-Happiness.
It can be fleeting,
elusive,
and just out of reach.
Hack your brain chemistry,
naturally,
and boost your mood.
-
-Shake your stress. -Hmm.
Shake your worries.
-And shake your blues away. -
Ho-ho-ho. I'm all shook up.
Blackwood Almonds.
Happiness from the ground up.
-Happiness.
It can be fleeting,
elusive,
and just out of reach.
Hey.
Mr. McBride.
Hey.
I sincerely apologize for hitting you earlier.
Who the hell are you?
Oh. I'm, uh...
I'm Anton Jones,
the Enrichment Center Manager of Operations.
And I checked your head, and I didn't break the skin.
It just seems like a small bump.
Where am I?
You're in the Blackwood Almond Enrichment Center.
My mother's Diana Blackwood,
and the Blackwood Almond Enrichment Center
is her creation.
And my uncle is Wade,
who you've met.
Yeah.
Let me ask you something there, Anton.
Mm-hmm.
Exactly how come you'd have hit me like that?
Um, we just, uh...
I-I didn't know who you were,
and we've had a fair share of transients on the property.
Well, listen, I'm gonna need to get back
to the hotel and get my car.
You know anything about how I'd do that?
Mm-hmm. Totally understand.
And we've arranged for a shuttle to pick you up right now.
Oh, and, uh, how could I forget?
I hung on to your personal belongings for safekeeping.
The owl's yours, right?
The Blackwood Almond Company is committed to happiness
and harmony, one snack at a time.
But that doesn't even begin to crack what's going on
on the inside.
My mother, Diana, is launching
her very own almond-based lifestyle brand,
starting off with a line of all-natural,
chemical-free, happiness-inducing
skincare and clean beauty products,
expanding the Blackwood Almond Company brand.
-Go, Mom, right? -Yeah.
But, you know, Diana herself has battled anxiety and depression
and swears by the mood-boosting wonders of Blackwood Almonds.
BILLY: Looks like
the nut business is swinging.
Mm-hmm. We've done very well.
Must take a lot of water.
Oh, water's above my pay grade.
-BILLY: What do you do here
at the wonderful world of almonds?
Mm, as I mentioned earlier, I run the Enrichment Center,
which is solely focused on taking Blackwood Almonds,
happiness from the ground up,
one snack at a time, and optimizing one's well-being,
mind, body and spirit.
Well, I'm pretty sure you're anxious to get back home
and see your daughter off to college.
I'm a Trojan man myself, but no judgment.
BILLY: Oh, yeah? How do you know where she goes to school?
ANTON: Eh, just be careful what you say to Rita.
Nothing she loves more than a little bit of keno,
whiskey and some idle gossip.
I'll keep that in mind.
All right.
These... are for your daughter.
And if she's interested, she could become
a brand ambassador on campus.
It's a paid position,
promoting Blackwood Almond products at various venues.
It's not too time-consuming, and the application is online.
Excellent. Well, I'll make sure and tell her.
-Yeah. -Have a good day.
Yeah, you, too. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the lift.
-Anytime! -Don't know why the fuck you gave it to me
if I got to put it back in here.
Hey, listen, uh, let me ask you a question.
Uh, you know any dirt roads around here
with, like, a wooden gate?
There's all kinds of dirt roads. What are you looking for?
Well, last night, I was walking around.
I saw lights and heard some drilling going on.
There's a lot of drilling around here.
-Oh. -Everyone's trying to dig the deeper well.
Yeah, I hear you.
Back to the casino?
Yes, sir.
There's a sensor attached to the bottom of the tape measure.
It'll beep when we hit water.
So, tell me something, can you tell
how much water a specific farmer's well
-has dug out of the ground? -I might
be able to come up with a rough estimate.
But it would just be a guess.
Ah. Here we go.
We're down eight feet since last month.
How bad is that?
Bad-bad.
Historic low.
I know what you need.
But I can't assign an exact number
to a specific farmer's well.
I'm just trying to find out
if somebody stole my client's water.
Mm. Water underneath the land doesn't belong to anyone.
If you can get a drill down to it, it's yours.
Guess my only other shot is...
try to prove unreasonable use.
Let me put it to you this way:
the corporate farmers in this area
use more water than the entire city of L.A.,
which is fucked up
and entirely unreasonable, in my opinion.
Okay. I appreciate it.
Thanks.
Hey. I'm almost there. What's up?
BILLY: So, I talked to Dr. Mindy from the U.S.
Geological Survey, and I don't think we can pin
the water problem on any of Gene's neighbors.
Okay, so we-- so we don't have
a wrongful death case.
Well, we could build a case
around reasonable use.
You know, corporate farming at this scale during
a drought is unreasonable.
That's-- No. That's a trash box idea.
-No. -Yeah.
We'll know more once you get the information
-from the water board. - All right.
So, uh, what do we need? We need
drilling permits, board meeting minutes,
uh, distribution docs. What else? What else?
And whatever you can get.
Also, thank you for sending me
to such a lush, uh, and vibrant landscape.
I am literally surrounded by culture.
So, you're the fucking best.
So, thank you.
Fuck am I?
Goddamn it.
Fuck!
Fuck.
God.
Okay.
AAA.
Yeah, it looks good.
I think we did a good job.
Yeah, the stripes really bring out the...
beige in the wood.
Hey, girls.
DENISE: Hey.
So, what do we do?
Where do we get started?
DENISE: We're done.
-You're three hours late. -I'm not three hours late.
-DENISE: Three and a half. -Four hours.
Yeah, like, three and a half hours late.
Well, thanks for coming by to help out, Brittany.
And, um, sorry about that.
-What's that? -Oh, it's a bunch
of almond products.
And here's some standard oranges.
And if you ever want to be a...
Blackwood Almond Company ambassador,
make a little extra cash
on the campus here, I can set you up.
Thanks, but I think I'll pass.
So, um... anything else?
No, I think I got it all handled here.
Yeah? All right.
Well, this is 700 bucks.
And that's for emergency snacks
-and whatnot, okay? -Mm-hmm.
Not fancy, sparkly boots or something like that.
Who needs to sell almonds,
-am I right? -Mm-hmm.
Thanks for the education.
You're welcome.
You just make it stick, okay?
BRITTANY: So,
how's it been going with you?
Oh, God, all kind of exciting things.
I joined Cirque du Soleil.
-Mm. -Yeah.
Oh, you know, same old shit.
Well, I've been seeing posters of Marisol Silva everywhere.
Yeah.
Drives me fucking crazy.
Can't imagine what it must be like for you.
I try not to think about it.
How's that working out?
Come on, honey, you don't have to worry about me, all right?
-I'm fine. -Okay.
I think I'm better off alone, anyway.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
Sometimes other people aren't what you need, right?
Exactly.
Shit.
-Sh... -
-Nope. Nope. Nope. -
Oh, it's in my hair. It's in my hair.
It's in my hair, it's in my hair.
It's in my hair, my hair, it's in my hair.
It's in my hair.
Out, get out.
You okay?
Yes.
Hot day for car trouble.
You thirsty?
Thank you.
-Got a spare? -No.
Shoot, my spare's not gonna fit your little car.
I'll give you a lift.
Oh, uh... It's okay, the--
Uh, AAA is sending a guy in, like, two hours.
Girl, I am not leaving you stranded alone on the road
for a hot-as-hell two hours.
Come on, it's not far.
I'm Violet.
Violet.
Uh...
Okay, I'm Patty. Hi.
Um...
Do you know where
the Blackwood County Water Board is?
We have a water board?
I got to do another delivery before I drop you.
-Hope you don't mind. -I-I don't have a choice.
-Ha, nope. -So...
VIOLET: Here we are.
So... how long has this guy been without water?
-About a year. -
-Hey. -Yeah.
-Grab a case. -What?
-You got arms, help me out. -Just-- I'll take my seat.
-Hugo. -Hey, Vi.
This is my new best friend, Patty.
Nope. We're not best friends. We're not best friends.
-She's a lawyer from L.A. -HUGO: Hey.
Any chance I get an extra case?
Just three.
Sorry, bud.
-You got it? -Oh, yeah.
Come on, then.
PATTY: Nothing out of the tap, huh?
Wow.
Backyard well dried up.
Trying to dig a new one out front.
No toilet water, nothing for cooking or cleaning.
Can't sell the house 'cause...
who wants to live in a house without water?
PATTY: So how many people
don't have municipal water?
VIOLET: Whole town, pretty much.
My girlfriend's got water,
but she's in housing owned by the Blackwood Almond Company.
-Lucky bastards, right? -I guess.
I got to make one more delivery.
How long is this gonna take?
We're here.
My ex.
Sure.
Something must be up your ass
for you to come all the way out here.
The only thing up my ass is your sister's foot.
Oh, yours, too?
I have a source says she's still drilling.
A source?
Are you working for the school paper?
I ain't kidding.
Billy McBride was out
at the drilling site last night.
I hear you, Roy.
But, look, that lawyer,
he doesn't know what the fuck he's looking at.
And it has nothing to do with Gene,
or even Gene's case.
-I don't give a shit. -It's okay.
I've never liked this plan.
Your sister is drilling on federal fucking land.
She's still got to move the water under my property.
With lawyers poking around...
He asks the right questions,
this is gonna be a big fucking problem.
The big fucking problem is making you a shitload of money.
Yeah. Your sister's ambition's gonna be our downfall.
No, it's not. It's not gonna come to that.
You know, my property is all I have to leave Stephanie.
It's where her mother and I were the happiest.
-I know. I know. -So let's pump the brakes
on this shit until this Gene thing blows over.
-What? What, you fuck? What?
-What?
I kind of like having this McBride dude around.
-Oh... -Just-- Kind of gets my heart pumping.
-Yeah. -It's been too easy for you, huh?
-Has it? -Yeah.
Come on.
Have I ever not heeded a warning from you?
Hmm?
-A bad apple's a bad apple. -
She's family.
Talk to Diana.
'Cause if you don't, I will.
Hey.
Um, is there anyone who can help me get information
-about the water board? -Yeah, Delores can.
Um. Well, she's not here, so...
Yeah, she'll be back tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
I can read a clock.
Um... Is there anyone else?
Yeah, Dolores can.
-Dolores can? -Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
Did you say 9:00?
Is that what this is?
Is that a fucking nine?
Hello.
ANTON: Is this Ms. Solis-Papa-gian?
Uh, nope. Solis-Papagian, yes.
Hi, this is Anton Jones at the Blackwood Almond Company,
and I have your car repaired and available for you.
Sorry, who is this?
Hmm.
Hey!
Wow, I-I got to say, I love this color.
I bet it's really easy to spot
out in the, uh, crowded parking lot, huh?
PATTY: Fucking wackadoo.
Um, we actually got your car on Highway 99
and thought we'd make your day a little easier,
courtesy of the Blackwood Almond Company.
-Got you a little gi-- Okay. -Shit.
-Be safe. -
You're welcome!
Good work.
Hmm.
I like your almond bath.
I talked to Wheeler.
He says he has a source.
I don't know who it is yet.
It doesn't matter.
He has a point.
We have to stop drilling
on reservation land right now.
Do you hear me?
It's federal land.
That makes it a federal crime.
Oh!
What were you saying?
I forgot.
How you doing tonight, sir?
I'm all right. Uh...
Is this Wade Blackwood's place?
Yes, sir, it is.
What-What's going on here?
It's the launch party for the SOOP brand.
-Really? -Yeah.
-Okay. -Enjoy your night.
Hey, excuse me.
Hey.
-How's it going? -Good.
-I didn't know there was a shindig, I... -Yeah.
My sister, see, she...
she never tells me what's going on,
and there's something always going on.
She runs me ragged.
-That's her right there. -Yeah.
-Uh, I'd introduce you, but she's...
in her element.
Yeah, it looks like it.
-Yeah. -Yeah, yeah.
So, what is, uh, SOOP? Is that how you say it?
-What's all the stuff going on? -Oh, that's...
It's-it's some sort of age-defying bullshit
-she came up with. -Oh.
-It's made of almonds. -Huh, I'll be darned.
I-I don't know. I just put on the monkey suit
-and do what I'm told. - Yeah.
-Hmm. -My mom wants you to meet someone.
-Mr. McBride. -Hey.
-Had no idea you were joining us. -Yeah.
I didn't, either, so...
-BLACKWOOD: Have a drink.
Have some free shrimp,
whatever bullshit we're serving around here,
and we'll talk later. What do you say?
How much later, you think?
Well, Uncle Wade, Mom wants you to go now.
-Okay, Anton. -Thank you.
I... Just, I-I'll make it quick.
Okay.
-Enjoy yourself. -Okay.
Uh...
What can I get you, Mr. McBride?
Yeah, why don't you just point me to the farthest bar.
-That'd be great. -Okay, we got one in back.
-I can show you if you like. -No, I'm good.
-I can find my way. -All right.
Oh!
-Oh, hey, I... -Look who's here.
-Yeah, I just met your brother just a second ago. -Hi!
You came.
How are you?
Hi, Mayor Silva.
MATTHEW: Diana, how are you? Great to see you.
DIANA: Let me see, let me see, let me see.
Come on!
You did really good. You designed it?
-No, I bought it. -No? You bought it?
Well, come on, get out of the cold.
-MATTHEW: I would love it. -Get a drink.
Hello?
I sat on a 24-pack of water for hours today.
I was molested by a bee. Okay?
So let me get this out.
The water board, to say the least, was a bust.
-Okay? -Yeah, all right.
-Let me worry about that. -Billy.
-This town is fucked, okay? -It's just
a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business.
No, I'm not talking about the size of the town.
I'm talking about the water problem. Okay?
It's not just Gene. It's everybody.
And it's so important that we get the whole town
-involved in this. Hello? -I-I got to call you back.
Give me a bourbon. I ain't picky.
-Just whatever you got. -Yes, sir.
-Appreciate it. -I'll do one of those.
20 bucks should've gotten you a bigger pour.
You'd think so, wouldn't you?
Roy Wheeler.
Billy McBride.
I know who you are.
-I've heard your name, too. -Yeah.
-Oh, Gene Bennett. -Right.
Terrible about his wife,
-but the guy's a fucking asshole. -Really?
I know people are afraid to say that.
It seems to me
a lot of people around here are afraid to say things.
Except that guy right there.
He seems to be pretty chatty.
Don't get me started on that guy.
So, uh, I hear you're looking into the water board.
I'm trying.
Not having much luck.
That's a waste of time, anyway.
How's that?
Well, you're looking in the wrong direction.
Which way should I look?
I can't tell you that.
How about I buy you another drink.
Loosen your lip up a little. What do you say?
-I don't mean to interrupt,
but, uh, I just wanted to, uh, introduce myself, Mr. McBride.
I'm Diana Blackwood.
Nice to meet you. Yeah, I saw you over there
-hobnobbing with the guests. -I know, right?
It's the hostess's problem.
I'm so sorry about my son.
He's, uh... he's very enthusiastic.
-Mm, that's an understatement. -Oh...
Well, I'm, uh, I'm glad you were able to come
and that there was no permanent damage.
Well, I've been hit in the head quite a number of times.
-Oh, no. -So I think the damage
-has already been done. -I'm sure that's not true.
-Oh, it's true. -Hey, Roy.
I'd like to talk to you for a minute.
Oh.
-I'm in trouble now. -Oh, just excuse us.
It's just a business thing.
-Oh, yeah. -But, uh, please, enjoy yourself,
and, uh, it was nice to officially meet you.
-Yeah, you, too. -Billy.
Why are you talking to him?
-Huh? Oh, fuck. -Why are you talking to him at a party?
-At a party in my house. -Don't get your panties in an uproar.
You are talking...
Did you have fun tonight?
Well, I wasn't really here for fun,
but, uh, I was here.
Hi.
Hey.
-So, uh...
where's your fella?
We drove separately.
Why's that?
A little spat?
-Well, I guess I have to ask.
Are you or aren't you?
What are you talking about?
Are you engaged?
That's the big breaking news, you know.
-Yeah. -
It's good to see you, Billy.
Yeah, good to see you.
they call the sandman
every night
and to whisper
everything is all right"
-
How's George's paw this morning?
The vet prescribed a topical ointment,
-so that should do it. -Oh, good.
All right, enjoy.
That's my favorite one.
Oh. I'll be damned.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
Hmm.
-Top of the morning to you, Wade. -Hey. Well, it's the afternoon.
-You just get up? -Yeah, I kind of slept in
-a little bit. -Mm.
Well, have some breakfast, man.
Oh, God, no, I don't... I can't eat before, like,
-3:00 in the... -Oh, come on, it's the most important meal of the day.
Yeah, for some people, not me.
So, uh...
You want to talk about water?
Absolutely. Yeah.
Um... so, your buddy, Wheeler,
he, uh, he said something to me last night.
-Mm-hmm. -Kind of struck me as odd.
Uh, he said I was wasting my time with the water board.
It's pretty standard stuff.
Well, where else should I be looking?
For Gene?
Mother Nature's to blame.
So that's it, then? Just the drought.
Mm-hmm.
Huh.
It's not the drilling that's going on around here at night?
That's the way we beat the heat around here, that drilling.
I don't want my workers dropping dead from heatstroke.
No, no. I certainly understand that.
But, now, Wheeler, he's... he's on the water board, right?
-Mm-hmm. -Wonder why he'd say
-something like that. Oh, hang on a sec. -
Oh, Wade, this is my daughter. I got to take it.
Family first.
Hey, honey.
Jesus, Dad, I thought you were dead.
What?
You left me a voice mail at 4:00 a.m.
Something about... writing on the walls and...
how you thought you were gonna die
and how you wanted me to know that you loved me.
Do you not remember calling me?
I-I don't know, honey.
-Maybe I was just tired. -All right, well,
I'm gonna send you the message
'cause it scared the shit out of me.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I-I'm fine.
I'm sorry I scared you, honey.
Please don't do it again.
Okay.
How about you? Is everything okay?
My roommate snores.
Look, I...
I got to get to class, so just...
I'm glad you're not dead.
You just don't worry. Go on to class.
Check in with me later.
-WOMAN 11! -What?
I...
I played your number, 11, and I won!
Oh, good. Good.
That's great. I'm gonna get back in this meeting,
but you have a fun day today, will you?
-Okay. -Okay.
Hey.
I'm so happy you came.
-Come in, come in.
I was just making a cup of tea.
Would you like some?
DELORES: Okay.
JT: Okay.
-I'm glad you're here. -I'll be in so much trouble
if they know I took this out of the office.
Delores, I promise you, nobody's gonna find out.
You don't understand.
Someone, somewhere is always watching.
Then we're gonna have to be extra careful.
May I?
Thank you.
I'm gonna take this one file out of the binder.
Are you okay with that?
You take nothing for granted.
I feel terrible about what happened to Bobbi Bennett.
-Yeah. -She was so nice.
Well...
this is really gonna help her case.
- What was that?
-I don't know.
-Oh! Jesus! -Oh! -
Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!
Get!
-Get out! -
Get out!
-It's okay. It's gone.
-No. No, it's a sign. -No, no, it's...
I knew this was bad. I shouldn't have done this.
No, no, you-you... you're overreacting.
It's a bird.
A bird that flew into the...
It's...
Delores, it's okay!
JT: Billy, you remember
-the late '80s? -I sure do.
Patty, you may be too young for this.
I absolutely am, yep.
We had a six-year drought in California.
BILLY: Yeah, they told us to take a shower
-with a friend. Remember that? -Come on.
-And we did. -Why?
Because it was fun.
It was... fun.
Anyway, because of the drought,
the Department of Water Resources decided
to cut back... on the ranchers' water,
giving preference to the residential use.
PATTY: That makes sense.
Yeah.
Only when it happened again,
the ranchers threatened to sue the state.
Only instead of going to court,
they arranged for a secret, closed-door meeting
with the Department of Water Resources
and L.A.'s Metropolitan Water District...
-in Big Sur. -BILLY: Big Sur.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. Big Sur.
Because of this secret Big Sur agreement, in exchange
for cutting the ranchers' water during the drought,
these sneaky shits,
these little douchebag ranchers managed
to get the state to give them total control
of the state's water bank.
What's a water bank?
BILLY: It's an underground reservoir.
The state uses it to store surplus water
when it actually fucking rains.
-How do you know that? -I read Delores's pamphlet.
Very cool.
Delores. Delores.
She's a really sweet lady.
Billy, I promised to protect her.
I get it.
WOMAN: Freshen those up?
Yeah.
So you're the lawyers who are gonna help us,
uh, with this water situation.
PATTY: Yeah.
Oh. Violet mentioned you.
I'm, uh, Gloria, her girlfriend.
I just want to say that I'm glad someone's looking out for us.
That's nice.
So, essentially,
this Big Sur agreement just gives the ranchers the ability
to use a public resource to fill their own pockets.
While everyone in town doesn't have water.
-Yeah. -Well, if we can prove that
they're distributing water unfairly,
we can turn Gene's case into a class action suit.
Yeah.
Well, I got to get these papers back to Delores, but, uh...
you know, I'll-I'll put together a list
of what companies are getting the water.
There's-there's a lot to dig through here, but...
GENE: What?
Yeah, I know. I kn--
Oh, you know who called the other day?
Tim Kovac. Remember him? UT Austin?
You know, he's still pitching
that goddamn rhetoric manuscript of his.
It's... Well, now he's got a new title.
Wait. Wait for it.
It's called, um... Oh, God.
That's So Punny:
Turgidity in Romance Languages.
Hmm?
No, I said I would read it.
I mean, that's professional courtesy.
Yeah.
-Why, he reads my stuff, I read his stuff, you know. -
-Gene? -What?
I...
I don't... I don't understand.
Well, this way, we take your case,
and we roll it into a class action lawsuit.
We have a hell of a lot better chance this way.
PATTY: It's power in numbers.
But what about Bobbi?
PATTY: Well, there'd be no separate
wrongful death claim.
Your pain and suffering would be part
of the class action lawsuit.
My pain and suffering
isn't like everyone else's,
'cause my wife is dead.
-BILLY: Yeah. -My wife is dead, you got that?
-PATTY: Yeah. -Well, see,
doing it like this, we can get you compensation,
and you can have some closure on Bobbi's death.
If you want to hit them where it hurts,
then this is absolutely the way to do it.
We really need you on board here, Gene.
As a matter of fact, uh, I think we may be able
to shut 'em down altogether.
Well, that's what Bobbi really wanted.
PATTY: Thank you.
-Arm? -
Jesus Christ.
-Sorry, honey. -
So are you... are you heading back, or you staying here?
-What are you doing? -Well, to tell you the truth,
I'm kind of used to the casino at this point.
Why don't you want to go back to L.A.?
I don't know. You know, Denise is settled in at college,
and... I don't really need that fucking place in Venice.
You gonna sell it?
-I've been thinking about it. -You know I can move that.
-I know.
I am very expensive, however.
-I can pay. -I know.
Do I need to be worried about you?
You get home safe, honey.
Hey.
Here you go.
-Oh, thank you. -Mm-hmm.
Wade.
You were a little loose with your facts.
Really? How's that?
Well, you're the president of the water board.
Mm-hmm.
Responsible for distribution of water in the county,
and you rigged the system.
-I did? -Yes, sir.
How's that?
Well, on paper, it looks like you get 12%.
But in reality,
through a bunch of shell corporations, you get 75.
Ah, shoot. You caught me.
And I wasn't even hiding.
I asked you about the water board.
Yeah, but you didn't ask me about my business,
and those are two different hats.
Well, if you weren't hiding, why the shell corporations?
I told you that I would tell you everything
you wanted to know about the water board,
as long as it wasn't covered by the NDA.
So ask me.
You don't give a damn about the people in town
who don't have a drop of water?
We take very good care of our employees.
We give them everything that they need.
But if we don't have water,
we don't have crops, and they don't have jobs.
-And you don't have millions. -
Everything we do here is perfectly legal.
You want to argue about the ethics, go ahead.
It won't win you a case in court.
Yeah. Unless maybe the jurors don't have any water.
Tell you one thing.
I'm sure as shit gonna sue you in Blackwood County.
You can bet your ass on that.
Oh. Oh, man.
Oh, man! That is such a bummer.
And I was just getting to like you, Billy.
Yeah, back at you, Wade.
Let me ask you something.
If everything you're doing is perfectly legal,
then, why the NDA?
I can't say. That's the point.
-Yeah. -
Well, I think you just made mine, too.