[indistinct chatter]
-So, Copper River next week then? -[man] Sounds good.
-Is that a promise? -You bet.
[chuckling] All right, fingers crossed. Tell Theresa I said hi.
[man] Thanks. Will do, Love.
[Joe] I'm an optimist.
And that, Love, is why I'm gonna say,
"I can't wait to tell our story to our kids."
I know, it's hardly begun,
but it's how I've always been.
Even as a kid, one glance from a girl
and I was trying out my last name with hers.
I don't think that's wrong.
I think love should come out of nowhere, sweep you up completely.
But let's not conflate optimism with certitude.
I've learned some hard lessons,
fools do rush in.
And I've been the fool more than once.
If I'm honest, I saw red flags
and explained them away.
I wanted love so badly,
which is why I have to see with clear eyes now.
You know what? I'm gonna wait for the kings.
-[man] Okay. -Which is, like, soon?
[Joe] Find those flags before we've gone too far.
What's her name?
-Cindy. -Cindy?
[Joe] And this isn't to say I'm not optimistic, so...
our story, I suppose it begins a week ago.
["Poison" by Gems playing]
♪ All this time I was trying to find ♪
♪ Some drug to fill this hole ♪
♪ It was my mistake to trust in fate ♪
♪ To show me the way to go ♪
[Joe] I got here,
and within minutes, I knew...
I'm in a strange land.
Duck-lipped,
stoned, suspiciously happy lemmings everywhere you look.
This guy, LA in a nutshell:
the Unabomber with a three-picture deal.
Welcome to a city where people trying to disappear
aren't actually trying.
Can I get a selfie with you?
Yeah, sure.
[Joe] Poor guy.
-[shutter clicks] -Must really hate all the attention.
-All right, have a good one. -[woman] Hendy, can I get one?
[Joe] And then there was me,
the one in four million not wanting to be discovered.
[Love laughing]
All right.
[Joe] Step one in my effort...
tacos
with a man with a means
to bring a new, unlocatable me into existence,
at least according to his carefully worded ad on Craigslist.
Ever think how basically everything now is GMO frankenfood?
Like-- like, what exactly
is all of this hacked corn doing to our epigenetics, right?
[Joe] Apparently, California's got its own brand of conspiracy theorists.
Yes, take caution, lest you have a less-clean liver.
...you can give pigs fresh air so they don't even need antibiotics.
Just a thought.
-Cages are never the answer. -Totally, never.
So, [clears throat, chuckles] what I need--
I got you.
Get out, no trace.
If I want to leave today, say-- say, to Mexico...
Great choice.
Food's cleaner, cheap, you'll love living there.
But I can't stay forever.
I have unfinished business here.
But would not recommend a return trip.
[Joe] Getting out to escape Candace was imperative,
but so too was the option to return
and actually deal with her when I was ready.
What I need is something more comprehensive.
[chuckling] Okay.
Here's the deal.
Truly airtight, livable ID takes... years.
The Will you see before you,
I micro-tweezed like a bonsai for a decade.
I'm employable.
Background check me, good luck not dozing off.
Actual face online?
No, can't find it.
But google me and I feel real.
And that, my friend, is a labor of love
far too intensive to even put a price on.
Okay, I get it.
I appreciate you can even help me at all.
Uh, so do you have it with you or...?
Follow me.
[Joe] I realized that with my Candace issues,
buying what this guy had to offer wasn't enough,
and I didn't have ten years to methodically sculpt a new identity.
You got the benefit of being a white dude.
No one ever suspects shit when it's a white dude.
[thud]
[Joe] I realized I needed to be him.
[opening music playing]
[Joe] Will seems okay for a guy who's been in a box for a week.
Without Mr. Mooney's help
it took two full days to put this thing together.
Stressful doing it with Will watching me, tied up.
[Will] You should be so proud of yourself.
Three quarter-inch plexi's a beast.
Yet those edges are a thing of beauty.
...attention to detail...
I gotta think Mooney would be impressed.
I'm guessing it represents more to you too.
Safe space, perhaps?
One you felt you needed as a child for protection--
I know everyone in this town likes to talk about their feelings,
so if you want a therapy session...
tell me about Jasper.
Look at you now.
Able to put yourself on the outside,
that must be so empowering--
Who... is Jasper?
Come on.
He said you have something of his.
He's looking for me.
-Cannot keep me in here, Joe. -I told you, this is temporary.
Then what is the plan?
I'm-- Look, I didn't-- I'm-- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I didn't-- I didn't think.
I acted.
It was an emergency.
-[chuckles] You can let me out. -That's great, I would love to.
Let's just figure out a way to do that safely for us both.
As soon as Jasper goes away.
See, you're not hearing me.
This cage isn't great.
[Will chuckles nervously]
I need light.
I need my meds.
This isn't gonna be good for you.
If you want me to consider your needs... just tell me what this guy wants.
Jasper Krenn.
Met him on what a layperson might term "the dark web," all right?
Not even a client. I looked into the guy...
didn't like, turned down the gig.
So you've never even met?
[Will laughs] No.
He doesn't know what I look like,
so he won't know that you're just some random asshole
who hit me in the head with a brick and stole my life,
if that's what you're asking.
Okay, okay.
Okay, hold-- hold on, hold on. You...
You charge a fee...
in advance of meeting.
You didn't give him his money back.
That is probably correct.
You have to pay him back.
[Will chuckles]
I'd love to help, but I spent it.
And my earning potential is somewhat curtailed by being in a cage.
How much do you owe?
[Joe] Three thousand dollars.
It's no problem.
It's just 2,700 more than I had
due to the lack of planning that preceded my departure.
Teach a man to fish...
you feed him for a lifetime.
Teach him how to make a counterfeit book,
and maybe, just maybe...
he can cobble together a little something worth...
Three grand.
Best I can do.
[Joe sighs]
Three grand it is.
[Joe] I'll admit, bar was low.
Mooney would have thrown the thing back at me, had me do it 50 more times.
Fortunately, an LA bookseller is practically an oxymoron.
At least now I'd be able to send this Jasper fella on his way,
get back to our story:
you...
the person who may
just make paying a $3,000 toll
to stay in this urban Gomorrah
worth it.
If only you weren't such an early riser.
It's becoming clear,
the more I see of you,
the harder it is to see you clearly.
If I don't want to get hurt,
I have to keep a distance till I've done my due diligence.
[Love] Hey!
[Love giggles]
You keep wandering off. Here.
[Joe] Though that's hard when you keep inviting me to things.
I just didn't want to get in your way.
Oh, that's impossible.
Wow!
Look at that opah.
-Is that Ecuadorian or local? Thank you. -[seller] Local.
[stuttering] I know you're making all of this up to impress me.
You don't have to try so hard.
If you told me that fish was an alien, I would believe you.
[Love laughs]
No, that's why it's good you took me up on this.
For a guy who works at Anavrin,
you sorely lack an understanding of the pescatarian lifestyle. [giggles]
I'm a pescatarian ignoramus.
Are you okay? You look a little...
Mmm.
-[Love giggles] -[Joe] No.
Too soon, too much, too good.
Yeah, I just wanted to stop thinking about it and just do it.
Interested?
Hate the idea?
I'm sorry, what did you say?
Lunch today.
My friends.
I think we should just rip the Band-Aid off.
They're very LA, but they're also great,
and... they're important to me.
So...
[Joe] And now you want me to meet your friends?
I really, really need a clinical distance. No.
I'd love to.
[Joe] Shit.
[Forty echoing] Earth to Spock.
Come in, Spock.
[chuckles] Where'd you go, old sport?
You had that look like when Keanu sees the black cat.
"Oh. Glitch in the Matrix."
[Joe] We kissed and I saw the ghost of Guinevere Beck,
my Matrix is glitching.
[chuckles] Yeah.
Yeah, uh, no.
I'm-- I'm fine, thanks.
You know what?
Let's see here.
How about we move the women's lit display?
Like, why are we separating them?
That's sexist.
Right?
And besides, I woke up with a completely brilliant idea.
-What's the idea? -Movies.
-On loop in-- in the bookstore. -[Joe] Oh, no.
Movies that are-- wait for it...
also books.
[Joe] Kill it with fire.
It's a great idea.
-Dope movies like Pulp Fiction. -[Joe] Not based on a book.
-Whichever of the Star Wars... -[Joe] Again--
Fifty Shades, obviously.
[Joe] One for three, marginally.
We are gonna sell so many books, it is going to blow your fucking mind.
-Can't wait. -So just come clean this up,
set up the screen,
and when it all looks so cute you wanna fuck it,
holla at your boy.
Namaste.
[Calvin] I'm sorry,
did you think this was a real bookstore?
Bless your heart.
It's cute.
Hey, Bettelheim?
[Ellie] Jasper.
He said that you had something that you wanted to give back.
[Joe] This is Jasper?
He looks like a manager at a comic book store.
Sorry, who you looking for?
Well, you, Mr., uh, Will B. [chuckles]
Girl at your apartment said you worked here.
Did she mention that I left word for you?
I'm-- I'm sorry. [chuckles] I'm Jasper.
Oh, right. Man, I have been having trouble reaching you.
I'm sorry, my phone's been weird, you know?
But here, your money.
Here.
[scoffs]
-It should all be there. -All 50 grand?
[Joe] I'm sorry, 50?!
That's some of it, I got to liquidate the rest.
Oh. Oh, it's okay. [laughs]
But I'll need it today. Is that still all right?
That's great.
Perfect.
[Jasper chuckles]
Hey, one other thing, uh...
-Sure. -Check this out.
-Wanna show you something. -What?
What are you doing?
-[Joe grunting] -[shushes]
It's okay, it's okay. Squeeze hard.
Right at the knuckle, a little higher.
Good. Good, good, good, good good.
Now...
I'm gonna need you to...
just gotta hold that for me.
Great, and, uh...
drop her in there.
There you go.
Now, over at St. Henry's they have a fantastic microsurgeon,
Dr. Daniel.
As long as you're there in the next 10, 12 hours,
good chance it'll reattach.
Provided you have this. So...
give me a call when you have the rest of the money.
Probably sooner better than later, I'd think.
Good to finally meet you, Will.
[Joe exclaims in pain]
[Joe] This is bad.
Easily leave-town bad.
But this is your town, Love, and I can't leave you.
[storage door rattles]
It's 50 thousand, Will! It's not three!
Can we please talk about the $47,000 discrepancy?
Can we talk about my hand?
[Joe] Oh, no.
[sobbing] I told you everything.
I told you everything, and now it's too late.
[Joe] I admit, I thought his whole "needing meds" thing
was a ploy.
Fuck Jasper.
He's just some asshole Russian mafia-adjacent wanker.
Were you even followed?
How would you even know, you amateur!
They've found me and it's over
and you exposed us and now they're...
[Will sobs]
Oh... okay.
[breathing heavily]
Oh... Will?
[Will panting]
Hey, buddy.
Do you have any money anywhere? Think, Will, think.
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Will, listen to me, no one knows you're here.
No one can take care of you if the guy you stole from murders me.
Am I making sense?
Rufus...
he owes me 50 large.
He's good, he just...
Text him the code word.
This is important.
When I was eight, I broke my arm,
and they put a pin in it and it's been transmitting,
so don't you go to the hospital.
They will chip you like a dog, you understand me?
Thank you so much for caring, Will.
I can and I will neutralize that chip for you.
Okay.
What was that code word?
[Joe] Apparently, Rufus is someone who conveniently owes Will
50 large.
[phone chimes]
While this feels too easy,
right about now the universe owes me a little easy.
Spoke too soon.
That's not gonna work. I have a lunch with you.
12-2.
[Joe] And I hate Rufus.
Damn it.
I have to cancel our lunch, Love.
For the record, I'm opening sobbing.
[buzzing]
-Hey. -Just calling to hear if you were crying.
-You sound fine. -Crying on the inside.
I'm sorry.
[Joe] You're direct. You do what you feel. You just pick up the phone.
I'm just sorry I'm not gonna see you.
[Joe] This is how you handle rejection.
You want me to not feel bad about blowing you off.
What can I say? Forty's a dick.
He sent me on a run to Alhambra
to get a sample of the competition's compostable picnicware.
Forty said that?
Well, my coven's gonna be, uh...
sad they don't get to meet you today.
Yikes. Please don't let them hex me.
I'm sorry, I wanted to be there.
Yeah, I know, me too.
Talk later, 'kay?
[Joe] Wanted to be there so much I decided I had to at least drop by, you know?
I don't have the time to join you, but I can spare a few minutes.
Especially when I've learned how friends say so much about a person.
Will can't make it.
-He's sorry he can't be here. -No.
[Joe] Like how influenced you are by their opinion,
-how much they secretly run your life. -[male friend] I'm bummed.
I was so ready to meet your new man-friend.
And by "meet," Gabe means "judge and deem unworthy."
[Gabe] I'm sorry, who are you talking about?
[Joe] Lucy Sprecher.
She met Love at a rally for LGBTQ rights.
Back then, Lucy was an unpaid intern.
Now she's a social savvy power agent whose clients include all the Jennifers,
the Kates, and the EU's top-selling Instagram poet.
-[female friend] Okay, okay, okay! -[Gabe] She is coming for me!
[Love's friends laughing]
Just ignore Lucy, she hates everyone.
Please ignore Sunrise. She overcompensates for my bitch face.
Yeah, I do, babe. You're welcome.
-[Lucy] I love it. -[Gabe] Okay. Okay, have you...
[Joe] Here we go.
Sunrise Darshan Cummings, Lucy's partner.
Ironically never met of sunset she didn't like.
Stay-at-home mommy blogger,
and Earth guide to their adorable toddler, Candle.
Sunrise cannot be this happy
unless blending functional mushrooms in your almond latte
is the grail we have all been seeking.
They source it from this incredible biodynamic flaxseed guy.
[Joe] Whatever that meant.
Gabe Miranda.
Small business owner,
which in his case means a pansexual acupuncturist.
"Student," air quotes, of psychedelics.
Mostly dates men, but does something I'm not gonna try to pronounce,
that's essentially...
fingering women to orgasm on a pile of yoga pillows
packaged as a spiritual practice.
And you and Gabe
go back the farthest.
Besties.
So, this Is the Love squad.
Teeth-achingly, hippy-dippy,
unaware of the glaring privilege,
driving their so-called conscious choices.
Do they secretly want to sleep with you?
Own you?
Steal you away?
To Paris?
-[Gabe] Oh, my God. -[Love] Will and I kissed.
-You kissed? -[Love] Yeah.
I love that.
I wish Will did,
'cause I'm pretty sure I scared him and now he's avoiding me.
[Joe] And this is it, this is when I get annihilated.
Well, then maybe he's an idiot who should go fuck himself.
[Sunrise] Okay, or maybe he's shy.
Love can be a little forthright.
Compliment.
So maybe the idea of meeting three more of us is genuinely scary.
You're soft.
-Am I too forthright? -No.
-Real men love that shit. -Right.
Let's focus on what is actually important here.
Which is...?
That your heart maybe wants back in the game.
Maybe it's time.
I just, um... like him.
Aww!
I know I don't talk about...
James much.
I just really thought, you know...
I met my soulmate,
and that's done, and...
so the rest of my life will be, like, you know...
Oh, honey, I know.
No, no, I'm...
It's fine.
But no one excites me,
you know, no one makes me miss them...
like James.
But now I'll just be doing something...
-random and I'll miss Will. -[Lucy] Aw!
-I don't even know him. -[Sunrise chuckling]
-Am I being crazy? -[Gabe] Oh, no.
No, I think that maybe...
maybe you're falling for him a tiny bit.
-That's so terrifying. -[friends laughing]
Aw. That's why we're here for you, beautiful.
[Gabe] Waitress, bring us all the desserts!
-I want 'em all! -[chuckling] No!
Sorry.
[Joe] I take it all back.
I love your friends.
And I see you, Love,
I hear you, and... [stuttering] I get it now.
[Joe exclaims]
[Joe] Am I losing my mind?
[reggae music playing]
[Joe] Hell, I've arrived.
It's called the San Fernando Valley.
At the borders of which anyone with an architect's degree
is apparently denied entry.
A party...
at noon...
on a Tuesday.
[pop music playing]
[Joe] Well, I'm glad these people found each other.
Look forward to never seeing them again.
[Joe] It'd be great if I had the faintest fucking clue
what this Rufus guy looks like.
Hey.
I'm sorry to bother you.
Would you happen to know if there's a Rufus here?
Are you John Mayer?
No.
No, I'm Will. I'm looking--
There you are, bitch.
He's not John Mayer.
You're a manwhore, John Mayer.
[party music, indistinct chatter]
[Joe] I'm guessing they won't be any help.
Oh, my God, look over there.
Oh, my God. It's totally him.
[Joe] Hold on.
-That's airport guy. -[camera shutter clicks]
What's he doing here?
What is it about this guy that makes people act like they're in a customs line
with an ass full of heroin?
No, it's Hendy.
You gotta get a picture of him with me in it.
[Joe] Hendy?
Hendy.
Okay, Hendy.
Comedian.
AKA Henderson. FKA Josh Bunter.
Kicked cancer. Interesting.
Is ostentatiously zen about it. Predictable.
Wait a second, this is Vacuum Guy?
Ethan loved this gag.
Oh!
[audience laughing]
Brexit!
Right?
[Joe] Apparently,
Hendy's got a hard-life-lessons man-of-the-people thing working for him.
Apartment three?
[Joe] Oh, great.
[chuckling] Is this party gonna get any more weird?
-What happened to your hand? -Uh... Oh, it's...
Oh, you're really not from here. I asked, but I actually don't care.
I've been up for two days chasing that whole Jared Padalecki thing,
but he's been laying low, so I kind of detoured here
to find this hairstylist, Kido.
Word has it he can confirm...
[Joe] Really couldn't care less about Kido or why Delilah's here at all.
If anything, I've only got more reason to get the hell out of here.
...Rufus who knows the owner of this house who's a producer
-and he knows Kido-- -Wait, I'm sorry, did you say Rufus?
Yeah, my girl Tanika knows him.
The friend I'm looking for has a buddy, Rufus.
Could you-- could you maybe point him out for me?
You're kidding me.
[Hendy] Delilah.
Hey, long time.
You look great.
I look like a walking red-eye from Pittsburgh, but you look great.
-What are you doing here? -Just working on a piece.
'Course you are. Always the smartest girl in the room.
Yep. It's exhausting.
Yeah.
What, d'you go for the president's curly fries?
Sorry, this is Will.
Hi. No, it was an accident at work.
It might need surgery, but it's, uh, you know, it's okay.
Well, if you do, Dr. Daniel
at St. Henry's Medical Center.
Uh, if you go, tell him we're friends and he'll hook you up.
Thank you. Thanks. Really, I appreciate that.
-Yeah. -[woman] Hendy!
Uh... excuse me, guys. Great to see you, gorgeous.
Well!
He seems pretty great.
Drool a little more, it's a good look on you.
Did he come up in one of your pieces?
Meaning is there shit on him? Scoop?
-Inquiring minds want to know? -Never mind. If you don't want--
Let me just give you the Idiot's Guide, okay?
Being famous...
don't make you magic.
Cover shit in gold, it's just super shiny shit.
[chuckling] I had a feeling you might know that,
but I was wrong, and now I pity you.
-Excuse me. -Hold on. You gonna point out Rufus?
You're a big boy. Figure it out.
-Hey. -Yeah?
-Rufus would like his Negroni. -All right.
Thank you.
Hi.
Excuse me.
Rufus?
Oh, you found me.
Yes.
Hey, lose the clothes if it's all right.
Hope you like Air Supply.
I'm kind of kind of on a ballad jag right now. [chuckles]
-[Rufus clears throat] -[guitar strumming]
You look different than your picture on the app.
It's Todd, right?
[chuckles] Actually, I'm here for "Battlestar."
-You're not Will. -No.
He told me to use the code word.
I'm helping him out.
[Rufus laughs]
Here I'm about to blow you.
[Joe chuckles]
I got your shit in my bag.
There you go.
It's okay if I count it?
You shittin' me?
These are pills.
Same ones, man.
But faster acting.
I got a new source in Quebec.
What about the 50 grand?
The 50 grand?
Would you settle for that blowjob?
[Joe] It turns out Rufus has been supplying OG Will
with off-brand Canadian meds
for a rather severe bipolar disorder.
Explains so much.
[gate slides open]
[Joe] Evidently, Will kept just enough of a grip
to turn me into his TaskRabbit.
But hey, he needs them.
[Will] Nope, I won't take 'em. Flush 'em!
Keep your poison.
What do you mean?
I went to the Valley for you.
[Joe] Farewell to that small part of Will aspiring to sanity, I guess.
You'll feel better.
Yeah, then you take 'em, fucker, 'cause I don't believe you.
You should believe me!
Believe me when I tell you...
I could hand you to Jasper.
I wouldn't have your problems anymore.
[Joe] Learned something today.
Screaming at crazy
can reopen a wound.
Love, this is trial by fire for you.
[knocking on door]
[Love] Hey, I really think we need to talk.
[Joe] Oh.
Hey.
Oh, my God! What happened?
Oh, it's-- it's nothing.
-Oh, no, what did you do? -No, it's fine.
It's a cut, it's nothing. What do you want to talk to me about?
You lied to me.
-What? -Lunch.
Forty?
He's a bad alibi. He's been telling me everything since we were born.
[Joe] Shit.
-Is Forty your brother? -My twin brother.
And you called him a dick, which he can be,
but you were also lying.
You own Anavrin.
[Joe] That's what I get for not trying to find out everything about you first.
My parents own Anavrin.
I just work there.
I was trying not to instantly complicate things
by waiting to tell you.
But you... you complicated things by lying.
Why would you lie?
[Joe] So I could walk through fire for you.
So I could slay dragons to stay near you.
-I just-- I don't know you. -Yet.
-You don't know me. -Yeah, well, apparently.
Because I thought that we were...
I mean, we kissed, Will.
This is... This is not a good time.
This is not good timing.
This is about your ex, isn't it?
-[Joe] Yes. -No.
She really hurt you.
[Joe] I can smell your shampoo,
and nothing you're doing is making it easier for me to see you clearly.
But guess what? My husband hurt me, too.
Among other things, by dying.
So, I understand why this is hard for you,
but it's also why I just say things now.
'Cause there was things I was waiting to say to him.
And I-- I don't know if this is just a fling
or something more, but either way...
I think it's a mistake to do the bullshit thing that you're doing.
-No, it's not bullshit-- -Yes, it is!
You don't need to run away.
[Joe] Please, no.
-Stop. -You can--
Please! Stop!
Just stop!
Okay.
You don't need to yell.
Ever.
I liked you. [sniffles]
This sucks.
[door closes]
[Beck] You're bleeding again.
Why are you here?
You've actually lost a lot of blood today, Joe.
Is that what you are?
My lost blood?
Really all-in on this one.
I guess that's you, right?
See a girl once.
I'm-- I'm trying...
to do it right this time.
As opposed to with me.
What went wrong with me, Joe?
We both know what happened.
You can haunt me forever,
you will never get me to say I didn't do everything I could for you...
-for us. -Look at me, Joe.
-No, you are not-- -Look at me.
You are not here. I am not arguing with you!
Hey, Jasper, yeah.
Yes, it's Will.
I am on my way.
Thank you for coming. Is that my...?
Perfectly preserved and anxious to get back to Daddy.
Great. It's right in here.
Look...
[sighs]
I am not Will Bettelheim.
-This is. -[Jasper gasps]
[Jasper chuckles]
Well, this is a first for me.
My name is Joe Goldberg.
I just needed his name
and his life for a little while.
So you put him in a Hannibal Lecter thing, I see that.
I assume you realize that you need psychiatric help?
I'm not crazy, okay?
My ex-girlfriend's stalking me and this is the best I could come up with.
But can I please have my finger? 'Cause this is Will.
He took your money. Take him.
Well, if you couldn't get it out of him...
Right?
I mean...
You sure, now?
-You ain't got it? -Please don't.
You don't have to do this. You don't have to--
[Jasper grunts and exclaims]
[high pitched sound]
[Jasper yowls in slow motion]
[grunting]
[groans]
[Beck] You see, Joe?
No.
You don't understand.
But I do.
I'm trying to survive. He wanted to hurt me.
Well, you hurt him.
And you hurt me.
I loved you.
-More than I've ever-- -Then you hurt me.
Look at me, Joe.
[Joe sobs]
Sometimes...
we hurt the one we love.
Right?
You're not afraid Love will hurt you.
You're afraid you'll hurt her.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
No. Please stay.
Please.
Stay.
[Joe sobbing]
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
[Joe] Hendy was right.
Dr. Daniel, one impressive microsurgeon.
Thank goodness for these pain pills.
They're gonna block out more than one type of pain tonight.
Knocking out Anavrin's security cameras will cover up another.
[Joe] Sometimes I wonder if I understand love at all.
The thing transforms us.
But into what?
Love turned me into something else back then with Beck.
My hope now...
is that you can turn me into something better.
Because of this is all I am,
I may as well turn myself into Candace.
["Blood" by Cult of Helix playing]
♪ All of your love Give me your love, give me your love ♪
♪ Give me your blood Give me your blood, give me your blood ♪
♪ It's all that I want... ♪
[sawing]
[thud in slow motion]
♪ Give me your blood until I want no more... ♪
[retching and puking]
[coughing]
♪ Anything else of the world before... ♪
[coughing]
♪ Give me your blood till I want no more ♪
♪ Give me your blood until I can't remember ♪
-♪ Anything else of the world before ♪ -[motor starts]
[motor whirring]
[knocking on door]
Hey.
Wow, it smells amazing in here.
I did not just make you an entire meal.
I am angry and embarrassed
and I shouldn't have texted you back.
I just...
I was just also hungry, so I-- you know...
I'm glad you kissed me.
It did not seem like it.
I was.
I was also freaked out,
not because you did it, but because of how it felt.
I didn't expect...
-you. -[scoffs]
This.
I wasn't looking...
for this.
I want it, but I can't...
have it...
right now with you...
or-- or anyone.
She really hurt you, huh?
[Joe] Mm.
No.
No, I hurt her.
I really hurt her.
So you understand, I can't--
Did you wanna hurt her?
No.
Of course not.
So what I'm hearing is that two adults...
both knowing the risks...
I don't think she knew.
Okay, well, you know, none of us know anything.
You know? But you put on your big girl pants
and we give things a shot.
I have to believe that hurting her was the last thing you wanted to do, right?
-That was a question. -Yeah, that's right.
-Okay. -Right.
How about I take care of me...
you take care of you...
I try not to hurt you, you try not to hurt me.
You know, what else is there?
I'm just...
[groans]
I'm-- I'm afraid.
[Love sighs]
Yeah.
Relationships are scary.
You don't get all that goodness and possibility with zero risk.
But, Will...
you cannot hurt me.
[Joe] I want to believe that.
Okay.
Thank you.
I just...
-Just come here. -Okay.
Look, to be honest,
I feel...
so shitty...
about the way it went with her.
So I can't...
I can't...
till she's...
really gone.
No, it's valid.
Yeah, no, I...
Okay, two things.
One...
friends.
Okay, friends can be good.
We can just call this a friendship.
That might help.
Okay, great.
Poof, friends.
And two...
I felt the same way about James.
And I don't want to sound corny, but I did this thing,
where I took a bunch of his stuff and I put in a box and I...
let it go in the ocean.
I'm not really one to hold on to things.
It's not... [chuckles] Um...
You could just, you know, write a note.
A goodbye.
Burn it. [chuckles]
Something.
And I would help you.
Friends support each other.
[Joe] Whatever you call us...
-it feels right. -[giggles]
Because we're an "us."
And if we are an "us,"
then, dare I say it...
this...
this is home for now.
And I should probably be a good neighbor.
[Delilah] Oh...
Try that guy. These two are full and that one--
Eats the quarters, yeah.
You don't have to be all nice.
I feel bad, like I did something.
No, it's not you, you were just in the line of fire when Henderson...
[Delilah sighs] We go back. We met, like, eight years ago
when I was dancing at this bar downtown.
Not just to do it, but because I was actually pursuing something.
I wanted to be Carrie Fisher. She's such a great writer.
But I was stuck in Covina and my mom was such a cunt,
and one day, I was just like, "Fuck it.
Let me get a fake ID and get out of here
and go follow my dreams."
[Joe] It's hard to imagine her with dreams.
Henderson was cool.
He, like, gave me copies of Syd Field, Save the Cat.
And he was like, "You're actually good,"
which nobody ever...
And I had heard, or whatever,
that he had young girls around,
but I just thought I was talented and special.
One day, I was at his place,
and I had, like, three sips of beer,
and I got so fucked up.
Eight years ago? You were, like--
Seventeen.
Anyway, I remember being like,
"How is it ten p.m.?"
And I look down and...
my skirt was pulled up.
So you're saying Henderson--
Or, hey, maybe my skirt just rode up.
Have you ever tried...?
To what? Tell anyone? No.
Who?
I tried to do a story years later, but nobody would talk to me.
Guess why? They're all like I was.
Underage...
strippers...
not white...
The world would eat them alive.
[Delilah sighs]
And that's why I don't lose a drop of sleep
on any of these motherfuckers I write about.
They all deserve it.
My math says 49% of humanity deserves to die in a fire.
[chuckling] Don't do that. You, like...
You nod as if you're somehow not one of them.
Well, let me give you the gift of honesty.
You...
act nice because you're not.
And I may not know what kind of bad you are...
but I got my radar the hard way.
So...
stay the fuck away from me and my sister, okay?
Have a fantastic day.
Tell me I didn't eat those.
Do you know...
how much oxidative stress those things put on your body?
I'm guessing a shower is out of the question?
Did you say Jasper came around?
I paid the man.
And he went on his way.
If things were different, I'd say I owe you 50 grand.
-Why? You got it laying around somewhere? -Nice try.
It's spent.
-What were you thinking? -Honestly...
a little while ago I fell in love.
And she needed help.
So I just did it.
[Will chuckles softly]
You've been putting meds in my drinks, huh?
That's green juice.
Thanks.
Well, my current reality is...
suboptimal, but even so,
upgrade from where I was.
At one point, I thought I saw you murder a guy.
[Will chuckles]
Crazy town.
Well, glad to have you back.
[Joe] I guess it's goodbye, Beck.
I'm sorry.
I really am.
Goodbye, you.
How did that feel?
Like a good first step.
[Joe] Still can't wait to tell our story to our kids.
How we decided to walk before we ran.
Started out as friends.
The past...
is prologue.
I made mistakes, yes.
And I'll learn from them.
Prove...
I'm worthy...
of you.
[Love] Hey, should I open another bottle?
[Joe] I know we'll get there.
I'm optimistic.
It's just...
who I am.
[closing music playing]
Subtitle by Matheus Modesto