Younger (2015–…): Season 4, Episode 5 - The Gift of the Maggie - full transcript

Liza hunts for a new romance author, bringing her closer to Charles; Maggie slashes an art competitor.

[upbeat dance music]

Get closer.

Lips almost touching.

We want the almost kiss, people.
You need me to show you?

I had no idea there was so
much involved in a cover shoot.

Yeah, well, romance novels
keep the lights on

for the rest of literary fiction.

The cover is everything.

That's it!

That's the money shot!

Oh, Charles.



Charles, come see what we've got so far.

Show us some options.

That's a good one.

Uh-huh. Okay.

Sword or no sword,
what do you think, Charles?

Your call.

Uh, but let's make sure that we have

these models under contract
for the next five books.

Five books?

I don't understand.

Uh, Belinda's dead.

Tom Clancy's been dead for years,

but he's hotter than ever.

Empirical can continue to publish



Belinda Lacroix posthumously
at our discretion.

As long as the readers keep buying,

we will provide the H.E.A.s.

H.E.A.s?

"Happily ever afters."

We just have to find
a new writer to carry the torch.

Oh, maybe a torch instead of a sword.

No, no. Back to the sword.

[upbeat dance music]

Here you go.

Wow. [chuckles]

Nice technique.

Thank you. [chuckles]

So I have some big news.

- I quit working for Maggie.
- What?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I don't really have time

to be anyone's assistant anymore

because I have a show
of my own coming up.

- That's amazing.
- Thank you.

Yeah.

Do you want to come see
my studio tonight?

I have to bring over a canvas,

and I could really use a big, strong man

with big, strong biceps to help.

Yeah, no problem.

Oh, my... Wow.

[Final State's "Dreaming Out Loud"]

♪ Keep on dreaming out loud now ♪

♪ Hey, oh, hey, oh ♪

I've created a giant mess.

What now?

I have a date tonight with Zane Anders.

[gasps] The hot editor at Rivington?

Why is that a problem?

Because I also might be poaching

one of his biggest authors,
Lachlan Flynn, as we speak.

Okay, yeah, that's a problem.

Do I tell Zane or not?

Well, how about
not go out with him at all?

I was kind of hoping for, like,

"have your cake and eat it too"
kind of advice.

Okay, well...

All right, nothing
is certain yet with Lachlan.

And the date tonight with Zane
could totally suck.

The date's not going to suck.

But I understand why
Lachlan wants to leave Zane.

His numbers over there are dropping,

and he's got to go somewhere.

Well, business is business,
and personal is personal.

Exactly.

I can keep them separate.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

Sure.

♪ ♪

You come out here every day?

I know, it's far. I just...

I really need
the peace and quiet to paint.

I just use this meditation app,

but this works, too.

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait, your studio is a mansion
in Croton-on-Hudson?

You're so funny.

No, it's actually just attached
to my parents' house.

I'm meeting your parents?

Oh, come on, don't be weird.

I'm not capital-I introducing you.

- [exhales deeply]
- Here we are.

Hmm.

- Here's Mom.
- [Montana laughs]

[chuckles] My, God.

Get a muffler, child.

- Hi. Baby girl.
- Aw, Mom.

- And hello, sexy man friend.
- [laughs]

Stacey, this is Josh.

Josh, this is my mom, Stacey.

Perfect timing. We were
just sitting down to dinner.

No, Mom,
we're not gonna stay for dinner.

Josh, I've had to force-feed
this beautiful waif...

[squeals] Stop!

Since she was in diapers.

We're dropping a canvas, and that's it.

Ah. I hope you like squid-ink risotto.

She over-parents me.

Just excuse her.

You are just full of surprises, huh?

But they're cool surprises, right?

Right?

♪ ♪

Here it is.

Wow.

- Cool, right?
- Yeah.

Has my baby showed you her art before?

Mom, let's dial it down
from an 11 to a 4.

What? I'm not allowed
to be proud of you?

I have to pee.

Don't say another word till I get back.

You know, that one, she, uh...
she makes a mean macchiato.

I give Amy a lot of credit

for working at that... that coffee shop.

She is a true artist.

She's keeping it real.

Did you... did you say Amy?

Oh. Sorry.

Amy is her real name.

She changed it to Montana
when she moved to Brooklyn.

As one does.

She experimented with different styles

in art school,

but this is what is getting her

her first show.

A painting with a state on it?

The state of Montana.

Uh-huh.

The stuff that's underneath
the stencil...

does she paint that, too, or...

No, of course not.

It is what is known as appropriation.

Appropriation.

We started off

by giving her a few pieces
from our collection,

but since then,
she has assisted other artists

who gift her their work.

It's a genius concept.

She's really pulling it off,

and she's... all by herself.

Only thing we pay for now
are the lawsuits.

[chuckles] Let's see what this one is.

Wait.

Is that a Maggie Amato?

That poor woman.

She was a bit of a-a hit
in the late '90s.

Don't you just love her work?

Wait. Are we talking
about Maggie or Montana?

[laughing]

You are so funny.

I am trying really hard

to get her into the Whitney Biennial

because I am on the board,

But don't tell her. She would kill me.

She's so modest.

Yeah, well, she, uh...

she's definitely done a good job
hiding this from me.

You didn't see anything.

Huh? Act surprised at her show, okay?

Amy! It's risotto time!

Come on.

♪ ♪

[exhales deeply]

[upbeat dance music]

♪ ♪

I need to find a replacement

to write under
the Belinda Lacroix moniker.

[gags] My authors wouldn't go near it.

- Why?
- Writers who do romance

are in hiding, online.

They self-publish
their sexual fantasies,

and then they take their kids
to soccer practice

and cook dinner
for their overweight husband.

Yes, but one of those women
turned into E.L. James.

I would love to find
the next "50 Shades" writer

among the Internet sea
of fan fiction out there.

Okay, you got to be more specific.

Are you looking for someone
who writes historical,

paranormal, time-travel,
and/or Amish romance?

There are Amish romance novels?

Yeah. Trust me.

- It all goes down in the buggy.
- Oh.

You should do yourself
a favor and spend an evening

on the site
"Smart Bitches, Trashy Books."

You sure know a lot
for denying you have anything

to do with the stuff.

Well, what else am I supposed to do

alone on a Friday night
after an entire bottle of rosé

and seeing an ex on Instagram

with his new boy toy in Costa Rica?

Four Seasons. Papagayo.

- I'm sorry.
- I'm fine.

Next time you ask me out for
a drink, make it something good.

Okay? Bye.

[upbeat guitar music]

♪ ♪

[scoffs] I can't believe
you brought me to a cigar club.

That's skating as close
to douchey as you can get.

Oh, come on, Peters.

Cuban cigars are pretty literary.

Oh, really? How is that?

In the cigar factories,

workers used to pay someone
to read to them

while they rolled the leaves

to engage their minds
while they met their quotas.

Well, okay.

I didn't know that.

It's a tradition kept up to this day.

News in the morning,
novels in the afternoon.

Huh.

Actually, that's how these
got their name.

Monte Cristo.

No way.

"The Count of Monte Cristo"?

One of my all-time favorite books.

[sniffing]

- Have you been to Cuba?
- Of course.

It's where I learned
how to appreciate these.

First, you lick it...

to get it wet.

Don't inhale,
just taste it and let it go.

You just got to go with it.

I know how to smoke a cigar.

- Right.
- [chuckles]

How'd you get so successful so young?

I'm not really that successful.

Don't do that, all right?

I want to hear your story.

Okay. Um...

I fell in love with books
when I was a kid

because they were an escape.

It was just my mom and I,
and we were pretty broke.

So, you know, when it came to my career,

I had no choice but to be scrappy.

It was like, make this job work,

or...

or else.

The wolf at the door.

- Mm.
- Ah, I get it.

The hustle looks good on you.

[chuckles]

[romantic guitar music]

♪ ♪

[train screeching]

How come you're so quiet.

Did meeting Stacey freak you out?

[chuckles] No.

Your mom's great.

- But...
- [inhales deeply]

I saw one of Maggie's paintings

in your studio.

She gave it to me. It was a gift.

Yeah, but does she know
you're using it in your show?

No. She doesn't need to know,

and I'd really appreciate it
if you didn't tell her.

I'm not. I...

I was just asking.

It's not like
Ray Charles was mad at Kanye

- for sampling his music.
- [chuckles]

It's the job of our generation

to build on the work of the generations

that came before us.

If Maggie's a true artist,
she'll get that.

I'm cool...

as long as Maggie's cool.

Why are you not on my side?

I feel like you should be...

supporting my art

and not worrying about
your ex and her roommate.

I mean, hey, I'm...

I paint on things.

That's what I do.

I've been very up front about that.

Okay.

- Hmm.
- Are we good?

Yeah.

We're good.

♪ ♪

[upbeat dance music]

[cell phone ringing]

Hello, Liza Miller?

Hey, smut lover.

I did a think, and it turns out
I do have someone for you.

- Go on.
- She's a short-story writer,

been featured in literary magazines,

won several awards,

professor of literature at Columbia.

Never made a dime in her life.
You get it.

Got it. The struggle is real.

We don't say that anymore.

- Oh.
- The only reason I keep her

on my roster is to stay one
with the people who still like

experimental, second-person,
surrealist fiction.

And she wants to write romance?

Lord, no!

She wouldn't be
caught dead near the stuff.

Child número three of four
is heading off to college.

Ahh. Well, we're meeting
authors later today.

Do you think she could make it
on such short notice?

What part of "four kids
to put through college"

did you not understand?

She'll be there. Bells. Bye.

Okay, I am officially not a fan

of the girl Josh is seeing.

Montana? She Porky-pigged me.

Oh, you're gonna have to help me here.

You mean, she has a stutter?

Just the top, no bottoms,

walking around the apartment
at 7:00 a.m.

with her muff out.

I hate that she even has a muff.

When were you going to tell me
that Lachlan Flynn

is interested in Empirical?

I was coming to tell you just now.

- I got distracted.
- I distracted her.

I'm a distractor. It's my thing.

Well, he's waiting
in the conference room,

and he wants you to be in the meeting.

- Right now?
- Yeah.

Good that he's here,

but you, uh, kind of dropped
the ball on this, Kelsey.

So I take it the date
with Zane went well?

Yes, it did.

Now excuse me while I go steal
one of his top authors.

[hip-hop music]

♪ ♪

Lachlan was saying how excited
he is by Empirical's promise

to sell him to a female audience.

Kelsey?

I'd consider doing pink covers.

If your next novel
can have a female protagonist

just as adept
as your previous male ones,

this market is yours.

And I can guide you there.

Women who love spy novels will love you.

No pink covers necessary.

[upbeat dance music]

♪ ♪

[doorbell buzzing]

One second!

Coming!

♪ ♪

- Hi.
- Hey.

Don't worry, you timed it right.

Liza's at work.

- What's up?
- Uh...

I got to talk to you about something.

Oh, I know.

I lost a good assistant because of you.

Ever tell you not to shit where I eat?

Hey. You introduced us, okay?

But I'm not sure
I'm the reason she quit.

- What do you mean?
- Did you know

she's got this show coming up
at Gray Space?

Of what, her painted jackets?

Yeah.

I mean, she's also painting
over other things, too...

- Oh.
- Like, uh...

other people's art.

- What?
- Look, Mags...

one of your pieces is in the show.

It's weird. She has this,
like, whole theory behind it.

I don't know. The opening's tonight.

[sighs] Honestly, I just...

I didn't feel good about going
without telling you first, so...

I appreciate that.

You okay?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

I'm just fabulous.

Coffee?

Yeah.

♪ ♪

[knock at door]

I think we have
a real shot with Lachlan.

You were a shark in there.

Yay.

Well...

it's a good thing some female sharks

can reproduce alone.

Can they?

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Some hammerheads.

That's, uh, super weird.

[cell phone chimes]

_

[sighs]

Of course he cooks.

God.

If it were up to me,

I would do everything
Belinda Lacroix did

but with much kinkier sex.

[rock music]

I'm thinking vampires,
but they don't have fangs.

It's all about longing,
frustration, and veganism.

♪ ♪

Picture wolves with human genitals.

♪ ♪

- And, of course...
- They get their...

- H...
- E...

A.s.

I think I am allergic...

♪ ♪

to these women.

♪ ♪

As someone who teaches literature,

I would want to elevate the genre,

make it more grounded.

So you mean no shape-shifters?

- Excuse me?
- Just checking.

Uh, please continue.

I don't know if my agent
mentioned this to you,

but I can't always deliver
happy endings.

Then don't.

You would consider that?

After the pitches we heard today,

we would consider almost anything.

I know the happy ending
is the big rule in romance,

but I want to blow it up.

It's just too expected.

And my stories would be about real love.

Lust and desire, yes,

but also about the damage
that people do to one another.

And you wouldn't mind
writing under Belinda's name?

Writing as Belinda appeals
to me because of the pseudonym.

Columbia would not give me tenure

if they knew I wrote romance.

Great.

I mean, wildly unfair about the tenure,

but otherwise great.

♪ ♪

- So who do you like?
- Columbia.

I know her take on the genre
isn't the most commercial,

but it's definitely interesting.

What about the readers?

They won't miss
their "happily ever afters"?

The readers might be comforted
to know they're not crazy

if love doesn't work out for them

like it does for the heroines
in these books.

It's certainly more realistic.

[cell phones chimes]

_

- [cell phone chimes]
- _

I am so sorry.

I, um... I have to go.

My roommate is in trouble
or about to be trouble.

- It's hard to tell.
- Yeah. Of course.

[Warpaint's "New Song"]

♪ ♪

Have a good night.

♪ You're a new song ♪

♪ You're a new song, baby ♪

♪ You're a new song to me ♪

♪ You're a new song ♪

That seems a little obvious.

And was that a Robert Longo? Bold.

Liza, she's selling my work for $20,000.

I only get $5,000!

♪ ♪

Patrick's an incredibly
important collector.

Oh, my God. What are they doing here?

Ooh, M-M-Montana, hold up. Mm!

Well, I-I hope
they plan to thank Montana

for making her relevant again.

Somehow, I don't think
she's here to say thank you.

- Okay, she's coming over.
- Huh. Good.

Don't smile like that. It scares me.

Listen, I need you to know
that I keep a secret stash

in the Halloween pumpkin in my room.

A secret stash of what?

- Bail money.
- Oh, boy.

Maggie!

What a surprise.

Not as surprised as I am.

Oh, Mags, I didn't want you
to find out this way.

I'm sorry. This must look so bad.

- But I'm doing you a favor.
- Really? How's that?

I'm elevating the monetary

and philosophical value of your work.

If you went to art school,
you'd understand. Trust me.

That's my painting.

Mm-hmm. And you gave it to me.

I put my mark on it, and now it's mine.

That's the point of the whole show.

Oh.

[suspenseful music]

No. Oh, my God!

Whoa!

Oh, my God.

There...

now it's mine again.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[upbeat dance music]

You told her.

[sighs] Look, I'm sorry, Montana.

I had to. It didn't feel right.

You were assisting Maggie
just to get her painting.

You only slept with me
just so you could hurt your ex.

I cannot believe you chose them over me.

Yeah, well...

I'm gonna be such a big deal.

Good luck with that, Amy.

I haven't been called Amy
in, like, a year.

[upbeat jazzy music]

♪ ♪

Zane... [scoffs]

You're not cooking with the microwave.

You're using shallots.

You're now stirring my drink.

You're almost too perfect.

- "Almost"?
- Almost.

[both chuckling]

I have to tell you something.

Yeah?

We signed Lachlan Flynn at Empirical.

This "Vulture" article
hit about an hour ago.

Game on.

I'll get you back.

What?

- You're not mad?
- Not at all.

You just got a lot more interesting.

Besides, we were gonna cut him
from the roster anyway.

- Why?
- Mm...

He's your problem now. He's your author.

[scoffs] Okay. I'll go.

No, no, no. Stay.

But no sleeping over.

I saw the toothbrush
and panties in your purse.

Okay. Don't flatter yourself.

I always have a toothbrush
and panties in my purse.

I'm a New Yorker.

Mm-hmm.

It needs salt.

♪ ♪

I mean, I knew Maggie
could handle her herself,

but... [both chuckle]

A switchblade?

- It's, like, a whole new level.
- [chuckling]

Thank you for giving her the heads-up.

- It means a lot.
- Yeah.

She's my friend.

Just...

tell me...

Why'd you have to kiss him?

I just... I don't know.

Some part of me needed
to blow things up.

[sighs]

Why?

Because I want you to have everything.

I want you to have time
to decide about kids,

to decide when it's right
or if you want one

or maybe even five.

And maybe someday I can be
that fun Aunt Liza who...

Reads them books
and takes them to the beach

and builds them blanket forts.

I build the best blanket forts.

Just please tell me
that you'll be in my life.

Please. Somehow.

There's got to be
a better ending to us than this.

[exhales deeply]

Yeah.

Okay.

Good night, Liza.

[Flume's "Never Be Like You"]

♪ I made... I made a mistake ♪

♪ Please just look me in my face ♪

♪ Tell me everything's okay ♪

♪ 'Cause I got it ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

So, does Josh forgive us?

I think he just might.

Hey, did you see this?
You’re in "New York" magazine.

They’re calling you the Slasher.

Ooh. Well, anything’s better than Mags.

Ooh, not my best angle.

"A literal knife fight occurred"

in the art world last night

when venerable artist
Maggie Amato arrived

at Montana Goldberg’s
first show at Gray Space.

From the depths of obscurity,
Amato reminded us

"she’s still relevant."

"These older artists will not
go gently into the night

and Amato’s show of her own
is long overdue."

[chuckles]

Is this woman your roommate?

She’s part roommate, part mentor.

I would love to meet her
and see her work.

Make that happen.

Really? Okay.

I’m glad to see
you’re surrounding yourself

with older, wiser, women.

We’re good for you.

You can go.

[gentle guitar music]

♪ ♪

Yeah?

I’ve been thinking more
about the Columbia professor.

She’s really smart but I think
it’s a mistake not to deliver

a happy ending.

I’m glad to hear you say that.

I already told Redmond we passed.

You did?

Yeah. I’m not going to be
the one to deprive readers

of their happily ever afters.

They just want to believe love exists.

Exactly.

And a happy ending isn’t
the worst thing to hope for.

Right?

Not to mention good for business.

[chuckles]

Good night, Charles.

Night, Liza.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪