Mind Games (2014): Season 1, Episode 5 - Cauliflower Man - full transcript
The team is hired by Jim McKenna, a researcher who tried to blow the whistle on his employer for creating dangerous genetically-modified cauliflower, but in the process was fired and had his life ruined. The team enacts a plan to convince his former colleague to leak documentation to validate McKenna's claims and expose their employer. However, in the midst of the plan, Clark suffers from a meltdown that leaves him bedridden. In an effort to get him back on the case, Ross stoops to new lows. Meanwhile, Latrell struggles to find the funds to pay the company's employees as the firm's finances begin to pile up.
I'm Ross Edwards, ex con man
who's opened an agency with
my genius brother Clark,
a former psych professor.
Our business? We transform lives
using psychological strategies.
[All]: Yeah!
In other words, we change people's minds
without them knowing we did it.
It's like part science,
part Jedi mind tricks.
Like Jedi mind tricks, exactly!
Our crack team includes a felon,
an actress, a grad student,
and an accountant.
Together, we try to make
our client's dreams come true
and their nightmares go away.
Sometimes, it even works.
Mindgames - 1x05 - Cauliflower Man
Original air date: March 25, 2014
[Elevator bell dings]
All right.
Don't pay my salary this
week, and don't pay Megan...
She's technically freelance anyway.
And don't pay mine.
Don't pay Miles... He's got a trust fund
and probably some land
masses in the Caribbean.
Uh, don't pay Sam.
Last in, first broke. I'll talk to her.
Okay, well, since we're sending out
pretend checks to actual creditors,
I don't think this is the
time to offer actual jobs
to people who pretended to work here.
Sam does work here.
She's on the not-payroll.
End of discussion.
I know it's a tough reservation.
Because you keep telling me that it is.
Which is why I kept
telling you not to make it.
W... [Sighs]
Because I have a job, mother...
An important one, one which...
No, I told you. I'm... I'm not
his research assistant anymore.
In fact, I'm running a big case on my own.
Uh-huh.
Well, you don't want to
hear how the sausage is made.
I mean, it's really
complicated, so it's n...
No, we don't actually make sausage.
That's just kind of an expression that...
Fine. Look, um, uh, Thursday at 8:00.
I got to go.
I think it's time I
take the lead on a case.
It's time for this puppy to
ride without training wheels.
Uh, I don't think a-a small
animal riding a bicycle
- is the kind of confidence imaging
that you want to... - [Sighs]
Miles, we are this close to
having the bicycle repossessed.
Until we build up more of
a client base, that's...
Or a client base.
Clark's taking the lead on everything.
Or a thing.
Don't worry. You'll be with
me every stroke of the pedal.
[Door slams]
I worked at Puregrow for 14 years
until about a year ago,
when I was fired, humiliated,
and run out of biotech for trying to stop
a dangerous, genetically modified product.
It's a GMO cauliflower,
genetically altered to resist disease.
It's about to hit the market.
But internal studies
showed that it significantly
advanced puberty in lab
mice and causes nerve damage,
so who knows what it could do to humans.
Is it true that they tried
to put pig genes in an orange?
Uh, I wasn't involved with the citrus...
It's an industry of barbarians.
They'll turn every household juicer
into a countertop slaughterhouse
if we don't do something.
- Let's stick to the oversexed
cauliflower for now. - Sorry.
A fellow researcher and I, Aaron Blinken...
a close friend, a guy I hired...
we tried to halt it, but we were overruled.
So you went public with the science.
I tried to. I went to
the wall street journal.
But, like an idiot, I didn't
take the documentation first,
so... Puregrow easily killed the story
and ended my career.
And, of course, that shut Blinken up,
who won't even return my calls now.
He's transferring into
marketing, at his own request,
and I'm sure the, um... Guilt
must be eating him alive.
What is it you want from us?
Friday is Blinken's last day in research.
I need to get him to blow the whistle,
using the documentation
I should have leaked when I had the access.
Four days from now,
he's not going to have
the access anymore, either.
Miles: I don't see
how we're supposed to get this guy Blinken
to blow the whistle when
his friend was ruined for it.
He's already been conditioned not to do it.
But if we find associations
that are more foundational...
like, we know he went to
religious schools, s-so w...
Puberty cauliflower's not
supposed to be in stores yet.
Okay, we're not taking any chances.
The last thing you need is more puberty.
This is Mrs. McKenna.
She'd like a word about her husband's case.
Oh, uh... Oh, well, obviously,
we're still in the, uh, research phase,
but if you have any f-facts that you'd...
How about the fact
that none of what he's telling you is true?
- You're saying your husband...
- We're separated.
Which didn't stop him from
calling me twice this morning,
ecstatic that someone
was going to vindicate him
after every law firm and
watchdog group in town
had shown him the door.
It's not so easy to
take on a whistle-blower.
He wasn't fired for
being a whistle-blower.
He was fired for being a mess.
Alcoholism, erratic behavior,
endless imagined grievances
against his company,
and now he blames it
all on cauliflower-gate.
Did he tell you that he
assaulted a Puregrow executive
the last time he was
thrown out of the building?
The last time?
He's persistent,
which is why I have a restraining order.
- [Sighs]
- So does Aaron Blinken,
and he tried harder
than anyone to help him.
There is nothing wrong
with that cauliflower.
You will bankrupt Jim
trying to prove otherwise.
He did make his first payment
by signing over three unemployment checks.
But if he's making it all up,
why is he clinging to this one charge?
If your life fell apart,
wouldn't you cling to anything
that let you believe it wasn't your fault?
Hi. Busy?
Look, um, I need my
paycheck a little early.
My agent's actually putting me up
for this huge laundry-detergent campaign,
and my head shots have more
of an "Ibsen in the park" feel,
and the campaign needs
more of a comedy look.
I don't understand the difference.
I... I get it now.
Without new head shots,
how's anybody supposed to know
you can change your facial expressions?
[Laughing] So... if I don't
pay that printer today...
I've got some bad news.
Uh, but... One sec.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank
you. I really appreciate it.
Mwah!
I won't forget it.
You're the best.
[Sighs]
So I hid a few things.
They were nothing at all
that was relevant to...
three arrests on Puregrow property,
nine charges of harassment and stalking,
failure to show up to
court-ordered rehab...
I'm good with police records.
You want me to keep going?
Plus, the next time you
start a conspiracy wall,
you might want to at least toss
a few stray theories up there.
I'm... I'm just saying.
If your company muzzled you
and made you an accomplice...
The first arrest was over five years ago.
That's when they told me to keep quiet.
And I tried.
I tried for years, but I cracked, and then,
when I finally went to the press,
they... they looked at me...
like I had... tinfoil on my head.
Unless you have proof,
and I know you don't,
or every lawyer in Chicago would
be lined around the block...
Let's get out of here.
I need to get out of here.
We'll be outside?
- [Door closes]
- I shouldn't have called my wife.
I knew it was stupid.
But the chance to prove
to her and my daughter,
that I'm not some loser nutjob drunk...
I'm sorry. I have to
give you your money back.
Hey, look... Hey. I run a business.
Your reputation becomes my reputation.
You really expect me
to roll the dice on you
when everyone and everything
is telling me not to?
No.
Because you don't know what
it's like to lose everything.
Your family, your credibility.
You've got it all together,
so, um... Why blow it on me?
[Clark muttering]
Hey. You okay?
You practically flew out
of the client's apartment.
I'm fine.
You sure this isn't
the start of an episode?
Because I... If I need
to get things together...
It isn't!
If he needs some kind
of mental-health day,
or any other kind of day,
then I assume we just dropped the case.
I think we should keep the case.
I took this off the
client's conspiracy wall.
Look at the dates.
It's from a biotech trade publication
announcing some glowing early studies
of that GMO cauliflower
half a year before McKenna's
first arrest or altercation.
What do the dates have to do with anything?
His wife says he cracked
over some imaginary cover-up.
But if these first studies
were before he had problems,
an actual cover-up caused him to crack.
Uh, Ross, you don't have proof of that.
Not hard evidence, no,
but how does someone go
from Princeton summa cum laude,
head of a major research division,
to a hostile drunk in a handful of months?
He was forced to sit on
a criminal conspiracy.
And he just never mentioned
it... Not even to his own wife?
Well, gee, I can't imagine
why everyone doesn't run to their wives
the minute they start
breaking federal statutes.
Look, if you're saying
we should keep the case
based on all the stupid
husbands across the land...
I'm saying that I know
what it's like to screw up
and find that it's too late to fix it.
I believe this guy,
and if we vindicate him,
we not only stop a potential health crisis,
we help him get his life
back... His wife, his kid back.
Clark, if you are up for it, I
think we should keep the case.
O-obvious...
O-obvi...
Obviously, if, um... I-I think the next...
But we've Al... We've
already tried that one.
Judge... Judge... The jury's out on...
The jury and the judge.
Oh! [Chuckles]
Jury's j... You know
what? Let's just start...
There's a... If we s...
Just burrow into the abstract, okay?
Go. Go.
Maybe the cauliflower
man's not the only one
we should be worried about.
[Speaks indistinctly]
Ross: Did you and Clark work all night?
Yep, but I think Clark's really got it.
[Sighs] Was that really a good idea?
Welcome, class, to what I call
"a faith-induced
truth-priming operation,"
which Miles and I devised to get
our target, Mr. Aaron Blinken,
to spill the nasty facts on his company
and go from a staunch corporate apologist
to a fist-pumping,
memo-leaking whistle-blower
in a single
behavioral-psychological bound!
All right, now, studies have shown
that people who try to
recall the ten commandments
become dramatically more honest,
actually passing up
opportunities to cheat and lie,
even if they can't remember
a single commandment...
Even the one about coveting
other people's oxen.
If you're saying we need to buy some
stone tablets and a chisel...
What I'm saying is that our
target was raised on religion,
and we're gonna remind him of it
with the psychological equivalent
of a sound truck and a... Pfft! Pfft!...
Blinking neon light!
- Hey.
- What?
You are acting loopy, even for you, okay?
Now, is it the money stuff?
Did something happen at
the client's apartment?
- What is it?
- Yes, it did.
We decided to keep the case,
which means we only have
three days to get Blinken
to release the documents,
so, I'd really like to get
back to explaining my strategy.
- But thank you very much for your concern.
- Okay.
I thank you for being a part of the team.
- N...
- Megan! Listen.
You will pretend to be a college reporter
profiling Blinken for the alumni newsletter
of his very Christian Alma
mater, Wheaton College.
Megan will be wearing an
extremely low-cut blouse,
specifically chosen to highlight
some Jesus-friendly jewelry
so that every available
distraction reminds him
of his religious principles.
Guys, I'm not genuinely religious.
What if he knows?
- And...
- But you do have genuine breasts,
which is a potent delivery
vehicle in any denomination.
Literature's clear on this.
We have selected, as the
site of the interview,
a sidewalk café that
directly faces a church.
The entire interview's been scripted
to pump him full of Christian teachings,
so he'll be guided by
religious symbols and ideas
when Megan finally asks
him about food safety.
And, for the icing on the cleavage...
and the christianity-filled cake...
Sam is going to cover up the gutter drain
in front of the café
and fill the gutter
with dirty, oily liquid.
Dirt isn't just processed in the brain.
It's physical dirt.
It's also immorality and dishonesty.
Studies show when you're
dirty, you need to be honest,
so we're gonna make Blinken dirty,
which means that during
the entire interview,
he has this deep, subconscious
need to cleanse himself,
in every sense of the word.
So that's our plan... A bucket of slop?
Is this really gonna work?
Even handling a dirty piece of paper
will make someone more ethical.
After all that oily liquid
and religious priming,
we could get this guy to confess
to the Kennedy assassination.
Thunderbird Three, do you copy?
Did you... have a better name?
I was gonna go with Megan, but that...
We are doing covert ops here, okay?
Would you like everyone to wear a name tag?
In three...
Two...
Life infiltration.
This operation's too risky.
We need to call it off and plan a new one.
It's your operation.
What about cleavage and, uh,
Christianity-filled whatever it was?
We infil... We infiltrate his
life using fake memories, okay?
He's been a fighter for
food safety his whole life.
He... He's got a history...
This is as sure a thing
as I have seen, okay?
A-and... And if we pull out now,
I mean, we... Well, let's just go.
Let's go!
We have to call it off and plan a new one.
The type-one, uh, error
rates are through the roof.
If Megan stands him up, we
can't do this operation again,
and Blinken might run from any plan we try.
If Clark says we call it
off, w-w-we call it off.
Do it!
Thunderbird Three, back
to base camp. It's over.
OK. Now... Now how do
we plan whatever it was
that you were just saying?
- I don't...
- Okay, key stimuli.
It's like buttons. You just push them.
Oh, that's wrong!
Memory-based brain association...
The right parallel
triggers... The mentor effect!
Is he first-born
or second-born? Huh?
He might be prone to
alternative strategies...
Tell Megan to get back down there now.
He's gone.
- [Sighs]
- Well, is he prone to alternative strategies?
Come on, guys! This is the ballgame, okay?
We... We... We have to do the research!
Ross: This all started
at the client's apartment.
He said something, you saw something...
- Tell me what it was.
- I want to get back to work, Ross.
I need to get back to work.
W-w-why'd you drag me away
in the middle of the day...
Because you lost it, and it matters.
A guy's future's at stake, and I'm
getting worried about yours, too.
Just... Just tell me what triggered this.
Okay, I don't tell you how to do your job.
What?! Yes, you do... 50 times a day!
Look, my job may be science,
but it's not... science.
You know, sometimes it
requires a change of strategy.
Does it require five?
I have a process.
- I'd be happy to leave you out of it.
- [Knock on door]
What... Beth, what are you doing here?
I called her because I am
cutting you out of the process
until you tell me what's going on with you.
Nothing's going on with me, Ross!
I'm sorry.
I didn't go to bed last night.
Maybe that wasn't the best idea.
Keep him within these walls.
Make sure he doesn't leave.
And you... Get some rest, because tomorrow,
you are coming up with a
single, unchanging strategy
to mop up the mess we left.
[Clears throat]
Hey. Want to tell us
what happened out there?
Three days to go, and we
just lost one of them...
That's what happened.
Clark's resting. Beth's watching over him.
He'll be back here first thing.
His job may be science, but it's not...
Hell of a business model,
waiting for the fragile strategist
to get his beauty rest when you said
- you could control his...
- You're right, Latrell.
Let's fire Clark and find
somebody out of the phone book.
You need help spelling
"Brilliant visionary"?
Miles, start coming up with ideas
for Clark to review in the morning.
We came up with an
idea... A perfect idea...
and then we burned through it
like an oil-drenched gutter drain.
How am I supposed to...
Hey.
- [Sighs] - What happened?
Your business-development guy
told me everything blew
apart! I trusted you!
Uh, our creative team identified
some kinks in the strategy.
We're... We're... We're
lucky we caught them in time.
We're working on a much more effective...
Till you take my last
dollar and run the clock out?
One more swing at bat.
I promise you, I can get this done.
[Sighs]
[Chuckles] You know what's pathetic?
You get all the swings you want.
You're the only hope I've got.
Hey, Latrell.
Where's my paycheck?
Ross said he was gonna talk to you.
He did.
So you know we can't pay you.
I also know that you can't pay Megan,
but I just saw the head shots
that she bought with her paycheck.
Maybe she'll give you a head shot,
but I can't give you a paycheck
unless Ross tells me to.
[Sighs]
Ross, you and I need to t... talk...
Something's wrong with Clark!
about... Okay.
H-Henry needs all of this!
- Beth! Beth! Hey!
- These aren't for you!
I'm trying to do something nice for him.
How the hell did this happen, huh?
[Whimpers]
Clark: Henry needs of all
this! These aren't for you!
Clark: But wait! Clark, listen...
This is for Henry!
Listen to me. It's your brother, okay?
- Come on! Clark!
- This is for Henry!
All right! Clark!
Oh God. Oh, my God.
You all right?
[Watch beeps]
[Panting] I need to go home.
Will you p-please take me home?
- Will you please take me home?
- Okay. Yes. Yeah.
Okay, come on. Come on. Come on. All right.
It's all fine here.
[Slurring] What if...
what if we prime toward...
Okay, just lie down. There you go.
Ooh. Not fake exactly but...
It's a great idea. We'll do that. Okay?
But, uh, it's an associative...
Different a-analogs...
I don't understand what happened.
[Sighs]
Years of self-conditioning's
what happened.
That alarm is his failsafe.
He has to remember to turn
it off every single day.
If he ever hears it beep,
it means he's out of control.
And that's his signal to...
That's when he takes these.
It's 911 in a little plastic box.
I thought he didn't take medication,
that it... stopped the music.
Normally he doesn't.
I wish he would, but,
uh, every couple of years,
he has an episode, that alarm sounds,
and he takes an emergency course.
Risperidone's an anti-psychotic...
Breaks the hypomania.
Lorazepam helps him sleep.
Um, how long is the course?
Well, it could be 4 days, could be 14.
It takes a couple to
build up in his system.
- This isn't my fault. Why...
- No, you're right.
It's not as if I specifically
told you to keep him here!
That was the one thing I asked.
He wanted to go the mall.
I couldn't keep him here. I tried...
You couldn't handle him...
Not for 45 minutes...
Which is why you should have
kept the money I gave you
and gone away for good.
I couldn't do that. I love him.
That's him in the other room,
barely able to string
two syllables together.
That was him at the mall,
in need of a translator
and physical restraints.
Love him?
I don't think you ever knew him.
Where are you going?
Going home, doing a very poor simulation
of the brain state known as "Sleep."
You're the lead on the case, not Clark.
What's that supposed to mean?
Clark could be in a
drug-induced stupor for a week.
We have two days left
to stop a very bad
produce and vindicate a guy
who's got nowhere else to turn.
This is all on you,
so you might want to
rethink the sleep part.
You're welcome.
I'm supposed to thank you
for setting me up for catastrophic failure?
- Are you up for this or not?
- I'm not.
So when you asked to
take the lead on a case,
that was more of an honorary thing?
I asked to take the lead on a case
with Clark here to backstop me,
not with Clark in some post-manic coma...
We've never adjusted a strategy before?
We've never had to blow one
because you wouldn't listen to me.
Also, our client might
be a ranting lunatic...
He's ranting because he told the truth
and got treated like a lunatic.
You want me to listen to you?
Y-you want me to take your
advice as seriously as Clark's?
Here's your chance...
Go back to your office
and come up with something
worth listening to.
[Door opens]
Clark spent years
developing an ironclad
failsafe for himself.
How come he doesn't have
one for a girlfriend?
You're the first one who's
ever made it this far.
I want to know everything...
What he needs to get through this
and how I can give it to him.
[Sighs]
[Sighs deeply]
He gets two of these a day.
Next dose is at 9:00 tonight.
Miss one, and he goes right
back into his manic cycle...
Delusion, psychosis, who
knows what else. Here.
His psychopharmacologist.
Call him if Clark gets
dizziness, headaches, whatever.
This is toxic stuff.
It can be tough on his system.
And if there's any way
you can help make the case
for a shrink... It's
a tall order with Clark.
He thinks they should be
buying sessions with him.
- You have no idea what triggered this?
- [Cellphone rings]
No, but, uh, I'm gonna find out.
Hmm. Hmm.
You should get that. It could be important.
Well, I know it's not
you calling from a mall.
[Chuckles]
♪ Pretty baby ♪
He got drunk,
then he got belligerent,
then he passed out.
Well, at least he got the order right.
Hey.
I'm trying to prove you're not
some crazy conspiracist drunk.
Can't say you're helping the cause.
Oh, there's no proving it.
You failed. It's over for me.
Don't say that. Come on.
We've got a whole team working on this.
I'm gonna make sure that you get this done.
[Cellphone chiming]
Mm!
Uh...
No! Of course I didn't!
I-I-I'm... I'm
almost there.
[Piano music plays]
Oh.
Deconstructed Bloody-Mary Sorbet.
[Giggles] Who knew?
Any chance they could reconstruct mine?
Maybe serve it with a cheeseburger?
Tell us about this big case you're running.
Well, it's pretty technical.
Well, that's what Houdini
said to his parents.
It's real science, though.
You make it sound like
I'm bending spoons at a dinner party.
You know what we think about your job.
We've already talked about this.
You never finished your PHD.
We've also talked about this.
You only want me to want what you want,
such as a 19-course meal
that somehow still leaves us hungry.
So we're the bad guys
for wanting you to join
your father's firm like Joseph and Carter?
I want to make something on my own.
Have you tried a pottery class?
Mr. Hood: I built that
company for the three of you.
Thought you'd be the one to run it.
Is that why you want to see me fail?
I manage your money.
I see how much you're lending that firm.
It's already failed. We
can drop that charade.
The only question is, how much
more are you willing to lose
before you decide it's time to win?
Miles, where are you going?
To win. I don't know. Maybe
get some... dinner first.
What about that thing we
tried on the insurance guy?
- I think it was called...
- "Priming."
It's all called that, isn't it?
Uh, well, just one man's opinion,
but if we're having this much trouble
remembering what it's called,
we probably don't have the
best shot at pulling it off.
[Sighs]
Hey! Where have you been?!
Brain flanking!
Ooh!
[Panting] Clark did a study.
He put people in brain
scanners, and he found
that sometimes, issues
that are totally unrelated,
like abortion and gun control,
are actually deeply related in the brain,
so he mounted this furious
argument on abortion,
and he wasn't able to get
his subjects to move an inch.
But, amazingly, their
brains were so worn out
that he was able to change
their mind on gun control
with barely a struggle.
Their brains were too tired
to argue on two fronts.
So, if we can figure out what's related to
whistle-blowing in Blinken's mind
and we can attack that issue first...
His defenses will be down,
and we can get him to
cave on whistle-blowing.
That's it. That's the strategy, huh?
[Muffled] The problem is,
we're never gonna get Blinken
into a brain scanner to figure out
what's related to
whistle-blowing in his mind.
Can you get a brain scanner?
I'm pretty sure that I can borrow one
from the CBU Psych Department.
Then I can get him in it.
And how certain are we
that this is gonna work?
Well, it's Clark's research.
I don't know every dot and every comma.
But I'm pretty sure I
can cobble it together.
We're talking about a
product that could hurt people
and a guy who's ready
to drink himself to death
because we failed him.
Cobbling ain't gonna cut it.
Do you want me to pretend
I'm Clark when I'm not?
Because we can't even have
a conversation with him.
All right, look, uh, get started
on whatever there is to get started on.
What are you doing?
We got a plan. We even
know what to call it.
You heard Miles. He
knows about the research.
Clark is the only one who
really knows how to pull it off.
- Yeah, but I thought that Clark was
in dreamland for the week. - [Sighs]
I just need him awake for two minutes,
just long enough to check Miles' work.
We got one shot to get this right.
- [Elevator bell dings]
- And how are you gonna do that?
Just stay here. Help
Miles get started, okay?
With any luck, I'll be
back to fill in the blanks.
Ross...
Hey.
What are you doing back so soon?
Just worried is all.
You were right. Those
pills really leveled him.
Uh, where are they?
I was about to give him his next dose.
I wasn't going to miss one.
Uh, look. I'll do it.
Um, I just want to make
sure it gets done right.
[Scoffs] I've got this.
No, I know. I just, um...
He's my little brother, and
I just... I want to do it.
[Sighs]
Of course.
Thanks.
It's nice that you came back.
[Chuckles]
All set?
Yeah. All set.
[Sighs]
How are you feeling?
Day two on risperidone,
I usually feel like I got
a thick, wet sock over my head,
but I don't feel like I got
a thick, wet sock over
my head... pretty good.
[Sighs] You got to tell
me what triggered this.
Um...
Well, sometimes, these episodes
aren't triggered by anything...
[Sighs] It's dad. It's Henry. I know it is.
You said his name at the mall.
It's, uh... It was a coffeepot.
A cheap, plug-in coffeepot.
It was at the client's apartment.
He's got the same coffeepot as dad.
I don't remember dad having a...
Eh, you were in New York.
He had this little... furnished apartment.
I don't think you ever saw it.
I visited him a couple
months before the crash.
And... [Chuckles]
He threw it at me.
Full of coffee, too.
[Sighs] Dad was, uh, an
out-of-control, angry drunk.
He was mad at himself...
Me, Ross. He was mad at me.
The mental case who finally
pushed him over the brink,
for mom kicking him out,
for... for his whole life going to hell.
He... He had problems long before you did.
Yeah, well, mine made them worse.
Yours gave him a chance
to finally deal with his.
He didn't take it.
[Sighs]
I always feel...
I feel like I was the reason...
You think you were the reason
that he got plowed and wrecked his car?
You know how hard we tried
to save him from himself?
He didn't want to listen.
[Sighs]
I am sorry for screwing up the case.
It didn't help that I didn't have Claire,
just that stupid stress-relieving pig.
Somebody ought to get
their money back for that.
It's not your fault. None of it is.
But you got to remember, you
didn't always have Claire.
But you're always gonna
have me, like it or not.
[Chuckles]
Since you happen to be up,
and, uh, since the thick, wet sock is off,
we're in full-execution mode on the case.
You might want to hear
what Miles cooked up,
based on your research,
see if there's anything
you might want to tweak.
I've never seen you so
worked up on a case before.
I believe this guy.
And whatever hope he's
got left on this earth,
you're looking at it.
That means he doesn't just
need me. He needs you, too.
Well, then he's got me, too.
No, no, no.
That's not... Look, you're...
in a recovery process...
Look, tweaking a
third-hand account of Miles'
second-hand strategy...
It's not gonna do it.
I'm on meds!
I will promise Beth that
I won't leave your side.
I'm coming to work, like it or not.
I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
So, just make sure Blinken sees you.
But don't draw attention to yourself.
Yeah, I'll do my best.
Now! Go, go, go.
It's a parking garage, not a lunar crater.
Just walk normally!
Was that enough?
Mr. Blinken, Lisa Cole,
Department of Public Health.
I'm so sorry to drag you out of your office
on what I understand is your last day.
Congratulations!
Actually, I'm just moving over to...
Did I mention that there was a toxic event
in the parking garage?
Key-card records show that you were there
during peak hours of exposure.
Do you think I... You
know, I-I did see, uh...
Well, there's a small
chance you were affected,
but these are neural toxins.
So, for health and legal reasons,
I need to document that there
was no damage to your brain.
- [Machine beeps]
- Disclosure.
Enclosure.
- Exposure.
- We can't stall him much longer.
She's just making up stuff now.
It's like a bad poetry slam in there.
The stalling is... over.
All right, I found an issue
that is directly tied to
whistle-blowing in his head,
and I've drafted an
argument for Megan to use
as she walks him back to his car.
Ha! Brain flanking's perfect!
It never occurred to
me to extrapolate the...
the principles of cognitive...
I started thinking about
the modality effect,
and then I started thinking
about expertise reversal...
- I know! I know! I know!
- Okay, okay, I get it.
This is the mensa version of a hug.
Now, what issue are we
using to wear out his brain?
Michael Jordan.
Are you having a breakdown now?
I know it sounds crazy.
Brain connections often are.
But look at the amygdala.
Look at the hippocampus.
Okay, we interrogated
this guy on everything
short of the heating ducts in his attic,
and, for whatever reason,
his love of Michael Jordan
and his fear of whistle-blowing
line up on parallel neural circuitry.
We hit him hard enough on Jordan,
we should be able to change his
mind on... on whistle-blowing.
Okay, so I am a diehard Miami heat fan
who hates Michael Jordan and
prefers... What is this name?
- Leon? - Lebron.
- Ross: Oh, my God.
Just take all the time you need.
No. This is wrong. This is very wrong.
- It's scripted. I followed every
- It's too adversarial!
To pull off a brain flank,
Megan has to be in the same
trusted in-group as Blinken!
She has to be a passionate bulls fan, too!
Otherwise, he won't listen to her!
You want her to be a bulls
fan who hates Michael Jordan?
That's exactly what I want.
I love the bulls, but
Lebron is better than Jordan.
- I-I-is that so...
- Is that laughable?!
[Stammering] Delusional?
Contrary to the facts?
Clark: If he thinks she's a
bulls fan who lost her way,
he'll argue 50 times harder
and invest 50 times more in convincing her
than if he thinks she just hates the team,
so his defenses will be totally spent
when we argue on the related
issue... "Whistle-blowing."
[Laughs]
These are the same neuromodulation systems
they use to get two small mice
to fall in love with each other.
Come on. I'm taking you
home. You're acting loopy.
No, no, no! I can't go home now!
I... I don't know the closing
salvo, the final flank,
t-t-the way we're m-making an
argument on whistle-blowing.
I'm gonna pose as a
grocery-store executive,
and I'm gonna approach him
about Puregrow's policy.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
It has to be the client!
A-a-and we have to
get him now, before...
Hang on. That's... that's a bad idea.
No, it's the only idea!
What could possibly connect Michael Jordan
and our sad-sack client
in the target's brain
other than raw human emotion?
They're old friends.
He's the emotional link.
[Sighs]
What's wrong with the client?
- [Grunts]
- Clark!
[Panting]
[Groans]
[Scoffs]
Anything in the academic literature
about curing the mother of all hangovers?
Not the red tie. That'll just
trigger his competitive instincts.
Not green... That'll just
prime him for aggression
- when we really want him to...
- Miles: Maybe, when this is over,
I'll just use the green one as a noose.
Okay.
Ross, we're gonna lose a
very short window of time here
if we don't get moving.
There's no point of wearing
out the target's brain
if we just give it the rest of the day off.
Unfortunately, the target's
brain and the client's liver
are on slightly different schedules.
Oh, okay. Hey, I got this.
All right.
Emphasize professional ethics.
No! Children's health!
Get him to show you
pictures of his children.
No! Get him to get you to show
him pictures of your children!
Better yet, get him to get
you to get... Get him...
Clark! Clark! You are not okay.
As soon as this is over, you're going home.
You're taking your meds.
I... I feel great!
- [Babbling]
- You're still in a manic cycle.
What you need is more
drugs and some rest, okay?
- No!
- Now, just take a break.
- Ooh!
- Give us a moment.
Guys. Come on. Just give him a break.
[Panting]
Come on. I can't do this.
You are the only one who can.
I-I ca... I can't remember
everybody's pointers.
I-I can't remember my own arguments.
My wife is right. I'm a mess!
All right. All right.
Forget everything else.
Forget everything else and just be a mess.
This is an emotional appeal.
What's more emotional
than a broken-down guy
whose life is on the line?
Why are you doing this for me?
You don't know me.
And you're probably better off for it.
But the truth is, if I can get a mulligan,
you sure as hell deserve one, too.
[Doorbell rings]
[Sighs]
You know I got a court order.
I don't expect you to be my friend again.
I don't expect you to
even talk to me again.
But...
This is the last chance for you to do
what I tried to do a year ago...
What we both wanted to do five years ago.
I'm begging you.
Forget about the health risks.
Forget about trying to
do anything for my family.
I need to know that I wasn't
imagining the whole thing.
'Cause right now, I'm not so sure anymore.
[Sighs deeply]
I can't do it.
Because I can't end up like you.
I'm sorry.
I've got a family, too.
[Sighs]
Jim.
Wait.
Woman: We've obtained documents
from an anonymous source
that show biotech giant
Puregrow knowingly hid data
- from the FDA.
- Ha!
Data that suggests their GMO cauliflower
could be unsafe for children...
Yes! [Cheering]
Explosive charges that
are certain to upend...
- [Cork pops]
- the very foundation of biotech industry
here in the United States.
This is a victory for scientific inquiry
over shareholder profit...
For empirical, incontrovertible
evidence over...
It's a victory for our client.
Cheers.
[Elevator bell dings]
[Laughs] Oh.
Wow.
Since you were left out
of all the news stories...
I thought someone ought to
take you out to celebrate.
If that's something you'd like.
That's something I'd like very much.
Thank you...
For believing in my husband
when no one else did.
Me included.
[Chuckles] He has a habit of doing that.
[Bottle thuds]
My parents were right...
that I can't do this on my own.
That until you came back, I was just...
You kept the case alive.
You came in with a plan
after I torpedoed one
that would have worked.
Look, I can't do this on my own, either.
You'd have had your own case weeks ago
if I didn't need you for every one of mine.
Hey.
Oh, hi. Oh, hey. You okay?
- Aw. Yeah.
- Okay.
He hasn't left my sight,
but now it's time to get
him home and put him to bed.
- I'll drive.
- Oh, I'll drive him.
I can take it from here.
Wait, and just... J... Can't
it wait just a little bit?
Because this is a perfect time for...
Mnh-mnh.
Mnh-mnh.
...for Miles and I to
sit down and write down...
No, no. Home, meds, bed.
obser... Okay.
[Sighs deeply]
Here's the interesting part. Oh! I'm sorry.
Do you want to know the interesting part?
Is it that I didn't want you to drive
and now you're ignoring the speed limit?
Brain flanking perfectly... oh!
- Slow down.
- No, give me, give me, give me, give me!
- No! No!
- No, no, no, no! Stop!
- Please pull over now so I can...
- Oh!
Please pull over so that I can drive.
Look... In the light of... Oh, look!
- There it is, like a backlit wheel of cheese!
- Please slow down!
Art meets science fiction!
This... We could mount
an exhibit at the office!
Pull over now. You are still...
- [Horn honks]
- [Tires screech]
who's opened an agency with
my genius brother Clark,
a former psych professor.
Our business? We transform lives
using psychological strategies.
[All]: Yeah!
In other words, we change people's minds
without them knowing we did it.
It's like part science,
part Jedi mind tricks.
Like Jedi mind tricks, exactly!
Our crack team includes a felon,
an actress, a grad student,
and an accountant.
Together, we try to make
our client's dreams come true
and their nightmares go away.
Sometimes, it even works.
Mindgames - 1x05 - Cauliflower Man
Original air date: March 25, 2014
[Elevator bell dings]
All right.
Don't pay my salary this
week, and don't pay Megan...
She's technically freelance anyway.
And don't pay mine.
Don't pay Miles... He's got a trust fund
and probably some land
masses in the Caribbean.
Uh, don't pay Sam.
Last in, first broke. I'll talk to her.
Okay, well, since we're sending out
pretend checks to actual creditors,
I don't think this is the
time to offer actual jobs
to people who pretended to work here.
Sam does work here.
She's on the not-payroll.
End of discussion.
I know it's a tough reservation.
Because you keep telling me that it is.
Which is why I kept
telling you not to make it.
W... [Sighs]
Because I have a job, mother...
An important one, one which...
No, I told you. I'm... I'm not
his research assistant anymore.
In fact, I'm running a big case on my own.
Uh-huh.
Well, you don't want to
hear how the sausage is made.
I mean, it's really
complicated, so it's n...
No, we don't actually make sausage.
That's just kind of an expression that...
Fine. Look, um, uh, Thursday at 8:00.
I got to go.
I think it's time I
take the lead on a case.
It's time for this puppy to
ride without training wheels.
Uh, I don't think a-a small
animal riding a bicycle
- is the kind of confidence imaging
that you want to... - [Sighs]
Miles, we are this close to
having the bicycle repossessed.
Until we build up more of
a client base, that's...
Or a client base.
Clark's taking the lead on everything.
Or a thing.
Don't worry. You'll be with
me every stroke of the pedal.
[Door slams]
I worked at Puregrow for 14 years
until about a year ago,
when I was fired, humiliated,
and run out of biotech for trying to stop
a dangerous, genetically modified product.
It's a GMO cauliflower,
genetically altered to resist disease.
It's about to hit the market.
But internal studies
showed that it significantly
advanced puberty in lab
mice and causes nerve damage,
so who knows what it could do to humans.
Is it true that they tried
to put pig genes in an orange?
Uh, I wasn't involved with the citrus...
It's an industry of barbarians.
They'll turn every household juicer
into a countertop slaughterhouse
if we don't do something.
- Let's stick to the oversexed
cauliflower for now. - Sorry.
A fellow researcher and I, Aaron Blinken...
a close friend, a guy I hired...
we tried to halt it, but we were overruled.
So you went public with the science.
I tried to. I went to
the wall street journal.
But, like an idiot, I didn't
take the documentation first,
so... Puregrow easily killed the story
and ended my career.
And, of course, that shut Blinken up,
who won't even return my calls now.
He's transferring into
marketing, at his own request,
and I'm sure the, um... Guilt
must be eating him alive.
What is it you want from us?
Friday is Blinken's last day in research.
I need to get him to blow the whistle,
using the documentation
I should have leaked when I had the access.
Four days from now,
he's not going to have
the access anymore, either.
Miles: I don't see
how we're supposed to get this guy Blinken
to blow the whistle when
his friend was ruined for it.
He's already been conditioned not to do it.
But if we find associations
that are more foundational...
like, we know he went to
religious schools, s-so w...
Puberty cauliflower's not
supposed to be in stores yet.
Okay, we're not taking any chances.
The last thing you need is more puberty.
This is Mrs. McKenna.
She'd like a word about her husband's case.
Oh, uh... Oh, well, obviously,
we're still in the, uh, research phase,
but if you have any f-facts that you'd...
How about the fact
that none of what he's telling you is true?
- You're saying your husband...
- We're separated.
Which didn't stop him from
calling me twice this morning,
ecstatic that someone
was going to vindicate him
after every law firm and
watchdog group in town
had shown him the door.
It's not so easy to
take on a whistle-blower.
He wasn't fired for
being a whistle-blower.
He was fired for being a mess.
Alcoholism, erratic behavior,
endless imagined grievances
against his company,
and now he blames it
all on cauliflower-gate.
Did he tell you that he
assaulted a Puregrow executive
the last time he was
thrown out of the building?
The last time?
He's persistent,
which is why I have a restraining order.
- [Sighs]
- So does Aaron Blinken,
and he tried harder
than anyone to help him.
There is nothing wrong
with that cauliflower.
You will bankrupt Jim
trying to prove otherwise.
He did make his first payment
by signing over three unemployment checks.
But if he's making it all up,
why is he clinging to this one charge?
If your life fell apart,
wouldn't you cling to anything
that let you believe it wasn't your fault?
Hi. Busy?
Look, um, I need my
paycheck a little early.
My agent's actually putting me up
for this huge laundry-detergent campaign,
and my head shots have more
of an "Ibsen in the park" feel,
and the campaign needs
more of a comedy look.
I don't understand the difference.
I... I get it now.
Without new head shots,
how's anybody supposed to know
you can change your facial expressions?
[Laughing] So... if I don't
pay that printer today...
I've got some bad news.
Uh, but... One sec.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank
you. I really appreciate it.
Mwah!
I won't forget it.
You're the best.
[Sighs]
So I hid a few things.
They were nothing at all
that was relevant to...
three arrests on Puregrow property,
nine charges of harassment and stalking,
failure to show up to
court-ordered rehab...
I'm good with police records.
You want me to keep going?
Plus, the next time you
start a conspiracy wall,
you might want to at least toss
a few stray theories up there.
I'm... I'm just saying.
If your company muzzled you
and made you an accomplice...
The first arrest was over five years ago.
That's when they told me to keep quiet.
And I tried.
I tried for years, but I cracked, and then,
when I finally went to the press,
they... they looked at me...
like I had... tinfoil on my head.
Unless you have proof,
and I know you don't,
or every lawyer in Chicago would
be lined around the block...
Let's get out of here.
I need to get out of here.
We'll be outside?
- [Door closes]
- I shouldn't have called my wife.
I knew it was stupid.
But the chance to prove
to her and my daughter,
that I'm not some loser nutjob drunk...
I'm sorry. I have to
give you your money back.
Hey, look... Hey. I run a business.
Your reputation becomes my reputation.
You really expect me
to roll the dice on you
when everyone and everything
is telling me not to?
No.
Because you don't know what
it's like to lose everything.
Your family, your credibility.
You've got it all together,
so, um... Why blow it on me?
[Clark muttering]
Hey. You okay?
You practically flew out
of the client's apartment.
I'm fine.
You sure this isn't
the start of an episode?
Because I... If I need
to get things together...
It isn't!
If he needs some kind
of mental-health day,
or any other kind of day,
then I assume we just dropped the case.
I think we should keep the case.
I took this off the
client's conspiracy wall.
Look at the dates.
It's from a biotech trade publication
announcing some glowing early studies
of that GMO cauliflower
half a year before McKenna's
first arrest or altercation.
What do the dates have to do with anything?
His wife says he cracked
over some imaginary cover-up.
But if these first studies
were before he had problems,
an actual cover-up caused him to crack.
Uh, Ross, you don't have proof of that.
Not hard evidence, no,
but how does someone go
from Princeton summa cum laude,
head of a major research division,
to a hostile drunk in a handful of months?
He was forced to sit on
a criminal conspiracy.
And he just never mentioned
it... Not even to his own wife?
Well, gee, I can't imagine
why everyone doesn't run to their wives
the minute they start
breaking federal statutes.
Look, if you're saying
we should keep the case
based on all the stupid
husbands across the land...
I'm saying that I know
what it's like to screw up
and find that it's too late to fix it.
I believe this guy,
and if we vindicate him,
we not only stop a potential health crisis,
we help him get his life
back... His wife, his kid back.
Clark, if you are up for it, I
think we should keep the case.
O-obvious...
O-obvi...
Obviously, if, um... I-I think the next...
But we've Al... We've
already tried that one.
Judge... Judge... The jury's out on...
The jury and the judge.
Oh! [Chuckles]
Jury's j... You know
what? Let's just start...
There's a... If we s...
Just burrow into the abstract, okay?
Go. Go.
Maybe the cauliflower
man's not the only one
we should be worried about.
[Speaks indistinctly]
Ross: Did you and Clark work all night?
Yep, but I think Clark's really got it.
[Sighs] Was that really a good idea?
Welcome, class, to what I call
"a faith-induced
truth-priming operation,"
which Miles and I devised to get
our target, Mr. Aaron Blinken,
to spill the nasty facts on his company
and go from a staunch corporate apologist
to a fist-pumping,
memo-leaking whistle-blower
in a single
behavioral-psychological bound!
All right, now, studies have shown
that people who try to
recall the ten commandments
become dramatically more honest,
actually passing up
opportunities to cheat and lie,
even if they can't remember
a single commandment...
Even the one about coveting
other people's oxen.
If you're saying we need to buy some
stone tablets and a chisel...
What I'm saying is that our
target was raised on religion,
and we're gonna remind him of it
with the psychological equivalent
of a sound truck and a... Pfft! Pfft!...
Blinking neon light!
- Hey.
- What?
You are acting loopy, even for you, okay?
Now, is it the money stuff?
Did something happen at
the client's apartment?
- What is it?
- Yes, it did.
We decided to keep the case,
which means we only have
three days to get Blinken
to release the documents,
so, I'd really like to get
back to explaining my strategy.
- But thank you very much for your concern.
- Okay.
I thank you for being a part of the team.
- N...
- Megan! Listen.
You will pretend to be a college reporter
profiling Blinken for the alumni newsletter
of his very Christian Alma
mater, Wheaton College.
Megan will be wearing an
extremely low-cut blouse,
specifically chosen to highlight
some Jesus-friendly jewelry
so that every available
distraction reminds him
of his religious principles.
Guys, I'm not genuinely religious.
What if he knows?
- And...
- But you do have genuine breasts,
which is a potent delivery
vehicle in any denomination.
Literature's clear on this.
We have selected, as the
site of the interview,
a sidewalk café that
directly faces a church.
The entire interview's been scripted
to pump him full of Christian teachings,
so he'll be guided by
religious symbols and ideas
when Megan finally asks
him about food safety.
And, for the icing on the cleavage...
and the christianity-filled cake...
Sam is going to cover up the gutter drain
in front of the café
and fill the gutter
with dirty, oily liquid.
Dirt isn't just processed in the brain.
It's physical dirt.
It's also immorality and dishonesty.
Studies show when you're
dirty, you need to be honest,
so we're gonna make Blinken dirty,
which means that during
the entire interview,
he has this deep, subconscious
need to cleanse himself,
in every sense of the word.
So that's our plan... A bucket of slop?
Is this really gonna work?
Even handling a dirty piece of paper
will make someone more ethical.
After all that oily liquid
and religious priming,
we could get this guy to confess
to the Kennedy assassination.
Thunderbird Three, do you copy?
Did you... have a better name?
I was gonna go with Megan, but that...
We are doing covert ops here, okay?
Would you like everyone to wear a name tag?
In three...
Two...
Life infiltration.
This operation's too risky.
We need to call it off and plan a new one.
It's your operation.
What about cleavage and, uh,
Christianity-filled whatever it was?
We infil... We infiltrate his
life using fake memories, okay?
He's been a fighter for
food safety his whole life.
He... He's got a history...
This is as sure a thing
as I have seen, okay?
A-and... And if we pull out now,
I mean, we... Well, let's just go.
Let's go!
We have to call it off and plan a new one.
The type-one, uh, error
rates are through the roof.
If Megan stands him up, we
can't do this operation again,
and Blinken might run from any plan we try.
If Clark says we call it
off, w-w-we call it off.
Do it!
Thunderbird Three, back
to base camp. It's over.
OK. Now... Now how do
we plan whatever it was
that you were just saying?
- I don't...
- Okay, key stimuli.
It's like buttons. You just push them.
Oh, that's wrong!
Memory-based brain association...
The right parallel
triggers... The mentor effect!
Is he first-born
or second-born? Huh?
He might be prone to
alternative strategies...
Tell Megan to get back down there now.
He's gone.
- [Sighs]
- Well, is he prone to alternative strategies?
Come on, guys! This is the ballgame, okay?
We... We... We have to do the research!
Ross: This all started
at the client's apartment.
He said something, you saw something...
- Tell me what it was.
- I want to get back to work, Ross.
I need to get back to work.
W-w-why'd you drag me away
in the middle of the day...
Because you lost it, and it matters.
A guy's future's at stake, and I'm
getting worried about yours, too.
Just... Just tell me what triggered this.
Okay, I don't tell you how to do your job.
What?! Yes, you do... 50 times a day!
Look, my job may be science,
but it's not... science.
You know, sometimes it
requires a change of strategy.
Does it require five?
I have a process.
- I'd be happy to leave you out of it.
- [Knock on door]
What... Beth, what are you doing here?
I called her because I am
cutting you out of the process
until you tell me what's going on with you.
Nothing's going on with me, Ross!
I'm sorry.
I didn't go to bed last night.
Maybe that wasn't the best idea.
Keep him within these walls.
Make sure he doesn't leave.
And you... Get some rest, because tomorrow,
you are coming up with a
single, unchanging strategy
to mop up the mess we left.
[Clears throat]
Hey. Want to tell us
what happened out there?
Three days to go, and we
just lost one of them...
That's what happened.
Clark's resting. Beth's watching over him.
He'll be back here first thing.
His job may be science, but it's not...
Hell of a business model,
waiting for the fragile strategist
to get his beauty rest when you said
- you could control his...
- You're right, Latrell.
Let's fire Clark and find
somebody out of the phone book.
You need help spelling
"Brilliant visionary"?
Miles, start coming up with ideas
for Clark to review in the morning.
We came up with an
idea... A perfect idea...
and then we burned through it
like an oil-drenched gutter drain.
How am I supposed to...
Hey.
- [Sighs] - What happened?
Your business-development guy
told me everything blew
apart! I trusted you!
Uh, our creative team identified
some kinks in the strategy.
We're... We're... We're
lucky we caught them in time.
We're working on a much more effective...
Till you take my last
dollar and run the clock out?
One more swing at bat.
I promise you, I can get this done.
[Sighs]
[Chuckles] You know what's pathetic?
You get all the swings you want.
You're the only hope I've got.
Hey, Latrell.
Where's my paycheck?
Ross said he was gonna talk to you.
He did.
So you know we can't pay you.
I also know that you can't pay Megan,
but I just saw the head shots
that she bought with her paycheck.
Maybe she'll give you a head shot,
but I can't give you a paycheck
unless Ross tells me to.
[Sighs]
Ross, you and I need to t... talk...
Something's wrong with Clark!
about... Okay.
H-Henry needs all of this!
- Beth! Beth! Hey!
- These aren't for you!
I'm trying to do something nice for him.
How the hell did this happen, huh?
[Whimpers]
Clark: Henry needs of all
this! These aren't for you!
Clark: But wait! Clark, listen...
This is for Henry!
Listen to me. It's your brother, okay?
- Come on! Clark!
- This is for Henry!
All right! Clark!
Oh God. Oh, my God.
You all right?
[Watch beeps]
[Panting] I need to go home.
Will you p-please take me home?
- Will you please take me home?
- Okay. Yes. Yeah.
Okay, come on. Come on. Come on. All right.
It's all fine here.
[Slurring] What if...
what if we prime toward...
Okay, just lie down. There you go.
Ooh. Not fake exactly but...
It's a great idea. We'll do that. Okay?
But, uh, it's an associative...
Different a-analogs...
I don't understand what happened.
[Sighs]
Years of self-conditioning's
what happened.
That alarm is his failsafe.
He has to remember to turn
it off every single day.
If he ever hears it beep,
it means he's out of control.
And that's his signal to...
That's when he takes these.
It's 911 in a little plastic box.
I thought he didn't take medication,
that it... stopped the music.
Normally he doesn't.
I wish he would, but,
uh, every couple of years,
he has an episode, that alarm sounds,
and he takes an emergency course.
Risperidone's an anti-psychotic...
Breaks the hypomania.
Lorazepam helps him sleep.
Um, how long is the course?
Well, it could be 4 days, could be 14.
It takes a couple to
build up in his system.
- This isn't my fault. Why...
- No, you're right.
It's not as if I specifically
told you to keep him here!
That was the one thing I asked.
He wanted to go the mall.
I couldn't keep him here. I tried...
You couldn't handle him...
Not for 45 minutes...
Which is why you should have
kept the money I gave you
and gone away for good.
I couldn't do that. I love him.
That's him in the other room,
barely able to string
two syllables together.
That was him at the mall,
in need of a translator
and physical restraints.
Love him?
I don't think you ever knew him.
Where are you going?
Going home, doing a very poor simulation
of the brain state known as "Sleep."
You're the lead on the case, not Clark.
What's that supposed to mean?
Clark could be in a
drug-induced stupor for a week.
We have two days left
to stop a very bad
produce and vindicate a guy
who's got nowhere else to turn.
This is all on you,
so you might want to
rethink the sleep part.
You're welcome.
I'm supposed to thank you
for setting me up for catastrophic failure?
- Are you up for this or not?
- I'm not.
So when you asked to
take the lead on a case,
that was more of an honorary thing?
I asked to take the lead on a case
with Clark here to backstop me,
not with Clark in some post-manic coma...
We've never adjusted a strategy before?
We've never had to blow one
because you wouldn't listen to me.
Also, our client might
be a ranting lunatic...
He's ranting because he told the truth
and got treated like a lunatic.
You want me to listen to you?
Y-you want me to take your
advice as seriously as Clark's?
Here's your chance...
Go back to your office
and come up with something
worth listening to.
[Door opens]
Clark spent years
developing an ironclad
failsafe for himself.
How come he doesn't have
one for a girlfriend?
You're the first one who's
ever made it this far.
I want to know everything...
What he needs to get through this
and how I can give it to him.
[Sighs]
[Sighs deeply]
He gets two of these a day.
Next dose is at 9:00 tonight.
Miss one, and he goes right
back into his manic cycle...
Delusion, psychosis, who
knows what else. Here.
His psychopharmacologist.
Call him if Clark gets
dizziness, headaches, whatever.
This is toxic stuff.
It can be tough on his system.
And if there's any way
you can help make the case
for a shrink... It's
a tall order with Clark.
He thinks they should be
buying sessions with him.
- You have no idea what triggered this?
- [Cellphone rings]
No, but, uh, I'm gonna find out.
Hmm. Hmm.
You should get that. It could be important.
Well, I know it's not
you calling from a mall.
[Chuckles]
♪ Pretty baby ♪
He got drunk,
then he got belligerent,
then he passed out.
Well, at least he got the order right.
Hey.
I'm trying to prove you're not
some crazy conspiracist drunk.
Can't say you're helping the cause.
Oh, there's no proving it.
You failed. It's over for me.
Don't say that. Come on.
We've got a whole team working on this.
I'm gonna make sure that you get this done.
[Cellphone chiming]
Mm!
Uh...
No! Of course I didn't!
I-I-I'm... I'm
almost there.
[Piano music plays]
Oh.
Deconstructed Bloody-Mary Sorbet.
[Giggles] Who knew?
Any chance they could reconstruct mine?
Maybe serve it with a cheeseburger?
Tell us about this big case you're running.
Well, it's pretty technical.
Well, that's what Houdini
said to his parents.
It's real science, though.
You make it sound like
I'm bending spoons at a dinner party.
You know what we think about your job.
We've already talked about this.
You never finished your PHD.
We've also talked about this.
You only want me to want what you want,
such as a 19-course meal
that somehow still leaves us hungry.
So we're the bad guys
for wanting you to join
your father's firm like Joseph and Carter?
I want to make something on my own.
Have you tried a pottery class?
Mr. Hood: I built that
company for the three of you.
Thought you'd be the one to run it.
Is that why you want to see me fail?
I manage your money.
I see how much you're lending that firm.
It's already failed. We
can drop that charade.
The only question is, how much
more are you willing to lose
before you decide it's time to win?
Miles, where are you going?
To win. I don't know. Maybe
get some... dinner first.
What about that thing we
tried on the insurance guy?
- I think it was called...
- "Priming."
It's all called that, isn't it?
Uh, well, just one man's opinion,
but if we're having this much trouble
remembering what it's called,
we probably don't have the
best shot at pulling it off.
[Sighs]
Hey! Where have you been?!
Brain flanking!
Ooh!
[Panting] Clark did a study.
He put people in brain
scanners, and he found
that sometimes, issues
that are totally unrelated,
like abortion and gun control,
are actually deeply related in the brain,
so he mounted this furious
argument on abortion,
and he wasn't able to get
his subjects to move an inch.
But, amazingly, their
brains were so worn out
that he was able to change
their mind on gun control
with barely a struggle.
Their brains were too tired
to argue on two fronts.
So, if we can figure out what's related to
whistle-blowing in Blinken's mind
and we can attack that issue first...
His defenses will be down,
and we can get him to
cave on whistle-blowing.
That's it. That's the strategy, huh?
[Muffled] The problem is,
we're never gonna get Blinken
into a brain scanner to figure out
what's related to
whistle-blowing in his mind.
Can you get a brain scanner?
I'm pretty sure that I can borrow one
from the CBU Psych Department.
Then I can get him in it.
And how certain are we
that this is gonna work?
Well, it's Clark's research.
I don't know every dot and every comma.
But I'm pretty sure I
can cobble it together.
We're talking about a
product that could hurt people
and a guy who's ready
to drink himself to death
because we failed him.
Cobbling ain't gonna cut it.
Do you want me to pretend
I'm Clark when I'm not?
Because we can't even have
a conversation with him.
All right, look, uh, get started
on whatever there is to get started on.
What are you doing?
We got a plan. We even
know what to call it.
You heard Miles. He
knows about the research.
Clark is the only one who
really knows how to pull it off.
- Yeah, but I thought that Clark was
in dreamland for the week. - [Sighs]
I just need him awake for two minutes,
just long enough to check Miles' work.
We got one shot to get this right.
- [Elevator bell dings]
- And how are you gonna do that?
Just stay here. Help
Miles get started, okay?
With any luck, I'll be
back to fill in the blanks.
Ross...
Hey.
What are you doing back so soon?
Just worried is all.
You were right. Those
pills really leveled him.
Uh, where are they?
I was about to give him his next dose.
I wasn't going to miss one.
Uh, look. I'll do it.
Um, I just want to make
sure it gets done right.
[Scoffs] I've got this.
No, I know. I just, um...
He's my little brother, and
I just... I want to do it.
[Sighs]
Of course.
Thanks.
It's nice that you came back.
[Chuckles]
All set?
Yeah. All set.
[Sighs]
How are you feeling?
Day two on risperidone,
I usually feel like I got
a thick, wet sock over my head,
but I don't feel like I got
a thick, wet sock over
my head... pretty good.
[Sighs] You got to tell
me what triggered this.
Um...
Well, sometimes, these episodes
aren't triggered by anything...
[Sighs] It's dad. It's Henry. I know it is.
You said his name at the mall.
It's, uh... It was a coffeepot.
A cheap, plug-in coffeepot.
It was at the client's apartment.
He's got the same coffeepot as dad.
I don't remember dad having a...
Eh, you were in New York.
He had this little... furnished apartment.
I don't think you ever saw it.
I visited him a couple
months before the crash.
And... [Chuckles]
He threw it at me.
Full of coffee, too.
[Sighs] Dad was, uh, an
out-of-control, angry drunk.
He was mad at himself...
Me, Ross. He was mad at me.
The mental case who finally
pushed him over the brink,
for mom kicking him out,
for... for his whole life going to hell.
He... He had problems long before you did.
Yeah, well, mine made them worse.
Yours gave him a chance
to finally deal with his.
He didn't take it.
[Sighs]
I always feel...
I feel like I was the reason...
You think you were the reason
that he got plowed and wrecked his car?
You know how hard we tried
to save him from himself?
He didn't want to listen.
[Sighs]
I am sorry for screwing up the case.
It didn't help that I didn't have Claire,
just that stupid stress-relieving pig.
Somebody ought to get
their money back for that.
It's not your fault. None of it is.
But you got to remember, you
didn't always have Claire.
But you're always gonna
have me, like it or not.
[Chuckles]
Since you happen to be up,
and, uh, since the thick, wet sock is off,
we're in full-execution mode on the case.
You might want to hear
what Miles cooked up,
based on your research,
see if there's anything
you might want to tweak.
I've never seen you so
worked up on a case before.
I believe this guy.
And whatever hope he's
got left on this earth,
you're looking at it.
That means he doesn't just
need me. He needs you, too.
Well, then he's got me, too.
No, no, no.
That's not... Look, you're...
in a recovery process...
Look, tweaking a
third-hand account of Miles'
second-hand strategy...
It's not gonna do it.
I'm on meds!
I will promise Beth that
I won't leave your side.
I'm coming to work, like it or not.
I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
So, just make sure Blinken sees you.
But don't draw attention to yourself.
Yeah, I'll do my best.
Now! Go, go, go.
It's a parking garage, not a lunar crater.
Just walk normally!
Was that enough?
Mr. Blinken, Lisa Cole,
Department of Public Health.
I'm so sorry to drag you out of your office
on what I understand is your last day.
Congratulations!
Actually, I'm just moving over to...
Did I mention that there was a toxic event
in the parking garage?
Key-card records show that you were there
during peak hours of exposure.
Do you think I... You
know, I-I did see, uh...
Well, there's a small
chance you were affected,
but these are neural toxins.
So, for health and legal reasons,
I need to document that there
was no damage to your brain.
- [Machine beeps]
- Disclosure.
Enclosure.
- Exposure.
- We can't stall him much longer.
She's just making up stuff now.
It's like a bad poetry slam in there.
The stalling is... over.
All right, I found an issue
that is directly tied to
whistle-blowing in his head,
and I've drafted an
argument for Megan to use
as she walks him back to his car.
Ha! Brain flanking's perfect!
It never occurred to
me to extrapolate the...
the principles of cognitive...
I started thinking about
the modality effect,
and then I started thinking
about expertise reversal...
- I know! I know! I know!
- Okay, okay, I get it.
This is the mensa version of a hug.
Now, what issue are we
using to wear out his brain?
Michael Jordan.
Are you having a breakdown now?
I know it sounds crazy.
Brain connections often are.
But look at the amygdala.
Look at the hippocampus.
Okay, we interrogated
this guy on everything
short of the heating ducts in his attic,
and, for whatever reason,
his love of Michael Jordan
and his fear of whistle-blowing
line up on parallel neural circuitry.
We hit him hard enough on Jordan,
we should be able to change his
mind on... on whistle-blowing.
Okay, so I am a diehard Miami heat fan
who hates Michael Jordan and
prefers... What is this name?
- Leon? - Lebron.
- Ross: Oh, my God.
Just take all the time you need.
No. This is wrong. This is very wrong.
- It's scripted. I followed every
- It's too adversarial!
To pull off a brain flank,
Megan has to be in the same
trusted in-group as Blinken!
She has to be a passionate bulls fan, too!
Otherwise, he won't listen to her!
You want her to be a bulls
fan who hates Michael Jordan?
That's exactly what I want.
I love the bulls, but
Lebron is better than Jordan.
- I-I-is that so...
- Is that laughable?!
[Stammering] Delusional?
Contrary to the facts?
Clark: If he thinks she's a
bulls fan who lost her way,
he'll argue 50 times harder
and invest 50 times more in convincing her
than if he thinks she just hates the team,
so his defenses will be totally spent
when we argue on the related
issue... "Whistle-blowing."
[Laughs]
These are the same neuromodulation systems
they use to get two small mice
to fall in love with each other.
Come on. I'm taking you
home. You're acting loopy.
No, no, no! I can't go home now!
I... I don't know the closing
salvo, the final flank,
t-t-the way we're m-making an
argument on whistle-blowing.
I'm gonna pose as a
grocery-store executive,
and I'm gonna approach him
about Puregrow's policy.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
It has to be the client!
A-a-and we have to
get him now, before...
Hang on. That's... that's a bad idea.
No, it's the only idea!
What could possibly connect Michael Jordan
and our sad-sack client
in the target's brain
other than raw human emotion?
They're old friends.
He's the emotional link.
[Sighs]
What's wrong with the client?
- [Grunts]
- Clark!
[Panting]
[Groans]
[Scoffs]
Anything in the academic literature
about curing the mother of all hangovers?
Not the red tie. That'll just
trigger his competitive instincts.
Not green... That'll just
prime him for aggression
- when we really want him to...
- Miles: Maybe, when this is over,
I'll just use the green one as a noose.
Okay.
Ross, we're gonna lose a
very short window of time here
if we don't get moving.
There's no point of wearing
out the target's brain
if we just give it the rest of the day off.
Unfortunately, the target's
brain and the client's liver
are on slightly different schedules.
Oh, okay. Hey, I got this.
All right.
Emphasize professional ethics.
No! Children's health!
Get him to show you
pictures of his children.
No! Get him to get you to show
him pictures of your children!
Better yet, get him to get
you to get... Get him...
Clark! Clark! You are not okay.
As soon as this is over, you're going home.
You're taking your meds.
I... I feel great!
- [Babbling]
- You're still in a manic cycle.
What you need is more
drugs and some rest, okay?
- No!
- Now, just take a break.
- Ooh!
- Give us a moment.
Guys. Come on. Just give him a break.
[Panting]
Come on. I can't do this.
You are the only one who can.
I-I ca... I can't remember
everybody's pointers.
I-I can't remember my own arguments.
My wife is right. I'm a mess!
All right. All right.
Forget everything else.
Forget everything else and just be a mess.
This is an emotional appeal.
What's more emotional
than a broken-down guy
whose life is on the line?
Why are you doing this for me?
You don't know me.
And you're probably better off for it.
But the truth is, if I can get a mulligan,
you sure as hell deserve one, too.
[Doorbell rings]
[Sighs]
You know I got a court order.
I don't expect you to be my friend again.
I don't expect you to
even talk to me again.
But...
This is the last chance for you to do
what I tried to do a year ago...
What we both wanted to do five years ago.
I'm begging you.
Forget about the health risks.
Forget about trying to
do anything for my family.
I need to know that I wasn't
imagining the whole thing.
'Cause right now, I'm not so sure anymore.
[Sighs deeply]
I can't do it.
Because I can't end up like you.
I'm sorry.
I've got a family, too.
[Sighs]
Jim.
Wait.
Woman: We've obtained documents
from an anonymous source
that show biotech giant
Puregrow knowingly hid data
- from the FDA.
- Ha!
Data that suggests their GMO cauliflower
could be unsafe for children...
Yes! [Cheering]
Explosive charges that
are certain to upend...
- [Cork pops]
- the very foundation of biotech industry
here in the United States.
This is a victory for scientific inquiry
over shareholder profit...
For empirical, incontrovertible
evidence over...
It's a victory for our client.
Cheers.
[Elevator bell dings]
[Laughs] Oh.
Wow.
Since you were left out
of all the news stories...
I thought someone ought to
take you out to celebrate.
If that's something you'd like.
That's something I'd like very much.
Thank you...
For believing in my husband
when no one else did.
Me included.
[Chuckles] He has a habit of doing that.
[Bottle thuds]
My parents were right...
that I can't do this on my own.
That until you came back, I was just...
You kept the case alive.
You came in with a plan
after I torpedoed one
that would have worked.
Look, I can't do this on my own, either.
You'd have had your own case weeks ago
if I didn't need you for every one of mine.
Hey.
Oh, hi. Oh, hey. You okay?
- Aw. Yeah.
- Okay.
He hasn't left my sight,
but now it's time to get
him home and put him to bed.
- I'll drive.
- Oh, I'll drive him.
I can take it from here.
Wait, and just... J... Can't
it wait just a little bit?
Because this is a perfect time for...
Mnh-mnh.
Mnh-mnh.
...for Miles and I to
sit down and write down...
No, no. Home, meds, bed.
obser... Okay.
[Sighs deeply]
Here's the interesting part. Oh! I'm sorry.
Do you want to know the interesting part?
Is it that I didn't want you to drive
and now you're ignoring the speed limit?
Brain flanking perfectly... oh!
- Slow down.
- No, give me, give me, give me, give me!
- No! No!
- No, no, no, no! Stop!
- Please pull over now so I can...
- Oh!
Please pull over so that I can drive.
Look... In the light of... Oh, look!
- There it is, like a backlit wheel of cheese!
- Please slow down!
Art meets science fiction!
This... We could mount
an exhibit at the office!
Pull over now. You are still...
- [Horn honks]
- [Tires screech]