Free Agents Episode 1.04 Rebranding

Executives from Chemtex are lined up in the Hale Dayton conference room, seeking rebranding in the wake of bad gas leak publicity. During Alex's speech, Helen notices Gregg staring through the glass. He tells Dan that Chemtex exec June Greer is giving Alex "the look." After the meeting, Gregg, Dan, Helen and Stephen track June's interaction with Alex. What first appeared to be lust turns out to be... pity.

Later, the Hale Dayton crew meets with Fred Potter, whose clean-cut family restaurant has taken a hit since news of his trashy affair hit the media. Fred claims that one slip in 20 years of marriage has cut 2% of his stock price. Helen spins it - they're going to paint him as the victim of sex addiction and check him into a clinic. After the first news cycle dies, they'll stage a press conference, and with his wife by his side, Fred will read a carefully worded statement about putting the incident aside. Stephen promises that Helen will convince Fred's wife to do the right thing.

Taking pity on the pitied, Helen decides to set up a profile for Alex on an online dating site. Alex thinks it's a joke, but rebranding Alex is Helen's plan, just like they're going to rebrand Chemtex. Emma and Dan immediately pitch in to write a completely fictional - yet thrilling - profile for Alex. When Alex asks Helen why, she explains that it's time for him to stop talking about his feelings and get back in the game. Alex points out that they hooked up twice. And if online dating's so great, why isn't Helen doing it? Helen proposes a new deal: they'll each go on one date, not with each other.

The next day, Gregg and Helen meet with Dorothy Potter and her lawyers. They're going to put emotion aside and look at the facts of why she should stand by Fred's side at the press conference: she's the majority share holder in a business that's losing value every day the scandal drags on. Later, Alex finds Dan and Gregg in the conference room, choosing a date for Alex. Then Helen steps in with her laptop, having picked dates for her and Alex - Dawn27 from the Fisherman's Widows site. Dan moves on, giving Alex tips on how to start conversations, peacocking and body wash, the foundation of a man's package.

Later that night, Alex waits for his date at a hip restaurant, while talking to Helen on the phone while she's on her date. Helen's date pees all the time and has a hook instead of his hand. Turns out, he lost his bladder in the same accident, and now he has a monkey bladder. Alex tells his date Dawn that he's moved on from his divorce. Dawn compliments him on how well he's bearing up. Turns out, she's recently divorced too... and is still pretty broken up about it. The next morning, Alex tells Helen all about it - crying the whole date. Actually, he didn't mind at all; they dropped all pretense and let themselves be messy and human. Helen's response: yuck! She knows he cried too, and because of that, she's going to send him a new profile.

Helen coaches Fred for the press conference announcing he's going into treatment for sex addiction. After bundling Fred off, Helen takes a call from Dorothy's lawyer; Dorothy has decided she wants no part of the press conference. Helen asks for one more chance to try to persuade Dorothy to get on board, and the lawyer agrees, as long as Helen will go on a date with him. She stays at the office late to work on the Potter campaign and is stunned to catch Alex on his way out for another date with Dawn at the park. And what do they talk about? Crying. Before long, they're talking about crying with passersby, and when Helen calls, Alex tells her about the conversation. Helen doesn't like Dawn's profile. Alex points out that his profile is full of lies. Wait a minute... does this mean Helen's jealous?

Gregg stops in to collect Helen for drinks with Mrs. Potter. Helen thinks Dorothy is locked in an angry place, so Gregg advises her to listen sympathetically. This is nearly impossible for Helen to do, until Dorothy encourages her to talk about her fiance, bonding over the pain. Before long, Helen's in tears, but still pushing her proposal. The next day, the press conference goes off without a hitch. Stephen's impressed; Helen looks sheepish. When he leaves, Helen asks about Alex's date, and he's even more convinced that she's jealous. Helen claims they used to talk - she's just trying to fix Alex. Alex thinks trying to fix everyone is a problem, but Helen doesn't - she's not closed off. If she is, why did she spend all last night bawling to Mrs. Potter about her dead fiance? Done with his statement, Fred winks lasciviously at Helen.

That night, Alex is on another date with Dawn, who's crying again. A park bench is reminding her of her ex, his proposal and his divorce. In fact, the whole park is full of memories; they used to live across the street. Even though they split up three years ago, she keeps coming back to the same one. Alex finally gets the message. Later, Helen calls, thinking about what Alex said about her being closed off. Alex doesn't want to talk about feelings, and he's moved on from Dawn. That being said, Helen invites him to come over and not talk about feelings. Alex promises to get there in 10.