The inaugural episode of *The Audacity* proved to be truly chaotic, with countless characters feeling as though their world was crumbling around them; yet, it all felt strangely well-coordinated, and we could already glimpse the points of convergence where all the characters would begin to intertwine. By the end of the first episode, Orson discovered—while eavesdropping on Duncan’s therapy session—that neither of his parents had wanted to take responsibility for him following their divorce; furthermore, he ended up locked in the basement when the housekeeper noticed that the door to the small room where he was hiding had been left open. We see much more of Orson in episodes 2 and 3, and it becomes evident that he will play a highly significant role in the story.
Faced with the threat of blackmail (and the fact that Duncan had barged into her home just as she was already feeling paranoid), JoAnne provides Duncan with the name of one of her clients—someone who could become a potential investor for Hypergnosis. However, she deliberately chooses the grumpiest, most disagreeable guy she can think of—Carl Bardolph—hoping that a bad experience will serve to put Duncan in his place. But Duncan becomes absolutely fascinated the moment he hears the name. Carl Bardolph, of course, is the creator of "Bardolph’s Law": a pure fantasy of the highest order, yet exactly what tech CEOs yearn to hear—that profits will continue to grow infinitely. Nevertheless, when he goes to meet Carl at his favorite smoothie shop (a place he had previously staked out with his daughter), things go awry with dizzying speed.
Creator: Jonathan Glatzer
Stars: Billy Magnussen, Paul Adelstein, Lucy Punch
Thanks to Carl’s earlier therapy sessions, we already know that he detests having strangers invade his personal space; and he makes it abundantly clear that he does not appreciate Duncan’s presence when he stabs a fork into the palm of his hand. After a few moments of shouting and commotion, Duncan flees back to Hypergnosis headquarters to lick his wounds; however, he is in for an unpleasant surprise when he finds Ruffage and Jeffrey there playing badminton. Apparently, Anushka never informed them that the deal had been called off; but just as Duncan attempts to kick them out, Ruffage lets slip that the agreement would grant Hypergnosis access to a massive amount of data on war veterans.
At that precise moment, Duncan begins seeing dollar signs everywhere (above and beyond the financial profits the deal would have generated on its own). He promises to throw a massive, patriotic-themed (red, white, and blue) barbecue for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Ruffage’s boss). Later, inspired by a spider he spots in his sink—which teaches him never to give up—Duncan returns to the smoothie shop; this time, however, he doesn't even manage to reach Carl, as the latter's bodyguards immediately and violently subdue him.
Upon returning to Hypergnosis headquarters, "Ruffrey" (the nickname he uses for Ruffage and Jeffrey) has bad news for him: the wildfires have worsened to such an extent that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has been forced to delay her flight—so much so that she will no longer be able to attend the barbecue. Instead, she has decided to prioritize an event at Spookle headquarters, which infuriates Duncan. Not only did he fail in his attempt to get Carl to invest, but the Secretary of Veterans Affairs doesn't seem to be taking his proposal very seriously either—despite the fact that, initially, he hadn't even wanted anything to do with them.
After Orson manages to escape the basement by smashing the window, JoAnne becomes paranoid about the possibility of burglars breaking in and begins demanding that Gary get her a gun. When Duncan manages to get Gary to undergo a free diagnostic test for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), he asks his IT technician to check Gary's phone; Duncan becomes paranoid upon discovering that JoAnne has been sending him text messages about guns—a fact he finds ironic. Following the fiasco with Carl, Duncan tracks down JoAnne—since she has been ignoring his calls. She drives erratically in an attempt to throw him off her trail before rushing to an investment firm, where she seeks advice on how to conceal the fact that she is actually engaging in insider trading. After receiving some tips on how to "muddy" the trail of her investments, she leaves. Upon arriving home, she tries to get Orson to change her passwords; however, when she provides him with the access code for her laptop—claiming it corresponds to his birthday—it turns out the date is off by one day.
As the wildfires begin to spiral out of control, several characters start to lose their cool—especially Lili—in stark contrast to Duncan’s unperturbed demeanor. It almost seems like a performative passivity; and later, when Gary tells him that he doesn’t have autism and is completely "typical," Duncan flies into a rage at being labeled "normal"—for to be a wealthy CEO, one must possess absolutely no empathy. Perhaps he tried to convince himself that he was different so he would never have to face the fact that he never truly processed Hamish’s suicide. It was Hamish who built Fahfa, while Duncan was nothing more than a grinning monkey.
Even JoAnne rubs it in his face later on, telling him he won the lottery by having Hamish as a roommate. When the Napa house goes up in flames, Lili is devastated; but once again, Duncan remains indifferent, as he places no value on the memories they built there. On the contrary, the only thing that seems to matter to him in this episode is the spider in his sink—which he begins to view as a direct representation of himself (or at least his ideal self)—given that it comes back to life time and again, no matter what he does to it. I mean: couldn't it have been a whole family of spiders? Nevertheless, when Thelma finally dispatches the spider, he is left truly bereft; and when he calls JoAnne for help, he tells her that he has lost a friend. Oh, men with too much empathy.
After Duncan’s barbecue was called off, Martin toured the grounds, showing the place to his AI pet: Xander. Upon encountering Ruffage—who was clearly having a rough time (the smell of roasting pork had triggered a PTSD episode related to burning bodies)—Xander hits him with a quote from General Sherman that resonates deeply with him. Immediately afterward, Ruffage finds himself immersed in a full-blown therapy session conducted by Martin’s therapeutic AI for teenagers; everyone present is fascinated, until Jeffery bursts onto the scene and drags Ruffage away. When Martin and Anushka arrive home, she suddenly expresses a desire to be part of what Martin is building, as it becomes evident that it holds immense potential. But Martin wants this to be his own project, and he reminds her of all the times she called his idea stupid and said the face looked ridiculous. I suppose, after all, there are some underlying issues between the couple.
At the end of Episode 3, Duncan gazes at the only photo he possesses of his beloved, late arachnid friend and feels inspired to be persistent once again. The wildfires are now so severe that only a psychopath would venture out of their home. So, naturally, he knows Carl will be at the smoothie shop, and he heads there to find him. Carl, honestly, feels a certain respect for this; Duncan then tells him a story about Linus Po—a musician whom everyone has been mourning all day long. Apparently, a long time ago, Duncan had tried to convince him to perform a concert in his backyard in exchange for a million dollars.
When Linus refused, Duncan upped the offer to two, then three, then four million, and finally to 4.5 million. Linus showed up, played three songs, flipped Duncan the bird, and called him "repulsive," humiliating him in front of all his friends. But Duncan rationalizes the event by claiming that, even so, he came out ahead, since Linus hated himself even more for having accepted the money and never composed music again after that day. This sociopathic speech clearly strikes a deep chord with Carl; When Duncan asks him to invest $300 million in Hypergnosis in exchange for a 7% stake, Carl finally takes the bait, and Duncan emerges victorious once again. As if any further proof were needed that Duncan is a true loser: as he drives away, he asks an artificial intelligence to generate a triumphant song in the style of Linus Po—but with his own name included in the lyrics. A final insult to Linus Po on the day of his death.
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