[woman] Previously on The Girlfriend Experience...
[recruiter] You're moving to London.
Daytime job in the tech world.
That must be decent money.
[Iris] I'm not here for decent.
[garbled speech]
[woman] ...arms around each other...
Human connection.
[dark music plays]
Rule number one is look the part.
[Iris] I would love
to take this home for the weekend
and work on it.
Okay, I'll log you in.
♪
You want me to make you angry, big boy?
No, not angry. Mad.
What the fuck is this?
You were recording us? Huh?
[Iris] I just turned it on.
[Brett] What the fuck for? Huh? Blackmail?
[Iris] You mad now?
Oh, you fucking bitch.
[Iris laughs]
[Leanne] Now we know Dad has early-onset Alzheimer's.
[Iris] That sounds dramatic.
[Leanne] But, Iris, I want to get tested as well.
[Georges] I'm talking a kind of carnage yet to be seen.
You reap what you sow.
[reporter] Experts are still trying to verify
the authenticity of the footage.
[indistinct chatter]
[Sean] Iris Stanton.
Well, it was nice running into you.
It's great running into you.
♪
[disquieting music plays]
♪
[Georges] You left the room.
Sorry.
A little breather.
[Georges] Ask me if you'd like.
No, that's okay.
[Georges] Got married when we were kids.
Raised each other.
-[Iris] Mm. -Outgrew each other.
You still live in the same house?
Yes, we do.
I know who you are now.
"A kind of carnage yet to be seen.
You reap what you sow."
They did an okay job editing your face,
but those deepfakes still have a long way to go.
[footsteps departing]
How do you feel about the whole thing?
[Georges] Do you really want to know?
I do.
Number of elected officials around the world
who never campaigned offline-- take a guess.
[Iris] I have no idea.
No single televised live interview,
no rallies, no speeches.
All they do is tap into people's fears.
Now, once you're in office, anyone with an algorithm
will eventually find a reason to show the world
what you look like with your hair down.
[Iris] I still know it wasn't you.
That clip isn't even about me.
It's about the defense contract and the attempted employment
of EU as opposed to U.S.-based industries.
How do you know it wasn't me?
Because...
your pinky goes up every time you take a drink.
[chuckles softly]
Prim and proper.
Really?
Yeah, I noticed it on our first date.
Would it be too much to ask to have you for myself
for an entire 24 hours, day and night?
Really?
Can you do that?
Take us off grid?
Watch me.
[sighs]
[light music plays]
♪
[clippers buzzing]
♪
[winces] Ah. Ah.
-I did not cut you. -All right. All right.
But make sure you square it all off,
all right, the same length on both sides.
Don't be a baby. That's what I'm doing.
All right, do it like my ex used do it.
[buzzing stops]
♪
How about you do it?
What, you're just gonna leave me hanging?
Well, if you know exactly how your ex used to do it,
you should do it.
Hey, where are you going?
-Use the mirror. -Can't you--[groans]
You're a shit-ass barber, you know that?
Can't you stay a little longer?
I'll order Chinese.
♪
What's in there?
♪
Love them. Thanks.
Sweet of you.
Let's do this more often.
I'll make it worth your while.
Sure.
You'll have to check with my booker.
Here, let me give you my number...
just so you have it.
[light music playing on TV]
Wear them next time you come over.
[man speaking indistinctly on TV]
Are people afraid of technology?
No, I didn't think we're afraid of technology.
I think we might be afraid of ourselves.
[reporter] Well, what do you mean by that?
Christophe, tell us what you've been working on.
[Christophe] Look, a lot of today's business models
are appealing to outrage and fear.
Not us.
Our business model is positive reinforcement,
self-expression, connection.
[Brett] You know this guy?
[Christophe] What the coming decades are really about
is shaping our collective cognitive future.
[reporter] So what you're saying, Christophe,
is let's put our brains together,
solve the world's biggest problems as a collective?
[Christophe] Look, nothing much has changed since the...
No, but he's making me kind of mad.
Technology is just the extension of our minds.
[reporter] So that was Christophe Revory,
the elusive tech billionaire of NGM.
[disquieting music plays]
♪
[Tawny] Hi, fairy.
I'll be in London soon.
One of my boys is taking me to this gaming expo.
[Iris] Be great to catch up.
[Tawny] Yeah.
♪
Hey, I really need someone
to listen to my shit right now.
[Tawny crying]
Here we go again.
Tawny T. going full fucking circle,
like clockwork.
[Iris] What happened?
[Tawny] Client I started seeing a while ago, he's--
I did something...
I said I would never do again, you know?
I crossed a line.
Are you hurt?
[Tawny] It's more
"what's fucking wrong with me," you know?
Hey, don't be so hard on yourself.
[Tawny] He had me on a leash, Iris,
like a dog on all fours.
It's this whole submissive thing.
It's like a rabbit hole.
My knees are fucked up.
I have to wear a scarf
to cover the bruises on my neck.
Looks like I tried to fucking hang myself.
-[Tawny laughing] -[Iris laughs]
Why are you laughing?
Just stop seeing him.
[Tawny] It sounds so easy, doesn't it?
Look, if the situation isn't serving you...
[sighs]
[Tawny] Someone grew up fast. [chuckles]
Yeah, I was actually, um...
I've been meaning to talk to you about...
[Tawny sighs]
-Something. -[Tawny] Sure.
I have this client,
um, and he's an athlete.
He's recovering from an injury, and...
I don't know. He's... he's really pent-up.
And his dominant emotion is definitely anger, and--
[Tawny] What do you mean "dominant emotion"?
Well... [sighs]
It's linked to arousal for him, and--
[Tawny] Gee, that sounds science-y.
[scoffs]
Well, it is.
Yeah, it is, in a way, um,
because if I can figure out what they want, Tawny,
then I get better reviews.
[Tawny] You're not recording them, are you?
Tawny, I'm trying to be smart.
I, um...
I really like this guy, and I just--
I don't want to blow his fuse.
[Tawny] It's just basic common sense, you know?
What was the question you wanted to ask me?
I don't know.
Um, I'll text you.
[Tawny] These are high-profile guys, Iris.
Whatever skeletons they have in their closets,
it's our job to turn a blind eye.
Of course. No, you're right.
Thank you.
[Tawny] Keep our boundaries, you know?
[uneasy music plays]
♪
[lock clicks, door opens, keys jingling]
♪
[door closes]
♪
[footsteps approaching]
♪
[keyboard clacking]
♪
[sighs]
[footsteps approaching]
Iris Stanton?
Yeah.
[Iris] Sharp, ambitious,
funny, hardworking.
He always said, uh, that architecture
was an old man's game.
He'd enjoy the irony.
What medication is he currently on?
Uh, my sister has that information.
I can ask her right now.
No rush.
I won't lie to you.
We have a waitlist,
and it's already quite extensive.
Up to you.
There are several U.S.-based studies
that might be worth looking into.
Yeah, I'll have to talk to my sister about that.
Brain health is a global effort.
Did you have any other questions?
Give me one reason why we should get on that waitlist.
Well, for better or worse,
it's the most interdisciplinary
participant-focused study of its kind.
What you see is what you get.
We are overfunded, if there is such a thing.
The approach is holistic.
We're looking at the disease
as a neuroinflammatory response in the microglia,
the primary immune cells
of the central nervous system inside the brain.
What about the protein buildup?
We're all about inflammation and the role that it plays
in the acceleration of the disease.
It's a straight-up Trojan horse approach.
We introduce a biodegradable nanoparticle
the immune system will target as friendly debris.
Once the agent inside, the nanoparticle, is released,
it will interact with the microglia
and hopefully break the cycle
of what's become a chronic inflammatory response.
So how many years are we buying?
If my father actually gets into your study
and if your drug actually ends up working?
What's it worth
to potentially give a loved one more time?
The way I look at it,
every clinical trial brings us, all of us,
one step closer to where we'd like to be.
-Even the ones that fail? -Especially the ones that fail.
There is clarity in realizing that this isn't working.
Let's try again.
[cell phone buzzing]
[Iris sighs softly]
[buzzing continues]
Hello?
[Dad] Hello?
Hello?
-[Iris sighs] -[Leanne] It's too early, Dad.
She's still sleeping.
I'm sorry, Iris.
I'm in the middle of clearing out.
He keeps finding my phone.
[Iris] No, that's okay.
Um... what's going on?
[Dad] There's a shadow up on the wall.
Is that coming from the window?
Uh, yeah, there's a streetlight right there.
-Do you see? -Oh, I see.
It's still dark out, but I'm getting ready for work,
so I'm drinking coffee.
Oh, good. I wouldn't mind some coffee.
[Leanne chuckles] Do you know what time it is?
[Dad] No. What time is it?
[Leanne laughs]
I guess we can have a decaf version of it here.
-How about that? -Oh, you should.
Bedtime coffee is the best.
Yes. I think we absolutely should.
[Leanne laughs] Thanks for that, Izzy.
[faucet runs, stops]
Oh, I wouldn't mind some coffee.
[Leanne] Okay, Dad.
You up to anything exciting today?
[Iris] You know...
Do tell.
[Iris] The usual.
We're creating a whole batch of new data
so that the neural net can train itself.
[Leanne] Neural net? That's AI, right?
Yeah, it's the artificial neural network.
Neural network. That... that sounds familiar.
-[laughs] -Does it?
Well, it's... this.
Yeah, that's right.
[Dad] You know, my daughter,
she knows all about that stuff.
She's very bright.
Always was, even as a young kid.
Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
She's... she's up in...
[Dad grunts softly]
...up in...
...um...
you know,
finishing her masters, wants to get her PhD.
Isn't that something?
-Really? Are you-- -[Dad] Yeah.
[Iris] You're sure?
Oh, yeah.
I... I am very proud of her.
You are?
[Dad] She's very smart.
Always was.
Sorry.
Maybe it's time for a coffee break?
[no audible dialogue]
Well, um, the good news
is that intelligence is kind of hereditary.
At least, half of it is, anyway, so...
[sighs]
...she probably got some of it from you.
[uneasy music plays]
♪
You make me feel calm.
♪
I do?
♪
-You ever been with a Saudi? -[Iris breathing heavily]
-Is that a thing? -Yeah, it is.
♪
No.
And you're, um, you're Zahir?
I'm whoever you want me to be.
♪
And who are you?
♪
-Cassie. -[Zahir] Cassie.
♪
Can I call you something else?
♪
Iris.
Okay, Iris.
Let me see you.
[distant engine revving]
Let me see you for real.
[mischievous music plays]
♪
[engine revving]
♪
[engines revving]
♪
[engines revving]
[suspenseful music plays]
♪
[engines revving]
[tires squealing]
♪
[dark music plays]
♪
[Iris] Emcee, can you hear me?
[soft music plays]
[Emcee] Hello.
I don't think we've met before.
Who are you?
We haven't.
I'm just...
I'm a friend.
[Emcee] Oh. Hello, friend.
I'm pleased you came to see me.
[dark music plays]
♪
We could just talk.
[Emcee] Anything in particular you'd like to talk about?
♪
Why don't you surprise me?
[Emcee] Surprise in what way?
Can you be more specific?
♪
[gasps]
-[Leif] You okay? -What time is it?
[car alarm blaring in the distance]
[Leif] Oh, you have time.
Not to give you cause for alarm, but...
we had a black SUV following us last night
and then again just now.
[Iris] What, now?
No, no, no. Not anymore.
Was trailing us for a good 20 minutes, though.
[Iris] Um, did you get a look at the driver?
Mm. Middle-aged lad, shaved head.
[Iris] Did you get the license plate?
[Leif] I did.
♪
You want me to look into it?
[Iris] No, that's okay. Just...
...let me know if it happens again.
-[car horn honking] -[Leif] I will.
[soft tense music plays]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
♪
Thank you for doing this, Leif.
No worries.
♪
[Hiram] Did you have fun last night?
[Iris] Why? Did you?
[Hiram] Almond milk, no sugar.
[Iris] Thanks.
[Hiram] Something looks different.
Is it maybe your hair?
Oh, it's the glasses. Got it.
[device beeps]
♪
[Iris] Hi.
It's good to see your fucking face.
Okay.
Sometimes that's all we want to hear
from another person, right?
We want them to express what we're feeling.
Right.
Except in life, it doesn't really work that way.
It's a lot of desire just poof, gone forever.
[chuckles, sniffs]
-Ah. -[chuckles]
Glad we sorted that out. [laughs]
Not getting what we want is the easy part.
Desire, once met, will be succeeded by another desire.
Once we get what we want, we want something else.
Hold that thought.
[footsteps departing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Hiram] Do you remember this thing?
Yeah. What about it?
[Hiram] The shuffle function.
Total game changer. Come on.
Don't tell me you didn't have one of these.
[Iris] I-I mean, I had a Discman.
That had a shuffle function.
Right, but point being,
it's a random, ongoing sequence.
Like a playlist?
[Hiram] Or a play script.
You know, another one and another one
and another one, except once you press play...
it's impossible to predict what comes next.
To keep us wanting more.
[dramatic music plays]
[no audible dialogue]
♪
[no audible dialogue]
-You're being summoned. -"Summoned"?
♪
[man] Car's waiting downstairs,
so whenever you're ready...
Wait, can you just tell me what's going on?
It's internal communication.
I'm just the carrier.
Um, is this an HR situation?
Probably not.
They would've sent someone from HR.
[tense music plays]
♪