Episode Report Card Jacob Clifton: A+ | 4 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT The Goldilocks Zone
By Jacob Clifton | Season 4 | Episode 13 | Aired on 01.27.2013
Hayden: "All I feel is gross, Louis Canning."
CAMPAIGN BUS
Peter is so awesome sometimes. Absolutely excited for her, and impressed as always by her, and then just as tenderly: "How much is the catch?" Not like a doubting voice, but like a very supportive teammate: How much are we going to have to figure out, so you can have what you've been fighting for.
He thinks she's Alicia-ing it up when she admits she's not sure she'll take it, but she explains it well: The firm is in huge trouble, she has no idea right now whether it's worth the buy-in. Equity partner means equity, which is the most comforting thing she could say right now. And if the parallels to the prenup storyline weren't already quite clear, get this:
Alicia: "So far, so good. Now, just cosign for the loan against our house and we'll call it a day."
Peter: "Why bother? I'll loan you the money."
Alicia: "Oh, that's nice of you. How do I explain what a terrible idea that is, without seeming ungrateful?"
Peter: "You cannot! So take my money!"
Alicia: "...Fuck. Fine."
No matter how many times and ways you cadge against it, you ultimately are coming up against a commitment: Your faith in someone else, or several someones. You don't want to get hurt, or look stupid, but you also don't want to hurt the other person by "protecting" yourself right out of good faith and into scarier territories. It's not just you, and the other person, involved in this negotiation: It's also your future self, and his. You're banking on all four of them when you make a promise like that.
EXT BUS
Jordan, natty Jordan: "Alicia! It's me, Jordan Karahalios! I'm wearing a wool coat with a notched lapel, I look like a little angel!"
Alicia: "That you do. But I make a habit of ignoring my husband's tiny operatives. The friendliness you saw earlier was an aberration born of hope, nothing more."
Jordan, wise Jordan: "Can I talk to you a second about God?"
Alicia: "I am so not your girl for that. Why don't you call my horrible daughter?"
Jordan, sneaky Jordan: "Your father was politely Anglican, your mother was politely nothing. Making you...?"
Alicia: "I am really not getting Jacob's obsession with you. Talk faster. Or not at all."
Jordan, transparent Jordan: "Tomorrow we're hitting Maddie Hayward with the atheist thing, it's kind of my pet project, and I'm thinking she'll come back at you for it. So could you just brief me swiftly on your personal beliefs?"