A Million Little Things (2018) s03e10 Episode Script
Trust Me
1
You played very well.
It just lacked passion.
Previously on
"A Million Little Things"
If I'm gonna work with you,
you've got to give it
everything you got.
- I will.
- I'll be in touch.
I'm just I'm nervous about leaving.
If it's all too much,
I can cancel my trip.
It's gonna be fine.
I really like what we're becoming.
We've both come a long way.
We really have.
You lied to your family,
stole from your friends,
broke your vows,
and the person you're most
worried about in all this is you?
I need to know your
mom's in a better place.
What place is better
than being right here?
I'm not fighting with you
on your mom's birthday.
Where's Soph?
I haven't seen her since
she broke up with me.
She must be seeing someone else.
Hey, Soph.
Who the hell is this?
Dude, I'm looking at it right now.
It's Jake's name but not his number.
Why would she change
her boyfriend's number?
You mean ex-boyfriend.
Exactly.
I didn't even know they broke up.
I should know these things, Rome.
Why is she running around
not telling me where she is?
I don't know.
Maybe because she's a teenager.
You didn't sneak around and do
stuff when you were her age?
What I did or did not
do with Lana Horowitz
in my neighbor's treehouse
is totally irrelevant
because we weren't in
the middle of a pandemic.
Seriously, dude,
if I knew where this new guy lived,
I would go over there,
I would rip the door off the hinges,
march in, mask on, and
Oh, hold up. Danny's texting.
Oh, she's home.
- I'll call you later, man.
- Alright. Glad we had this talk.
- He left, huh? That's odd.
- Hey. What are you doing here?
I'm on a thing.
Sorry. It's my day off.
I brought sad food.
You still with me, Maggie?
I lost you when you
mentioned your roommate.
Is this the same roommate
who was on the episode that I heard?
Yes. Oh, yes. Sorry, Dr. Stacy.
Um, it stinks, but, he he left today.
Dr. Stacy? I love Dr. Stacy.
Sounds like maybe
him leaving without you
was a little more complicated
than it seems on the surface.
Was he more than a roommate?
Ooh, she's good.
No.
Uh, and yes.
I mean, he was, um
Oh, I see what you're doing,
and it is very effective.
- You're very talented.
- And so are you.
So, I'm looking for a few heavy hitters
to do some segments for my show
and help me fill out my hour.
I really appreciate it.
Um, my podcast is long form.
I don't think that I want
to condense helping people
into five-minute segments.
I get it, Maggie,
but the hope that it
gives people is very real,
and it just seems like
you would be a great fit.
Mull it over, but let me know
by the end of the day.
Claudia, I don't need you
to grow the beans.
I just need you to put
the pod in the machine.
The marketing campaign literally says
"a child could do it."
Bye, Maggie.
That was awesome.
Tell me you're doing this.
- Hmm.
- You have to do this.
Everybody loves Dr. Stacy.
Well, not Claudia.
Yeah, that's true.
Hi. You've reached Peter.
Leave a message.
Hey. Uh, it's me.
Uh, Sophie.
Uh, look, you're
you're probably busy, but I just, um
I-I didn't
I didn't know if you'd seen my text,
but I sent you something, and I just
You know, I wanted to
U-Uh, you know what, never mind.
Um, just call me back when you can.
Okay, bye.
Oh, look who decided to come home.
Can't believe you lied to me, Soph.
I just went all the way to Jake's place
because I saw the text
that you sent him.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah, that's right.
When I got back earlier
and you weren't here,
you're damn right I read your texts,
because apparently,
there are no rules anymore.
I have tried to be cool
"fun Uncle Gary."
We stayed up late that one night
and watched "Dumb and Dumber."
But you know what?
That all stops right now.
I can't believe anything you say to me.
I mean, do you even think that
That Jeff Daniels is a comic genius,
or is that just another
one of the many lies
that you've woven as
part of your subterfuge?
Will you look at me, please?
Tell me, where were you?
I was with Peter.
Peter? Your guitar teacher?
I think I messed up.
-
- Can you see your baby girl
In the woman I've come to be?
If you saw me no-o-o-w
Would you still know me?
You know what?
You are so much better than what
you just played right there.
You were not in the zone.
Can you feel the difference?
Uh, I think so.
Every performer falls into
one of three categories.
Stage One,
"I have no idea what I'm doing,
and it's not that great."
Don't worry, that is not you at all.
Stage Two is,
"I'm totally in the zone sometimes,
but when I am,
I have no idea how I got there."
Sound familiar?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Now, what I want to get you to
is Stage Three,
"I'm in control of my instrument,
and I can bring it and be
in the zone any time I want,
so back the F-minor up
and see what I can do."
- You're right.
- Mm-hmm.
And I want to be able to do that. But
I jus I just don't think I can.
Alright, listen.
That day that I came out of
the audition with my wife,
you stopped us in our
tracks with your passion.
Do you know why you could
bring it on the street,
but you couldn't during the audition?
Because I wasn't totally nervous.
That's right. You had nothing to lose.
But we've been working
on intonation, pitch, rhythm
All important for your audition.
Equally as important are
presence and charisma.
It's time for us to work on that.
What is your song about?
What?
"Miss Dixon I see here,
as part of your audition for MMI,
you're going to play
for us a song you wrote.
Can you please tell
me and the other judges
what your piece is about?"
It's You know, it's about my dad.
No, Miss Dixon.
What is your song about?
It's about how my dad left.
Uh-huh.
How he left, uh, without saying goodbye.
And how he died before
I became what I was gonna be.
And
how a part of me is
afraid to become
that new person, because
may
Uh, maybe secretly, I
think I'll run into him again. And
if I do, I want to make
sure he recognizes me.
If you don't play that
every single time you get on stage
then don't get on stage.
How do I do that?
Uh, you find the best teacher in town,
you get them to notice
how talented you are,
and then you trust
that person completely.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Wait, I thought
you couldn't do tomorrow.
Well, we can't have
a breakthrough like that
and not do tomorrow.
3:00. Don't be late.
I'll be here at 2:50.
"Interior, café."
No, "Interior, bistro."
No, "Interior, coffee shop."
Yeah, that's it.
Hey, Pop. It's 3:00 a.m.
What are you doing up?
Couldn't sleep.
What are you doing up?
Writing the next blockbuster?
Trying to.
When you get a draft,
I'd love to read it.
There's nothing I'd like more
than to have a draft
done for you to read.
You should try to get some sleep.
The bed's really big without her.
I know it's hard, Pop.
I miss her, too.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
You made coffee?
Oh, you bet your sweet ass I did.
Someone's in a good mood.
Did you get a lot of writing done?
Enough.
I had a great conversation with my dad.
- Last night?
- Technically,
it was very early this morning.
I didn't hear you talking.
Well, we texted,
but unlike his usual texts,
it was more than just a thumbs-up,
thumbs-down, you know?
I didn't even know he was
capable of a thumbs-up.
I know, right? But, like, last night,
we had this
this incredible back-and-forth.
He was kind, he was gracious,
he was funny.
Yeah Oh, I got to go shower.
I'm taking my dad to his appointment.
Here's something you never hear me say.
I am looking forward to
hanging with my dad today.
Huh?
Hey! I thought you said you made coffee!
Oh, I did.
But then I drank it all.
Sorry.
Hi.
Hey, so, I was talking
to Anna about how,
when you're in a pressure situation,
it's hard for you to
get out of your head.
You were talking to her about me?
Yeah, well, I'm determined
to help you crack this.
We just need to take you
out of your comfort zone.
So, that way, you can practice
performing under pressure.
You didn't see that.
Anna reminded me of a student I had
who was actually even more
inhibited than you are.
Well, I'm glad I'm not
the most inhibited.
Oh, no, no, that title goes to Gregory.
He's a prodigy, really.
Uh, so brilliant on the cello,
but he would clam up
any time it mattered.
But we did this exercise,
and I will just say this
totally worked for him.
We had him wear a full-body
unitard for our entire session.
Oh, my God. That is so funny.
It was amazing.
He felt so ridiculous
and was so uncomfortable,
which is exactly why it worked.
After 20 minutes,
he forgot what he was wearing,
and by the end
I can show you the video I took
It was Zone Three stuff.
I-I guess I could order a unitard.
I haven't done gymnastics
since the sixth grade.
I mean, it doesn't have to be a unitard.
I mean, it could be anything
A leotard or a bathing suit.
Just anything that makes you
feel a little uncomfortable.
I can totally do that.
You know, actually, I got
to go help with the groceries,
but I will see you at 3:00.
Oh, uh, 2:50.
- Hi. Sorry about that.
- Hi.
Hey.
Your e-mail said 12:45. It's 12:50.
- I thought I was driving.
- Why would you drive?
Because you asked me to take you, Pop.
'Cause I want to be able
to go in the carpool lane.
Now, hush up.
It's time for traffic on the ones.
Got to be able to make up for that
five minutes you kept me waiting.
Unh-unh. You know the rules.
You don't touch the volume.
That's how you broke
the knob in the first place.
You don't know how to treat things.
As if you have such a gentle touch.
Can we just get to my stress test?
I need them to give me
a test while I'm there.
Maybe, on the way
back from your mother's,
you can stop by the store?
Aw, sweetie, come on.
The recipe says basmati.
It's got to be basmati.
Okay, you're the best.
Alright, love you.
Ah, that was Gregory.
Um, okay, where were we?
Oh, right, right, this is gonna be fun.
Here's what we should do.
Alright, go and change.
You brought something, right?
Uh, yeah, I brought a swimsuit.
- Is that okay?
- Perfect.
Change, and when you make your entrance,
step up center stage and
perform your audition song.
Uh, great.
Look, I can see you're nervous.
That's the point.
The idea is to push through those nerves
like you're gonna
have to at your audition.
Alright? Any self-doubt you're feeling,
just leave on the other
side of that doorway.
Okay.
Okay.
What do you mean, you messed up?
What's going on, Soph?
Okay, so when I perform
sometimes I can get in my head.
I mean, y-you saw it
when I did that first
audition for Peter.
I was different on the street.
I thought you were great both times.
But okay, yeah, you you were
a little freer on the street.
Exactly.
And so we did this exercise
to get me out of my head.
Uh, should I just walk out?
Well, uh, not like that.
You have to make an entrance!
Oh, okay.
You know, uh, one time,
I was at a recording
studio in the Village,
and, uh, we're all sitting there
and suddenly, you could feel
the energy in the room
just shift.
I-I mean, it was palpable.
We all turned.
It was Britney Spears,
height of her career,
a-and it was obvious why.
She She didn't just walk in.
She entered the room!
I want you to do that.
Whenever you're ready.
Sorry, this is just
No, no, no, no, no. No apologies.
This is all part of the exercise.
It was the exact same way with Gregory.
You know what?
Why don't we film this so
you can see your progress?
Okay.
Yeah.
Your guitar teacher had
you wear a swimsuit
during the lesson?
Yes, but it was to help me
build confidence.
And he filmed it?
Yes, s-so I could see the progress.
I mean, he he's done it
with other students, and
Oh, my God.
You're obviously not gonna get this.
- Just forget it.
- No, no, no, no.
No, please, I don't want
to talk about it anymore.
- Please, just leave.
- I'm just trying to understand you.
I Seriously, just get out!
Get out!
Hey, Maggie, it's me. I, uh
I need you to drop everything
you're doing and come over here.
Uh, right now.
49 50 51.
- Oh.
- Yeah, only 51.
3 of hearts. That's our culprit.
Well, I wish we'd discovered
that before we played two games.
You mean, before you lost two games.
And you were never collecting 3s,
so don't get your panties in a bunch.
A sticky note that sticks.
Who'd have thunk?
You know, it's not too late for
me to start playing solitaire.
Ha.
I listened to your album.
A couple songs weren't so bad.
Thanks?
Why'd you guys stop playing?
Because, uh, they got sick of me.
So did I.
That's how I ended up
here the first time.
You know you and I
are the same person.
Yeah, you're right. We're not.
I'm like six steps ahead of you.
I've already accepted the fact
that I can't be the version
of who they want me to be.
Hmm.
Are you talking about
the fact that you're, um
That I'm what?
Watching you struggle for a word
that describes me right now?
Is it, uh, "alcoholic" or,
uh, maybe "human being"?
I know.
"A better card player than you."
All true.
Also, I'm transgender.
And I'm collecting 3s.
Look.
I am sure that you've had
your share of struggles.
But
we are not the same.
For one, you chose to be a woman.
I did not choose to be in this chair.
Wow.
So many mistakes
with what you just said.
What I chose
was to be myself.
So you were right, accidentally.
But what I didn't choose was
to be born in a man's body.
All the pressure that you're facing
to be the husband and dad and friend
they think you should be
Or even worse,
you think you should be
You need to put that all aside,
because you're never gonna be that guy.
But maybe, like me,
there's a beautiful person inside.
You just have to find
her and let her out.
Ooh, and one other way
I'm six steps ahead of you.
Gin.
I'd be a one-eyed snake charmer now
if we'd have been playing strip poker.
Man.
You up?
Yeah.
Thanks again for today.
It was fun hanging out with you.
It was?
It was.
I've been going to see Mom
every night after dinner.
You go to the cemetery every night?
I know, but it helps me.
Pillow talk. I get it.
Speaking of which, thanks for the tip.
Putting pillows on
her side really helps.
Then why are you up?
Because my prostate is also 75.
Got up to pee.
And I wanted to say hi to my son.
Good night.
Good night, Pop.
Gary, I told you,
I don't want to talk right now!
Soph, it's Maggie.
Hey. Can I come in?
I cannot believe that
he called you. I
He's making such
a big deal out of nothing.
Well, we both know Gary
has a tendency to overreact,
so right on schedule.
But it does sound like
you're kind of upset.
Can we talk?
Well, I was telling Gary
about this exercise
I did at my guitar lesson,
and he just totally flipped out.
Well, the good news is,
I am known in the Greater Boston area
for my inability to flip in or out.
Uh, Gary said Peter was filming you?
As part of the exercise
to get me out of my head.
Can you see your baby girl
In the woman I've come to be
If you saw me no-o-o-w
Would you still know me?
It's better.
We'll get it.
Listen, uh, I wasn't
gonna tell you this
but remember how I said before
that I was secretly rooting for you?
Well, it's not so secret.
I may have put in a good word for you
with one of my friends
who's on the board at MMI.
- Really?
- Yes.
Sophie, you are so close to being ready.
You just have to imagine
that there is a record exec
sitting in the audience
who's deciding whether or not
he's gonna invest time and money in you,
producing the album, marketing it,
setting up the tour.
You have to convince
him that you're a star.
When you're up here,
you have to sell confidence!
You have to own it!
"Whoo! Hello, Cleveland!"
You have to want 14-year-old girls
to want to be you.
You have to want boys everywhere
to put your poster on their walls.
You're not some session performer.
You're not a little girl.
You are a beautiful,
talented, powerful woman
who has a story Wait, what?
So sorry, so sorry.
Just excuse me one second.
I'm sorry. You
You You want me to what?
No. No.
I mean, I'm in the middle
of a show here.
And And I'm crushing it.
And Sophie's totally laughing.
Yeah. Yeah, she's totally loosening up.
You Hold Hold on a second.
You were saying, you want me
You think that if I put
on some music.. okay
And then and have
some fun dancing around
that she's gonna want to do that, too?
I don't I don't know.
She doesn't seem convinced.
I mean, I guess I could give it a shot.
Day to night to morning
- I mean
- Keep with me in the moment
I'd let you had I known it
- Oh, there.
- Why don't you say so?
Didn't even notice,
no punches left to roll
- Oh, my Oh, my gosh. It's working!
- You got to keep me focused
It's working! Whoa!
Yeah! She's got moves!
- Nice! Hey!
- Keep with me in the moment
You know who that guy is?
That is the head of the record label.
That's the guy who's
deciding if he should invest
$30 million in you to make you a star.
Oh. Oh, so now you're gonna stop?
Yes!
Fell in love
You ain't coming out your shell
You really ain't been yourself
Tell me, what must I do?
Do tell, my love
He had you dance
around in your swimsuit?
It was all to make me
feel more comfortable.
I-I-I mean, the whole thing was stupid.
We were just being dorky
and so I would stop
being self-conscious.
And we can dance all day around it
If you front
- You feel it?
- Yes.
I said, "Do you feel it?"
- Yes! I feel it!
- Yes.
This is where you
want to be! Lock it in!
I'm totally locked in.
You know what?
Here's what I want you to do.
Go out that door
get dressed if you want
but don't lose this feeling.
When I say "go," make an entrance.
Okay.
Alright, I want you to harness
that confidence you just showed me!
It's infectious!
It's It's It's raw.
Hey, to be honest,
it's sexy, which is good,
because sex sells in this business.
Use it! Own it!
Let it work for you.
Well, look who just came in.
A rock star!
Look out, MMI.
He really got me out of my shell,
and it made me believe
in myself and
Oh, shoot, low battery.
Uh, you can charge it later,
but, um, just tell me
what you were gonna
You know, my cord is
in my backpack downstairs.
- Just let me go get it.
- Sophie.
Oh, great. You invited everyone.
Wonderful.
You need a glass of water right now.
- What?
- Go to the kitchen.
You need a glass of water right now.
Yeah. Just need another glass of water.
Excuse me.
What do I do?
I want you to go upstairs
and give her the space to talk to us.
Is she okay?
No.
She just doesn't know it yet.
Why the hell would you buy a whole radio
just for a knob, especially now?
You say you're working on a new movie.
So I assume someone told you
the other one got canceled, right?
You got to be smart about money, son.
Forgive me
for buying you a thoughtful gift.
Trust me, it will never happen again.
So, what were you guys
talking about up there?
Oh, um
she was just telling me about
her guitar teacher, Peter,
and this exercise they did
This icebreaker.
Um, Sophie said it
really helped her open up.
Uh, yeah, it was important
for my audition,
and it really got me out of my head.
Sounds cool.
Is that what you and Gary
were talking about before?
You know, he just didn't get it.
Well, I mean,
I kind of understand that, Soph.
The bathing suit and the dancing.
Did any of that make
you feel uncomfortable?
Yeah, but that was the whole point.
It means that I was doing it right.
But it's, like,
Gary just doesn't get it.
He's been so crazy during COVID.
I mean, I literally had to change
Peter's number to Jake's in my phone,
just to go to my lessons.
Yeah, Gary said something
about you being worried
that you messed up.
Is that what you meant,
because you changed
his name in your phone?
No, I-I just did that to make sure
that I could still rehearse.
Getting into MMI is everything.
So, what did you mean when
you said that you messed up?
Oh, my God, what did I do?
- What is it?
- Is it from him?
- Uh
- What's it say?
Um, uh, uh,
"The photo you sent
is really inappropriate,
and unfortunately, I'm unable
to continue working with you.
I wish you the best in your endeavors."
I just wrecked everything.
What photo?
Uh
Soph?
I uh
I-I-It was supposed to be like
this Britney Spears picture
he was talking about.
I w-was posing in a
Oh, my God, I'm so stupid.
I was just trying to
get us back to before.
I didn't
What do you mean by "before"?
Oh, my God,
it It was just so awkward,
and I didn't want it to be.
And I I don't know,
maybe I had made it awkward or
Because I just wanted to focus
on the work for the audition.
I
I wanted to let him know
that I could move past it.
Move past what?
Sophie
I need you to tell me what happened.
When I got the audition
I went by to see him.
I did it.
They called me! I got it!
You are such a star!
Oh, my gosh. I knew you had it in you.
We just needed everybody else to see it.
Hey, look, look, look, look.
Look at how confident and
sexy that woman is, huh?
I want to buy her album.
Reminds me of, um
Reminds me of Britney Spears
on the cover of her "Toxic" single.
So uninhibited.
And he, uh
Did he try to kiss you?
No.
Uh, he put his hand on my s-shoulder.
And then he unzipped his pants.
Did he touch you?
Uh Uh, he
No.
He didn't touch me.
He He just touched himself.
And, uh
then, when he was done,
uh, he z-zipped up and said
"Great work today."
And that's what was so strange,
is that he was acting
like nothing had happened.
Let me know how the audition goes, okay?
Uh, yeah, I will.
Thanks.
You're gonna crush it.
He was being completely normal,
like it wasn't a big deal.
So, when I got home,
I thought that the best thing for me
was to do the same thing.
That's why you sent him the photo?
Yeah.
It was It was like,
"You know what? Fine.
What happened happened,
and if you're not gonna
make a big deal out of it,
then neither am I."
Uh, but I-I didn't want to
want to mess up my audition,
wreck my chances.
Sophie, you haven't done anything wrong.
How do you know that?
I mean, I might have
made him think that
No, you didn't.
No, you didn't.
And I know that because
Maggie told me the same thing.
About my uncle.
She told me I did nothing wrong.
And even though I didn't
know it at the time, I know it now.
And I need you to know it, too.
The fact is, Peter reacted
that way to the photo
not because he thought
it was inappropriate,
but because this is the only
part that he can't deny.
It's a paper trail, and he had to be
on the record as objecting to it.
I'm sorry, but, uh,
why would she send him that photo
after what he did to her?
I know it might not
make any sense, but
Sophie sent that photo to try
to normalize what happened,
to take any sexuality that was there
and redirect it back to the work.
That's why it was an album cover.
She was trying to show him how
committed she was to her career,
and at the same time,
letting him know that she
wasn't gonna be any trouble.
She should be trouble.
This is Sophie we're talking about.
Why Why isn't she over
there smashing guitars?
Because
as much as a part of her knows
that what he did was wrong,
her brain is working overtime
to try to make that not the case.
Her entire future is riding on this.
She gave up Harvard
for her dream of music,
and her teacher,
a man who she looked up to and trusted,
he knew that.
He chose her.
He knew that her dad died,
he knew that her mom was away,
and he knew that she couldn't
lose anything else right now.
So he groomed her.
He used her history against her.
I'm gonna kill him.
No, you're not.
You're gonna take all the anger
that you are feeling right now
and harness it to help
Sophie through this.
Yeah.
And then I'm gonna kill him.
You know, I can take that up to her.
You should go home and get some rest.
I know this was your
first night off in months.
Probably not what you had in mind.
No, it wasn't,
but I couldn't think of a more
important way to spend it.
I'm so glad you were here.
Thank you for letting me tag in.
She's gonna need us.
I'm gonna go take this up to her.
Leave a message after the tone.
Dr. Stacy, hi.
Uh, it's Maggie Bloom.
I just wanted to call
and let you know
that I thought about it,
and after realizing that
just being there for someone
can make a big difference,
I want to do it.
Alright. Bye.
Hey, Mom.
I thought maybe Dad would be here.
I don't know if he told you,
but he and I have been
Yeah, you know.
But you're right
He does have a sweet side.
I just wish I could see it in person.
You must be Rome.
Omar wouldn't have known to
bring water for the vase.
I'm sorry, have we met before?
No. I'm Florence.
Your dad told me about
the knob for his radio.
He loved it.
Oh.
I'm here for you, Soph.
You just tell me what you want.
Uh, there is one thing.
Uh, Mom, hey, it's me.
Uh, s-something happened, and
I'm so sorry.
What?!
Where are you?
I'm out.
Are you at Peter's house?
I'm out.
Gary, listen to me.
This does not help Sophie.
It doesn't.
Band of dads, Rome.
Band of dads.
You played very well.
It just lacked passion.
Previously on
"A Million Little Things"
If I'm gonna work with you,
you've got to give it
everything you got.
- I will.
- I'll be in touch.
I'm just I'm nervous about leaving.
If it's all too much,
I can cancel my trip.
It's gonna be fine.
I really like what we're becoming.
We've both come a long way.
We really have.
You lied to your family,
stole from your friends,
broke your vows,
and the person you're most
worried about in all this is you?
I need to know your
mom's in a better place.
What place is better
than being right here?
I'm not fighting with you
on your mom's birthday.
Where's Soph?
I haven't seen her since
she broke up with me.
She must be seeing someone else.
Hey, Soph.
Who the hell is this?
Dude, I'm looking at it right now.
It's Jake's name but not his number.
Why would she change
her boyfriend's number?
You mean ex-boyfriend.
Exactly.
I didn't even know they broke up.
I should know these things, Rome.
Why is she running around
not telling me where she is?
I don't know.
Maybe because she's a teenager.
You didn't sneak around and do
stuff when you were her age?
What I did or did not
do with Lana Horowitz
in my neighbor's treehouse
is totally irrelevant
because we weren't in
the middle of a pandemic.
Seriously, dude,
if I knew where this new guy lived,
I would go over there,
I would rip the door off the hinges,
march in, mask on, and
Oh, hold up. Danny's texting.
Oh, she's home.
- I'll call you later, man.
- Alright. Glad we had this talk.
- He left, huh? That's odd.
- Hey. What are you doing here?
I'm on a thing.
Sorry. It's my day off.
I brought sad food.
You still with me, Maggie?
I lost you when you
mentioned your roommate.
Is this the same roommate
who was on the episode that I heard?
Yes. Oh, yes. Sorry, Dr. Stacy.
Um, it stinks, but, he he left today.
Dr. Stacy? I love Dr. Stacy.
Sounds like maybe
him leaving without you
was a little more complicated
than it seems on the surface.
Was he more than a roommate?
Ooh, she's good.
No.
Uh, and yes.
I mean, he was, um
Oh, I see what you're doing,
and it is very effective.
- You're very talented.
- And so are you.
So, I'm looking for a few heavy hitters
to do some segments for my show
and help me fill out my hour.
I really appreciate it.
Um, my podcast is long form.
I don't think that I want
to condense helping people
into five-minute segments.
I get it, Maggie,
but the hope that it
gives people is very real,
and it just seems like
you would be a great fit.
Mull it over, but let me know
by the end of the day.
Claudia, I don't need you
to grow the beans.
I just need you to put
the pod in the machine.
The marketing campaign literally says
"a child could do it."
Bye, Maggie.
That was awesome.
Tell me you're doing this.
- Hmm.
- You have to do this.
Everybody loves Dr. Stacy.
Well, not Claudia.
Yeah, that's true.
Hi. You've reached Peter.
Leave a message.
Hey. Uh, it's me.
Uh, Sophie.
Uh, look, you're
you're probably busy, but I just, um
I-I didn't
I didn't know if you'd seen my text,
but I sent you something, and I just
You know, I wanted to
U-Uh, you know what, never mind.
Um, just call me back when you can.
Okay, bye.
Oh, look who decided to come home.
Can't believe you lied to me, Soph.
I just went all the way to Jake's place
because I saw the text
that you sent him.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah, that's right.
When I got back earlier
and you weren't here,
you're damn right I read your texts,
because apparently,
there are no rules anymore.
I have tried to be cool
"fun Uncle Gary."
We stayed up late that one night
and watched "Dumb and Dumber."
But you know what?
That all stops right now.
I can't believe anything you say to me.
I mean, do you even think that
That Jeff Daniels is a comic genius,
or is that just another
one of the many lies
that you've woven as
part of your subterfuge?
Will you look at me, please?
Tell me, where were you?
I was with Peter.
Peter? Your guitar teacher?
I think I messed up.
-
- Can you see your baby girl
In the woman I've come to be?
If you saw me no-o-o-w
Would you still know me?
You know what?
You are so much better than what
you just played right there.
You were not in the zone.
Can you feel the difference?
Uh, I think so.
Every performer falls into
one of three categories.
Stage One,
"I have no idea what I'm doing,
and it's not that great."
Don't worry, that is not you at all.
Stage Two is,
"I'm totally in the zone sometimes,
but when I am,
I have no idea how I got there."
Sound familiar?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Now, what I want to get you to
is Stage Three,
"I'm in control of my instrument,
and I can bring it and be
in the zone any time I want,
so back the F-minor up
and see what I can do."
- You're right.
- Mm-hmm.
And I want to be able to do that. But
I jus I just don't think I can.
Alright, listen.
That day that I came out of
the audition with my wife,
you stopped us in our
tracks with your passion.
Do you know why you could
bring it on the street,
but you couldn't during the audition?
Because I wasn't totally nervous.
That's right. You had nothing to lose.
But we've been working
on intonation, pitch, rhythm
All important for your audition.
Equally as important are
presence and charisma.
It's time for us to work on that.
What is your song about?
What?
"Miss Dixon I see here,
as part of your audition for MMI,
you're going to play
for us a song you wrote.
Can you please tell
me and the other judges
what your piece is about?"
It's You know, it's about my dad.
No, Miss Dixon.
What is your song about?
It's about how my dad left.
Uh-huh.
How he left, uh, without saying goodbye.
And how he died before
I became what I was gonna be.
And
how a part of me is
afraid to become
that new person, because
may
Uh, maybe secretly, I
think I'll run into him again. And
if I do, I want to make
sure he recognizes me.
If you don't play that
every single time you get on stage
then don't get on stage.
How do I do that?
Uh, you find the best teacher in town,
you get them to notice
how talented you are,
and then you trust
that person completely.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Wait, I thought
you couldn't do tomorrow.
Well, we can't have
a breakthrough like that
and not do tomorrow.
3:00. Don't be late.
I'll be here at 2:50.
"Interior, café."
No, "Interior, bistro."
No, "Interior, coffee shop."
Yeah, that's it.
Hey, Pop. It's 3:00 a.m.
What are you doing up?
Couldn't sleep.
What are you doing up?
Writing the next blockbuster?
Trying to.
When you get a draft,
I'd love to read it.
There's nothing I'd like more
than to have a draft
done for you to read.
You should try to get some sleep.
The bed's really big without her.
I know it's hard, Pop.
I miss her, too.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
You made coffee?
Oh, you bet your sweet ass I did.
Someone's in a good mood.
Did you get a lot of writing done?
Enough.
I had a great conversation with my dad.
- Last night?
- Technically,
it was very early this morning.
I didn't hear you talking.
Well, we texted,
but unlike his usual texts,
it was more than just a thumbs-up,
thumbs-down, you know?
I didn't even know he was
capable of a thumbs-up.
I know, right? But, like, last night,
we had this
this incredible back-and-forth.
He was kind, he was gracious,
he was funny.
Yeah Oh, I got to go shower.
I'm taking my dad to his appointment.
Here's something you never hear me say.
I am looking forward to
hanging with my dad today.
Huh?
Hey! I thought you said you made coffee!
Oh, I did.
But then I drank it all.
Sorry.
Hi.
Hey, so, I was talking
to Anna about how,
when you're in a pressure situation,
it's hard for you to
get out of your head.
You were talking to her about me?
Yeah, well, I'm determined
to help you crack this.
We just need to take you
out of your comfort zone.
So, that way, you can practice
performing under pressure.
You didn't see that.
Anna reminded me of a student I had
who was actually even more
inhibited than you are.
Well, I'm glad I'm not
the most inhibited.
Oh, no, no, that title goes to Gregory.
He's a prodigy, really.
Uh, so brilliant on the cello,
but he would clam up
any time it mattered.
But we did this exercise,
and I will just say this
totally worked for him.
We had him wear a full-body
unitard for our entire session.
Oh, my God. That is so funny.
It was amazing.
He felt so ridiculous
and was so uncomfortable,
which is exactly why it worked.
After 20 minutes,
he forgot what he was wearing,
and by the end
I can show you the video I took
It was Zone Three stuff.
I-I guess I could order a unitard.
I haven't done gymnastics
since the sixth grade.
I mean, it doesn't have to be a unitard.
I mean, it could be anything
A leotard or a bathing suit.
Just anything that makes you
feel a little uncomfortable.
I can totally do that.
You know, actually, I got
to go help with the groceries,
but I will see you at 3:00.
Oh, uh, 2:50.
- Hi. Sorry about that.
- Hi.
Hey.
Your e-mail said 12:45. It's 12:50.
- I thought I was driving.
- Why would you drive?
Because you asked me to take you, Pop.
'Cause I want to be able
to go in the carpool lane.
Now, hush up.
It's time for traffic on the ones.
Got to be able to make up for that
five minutes you kept me waiting.
Unh-unh. You know the rules.
You don't touch the volume.
That's how you broke
the knob in the first place.
You don't know how to treat things.
As if you have such a gentle touch.
Can we just get to my stress test?
I need them to give me
a test while I'm there.
Maybe, on the way
back from your mother's,
you can stop by the store?
Aw, sweetie, come on.
The recipe says basmati.
It's got to be basmati.
Okay, you're the best.
Alright, love you.
Ah, that was Gregory.
Um, okay, where were we?
Oh, right, right, this is gonna be fun.
Here's what we should do.
Alright, go and change.
You brought something, right?
Uh, yeah, I brought a swimsuit.
- Is that okay?
- Perfect.
Change, and when you make your entrance,
step up center stage and
perform your audition song.
Uh, great.
Look, I can see you're nervous.
That's the point.
The idea is to push through those nerves
like you're gonna
have to at your audition.
Alright? Any self-doubt you're feeling,
just leave on the other
side of that doorway.
Okay.
Okay.
What do you mean, you messed up?
What's going on, Soph?
Okay, so when I perform
sometimes I can get in my head.
I mean, y-you saw it
when I did that first
audition for Peter.
I was different on the street.
I thought you were great both times.
But okay, yeah, you you were
a little freer on the street.
Exactly.
And so we did this exercise
to get me out of my head.
Uh, should I just walk out?
Well, uh, not like that.
You have to make an entrance!
Oh, okay.
You know, uh, one time,
I was at a recording
studio in the Village,
and, uh, we're all sitting there
and suddenly, you could feel
the energy in the room
just shift.
I-I mean, it was palpable.
We all turned.
It was Britney Spears,
height of her career,
a-and it was obvious why.
She She didn't just walk in.
She entered the room!
I want you to do that.
Whenever you're ready.
Sorry, this is just
No, no, no, no, no. No apologies.
This is all part of the exercise.
It was the exact same way with Gregory.
You know what?
Why don't we film this so
you can see your progress?
Okay.
Yeah.
Your guitar teacher had
you wear a swimsuit
during the lesson?
Yes, but it was to help me
build confidence.
And he filmed it?
Yes, s-so I could see the progress.
I mean, he he's done it
with other students, and
Oh, my God.
You're obviously not gonna get this.
- Just forget it.
- No, no, no, no.
No, please, I don't want
to talk about it anymore.
- Please, just leave.
- I'm just trying to understand you.
I Seriously, just get out!
Get out!
Hey, Maggie, it's me. I, uh
I need you to drop everything
you're doing and come over here.
Uh, right now.
49 50 51.
- Oh.
- Yeah, only 51.
3 of hearts. That's our culprit.
Well, I wish we'd discovered
that before we played two games.
You mean, before you lost two games.
And you were never collecting 3s,
so don't get your panties in a bunch.
A sticky note that sticks.
Who'd have thunk?
You know, it's not too late for
me to start playing solitaire.
Ha.
I listened to your album.
A couple songs weren't so bad.
Thanks?
Why'd you guys stop playing?
Because, uh, they got sick of me.
So did I.
That's how I ended up
here the first time.
You know you and I
are the same person.
Yeah, you're right. We're not.
I'm like six steps ahead of you.
I've already accepted the fact
that I can't be the version
of who they want me to be.
Hmm.
Are you talking about
the fact that you're, um
That I'm what?
Watching you struggle for a word
that describes me right now?
Is it, uh, "alcoholic" or,
uh, maybe "human being"?
I know.
"A better card player than you."
All true.
Also, I'm transgender.
And I'm collecting 3s.
Look.
I am sure that you've had
your share of struggles.
But
we are not the same.
For one, you chose to be a woman.
I did not choose to be in this chair.
Wow.
So many mistakes
with what you just said.
What I chose
was to be myself.
So you were right, accidentally.
But what I didn't choose was
to be born in a man's body.
All the pressure that you're facing
to be the husband and dad and friend
they think you should be
Or even worse,
you think you should be
You need to put that all aside,
because you're never gonna be that guy.
But maybe, like me,
there's a beautiful person inside.
You just have to find
her and let her out.
Ooh, and one other way
I'm six steps ahead of you.
Gin.
I'd be a one-eyed snake charmer now
if we'd have been playing strip poker.
Man.
You up?
Yeah.
Thanks again for today.
It was fun hanging out with you.
It was?
It was.
I've been going to see Mom
every night after dinner.
You go to the cemetery every night?
I know, but it helps me.
Pillow talk. I get it.
Speaking of which, thanks for the tip.
Putting pillows on
her side really helps.
Then why are you up?
Because my prostate is also 75.
Got up to pee.
And I wanted to say hi to my son.
Good night.
Good night, Pop.
Gary, I told you,
I don't want to talk right now!
Soph, it's Maggie.
Hey. Can I come in?
I cannot believe that
he called you. I
He's making such
a big deal out of nothing.
Well, we both know Gary
has a tendency to overreact,
so right on schedule.
But it does sound like
you're kind of upset.
Can we talk?
Well, I was telling Gary
about this exercise
I did at my guitar lesson,
and he just totally flipped out.
Well, the good news is,
I am known in the Greater Boston area
for my inability to flip in or out.
Uh, Gary said Peter was filming you?
As part of the exercise
to get me out of my head.
Can you see your baby girl
In the woman I've come to be
If you saw me no-o-o-w
Would you still know me?
It's better.
We'll get it.
Listen, uh, I wasn't
gonna tell you this
but remember how I said before
that I was secretly rooting for you?
Well, it's not so secret.
I may have put in a good word for you
with one of my friends
who's on the board at MMI.
- Really?
- Yes.
Sophie, you are so close to being ready.
You just have to imagine
that there is a record exec
sitting in the audience
who's deciding whether or not
he's gonna invest time and money in you,
producing the album, marketing it,
setting up the tour.
You have to convince
him that you're a star.
When you're up here,
you have to sell confidence!
You have to own it!
"Whoo! Hello, Cleveland!"
You have to want 14-year-old girls
to want to be you.
You have to want boys everywhere
to put your poster on their walls.
You're not some session performer.
You're not a little girl.
You are a beautiful,
talented, powerful woman
who has a story Wait, what?
So sorry, so sorry.
Just excuse me one second.
I'm sorry. You
You You want me to what?
No. No.
I mean, I'm in the middle
of a show here.
And And I'm crushing it.
And Sophie's totally laughing.
Yeah. Yeah, she's totally loosening up.
You Hold Hold on a second.
You were saying, you want me
You think that if I put
on some music.. okay
And then and have
some fun dancing around
that she's gonna want to do that, too?
I don't I don't know.
She doesn't seem convinced.
I mean, I guess I could give it a shot.
Day to night to morning
- I mean
- Keep with me in the moment
I'd let you had I known it
- Oh, there.
- Why don't you say so?
Didn't even notice,
no punches left to roll
- Oh, my Oh, my gosh. It's working!
- You got to keep me focused
It's working! Whoa!
Yeah! She's got moves!
- Nice! Hey!
- Keep with me in the moment
You know who that guy is?
That is the head of the record label.
That's the guy who's
deciding if he should invest
$30 million in you to make you a star.
Oh. Oh, so now you're gonna stop?
Yes!
Fell in love
You ain't coming out your shell
You really ain't been yourself
Tell me, what must I do?
Do tell, my love
He had you dance
around in your swimsuit?
It was all to make me
feel more comfortable.
I-I-I mean, the whole thing was stupid.
We were just being dorky
and so I would stop
being self-conscious.
And we can dance all day around it
If you front
- You feel it?
- Yes.
I said, "Do you feel it?"
- Yes! I feel it!
- Yes.
This is where you
want to be! Lock it in!
I'm totally locked in.
You know what?
Here's what I want you to do.
Go out that door
get dressed if you want
but don't lose this feeling.
When I say "go," make an entrance.
Okay.
Alright, I want you to harness
that confidence you just showed me!
It's infectious!
It's It's It's raw.
Hey, to be honest,
it's sexy, which is good,
because sex sells in this business.
Use it! Own it!
Let it work for you.
Well, look who just came in.
A rock star!
Look out, MMI.
He really got me out of my shell,
and it made me believe
in myself and
Oh, shoot, low battery.
Uh, you can charge it later,
but, um, just tell me
what you were gonna
You know, my cord is
in my backpack downstairs.
- Just let me go get it.
- Sophie.
Oh, great. You invited everyone.
Wonderful.
You need a glass of water right now.
- What?
- Go to the kitchen.
You need a glass of water right now.
Yeah. Just need another glass of water.
Excuse me.
What do I do?
I want you to go upstairs
and give her the space to talk to us.
Is she okay?
No.
She just doesn't know it yet.
Why the hell would you buy a whole radio
just for a knob, especially now?
You say you're working on a new movie.
So I assume someone told you
the other one got canceled, right?
You got to be smart about money, son.
Forgive me
for buying you a thoughtful gift.
Trust me, it will never happen again.
So, what were you guys
talking about up there?
Oh, um
she was just telling me about
her guitar teacher, Peter,
and this exercise they did
This icebreaker.
Um, Sophie said it
really helped her open up.
Uh, yeah, it was important
for my audition,
and it really got me out of my head.
Sounds cool.
Is that what you and Gary
were talking about before?
You know, he just didn't get it.
Well, I mean,
I kind of understand that, Soph.
The bathing suit and the dancing.
Did any of that make
you feel uncomfortable?
Yeah, but that was the whole point.
It means that I was doing it right.
But it's, like,
Gary just doesn't get it.
He's been so crazy during COVID.
I mean, I literally had to change
Peter's number to Jake's in my phone,
just to go to my lessons.
Yeah, Gary said something
about you being worried
that you messed up.
Is that what you meant,
because you changed
his name in your phone?
No, I-I just did that to make sure
that I could still rehearse.
Getting into MMI is everything.
So, what did you mean when
you said that you messed up?
Oh, my God, what did I do?
- What is it?
- Is it from him?
- Uh
- What's it say?
Um, uh, uh,
"The photo you sent
is really inappropriate,
and unfortunately, I'm unable
to continue working with you.
I wish you the best in your endeavors."
I just wrecked everything.
What photo?
Uh
Soph?
I uh
I-I-It was supposed to be like
this Britney Spears picture
he was talking about.
I w-was posing in a
Oh, my God, I'm so stupid.
I was just trying to
get us back to before.
I didn't
What do you mean by "before"?
Oh, my God,
it It was just so awkward,
and I didn't want it to be.
And I I don't know,
maybe I had made it awkward or
Because I just wanted to focus
on the work for the audition.
I
I wanted to let him know
that I could move past it.
Move past what?
Sophie
I need you to tell me what happened.
When I got the audition
I went by to see him.
I did it.
They called me! I got it!
You are such a star!
Oh, my gosh. I knew you had it in you.
We just needed everybody else to see it.
Hey, look, look, look, look.
Look at how confident and
sexy that woman is, huh?
I want to buy her album.
Reminds me of, um
Reminds me of Britney Spears
on the cover of her "Toxic" single.
So uninhibited.
And he, uh
Did he try to kiss you?
No.
Uh, he put his hand on my s-shoulder.
And then he unzipped his pants.
Did he touch you?
Uh Uh, he
No.
He didn't touch me.
He He just touched himself.
And, uh
then, when he was done,
uh, he z-zipped up and said
"Great work today."
And that's what was so strange,
is that he was acting
like nothing had happened.
Let me know how the audition goes, okay?
Uh, yeah, I will.
Thanks.
You're gonna crush it.
He was being completely normal,
like it wasn't a big deal.
So, when I got home,
I thought that the best thing for me
was to do the same thing.
That's why you sent him the photo?
Yeah.
It was It was like,
"You know what? Fine.
What happened happened,
and if you're not gonna
make a big deal out of it,
then neither am I."
Uh, but I-I didn't want to
want to mess up my audition,
wreck my chances.
Sophie, you haven't done anything wrong.
How do you know that?
I mean, I might have
made him think that
No, you didn't.
No, you didn't.
And I know that because
Maggie told me the same thing.
About my uncle.
She told me I did nothing wrong.
And even though I didn't
know it at the time, I know it now.
And I need you to know it, too.
The fact is, Peter reacted
that way to the photo
not because he thought
it was inappropriate,
but because this is the only
part that he can't deny.
It's a paper trail, and he had to be
on the record as objecting to it.
I'm sorry, but, uh,
why would she send him that photo
after what he did to her?
I know it might not
make any sense, but
Sophie sent that photo to try
to normalize what happened,
to take any sexuality that was there
and redirect it back to the work.
That's why it was an album cover.
She was trying to show him how
committed she was to her career,
and at the same time,
letting him know that she
wasn't gonna be any trouble.
She should be trouble.
This is Sophie we're talking about.
Why Why isn't she over
there smashing guitars?
Because
as much as a part of her knows
that what he did was wrong,
her brain is working overtime
to try to make that not the case.
Her entire future is riding on this.
She gave up Harvard
for her dream of music,
and her teacher,
a man who she looked up to and trusted,
he knew that.
He chose her.
He knew that her dad died,
he knew that her mom was away,
and he knew that she couldn't
lose anything else right now.
So he groomed her.
He used her history against her.
I'm gonna kill him.
No, you're not.
You're gonna take all the anger
that you are feeling right now
and harness it to help
Sophie through this.
Yeah.
And then I'm gonna kill him.
You know, I can take that up to her.
You should go home and get some rest.
I know this was your
first night off in months.
Probably not what you had in mind.
No, it wasn't,
but I couldn't think of a more
important way to spend it.
I'm so glad you were here.
Thank you for letting me tag in.
She's gonna need us.
I'm gonna go take this up to her.
Leave a message after the tone.
Dr. Stacy, hi.
Uh, it's Maggie Bloom.
I just wanted to call
and let you know
that I thought about it,
and after realizing that
just being there for someone
can make a big difference,
I want to do it.
Alright. Bye.
Hey, Mom.
I thought maybe Dad would be here.
I don't know if he told you,
but he and I have been
Yeah, you know.
But you're right
He does have a sweet side.
I just wish I could see it in person.
You must be Rome.
Omar wouldn't have known to
bring water for the vase.
I'm sorry, have we met before?
No. I'm Florence.
Your dad told me about
the knob for his radio.
He loved it.
Oh.
I'm here for you, Soph.
You just tell me what you want.
Uh, there is one thing.
Uh, Mom, hey, it's me.
Uh, s-something happened, and
I'm so sorry.
What?!
Where are you?
I'm out.
Are you at Peter's house?
I'm out.
Gary, listen to me.
This does not help Sophie.
It doesn't.
Band of dads, Rome.
Band of dads.