By: Quinn Que
Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Rose Byrne) are stuck in Los Angeles traffic, desperately trying to reach Culver City from San Diego in time for Charlie’s “Jeopardy taping. Sylvia becomes comically impatient, yelling and honking her horn futilely while Will urges her to calm down. Meanwhile, Charlie (Luke Macfarlane) waits nervously at the studio, excited but anxious about whether his wife will arrive in time as she sends him traffic updates.
Charlie proceeds to the stage to begin the game, with Sylvia barely making it to the audience in time for the start. Unfortunately, Charlie’s performance proves disastrous from the beginning. He’s quick on the buzzer but immediately flubs a response, answering “Beauty and the Beast Mode,” accidentally referencing his son’s favorite catchphrase. The game continues downhill as Charlie keeps buzzing in with wrong answers or experiencing brain fog, prompting the show’s producers to audibly wonder in the control booth if he even knows where he is.
Will attempts to check into a hotel but discovers his company card has been declined. When he calls corporate, they inform him that all his expensing privileges have been revoked and he’ll need to fund his business travel himself from now on. That evening he vents to Sylvia while crashing in their guest room, convinced that Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom), who is technically his boss, must be punishing him for ending their relationship. Sylvia points out he shouldn’t be too surprised given the circumstances, but Will argues he expected Jenna to handle things like an adult.
Charlie tries to maintain normalcy by making breakfast for the kids Frances (Sophie Leonard), Simon (Max Matenko) and Maeve (Sophia Kopera) and taking the week off from work. He remains bummed and embarrassed about his Jeopardy loss but attempts to hide his feelings. He even instructs Sylvia not to mention anything to Stewart (Guy Branum) when she meets about planning the annual company retreat.
Will arrives at his corporate office to find a man introducing himself as “Terry” (Kyle Mooney) sitting at his desk. Jenna has replaced Will with Terry in all capacities, leading to an elaborate and highly passive-aggressive exchange before Will storms out in frustration. After Jenna ignores Will’s call, Terry contacts her and, in a surprisingly neutral tone, reports that his “Terry” character was highly effective and predicts Will is going to be gone within 48 hours.
Sylvia meets with Stewart about the company event and receives shocking news: the guest list has grown from the two hundred she expected to “at least” a thousand five hundred, something Stewart emphasizes nonchalantly while she staggers to process the dramatic change. She mutters uncertainly about whether she can accommodate such a large event but leaves the meeting telling Stewart she’ll circle back later.
At home Sylvia vents to Charlie, who remains dejected about Jeopardy and is exploring options to prevent the network from airing the episode. The spouses struggle to fully relate to each other’s problems, with Sylvia dismissing Jeopardy as unimportant and Charlie mildly lashing out by suggesting Sylvia quits her projects too easily. His comment takes her aback.
When Sylvia discusses the situation with Will, he offers support but admits Charlie has a valid point. He encourages her not to give up on the company party and to commit to planning the large event, despite the unprecedented size being intimidating. Taking his supportive advice, she agrees to proceed.
Will remains frustrated about his work situation but tries to relax in the guest room. He overhears loud music from the garage and discovers Charlie working out. The men end up taking turns doing barbell extensions and spotting each other, bonding through their shared activity. Will suggests they hang out later, and Charlie happily agrees, pleasantly surprised by the invitation.
In a follow-up meeting with Stewart, Sylvia presents a standard, though admittedly drab, corporate hotel venue. Stewart expresses satisfaction but acknowledges it’s boring, making Sylvia feel insecure about whether they should continue searching. He tries to reassure her but casually mentions the highly exclusive La Cienega Haciendas club that he’d love to use. Sylvia promises she’s a regular who can schedule a meeting, despite secretly never having heard of the venue.
Sylvia brainstorms with Katie (Carla Gallo), who recognizes that Sylvia is in over her head but tries to help by proposing a trip to the exclusive club. The women attempt to gain entry by pretending to be members, but the two tall, thin female hostesses Marla (Gigi Bermingham) and Britt (Sami Griffith) aren’t convinced by their act. Sylvia ultimately gets inside thanks to an elderly gentleman (Robert Almodovar) who mistakes her for a prostitute when she mentions needing to get in “for work.”
Will and Charlie visit Will’s bar where Will becomes upset over all the changes Terry has implemented. Terry, maintaining his character, begins filming them and passive-aggressively messing with them while revealing his knowledge about Will and his associates. Terry goads Will into pulling down a banner, which he does, and the two also steal hard seltzers left out as props and merchandise while Terry continues recording.
At another bar Charlie and Will have a deeper conversation where Will admits he admires Charlie for being “solid” as a husband and father. Charlie confesses he’s somewhat jealous of Will’s spontaneity and had hoped Jeopardy would provide more excitement to break up his life’s monotony. He admits feeling stuck, especially since being the primary provider prevents him from changing careers, prompting Will to encourage him to think creatively about his talents and options.
During their walk Charlie, clearly feeling the effects of the seltzers they’ve been drinking, starts rambling about certain “Jeopardy” episodes that didn’t air. He reveals he’s led them to the house of a “Jeopardy” executive producer, making Will increasingly uncomfortable as Charlie talks about taking Will’s advice to be adventurous, though not as intended. Despite Will’s repeated objections, Charlie decides to break into the producer’s home to confront him about pulling the episode.
Charlie gets cold feet after seeing children’s toys in the backyard but ultimately breaks in anyway when he gets stuck halfway through a window. He sneaks out the front door but gets spotted by the producer and his family, who watch in confusion as Charlie and Will run away from the house.
Sylvia meets with Stewart and comes clean about not actually being a member of the exclusive club. She admits she can’t book the venue and hopes for his understanding, but Stewart explains it’s too late to change since he’s already informed everyone at the firm and received their approval. If Sylvia can’t secure the venue, everyone will look bad, including Stewart, Sylvia, and Charlie.
The episode concludes with an exhausted Charlie stumbling into bed while Sylvia asks what happened. He simply grunts out “beast mode,” referencing his earlier “Jeopardy” mistake and suggesting his evening of questionable decisions.