01x09 - Ouroboros

Episode transcripts for the TV show "House of Lies". Aired January 8, 2012 - June 12, 2016*
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"House of Lies" is a dark comedy-drama about a cutthroat management consultant and his team, who will stoop to any means necessary to get a result.
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01x09 - Ouroboros

Post by bunniefuu »

Hey, Clyde Oberholt.

And you must be this pod I've heard so much about.

Jeannie van der Hooven.

Doug Guggenheim.

You recognize the name?

Well, that's actually a funny story.

When I got into Harvard...

(chuckles)

My name is Marty Kaan.

This is even stupid to bring up, but my last 360, zero development needs.

I aced my exams.

Okay, I got one wrong.

Though we don't know the exact family tree of the Guggenheim name... uh...

Yeah, I can...

I can shut the f*ck up.

I feel like I'm back in B school going out on job interviews.

f*ck. Excuse my French.

We could hang out. What are your likes and dislikes?

I'll go first. Board games.

Are you kidding me with this sh*t?

I mean, look at yourselves.

You can do better than this.

This is ridiculous.

Hey, Dad, what's an ouroboros?

Uh, I think it's a monkey.

Close. It's a snake.

A snake eating its own tail.

A snake eating its own tail, that's right.

Mm-hmm.

It's one of the symbols of cyclicality, like everything going in a circle.

It's also one of the assimilations of opposites, like, uh, dealing with a shadow.

You remember I told you about the shadow.

Yeah, maybe.

Yeah, right, right, right.

Like dealing with those parts of ourselves that, uh, we really need to look at, but, uh, don't want to.

Yeah, so for the purposes of your report, it's a snake eating its own tail.

Hmm, okay. who dwarf these mere legends.

K. Warren McDale...

He looks like the ghost of Christmas past.

...Kenny to his friends.

K. Warren McDale is such a giant...

Oh, my God.

How can he talk with all that cock in his mouth?

Skip, that's too big for your mouth. Stop.

Would you please? Shh!

...towering...

I was... over the rest of us.

His mere presence sends a signal to these so-called legends to step aside.

Skip?

To move on, to...

Jesus Christ.

Anyway, a man who needs absolutely no introduction.

K. Warren...

I'm bringing in another consultancy to do a top-down on Galweather.

Every partner, every PM, every analyst will be interviewed.

There's going to be no exceptions.

We'll be looking at your leverage ratio, staffing pyramid, average revenue per partner, client side impact...

(whispers): m*therf*cker.

Every spot on your g*dd*mn nutsack.

So good luck.

Hi, Kenny.

(chuckles)

I cannot wait to show you our takeaways.

Well, I always love your takeaways, darlin'.

Ooh.

(laughing)

Hey, Marty.

James.

m*therf*cking m*therf*cker.

Okay, let me introduce you to our outside team from Kinsley-Johnson.

They are the best this business has to offer.

And I mean the best.

It's funny how that works...

Greg.

Yeah, what?

This is a nine-figure deal.

Mm-hmm.

I hope you're not nursing a hard-on for Kaan here.

I...

Can you nurse a hard-on?

If anybody can do it, you can.

You're the hard-on that needs a nurse.

Ew. What?

Because love him or hate him, whether he survives or gets thrown to the wolves, Marty Kaan is at least his own man.

Thank you, K.

And you and his team had better learn to work together.

If you don't start interfacing in some real and meaningful way, I'm going to shitcan the lot of you.

Is that perfectly understood?

I think that... Okay.

Oh, good.

Great speech, Skip.

Very inspiring.

(gasps)

Hi, Daddy.

Please.

Please don't do this here.

Okay?

Well, where am I supposed to do it?

You always have that little whore at your place.

You aren't really getting off on this right now, are you?

I mean, that's too twisted even for you.

What are you...?

This little engagement?

Yeah.

Oh, please, you have nothing to worry about.

Oh, not good.

I'm just the PM. I have six other engagements going on this week.

How long you think you guys are going to stay bulletproof with business practices like that?

Well, as long as our competition is still sh1tting the bed.

Oh...?

Oh, which reminds me.

I want you in my ass.

See you later, sweetie.

Yep.

Bye, sycophants.

Bye.

Would it be weird if I hit that?

You allergic to penicillin?

No.

Hit it.

Are you seriously okay with that?

Because I would hit her... it that.

Okay, we have to be able to say it to hit it.

Want to go practice in your office?

Yeah, sure.

(Polynesian music plays)

(Rainmaker sighs)

Marty: It's all happening.

We have to stop this train, Marco.

(cr*ck)

(yelling)

I understand your concerns, Marty.

But it sounded more like K. Warren wanted to blow you than fire you. Ow!

f*ck you, Kanani!

What, too hard?

What is it about the words "green card" you don't understand?

I'm from Hawaii.

K. Warren doesn't think in human terms.

He thinks in piles of cash.

I thought you made him piles of cash in the mortgage collapse.

That's not going to translate.

When Greg and Skip get through sh1tting all over me that...

No, we got to do something big here, man.

Something f*cking seismic.

Burn this place down.

Poison the well.

Oh, that's it!

That is it! That's it!

(loud cr*ck)

Oh, finally.

Oh!

All right, I'm out of here.

You bitch.

All right, same time next week. Wednesday, okay?

Thanks, baby.

Bye, baby.

Marco, let's seize our destiny.

Skip wants me out of the business.

Let's push his ass out.

Or at least take this merger away from MetroCap.

Or both.

Both?

Mm-hmm.

You got a both?

You ever heard of a guy named Enrique Cazuelas?

South American oil money flowing out of his ass.

You bet I heard of him.

Yeah, sick money.

Unfair money.

And he owes me.

I put together his entire international package.

This might be a nice little hobby for him.

Enrique could be our white knight.

And if you were to say to Enrique, uh...

"Let's blow Skip out of the water"?

Vaporized.

Oh, hey, Marty, Marty.

Aw.

Marty, Marty, Marty.

Greg, Greg, Greg.

Marty, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Big-- big owie for Greggie.

Poor me. Moving on.

Anyway, we should have a meeting.

You, me, your pod, a strategy sesh.

(chuckles)

Yeah. Right?

That's complete bullshit.

What?

Are you f*cking kidding me?

A strategy sesh...?

Greg, you hate me.

You hate my team.

You orchestrated this whole "merger/hostile takeover"

'cause you want to make me your sl*ve.

I... sl*ve, I...

It's just a word, but it's true, right?

You don't even want to fire me.

You just want to f*cking humiliate me until my contract's up, so that you can see me broken professionally.

Personally, if possible.

But here's the f*cked-up thing, Greg.

You also like me, don't you?

And since you got here to L.A., you got your head all f*cked up.

You don't even know if you give a sh*t about the things you used to care about anymore.

Your job, your career, your New York life, your empty-headed ex-wife.

This is only going to end one of two ways between us, Greg.

Either we're going to move past this sh*t, or you and I are going to f*cking k*ll each other.

So f*ck the strategy sesh.

f*ck it right in its lame ass.

Here's what you and I need to do-- we need to go out.

Let's go out and rage, man.

Let's spend a shitload of Metro's money.

Let's drink. Let's get so f*cking high we black out and can't even remember our names.

And then let's do unspeakable things to people we are never going to see again.

And then we're gonna know.

Then we're gonna know if we even care anymore. Let's do that.

Yes.

(both chuckle)

(laughs)

Let's... let's do it!

Let's do it!

Yeah.

Hey, uh, bring Jeannie.

Oh, she's coming.

Yeah.

Strategy sesh? Bullshit!

(laughs)

See you later!

(cell phone rings)

Hey, baby.

Coming up here?

To my work?

No! Uh, actually, I was just going down in the, um, the elevator 'cause I was gonna go get a coffee, so I will, I'll meet you downstairs, okay?

Oh, Hey! Hey, hey!

Oh, f*ck! Hi.

You're out of breath.

Yeah.

I was just gonna pop up and surprise you.

Oh, I... it's so crazy up there today.

Hey, where's your ring?

Uh, I'm getting it resized 'cause it, like, fell off the other day when I was doing the... the, um...

Are you all right? You're...

Yes, um, yes.

There's... these other, um... consultants in today assessing our performance, and it's...

Consultants consulting the consultants?

Yeah. It's f*cked, right?

That's like, the, uh... what is it, the snake thing that eats its own...

Yeah. Hey, Marty.

And I wasn't...

Mar...? Marty? Marty Kaan?

Marty Kaan!

The man, the legend?

Hold on a second.

Do I know you?

Jeans talks about you all the time.

Some of it's actually even pretty good.

Who's this?

Marty, this is Wes, my fianc?

I'll call you back.

Oh, my God. Wes.

Maybe she'll shut up talking about you now that I've finally met you.

Tells so many stories about... I feel like I should f*cking marry you, she tell so many Wes stories.

It's, like, "Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes."

It's like a Wes-tern up there.

Right?

He is funny.

You don't need a PR firm, not with this one, Miss Chatty Kathy.

Okay, good to meet you.

Finally, it's good to, uh...

That's the word: finally.

Okay, okay.

Take care.

Yep.

Marty Kaan.

April: Oh, my God!

Hurry, hurry!

No! Here!

Roscoe: Here, in the bag.

(clears throat)

You are not slick. What?

What?

What?

Ah, echo in here, huh?

Mostly, what are you doing up?

None of your business.

Oh, really?

Remember how good you used to sleep after I'd spank your behind?

Oh, no, no, no.

I got his back on that one, Marty.

Straight up.

Ah, so, it's a conspiracy, huh?

A little two-against-one thing.

Mm-hmm.

I see.

(quietly): Go to bed.

Night, Dad.

Night, April!

What?!

Whoa. Whoa, what was all that?

That was fresh.

Let me get some of that.

April: Things have changed around here, Mister.

Night, Dad.

Guess I'll just put that back in there.

(sighs): Oh, God.

I f*cking hate you, Marty.

Awesome.

Welcome to the club.

You care to elaborate?

I really like that kid.

Yeah, me, too.

(sighs)

What's up with you?

Nothing.

I don't know. I just...

I should just shut up and live in the moment, right?

Hey-hey-hey-hey.

Just give me a kiss.

Is this just an extended booty call?

No.

April, look at me.

No.

Come here.

(clears throat)

But, uh, you know, I won't bore you with the details of that.

Unless you want me to, I can.

I can go into it for you.

f*ck. I said it again.

I don't even think about bonuses until it's...

(phone rings)

Give me one...

Oh, this is embar... I can't believe this is happening. in front of everybody.

Warren Buffet. Super needy.

Give me one sec.

W. Buffed.

Columbia.

Doug: Are you joking?

Went to Harvard.

Clyde: Nope.

That's funny. I know people who have gone to Harvard.

I went to Wharton, actually.

You know, I got into, uh, Lecoq in France, the famous clowning school.

Sell! Sell! Yeah.

Then buy it back!

I don't know, man.

(laughs) I know, right?

Marty's a great boss.

Doug: I live by one rule: WWMD. What would Marty do?

That's it.

Oh, and also do whatever the company wants.

I've learned dedication.

I've learned to do anything to get the deal.

Clyde: Honestly?

I learned the most to learn from his mistakes.

It's the only way you can get better is by watching someone f*ck up in front of you.

Marty: You do whatever you have to do.

Whatever it takes.

And then you deal with the fallout later.

And that fallout can be your family, can be your parents, can be your kids, relationships.

All those things f*cking go by the wayside.

Are you prepared for that?

(laughs) I'm just joking.

I don't know what the f*ck this is.

You just, you just do what you do.

You kids k*ll me.

Oh, man! Oh, man! Oh, man!

Do you realize I've never had Korean barbeque in my life?

Man, that was awesome!

That was bone-f*cking awesome!

Yep.
Doug?

Doug, what are you doing?

I think I'm gonna float away!

You are, bro, I'm gonna help you.

Come here.

I'm gonna help you.

Wait. No.

Yes. You're good, you're good, you're good. Look at you.

I feel like I'm made out of balloons.

Look at you.

You're awesome.

Help him, help him.

There you go.

Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh!

Jeannie van der...

Hooven.

Hoo...

Greg Norbert!

That's right.

(laughs)

Leave it. Let it go.

Let it go.

It's not worth it.

Wow, you are a deep, deep...

You're deep.

You're a deep well.

I know.

Yes, I am, Greg.

Yes, yes. I am.

She's a very deep well.

She is full of secrets.

Secrets that are a great Westery to most of us.

What does that mean? What secrets are we talking about?

You ever go, you ever go stand-up paddling?

I don't know what that means.

Hey.

Yeah?

Do we have a play here?

Not yet.

I love L.A.!

I love it!

(whistles)

This way!

I'll meet you there in a sec.

All right.

Greg: Hey-hey-hey, feeling all... feeling all boxed in and withdrawn?

I feel okay.

You feel okay?

I do.

Feel okay?

No, no!

You do feel good?

No, no, no!

I'm so sorry.

What do mean, you're sorry?!

I had to.

Even with the weight of the world on you, man?

Like, with Greg the Company Slayer standing over you, broadsword held high?

Zounds, my lord!

You still good?

I think I'm O.D.'ing I'm overd'ing.

You're not overd'ing.

I'm overd'ing.

One day you come into my life, you devastate my f*cking life, I come and I devastate your f*cking career, man.

You're not gonna do that.

You know, I spend my whole career kissing up to my boss.

He doesn't give a sh*t about Greg Norbert. Nada!

Hold it.

No, no, no...

That's not legal in L.A.?

Excuse me.

Mr. Greg Norbert?

I heard before. I overheard you say that it doesn't matter.

And I just thought, I wanted to tell you that I think that's a subjective statement.

Yes, Norbert, having a job matters to me.

And to me. And to me.

No-no-no-no-no- no-no-no-no!

No, imagine both you guys get fired.

You guys can spend more time together, maybe even start a family.

Clyde: Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.

No!

The direction of your lives will change.

Greg, can we just go back to the part where you said Doug Guggenheim and I are starting a family together?

Is that a sore subject?

'Cause it is for so many couples.

Exactly.

It is, you guys.

Oh, no, I get it.

Stop.

I see what you've done.

No, it's for straight couples, too.

Jeannie: I know. It is.

Marty: Exactly.

Big decision.

That's the thing.

Clyde and I, we are a straight couple!

That is the worst thing you could have said.

There's no...

There's no judgments!

Doug: Dude, I'm so high.

Marty: Uh, Gregory?

Gregory?

Please stick out thine tonguage.

Thine tongue needs to be stickened.

(dance music playing)

♪ If he mad wile out go along good girl wilee out ♪

Oh, Greg!

* If he vexed wile out nobody pet ball get set wile out *

Oh!

* If he out wile out right wun night girl stop wile out *

♪ Gwarn get deep make a scene wile out ♪
♪ And then embarrass them gone scream and shout tell him ♪
♪ Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell... ♪
♪ Where this crazy cool is about to go ♪
♪ Don't you take me there, you don't wanna see ♪
♪ What this crazy cool is about to be ♪
♪ Don't you take me there ♪
♪ You don't wanna know ♪
♪ Well, just take me there ♪
♪ You don't wanna see ♪
♪ What this crazy cool is about to be ♪
♪ Be, be, be, be... ♪
♪ If he mad wile out gwarn along badgirl wile out ♪
♪ If he vexed wile out nobody petball get set wile out ♪

(cackles) That is beautiful!

♪ If he out wile out right wun night girl stop wile out ♪

No!

♪ Gwarn get seen make a scene wile out ♪
♪ And embarrass them gwarn scream and shout tell him ♪

Whoo!

♪ If he mad wile out gwarn along badgirl wile out... ♪

(music stops)

April 19, 1943.

Albert Hoffman takes 25 times the threshold dose of LSD and rides his bicycle through the streets of Basel.

The first therapeutic use of lysergic ac diethylamide.

The drug later goes on to be used as a psychotomimetic, a psychotropic, in CIA mind control studies, and as a great way to see a concert.

But for our purposes, please observe one Gregory Norbert.

(spotlight clunking)

I've watched him these past few weeks poised on the precipice of... what?

Self-actualization?

Genuine epiphany?

Consciousness-opening revelation?

Whatever it f*cking takes for him to leave his hands off me and my company, please, Lord, let us pray.

(pulsating dance music plays)

Doug: Uh, 10,000.

Woman: What was that?

10,000-- that's how many restaurants there are in Manhattan.

That's what you're going to ask, right?

Actually L.A.

L.A. Oh. QSR or fine dine?

Wow. Fine dine.

4,617.

(chuckles)

Yeah. Do you want to know my methodology?

Uh, supply side or demand side, uh, triangulating...

What about, uh...

$560.

A month.

Huh?

That's what you spend on your electricity bill.

Wow.

(Doug chuckling)

Impressive, huh?

I can see he's married, so I impute the 1.7 children.

No stepfamily-- yet.

(chuckles)

I mean, and given the typical...

Okay. Okay.

It's all up here.

And locked away in the Guggen-vault.

(laughs)

Sometimes it's too much.

I went to Andover with your fianc?

Amanda.

Oh, good.

Good school. Good fianc?

Do you think you'll want to keep working after you get married?

Not like you'll have to, with all of Wes's money.

Um, that's... none of your f*cking business.

But yeah, I will keep working until I'm a senior partner...

...and you're still perfecting cappuccino orders.

Clyde: When I look down

the barrel of this thing and I really think it through-- right, when the dust settles-- you know what I see?

I see you guys.

I see Kinsley.

And I want you to have the first sh*t at Clyde Oberholt.

Start the bidding now.

Be the first ones.

You want me to take it back.

I know people laugh at me.

Uh, behind my back, sometimes to my face.

Uh, I'm a social ret*rd.

I get that.

Uh, do I have many friends?

Not really.

But when it comes to numbers, there is no one better.

That's not a brag.

You can look it up.

So, uh... having said that, can I... can I ask what you, uh, wrote down about me?

Oh... don't write that down.

Stop writing down stuff I say.

When this doesn't happen, and then you're sitting on this side of the desk and they're looking at you three assholes going, "Which one did it?"

When you start f*cking each other over, you try to throw him under the bus, you offer to f*ck her, you give him a blow job, you give him a hand job, all of a sudden, you're gay, what happens?

How do you get out of that?

I'm not going to forget any of you.

And when it doesn't go down, I'm coming for each one of you m*therf*ckers.

Now, write that sh*t in your report.

(Rainmaker speaking Spanish)

Well, he is into it--

I mean, in theory.

The Argentinean peso is a little wonky right now, but I think he's going to come through.

Jesus Christ.

Your man's that liquid?

Oil? Yeah.

No, that's seriously liquid.

No, that's liquid.

(chuckling)

Oh.

Greg.

Hey.

Hey.

(chuckling): Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

(sighs)

(chuckles)

Is there something I can do for you?

Oh. No, actually, I'm good.

I am real... good.

Good. Uh, should we, uh...

Oh, yeah.

Let's...

(sighs, clears throat)

Uh-oh.

So vulnerable.

So how was my team?

Weren't they amazing?

Everything I'd expected.

I'm not trying to shut your shop down.

I hope you know that, sweetie.

I prefer you with your balls.

Wow.

That's so sweet and... patronizing at the same time.

Hmm.

(alarm rings)

Maybe you should teach me a lesson.

I think I'm just going to go home.

Ugh! You're being such a boner k*ller lately.

Monica, maybe we could just let it go.

I mean, can you imagine what a relief that could be?

Yeah, maybe.

Hold on. Hold on, Marty.

Hold on. Come on in.

Follow me.

What?

Come on. Just follow me.

Nah, this way. This way.

Wait right here.

Okay.

Wait.

Dad... why are you taking Sinemet?

Why are you going through my sh*t?

I wasn't going through...

Shh! Shh!

(whispering): I wasn't going through your sh*t.

There was a pill in the middle of the floor the other day.

Why are you taking Parkinson's dr*gs?

Do the math.

Why didn't you tell me?

Because... I figured you'd just try to-- I don't know-- you know, k*ll me off preemptively, you know, to avoid any sort of, uh, well, discomfort or pain in the future, and I thought...

Are you serious?

Yes, I'm f*cking serious, Marty.

This sh*t is manageable.

They've got all kinds of dr*gs.

They got therapies.

And I'm going to be around for a very long time.

Like it or not, huh?

I don't want some sort of prepackaged, un-messy relationship with my son.

I want you to continue to challenge me, you know, and to take me for granted and to be the... unbelievably f*cking difficult person that you are.

(sighs)

Because I like that person.

By the way, it's my body, and I can tell whoever the hell that I want to tell, okay?

Pop. Pop, Pop, Pop.

Okay. I hear you.

Thanks for the concern.

Truly.

Wait right here.

Come. Look.

Come on, this way.

Come on.

Marty: Sure it hasn't kicked in yet?

Your hands are shaky as hell.

(both laughing)

All right.

Keep your eyes closed, now.

Okay.

Are we... are we still whispering?

No, we're not whispering.

(upbeat jazz plays)

Somebody's behind you?

Oh!

(laughing)

♪ Let's get lost ♪
♪ Lost in each other's arms ♪
♪ Let's get lost ♪
♪ Let them send out alarms ♪
♪ To celebrate this night we found each other ♪
♪ Mmm ♪
♪ Let's get lost ♪

(trumpet solo plays)

Jeremiah: Do it, man.

Roscoe: April!

(April sighs)

♪ Oh, let's get lost. ♪

Hey!

Whoa!

Roscoe: The Roscoe... and April Show!

(laughter, whooping)

I think that is my new...

(kisses) favorite show.

(phone ringing)

Better than Wicked?

Better than Wicked.

Marty: Here, teach it to me.

Messenger.

What?

Messenger.

Okay.

(humming)

Come on, Fred!

Loved it!

Marty Kaan?

Yes, sir.

You've been served, sir.

What is it?

Monica.

Custody.



(bell rings, crowd cheers)
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