American Woman (2018) s01e09 Episode Script

The Breakthrough

Thank you both for coming and bringing food and wine, because otherwise we'd have nothing to eat or drink.
- You're welcome.
- We're happy to help.
God.
It's been so long since I've been able to just take a breath, drink some wine, and watch TV.
Well, Bonnie, you just remember - I'm always here for you.
- Me, too.
- Just ask.
- Please stop trying - to steal my thunder.
- I wasn't.
I was just offering my friend some help in her time of need.
God, you two, will you please just get over this Greg thing? At EST we talk all about forgiveness.
And I wanna forgive you, Diana.
Since when did you start going to EST? I'm starting tomorrow, but I've read the introductory pamphlet twice.
Mom, the commercials are on.
Ooh! I don't want to miss it! - Did we miss it? - Not yet.
- Oh, this is it! - There it is! Only you know Wonder Woman's identity.
And I'll never tell.
But Wonder Woman and all - other dolls sold separately.
- That was it? You were on for, like, two seconds.
Yes, but it was the best two seconds of television I've ever seen.
Thanks, Mom.
We have a rush alteration job.
There is a tailor across town who specializes in wedding dresses.
Right now? My shift is over.
I have You know what? I'm happy to do it.
I know you'll mention it favorably in my performance review.
Dress needs to be there by six.
Use a garment bag.
Excuse me.
Good morning, everyone.
Welcome to EST.
Where we focus on personal responsibility, accountability, and possibility.
Today's meeting will last nine hours.
There are no breaks.
Let's get started.
Nine hours, no breaks? It's transformative.
So is being able to go to the bathroom.
- What's all that? - I have to take this stupid wedding dress all the way across this stupid town and I have to miss our stupid picnic.
That sucks.
I'm sorry.
Your picnic isn't stupid.
I was kinda looking forward to it.
Me, too.
I work really hard, and I don't even get a goddamn thank you.
That's a bummer.
You know what? No, this is ridiculous.
I'm not even being paid to do it.
We have a few hours.
I need a picnic.
- Yeah? - Yes.
- Diana? - What is it? These are the loan applicants without established credit.
I need you to go through to see if they're eligible.
Jeff, that's your job.
My job is to delegate.
This is me delegating.
I know this is intimidating and overwhelming.
Do not let your personal fears stop you.
You must break through your barriers.
You.
Please stand up and introduce yourself.
Hi, I'm Kathleen.
And what's your story? Well, um, I just found out that the man that I love, who I went into business with and thought I was going to marry one day is a homosexual.
And why were you with him? I guess he fooled me.
He made me think he loved me.
- So you're the victim here.
- No, no, no.
Let me start again.
I'm a casting director, and my boyfriend convinced me to open an office, and then we had a huge fight 'Cause he's a homosexual.
Exactly.
And now it's just me, and I can't go back there because I can't do it without him.
So, you weren't good at it? No, I didn't mean it like that.
- I was just - Sit down.
Who else today is feeling like a victim? It's a pretty great spot, huh? I love these little places in L.
A.
They make you forget you're in the city.
I got something else that'll make you forget you're in the city.
Mushrooms? Mushroom mushrooms? - You ever tried them before? - No.
I sort of missed my psychedelic drug window.
I was too busy raising my girls.
It's never too late.
Hmm.
They'll make you forget about everything.
That sounds pretty perfect.
Now what do we do? We wait.
I don't think I've ever appreciated grass before.
It's so soft.
And it smells so good.
I used to cut the grass at my parents' place back in Nebraska.
You should cut the grass here.
Unless the grass doesn't want to be cut.
You think the grass doesn't want to be cut? Look at this tree.
It's so beautiful.
How old do you think this tree is? I don't know.
I don't really know trees that well.
Think how much it's seen.
You're the most beautiful tree I've ever seen.
This is the greatest dress ever made.
Wow.
You look beautiful.
So this is what you looked like on your wedding day? No.
I wore my mother's grey wool dress.
It hid the bump that would eventually become Becca.
You didn't have a wedding? Well, technically I did.
But I was 19.
And pregnant.
So my very Catholic family made us get married at City Hall.
I was terrified.
And Steve looked like he was gonna die.
Doesn't sound fun.
It definitely wasn't how I thought my wedding would be.
But then again, neither was my marriage.
Marriage freaks me out.
You're 25.
Of course it does.
Oh, my God.
You're 25.
I was in junior high when you were born.
I could have been your babysitter.
That'd be weird.
I was an excellent babysitter.
I would play Monopoly for hours.
You know, I never played Monopoly.
We should go to my house and play Monopoly.
I wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but it's nice to see you.
I was surprised you called.
I thought you might be mad about what happened with me and Kathleen.
I didn't know anything happened.
Well, I said some things I'm not proud of.
She's going through a rough time right now.
Anyway, I'm happy to see you.
Me, too.
Alan, can I talk to you about something? Sure.
Have you slept with dozens of men? I think we're gonna need another round of drinks.
I finally get it, man.
I haven't been experiencing my truth.
That's exactly right.
You cleared it.
Right now.
Can I try and go again? At EST, you don't speak unless spoken to.
So who else would like to experience their truth? Hmm? Fine.
Kathleen, who do you love most in this world? Well, uh, my friends.
My sisters.
And of course Daddy.
That's sweet.
And what are some of your favorite memories of Daddy? Uh Oh, um, every Sunday we'd watch the Dallas Cowboys game together.
And, uh, I'd fix him a drink, and he and my brother would be hooting and hollering at the game, and I'd cheer and I'd just be so happy.
- You a football fan? - I am.
Even when he and my brother would go to the games, I would still sit in front of the TV and watch.
Did he ever take you to a game? Well, no, but he only had two tickets.
Didn't you ever think one of them could have been for you? Seems incredibly complex.
Who would ever want to be a thimble? Yeah.
I wasn't on shrooms when I babysat.
Let's just lay here and contemplate my decorating choices.
I spent so much money on all this stupid crap.
Wish I could have it all back.
Oh, my God.
That phone is so obnoxious.
It's so loud.
Why is it so loud? Hello? What? What happened? All right.
Goodbye.
- Is everything okay? - No.
That's Beccas's school on the phone.
She's being suspended.
I have to go in to the principal's office Here.
- I'll wait for you here? - No.
It's okay.
I'll take a cab home.
How do I look? - Sexy.
- I feel like I'm still high.
What do you do when you need to sober up quickly? - That's never happened.
- Slap me.
I don't think it looks good to hit a woman in a wedding dress outside a school.
Shit, I'm still wearing my wedding dress.
Why didn't you tell me? Give me this.
Now you look really sexy.
You can do this.
I'll call you later.
Bye.
Hello.
Hello, everyone.
- Mom? - What are you doing here? I'm her father.
What the hell are you wearing? Um How many guys were there? I'm not sure.
Wow.
Wh Is that terrible? No, of course not.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying sex.
I wouldn't say that I enjoyed it.
It was more like I needed it.
My whole life felt like it was out of my control.
And when I was with these men, I felt in charge.
Even if it was for just 15 minutes in the back of a car.
Was something wrong with that? No, I just I don't want to need it.
I want to focus on making the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of my day feel good, too.
I Love this song.
Let's dance.
We're very concerned about Becca's behavior.
She's been very disruptive in Mr.
Knave's class.
What exactly did she do? She constantly argues with me.
She won't accept any grade I give her.
He gave me a C- because I said that Marx had a point - about social inequality.
- Shh.
And today in class, she gave me the middle finger.
- Is that true? - Yes, but it was only after he yelled at me for disagreeing with him and then told me to shut up.
You told my daughter to shut up? I have rules in my classroom which she blatantly disregards.
So you run your classroom like Nazi Germany? Yeah, exactly.
Now I see where Becca gets her bad behavior.
Now I see why Becca hates your class.
Your daughter needs to learn when to shut her mouth.
You shut your mouth, Adolf.
Now, now, now.
Jerry, you know we always want our students to feel comfortable voicing their opinions.
I can't teach someone with her attitude.
Why? Are you intimidated by intelligent young women? You know, Jerry? I see you.
You're just a dark, rainy storm cloud hovering over a beautiful tree.
And you try and scare everyone with your thunder and your lightning.
But you know what? My daughter can take anything you rain down on her.
Because she's that tree.
She's a goddamn redwood.
Yeah, you're goddamn right she is.
Come on, Becca.
We're leaving.
Actually, Steven, I need you to drive us home.
If I were to ask your daddy to describe you right now, what would he say? He'd say, "Kathleen's my sweet little angel.
" Okay.
And if I asked him to describe your brother? Uh, he'd say Timmy is strong and smart and capable.
Did your father ever say you were smart and strong and and capable? Well, he's very proud of my accomplishments.
He's always supported my dreams.
- How? - He bought me a car for my 16th birthday.
He gave me money to move out to California.
He gave me money to open a casting office.
Has he ever supported you in a way that doesn't involve money? Of course.
He's Well, he's He's very busy.
You've only had a relationship with your father's money.
He wrote checks until he could marry you off so someone else could take care of you.
No, he wanted me to get married because he wanted me to be happy.
And what did you want from him? I don't know.
Uh, I wanted him to be proud of me.
So you wanted his approval.
Yes.
And did you ever get it? So you bounced from man to man desperately seeking what your father never gave you.
But you're better than that, Kathleen.
My dad was a piece of shit.
I don't need Greg.
I'm damn good at casting.
And I can run the agency by myself.
Wait.
Is that my breakthrough? On second thought, I don't give a shit what you think.
That's your breakthrough, huh? What got into you today? I don't know.
Oh, well, whatever I was, I found it just It was sexy.
I think Becca was disappointed that she didn't get suspended.
Hmm.
So Bonnie, why are you wearing a wedding dress? Oh, my God.
I was supposed to Oh! Is everything all right? - No.
- Mmm? Yes.
I just wanted a few hours where I didn't feel like I was drowning.
You know, Becca's not the only redwood in our family.
I think you should go, Steve.
All right.
Okay, sure.
You know, I never got a chance to see you in a wedding dress.
Goodnight, Steve.
Goodnight.
Hey, Daddy.
It's Kathleen.
Yeah, I'm fine.
No, I don't need any No, Daddy, listen.
You took Timmy to all those Cowboys games, and you never took me.
Not once.
Didn't you ever think that maybe I wanted to go see Don Meredith? Well, I did.
I did wanna see Don Meredith.
No, and you know what, Daddy? This is my truth.
You're an asshole.
- This is the address.
- His car's not here.
Well, then we wait.
Oh, that's him.
That's him.
- What are we doing? - Shh.
Jessica, darling, you are the lookout.
- Ready? - Ready.
Hold this.
Why don't you just use the gate? Because this is more exciting.
Can you believe we're doing this? Come on, we're not gonna do any damage.
How do you spell "fascist?" - The S is before the C.
- Okay.
- More? - More.
Definitely more.

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