Original subtitles

Your word is "iridescent."

I-S-N...

Communication is the key to any relationship...

be it personal or business.

Our words have power.

Your word is "foudroyant."

Can I get the definition, please?

Foudroyant, dazzling or stunning in effect.

Foudroyant.

Sometimes the words flow easily...

Can I have the language of origin?

It's French, from the present participle foudroyer.

And sometimes, no matter how hard you try...

Foudroyant, F-O-U...

you just can't seem to get the words out.

Mukesh. Mukesh. Mukesh, sit up.

Breakfast in bed means you actually have to be in bed.

Yeah, but I was lonely.

Kids are away, the adults will play.

Playing house with you is fun.

I could get used to this.

And I could get used to this. Breakfast looks awesome.

Don't stop on my account.

No. You enjoy that.

So what did Augusto say when you told him about the baby?

Not much because I haven't--

Oh, don't Santino-eye me.

We keep missing each other. It's just the time difference.

For a full week?

Gusto's been really busy with the restaurant opening.

I don't wanna text him. I want to talk.

Well, say congrats when you do.

Baby, I gotta go.

See you later. Bye, Jeanette.

You guys are like teenage rabbits.

You keep going, we're gonna be pregnant together.

Don't. That is never gonna happen

because Matt and I arrived at a mutual decision, mutually.

No kids. And he is fine with that.

Come on, Dan. Open your fallopian tubes. Open.

We always said we'd have kids who were BFFs.

It's your last chance.

Are you double-dog daring me to get pregnant?

Would it work?

Only if you turned back time, plied me with some Zimas,

and played me some Night Ranger.

I can do two out of three.

Allow me.

Sure know how to make a first impression.

I don't judge till my third impression, at least.

Vera Dade, right? Nico Careles.

Your reputation precedes you. It's nice to put a face with a name.

The league office gave me a heads-up.

Hank said you'll need access to all our servers.

Yes. We're cleaning up the guano left behind by Pittman,

and the commissioner noticed several inconsistencies.

- Inconsistencies? Meaning? - Things lacking consistency.

Right.

Mr. Careles, you really have nothing to worry about. It's routine.

Give me a login and a desk. You won't even know I'm here.

You're all set up.

- Please, don't hesitate to call. - Thanks. I may take you up on that.

So, Dr. Santino, you use cognitive behavioral therapy

versus the Jungian method of dream analysis, correct?

That is correct.

Mukesh read Herodotus at age 5.

He passed AP Calculus in the fourth grade.

He scored 2400 on his practice SATs.

Twenty four hundred is a perfect score.

And Mukesh is a perfect boy.

So do you think dream analysis is cool or a pile of the S-word?

- No S-word, Mukesh. - Sorry, Mamacita.

Mukesh, I use whatever method works best for the individual.

So I don't have to divulge to you my uninteresting superhero dream?

No, not yet, at least.

How about we just talk about why you're here today?

You mean, the incident?

I was cruising, Dr. Dani,

channeling Pete Maravich as I wove my way through the competitors.

I already qualified for the national bee,

so this was just a mere formality.

Then I got stuck on the D in "foudroyant."

And has stuttering or fainting ever been a problem prior to the incident?

No. But it has been ever since.

Whenever I think about what happened...

Is that when the stuttering comes back?

The national spelling bee is in one week.

Mukesh has been competing since he was 6.

He came in second last year. He's favored to win.

I have to win. Second's no good. I want the title.

Ladies. We are moments away from the first annual T-Kumbaya.

If you kum, you better baya! Know what I'm saying?

- Terrence King, is it really you? - That's what the bling says, girl.

If you have a golden ticket, step into the chocolate factory,

let Willy show you what's Wonka, okay?

I actually just wanted to give you this.

Of course you did.

Mr. King, you've just been served.

What is this? I thought I wasn't gonna have to testify.

The DA isn't calling you, Mr. King.

This is from the shooter's attorney.

He's arguing self-defense as a mitigating factor.

Self-de-what?

I was unarmed. He's lucky I didn't rip his head off and piss down his throat!

- Their argument in a nutshell. - Exactly, T. It's their argument.

- It doesn't mean any of it's true. - It's a diversionary tactic.

That's what happens when they have no case.

They'll try to make you look like some angry athlete,

then they'll find a juror gullible enough not to convict.

Well, I ain't testifying.

- You can't ignore a subpoena. - I can ignore anything.

- I'm ignoring your ass right now. - Mr. King,

don't underestimate the effect of star power on a jury.

T., you wanna put this guy away, right?

You're not gonna punch me in the face when it's cloudy, are you?

Pardon me?

I read about some old stuttering cures. Another was drinking water

from a snail shell for the rest of your life.

I was thinking of something a little more modern. Singing.

Singing?

- No, I can't-- - It's just an exercise.

See, sometimes stress causes physical manifestations,

and singing has been used to remedy stuttering,

and it's far less violent than punching somebody in the face.

So do you have a favorite song?

Do you know the "Thong Song"?

I-- I do know the "Thong Song."

I'm thinking something a little different.

- "SexyBack"? - No.

- "The Humpty Dance." - No.

More along the lines of "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Fine, but hip-hop is a thoroughly underappreciated form of poetry.

I'm quite sure that it is,

but how about you stand up and we give this a try?

Yeah?

Are you ready? All right.

"Consanguineous" to the tune of "Itsy-bitsy Spider."

C-O-N-S-A-N-G-U-I-N-E-O-U-S.

A-R-B-O-R-E-S-C-E-N-T. Arborescent.

D-I-O-C-E-S-E. Diocese.

Mukesh, that was excellent.

And now "The Humpty Dance."

Look at you.

- You're very good. - I know, right?

You blocked my access?

Maybe if I knew why the league actually sent you,

I could be more helpful.

More helpful than you've already been? No way.

Look, I like you, so I'm just gonna tell it to you straight.

I can hardly wait.

Once the divorce is complete, the league is going to strongly suggest

that Mr. Pittman sell the Hawks,

so we're getting all of our ducks in a row.

We found some duckies with red flags.

What kind of red flags?

The kind involving betting lines in Atlantic City,

- your trainer turned assistant GM. - Matt Donnally.

And an old friend of his.

I looked into that. The friend was handled.

- Donnally's clean. - What if you missed something?

- Left a stone unturned? - I don't miss anything.

- And I turn over every stone. - Maybe it was under a pebble, then.

Look, make this easy on me.

Give me what I need on Donnally, hard copies, hard drive, whatever.

I'll even say please.

Oh, Matt, of course I'll marry you.

I love this ring.

Honey, don't get attached.

You're right. It's too big.

I'd just get carpal tunnel lugging that thing around.

Yeah, and I'd have to sell a kidney.

So realistically, what do you think?

See that one there?

It's so perfect.

No, Jeanette. Jeanette, no, no. Look at me. Listen to me.

I am not proposing today, okay?

I need you to keep a secret,

and Dani's got a way of yanking secrets out of people.

- So do not let emotion break you. - I won't. I promise.

It's just so, so special.

And I am so happy for Dani.

- Excuse me. - Hormones. She's pregnant.

He's not the father.

It's just that the daddy doesn't know yet, and I just can't...

Okay. Okay.

"Infelicitous. Inappropriate, awkward, regrettable."

I-N-F-E-L-I-C-I-T-O-U-S.

Correct.

- "Liquefacient." - L-I-Q-U-E-F...

Hey, you're doing great, Mukesh.

L-I-Q...

Mukesh, just do what we practiced.

I don't want to.

Listen to Dr. Santino, Mukesh. Sing the words.

L-I-Q-U-U...

I need water.

Mukesh. Mukesh, it's three days until competition.

Mukesh.

Praveena...

does Mukesh socialize with the other kids?

Those aren't kids. They're piranhas. Don't let their exteriors fool you.

How about in between all the lessons and the spelling?

Does he have time for fun?

For Mukesh, this is fun.

Dr. Santino, you have to understand.

Where we come from, Mumbai, we had nothing.

We moved to this country

to give our only child, Mukesh, everything we never had.

This is his college-scholarship ticket, right here.

Mukesh, hey.

- I'm sorry, Dr. Dani. - You don't have to apologize to me.

That is a lot of pressure out there to win,

for yourself and for your family.

If you think it's my pushy mother making me do this, the answer is no.

I want this for me as much as she does.

So what was going on out there that suddenly made you so nervous?

Hope.

What you think, Matty D?

I'm going for a cross between Atticus Finch and Johnnie Cochran.

Girl, I hope you brought extra measuring tape.

Listen. The DA wants to prep you a little bit.

Prep me? What's the prep?

I'll be the best witness he's ever seen. I'll be Denzel on that stand.

I'm gonna get an Oscar for witnessing.

Let's not try to win an Oscar. Just be yourself.

No, on second thought, let's just do what the DA tells you to do.

I'm standing outside the courthouse

where jury selection is under way in the Terrence King shooter case.

The defense will be claiming that T.K. brought the attack on himself.

My client is the victim of a rage-aholic, megalomaniacal,

pampered athlete. It was self-defense,

and when the facts come to light, the jury will agree.

You don't wanna watch this.

T.K. has been the perpetual problem child.

The only defense in an encounter with Mr. King

is to have a loaded weapon at the ready.

- Come on. Let's turn this crap off. - Yeah. You know what?

- That's a good idea. - T.--

I was afraid of this.

The trial and the testifying. It's gonna set him back.

He is nowhere near ready to go in front of a jury.

Members of the jury, wouldn't you have felt threatened

by the ranting, raving, remote-control-throwing

wide receiver from the New York Hawks?

What happens if T.K. defies the subpoena?

He'll be in contempt of court, potentially go to jail.

Yeah. And beyond jail, in the court of public opinion,

everybody starts to ask, "What's T.K. got to hide?"

He's gotta show.

I ain't going.

They're gonna try to twist all the facts

and make it seem like I did something wrong.

But you didn't do anything wrong.

This lawyer, he's gonna trot out every bad thing I've ever done,

and then what?

The entire world gets to judge me?

This trial could be an opportunity for you to get closure.

Face your attacker head-on.

Terrence, I know that this is scary,

but it can also be empowering.

The press doesn't know the real Terrence King, but you do.

"Hope." You said that hope was making you nervous.

Hoping for what?

Not what, who. Her name is Hope Chen.

Last three years, we've both been in the finals.

The top 12.

- She scares me. - Why?

- She wants to beat me. - Well, you wanna beat her.

But I don't think I can.

She's the F-word.

- I'm sorry, "the F-word"? - Formidable.

They call her the Queen Bee. Nothing rattles her.

What rattles you, Mukesh?

When I'm up there on that stage,

and, suddenly, I have to make a choice...

which letter comes next?

And I know what's at stake, for me, for my family.

And I see Hope staring back at me.

I just... I just can't get the words out.

These were the days, man.

Just feed them and change them and keep them happy.

The minute you stop wiping their butt, you lose all control.

You could wipe butts again.

Well, I think you guys could pretty much handle it all at this point.

At what point?

Jeanette. Jeanette.

- I know nothing. - You're the worst liar in the world.

- I know. I suck! - Oh, my God!

Is Matt going to...?

Well, okay. It has been six months. I just...

I didn't think he was ready, or if I was ready, I mean...

But at this age, when you know, you know.

- You know? - I know.

I know you know.

- And I do love him. - And he loves you.

He does.

Hey, you got a minute?

I gotta get to T.K.'s prep session with the DA. What's up?

Your buddy, Ted Cannivale. You have any contact with him?

- Not since you ran him off. Why? - Vegas.

He seems to be putting down some roots there, up to his old tricks.

Like I said, I haven't talked to him.

How did you drop 10 grand at Brown and Company?

Kind of expensive taste.

You're crossing the line, Nico. Stay out of my life.

I'm not in it. The league is.

Well, you can tell the league to go to hell because I'm clean.

So a ring.

For someone special?

Since when do you give a damn about my personal life?

I don't.

Mukesh, remember your Arabic suffix roots,

- and your silent-letter trick words. - Don't forget the B-word, breathe.

- Hi, Mukesh. - Hi, Hope.

Let's go, Hope.

We are now at the last round of the first day of the championship.

Next up, number 38, Hope Chen.

Your word is "mellifluous."

Mellifluous. M-E-L-L-I-F-L-U-O-U-S.

- Mellifluous. - Correct.

Next up, Mukesh Jeevan.

Your word is "metastasize."

Can I have the definition, please?

To deteriorate or spread into new areas,

as with blood or lymph vessels.

Metastasize.

Come on, Mukesh. You know this.

"Metastasize."

M-E-T-A-S-T-A-S-I-Z-E. Metastasize.

Correct.

Mukesh.

On the night in question, isn't it true you had been drinking?

Yeah, but I didn't have a lot, you know? I wasn't drunk.

A yes or no will do.

Yes. We'd been celebrating our victory.

Don't give them any more than they ask for.

No explanations.

Just stick to yes or no. So you'd been drinking?

Affirmative.

And isn't it true that you made fun of the defendant

in front of a bar full of patrons?

I don't remember it like that.

Mr. King, do you know a man named Darrell Lewis?

He play for Dallas?

- No. - Very good.

Now, do you remember

smashing a cell phone into Mr. Lewis' head last October?

- Yes or no, Mr. King. - No. I mean, yeah, I did, but he was --

- Yes or no. - Yes! Damn.

And isn't it true that your team mandated

you seek therapy for anger management, Mr. King?

- Are they gonna ask me that? - It's a matter of public record.

You admitted this in an interview.

Look, on cross-examination,

I'll steer you towards explaining anything in doubt.

Let me do your fighting for you, okay?

Isn't it true you regularly see a therapist?

Yes.

And you've had anger-management issues?

Yes.

Mr. King, do you now or have you ever possessed a firearm?

Yes. Man, I got shot, fool! That's the world I live in!

Of course I got a gun! I'd be stupid not to.

And I go to therapy because I'm messed up in the head.

And I hit people in the face with cell phones

because you don't hurt your hands. I need my hands.

You happy now?

I walked you through this so that you could see what their tactics are.

If you lose your temper, which is what the defense is counting on,

then they win.

And your assailant gets a lesser sentence, maybe even walks.

I urge you to try and find a way to relax before this trial.

With jury selection over,

Terrence King is only days away from facing a blitz package

unlike any he's ever faced in his past

as the defense plans to call him to the witness stand.

This is gonna be a freaking circus.

Just what T.K. needs.

Okay. No more work.

It's not that easy to just shut it off.

That's what I'm here for.

I love this.

I love having you in my bed every night.

Me too.

- Dan? - We have got to lock the door!

Stop it.

- Hey. What's wrong? - Hormones again?

No. I'm spotting.

I think maybe I'm losing-- Losing the baby.

Hey, do you think we should call Augusto,

just at least let him know everything's okay?

No, because then we'd have to let him know that he's got a baby on the way.

Right. That's no bueno.

- Why hasn't she told him yet? - I don't know.

- What is she doing? Oh, no. - Oh, no.

- Honey, no. - No, no. No.

- Everything's fine. - It's just spotting.

Happens sometimes in the early stages of pregnancy.

The baby's healthy,

but she should rest a couple of days just to be safe.

Thank you.

Well, listen, there is something good to come out of all this.

It's my first picture of Gusto Jr.

- What if he doesn't want a baby? - No, no, Jeanette.

You show him this picture, trust me, he's gonna be over the moon.

He's got your eyes.

I had my best IT guy put it together yesterday.

It's all there.

What's in this, millions of your cat pictures?

- How'd you know I have a cat? - Lucky guess.

If I were you, I would load this up with as much worthlessness as possible,

giving me so much to sort, I would go mad.

Something like this.

This isn't about Donnally, is it?

This is about me.

This is about wiretaps,

specifically, Pittman's role in ordering and installing them,

and, by extension, your role as well.

- So Donnally was just subterfuge? - Let me spell this out for you.

If you've got something to tell me, now is the time.

All right.

I will be back at my hotel because I've got an early flight to catch.

My job doesn't afford me time to waste.

When you're ready to give me what I want, that's where I will be.

- Praveena, where is Mukesh? - He isn't coming because of you.

- I'm sorry? - He quit the bee.

He's never quit at anything.

Okay, Mrs. Jeevan,

if Mukesh wants to quit, it's not because of something I've said.

He's struggling with something internally,

and I'm trying to help him figure out what that is.

Dr. Santino, we are not rich people. Mukesh needs this spelling bee.

It's his ticket to higher education.

- I understand you feel-- - Do you? Do you understand, really?

Everything that we've worked towards...

I want what's best for Mukesh, same as you,

but something is spooking him and he does not want to be there.

But what is it? What?

- T.K. - T.K.

- T.K. - Hey, yo, T.K.

Sign these.

Hey, T.K.

Have you seen the news? Your reputation is worse than mine.

Those stories can't be wrong.

Maybe I'm your fate or I'm your destiny.

Back off, man. You're twisted.

Since the cradle, you've been headed for the grave.

World's been out to get you since Day 1.

You're not real.

Really? What's more real than some random fool trying to shoot you?

Karmic payback for all that bad rain you poured down on people.

You've been running from me your whole life.

But you can't outrun you.

- Onyx. - Pardon?

My cat's name, it's Onyx.

It really was a lucky guess.

The wiretaps, nothing illegal.

They satisfy the one-party consent rule in New York State,

and Pittman did consent. So you have nothing on me, Vera.

I sincerely hope that's true, Nico.

So you got everything you wanted?

Almost everything.

Mellifluous.

Mellifluous.

M-E-L-L-I-F-L-U-O-U-S.

L-L-I-F-L-U-O-U-S.

- Hi, Hope. - Hi, Mukesh.

Honey.

Hey. What happens when you gotta choose

between two things that conflict with each other?

You ask really weird questions at 2 in the morning?

You stutter.

I already told you, I quit. Why am I being dragged here?

Dr. Dani requested a few minutes with you.

I'll be waiting.

Mukesh.

The other day, you said that Hope scares you.

And yet when it was her turn during the bee,

you mouthed every letter that came out of her mouth

even before she did.

You are every bit as good as she is and you know it.

It's not that you can't beat her.

It's that you don't want to.

Why?

She had the C-word, cancer.

Yeah, I saw her bracelet.

Doesn't she deserve a win?

I think that you are stuck

between protecting yourself and protecting her,

and in the moment, when you are faced with that choice...

- I stutter. - Yup.

And she's so beautiful.

Mukesh, you like a girl.

But you can't sacrifice your dreams for someone else,

even someone that you care very much about.

She wouldn't want you to do that either, I bet.

But you can ask her to have ice cream with you after the bee.

- You think? - I do.

This is atypical for me. No. No. More of an anomaly.

Me too. A much needed anomaly.

I don't remember leaving my laptop open.

I figured I'd copy the files onto your computer,

you know, save you some time.

I got the access I wanted, and so did you.

Hopefully, we'll meet again.

Here's to more anomalies.

I think I'm gonna need my SIM card if I'm gonna call you, don't I?

Eleven pictures of Onyx.

He's my friend.

What about Dani?

A lot of texts and phone calls.

She's another friend.

Hi.

- How you doing? - I'm all right.

My pants are a little tight in the crotch. I feel like Apolo Ohno.

Hey, can't stop the whole world from judging you,

but you can be clear when judging yourself.

Can I?

Terrence, you didn't deserve to be shot.

That's very clear to me.

Mr. King, do you recall the night in question?

Yes, sir.

Isn't it true you had been drinking that night?

I had a mojito.

Isn't it also true that you mocked the defendant in front of the entire bar?

No.

Oh, so you didn't yell "scoreboard,"

and get the entire bar laughing at my client?

I was minding my own business.

Your client approached me, told me how bad I sucked and shot me twice.

That's what happened.

Mr. King needs to answer the question.

He just did.

Mr. King, are you a violent man?

- No. - But an angry man, yes?

A man who's been in therapy, who continues to require therapy.

A man prone to outbursts.

Is that you, T.K.?

- Objection, Your Honor. - Sustained.

Isn't it true you have a history of aggressive behavior?

Not as aggressive as your aftershave.

T.K., is this the wake-up call you need

to finally get your head out of the sand and grow up a little bit?

If I grow up too much, your ass will be out of a job.

You don't want that. All right, get my good side.

Trick. I don't have a bad side.

I'm gonna see you all on the field.

We are down to our last two spellers.

"Impenetrable."

- Definition, please. - "Adjective.

- Incapable of being comprehended." - Impenetrable.

I-M-P-E-N-E-T-R-A-B-L-E.

- Impenetrable. - That's correct.

- "Vacillate." - Vacillate.

V-A-C-I-L-L-A-T-E. Vacillate.

- "Vicissitude." - Definition, please.

Shift or variation in the course of something.

Sudden or unexpected change often encountered in one's life.

Vicissitude.

V-I-C-I-S-S-I-

T-U-D-E.

- Vicissitude. - That's correct.

- You're doing great. - You too.

Purgatory. A place or state of temporary suffering or misery.

Purgatory.

P-U-R-G-A-T-O-R-Y.

- Purgatory. - Correct.

Hello? Hey, hello. Gusto.

Baby, it's Jeanette. Yeah. Yeah. Hi.

No, no, no. You gotta slow down. Remember, baby? I'm still learning.

Are you sitting down?

We're having a baby, baby.

Yeah. Yeah, we are.

Well, I don't know yet, but I got this picture in front of me.

What do you mean, what does it look like?

Well, it looks like a little chicken-nugget, baby.

It looks like you.

Matt.

Look me in the eye

and tell me that you are 100% okay

with never having an ultrasound moment for yourself.

Dani, I...

So...

anytime we're gonna be around someone else's kids,

it's always gonna be the big elephant in the room,

isn't it?

I guess so.

I hoped you were eventually gonna change your mind.

I know.

And I could see that hope in your eye.

I don't want you to sacrifice your dreams for me,

because you know you'd come to resent me,

and I wouldn't be able to live with that.

I love you.

I love you too.

This isn't gonna work, is it?