Tom

"**Tom**" is the fifth episode of the Paramount+ series *Rabbit Hole*. It premiered on April 16, 2023.

## Synopsis

Homm begins to unravel how Intaverse ties in with Crowley's master plan as Crowley's forces start to close in. Hailey tries in vain to get Weir, who is continually distracted by the puzzle of Valence’s death, to trust her. Meanwhile, Agent Madi investigates Weir's ex-wife, Liv, for possible clues. And, Ben has a secret…

## Plot

It is 11 days ago. John Weir greets his team, thanking them for arriving on short notice. He tells them that "Tom," whom they've all been curious about, is an op, a dropout. He tells them that he needs them disappear - fake deaths and new identities, within a week. They curse and he tells them he knows it's a huge ask but that he needs them to trust them. He tells them the guy he's going after is really dangerous and if it goes south, he would target their families and everything they cared about. He tells them he's keeping it simple, an office explosion made to look like a gas leak. One of them asks if the Intern, Kyle, shouldn't be there, and he tells them he thinks he's a plant. He says that they can still use him, that locked out he'll make a perfect witness for the police. They'll send him away and he'll show up right beforehand so they can capture his shock and horror. He passes out outlines and paperwork for their new identities.

Ben tells John that they should kill Kyle. "You do know that the Cold War's over, right?" he asks him. Ben tells him he could be working for Crowley, but John replies that he could only be an innocent FBI informant. He tells him that he's getting too soft, that no good deed goes unpunished. John tells him that he doesn't care how nostalgic he is, there's to be no unnecessary killing. He says it's his plan and his rules and Ben replies that they've been preparing for a long time, but that sometimes reality turns out to be different. He asks if he's sure he's ready. He says he is, that as long as they stick to the plan, everything will be fine.

In the present day, John again flashes back to Miles Valence's death. He calls a number that turns out to be the Human Resources office of Arda Analytics and gets a voicemail. He crosses it off a list. He keeps dialing, each time coming up empty. Hailey approaches, saying that Homm wanted her to come get him. She tells him that she first wanted to apologize for yesterday, that she should have told him about the $26 million. He agrees she probably should have and she asks if he's calling every one of the numbers. He tells her he's doing everything he can to figure out why Crowley is three steps ahead of them. He starts to explain, saying that he knows Ben doesn't agree, but she tells him he doesn't have to sell her on it. She asks if it could just be more about him losing friend and trying to make sense of it. She asks if he might want to talk.

John tells her that for those who lie for living, their only connection is those who really know them and for him, that was only Miles Valence. He says that it's affected him and she agrees that she gets it, that when you grow up without a real home, you look for that in other people. She tells him she hasn't had anyone like that in a long time and she's glad she doesn't have to keep the secret about the money anymore, especially from him. He asks if she's saying that he should just trust her, that he doesn't understand how anyone does that when they've only got someone else's word. She suggests she try to trust him just 90% more. He tells her 75% is high and she says she deserves at least 80. He agrees to 80, asking what Homm wants. She tells him he wants to show him something. They go to Homm, who tells them about Intaverse and that while their donations are public, they and their subsidiary companies donate to 141 different candidates on all ends of the political spectrum. John says this is why they need more people, but Ben insists they stick to the plan. As he sips some of the wine that Hailey absconded with, he tells him that they can't risk more exposure.

John points out that a lot has already gone sideways with the plan. Ben tells him that they can handle it, that it isn't worth putting John's friends on the radar. Hailey complains that the wine is technically hers and John puts in a call to Cara from his team, saying that she's perfect for political things like this. "You're not sticking to the plan," Hailey mocks. Ben goes to the restroom. He examines a gunshot wound in his stomach, wincing.

Agent Jo Madi sits in her car, examining photos of John's team. She takes a call from Anna, asking if it's bad news, and Anna tells her that Morello said no. Madi curses and Anna continues that Morello wants anything about John to go through Rasche's office. "You're there, aren't you?" asks Anna and Madi replies that she isn't. Anna asks if she isn't at the ex-wife's place and she admits that she is, saying that she needs to know why John talked to her. Anna points out that a lot of divorced people talk, but Madi replies that she could know about more than just divorce stuff. "No Rasche, no go," Anna tells her and Madi says, telling her she knows she's right. Her daughter, Chloe asks if they're going to sit there all day and she tells her she has an important job.

Ignoring her assistant's advice, Madi goes up to the house, pretending to be a soccer mom selling candy bars. Liv agrees to buy some and while she goes to get her checkbook, Madi takes the opportunity to stealthily look around the place. She then asks to use the restroom and Liv agrees. Meanwhile, at CYT-23 Heredity, an Intaverse Media Corporation, a man enters an office. He hands him a briefcase, saying it's everything he could find. The man asks him if he's certain it's everything and he says it is. He asks him there was any revelation from Elliot Gao before his "dip in the barrel" and he tells him there was just one thing, but whatever it was goes unheard. Back at Liv's, Madi sits in the bathroom, looking up the brand of wine that she that Liv had. She returns to her car, studies some documents and makes a call. She tells Anna to flag any activity on John's employee's credit cards and any cell phone numbers they have for them. She tells her Rasche won't let her, but she says she'll deal with Rasche. She sees on the account statement a purchase of Figeac for $1,800.

In a flashback, Cara Spader urges Manfred Larter to take the bottle of Figeac, saying she doesn't have room at her place, but he tells her he doesn't drink wine. She suggests he regift it and John holds up a trigger, asking if this is it. Larter agrees that the blast will take out the whole floor, igniting a fire to take out the rest. John suggests they disable the elevators, but says he's worried about the accounting firm below him. Larter tells him it will be fine, that go time will be about 6:00 and the accountants leave punctually at 5 on the dot. They next discuss the plans to plant DNA. In the present, Ben treats his wound. As two men with guns pull up outside, Ben asks Homm what he found. Homm tells him he has it, that sometimes you just stumble onto a brainstorm. He starts going on about the Bahamian tax code. Ben tries to stop him, but he asks him to bear with him for a moment, that he was focused on corporate donations when it occurred to him that individual employee donations were a better barometer. John urges him to get to the point and he tells them that he looked at the executive-level donations and most of these went to one PAC only: the America SOS Committee. He found further that they only contributed to one politician on a regular basis: Senator Nora Evers of New Jersey. Hailey points out that she isn't even running for President, but Homm tells them that based on the size of the donations, he guarantees she will. He tells them that furthermore he's going viral, that the #1 hashtag on Twitter is #EdIsNotDead.

Just then, a canister comes flying through the window behind Homm. John shouts at Homm to cover his ears and there is a flash and smoke. John shouts to move, but Homm complains that he can't hear anything. John leads everyone to another room, Hailey asking where they came from. He tells them to run for a door in the back, only to find it locked. Homm continues to whine about the ringing in his ears and John tells Ben to shut him up, that he needs to think. The men breach the room and Homm is clipped in the arm. Hailey asks if John is going to hammer the wall and pull out a bunch of guns, but John says the only way out is through the men. The men toss a smoke canister into the room. As Ben shouts at Hailey to shut Homm up, he tells John that in 15 seconds he needs him to make a lot of noise. John asks what he's going to do, but he tells him to trust him and runs off.

John follows his instructions and the men track him using ultraviolet. "Got one," declares one of them. "Too late!" shouts Ben, firing and taking out one. John grabs the others and they flee to the car. Homm continues to complain loudly about being shot and Ben tells John that he got one, but only winged the other. John wonders just how they found them. Homm says that he doesn't want to die, that he wants Stacy even if she cheated on him with Kevin. They pull over, John flashing through every scenario in his head, trying to figure out just how they could have found them. Ben bandages Homm's arm, telling him that it's okay, that it went clean through. As John rages, Hailey pleads with him to react, that he can't see everything, but he tells her that he gamed every version out. He asks what he missed and Ben tells him that he's missing the obvious, that Valence sold them out. John tells him to stop, that he didn't do it, but Ben says it's the simplest explanation. He tells him he's losing the thread, that he's agitated and paranoid and it's getting in the way of his thinking. Ben tells John that he's compromised and he may be losing it. Hailey tells him not to listen, but Ben says that they need supplies, that Homm has to be treated.

In the FBI offices, Agent Jo Madi talks with Rasche about Cara Spader's wine fridge purchase. He is dismissive and she continues that just a week before she spent a whole fortune on wine. She asks where the wine is now, saying it wasn't in her apartment when she died, that she knew something big was coming. He tells her to shut up, that nobody gave her permission to go to Cara Spader's apartment. He tells her that they got confirmed matches on the DNA of John's team. "They're dead. Case closed." She goes to Anna, asking if she got anything good, and she tells her that EIS flagged an incoming call to Cara Spader's phone from a burner. She asks Anna to get a location on Spader's phone.

John has a flashback of Miles Valence falling to his death. He continues calling the numbers. Meanwhile, Hailey and Ben continue treating Homm's wound. Ben tells Hailey to get some more ice. "For the wound, not the whiskey," he quips. Hailey goes to John, asking if he's okay. He tells her he is, just a little tired. She says that she doesn't know if he's noticed, but that his dad is spending a lot of time trying to undermine his trust in anyone but him. He tells her that he knows his dad is manipulative but this case is likely also right, that it's logical. He says the only other choice is that it's someone inside his circle. "Me?" she asks and he tells her he didn't say that. She tells him he's thinking it, the 20% and he tells her he has to consider every possibility. She tells hims he may have stuck around at first for protection, but there's no way she can feel safe anymore, knowing what she knows now and after being shot. She tells him she's sticking around. He seems to space out for a moment. She asks about it and he tells her they're good, going back to dialing. Hailey gets up and leaves, going to get the ice.

John dials and to his shock, gets a hit - a phone ringing nearby. He races outside and into another room, to find Ben. "It was you," he declares. He says he was the last person to talk to Valence and Ben pleads with him to let him explain. He shouts at him, asking why he said nothing. As Hailey returns with the ice, she passes by a room with a man who was watching television, but is now dead, shot in the head. She drops the ice as Ben pleads with John that he had no idea that Valence was going to commit suicide. John curses, asking if he's insane, and Hailey arrives, telling John they need to get out. John curses Ben again and then they race for the woods, gunshots following behind them. They hide in some trees and John scopes out the situation. "Let's go," he tells them.

Agent Madi takes a phone call from Anna, who tells her that EIS couldn't find an exact location for Cara Spader's cell phone, but got it within a block or two. Madi gets the location and tells her daughter that they're going to have to make a stop. She warns her to stay in the car and not argue. In the woods, the group arrives at another safe house. John demands that Ben tell him what is happening. Ben tells him that he was trying to fix things, that he wanted to warn Valence. "About what?" demands John and Ben tells him that's about Kyle, the intern. He continues that letting him go was contrary to everything he had learned: "when in doubt, take 'em out." John tells him it's his plan and his rules and he says it's not as simple as that. A flashback shows Kyle taking a dinner order from John's team. As they put things in place for their staged deaths, Kyle heads outside. He is tailed by Ben and gets a call from his girlfriend, Eliza. He tells her he's at work and she whines that he promised he'd be there. He warns her not to do clingy and she says she'll do better. When, however, he tells her he can't come, she whines again, asking what she did. He ends the call and continues walking, Ben continuing to tail.

Ben tracks Kyle into a narrow alleyway. He pulls out a gun, but as he rounds a corner, it turns out that he has been made. Kyle leaps out at him, knocking him to the ground. He pulls a switchblade and holds it at Ben's neck. He demands to know who Ben is. Ben curses and Kyle stabs him with the blade. Just then, a car pulls up and Ben shouts for help. Kyle grabs the gun and takes off, cursing. He pulls out his phone and dials, telling whoever picks up that he's burned, that they tried to kill him. "Broom it out," replies the man on the other line. John complains that they had agreed they were going to leave it alone and Ben replies that he was right, that Kyle is a pro. John tells him it doesn't matter, and he asks how it doesn't, that Kyle nearly killed him.

John asks Ben why he didn't tell him and he sputters, saying that John needed to stay focused. He complains that John never trust him. "I wonder why," comments John, bitterly. John demands to know why he didn't tell him. "Because I couldn't!" shouts Ben. Meanwhile, Agent Jo Madi, at the building where John's company was, makes a phone call. She asks Anna to do her a favor and call Cara's cell. Ben continues that if he had told John this, he would have had to tell him everything else. "Your team..." begins Ben as Cara's cell rings nearby Agent Madi. She shines a flashlight down an elevator shaft.

A flashback shows John when he was discovering that he was being framed for Homm's murder. Just after John cut the call with his people, Kyle entered the office and shot them in the head. Cara entered, pleading with him not to kill her. He did, however, and Ben entered, watching Kyle toss the dead team members down the elevator shaft. His watch beeped and he took off. Kyle returned to the office, asking the man on his phone if he was to wait for Weir. He then discovered the fake bodies of the team. As Ben exited the building downstairs and John arrived, Kyle spotted the explosive.

"They're dead. All of them," Ben tells John. Shining the flashlight down, Agent Madi discovers the body's of John's team. Ben tells John that he didn't know how to tell him, that he was trying to make it right and called Valence to warn him. John asks what he said and Ben tells him it's how he knows he turned, that he told him to shut up and let him think. He says he knew he should have told him, but that he knew he would start spinning. He tells him he looks at him and sees his little boy, that he knows he screwed up, but that they have to carry on. Homm tells them that there's someone outside. "How do they keep finding us?" asks Hailey, telling John that they have to go, that they're coming for them. "What's wrong?" she asks as John just stands there and he tells them he knows what it is, how they're finding them.

The operatives enter the house, guns drawn, and tracking device active. This time, however, there is nobody inside. All they find is the bottle of whiskey. "They're not here, they figured it out," radios one of them. Rasche arrives to meet with Madi. "You're welcome," she tells him as the members of John's team are placed inside body bags. In the car, Ben muses that of course a $100,000 bottle of single malt whiskey is going to be chipped. Homm states that the whiskey was worth getting shot, that it was "monstrously epic." Hailey asks now what. John replies that they find Crowley and end this. Homm asks how they do that and John replies that Crowley owns Senator Evers and they will ask her. On TV, Senator Evers announces a run for president. Kyle watches on television. A flashback again shows Cara Spader pleading with him not to kill her. He does, however the recoil splattering her blood on his head.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir
* Meta Golding as Hailey Winton
* Enid Graham as Josephine "Jo" Madi
* Rob Yang as Edward Homm
* Walt Klink as Kyle ("The Intern")

and

* Charles Dance as Dr. Ben Wilson

### Guest starring

* Megan Follows as Senator Nora Evers
* Peter Weller as Distinguished Man
* Maia Jae Bastidas as Eliza Wells
* Jorja Cadence as Cara Spader
* Alex Castillo as Olivia "Liv" Bonen
* Ishan Davé as Hafiz
* Noam Jenkins
* Wendy Makkena as Debra
* Jed Rees as Manfred Larter

### Co-starring

* Louis Adams as Creepy Manager
* Elisa Campanella as Chloe Madi
* Elie Gamael as the Janitor
* Finn Higgins as Hunter #1
* Blair Johannes as Hunter #2
* Josette Jorge as Anna
* Yvette McKoy as Hunter #3

## Video

Rabbit Hole - Inside The Action Of Episode 5 - Paramount+