Staten?
-Jesus. -Oh, uh…
What are you…?
Uh… The door was open.
The door's always open.
Well, I'm sorry.
At ease. I'm decent.
-I'm, um-- -What? Breaking and entering?
Right. Sorry.
-Hi. -Hi.
Ellie told me about your dad firing Jake and the guys.
Why didn't you tell me the other night that that's why you were late?
Because you were on a high. I just wanted you to enjoy it.
-You don't need to hear about my troubles. -Your troubles trouble me too.
You know that, right?
-So what's troubling you? -Toilets.
-Toilets? -How many, where to put 'em,
permits, I-9s, and… Staving off the fear that absolutely nobody will come.
That and the fact that Angie can't find a decent man to save her life.
She never complains about it. She just asks what she can do for me.
-It breaks my heart. -That sounds like a lot of troubles.
-Everything working out with Mary Lou? -It is.
Your dad's a dick.
-Yeah, no shit. -What are you gonna do?
I don't know. I'm gonna figure out a way to get the guys back.
Find a place for them to land in the meantime.
Well, if there's anything I can do…
I appreciate it.
If there's anything that I can do to help you with those toilets, you let me know.
I'll do that.
Okay.
I'm gonna go.
-Okay. -All right.
-Lock the door on your way out. -I will do that for you, sir.
It's a hard no. I don't know how many times I have to say it.
Until you start making sense. I'm already in with Sam. I can do this.
-You hate his guts. He knows it. -Which is why he'll trust me, okay?
He's worked me before with AWP and thinks he can do it again.
I'm just this helpless, little knocked-up bartender.
Okay, yeah, and, uh, when the grift goes to shit
because you're a terrible liar,
it won't just be us paying the price, all right? It's my son.
Your son?
Our son.
Daughter. Okay… you know what I mean. Our future. Our legacy.
You, Yancy, are a chauvinist.
I forgot for a second that I'm pregnant with a legacy.
Just an heir delivery service who needs to be kept at home,
safe and sound, protected.
You know that's not what I meant. I don't want you going to jail.
It's a risk you are willing to take. Fatherhood be damned.
I've got experience, okay…
None of this is what I want to be doing with my family.
I don't want us to be separated for any amount of time.
Sid's got my back against a wall.
Mm.
I guess I'm not such a terrible liar after all, if I can fool you.
Very cute.
But you are right, okay?
If she sinks her teeth into the ranch, there won't be a legacy left to protect.
We're fighting for the same thing here.
Might as well be on the same team.
Clocking out, boss.
Can we skip this East of Eden shit today?
I'm busy. Got a ton of invoices I've got to sign off on.
Oh, invoices, huh? Look at you.
Worked your way up quickly. No matter who you had to step on.
It wasn't my idea to fire those guys.
It was all Sam. It was lucky he even agreed to keep you on.
-So what, I should be thanking you? -As a matter of fact, yes. You should.
You think I like doing the old man's dirty work?
Handling this shit? I'm a line rider, not a paper pusher.
World's smallest violin.
Mm.
Staying at the bunkhouse the next few nights.
Keep tabs on things while Sam's out of town.
-D.C.? -Baton Rouge.
What's he doing in Baton Rouge?
Just… forget I said that.
Okay, I'm serious, Lucas.
This stays between us. You hear me?
Yeah.
Fuck.
So what the hell's in Baton Rouge?
My Uncle Joely.
Pops is lobbying for votes.
He knows he can't beat me here. So he's going door to door to glad-hand.
I'm sure his next stop's gonna be Wyoming. My cousin Eve.
-I wanted to say sorry about my brother. -Yeah.
I told him I would never ask you to bring him on, but--
He went around you. It's all right.
But Jake and Matt--
Hey, look, none of this is your fault, all right?
This situation is Sam's design, but I appreciate you filling me in.
Of course.
Uncle Joely, please do not fall for his shit.
Want the Double K to go like his last Senate run? It will.
He's talking a big game.
The place will fall apart under him, I'm telling you.
He just fired all my best guys.
Is Jake still there?
No, Jake's gone.
Oh, shit.
I need your vote, Joely.
I gotta talk to your aunt.
She wishes you and your old man would patch things up already.
She can wish in one hand and shit in the other. See which one fills up first.
I ain't gonna tell her that.
Just… Just talk to her, okay?
Tell her what's the hell's going on and call me back.
All right, kid. You keep close to your phone.
All right. All right, thank you.
Quinny!
Hey, I'm excited.
A grocery run? What's going on here?
I invited Angie and Tim over. Thought I'd make dinner.
Show Oliver some Texas hospitality.
Sweet, right?
Yeah. Right. Hi.
-Hi. -Uh, enchiladas?
You love my enchiladas.
I love your enchiladas. I don't love the timing.
I'm so deep in festival prep. I feel like I'm sinking. I--
Darling, I know. I know how hard you've been working.
You don't have to do a damn thing. You just have to show up and eat.
Oliver offered to be my sous-chef.
-Did he? -He did.
-Give me these. I'll take them in. -No. Are you sure?
I do yoga five days a week.
-Thanks, Claire. -Mm.
So? Spill.
Um…
Well,
I think I'm close to finalizing a budget.
-Yeah? -Mm-hm.
You know, like an actual budget.
-Quinn, that's amazing. -Mm-hm.
And then there's Mary Lou, who sends me ten emails an hour.
She's a machine.
You're a machine.
You were up early this morning. Battle planning with Ellie?
Yeah, for the most part.
I also stopped over at Double K.
That's, um… Staten's?
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Yeah, I wanted to check on him.
He's going through it, everything with his dad and the ranch.
It's, uh, super complicated.
Yeah, I believe that.
It's just that you seem still so
invested in his familial turmoil, given everything he's put you through.
Yeah, it's messy.
If you got to know him better yourself,
you'd see that he's really just like family.
Let's invite him to dinner.
-I don't know that that's-- -Yeah, he should come. Come on.
-Unless-- -No, yeah, okay.
-You sure? -Yeah, absolutely.
I'll reach out to him.
Great.
All right.
Claire! Coming in hot!
What's up, king.
Hey, so I didn't do anything, like, too too stupid, did I? At the party?
I mean, besides the keg stand, the streaking…
God, yes, besides that.
Like… Like nothing else happened, right?
Uh… No, I don't think so.
You don't think?
I didn't keep tabs on you all night.
Sorry. I guess I'm just a little on edge this morning after work.
That place is a mess now.
They got all new guys, except for you?
Yeah. How did you…?
Kit told me, at the party.
So you weren't keeping an eye on your hammered boyfriend
because you were talking to his brother? Cool.
You know we both put you to bed that night.
Why are you being like this?
I just feel like you've been, like, keeping things from me lately.
Ah… Like what? Like…
I don't know, like the SAT, how things went with your mom.
-I didn't see my mom. -I didn't know that.
-You're a legend, Lucas. -Oh.
Maybe you've just been busy.
Maybe you've been distant.
Okay.
-Hey, Lauren, wait. -I gotta go to work.
Well, come by after. We need to talk.
Yeah.
What if I play up the rivalry angle? Go at him directly.
He'll see through it.
Have anything constructive to add or just want to kill my pitches?
We both know what the solution is.
-No. -Yes.
Ellie is Cap's proxy. She's an insider.
Everyone in this town thinks she walks on water.
What's your objection? She's too simple?
No. She's too decent.
So was I.
My hands were shaking every time, but you showed me the ropes. Look at me now.
That's what I'm worried about.
There's a goodness in El's heart.
I don't want to ruin that.
You're scared you're gonna like it.
That it might turn you on, flirting with her dark side.
-She doesn't have a dark side. -Everybody has a dark side.
-Not Ellie. -You can't have it both ways.
I want my money, you want your divorce.
I think she's got what it takes.
Let's give your baby mama a shot.
Any word on power supply?
We're locked in. We can do three more sections in town square.
-Nice. -How are those permits coming along?
Great. I got Choppy on the council to expedite 'em by a week.
Can you do it in two weeks, given our new timeline?
New timeline?
Ah. Mary Lou called about an hour ago and booked us a doozy of a headliner
whose only availability is in about seven weeks,
which means we're putting on a festival in seven weeks.
Oh, uh, that's really fast. No?
Yeah. Breathe, we're fine.
What's next?
-Talent accommodations, marketing. -Uh…
Marketing, I can help with that.
I can do TikTok stuff, Instagram stories, I can mobilize Ransom High.
Want to submit a poster design, too?
-For the festival? No! Quinn-- -Yeah.
I've seen your drawings. They're good.
They really are.
Thank you, but that's the chalkboard. It's just different. I can't.
Hey, "Can't is the cancer of happen." Charlie Sheen.
Who's Charlie Sheen?
Just, you can do this, okay?
Design bid's due on Tuesday.
Okay, yeah, sure.
Okay, thanks.
All this, and my mom wants to do a family dinner tonight.
Stellar timing.
Me, Oliver, Claire, Angie, Tim, and Staten.
Oh, my God.
And I can't get out of it because it was Oliver's idea to invite Staten.
I feel like he was testing me, so I just agreed to it.
Then un-agree to it.
If I do that, he'll think I'm weird about them both being in the same room.
Well, aren't you?
You know what? It's going to be fine.
It's just dinner. You know, just food.
You got this.
I know.
Hey.
-What's up? -You.
Sid's waiting in the truck. We're going to the Silver Dollar.
Perfect spot to put you through paces.
Paces?
Are we grifting?
We are grifting.
If you prove you can handle it on a smaller fish than Sam Kirkland.
Yeah, yeah, no, I, um, can.
Wait, what changed your mind?
Sid… thinks you got the juice.
We'll see if she's right.
Hey.
Um… Sorry to drop by. This isn't a bad time, is it?
Uh…
No.
-Come on in. -Yeah, great, thanks.
Can I get you a drink?
I'm all right, thanks. Won't keep you.
This is a nice spot.
How many acres is it?
60,000 and change.
Wow.
What can I do for you, Oliver?
Oh, um… Claire's cooking up a feast.
O'Grady family dinner.
If you're free, we'd love you to join us.
Let me guess, enchiladas.
-Yeah. -Mm.
Look, since I've been here, you and I have hardly had a conversation,
and Quinn says you're like family.
So, uh…
I'd like to remedy that.
Okay.
-Great. -Yeah, I'll come.
Great, well, uh, drinks are at six, dinner's at 7:30.
-Uh… Should be a lively one. -O'Grady dinners always are.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, can I bring a plus one?
-Sure, please. -Okay.
Yeah. All right.
-Hey, thanks. Yep. -Yep.
Hey, you got plans tonight?
And then I kept pumping and pumping.
Right before the intersection, my brakes finally remembered their job.
Careful. That face is too pretty to mess up in a head-on collision.
Men's thirst is God's gift to grifters.
Women, grifters, doesn't matter what you say,
-as long as the subtext is, "I need you." -Mm-hm.
I don't think I'm playing sexy in my current state.
You don't think you're sexy?
-Come on. -No, you come on.
It's the fucking hottest that you've ever been.
But pretending I'm sexy right now is--
Essential.
I get that you can't see it for yourself, so you have to take my word for it.
You are so sexy, it doesn't even make sense, okay?
And even in the most innocent,
helpless, damsel act,
the undercurrent is still always sex.
Venmo'd me 200 for brake fluid, and a date tomorrow.
Finest Chinese restaurant in Ackerly.
Shame you'll never show.
Ready?
Yeah.
Black Carhartt. Eight o'clock.
Mm.
All right, okay.
-Sexy… damsel in distress. -Mm-hm.
Who wants the best for her baby, but is too nice to ask for help.
And down for a good time. All right. Let's go.
Gotta pee.
With your index finger.
Okay.
You just probably want to put a little more arc on it.
-Like that? -Yeah.
That's a beautiful shot.
That's Derek.
-I thought it was over. -Yeah, so did I.
-Oh, God. -Hey, Mama.
-Hey, hey. -Hi, sis.
Hello.
-Hey, baby. -No.
All right. Oliver.
How you doing? You okay?
What is Derek doing here?
Tim bailed on dinner, and he wants to try to… work it out.
His three-year affair?
Trust me, I am just trying to keep the peace before Tim goes to college.
-Can you just have my back tonight? -Yes. I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Why the J Lo dress? Just why?
And enchiladas?
-You know it's her only move. -Why did I agree to this?
It's bad enough if Staten weren't coming. Know what? We should cancel.
I'm going to cancel.
Too late.
What the hell is Dan doing here?
I do not know.
At least I'm not the only one with a high school crush on the board for the night.
Oh, my God. They're playing horseshoes.
-It's going to be a long night. -Mm.
It's all right. It's all right. Good line.
Hey, I thought you, uh, said they were separated.
-Um… -You're up, Double K.
Let's see what you got.
Here we go.
Ooh.
Yes!
-Nice work. -Well done.
-Great game, well played. -It was fun.
Congratulations, ladies. You're all winners.
That's not true. How's that true?
It's a figure of speech, Derek.
-Hi, Dan. -Angie.
-Long time no see. -It's been a minute.
It's cocktail time.
Oh, hey! Look at you, little cutie.
Come here, Biscuit. Come to…
Hey, bud. Come on.
Hey.
Come on in.
I'm scared witless,
that if the car isn't serviced, I'm going to get in an accident.
Lord knows what would happen to her.
Check.
And so it's 200, and I will pay you back to the last dime.
Even if I have to pull it from Little Davy's college fund.
I just feel so embarrassed.
You know, like not being able to afford brake fluid.
Like, what's a girl got to do to catch a break?
Do you get it? Catch a break?
Oh my Gosh, I'm so corny.
Wanna get out of here?
My face hurts from fake smiling.
You're doing great, okay?
You're too in your head. It can't feel like you're playing a part.
-I am playing a part. -But some part of your real self,
it has to be on the line, right?
I've been an underdog my whole life. So that's my angle.
That's who I am with a mark, right?
And so no matter how crazy the lies get, I still feel it.
I'm the guy that doesn't measure up.
Yeah, and I'm funny, thrilling, lit from within, vigorous--
Okay, we get it. Um…
But what's my power?
You're a bartender. How do you handle your customers?
I guess I listen to them talk.
You don't just listen. You listen.
Okay, you know what people need when they've had one too many.
When to cut them off without embarrassing them.
You like people, El.
And most people are shitty.
So if that ain't a power, I don't know what is.
-Hey. -Hey.
-What is this? -It's movie night.
Oh my God.
Kit's pulling a full weekend at the Double K,
so I made us our own movie theater.
-I borrowed a projector from AV club. -My God.
I got Twizzlers, Mike and Ikes, and popcorn with jalapeños.
I love popcorn with jalapeños.
I know you do.
I just, uh…
I figured we could use a little reset.
-That's sounds perfect. -Yeah?
Yeah.
-Now I have one favor to ask. -Yeah.
Get the rosé out of the fridge.
And he got rosé! Get out of here!
Oh my gosh. What movie are we watching?
Twilight. Obviously, Bella is at the ultimate crossroads of love.
Edward or Jacob. Who will she choose?
Oh my God.
Oh, hey. Thank you.
So… Dan?
Well, Oliver said that I could bring a plus one.
So I thought I'd bring a little backup.
And he and Angie have a bit of a history.
Are you… Are you matchmaking?
I know a good match when I see one.
Oh.
-Look at this. -All right, guys.
Look, the nicest man on the planet.
-All right. Would you behave, please? -I'll try.
Enchiladas need another, uh…
-Fifteen minutes. -Fifteen minutes.
So, we have a Quinn O'Grady's favorite here to tie us over.
Is this…?
Bob's? Yeah.
It's this amazing butcher that we love in New Jersey.
You flew this in from New Jersey?
Yeah, I certainly did.
Sit down. Sit down.
-Hey, Sheriff. I made-- -Sorry, mate. A little do-si-do.
I made yours a double.
-You're amazing. Thank you. -Yeah. I got you.
Oh, my God. That one. That one right there. That's… that's amazing.
It's good, right? My favorite. A salchichon from southern Spain.
-What is it? -It's like chorizo.
Oh, so it's pork. It's like a pork sausage.
Sure. Yeah.
Oliver, did you… did you make this pork?
Oh, just a little gift for the house.
Wow.
Baby, I made you that table.
Oh, the one you broke,
-having sex with that woman? -Shh.
Oliver, Quinn, tell us how you met.
Oh, no. Everyone's heard it.
-Come on. -I haven't.
Come on. How'd you meet then?
Well, she, um…
-She upstreamed me. -No I didn't.
I was in Hell's Kitchen trying to get a car home,
and traffic was mad, so there were no cars, no Ubers.
But then this cab stops, and just as I'm about to climb into it,
this woman here just steals it from me.
You snooze you lose, buddy.
So, I open the door, she climbs in,
and then the cab just rolls off.
But then it stops.
Window comes down, and out pops this perfect face and says,
-"Have cash?" -"Have cash?"
-Sounds prostitute-y. -Angie.
It does. But I was going to a cash-only bar, and I liked the cut of his jib.
So we go to this bar, and this woman proceeds to rap the entire verse
of Eminem's "Renegade," flawlessly.
-Hell, yeah. -That's my girl.
Two days later, I go to work at the Phil and there's that face.
We smile at each other, because everyone in there thinks she's just the new girl
who plays the sonata perfectly.
But I know that she's also the girl that raps "Renegade" in dive bars.
-Now that's a story. -Yeah.
How'd you guys meet?
-Who, me and Quinn? -Mm.
I don't remember.
-I'm gonna check the oven. -Need help?
-No, no. No. -You sure?
Hi. Um, could I just do a tonic, please, with lemon?
Look like you had a rough one.
Why do you say that?
I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have.
You're in a suit. I'm assuming you came straight from the office.
That I did.
So what do you do?
Logistics.
How wonderfully vague.
Wonderfully boring.
So when are you due?
Too soon and not soon enough.
Do you have any little ones?
Two.
Yeah, me and their mom split up, but… hell if they didn't turn out amazing.
My son just won a national debate.
Oh, well, that's… wonderful.
You don't need to hear how great my kids are.
Are you joking?
I want to hear it all. I'm Ellie.
William.
So Dan, I hear you're a free agent.
Mom.
-Oh, here we go. -I'm just curious if the man's looking.
Shoot, I don't even know where I'd start.
I'll tell you where you start, apps.
Oh, and we have liftoff.
Tinder, Bumble, Hinge.
Match.
eHarmony, Bristlr.
Bristlr?
It's… It's for men with beards,
and people who want to get a good bristlin'.
-Wow. -Jesus, Mom.
Dan, don't you worry about it. You'll find her when you're supposed to.
Some folks are just meant to be.
Know what I mean?
See, baby, some people are just meant to be.
Mm. No, that's true.
That is true.
And some people have sex with the vet who put your dog down.
They keep having sex with that same woman for three years.
Wow. Ange.
Yeah, kind of a dick move.
Thank you, Dan.
-Fuck off. -Always the high road.
Oh, all right, fellas, let's…
You don't have any context.
But at the table?
Mind your own business. Let them hash it out.
The enchiladas.
-Oh, my God. -Here…
-'Kay. -Yikes.
-We'll just eat around the burnt bits? -They're all burnt bits.
I could order some pies.
-I've got some frozen pizzas. -From New York, I'm guessing?
-You ever been to New York? -No.
Someone open a window.
I could've sworn you would've come to see Quinn play just once in six months.
-I think you would have remembered me. -Like you remembered meeting Quinn?
-We got a problem, Marmite? -Do we, cowboy?
Think you're a little out of your element.
-Yeah. -Enough!
Dammit, enough.
God.
So glad I could take a break from everything I'm dealing with
to just have a nice, relaxing dinner with you guys.
Thank you.
-Quinny. -What?
Sorry, babe.
What do you, uh, we say we hit the road?
Yeah.
Yeah. Ye--
You remember taking your first breath?
That first sip of water, first time you looked up and saw the stars?
Because it's that.
I don't remember meeting Quinn because I don't remember
my life without her in it.
Like stars.
And that is, uh, that's…
that's Quinn O'Grady to me.
Please leave.
Quinn, I'm sorry.
Yeah, let's go.
Is it not enough, just to have a long and happy life with me?
For now.
Mm.
I'm not crying. You're crying.
Yeah. Yeah, I am crying.
I'm sorry.
I haven't been myself lately.
Hey. You have nothing to apologize for.
These past few months have been brutal for you.
I'm sorry if I lost sight of that.
If I lost sight of us.
When I was in the hallway with you today, I thought you were gonna break up with me.
-What? -Yeah.
Why?
-You said we need to talk. -Yeah, we did need to talk.
Yeah, "we need to talk" means it's over.
-Over? -Yes.
Baby, this is not over.
I'm gonna fight for you, Laur.
I will fight for us.
Forever.
Yo. What the hell, Kit?
I need to talk to you.
-Yeah, yeah, I'll leave. -No, you don't have to go.
Yeah, stay. Maybe you can help me talk some sense into his dumb ass.
Leave her out of whatever this is.
Oh, I don't know. Lauren?
Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go.
-You need to hash out whatever this is. -No. hey. Wait, just please.
Thank you for tonight.
-What is your damage, Kit? -My damage?
My damage is I just got an earful from Sam Kirkland.
I told you to keep your mouth shut about Baton Rouge.
-You had to run to Staten. -He deserved to know.
Did he? Well, now I'm on the old man's shit list,
-and so are you. -Oh, no.
I am doing this job for us, for you, Luke.
I didn't ask you to do that.
And I still did.
But if you don't want that, if you want to stay the course on this then…
then you're on your own.
Okay, I am done looking out for you.
Maybe it's time I start looking out for myself, huh? For what I want.
Do it, then.
Fine.
You kicked ass tonight. You can give him back his 200 bucks if you feel guilty.
No. No, I, I say we keep it and move on.
Look at you.
Our girl's skipping a grade.
I'm gonna hit it. Hey.
A grifter was born tonight.
Thanks.
Don't thank me yet.
Let's get that money from Daddy Kirkland first.
-Hey. -Hey.
You don't think less of me?
Of course not.
How are you feeling?
Confident.
And sexy.
Hey.
Hey. No.
Where's Oliver?
He went for a drive.
Mm.
Did you tell him to invite Staten?
Baby, I'm not that sadistic.
I am sorry about everything.
But, Quinn,
you're with somebody else.
Yeah.
Think it's possible to be in love with two people?
Like, really?
I've loved so many men for so many reasons.
Beautiful, aren't they? Men.
Beautiful and insufferable. The lot of them.
I'll tell you this, though. Love is for the young.
When you get to my age, when the thrill of love is a fond, maddening memory,
you just want comfort.
You want to wake up in the morning satisfied with how it turned out.
I just want you to have a wonderful life.
That's all I've ever wanted.
I know.
-I love you. -I love you too.
Forever and always.
Go to bed, my girl.
Tomorrow's a new day.
Okay.
Staten, it's Joely.
Listen, I tried you earlier to get you on the horn with Martha.
But when you didn't pick up, she called Sam.
And now her mind's made.
She's voting with him.
I'm sorry, kid.
Can we chat?
Yeah, out here.
All right, what is it?
When I first met her, she was so frightened.
Frightened to love.
And now I think I know why.
I don't blame you for wanting her.
How could I? You have your bond and this history that I'll never be able to match.
Couldn't even if I wanted to.
But obviously you're important to her.
To me, you're poison.
All those years you spent in each other's lives
and you've just slowed her down, held her back.
As far as I can see, you're still doing it.
All I want is to make her happy.
If you love her like I think you do, Staten, then do the right thing.
Yeah? What's that?
Just let her go.
All my ghosts
Coming after me
Staten.
That's a pack you got there.
Yeah.
Where you off to, then?
Demons at my door
Come on.
All my ghosts
Coming
They're coming after me