Bored to Death Episode 1.08 Take a Dive

George, Jonathan and Ray ('Team Edition NY') train to fight, respectively, Richard Antrem, Louis Greene and Francis Hamm (a GQ cartoonist who's been rounded up to fill out 'Team GQ'). When not training, Jonathan struggles to push through his writer's block but is interrupted by a call from Stella, the girl from the Park Slope Co-Op, who offers to share some medical marijuana she got from California. Jonathan is smitten, though the only physical contact on their first date is a rambunctious round of one-on-one Nerf basketball. Jonathan's next attempt to write is interrupted by a menacing caller who orders him to take a dive in the fight. Jonathan believes it's a prank until the caller phones again with the threat to send a Viagra bottle with George's name on it to Page 6 unless Jonathan throws the fight. Realizing the caller's number has appeared on his cell phone, Jonathan tracks the man to his apartment, uses his E-Z Lock Picker to enter, recovers the Viagra bottle and forces the blackmailer to confess that Louis Greene hired him.

Meanwhile, Priscilla comes to George to ask him to take a dive in his fight, confiding that Richard has a heart condition. George insists that it would be too humiliating, that he can't do that. Nevertheless they have passionate sex.

For their second date, Stella shares her new vaporizer with Jonathan and they make love. Though she's a painter, she offers advice she got from a writing teacher: "Only write about what you love." Jonathan says he loves his private detective work, and she urges him to write about that.

At the fight, Hamm inadvertently knocks Ray out and Leah begs him to stay down, declaring her love. Jonathan is pleasantly surprised to see Stella arrive at the fight just before he steps into the ring. Enraged by Greene's barbs about his writing, Jonathan knocks his opponent out and receives a victory kiss from Stella (who passes on his offer to come over later since she already has a UTI from the night before). With the team score 1-1, George and Antrem step into the ring. Just after George strikes a mighty blow against Antrem, he spies the concerned Priscilla in the audience. Feeling guilty, George takes a dive - and suffers Richard's gloating as Priscilla walks off with the victor.

With the ring now empty, Jonathan and George reflect on what they have and have not learned, and then spar for the fun of it.