Synopsis of Friends and Lovers


Written by Lauren Maffeo

Fox opened the show with a warning that the episode contains coarse language.

Ally is racing down the street on a scooter, and thinks to herself that she's been having a lot of perfect days, and this one promises to be perfect as well. She then crashes into a young woman who comes in front of her. We see Ally is talking to a new therapist [A lawyer from last season, I don't know his name]. She tells the therapist she "ran into herself." She had that lost look that Ally recognized. Ally asks the woman if anything is broken. The woman says, "Of course it's not broken, I didn't even love him anymore." Ally asks again how she is, and she replies, "Oh, no, I'm fine. I just really miss him." She hugs Ally. "Think of it," Ally says. I run into a strange woman, almost kill her, and she hugs me. And to make things worse, she..." "Is you?" the therapist says. "Yes," Ally replies."She goes off on this huge story about she and her boyfriend used to work together, ring any bells?" "Ding, Ding," the therapist replies. The woman has this huge case and the firm decided to go to the other side because of money. The client got dumped and she got fired, and now she's brokenhearted. Not over her job, over her boyfriend. "I'm so...confused," the therapist says, twitching his neck on "confused." Ally says how she still really loves her ex-boyfriend. "Ding, Ding," is the reply. Ally is back on the street, and the girl is saying how her boyfriend would take his middle finger and tickle her uterus. "She was so like me," Ally says. "So I hired her. She then says how as she gets older, she wants to be a mentor. "Oh dear God, no," the therapist says, and puts his head in his hand. Ally and the woman get off the elevator, and Elaine comes over and says how meeting's already started. "I thought nothing ever happens here without you," the woman says. "She SAID that?", Elaine asks. Ally hands her the scooter, and walks into the meeting. "I love her so far," the woman tells Elaine.

Ally walks into the room and introduces Jenny Shaw to everybody. "I don't like her," is the immediate response form Ling. Ally explains that Jenny's a lwayer and Ally has just hired her to work at the firm. Richard reminds her that they just hired Coretta, and he also hired someone this morning. Ally tells Jenny to tell Richard about the case. Jenny says that she's suing all phone companies because she got 4 phone calls from then one week. Jenny comes to the firm with 72,000 clients. Richard hires her, but then Elaine says that Glenn Foy has arrived. Jenny jumps up, asks if this is a trick. They ask each other what they're doing here. Ally asks if they know each other. Jenny says, "It's him." Ally looks at him in shock. "Oh, she says. "The uterus tickler." Jenny asks Glenn if he quit his job over her, and he replies that he didn't know she would be working here.

Ally's back at the therapist's office, saying how she's attracted to Glenn. She then asks the therapist why he tilts his head on "C" words like "clear" and "comftorable." He explains that he has a chronic tick disorder. He points out that she still doesn't trust him, and Ally says she doesn't find lawyers to be trustworthy. The therapist asks about the "pretty boy," and she says he's so wrong for her because he's GQ and because he's Jenny's ex. The therapist asks for Ally's hand. He points out that while Ally says she wanted to talk bout Jenny, she kept bringing up "the boy."

Jenny is sitting in Ally's office. She says her old firm won't release the files she needs, and that she thinks they're pricks. She asks Ally what she thinks of Glenn. Ally says he's nice, and Jenny agrees. She says she needs a new best friend and asks if Ally is available. She then asks is Ally has a boyfriend, and if she has any close friends who are male. Ally says yes, John Cage. She even loves him. Jenny asks if he's the short one, and Ally replies that he may be short, but his heart is mammoth. He loves Ally's weirdness and her eccentricities. John, meanwhile, has heard all of this. What he doesn't hear is the end of the conversation when Ally says there's no heat between them. John meanwhile has burst into Richard's office. Richard asks what's wrong, and John sputters out slowly, "Ally...loves me."

Ally is sitting at her desk with a dazed look on her face. Jenny comes in and asks if she's ready. "Ready for what?", Ally asks. "For court," Jenny says. Ally remembers and they head off.

Glenn and Richard walk out of a room. Glenn can't work their anymore. Richard says he signed a contract, but Glenn disagrees. Glenn and Jenny had a real THING. Richard says Jenny can go, but Glenn doesn't want her to. Glenn bumps into Ling suddenly. He apologizes, but Ling growls at him. Coretta pipes up and says Glenn and Jenny should give it a week. If Glenn can't handle being around her, he should leave. John comes up to Richard and says he needs to talk. Richard asks if it can wait, and John says it can't, he's "fraught."

Ally and Jenny are walking into court when Jenny runs into her old boss. They have a slight argument over Jenny being fired when opposing council, Raymond Milburg, comes up. He introduces himself to Ally, then walks away with Jenny's boss. Jenny tells Ally she thought Raymond was cute because she looked over her outfit. That's what Jenny does when she's nervous. Ally firmly denies she thought he was cute, and the two bicker on the way to the courtroom.

John meanwhile has obviously told Richard about Ally. Richard didn't know John had these feelings, and John didn't know either because he thinks they were buried. Richard thinks that if Ally were interested she would have dropped some hints, but John thinks perhaps she doesn't want to jeopardize the friendship. He says she can't father being loved, so when she is loved the person interested renders himself unworthy in her "lake-like eyes."

Meanwhile, in court, not much happens, except Jenny calling Ray a "dink." This was a pretty boring scene, they argue about the files, blah blah. Down at the bar later, Ally, Richard and John are all taking about Jenny and Glenn when John points out that friends can be lovers. Ally agrees, and John says maybe one day he can be in the cards for her. "Perhaps," she says. "Thanks you for that."

Ally's back at the therapist's office saying someone is after her. The therapists says it was an older woman who first made him a man. He then says, "Allison, give me your hand." Reluctantly she does. He tells her when she marries, she'll find the right man and try to train him. Younger men are easy to train so she should go for "the boy" [Glenn].

Back at the therapist's office. Ally says she shouldn't be looking for a man she can housetrain, she doesn't agree with that. The therapist says, "But we like it. We live to obey. Ally, give me your hand, please." This time she doesn't even put up a fight, she just slaps it into his. He tells her when the attraction, the best way is to go to yourself with him in mind. Ally asks if he does this, and he says it's not appropriate to discuss his methods.

Ally is racing down the street on her scooter thinking maybe God made another her in case at first you don't succeed. During her thinking we see Jenny on a scooter not too far behind.

Richard takes Ally aside and tells her they have to make Jenny and Glenn work out because Glenn is good and if they keep him they get richer. Ally walks away into John. She apologizes and he replies, "It's all right, Porkchop." "Porkchop?", Ally repeats. She looks at Richard and walks away. John comes up to Richard and whispers, "I meant to say Lambchop".Damnit!"

Glenn and Ray are in Glenn's office. Ray has an offer for Jenny. He's willing to give her 75,000 so long as she doesn't sue them. Ally is at the door and asks if the phone company suddenly agreed to settle, and Ray says no, the money comes from him. "So this is a payoff?", Ally asks. "Not the term I'd use," Ray says. "What about bribe?", Ally persists. Ray asks her if she's married, at which point Jenny and Ally whisper back and forth. "You think he's cute!", Jenny says, Ally once again denies it. Glenn tells her to settle, it's the best he can do. Jenny says it's no deal.

Ugh, therapist's office AGAIN. Ally says they were just bickering like little children. He asks for the hand again, then asks her if she has aging issues. He asks if she can even say it. She does, but through clenched teeth. The therapist says older women like younger men because they like to be held in their muscular arms.

John is in the mirror smiling. Coretta comes out of a stall, and as she's leaving he asks her if it's possible for 2 people who were once lovers to work together as friends. Coretta says it is possible, but not for people who worked together as friends to be lovers. She attraction either happens or it doesn't. But then she says she had a friend who confronted her about their attraction, and Coretta suddenly saw him in a different way. She asks if both Glenn and Jenny are going to work at the firm, and John says, "We'll see."

Richard and John are at the bar talking about Ally. John says it's always been Ally, but he's just now getting around to admitting it. He is saying how she's magic, when Ally comes up behind them [she doesn't know they've been talking about her]. Nevertheless, John screams and falls to the floor. Richard asks her to ask Glenn to stay at the firm. Richard says it's because he's "Magic," then says all the things John said about Ally. John comes back up but then falls back down. She asks if he's okay, and Richard says he thinks John's gone mad.

Ally is at home getting into bed. She hears the therapist in her head, saying, "Go to bed with the boy in mind. Extinguish the urge." Ally turns on her radio, and an Al Green song comes on. She closes her eyes briefly, then makes a face and turns it off. She looks at the blowup doll, and asks, "What are you looking' at?" She turns the radio back on and Get Happy from The Partridge Family is playing. She closes her eyes again and for a few seconds seems content with the song. Suddenly she makes another face, picks up her pillow, and buries her face in the pillow while she squirms around in the bed.

John and Richard walk into an empty office. John is angry because he shared intimate thoughts with Richard, and he didn't want Richard to share them with anyone else. John then says Ally is one of his very best friends and he could lose all of that by making a move. Richard asks why do it then, and John yells, "Because I love her!" Richard asks if he really does. The answer is yes.

Ally and Jenny are heading off to court. Glenn comes by, and Ally looks down at her outfit. Jenny accuses her of doing this, and they bicker again. Jenny goes to the bathroom and Glenn tells Ally he thinks he should leave. Ally is pulled aside by John, who tells her, "Enough of this. I want you, you want me, let's just get on with business." Ally looks shocked, but then says she's off to court and doesn't have time for jokes. As Jenny comes up to Ally, John's nose REALLY whistles. Jenny and Ally argue again as they leave, and the whistling continues.

In court, Jenny argues the closing, saying the phone calls are really irritating and horn in on special times by yourself or with family or whatever. She says the calls put the person in the uncomftorable position of being rude. Jenny gets close to tears as she says you can't turn off the ringer because what if it's someone you want calling? But no, it's always the damn phone company.

Jenny is sitting in an office when Glenn comes in. He says he was the one she was wanting to call, and that's why she sued the phone company. Together they agree to work together. Glenn then says the judge came back with the ruling and he certified the class. She now has a class-action suit against the phone company. He volunteers to second chair.

Ally, Richard, and John are all downstairs at the bar. Richard gets up. John is about to tell Ally is feelings for her when all of a sudden she says how they lucky they are to be able to work together as just friends. "Yeah, we are blessed," John agrees glumly. But Ally doesn't notice his unhappiness. She agrees with him, saying "We are. We are. We are," and soon she wraps her arms around him and happily kisses his cheek. Jenny sits down saying Glenn had some surprise. The band starts playing "Lady is a Tramp," and Jenny says it's for her. That's what Glenn used to call her, his little tramp. Glenn comes out and sings the song. John goes over to Richard at the bar part of the bar and says he decided not to tell Ally his feelings [Ha!].

At the therapist's office, Ally says she can't make a move on Glenn because Jenny still loves him. Ally wants to protect Jenny because she used to be her. The therapist asks if she wants to protect Jenny from becoming her. Ally asks what he means by that, and he says, "Someone who wants love but who no longer believes in it." Ally is hurt by that remark, and asks why he thinks that. He says because she wants someone who can't hurt her. Ally asks why he thinks that. He leans in and says, "You really want that boy."


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