Synopsis of Blowin' in the Wind
Written by TK
Ally is walking on a cold winter's day, and the wind blows away her hat. Ally chases her hat, and finds it sitting on a sign post. The sign is covered with snow. She puts on her hat and wipes off the sign. It's a For Sale sign. Ally steps back and looks at the beautiful old town house that's for sale.
Ally walks inside the town house, and the inside is a complete wreck, but somehow she's still fascinated by it. She pictures what it could like if it were fixed up. The real estate broker walks in and surprises Ally out of her reverie. Ally continues to picture what it could look like. Ally asks the broker for an offer sheet.
Opening sequence
The office
Ally tells Richard and Elaine how she bought the house. They both think she was a little rash. A friendly, almost simple man walks in and introduces himself as Michael Walker. He tells Ally he needs representation. She escorts him to her office.
The unisex
Jenny is in a neck brace, and she tells Corretta that she just woke up with this neck problem. Corretta says she can help, but Jenny can't tell anyone about it. Jenny agrees, and Corretta, slightly unwillingly, hands over a business card. Jenny takes one look at the word chiropracter and says she's not going. Corretta promises Jenny that this chiropracter is different, and he will fix her neck.
Ally's office
Ally, going through Michael's paperwork, realizes that his wife is having him charged for criminal fraud. Ally asks why his wife would do this, and Michael explains that she's angry. He says that he ran out of money and can't buy her the gifts that he used to. He explains how she sat him down at the dining room table one night and sang to him, "Hit the Road Jack." (We see this as he's explaining it.) Ally asks him if she really sang it to him, and he says probably not, but everything she says sounds like a song to him. Ally asks him why he still has such affection for a woman who is trying to put him in jail. He simply answers that everything will be okay if he can just get the money problem to go away.
Chiropracter's office
Jenny is nervous, but after a few dramatic cracks of the neck, she feels like new. She thanks Ted, the chiropracter, but he says he's not quite done. He unveils an odd looking chair, and instructs her to kneel into it face-forward. Jenny gets nervous all over again, but does as he instructs. He turns the chair on vibrate and tells her that he's going to work out the knot from the base of neck. Jenny is immediately surprised with how much she's enjoying herself. Oooh, boy, is she enjoying herself.
Ally's new house
Ally shows Richard her house, and he declares it a dump. Ally says she's going to do the fix-up work herself, and suddenly Richard gets excited and asks if he can help. Ally is surprised, but Richard explains how he always wanted to do manual labor like that, and how when he was a kid his father wouldn't even let him touch the hammer. Ally says that yes, he can help, and Richard starts taking off his coat, getting ready to help right away. Ally tells him not now, and reminds him she's due in court. As they leave, Ally waves goodbye to her new house.
Court room
Mrs. Melissa Walker is on the stand, and as the DA questions her, she explains how when she married Michael, they agreed they would both work. She then tells the court how Michael just kept spending money faster than it came in. Michael just sits there, smiling at her. Michael sees her singing and starts grooving along to the music. Ally asks him if he's okay, and he says he's fine. Melissa continues to explain how she had to take a second job, but even that money quickly went down the drain too. Finally, Michael started forging her name on loans, and they ended up losing their house.
Ally is questioning Melissa, and asks her who Michael spent the money on. Melissa admits it was always gifts for her. Ally asks if Melissa ever returned the gifts, and she says she didn't. Michael sees Melissa singing again and starts snapping along to the music, distracting Ally.
Milter's office
Ally tells Milter she wants to hire him as an expert witness, and explains how Michael always sees his wife singing. She thinks that Michael's actions are not voluntary, and wants Milter to testify to that. Milter says that he should probably sit down and talk to Michael first, but Ally tells him he can just listen to Michael's testimony tomorrow morning.
Corretta's office
Jenny comes in, proudly displaying her brace-free neck. Corretta is glad Ted could help. Jenny, awkwardly but tactfully, asks Corretta if she has ever really enjoyed herself at Ted's office. Corretta says she has, and explains that it's not Ted that does it, it's the chair.
Ally's new house
Ally is hammering at the banister menacingly. Elaine wanders in and surprises Ally. Elaine is not overly impressed with the house. Ally asks her why she seems so sad about Ally buying this house. Elaine says that buying a house is usually something two people do, and worries that Ally buying the house on her own means that she's committed to living alone. Ally assures Elaine that she only bought the house because she loves it. Ally goes back to hammering wildly at her banister.
Ally's new house
Richard and Ally are painting, but Richard is getting more paint on himself than on the wall. Richard wonders why Ally bought the house when normally everything she does is to get a man, and owning a house will just scare a man away. Ally thinks Richard is being silly. Richard asks if she's even thought about furnishing the house. Ally says the first thing she wants to get is a coat rack, so she can walk in, put her coat on the rack, and know she's home.
Court room
Ally is questioning Michael. Michael explains how he loves his wife, and he didn't mean to put her in financial hardship, he just loved to see her smile when she opened the presents. He wanted to keep giving her things and couldn't stop. Michael sees his wife singing to her diamond bracelet.
Outside the court room
Milter, having seen Michael's testimony, says he can't say that Michael is insane, but he can definitely say that Michael lacks the specific intent to commit a crime. Ally and Milter have some free time, so Ally offers to show him her new house.
Ally's new house
Milter raves about how the house is Ally, and goes on to psychoanalyze her through the house. Ally tells him to stop, so he simply says the place is a dump. Ally defends herself and her decision to buy it. She says she saw beauty in its raw, naked form, and just wanted to make love to it. Suddenly, a handsome carpenter appears. The carpenter, Victor, explains how the bank said there was an electrical problem, and they sent Victor over to get the place up to code. Victor says he'll be working in the basement. Ally is fine with that.
The office
Jenny's face is red and Glenn notices. Glenn says Jenny's face only gets that red when she has... Jenny interrupts him and walks away to her office. Corretta comes to Jenny's doorway and accuses her of going back to the chair. Jenny whines that her neck hurt again. Corretta warns Jenny to be careful, because that chair can ruin relationships. Jenny doesn't entirely take Corretta seriously.
Court room
Milter testifies that Michael has an impulse control disorder. He loves to give his wife presents, and is basically addicted to her happiness. Milter says buying things is a common affliction, like one patient he had who bought a house to cure her unhappiness. Ally gets him back on track talking about Michael.
Ally's new house
Ally is attacking a cabinet with a stripping tool. Richard tells her she might be overdoing it. Ally angrily insists that her house is not a fix for unhappiness. Richard says of course it isn't, it's somewhere to put your stuff. Ally can't believe that Richard sees a house as just somewhere to put stuff. Victor comes upstairs and says he wasn't able to finish his work and he'll have to come back later. Ally says that will be fine. Richard wonders if the cute carpenter came with the house.
The unisex
Glen confront Jenny with his suspicion that she's having an affair because she only turns red when she has an org.... Nelle spies on them from a stall. Jenny explains about the chair. Glenn is shocked. Nelle is intrigued.
Milter's office
Ally says that Milter's talking in court about a patient buying a house was totally out of line. They argue about her motives in buying the house. Milter says that she bought a fixer-upper because that's how she sees herself. Milter says she'll rebuild the house as she remakes herself. Ally argues with him.
Ally's new basement
Ally talks to Victor. He says he could do some plumbing work for her too. He tells her he once bought a house, fixed it up, and then sold it. She asks why he sold it. He said because it no longer represented him. Ally asks how he sees himself, and he says he's a work in progress. Ally tells him how her therapist thinks she bought a fixer-upper because that's how she sees herself. Victor assures that the house works.
The office conference room
Melissa and Ally are conferencing. Melissa complains that Michael could control his buying urges, he just won't. Ally says that her doctor testified that Michael couldn't control it. Melissa says it doesn't matter what she thinks anyway, because the DA is prosecuting. Ally asks if she still loves Michael, and she says that she doesn't.
Chiropracter's office
Nelle is having a good time in the chair.
Ally's new house
Ally and Richard are sanding, but Ally yells at Richard that he's doing it too hard. Richard yells at Ally for micro-managing. Ally yells that this is her home. Suddenly she realizes that she has a home. Richard asks her why she really bought the house. Ally tells him what her therapist thinks. Ally says she just thought it was beautiful, and it was something she could commit to, and she's proud of the fact that she earned the money, herself, to be able to buy it on her own. Richard can respect that.
The office
Richard rallies the rest of the staff at the law firm to help Ally fix up her house. He says they're going to start by buying her a coat rack. Nelle protests.
Ally's office
Victor comes by to tell Ally that her plumbing is completely shot. He says he can fix it for her, but since the house technically passes inspection, the bank won't pay for it. She agrees to hire him for the job.
Jenny's office
In a comical scene, Glenn forbids Jenny to see the chair ever again. She tells him she'll whatever furniture she wants whenever she wants.
Court room
Ally gives her closing argument, and has the jury agreeing with her that her client is not actually a criminal. The DA gives his closing argument and mentions how, even if Michael is a nice guy, he still falsified bank documents and bankrupted his wife, which are criminal acts.
Ally's new house
The whole firm is there working on the house, including Raymond. Glenn and Jenny are arguing about the chair, and everyone else is getting involved. Nelle is the loudest, and claims that women being independent, even when it comes to sexual gratification, threatens men. Richard gets everyone back to work.
Court room
The jury finds Michael Walker not guilty. Michael thanks Ally. Ally tells Michael she thinks he deserved to lose, but got off because he has a good heart. Ally warns Michael not to celebrate by buying his wife a gift. He says he won't. Michael tells Melissa he got a new job and he's willing to get some help. Melissa tells Michael it's too late. He sees her singing "Hit the Road Jack" again.
The bar
Vonda sings "Hit the Road Jack" with the Ikettes. Sitting at the bar, Raymond and Richard tell Glenn that he's overreacting. Sitting at a table, Jenny tells the women of the firm that she thinks Glenn is being ridiculous. Ally asks if the chair is really that good, and Nelle, Corretta and Jenny assure her that it is. The women decide to dance, but Ally says she has a date... with herself. The women all look at her like she's pathetic.
Ally walks outside and the wind blows away her hat again, but she quickly grabs it and puts it back on her head. She walks to her new house. She's amazed and touched at how good it looks. There's a coat rack by the door. Ally hangs her coat up, close to tears. She sits happily on her beautiful hardwood floor.
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