"VALERIE:" "Previously on "Casual"..." "I want you back." "Jesus, Drew." "I'm serious." " SPENCER:" "It worked." " What worked?" "SPENCER:" "My trial." "I went to the doctors." "They ran some tests." "And it's shrinking." "We can do anything." "ALL:" "Surprise!" " God..." " ALL: ♪ Happy birthday dear Val ♪" "Um, these people are here for you, so enjoy your cake." "Where are you going?" "Home." "To Drew." "[doorbell rings]" "Hi." "Is there another entrance that doesn't have stairs?" " What?" " For the gurney." "We have your father outside." "Just need to find a way of bringing him in." "Lock all the doors, Val." "Oh... happy birthday." "[stirring music]" "♪ ♪" " Do it." " You do it." "I'm scared." "He's incapacitated." "You don't know that." "We're gonna have to talk to him eventually, you know." "[sighs]" "Or we pretend he's not there and go about our lives." "Yeah." "That'll work." "We could wheel him outside and hope the rain washes him away." "It would take a flash flood." " Isn't it El Niño?" " That ended in April." "Shit." "He's on the move." "Don't look at me." "Dad, how you feeling?" "I'm buoyed by the smiling faces of my children." "Something you want to tell us?" "Or..." "What are you doing in my living room?" "Well, good morning to you too." "What's your angle this time?" "Insurance?" "Malpractice?" "Or are you just here to spoil our day?" " I'm dying." " Horse shit." "Alex." "My kidneys are shot." "My liver, my pancreas too." "And I'm in pain." " Everyone's in pain." " Well, this is a pain that I find that I can no longer endure." "Where's Mom?" "Your mother has chosen to... recuse herself from the situation." "She finds this whole thing a bit unpalatable." " So, we're supposed to take care of you?" " Unpalatable?" "It's fine." "It's all taken care of." "I've made certain arrangements." "I'll be euthanizing myself this evening." "So, Valerie, did you have a nice birthday?" "What the fuck, Alex?" "What the fuck?" "She just left?" "He did everything." "Terminal diagnosis, mental health screening, multiple witnesses." "I mean, he already called in the prescription." "[sighs]" "We can't indulge this, right?" "I mean, we can't." "No, no." " Not in my house." " What?" "Either his ghost ends up haunting me, or I have to disclose his death when I sell this place." "Unemployment is surprisingly expensive." "[melancholy music]" "♪ ♪" "[Charles coughing]" "Oh, thanks." "You're welcome." "So, are you ready?" "For what?" "The great unknown." "When it's your time, it's your time." "You're gonna miss the end of the "Transformers" franchise." "Well, maybe you could come to my grave and tell me how things work out." "I bet some robots kill some other robots." "Ah. [Chuckles]" "What's on your mind?" "I was actually... prepared for a death." "I just didn't think it would be yours." "Really?" "Who'd you think was gonna be dying?" "My boyfriend." "Or... this guy." "I don't know." "So, I take it he's still alive." "That he is." "You don't seem all that pleased about that." "I am." "I think I am." "I don't know." "It's confusing." "Yeah." "Everything's kind of confusing at your age." "When does it all make sense?" "It doesn't." "Eventually, you just sort of come to accept that." "And then the lights turn off." "So, how does this work?" "I mean, once you're ready, you pop a couple pills, and sayonara?" "Off to the great unknown." "Is there anything I can do to help?" "Actually, there is something you could do for me." "It's a small gathering." "Four, five people, max, in a private room." "No." "No special menu." "You have wheelchair access, correct?" "We're euthanizing my father, and he's confined to a gurney." "He's a larger man, so doorways are a bit of a concern." "Can't or won't?" "Asshole." "[doorbell rings]" "Oh, thank God." "You would not believe the morning I've had." "Hey, you don't own your place, right?" " What?" " Your apartment." " Do you rent or own?" " I rent." "Good." "I might need to borrow it for a few hours later." "And that ramp that leads up to the back door... is that street-accessible?" "Hi, Leon." "Dad, where's Mom?" "Like I said, she's recused herself from the situation." "Right." "Where is she?" "She's with her friend Dolly in Ojai." "Do not move him." "Do not let him die." "He stays here... alive..." "until I get back with Mom." "Val, wait." "Your car's at Chili's." "Yep." "[calm music]" "♪ ♪" "You ever feel like if we're overwhelmed by ways to fix heartburn, we'll be too distracted to realize that the major things in life are mostly out of our control?" "Go with the TUMS." "They taste like chalk candy." "MAN:" "Next." "Hi." "I'm picking up a prescription." "Charles Cole." " Your name?" " Laura Meyers." "ID?" "You're 17." " So I'm told." " I can't release this to anyone under 18." "But my name is listed for pickup." "Still, I can't release this to a minor." "It's dangerous." "Ugh." "Fine." "What aisle is the Drano?" "Do you remember when we met?" "Yep." "Um..." "I do." "In that little bar." "So, earlier that day," "I was with my husband and our lawyers, and he said that I was cold and that I always be alone." " Oh." "I, uh..." "I see." " Yeah." "And I've been trying to get those words out of my head for a very long time." "Any luck?" "You know, life was easier when I was married." "It just was ordinary." "I..." "I liked ordinary." "Then why have you stayed with Alex for so long?" "Oh." "Well, we have a... we have a complicated symbiosis." "Do you have siblings?" " I do." " Do you love them?" "Very much." "Well, that's what makes it so hard." "It's right up here on the right." "Sure." "♪ ♪" "All right." "CHARLES:" "Alex?" "Alex!" "Yeah?" "Can we talk?" "About what?" "Anything you'd like." "[light music]" "♪ ♪" "Okay." "Do you know anything about the 1990s Chicago Bulls?" "I do not." "That's too bad." "There's a good biography on Toni Kukoc." "I'd give you a copy, but..." "Hand me my bag over there." "I was thinking... that maybe you might want to have this." "How about I just turn on some music?" "All right." "[Nina Simone's "Wild Is the Wind"]" "♪ ♪" "NINA: ♪ Love me, love me, say you do ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Let me fly away with you ♪" "♪ For my love is ♪" " ♪ Like the wind ♪ - " "♪ And wild is the wind ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Give me more than one caress ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Satisfy this hungriness ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Let the wind blow through your heart ♪" "♪ For wild is the wind ♪" "Fuck him." "How fucking dare he?" " Alex." " ALEX:" "I mean, a photo album?" "How trite." "Like I'm just supposed to forget all the horrible shit he did?" "What did he say about it?" "Nothing." "He just gave it to me." "And now he expects me to mercy-kill him." " Okay." " ALEX:" "What if I'm not ready for him to die?" "What if I don't want to kill him just yet?" "Huh?" "And men who kill their fathers..." "bad things happen to them." "Weird things." "I've read those books." "Your life is not a Greek tragedy." "Just talk to him." "You're not gonna get another chance." " You okay, Laura Jo?" " I'm fine." " You sure?" " Yep." "Okay." "Oh, my mom wanted to do a college tour thing, and she asked if you wanted to come along." "Could be fun." "Yeah, it could be." "Next." "Back again." "I brought the cavalry." "ID?" "You don't have to come if you don't want to." "On the college tour." "Can we not talk about this right now?" " I'm just saying." " I heard you." "You are not listed for pickup." " But I am." " But you are not 18." "Which we've already established." "That's why I have him, the 18-year-old." "It's not a mix-and-match situation." "I can't pick up a prescription for my dying grandfather?" " This is ridiculous." "I..." " Miss..." "Don't interrupt me!" "It's stupid." "You're stupid." "Your entire job is to help people, so why are you preventing me from completing a simple fucking task, you obstructionist asshole?" "Do you think it'll be better the second time around?" "I don't know." "The life I built... it wasn't even mine." "And the only thing that was mine was my marriage." "And Drew's not perfect... he's far from perfect... but maybe that's okay." "If... if that's what you want." "People are gonna judge me, right?" "They're gonna say nasty things." "They'll care less than you think." "You're a good friend, Leon." "I don't know why you put up with us." "Well, your brother amuses me, and, um, after our night together, how could I not?" "Is that a British thing?" "You have to live in your shame?" "No." "Actually, we Brits are pretty shame-averse." "So, you're just torturing yourself?" "Maybe I was hoping for a chance to get it right." "Okay." "No credit cards?" "What the fuck?" "Here." "You can pay me back." "[pen clicks]" "Who carries a checkbook?" "All right." "Well, good luck." "Thank you." "Um, for what it's worth, you don't owe anyone an apology." "We do what we can to be happy." "♪ ♪" "Do you remember what you told me about the American Indians?" "Well, I do remember you running around one summer with that ridiculous headdress on." "You told me they were slaughtered tribe by tribe so that our ancestors could settle." "You said it was for the best." "Would you rather that I lied to you?" " I was five." " Alex, the world doesn't favor sentimentality, you know?" "The sooner you understood that..." "The sooner I could learn to shut myself off from it?" " Oh, Alex..." " I am lonely." "I am lonely and sad because of what you taught me, because of how you raised me." "Can you imagine what it's like to watch your parents love indiscriminately when you have no one for yourself?" "I did the best I could." "And you and your sister have each other." "That's a real love." "That's more than most people ever get." "It's more than I ever got." " Laura Jo." " Stop calling me that." " Did I do something?" " No." "Yes." "God, this is so fucked up." "I don't understand." "You were dying." "You were supposed to die." "Okay, but now I'm not." "Now you're not." "So, what?" "You're not into me anymore?" "I want to be." "But then I think of this stupid tattoo, and, like, it's gonna be here forever." "And what happens in a year, or five years, when I hate it and want to get rid of it, but it's seared into my skin, and the ink won't come out?" "It's just a tattoo." "You know that feeling when you get someone and they get you?" "The thing that makes the sex good?" "Yeah." "It's gone." "Where's Mom?" "She made her choice." "If she doesn't want to help him, we can't force her." "He might not have done right by us, but we can do right by him." "I'll go get his drugs." "No, I'll take care of it." "Thank you." "Where's Laura?" "Her room." "Hi, Mom." "Hi." "I had a bad day." "[light music]" "♪ ♪" "Hello." "I'm picking up a prescription for..." "Charles Cole." "And you are?" "Cecilia." "From PostMates!" "ID?" "I'm fucked up." "And not, like garden-variety teenage girl fucked up." "I mean actually fucked up." "Why do you think that?" "'Cause I wanted him to die." " No, you didn't." " No, I did." "I wanted something preserved and timeless like one of those stupid movies." "Yeah, but we all know that's not realistic, right?" "Right." "Realistic is learning his flaws and realizing I can't stand him and my brain changing all the good memories to bad so I never have to speak to him again." "It only gets worse." "And the honeymoon comes at the start, not the end." "The honeymoon is only one part of it." "Yeah, the best part." "Sometimes." "Sometimes, people reveal themselves as more than that." "You remember why you fell in love with them in the first place, but that usually comes with time." "Hmm." "Like with your dad." "[laughs]" "Wait, seriously?" "You were miserable at the end." "Both of you." "I wasn't miserable." "I used to hear you crying in the bathroom at night when you thought everyone was asleep." "Have you been talking to him about getting back together?" "I, uh..." "I don't know." "Maybe we ended things too soon." "Should've tried harder to keep it all together." "Mom." "You tried as hard as you could." "[gentle music]" "♪ ♪" "Most sons dream of beating their dad at ping-pong, not... you know." "Someday, you can tell your kids about it." "Then they'll really fear you." "This is really what you want?" "It is." "I'm glad it's you." "[door shuts] [footsteps approaching]" "Dad." "Sweetheart." "You okay?" "I'm sorry that we weren't closer." "Me too." "Eh, maybe it's all for the best." "We'll do it together." "I bet right now in, like, Utah, there's a family doing this exact same thing," "but instead of a lethal dose of sleeping pills, it's, um... it's a pile of beads, and they're making charm bracelets." "God, beading is the worst." "Mm." "Jewelry-making in general." "Every housewife in LA thinks he's fucking David Yurman." "David Yurman?" "The jewelry-making guy, right?" "Don't answer that." "I don't want to know." "Oh." "Would it be so hard to just give us a bag of powder?" " Yeah." "Like street drugs." " Yes." "Like street drugs." "That would be easy." "It's not supposed to be easy." "You don't take street drugs..." "I don't." "Well, it's less culpable than handing him the pills or hooking him up to a IV." "Yeah." "It's just a cloudy glass of water." "Diet Patricide." "[sighs]" "Last one." "You want the honors?" "Go for it." "Phew." "I am parched." "Dad, you can drink this or not." "It's your decision." "We won't begrudge you either way." "To the great unknown." "Okay." "[gulping]" "How long is it supposed to take?" "[clears throat]" "Uh... 15 to 30 minutes." "But in some cases with larger patients, it can take upwards of 48 hours." "[clears throat]" "Should we order food?" "Chinese?" "CHARLES:" "Is there one moment that you can think of?" "LAURA:" "Yeah, probably." "I remember one Christmas..." "I would always wake up in the mornings before everybody else got out of bed, and I would grab a flashlight, and I would look at..." "Aren't they sweet?" "[Laura continues softly in background]" "Did you talk to Dad while I was gone?" "I did." "How did that go?" "Good, I think." " Hey." " Hm?" "I'm sorry about your birthday." " It's all right." " No, it's not." "You know, it's so hard to hate you, because your heart is in the right place, and I know how much you care about us." "But it's always you that ends up on top." "[Alex laughs]" "What?" "I lost my girlfriend, my company, and, unless he's immune to poison, my father, and you think I'm on top?" "[both laugh]" " Okay." " I don't know." "You just seem to find a way." "You're not really going back to Drew, are you?" "No." "I don't think I am." "Okay." "But... it's time for me to leave this house." "I think that's a good idea." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "Do you want a fortune cookie?" "[plastic crinkles]" "LAURA:" "Guys?" "[Laura Marling's "Once"]" "♪ ♪" "LAURA: ♪ In the land I now know to be mine ♪" "♪ Where the heart's so dark it's near blind ♪" "♪ When I think about the life I left behind ♪" "♪ I still raise no praise to the sky ♪ [door opens]" "You're early." "♪ ♪" "♪ With my eyes on the prize of your bed ♪" "♪ When all that's needed saying has been said ♪" "♪ When I think ♪" " ♪ About the life that I have led ♪ - " "♪ I laid down to the sound of the wise ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Once ♪" "♪ Once is enough to break you ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Once ♪" "♪ Once is enough to make you think twice ♪" "♪ About laying your love out ♪" "♪ On the line ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ Oh, I was a child once ♪" "♪ Oh, I was happy young ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ When all I didn't know needed doing ♪" "♪ Had been done ♪" "♪ ♪"