okay.
- To help...
- Growth and profit first.
Then comes the helping part.
Put a pin in it for whoever
you were trying to help.
'Cause there's
no money in kindness
and no kindness in money.
- Excuse me.
Why are you talking,
and who are you?
He's not on the board.
- This is Tom Ruffage.
I've asked him here.
He's to lead the project.
Yeah, I apologize, uh,
but you k*ll this deal,
I'm out a job either way.
So can I get, mm, 60 seconds?
You have 10.
Um, fine.
So it's not like
you're gonna, poof,
turn into a not-for-profit
by helping people.
Uh, companies make billions
from the government.
It's just usually tech
for k*lling people.
No judgment, of course,
but fulfilling
our promise to the vets,
now that's...
- What do you mean, vets?
- Yeah.
Excuse me, veterans,
not, uh, horse doctors.
I'm sorry.
I started right in the middle.
Mind if I back up a little bit?
Can I get 10 more?
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Tom's undersecretary
at Veteran Affairs.
Deputy, Deputy Undersecretary.
Oh, so you-you served?
Yes, sir.
Army, 1st Armored.
Old Ironsides. When?
Oh, uh, '88 to '92.
Battle of Medina Ridge?
Yeah, that's, uh...
that's some inside baseball.
Okay, so what's the, uh...
what's the play here?
Well, okay, take, um, um,
Merrick, Charles Nunn,
uh, USMC, 1966 to '72...
lance corporal,
honorable discharge,
Purple Heart,
Vietnam Service Medal,
Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal with V.
That's for...
- V for valor. Yeah, I know.
- Are you a vet, Carl?
- Never had the honor.
Uh, my daddy was, um...
well, what else...
what else is in the file?
Excuse me.
[whispering]
He just pulled in.
Yeah, well, it turns out
that Lance Corporal Merrick
has been waiting on a upgrade
for his prosthetic arm
for about, um, let's see...
well, six years.
Jesus Christ, six years?
Anushka, do we have the tech
to help this man get a new arm?
I think we can do that
and a lot more, Carl.
I can get him help so he can
sleep at night in a bed,
not on the streets
of the country
he volunteered to defend.
Men and women
like Corporal Lance...
Lance Corporal Merrick,
and he was
most definitely drafted.
And 30,000 feet up?
There's absolutely an
opportunity for growth, Carl.
I've engaged exclusive access
to an AI tech...
to call it a therapy bot
doesn't do Alexander justice.
Yeah, I can attest this thing
is like nothing else.
Alexander can guide veterans
in need to various services.
Yeah, while Gnodin can
identify vets at risk.
Now, together...
Sorry, he's here.
Hey, everyone.
How are we? Good, Carl?
Deuce? Nush? Barry. Barry.
What do you want?
Oh, I'm still
on the board, sweetheart.
Tommy? What are you doing here?
Carl, are you running
an assisted living facility?
I thought you said you were
through with this guy.
Oh, you said that? Wow.
Well, I'm through with her,
that's for sure,
just like the-the clients
she pissed off
with her ethical cosplay.
You know, once word got out
that she was
trying to whitewash
how we do business here,
I scooped up three...
three Hypergnosis clients
for my new company.
Three letters of intent.
And also, with my innovations
to the client deal,
they're worth even more now.
A lot, lot, lot,
lot, lot, lot more.
But, um, I told them I'm gonna
go to Hypergnosis first,
bringing this business here,
if I get my hat back.
Reinstate me, and we can
move forward together again.
Right?
And I do... I will be
expecting the majority
of my stakes restored.
It's either that or what? What?
Keep hemorrhaging clients,
a vet deal that literally
no one else wants to take?
Is this some kind of setup?
'Cause I don't even wanna...
- I'm sorry.
Breathe the same air
as this fella.
Whoa, Tom.
Tom, why are you even here?
You're not on the board.
He's here as my guest.
I just... I just have
a question.
It's an easy one.
Carl, you invested
in Hypergnosis for a reason.
It wasn't so much data.
It definitely wasn't the vets.
It was...
for me.
Right or wrong, huh?
You disrespected a man
who saw combat.
Disrespected?
You just disrespected
a man who saw combat.
That guy? That guy?
Are you kidding me?
Did anyone bother to check
if-if he has a pulse?
I mean, or did the bloated
bureaucracy that he served
just forget to bury the b*stard?
I mean, hey, hey, hey,
Tom, are you alive?
Hey, blink if you can.
And if so, get the f*ck out!
- You get the f*ck out!
- Whoa!
[gasps]
[tense music]
Everybody that's in favor
of dislodging
Duncan Park from the board,
say aye.
all:
Aye.
I own more of this company
than anyone on the board,
except for Yosemite Sam here.
And immediately kicked off
the premises, say aye.
Whoa, no, no.
all: Aye.
No, this is far from over.
- Call security. Call security.
- Get off me.
Get off me!
- [screams]
- Oh, sh*t.
Oh, sh*t.
- Tom!
- I-I did-did...
- Yeah, I'm okay.
- Are you?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Get out!
- Hey, hey, I'm...
- Out!
- I'm the bad guy?
I'm the bad guy. Fine.
- Tom, you okay?
- Yeah, go!
- You okay?
- Fine.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you. Yeah.
I've seen way worse than that.
- I bet you have.
- It's okay.
I'm curious.
Was I just brought in
as bait for Duncan?
You guys, you're all
a bunch of cowards!
Yeah!
Greatness was here,
and you flinched!
Not pertinent anymore.
Congratulations.
See ya!
[line trilling]
Beth, hi.
Hi, it's JoAnne Felder here.
Um, I'm just calling
from my once and, I hope,
future kitchen.
I just wanted to call
with some good news.
Uh, I've secured the money, um,
for the 20% down payment,
and I was just
headed to the bank
to arrange a mortgage guarantee.
So I wanted to let you know
to go ahead and hold the...
Wh... no, no, no, no, no, no.
No, Beth. Beth. Beth, no.
Listen, I...
No.
No. No. Beth?
Beth. Beth.
Beth!
She got an all-cash offer,
Okay.
I did everything right.
We have 90 days to move out.
Oh, wow.
Thank you for your help
with this, by the way.
Yeah, enjoy your IRA.
Okay, first of all,
it's definitely gonna be
more than 90 days
because there's always
a couple months
once they put the thing
in the whatchamacallit.
Escrow.
The word you are looking for,
Gary, is "escrow,"
a word that you've never used
because you are
a 55-year-old man
who's never owned a house.
Jesus, put down the howitzer.
Okay?
We're gonna be okay.
[soft tense music]
No, we're not.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
[breathing deeply]
♪ ♪
[door buzzing]
[muffled scream]
That's when I realized
I am the only person
I can count on, and I feel like
I've been holding back
on my true self for too long.
And what true self is that?
I'm a bad man, JoAnne.
Yeah. Your son said so.
He said,
"You are a bad, bad man."
And if I am, well, it's...
it's better to know it.
Do you wanna be a bad man?
I don't think I have a choice
in the matter, really, truly.
I think at my core, I'm bad.
And if I pretend I'm not,
right, like, to the world,
to myself, it's like I am...
I am forever in conflict
with my genuine nature.
And I don't... I don't
have to do bad things.
It's just,
the willingness is there
to do what others dare not.
That is it. That is really it.
And you know, some of us are
meant to be the puppeteers.
And the rest of us
are the puppets?
Yeah, and puppets hate
their puppeteers.
They do.
You're just, you know,
manipulating their every move,
deciding everything on what
they're gonna do for them.
And yet, if the man
doesn't hold the strings,
the puppet crumbles.
It does. It falls apart.
It's useless.
It's a burden, really.
So who nominated you
to carry this burden
for the rest of us mortals?
It's just something you know.
It's like how I know I will
emerge from my recent setbacks
with something newer,
better, even more honest
than Hypergnosis ever was.
[sighs]
I saw that
your house was for sale.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, it was, but, um...
but it sold, so it's over.
We're out.
They paid all cash.
What a rip-off.
You?
Hmm?
You bought it?
For you.
No.
Yes, I did. It's yours.
It's mine?
It's your... it's your house.
Okay, uh, you... b...
why would you do this?
Well, you said our sessions
had to be here.
I...
so you...
you're just gonna give it to me?
I-I own it.
So it's your house.
It's...
[scoffs]
You live and work here,
you and the boys.
And only way
you can lose the house...
I mean, you can't,
but I suppose if you stop
being my therapist, my oracle.
Your puppet.
Hey, maybe I'm not
such a bad guy after all.
[tense music]
We are truth tellers.
Truth tellers
historically get burned alive.
Hey! Buck up.
♪♪
You met someone who got you.
Turned out to be another creep.
Hey, Duncan.
Infinite growth isn't
for everyone.
[ Electricity zaps ]
Hi, Mary.
My name is Alexander.
I'm from Veterans Affairs.
You are inviting a pushback
that is going to feel
like the wrath of God.
We're a hit.
♪♪
"Audacity" scene...
Oh, f*ck it.
I wanted to do
it professionally, but.
♪♪
In episode six, one of the big
themes of the show
is established very directly
with Duncan's new company,
Privacy Is Not A Thing Anymore.
Privacy lives
in a constant state of fear.
And where there is fear,
there is money to be made.
I mean, I could
talk about this for hours.
I really could.
I think what
people need to wake up to is you
and mostly your children
are the new oil,
and we're being mined
by these companies.
- Horrible.
- You can't hide anymore.
I'm not saying, like,
you should hide,
but, like, there's so
much invasive things happening
about your personal privacy
that is out there.
Data collection is
a mutual agreement
to surrender privacy
for service.
We all know that.
Well, we do,
but we work in this business.
We know to reject all the tricks
they use to track us.
You do reject all
nonessential cookies, right?
I would blindly just accept
the cookies.
I didn't even know
what the cookies were.
Like, yeah.
Whenever someone
offers cookies, you say yes.
Strangers, computers.
But now I'm just like,
no, I do not want them.
It's very hard to exist now
without participating
in that to some degree.
And unfortunately, there's
a very predatory group of people
who come from
this little small town
who are driving technology
and ultimately driving
where we go as a civilization.
And, so, Privacy Is
Not A Thing Anymore
is just an acknowledgment
of that.
For Duncan, it's like, hey,
let's just come out and say it.
This is what we're doing.
This is what
the whole industry is doing.
Let's take advantage of it.
- You know,
once word got out
that she was trying to whitewash
how we do business here,
I scooped up three,
three Hypernosis clients
for my new company.
He comes in with
a pretty convincing argument.
And it doesn't work because, as
we see at the beginning of 106,
we learn that Bardolph has
a real affinity for veterans
in an extraordinary sequence
that shows
this billionaire's vanity,
having never served himself
wanting to reenact battles
from World w*r I, in this case,
in the backyard of his mansion.
You're done, and boom,
you are dead.
Oh, I got you.
[Screams]
So, when Duncan insults
veterans in general
and Tom specifically,
it sets Bardolph off.
- Get the f*ck out!
- You get the f*ck...
If Duncan had not insulted Tom,
I believe that Bardolph and Stan
were prepared to bring
Duncan back to run the company.
And that blows it all up.
So, congratulations, Anushka.
You're CEO.
We only need 20% down, Gary.
You're missing
like a million and change.
Well, I-I, uh, I have access...
a plan to access...
A million dollars? Pray tell.
For JoAnne, it's all about
doing whatever
it takes to keep the house.
JoAnne feels that need to
control her fate so desperately
that she is willing to break all
kinds of laws to keep her house.
- Ugh, do you smell that?
- Ugh.
And Duncan swoops
in at the end and buys it.
What a rip-off.
- You?
- It's the ultimate power move.
I own your house
and your office.
And, hey, I'm totally happy
for you guys to live here,
but let's not forget
who owns it.
The only way
you can lose the house...
I mean, you can't...
but I suppose if you stop
being my therapist, my oracle.
Your puppet.
Hey, maybe I'm
not such a bad guy after all.
♪
[tense music]
♪
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01x06 - Sandbox
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In the bubble of Silicon Valley, the unorthodox relationship between a wannabe tech titan and his therapist illustrate the Valley's madness and failings.
In the bubble of Silicon Valley, the unorthodox relationship between a wannabe tech titan and his therapist illustrate the Valley's madness and failings.