Halt and Catch Fire (2014–2017): Season 3, Episode 4 - Rules of Honorable Play - full transcript

I want you to come to this meeting.

Previously on AMC's
"Halt and Catch Fire"...

You made a promise to people

that you wouldn't charge them.

If this is gonna work,

we're gonna have to trust each other.

Cameron was my dad's name.

I started using it after he died.

You could do a bit more delegating.

Not when it's something that I think

is truly foundational.



You think that everything is foundational.

Pack up your stuff.

Starting tomorrow, we'll
be working out of my place.

What'd you do that for?

If you can find someone
willing to pay north of $350,

you should go for it.

When you see an opportunity, you take it.

Jesus.

Your code loops all over the place.

It's not structured. It's
not maintainable by anyone.

- I disagree.
- There are reentrant forks,

no way of knowing which
branch invoked a function.

We don't do that in C++. It's
officially deprecated in the language.

I can maintain it. There are
condition flags for everything.



There's no one-way arrow.

Is that what you want to do?

Be the code grunt for
this sick piece of choss?

Dougie, chill.

My guys will flowchart it.
I'll write out the flags...

I'm sure you will.

The flow chart would
strangle us. It's a mess.

And what do you mean your guys?

It's fast and it fits.

It's no longer necessary.

Doug, we bought your company.

You should adapt to our
programming language.

I know it sucks to be rewritten.

It doesn't make sense.

It's like asking a race car
to adapt to a covered wagon.

- Poetic.
- Maybe we should all try to,

you know, take our egos out of it.

Well, my ego would love to
have a good night's sleep,

but sadly it has to
rewrite your code first.

Yikes.

Diane, I am so sorry.

It's all fun and games

till someone gets stabbed in the cheek.

Hi.

I'm just here to observe.

Okay, well...

I think we're all on the same page now.

Definitely. Um, we're really close.

Maybe this'll help.

It's an integration road map.

Look, we think the way you
created Mutiny was brilliant.

The original block of
code was truly innovative.

Mm-hmm, but?

It doesn't play nice
with our SwapMeet code.

If you make some changes to that block

and we make some changes to our C++...

It's a bug factory. The
old code makes it impossible

to keep track of the reentrant looping.

But I don't need the
object-oriented language, okay?

I can keep track of
the looping in my head.

Oh, I get it. You're that good.

Yeah, I am. Aren't you?

...looking all around and then

he came around the side
of the trailer there.

And I swear to God, he goes,

"Man, that ain't no bear.
That's your ex-wife."

Grr!

- She was just doing the whole thing.
- Uh-oh.

Oh, you surprised to see her?

- Yeah.
- Mm-mm.

Adios, Amiga.

- Hey there.
- Hi.

Hi.

Here, go ahead. After you.

Thank you.

Good day, ladies.

Hi. Well, this is a nice surprise.

I was in the neighborhood.

So, how's it going with the SwapMeet guys?

Um, good.

You keep telling me that on the phone

with that same not-so-sure
thing you do with your voice.

What not-so-sure thing?

Anyway, I just popped
into their project meeting.

The vibe was pretty hostile.

Why haven't you told me?

Well, it's a work in progress.

- Donna.
- I know.

Cam isn't comfortable with the guys yet,

and I'm working on it.

- How are you working on it?
- Well...

My point is, we should be working on it.

If there are issues,
we need to air them out.

Otherwise resentment festers

and the whole thing starts to rot.

All right, how about this?

We could all go to dinner tonight,

have some wine, talk things through.

- I do like wine.
- Great.

But I can't do tonight.

I've got tickets to a charity thing,

a fundraiser for Save the Bay.

- Oh, that sounds...
- Terrible.

I was gonna say lovely.

My date just cancelled
and I have a plus one.

I could check with Gordon, see if
he could watch the girls tonight.

No, um...

I was thinking about John Bosworth.

Oh.

I mean...

really?

"Man, that ain't no bear.
That's my ex-wife."

Grr!

You know, there'll be a whole
slew of Valley big shots there.

It's a great opportunity for John
to make some business connections.

Sure.

But...

nobody calls him John.

I do.

All right, guys.

Guys.

- Guys, please, please!
- Shh!

Yo, shut up, kid!

All right, I know we've
gotten off to a rough start,

and I'm sorry about that.

That's the understatement of the century.

We're in a bit of a holding pattern

ever since Cam took
over for our lead coder.

- Yeah, that was genoid.
- You don't know jack about it.

But we're gonna use
this as an opportunity.

Now, I know we've had some success

flow-charting the two systems.

How are we doing with our
organizational training objectives?

Oh, you mean the buddy system?

It's a nightmare trying
to train these jokers.

All they want to do is bitch about C++.

He just follows me around all
day doing this idiotic routine.

Carl, he's your trainee, okay?

- I don't care.
- Master Carl, I've been programmed

- to observe your every move...
- Okay.

...so I may learn from your flawed
behavior what it is to be human.

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

He's not even funny.

Bodie, stop antagonizing him, okay?

- Beep-boop-beep.
- Get out of my face!

- Hey!
- Whoa, whoa!

Let's kill these a-holes!

- Calm down!
- Oh!

Oh, shit. You okay?

Everyone, sit down.

What the f...?

# Halt & Catch Fire 3x04 #
Rules of Honorable Play
Original Air Date on September 6, 2016

You see? It is just so charming.

It has all the original molding.

And all the original mold.

And the backyard is adorable.
It's perfect for barbecues.

Oh, did you hear that?

Okay, why don't I give
you and your, uh, friend

a minute to talk?

Thanks.

She thinks we're a couple.

You're not my type.

Yeah, this place has character.

This isn't a generic box.

No, the Mutiny house had character.

This place is just quaint.

You've hated every place we've seen.

So? I'm picky.

And nothing feels right.

Is this about the house
or is this something else?

It's Thing One and Thing Two.

God, I can't stand them.

Especially the bigger Thing,
this arrogant frat boy.

The smaller Thing's not so bad.

You know their names.

Yes, Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Heckle and Jeckle. Frick and Frack.

I get it. But they want to be useful.

By what? Translating everything into C++?

Donna, if I knew that was the
plan, I wouldn't have signed on.

But we did sign on.

The guys are under a two-year contract

with a piece of the
company. We married them.

We have to sit down and talk it out

before the whole thing festers and rots.

- We're having dinner tomorrow night.
- What?

That's a horrible idea.
Who suggested that?

I did.

Oh, great.

And so now you're just informing me.

See? It already feels like home.

MacMillan Utility was always
intended to be a jumping-off point.

Totally. It's all about transformation.

Many companies start doing one thing

and then change direction.

If we can just find the right vector.

Then our freeware can stay free.

Router tech is promising.

Ah, Cisco's already way ahead on that one.

Uh, 3-D graphics. Uh, AI.

- 5th gen systems.
- It's a billion-dollar road to nowhere.

I give it a year.

Fairchild made cameras. Now
they make semiconductors.

Coleco was the Connecticut
Leather Company.

Now they make video games.

Yeah, and Mutiny started
as a games company.

- Shut up.
- Sorry, I'm just so stoked

to be a part of your process.

- Plus the caffeine...
- No, I mean be quiet.

Now.

Please.

Shh.

Uh...

okay.

Let's circle the five best ideas.

Wait, what... what are you doing, man?

We spent weeks on that.

There's some good stuff there.

Good is the enemy of great.

If anything's worth pursuing,
we'll remember it tomorrow.

Come in...

if you must.

Can we talk for a minute?

I guess.

Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot.

I mean, we all want the same thing, right?

Yeah.

Maybe we...

got into this too quickly,

but, yeah, let's... we're in it now, so...

If you think it was too quick,

you have your man Bos to thank.

He strong-armed us into taking the deal.

Really?

'Cause I heard that you
and Greg misrepresented...

It's Craig.

...the value of your company
to lure us into overpaying.

What's your deal?

Why do you have such a hard
time playing with others?

Were you born this way or
did some loser ex-boyfriend

turn you into a man-hating bitch?

What?

Catherine? Is that you?

- Yes.
- It's Len.

What's wrong?

Nothing, just... sorry
to call you at work.

I wanted to let you know your mom...

What?

Your mom and I are selling the house.

Bought a little condo outside of Miami.

We gotta get rid of all
that crap in the garage.

Do... do you want your dad's stuff?

Your mom saved it for
you, but, you know, Miami.

We're gonna sell everything that's
left over 4th of July weekend.

I was hoping you might
come and take a look,

say hello to your mother.

It's not like it used to be.

She's much better now.

Oh, uh...

then why didn't she call?

I hope you're doing well out there.

I'll let your mom know that we talked.

You need to apologize.

All you have to do is say,
"I'm sorry," that's it.

How many times have I gotta try?

- God.
- Wait, Doug!

Hey, what was that about?

Oh.

Oh, just the usual ups and
downs of a magical partnership.

You're here late.

But then you're probably always here late.

Are you implying that I don't have a life?

Yes.

You could say that Doug
and I have different styles.

No shit.

He just walked into my
office and called me a bitch.

I am so sorry.

Look, we're really excited

to be part of Mutiny.

It's just SwapMeet was our baby.

I think Doug still feels
down about having to sell.

But that's no excuse.

You want to see something cool?

Is it a dead body?

Only if Doug's still here.

You sure this is okay?

He won't mind.

Can I ask you something?

Okay.

Why won't you change that
original block of PL/M?

It's the only piece left
that I wrote by myself.

Alone in my bedroom, just me.

Back when this whole place was just me.

I did all the timings by hand,

I checked the status on every buffer

and every keystroke every time,

all with check loops.

It was fast and it was...

Beautiful.

It is beautiful.

Yeah.

And what do you want me to say?

I... I'm proud of this place.

But back then, it was this secret.

It was all mine.

Then we should leave it alone.

Ah.

Just got the weirdest phone call.

My stepfather.

I guess he and my mom
are moving to Florida.

They're selling all my dad's stuff.

He died when I was nine.

Shit.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Just he had this motorcycle...

an old Panhead Harley.

Oh, he used to ride me to school on it.

I'd show up to kindergarten
with this, like,

gigantic helmet.

I'm sure it looked
ridiculous, but it was...

it just felt so...

You should go get the bike.

Have you ever considered
a solo business venture?

Hmm.

Wasn't the Nintendo system
supposed to be for Joanie?

No, it was a family present.

Anyways, I had to unwind
after that brawl today.

I honestly don't know what
to do about those guys.

Cardiff had its challenges,

but no one ever punched me in the ear.

Yeah, well, you're not at Cardiff anymore.

There's your answer.

Just take the guys out back and shoot 'em.

Well, he comes around
the side of the trailer,

and he goes, "Man, that ain't a bear.

That's your ex-wife."

Grr!

See? Thank you, thank you.

Man, it was crazy, man.

And I don't know how
long she stayed there.

She was there all night,

just sort of frozen in place.

Grr! The poor bastard...

Don't move.

Joe MacMillan.

Of course.

Diane Gould.

Funny that we've never officially met.

But I'm certainly aware of you.

Amador Gould Gilson. I
admire your business model.

Small, intelligent investment portfolio.

I guess you could call that boutique.

Well, size isn't everything, right?

I hear you facilitated the
SwapMeet acquisition at Mutiny.

Congrats.

We're very excited about it.

I'm surprised Cameron
Howe wanted to play ball

with another company.

She must be in a good place.

Excuse me. Can I, um...

- can I borrow you for a sec?
- Yeah.

It's great to finally meet you.

Mm, you as well.

How do I get one of these?

Uh, make more money.

Which brings us to our little problem.

You heard of this
individual, Topher Erickson?

Does not ring a bell.

His father's Cal Erickson,

senior vice president of General Atomics.

Okay.

Well, apparently he was
at one of your parties

and indulged in a
copious amount of cocaine.

Mm-hmm.

And then grabbed someone and
went off on a little joyride

in the brand-new Ferrari his father
procured for his 18th birthday.

What kind of jerk spends
60 grand and buys Italian?

Yeah, well, this particular jerk

funds about a quarter of your business.

Hmm, okay.

And it's boring old
contractor clients like that

that float your little
software experiments.

I'm gonna mingle.

Set something up. I'll do damage control.

Good.

- Hi there.
- Mm.

Friendly fella.

Well, we can't all have
your Southern charm.

I want to thank you for calling me

when my grandson was born.

That was you, right?

Mm-hmm.

Oh, sure. Joe MacMillan, man of mystery.

Yeah, it's always good to
hear from an old... friend.

Well, you seem to be doing
just fine making new friends.

Oh, Miss Gould is just
a business associate.

Oh, no, I mean everyone here.

They're lapping you up.

It's a good call, playing
up the Texas thing.

People love a performance.

It looks like you're in a
performance of your own, huh?

More of a one-man show kind of thing.

Yeah, I'm a regular Spalding Gray.

I left someone hanging.

Be well.

Oh, good, you're still here.

I was worried you got kidnapped

by that old pal Joe MacMillan.

- Can I top you off?
- Yes, please.

You certainly made a splash tonight.

How so?

You're the life of the party.

Everybody loves you.

Between you and me, I told Donna

I was inviting you for business.

But really, I just didn't
feel like flying solo,

you know, under the circumstances?

Glad I could be of service.

Isn't that crazy?

That you can build a life
with someone, raise kids,

spend your 20s, your 30s,
half your damn 40s together,

and in the end feel nothing?

How is that possible?

I don't know.

Would you like a cigarette?

No.

No, I'm good.

Somewhere along the line,
I lost my taste for tobacco.

And champagne.

Parties.

I told my lawyer...
I didn't want to fly up here

and bail Topher out right away.

Let him cool his heels for a while,

reflect upon his actions.

Plus, SF's not my cup of tea.

It must be hard to leave La Jolla.

I love Del Mar. It's got the perfect mix

of sand bottom beach
breaks and patchy reefs.

It's, uh... it's very easy to find a wave

you can call your own.

I've always envied surfers.

We do a little naval work
out at Coronado Island.

- Mm.
- Those bastards offshore

look like they don't
have a care in the world

while I'm stuck to my seat
worrying about packet switching

and computer viruses, thank you very much.

Packet switching?

- Is that with the DoD?
- Yeah, nothing sexy.

Just moving a bunch of
electronic boxes around.

- Mm.
- System's so damn clunky,

they're gonna overhaul the whole thing.

Ugh, sounds like a pain in the ass.

You know what you should do?

You should take a page
from those carefree bastards

and you should catch a
wave, huh? Clear your mind.

Joe's got a great
instructor down your way.

She's, uh... she's amazing.

And guess what, her name...

it's, uh... her name is Sandy.

Sandy.

Right, Joe.

That's good. Love to meet her.

Look, I know I'm being managed here.

Glenfiddich goes down nice,
but it doesn't wipe away

the taste of that phone
call from those cops.

Topher's still a teenager.
We don't let our boy run wild.

Cal, I was very troubled

when I heard what happened to your son.

I had no idea there were minors in my home

or narcotics,

and in no universe
would I approve of that.

All right.

You seem like a decent man.

Not some 'Frisco nutjob.

I'll submit a detailed report
to the big boss, i.e., my wife,

and, uh, that should clear things up.

Might not mention Sandy to her, though.

Nothing like a girl in
a wet suit, am I right?

You sure are. Although, I prefer a bikini.

Yeah.

Some of our business associates in SF,

they're a little funny,
if you catch my drift.

Soft handshakes.

Hell, maybe we'll get lucky

and all the faggots will catch that
special flu that's going around.

As long as my son stays away from it.

But, uh, got plenty of
time to whip him into shape.

Like I said, he's still a kid.

All right, gentlemen, it's that time.

All right. Yes, sir.

Hey, watch it, man.

Do you know, I wouldn't
worry about your son.

He'll find his path when
he gets away from you.

But I feel sorry for your wife.

She has to lie there taking it,

wondering what the hell she did

to have your stinking breath in her face.

Or, wait, maybe I was wrong.

Maybe the big boss
isn't the one taking it.

Hey, Jesus Christ, Joe.

We had the son of a bitch
locked and you had to...

Had to what?

We sell security software
to the government.

Hey, wait. Come on, hey!

Hey.

Hey.

It was great hanging
out with you last night.

Mm-hmm.

- Can I just...
- Uh, yeah.

Sure.

Cool.

I'll let you get back to work.

I heard you two had a good
conversation last night.

Uh, yeah.

I decided to, uh, keep
the SwapMeet code as it is

and translate some of Mutiny
into C++ to bridge the interface.

Really? That's great.

The guys are gonna be thrilled.

And I think we should fire them.

What? Why?

Do you have an actual, you
know, reason we can give Diane,

since she's the one who's
gonna have to pay for it?

Yes.

We don't need them.

Well, the dinner is tonight.

If you really want to fire the guys,

then you can tell Diane yourself.

Oh, no! They have three-player
"Yeti Mountain Mission"?

Race!

No, no, no, no, no. No video games.

We're here to coalesce as a group.

- What?
- So line up by "heighth."

- What?
- "Heighth"?

Height. Line up by
height. How tall you are.

Height.

So you're gonna be at the end.

You're at this end over here.

- Hey, does hair count?
- Yes, hair counts.

Down here at the end.

Arki, you're in the
center. Lev, you're there.

Wonderboy, down at the end.

Come on, guys.

Yeah, Wonderboy.

All right, you've been
ordered by Allied Command

to select 12 general prisoners...

- I'm innocent.
- ...convicted by courts-martial

and sentenced to be executed
or serve lengthy prison terms

for murder, robbery,

striking a general in the ear,

and other crimes of violence.

And you will deliver
them behind enemy lines

in France to undertake
a mission of sabotage

that could change the course of the war.

Okay, Lee Marvin, but don't most
of the guys in that movie eat it?

By the end, is it more
like the "Dirty Deuce"?

I'll show you a Dirty Deuce, Bodie.

It's a metaphor.

Actually, it's more of an allegory.

Uh, pipe down, Smurfette.

An allegory is a metaphor.

F you, semen.

Semen? Did she just call me semen?

It's time for the next battle!

God.

Players, follow me for instruction
in the rules of honorable play.

You need to turn down your toys.

Come on, guys. Let's see a little
bit of that Apache know-how.

Cover me, cover me!

There he is, there he is!

- Buckle up, big man.
- Shit!

Guys, don't just stand around. Fight back!

I'm out, I'm done. Screw you, asshole.

All right, guys, gather
around, gather around.

All right, look, focus, okay?

Guard the base. Get each
other's backs, all right?

Is this thing even on?

Bodie, get down. You're
in the line of fire!

Wonderboy, get that out of your mouth.

Come on, man, get your head in the game.

Hey, guys, check it out. If you just
cover this thing, you can't get hit.

There must be a way to
disengage the entire system.

What a bunch of pussies.

That's sexist.

Oh!

- He's on our team!
- F off, you big D.

Oh, my God, stop!

We're all gonna die!

It's Judgment Day, sinners!

Dodged a shot.

Let's do this!

Yeah!

Sir! Sir! You are officially disqualified.

What?!

Green! Green! Green!

We feel 100% confident.

If we're properly assigned,

we can get this whole thing
out the door in three weeks.

Three weeks?

That's much sooner
than we expected, right?

Oh, I just wish...

Let it go. She's not coming.

I thought you two had a good conversation.

Yeah, I thought so, too.

We have so much respect for Cam

and what you guys have built together.

It sounds nice and all, but the real
question is can you work with her?

- Definitely.
- Of course.

We just get the feeling
she can't work with us.

You know?

Are we ready to go ahead and order?

I'm sorry.

It's not your fault.

Can we have the check, please?

I just think if Cam doesn't
want to work with the guys,

she should have the courage
to deal with it face-to-face.

No, I know.

Look, I wanted her to tell you,

but since she's not here...

Cam wants to fire Doug and Craig.

Really? That's big.

Yeah.

Do you agree with her?

Well, I... she's my partner.

Personally, I think these
guys are a big asset.

But your relationship with Cameron

is the most important thing.

That's what I'm investing in.

If working with Doug
and Craig is untenable,

Mutiny can pay their earn-out
early and send 'em home.

But you just said that
they're a big asset.

I wouldn't be happy about it,

but it's better than
forcing something toxic.

I just hope it's the
guys who are the problem.

So, how's the team-building coming?

Well, surprisingly productive.

Although I've been banned
from future competition

due to my controversial military tactics.

You can get out there.
They're still there.

It's stupid fun.

No, I just came by 'cause I...

well, 'cause I said I would.

Well, look at you, Mr. Nice Guy.

Mr. Nice Guy?

Back at Cardiff, you were
the heavy SVP of Sales.

All those multimillion-dollar accounts,

everybody was scared shitless of you.

You know, including myself.

But now...

Now what?

Look, I just mean, you know,
being the boss sounds good,

but this is better.

There's minimal
responsibility, maximum fun.

Which reminds me, what's that
story you keep telling the guys?

- Something about...
- That thing's outta gas.

Bos!

- You should've seen it.
- Oh, man, you're not gonna believe it.

Gordon went full-on kamikaze.

He practically murdered the guy.

It seemed totally lame at first,
but it was actually pretty awesome.

Yeah, even she liked it.

You should play the next round, man.

- You would shred this course.
- No.

Come on. Come on.

Bos! Bos! Bos!

No, I'm good.

I said I'm good!

Go have another round.

Get on in there. You guys enjoy it.

Okay, yeah.

Cam.

What time is it?

It's late. You missed the dinner.

Oh, my God, Donna, I'm sorry.

Jesus, I... I don't know...

I meant to be there.
I planned to be there.

I don't know what happened.

You're overworked, that's what happened.

You're exhausted.

Um, how was the dinner?

Fine.

Doug sucked up a lot.

God, I hate that guy.

I know. But Craig's okay.

Yeah.

After they left,

I told Diane you want to fire them.

And?

She said no.

What do you mean, she said no?

They're a part of the deal.

They're an important asset and we
have to find a way to make it work.

What?

I thought she was on our side.

She feels it's what's
best for the company.

Okay.

Okay, well, thank you for
asking. I really appreciate it.

Yeah.

- I'll see you at home.
- Yeah.

Hello?

I'm cool to work at night, but
your call kind of freaked me out.

We lost General Atomics today.

They represent 37% of our annual billing.

What happened?

I traded them for something more valuable.

What's this?

The log-in credentials for the ARPANET,

the Department of Defense
packet-switching network.

I secured the information
through General Atomics.

I want you to look
into it before they flag

that my credentials still work.

Okay, but, you know, the
ARPANET isn't new tech.

It's sort of rusty. It's not like missile
codes or fighter plane blueprints.

This is... this is mundane stuff.

I do know that. It's antiquated.

And that means it's ripe for an upgrade.

So what should I do?

I need you to go into it, map it,

and help me figure out what's next.

Why?

- Play after this.
- There's two controllers, though.

Play after I finish the best out of 10.

Man, you're like some
kind of "Duck Hunt" savant.

Does that mean I'm totally
deficient in other areas?

Like "Duck Hunt" savant,
but bad team player.

Come on.

So how's it going with...

...Dick und Doof?

Dick und Doof?

That's what my grandfather
called Laurel and Hardy.

Loosely translates to "chubby and dumb."

Well, that's perfect,
'cause Doug's the Dick...

Und Craig ist Doof.

- Ja.
- Ja.

Ahh!

Oh, whatever, though.

I guess I'm gonna have to make it work.

All right, hope you haven't lost your edge

now that you're a peacemaker.

Uh, oh, do you want a soda?

- Yeah, sure.
- Yeah?

- Hey.
- Jesus!

What are you doing?

You know, I wanted to tell you something.

I've been thinking, and you should
stay here as long as you want.

You can take your time finding a place.

Oh, thanks. Yes!

All right. All you.

Can I ask you a question?

When did you know you were losing Cardiff?