Episode 1

**"*Episode 1*"** is the first episode and series premiere of Season 1 of Pieces of Her, and the first episode overall.

## Synopsis

*Andy's 30th birthday lunch is interrupted by a shocking act of violence. After her mom's stunning response goes viral, a threat emerges in their home.*

## Plot Summary

Andy works a 911 operator and helps a woman deal with an animal, but she does it half-heartedly. She rides her bike home and uses a key under a plant pot to grab some peanut butter, while she texts someone that her mother was doing better and she was happy to be there instead of New York because she does not need to pay rent.

Laura asks a Sergeant how she can help him, but he has a hard time telling her he lost his phone. He loses his temper, but Laura reminds him that one month ago, he could not even remember the word for phone, which meant he was making progress. She tells him to take a deep breath and manages to calm him down before repeating the exercise.

Andy looks at a photo of her father when Laura joins her, wishing her a happy 30th birthday. Andy says she does not want to change for their lunch date and they leave. At the restaurant, Laura tells her that if she hates her job, she should find another one and wants her to get a degree. Laura notices her daughter does not seem happy, but Andy asks her to stop since she does not know what to do with her life. She says that maybe her dad was the fuck-up, but Laura tells her that her father Jerry loved her even though Andy does not know anything about him. Laura offers paying for a therapist, but Andy insists she is doing fine.

Laura asks if Andy knows a man who keeps looking at her, scowling, but the latter says that she is the only person there under 60. Laura says that she knows Andy did not want to go home, but she says that she was sick and did not want to go back to her three part-time jobs in New York. Laura tells her that she loves her as Betsy approaches them and introduces her daughter Shelly.

Andy excuses herself and walks away from the table as the man who was looking at her takes a gun out and points it at Shelly, who is shocked. He shoots her in front of everybody and kills Betsy after that. Laura runs towards Andy and tells her to get down. The man turns around, but directs his attention to another man who was telling his virtual phone assistant that they were in trouble and shoots him as well. The man tells Andy to get up, calling her a pig and asking where her gun is. Laura explains that Andy is not a police officer and asks him to shoot her instead. She grabs his gun, which distracts him, but he regains control of it and shoots her. There were no bullets left, so he takes out a knife and stabs her through the palm of her hand. The man starts crying, as Laura grabs the knife and slits his throat with it.

As the police arrive, Laura tells Andy that she is cold and asks if it is snowing, saying that he was coming back. A paramedic joins them and asks if Laura is okay. Andy describes her mother, saying that she is 52 years old and has a decreasing level of consciousness. Laura tells Andy not to talk to the police.

At the hospital, Andy greets Gordon, telling him that her mom was in the ER. He tells her that they were just waiting on a plastic surgeon, but she would be fine.

Laura lies with her eyes open with the knife still through her hand, saying that she could barely feel the nurse touching her fingers. She gets a call from Charlie Bass as the news comes on. On the television, Laura is shown as having stopped the shooter in a town which has the lowest crime rate.

Gordon tells Andy that she should go home, but she says that her mother was not making any sense with what she had said before. Detective Sergeant Wilson approaches them and and introduces Detective Shooltz as well, wanting to have a word in private. Gordon says that it was not a good time, introducing himself as Andy's stepfather and Laura's ex-husband. Detective Wilson wants to know all about what happened, but Gordon says that Andy had been up all night, so she was not totally okay. Detective Wilson says that they would mention everything they knew in order to see if she had anything to add.

Sitting down, Detective Wilson asks Andy if she recognized the shooter, but she says that she did not. Detective Wilson explains that Jonah Helsinger was the shooter and Shelly Bernard had broken up with him three weeks ago. She adds that she had gathered form other witnesses that Jonah was expecting Andy to kill her. Detective Wilson also congratulates what her mother had done, but Andy says that her mother had not been in the military. Detective Wilson shows Andy the video when Laura leaves the hospital room. She sees Andy talking to the police, so she calls for her. Andy gets up and hugs her; the police immediately want to ask a few questions, but Gordon tells them that he would have his office call them to schedule an appointment, so the police leave.

Gordon says that they should get her back to her room, but Laura says that she wants to go home. Laura asks Andy what she had told the police, but she says that she had not told them anything. Andy starts moving the chair, but Laura does not want her to have to take care of her again. As Andy walks away, she sees her mother killing Jonah. Outside, she is joined by her mother, who tells her that she could stay at Gordon's, saying that she needed to move out. Andy asks if they could talk about that later, but Laura refuses, saying that she needed to start her own life and wanted her out of the house that very night, not caring if it sounded crazy. Laura tells Andy to start acting like an adult when Gordon shows up in his car.

A man hears about Laura's actions and walks outside to look at the Golden Gate Bridge. He calls someone and tells them that they have a problem.

At Laura's house, Andy opens the door and helps her mother, who simply tells her that she should pack. In her bathroom, Andy vomits, remembering everything that had happened. She takes a shower after that.

Gordon helps Laura get ready and asks if she needs anything else, but she simply asks him to take Andy with him, which she thinks is the best way to help her. Laura admits that she knew that Jonah was going to do something, but says that it does not matter because it was too late now. Gordon tells her to call them, which she says she would do.

On her bed, Andy looks through Twitter where a lot of people complain that the cops are not doing their jobs right and is approached by Gordon, who pours her a glass of whiskey and hands it to her because it was still her birthday. Andy says that she had not done anything, but Gordon says that the important thing is that she survived. She says that she was ordered to take counseling by dispatch. Gordon tells her that she means everything to her mom, but she needs time, which makes Andy sad. Gordon tells her to stay with him for the night and wishes her a happy birthday.

Waking up, Andy texts her stepfather, telling him she had fallen asleep. She starts packing her things and walks into the garage, where her bike was. She sees a shadow and realizes a man was standing behind her. He does not see her and starts breaking a window, so Andy opens the door quietly and walks outside and into the main house. She hears the man talking to Laura, telling her that it does not matter who he is since there was nothing to talk about and *he* did not want her money. The man ties Laura up and covers her head in a plastic bag, asphyxiating her. Andy grabs a wooden block and hits the man on the head, fighting him for his gun. Andy manages to knock the man out, but cannot hear her mother.

Laura calls for her daughter, telling her that she was fine. She asks Andy if she had called 911 which Andy says she had done. Laura asks if she could help her, so Andy cuts the tape that bound her to the chair she was sitting on. Laura tells her that they do not have much time and needs her to check through his pockets; she tells her daughter to take the man's car and drive to Carrollton, going to a storage place called Get-Em-Go and look for unit 320, where she had a car that Andy needed to use to go to Maine without calling or texting anyone, including Gordon. Laura tells her that she would call her when she is safe, but she needed her to trust her and go.

Andy looks for the man's car and manages to find it, so she turns it on and drives away.

## Cast

* Toni Collette as Laura Oliver
* Bella Heathcote as Andy Oliver
* David Wenham as Jasper Queller
* Harry Greenwood - Loner
* Kathleen O'Dwyer - Shelley
* Blazey Best - Betsy
* Zahra Newman - Detective Sgt. Wilson
* Josef Ber - Detective Shooltz
* Mike Duncan - Hoodie
* Ellie Lang - Little Andy
* Edmund Lembke-Hogan - Vet
* Angela Nica Sullen - Nurse
* Ron Smyck - Orderly Dwayne
* Sam Sidhu - EMT 1
* Chadwick Atkinson - EMT 2
* Toks James - Hospital Security Guard
* Tony Hewitt- Crab Shack Diner
* Fern Beth Kleinhans - Crab Shack Diner's Wife (as Fern Kleinhans)
* Christine Aldridge - Female Reporter
* Deena Dill - News Anchor #1
* Tom Clark - News Anchor #2
* Katina Rankin - News Anchor #3
* Martelle Hammer - Jackie
* Charles Munene - Dispatcher
* Chris Shai-Hee - Dispatcher
* Cyrus Zuniga - Dispatcher