Doug gets tons of erections.  Remember that.

The episode begins with a flashback seven months earlier as Jeremiah drives Marty to prison.  Roscoe isn’t too concerned, though Jeremiah believes that he’s just putting out a brave face.  This will be the last normal interaction the three share for the next six months, but Roscoe’s main concern is the length of the drive.  He’s missing Tom-Tom’s birthday at Six Flags.  Poor Roscoe indeed.  Though Marty and Roscoe go back and forth, Jeremiah is glad they’re at least talking.  After all, there’s no rulebook on how to feel.

In the present, Malcolm talks to Chantelle about the lack of Black voices on television other than Oprah, and she’s not even on prime time.  But then, Malcolm isn’t as interested in fame as he is in starting a dialogue on his story.  Marty enters and flippantly asks if Malcolm is trying to bring enlightenment to people with their morning coffee, like a new kind of sugar.  ‘I like mines black’ is Marty’s response, but Malcolm likes that so much he wants to use it as a tagline for his potential show: Blacktalk.  As for Roscoe, he slept over at Jeremy’s.  Marty’s the only one who didn’t know this since, you know, he’s been busy with work and such.

At Kaan & Associates, Jeannie goes over a pricing strategy for the ‘Yo Where’s the Party App’ that some in the firm have worked on.  The monetization model can be ad-based, subscriber-based, or fee enrollment.  While there may be a strong desire to charge a fee, free apps get the highest valuation.  Snap Chat is a good example of that.  It made dick in profits, yes, but it was bid on for billions.  Jeannie proposes offering a free version with ads at first, but then roll out an upgrade option for a fee.

However, the millenials, with the exception of Kelsey, are distracted by tattoos.  Even though Jeannie is talking about them potentially making Zuckerburg-level bank before they’re 25, they aren’t showing much interest.  Jeannie threatens to show her giant, veiny, naked pregnancy belly button, but they actually like that idea.  Well, since it didn’t work as a threat, Jeannie offers to show it as a potential reward.  Weird.

We cut to school, where Roscoe and a friend of his get into another friend’s car for Cut Day.  They end up at a party, where Roscoe talks with Molly, played by Genna Mc’Cohen, who once bought one of Roscoe’s purses.  She’s been on his mind a lot since then.  One of Molly’s friends asks Roscoe if he has any Kate Spade bags, but hell no to that.  Roscoe lights up.

Marty shows up and finds a motorcycle in his reserved spot.  He kicks it over and kicks off a time freeze.  Time for a little fun fact: fortune come from the Latin word Fortuna– the goddess of chance.  Real fortune, however, has nothing to do with chance or luck.  Fortuna is bullshit.  Real fortune is calculated, relentless, and fucking criminal.  You have to make future happen.  So where is all of this going?  When Ellis Hightower was the new royal highness of the electric car, his stocks took off.  But then he forgot to pay some income taxes, which led to prison.  As a result, the stocks went down.  Once Marty worked his magic and got the Gage brain trust back together, the prices have gone back up.

There’s one little secret in the Gage contract, though.  It’s the little prize buried in the fine print: if the Gage stock prices reaches $200 per share before pay day, the pod will be on the receiving end of a $9.2 million bonus.  The stock price is currently at $174, so it just needs to squeak up a little bit more before they hit the fortune motherfuckload.  After that, Marty can park wherever the hell he pleases.

Kelsey talks to Jeannie about the other millenials and how they mostly pile the work onto her.  She needs someone like Jeannie to help by being the CFO.  The VC who funded them mentioned in the budget that they’ll need a CFO, which the others ignored.  Plus, it’s good pay and Jeannie did say she was looking elsewhere.  In addition, she’s the one who told Kelsey that they could be big one day.  If they want to get there, they’ll need someone like Jeannie to lead the way.  Jeannie says she’ll think it over.

Doug has bad news for Marty: it’s not going up.  They have pills for that.  Marty and Clyde think that Doug is talking about erections, but trust Doug, he’s getting plenty of episode titles- I mean, he’s getting plenty of erections.  But he’s actually talking about the stock- the price isn’t going up.  Marty isn’t worried.  The pod has a date with the Gage stock price.  They’re gonna play some John Legend, coax its legs open, and ram it home.  Sweet rape metaphor, Jeannie says.  But hey, she’s just as ready to rape the shit out of this stock.  Oh, and Doug gets an erection.

At another firm, the secretary, Stacy, played by Mandell Maughn, asks the partner, her brother in law, about secrets in the company that she knows.  Should she tell him something if she thinks it can help?

Outside in the waiting room, Stacy allows Marty and Clyde to enter.

Downstairs, meanwhile, Doug boards an elevator and presses all of the buttons.  This allows Jeannie to start ‘talking’ on the phone about a cease fire between Gage and Compass Oil due to the skyrocketing stock.  She also has intel that the city is about to announce favored parking privileges for electric, which could tip the scales in Gage’s favor.  Listening to this conversation is Norm, played by Cliff Weissman.

Clyde and Marty meet with a blogger, Zack Bundy, played by Herbert Russell who is eating the best Carpaccio outside of Italy.  The two consultants have intel for the Bundy: a photo of Maya shaking hands with Cal Manchester. Imagine the headline: “Big Oil Concedes Defeat to Electric Technology.”  Marty has a better headline: “Electric Cars Tell Big Oil to Go Suck It.”  Bundy doesn’t see the big deal.  Cal Manchester knows how to schmooze.  What he needs is a real scoop, not desperate PR.

So they give him one when Clyde takes a picture of Marty and the blogger shaking hands.  This will go perfect on Marty’s website: Fat Fucks Making Backroom Deals with Ex-Con Businessmen.edu.  It’s even an educational website.  Sure, no deal was made, but they do have a photo.  Bundy agrees to drop a blind item after lunch.

Then we see Roscoe and Molly on the bed.  And scene.

At Kaan & Associates, Marty’s elated to see the stock rise to $191.  Jeannie, however, has an ultrasound appointment later that day.  Marty’s tone changes and he lets her know that the rest of the pod can handle things  Jeannie lets Marty know that he’s invited, but she can get there on her own.  That’s not the problem.  Just then, Marty gets a phone call from Mr. Andrews on Roscoe’s absence.

We then flash back to the Kaan clan arriving at the prison.  Marty prefers that they say their goodbyes at the gate and he’ll go in alone.  He hugs Jeremiah and tells Roscoe that he wants to spend more time with him when he’s out.  He even offers to take him shopping.  He tells Roscoe that he is all that matters to him.  Roscoe wishes that things didn’t have to be this way.  The two hug and Marty heads toward the prison.

In the present, Roscoe relaxes at home with two other partygoers when Marty arrives.  Marty wants to play the great game of Risk: what did I do instead of go to school?  The other two just as Marty wants to talk individual responsibility.

So the two talk.  Marty tells Roscoe that he believes in him.  When Roscoe asks his father what he wants, Marty responds that he just wants his son to be happy.  That’s it.  As happy as he can be.  Marty, however, is working on his own happiness.  His happiness mechanism got broken badly.  Roscoe calls Marty out for not even acknowledging the fact that he has another child on the way.  What does that say about his happiness?  Plus, Marty doesn’t even know that much about Roscoe.

So where to start?  Roscoe would be surprised how little his father would judge him.  Roscoe asks if Marty’s parents knew every move he made when he was young.  No way.  Marty did what he wanted.  He admits that he’s not perfect, but he’s at least there.  Oh, and hickeys take a week to fade.

At Kaan & Associates, Doug speaks with Jeannie about Kelsey’s offer.  He doesn’t think that Jeannie would seriously consider it, so Jeannie spills that Marty wants her gone after the Gage business is settled.  Doug won’t accept Marty asking Jeannie to leave.  That’s like trying to break up the Beatles.  Marty is John Lennon, Clyde is Paul McCartney, Doug is George Harrison, but Jeannie doesn’t want to be Ringo Starr.  Why does no one ever want to be Ringo Starr?  No, Doug says that she’s the White Yoko.  Anyway, Jeannie doesn’t want Doug to talk to Marty about the offer.

At the Goldman Medical Center, Jeannie receives an ultrasound.  The doctor, played by Artemis Pebdani, shows Jeannie her child.  Can I just say how cool it is to see Pebdani again?  I already loved her on It’s Always Sunny, but then she appeared on Masters of Sex last summer, and here she is on House of Lies.  I love it.  Okay, moving on, Jeannie admits that she doesn’t know what the right move is.  If the father of your child was angry, but it hurt both of you, what would you do?  Artemis is just there to perform the ultrasound.  That kind of question is better suited for Jeannie’s friends.  Jeannie then learns that the Gage stock has broken $200 just as she sees her baby on the monitor.

Marty, sitting outside the medical center, also learns this news at the same time from Doug.  He’s not too enthused about it, though.

As was the case with the previous two episodes, this one dealt with looking at the bigger picture of your current situation and having a contingency plan in case things don’t work out.  Given how chaotic it appears to be as a management consultant, it’s not a stretch to think that things could go south with your plans, so it helps to have a backup plan or to at least invest in someone that you know can lead you to greatness.  It also helps to be responsible with your decisions.

This is exactly what Kelsey is going through right now with her proposed app.  Kelsey wants to make that Zuckerburg-level type of cash by the time she’s 25.  She knows that she’s smart and, unlike Caitlin, she’s more proactive in seeking out backers and putting her intelligence to good use instead of waiting for something to happen.  But as smart as Kelsey is, she’s not so full of pride that she won’t admit she needs guidance.  This is what she sees in Jeannie, who Kelsey knows can lead her to greatness.  While Jeannie seemed to be more of a correcting mother to Caitlin- to me, at least- I get the feeling that she could be more of a mentor to Kelsey.

She takes her job seriously while the rest of the millenials, for the most part, are pretty distracted by the smallest things, like tattoos and skateboarding.  I assume they were brought on for their intellect and ability to innovate.  They seem to be knowledgeable of the tech world around them, but Kelsey looks to be the only one taking this seriously and looking at her future instead of tattoos.

And this goes hand in hand with the message of taking individual responsibility for our own issues and future.  We see Marty and Jeannie grapple with this not just with their company, but their personal issues as well.  And, as Artemis pointed out, it’s not something that can just casually be discussed among strangers.  These two have to settle their issues with each other.  My best guess is that Jeannie ultimately won’t leave Kaan & Associates and will fight Marty to stay, not because of the baby, but because of everything she’s put into the company.

Plus, Doug and Clyde would probably argue in her defense, as they look to have put her power play behind them.  I do appreciate that, despite what Jeannie did, Doug and Clyde still respect her as a work colleague and friend.

Again, though, I do not understand why, when discussing the Beatles, nobody wants to be Ringo Starr.  I mean, what hell?

Marty gets a good amount of development through his rusty relationship with Roscoe.  As much as Marty is hard on his son, it’s not done out of spite- he just wants what’s best for him.  And Roscoe had a point: Marty really doesn’t know a lot about him.  Whenever the two interact, especially in this season, their conversations have been contentious.  Roscoe, like Becca on Californication, isn’t afraid to call out his father on his flaws.

And I think he was able to snap Marty out of his funk and get him to start caring for his future second child.  He’s been so focused on closing this Gage deal, but the second that Jeannie mentions her ultrasound, his entire tone and body language changed because he was reminded of his responsibility.  Sure, he pushed aside, but the fact that he chose to wait outside the medical center shows he is at least open to the idea of being responsible for his future child.

His reaction upon learning that the Gage stock passed $200 shows that this isn’t as big of a priority for him as it once was.  After all, we saw earlier in the episode that this is the big moment that he wanted, but he realizes that getting this also means that Jeannie would be leaving soon.

As far as Roscoe’s side-story, I’m getting a bit tired of Roscoe acting out just because.  We’ve seen it done before and I just want something new to be done with his character.  As much as I didn’t like Lex, he was at least something different for Roscoe and he had some company, same with Chantelle and Jeremiah.

This was a very fun episode to watch.  While I like seeing the pod members interact, I also enjoy seeing them put plans into action.  For the moment, things seem to be going their way.

With the Gage stock reaching over $200, the pod looks to be back on an upswing.  I’d be willing to bet money that Marty either isn’t going to kick Jeannie out or she’ll take any and all means to remain at K&A.  She’s put way too much into this to just pack up and go at this point.