Doll & Em Episode 2.03 Episode #9

Emily practices her lines for her 'Space Pilgrim' audition during breakfast. Her kids rush out for school, bumping Emily and spilling coffee down the front of her white blouse. While shouting at them, she feels something "come loose" in her throat.

Doll and Em meet with the entire cast of 'Joanne's Gift' for the first time. Emily asks John, the actor playing her character's husband, if he'll trim his beard for the show. John balks; he believes the scruff is "a rebellion against a very controlling wife." As Noah's beard is a point of contention at home, Emily worries about John's reasoning.

In the theater bathroom, Doll uses a flashlight to examine Emily's throat. They hear Evan and Olivia walk in, so they hide in the stall and eavesdrop. Evan complains she got the "boring" character (ostensibly Dolly's) while Olivia lucked out with her role.

That night, Doll worries to Em that Evan meant she was boring. Emily and Noah prepare to leave for their children's recital, and Em unwittingly hurts Dolly's feelings by complaining to Noah about their play in front of Doll. Noah asks the women why they insist on doing something their hearts aren't in, then turns to Em and asks her, "What am I not giving you?"

Doll decides to stay home and comb the nits out of her hair, but agrees to meet Buddy for a drink at a nearby bar. There, she meets Ewan McGregor, who's starring in 'Space Pilgrim.' The two hook up in the bathroom, leaving a wounded Buddy alone.

Emily, Noah and the kids return from the recital and Emily gets the call that she is cast in 'Space Pilgrim.' That night, she chats with her mom over Skype, telling her that while she's excited about the movie, she is dreading telling Dolly that she can't direct their play. Their conversation is interrupted by the doorbell; it's Olivia, who "sensed" that Emily wasn't okay. Olivia shows herself upstairs to Em's bedroom where she rolls around on her bed and goes through her closet. She explains that she's trying to get a sense of her character, despite Emily's insistence that the play is not a biopic.

When Doll returns from the bar, she and Em both tell the other they need to talk. Em goes first, but before she can back out of the play, a rejuvenated Dolly tells her that she understands Emily is in a different place in her life -- one dictated by kids, a mortgage, and a marriage -- and that Doll wants to "take the reins" on 'Joanne's Gift'.

The following day, Emily has a hard time watching Olivia and John rehearse their scenes; the characters' fight rings too true to her trouble at home. She and Doll give the pair notes, but it quickly becomes a thinly-veiled critique of both Emily's marriage -- and her and Doll's strained friendship.