01x12 - Episode 12

[bunniefuu]

TUTOR: But if you're
a habitual reader of the genre

and perhaps some of you have become such,

you'll begin to notice the frequency
of these thematic allusions.

And that's not to say
that they become tropes,

but more that we see
what the women of the age

were contending with.

You know, when one--

PHILIP: Hey.
- Hi.

- You okay?

I haven't seen you properly in ages.

- Yeah, I'm fine. Just busy.

- Hmm.
You wanna grab a coffee?

- Um, I can't right now. Sorry.

PHILIP:
Okay. Uh, soon?

- Yeah, sure.
PHILIP: Sure.

♪

♪

[line ringing]

[ringing continues]

[ringing continues]

MELISSA [over phone]:
Hello?

- Hi. Do you have a second?
MELISSA: [clears throat] Yeah.

- Why did you show Bobbi my story?

MELISSA:
Don't know, Frances.

Why did you f*ck my husband?

FRANCES [over phone]:
Extremely hilarious.

Why did you show Bobbi my story?

MELISSA:
Are you--

Are you serious?

Why didn't you show it to Bobbi?

I assumed you had.

If I had written something
so close to home, I think--

- Okay, says the real writer.

MELISSA:
Okay, Frances.

- I think you showed Bobbi the story
because you wanted to hurt me.

- I'm trying to remember
if this level of narcissism

is normal for someone your age.

FRANCES:
No.

I'm very special.

- I asked her how she felt about it.

I was genuinely surprised
that you hadn't told her.

And then she asked to see it.

Maybe I liked that she didn't know.

It's good to know that you treat everyone
with contempt, not just me.

- I didn't feel contempt towards you.

- Right. But you took every opportunity

to make me feel pathetic and conventional.

Writing for money,

having a husband

instead of f*cking
someone else's husband--

- Everything was about Nick.
It wasn't about you.

- He's my husband!

I am part of it!

- Look, if anything, I was

envious of you.

Uh, of your career.

Your life.

- So I'm meant to see
your affair with Nick as a compliment?

- No, that's not what I said.

- Your actions have impact.

Your writing has impact.

The way you have behaved
has had real consequences.

- Okay.

MELISSA:
You made my depressed husband happy

for a while.

And then you gave up
when things got complicated

and you weren't at the center
of the f*cking everything.

And now he's struggling again.

And you call me as though
you're the f*cking victim!

Please, please leave us alone.

- Uh, I'm sorry, Melissa.

I'm sorry for this,
like, aggressive phone call.

It was stupid, I, um--

[Frances sighs]

Uh, I don't really know
what I'm doing at the moment.

Um-- [sniffles]

I'm having a hard time maybe, uh--

MELISSA:
I'm so sorry you're having a hard time.

Are you okay, Frances?

FRANCES: [voice breaking]
I'm fine. I'm fine.

MELISSA: [chuckles]
You don't sound fine.

- I just, um--

I just haven't been the person
that I should have been.

Uh, um--

Sorry, I don't--
I don't know what I'm saying now, um--

[sniffles]

I wish I had been more thoughtful.

I guess I want to apologize for that.

Uh, I'm gonna hang up now.

♪

[sniffles]

♪

♪

[line ringing]

BOBBI [over voice mail]:
Hi, this is Bobbi.

Please leave a message.
[beeps]

♪

FRANCES:
I tried you earlier.

♪

I wanted to say sorry.

And for that to mean
something different this time.

I called Melissa yesterday
about her showing you the story.

You can imagine how she reacted.

I deserved it.

I think you'd have found it pretty funny.

♪

I keep thinking what my story
must have looked like to you.

"She only cared for herself

and the rest of us
were just debris left in her wake."

That was about me
trying to reach for something.

A feeling.

Not an accurate description of you.

♪

When you broke up with me in school,

I didn't understand why it was over.

We deconstruct everything,

but we have never talked about
why we couldn't be together.

And I think I've been
reacting against that.

♪

♪

Our relationship isn't a game.

I should never have treated it like one.

♪

♪

I think about you constantly.

And I want to sleep with you again.

If you'd ever want to do that.

♪

I've always thought that
maybe I wasn't capable of love,

that I was too selfish,

or that there was something
wrong with me somehow.

♪

That isn't true.

♪

I know that I've hurt you, Bobbi, but--

I love you.

And I always have.

♪

[cell phone ringing]

Hi.

BOBBI [over phone]:
That was a pretty solid email.

FRANCES:
I was going for honest.

BOBBI:
It was good.

Thank you.

I'm sorry too.

Where are you?

- Um, I'm on the way to see my dad.

BOBBI:
In Mayo?

- No, he's come up to Dublin.

Would you, um--

Are you around later?

Do you wanna come over?

BOBBI:
Yeah.

- Okay. Um--

Well, I'll be back after, like, 3:00, so--

BOBBI:
Okay.

- Okay.

BOBBI:
Bye.

- Bye.

♪

♪

How was the journey?

- Oh, good.

Train wasn't too busy.

FRANCES:
Is everything alright?

- Just some paperwork, signatures.

- How are you?

- Not so bad.

I'm on these new things, pills,
and I'm sleeping better.

- That's good.

Are you eating?

DENNIS:
Sometimes.

Yeah. You?

- Sometimes.

DENNIS:
The right answer then.

- Um... I-I worry I was, uh--

I wanted to--
- I haven't been here in a long time.

- Thanks for coming.

I'm glad you're feeling better, Dad.

Um--

I've been a bit worried.

- I know, Frances.

You're a good girl.

- Safe travels.

Thanks for breakfast.
- Alright, love. Okay.

- Dad.
- It's alright. Okay. Okay.

- Bye.
- Bye now.

[knock on door]

FRANCES:
Hi.

- Hello.

- Do you wanna come in?

Let's be more straightforward
with one another.

BOBBI:
I agree.

- I missed you.

- Me too.

- I want to kiss you.

BOBBI:
I'd like that.

[both chuckle]

[labored breathing]

♪ Lost With You
by Patrick Watson playing ♪

♪

♪

♪

♪ The lost were playing in the yard ♪

[heavy breathing]

♪ Giving goosebumps
to all the Sunday summer trees ♪

♪ Our hands were tangled in the weeds ♪

[laughs]

♪ Moving so softly nobody can see ♪

♪ Against your morning skin ♪

♪ Well, it's shy like
two young lovers walking by ♪

♪ There's a soft, strange kind of odd ♪

♪ Giving company
to all the lonely hearts ♪

♪

BOBBI:
What happened?

- I did it after you left.

It bled a lot.
I freaked myself out.

I'm not gonna do it again.

[shower running]

Hi.
- Morning.

There's coffee left there for you.

FRANCES:
Hmm. Thank you.

[coffee pouring]

So what happens now?

- I'm gonna go home.

- Then what?

- Library.

- Come on.

- I don't wanna move back in.

- I don't want that either.

- Okay.

What do you want?

- I-I don't want it to be the way it was.

I mean, we were behaving
like a married couple.

Like we owned each other.

I don't really know how that happened.

- People think in couples.

We have to work really hard to resist it.

- I do want us to be
committed to each other

in our own way.

Whatever that turns out to be.

What do you think?

- Sounds good.

- Cool.

- Cool.

♪

[inaudible]

♪

- ...she wants to go in person.

[indistinct conversation]

♪

♪

So you saw your dad in Dublin?

FRANCES: Hmm.
PAULA: That's good.

- Yeah.

- You know, he was very funny, your dad.

I-I don't mean to talk about him
In the past tense,

he still has his moments.

But... when we met,

and when we got married
and when you came along,

he was just terribly funny and kind.

And I didn't want you to think that--

[sighs] Well, that that was never there

or that I--

I don't want you to hate him.

- I don't hate him.

- I love him.
I love both of you, you know.

I just wish it had turned out better.

- And so do I.

You know.

I mean, no one knows
how things are gonna turn out.

[sighs]

You can't be in charge of that.

You know, you just
make decisions and you hope.

You hope.

♪ soft pop music playing over speakers ♪

♪

♪

- Home.

[dings]

[cell phone chimes]

BOBBI [over phone]:
Yay.

♪ Sidelines by Phoebe Bridgers playing ♪

♪

♪

[inaudible]

♪

- Yeah, I know.

♪

♪

♪ I'm not afraid ♪

♪ Of anything at all ♪

WOMAN:
Why are we expected to clean up the mess

from the ones who promised help
and then left us to neglect.

♪ Not being broke again ♪

Every forehead I look at
reads lines of sorrow.

♪ I'm not afraid of living ♪

♪ On a fault line ♪

♪

♪ 'Cause nothing ever shakes me ♪

♪ Nothing makes me cry ♪

♪

[indistinct conversation]

♪ Not a plane going down ♪

♪

♪

♪ In the ocean I'm drowning ♪

- I need to get going.

♪

♪ Watch the world from the sidelines ♪

♪ Had nothing to prove ♪

♪ Till you came into my life ♪

♪ Gave me something to lose ♪

♪ Now I know what it feels like ♪

♪ To wanna go ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[cell phone buzzing]

[buzzing continues]

- Hi.

NICK [over phone]:
Hey, do we need wine?

- Oh, um--

I--

I don't think you meant to call me.

NICK:
Frances?

- Yep.
NICK: Did I just call you?

- Afraid so.
NICK: sh*t, I'm so sorry.

I don't know how that happened.

How are you?
- Fine.

NICK:
You're very quiet.

FRANCES:
Um, I'm in a bookshop.

I'm shopping
for Bobbi's Christmas present.

NICK:
Uh-huh. Tricky customer.

- The trickiest.

NICK:
I won't even try and advise you.

FRANCES:
Any help is welcome.

[Frances and Nick chuckle]

Good to hear your voice.

NICK:
Well, I've been very strict with myself

about not calling you.

FRANCES:
Really?

Why didn't you?

NICK: You told me you didn't
wanna see me anymore.

- I did.

Um--

NICK:
Can you just, um, just give me a second?

It's kinda noisy here.
Just give me ten seconds, alright?

- Yeah. Sure.
NICK: I'll call you right back.

♪

♪

How's Bobbi?

FRANCES:
Yeah, she's good. Um--

We're sort of back together.

NICK:
Oh, yeah?

FRANCES:
I mean, we sleep together.

And we love each other, so--

NICK:
That's good.

♪

FRANCES:
Can I tell you something

about when we broke up?

NICK:
Of course.

♪

- Remember when I had
that consultation after my scan?

NICK:
Yeah.

FRANCES [over phone]:
I said it went fine but it didn't.

So I have endometriosis.

Um, it's really painful,

and I might not be able to have kids.

Or that it might not be easy.

And then you told me
you were sleeping with Melissa again,

and I just felt like

my body wasn't gonna
feel good to you anymore.

♪

I don't know.

♪

- Why didn't you tell me?

♪

- I think I was worried that

you would treat me like a sick person

and I-I didn't want that.

♪

You know, I didn't really know
what it all meant, but--

♪

♪

- I wish I'd learned about it.

♪

I felt like I was not what you wanted.

That I was getting it all wrong.

♪

FRANCES:
You weren't.

It was just really complicated.

- You weren't happy
that I loved someone else.

FRANCES:
Um, all the time I loved someone else.

♪

What a hypocrite.

♪

- Where are you now?

FRANCES:
Stephen's Green.

I'm sorry I f*cked everything up.

♪

NICK:
Do you remember

at Melissa's birthday after we kissed?

FRANCES:
Yeah.

- I stayed in my room

and I waited for you for hours.

♪

I felt paralyzed by the idea
that you were close by

and that you might come back.

♪

I have this impulse
to be available to you.

♪

All the time.

♪

♪

FRANCES:
Nick--

- Yeah?

♪

- Come and get me.

♪ Sidelines by Phoebe Bridgers playing ♪

♪ Watching the world from the sidelines ♪

♪ Had nothing to prove ♪

♪ Till you came into my life ♪

♪ Gave me something to lose ♪

♪ Now I know what it feels like ♪

♪ To wanna go outside ♪

♪ Like the shape of my ♪

♪ Outline ♪

♪