[suspenseful music playing]
[Tory] We're engaged.
Oh, my God.
Yeah! Congratulations!
[Nathan] Yeah, wow. Wow.
-What? -Wow, that's-- Happy for you.
We understand if you're skeptical.
I'm not skeptical. No, I-- Are-are you?
-No. -I'm not. No one's skeptical here.
-Ava, you have a right to feel concerned. -Yeah.
-[Jack crying] -This is obviously beautiful but hasty.
Not concerned about the haste.
I am 98 days sober.
And no joke,
that is all thanks to you two.
-Yeah. -Well, you and my beautiful, kind fiancee.
Oh, I love that word.
-[Matt] You do? I'll call you fiancee from now on. -Uh...
Ah! Stop! Hold that-- Ugh.
Can I steal you for one second?
-Family meeting real quick. -I understand.
-Just a quick... -[Nathan] Quick one.
-We'll be right back, Matt. -Yeah.
What?
You cannot marry a murderer.
I should've known you'd be like this.
-Oh! -Come on, Tory. It's fair for us to be concerned.
Fair? You guys were perfectly fine using Matt's sickness...
Oh, you mean serial killing?
...for your own personal gain with the podcast.
What's wrong with falling in love with him?
The podcast was a mistake. We acknowledge that. We're done with it now. Done.
Listen, Tory. Listen to me, okay?
-He specifically kills girls that-- -[Jack crying]
That should be enough, actually, that he kills girls,
but on top of that, he kills girls that look like you.
-"Killed." Past tense. -[Jack stops crying]
-[scoffs] -Like you said, he's done with that now.
-That's a good point. -[splutters] What?!
That's a terrible point.
[Ava] God! Tory, listen to me, okay?
You're gonna be a lawyer. You're going to lawyer school.
It's gonna be so wonderful.
Please do not throw that away for a man.
Especially a man out there who's committed murders.
I don't even know if I wanna be a lawyer anymore.
-What? -[mockingly] Oh, you don't? Oh.
When I was out of the country...
I had some big realizations
and roads that I wanna travel, and ideas, and--
I gotta tell you something. I could--
Hold on. I don't hear a baby crying.
Why do I not hear a baby crying?
[Tory] That's-- He's not gonna kill a baby.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[shushing]
You can't be afraid to hold him too tight.
-[Jack coos] -[Matt] Babies just wanna feel secure, you know.
-Oh, my God. You're so good with him. -All right--
Does he ever get fussy after feeds?
-[Ava] Huh-uh. -Yeah, he does.
You might try holding the bottle a little more upright.
That always worked with my son.
-Okay, give him to me now. I'll take him. -We got him.
Okay, Ava.
-Hi, baby. It's okay. -Easy.
[Tory] Baby Jack-Jack.
-[Jack crying] -You love your Uncle Matt, right?
-See? He wants to come back. -Babies don't lie.
[Jack crying]
[Ava] You've wanted to be a lawyer since you were 10,
and you went trick-or-treating as Gloria Allred.
You are two days away from your first semester starting.
Please do not let this man convince you to give up on your dream.
[Tory laughs]
Sorry. Is there something funny?
Matt said you would project your own disappointments
-about your life choices onto us. -[scoffs]
Just because you left school to follow Nathan on tour--
I don't need to defend myself to a [whispers] serial killer. Okay?
Also, I'm not defending anything. Everything is fine. Life is great.
Yeah? This what great looks like?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't have time to go shopping at the New Mexico store,
and crimp my hair, and wear nothing.
I'm not talking about your hair. No. I'm talking about
the haunted, lonely look in your eyes.
Okay, look, I may be a little... sequestered lately, but--
Look, face it. You refuse to get close to anyone
because you're terrified of being vulnerable. You're just like Mom.
How fucking dare you?!
Don't worry. 'Cause if I don't go to school, I can be around more,
-and make sure you don't end up completely-- -Wow. Now who's Mom?
Look at you. Just this close to a better life
and already about to self-sabotage. Be careful.
You might end up with a bad perm and smell like Parliaments.
-I am nothing like Mom. -I am nothing like Mom.
-Fine. Prove it. Make a real friend. -Fine. Prove it. Go to school.
-Fine. -Fine.
[Tory] Go.
-Right now? -Right now.
Fine.
[suspenseful music playing]
[tense music playing]
[Nathan exhales playfully]
[keys jangle]
[Matt] Hey.
-Jesus Christ! -Oh, I am sorry.
-What the hell, man? -I'm sorry. My bad.
-Old habits, you know. I mean... -[sighs]
In fact, um...
That's kind of the reason I'm here.
Look, I was hoping, um...
[clears throat] I was hoping that maybe you could be...
my sponsor in my sobriety journey.
I'm gonna say no. No, I will not.
You know, I thought we really bonded in Mexico.
-We did bond in Mexico. -No. You fucked me.
-How? -You told me Tory was coming home.
-Tory is home. -Alone. Not with you, as your fiancee.
-Made me look like an asshole. -Sorry.
-How did that even happen? -I'm sorry. Look, I tried, all right?
-She wouldn't leave without me. It was actually very sweet. -Yeah, right.
Look, Nathan.
I need to be better this time.
I wanna be the best husband that I can be for Tory,
and that means staying sober, which is why I'm coming to you,
perhaps the only person I trust,
to help me.
I can't be your sponsor.
For one thing, I'm not sober, and for another thing...
And this might be a minor detail.
[whispering] I never killed anyone.
That makes you the most qualified man for the job.
I saw you down there, around the fire at Humanidad, donning the horns.
That was a private, sacred ritual thing.
Didn't it make you wanna believe in change?
Being something more?
Yeah.
Yeah, I wanna believe in change.
Fantastic.
So... what are we gonna do today?
Today? Today, I can't do anything, because--
-Why? -I gotta--
-You gotta get out. I gotta go-- -Why?
I got a training session.
We've got a training session.
[under breath] Jesus Christ.
[tense music playing]
[Matt] I miss this house.
[Nathan] Okay.
[engine starts]
[Matt] Oh! Buckle up.
[tense music continues]
Make friends. [mockingly] Make friends.
Yeah, I'll make fucking friends. Watch me.
Uh... Not those friends.
[dog barking in distance]
[Ava] Ooh.
[clears throat]
Meg told me, before she died,
Harry's grandma pulls her aside and goes--
Sorry. C-can I help you?
Hey. Yeah. I'm Ava.
I... I just noticed we had kids around the same age.
I thought maybe we could all, like, hang out or something.
I don't know. This is so embarrassing.
How do parents meet? I'm very new at this. I don't know what I'm doing.
-Aw! -[chuckling]
Well, do you wanna come hang out?
Yes! [calmly] Yeah. Yeah, that would be--
That would be, like, really... Yeah. Thank you.
Um, anyway, uh, to make a long story short,
-Lizzy was a two-faced charm monster. -[man and woman] Hmm.
-So, Ava... -Hmm?
Tell us about you.
Oh, what do you wanna know?
I'm just a basic, boring person actually.
-Where are you from? -What do you do?
-So-- -How long have you been married?
If you're married.
[woman 1] What do your parents do?
-Where did you go to school? -[woman 2] How much money do you have?
Did you used to make more money but lost it all suspiciously?
-Are you hiding anything from us right now? -Uh...
-[woman 2] Anything scandalous? -Anything illegal?
How old is your baby?
-Ava? -Yeah?
How old is your baby?
Oh!
Uh, my b-my baby. Um...
Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I have a work emergency.
-Oh. -I have to go.
Thank you. That was really-- That was great.
[woman 1] Okay, she's a drug dealer, right?
[rock music plays over speakers]
[Matt] So, you should know my triggers, as my sponsor.
Being slighted by beautiful women,
being treated like I'm invisible,
and this one is weird, but...
the music of Rick Springfield. There's something about his voice...
Are you kidding me? You don't like "Jessie's Girl"?
No, I don't like fucking "Jessie's Girl!"
-Okay. -[rock music continues]
-Let's give the music a rest. -[radio switches off]
Yeah?
[Nathan] Here it is.
Check it out. That's the place.
Okay, great.
No, I can't park here.
She doesn't like me to park my Jeep in front of her mansion.
I gotta go around the block.
What?
Nothing.
Nothing. No. I just, um...
[sunglasses clatter]
I thought you were past this.
What? You want me to ignore what she asked? Is that what you think?
Nathan! What I think, what Christa thinks...
What about what Nathan thinks?
Well...
I mean, it's a public street.
-And I'm a skilled professional. -Yeah, you are.
I should be able to park wherever the hell I want.
That's it! That's the Nathan I saw at Humanidad.
-Go get it! Andale! That's it! -I need to get out of here.
[suspenseful music playing]
[knocking on door]
-Good morning, Christa. -Ah! Okay, I'll have Jaden meet you out back.
-Okay. -Oh.
It's better if you park your car on the side street.
Maybe I forgot to mention that last time.
No.
-No, you didn't forget. -Mm-hmm.
But isn't it the city of Malibu that decides where a person's allowed to park?
It's just a car, Christa.
Right? No big deal.
This isn't working out.
Are you firing me?
It's for the best. I'm sure it's a long commute from...
wherever you live. We should go with someone local.
-And taller. -Taller?
Yeah. I'll Venmo you for your troubles.
Whoa, wait. Christa, please, please, don't do this.
Jaden and I have a great thing going here,
and he's an amazing kid.
Please, don't blow it up over something as stupid as this.
Okay, if you're going to insult me...
Insult you? I think I'm the one getting insulted here.
I'd hate to have to post this on the Westside Youth Tennis Message Board.
[suspenseful music playing]
Would this be a bad time for me to ask to use the restroom?
-[waves crashing] -[birds squawking]
[Nathan exhales heavily]
What am I gonna tell Ava?
She's gonna be so pissed off.
She has no right to treat you that way.
I don't know. First, I get fired from the club.
-Now, this. -Ugh! Security system is totally outdated.
She's using the LRD Command Center.
They were recalled for being susceptible to having the power cut.
And you know this because...?
Because I saw the exterior wiring. Didn't you?
No. That's not something... normal people notice.
Really?
-Sorry. I didn't mean... -Fuck! No, it's good.
-Shouldn't have said it like that. -This is how I learn.
It's just... I can't help it, man.
For someone like her to behave that way,
-it's-it's-it's very triggering to me. -I can see that.
Look, I'm 99 days, and I wanna get to 100 so bad.
Listen, when I used to get all spun out over a bad call by a line judge,
-I learned this breathing exer-- -I don't want to fucking breathe, Nathan!
It works. I'm telling--
You have no idea what it was like to feel...
as powerful as I did,
as free, as-as connected to my purpose.
And I'm not saying it was a good purpose. It was bad. I know that now.
Listen, you need to find something else that gives you that feeling,
that purpose, that passion.
Like I did, coaching Jaden,
or I was starting to.
[sighs] Jaden's really good.
Could be great.
Nathan.
You gotta keep coaching him.
I've never seen you like this. Come on, what's standing in your way?
His mom.
-Social contract. -Give me that. Put that down.
Look at me.
What did Gustaf say in Mexico?
I don't know.
Some shit about the woke mind virus.
Not that.
He said, "When one door closes,
you have to find another way in."
-And I'm not talking about breaking and entering here. -I understand.
But what would I tell Ava?
Look, Tory, I tried, okay? I really, really tried,
but they just kept, like, asking questions
over and over again. So many questions.
Friends ask questions, Ava. It's how they get to know you.
You're just scared of intimacy.
I'm not scared of intimacy.
Look, if you let people in, they judge you. I get it.
We have the same white trash family.
[Ava] It's not that. I just can't exactly share
details of my life over the past year. You know what I mean?
I've got secrets. Secrets-that-could-land-me- in-jail type of secrets.
Maybe I don't need friends.
Maybe I don't need to go to law school.
Maybe I should spend all my time planning my wedding.
[Ava] Stop. I know what you're doing. Stop it.
Av, you just have to find your people, you know?
People you don't have to hide yourself from.
Like I did with Matt.
We're actually looking into starting a Humanidad--
Okay, enough. I will make friends, okay?
I will make friends.
We are not Mom.
Signs that you're turning into your mother.
You're sitting here in your car,
-wondering if you're turning into your mother. -[sighs]
I promise you guys, I have been seeing your comments.
So I did a little bit of digging,
and, y'all,
I'm pretty sure I know who killed the Black Dahlia.
-Hmm. -[water turns off]
-[grumbles] -What's up?
Nothing. Why?
I know this is gonna sound nuts, but...
[sighs] I think...
I think Matt is really serious about this sobriety thing.
He asked me to be his sponsor.
What? You did not say yes to that, did you?
Well, he made it a little difficult to say no.
I told you about Christa, right?
Well, today, she was especially vile,
and he actually... helped me get through it.
Oh. So is he sponsoring you now?
I don't know. I guess we're both helping each other out a little bit.
Listen, Christa is a very powerful person.
I had to cash in a lot of favors to get you this gig.
Please tell me he didn't do anything to piss her off.
No, he didn't.
He didn't.
-All right, fine. Well... I'm glad you had a good day. -[phone clicks]
So is Jaden ready for his big match?
Yeah.
[Ava, sleepily] Oh, good. That's really good.
-Yeah, he's gonna be great. -[Ava grunts]
[suspenseful music playing]
[crowd cheering, applauding]
So, uh, how are we gonna find him? Are we gonna case the place?
Look around, I mean.
Nathan?
[chuckling] Sorry.
It just feels like home, you know?
Yeah, I do.
-[woman grunts] -Oh. Jesus.
[menacing music plays]
Buddy.
Deep breaths.
-[breathing deeply] -[menacing music fades]
Yeah. See? I got this.
Thank you. Yeah, I'm good. I'm good.
Oh. Here. There they are.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Christa] Oh, my God. This is pathetic.
-Is this him? -Yeah.
[Nathan] Hey, Christa.
I'm sorry to interrupt. Uh...
But I'm here to say that I am the right person to take Jaden to the next level.
Why? Because I believe in him.
This kid right here can do amazing things.
And I want the chance to be able to help him do them.
What do you say?
It was a very nice speech.
But no.
Okay.
Mom, I want Nathan.
Sweetie, I've already brought in Jean-Michel at a considerable expense.
-Yeah, okay. 'Cause you wanna sleep with him? -What's that?
[Jaden] Just like you slept with my last coach
and the one before that, too.
So that's two before me and the one after.
I wouldn't take it personally.
I've been really cool about it,
'cause Dad's kind of a cuck.
Wow. What is this family?
And I want you to have your fun, but this is where I'm gonna draw the line, Mom.
Either I get Nathan,
or your horny house of cards falls down,
and I'm done.
You can stay.
-Thank you. -But he better win.
Okay.
[suspenseful music continues]
[exhales determinedly]
[sighs]
Hi.
-Hi, guys. -Hey! Oh, my God.
Just wanted to come on by and apologize for yesterday.
I, um... I had a thing, and I didn't realize
the time was, like... Whoo! ...getting away from me and... whatever.
I got you guys some treats, and...
-Aw! -Yeah, yeah. I thought we could just...
[sighs] Let's just talk about our babies, 'cause we all have babies.
Oooh, wow. These look great.
Did you make them yourself, or did you buy them?
Oh, no. I bought them. I'm super busy, so...
[man] Right, with work.
What do you do for work exactly?
Uh, I'm actually on a break right now,
'cause, you know, baby.
But yesterday, you said you had a work emergency.
-[dramatic music playing] -I did. Well, I... I do work.
-I work sometimes. I have-- I'm in real estate. -Oh, okay.
Got some houses, properties. I don't consider it work 'cause I love it so much, so...
-[woman] Aw! -So, how did it go?
-With? -The emergency yesterday.
Oh, yes!
Yeah. Uh, plumbing. Big leak.
Nope, not a leak. Foundation, crack of the foundation.
-That sounds serious. -Mm-hmm.
Wait. Why did you say plumbing at first if it wasn't plumbing?
I don't know.
Um, are you okay?
-You're sweating. -I am?
You know...
Hey, girl. I was hoping you'd be here.
-Me? -Do you mind if I borrow her for a second?
-She owes me money. -I do?
[laughing] Don't even try to get away with it. Come on. Let's go.
-I gotta go now. -Yeah, take her. Just please take her away.
Thank you.
-Do I know you? -No.
But you looked like you needed rescuing from those nosy bitches.
Do you wanna get a beer?
Yes! Yes, I wanna get a beer!
[Jaden] Nathan, I'm kinda freaking out a little bit.
[Nathan] Why's that?
[Jaden sighs] What if I suck?
[Nathan] What? Are you kidding me?
You have way more talent than any of these kids.
[Jaden] Okay, but what if I buckle under the pressure?
My mom threatened you. So if I blow this,
then your family's on the street, and it's my fault.
Wait a minute. How poor do you think I am?
I don't know. You drive a Jeep, so...
-It's a nice car, right? -Might be time for an upgrade.
Okay, don't worry about me.
I'm gonna tell you something. When I was coming up, my dad was my coach,
and there was this one tournament
where the winner took home $15,000.
Right before the tournament, my dad comes up to me, and he breaks down in tears,
and he tells me he has pancreatic cancer.
-Aw, Nathan! -He said he was hiding it for months,
and he had to tell me that day, because if I didn't win...
he wasn't gonna be able to afford his next round of chemo.
-Whoa. -Yeah.
So the first thing I did was throw up.
And then I went out there,
and I won every single match.
And when the tournament was over...
[chuckles]
...he told me he wasn't sick at all.
He just, uh, didn't think my head was in the game.
[sighs]
What's the lesson? Sorry. I don't--
I'm a little lost on your point, too.
The point is my dad never asked me what I wanted.
All he cared about was what he wanted from me.
If I've learned anything in life,
it's that we all have to answer that question for ourselves. Like me...
I want my life to be something I can be proud of again.
I wanna be something more,
someone my son can be proud to call a dad.
Now, I'm asking you.
What do you want?
-I wanna win. -Fuck yeah, you do!
-Yeah, you do. -[Matt] Yes!
[Jaden] I'm just afraid that,
if my mom's watching, I'll...
I'll choke.
I'm gonna teach you a breathing--
-I'll get rid of her. -Really?
Yeah, buddy.
Nope.
-You crush it out there. -Sick!
[suspenseful music playing]
Matt?
[Jaden exhales nervously]
[Nathan] Where the hell did they go?
[Jaden] God! I feel so much better that Matt's getting rid of my mom.
[operatic music playing]
[music fades]
-[Jaden exhales nervously] -Forget about your mom.
Let's go out there and kick some fucking ass.
[upbeat music playing]
You were fucking amazing, how you just swooped in there.
How did you know?
-Because they did the same thing to me. -Oh, my God.
Grilled me like a cheeseburger.
Then they pretend like it's getting to know you when they're just sizing you up.
Oh, yeah, like we don't know what "Where are you from" means.
Might as well be asking about our income tax returns.
I know.
-Let me ask you something. Like, real talk. -Mm-hmm?
Do you think you're, like, actually good at being a mom?
-No. -Oh.
Yeah, no, not at all.
Okay.
[both chuckle]
But it's fine. I'm... [laughs]
I don't know. It's my second time, so I'm not sweating it as much.
I have an older kid with my shithead ex.
Okay, that's really great.
Not the... not the shithead ex part, but the...
I don't know. "It gets better" part.
'Cause I just... I do not see it right now.
Yeah. That's normal. You'll get there.
[tuts] Well, I-I don't know. I'm just, like, so grateful that you were there today.
Thank you. You saved me.
Listen, cheers to being okay moms.
And new friends.
[tennis ball strike]
-[grunts] -[upbeat music playing]
-[shoes squeaking] -[grunts]
-[audience applauding] -Yes!
Yes.
[announcer] 40-15. Match point.
[tense music playing]
[announcer] Quiet, please.
[exhales shakily]
Fuck you, Mom.
[music builds]
[Jaden grunts]
-Yes! -Yes!
[crowd cheers]
[Nathan] Great job!
Great job.
Congratulations.
Yeah!
We did it, dude. It feels incredible!
I couldn't have done it without you.
You absolutely could have. It's all you.
I'm kind of excited, you know, just to see my mom's face when she finds out I won.
-Where do you think she is? I hope she saw. -Uh...
-You okay? -Yeah. Yeah. Um...
[squeals excitedly] My baby! We won!
So exciting!
Wow! I can't believe it!
-[whispering] I really thought you were gonna kill her. -Yeah, no, I did too. Yeah.
I took her to get some food, 'cause I thought if she had food in her mouth,
she couldn't say anything that would make me wanna kill her.
I was naive.
Can you believe Jean-Michel?
He storms out of here after I tell him I won't pay him anymore.
And I kissed him goodbye. Don't you think that's payment enough, Mark?
It's actually--
Don't worry about it. Um...
So Jaden, he's a great kid, right? You must be so proud of him.
How long does it take to pour a glass of rose?
Are you juicing the grapes yourself?
-[man] No, ma'am. We're just busy. -[Christa] I know you're not...
-[dialogue fades] -["Jessie's Girl" playing]
* Jessie's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine *
* And she's watching him with those eyes *
* And she's loving him with that body, I just know it *
* Yeah, and he's holding her in his arms late, late at night *
* You know, I wish that I had Jessie's girl *
* I wish that I had Jessie's girl *
What happened?
Well, I breathed, like you told me to.
And that made you not wanna kill her anymore?
No. If only. No, I still very much wanted to kill her.
But... No, but something else you said just stuck in my head.
About how I have so much more to live for,
you know, to be passionate about,
like my new life with Tory, and...
I guess I'm just not that person anymore.
-[chuckles] -You know?
I'm sorry to say.
What? What are you sorry about?
'Cause I saw your face when you saw her come back,
you know, and you were disappointed.
No way, man.
-I saw it on your face. -No, you didn't.
-You didn't see anything on my face. -It's okay. I get it, trust me.
You could have left Jaden to make sure his mom was nice and safe,
but you didn't, 'cause you wanted to put yourself first. I--
I was doing my job, okay?
Okay. Okay.
Whatever you say.
But, uh...
I think Baja Nathan is here to stay.
And I think he might be dangerous.
[Matt speaking indistinctly]
So then Jaden says,
"Fuck you, Mom,"
and then, yeah, hits his ace.
-It was perfect. It was just an amazing day. -Wow.
Oh, my God. I really wish I'd been there to see that.
-Me too. But look at you, out there making friends. -I know! Can you believe it?
She was so cool. I mean, she's a little nuts, but, you know, so am I.
-[laughs] Yeah. -[Ava] So it was great.
Also, speaking of making friends,
as promised, how was class?
It was good. I loved it.
And if you say "I told you so," I might kill you, so lock it up.
Hey, you know who could help with that?
Nathan.
-[Ava laughs] -[chuckling]
What? You could!
No? You know, Tory, I just wanna say...
I'm so glad you went.
-You are? -Yeah.
I've been telling her to, you know.
She's... she's too smart to give up her future.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[kissing]
Well, Matt, you know,
I gotta say congratulations and a cheers to you.
A hundred days of not killing anyone.
-Thanks, Ava. That means a lot. -[all] Cheers.
[Matt] You know, I'm, uh... I'm just taking it one day at a time.
-[suspenseful music playing] -[police siren wails]
[chatter on police radio]
[camera shutter clicking]
[woman] Hmm.
Young brunette, multiple stab wounds...
Yeah, this is definitely him.
The Westside Ripper is back.
[music intensifies]
[suspenseful music playing]
[music ends]