| "Mania" | |
| Season 2, Episode 5 | |
 | |
| Air date | September 14, 2012 |
| US viewers | 0.38 million |
| Written by | Kevin J. Hynes |
| Directed by | Jean de Segonzac |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← previous "Redemption" |
next → "Backflash" |
"Mania" is the fifth episode of the second season. It is the thirteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on September 14, 2012 and drew 0.38 million viewers.[1] It was written by Kevin J. Hynes and directed by Jean de Segonzac.
Mayor Kane's hallucinations worsen to the point where he feels as though Ezra Stone is haunting him. He tries to clean house, arresting several of his supporters for corruption because they refused to back his insistence that the Lennox Gardens housing project redevelopment be completed without graft. He injects funds into Ben Zajac's campaign to make up for the disruption to the Republican machine. To secure housing for displaced residents Kane negotiates with the banks to let foreclosed houses at drastically reduced rates. They agree in exchange for handling the government pensions and assistance getting foreclosures through the courts. Kane approaches Judge Scanlon and he brazenly asks for help progressing his career. Kane lets slip an insult prompted by his hallucinations and the judge refuses his request. Mona Fredericks calls him on the mistake and Kane upsets her with a harsh rebuke. He entrusts Ian Todd with recovering the judge's support; Todd does so by accepting his sexual advances. Joe Young, Kane's chosen contractor for the redevelopment, is murdered.
Kitty O'Neill approaches Sam Miller with another leak but he turns down both the quid pro quo relationship and her sexual overtures. Zajac is devastated when Kitty leaks photos of his affair with Tia Ross to the press. She times the scandal to coincide with the Town Hall debate, ensuring the success of Senator Walsh. The public scandal is the last straw for Maggie Zajac and she insists that Ben move out.
Emma uses her mandatory Narcotics Anonymous meetings as a chance to see Darius. Tom has her followed to the meetings by his operative. He learns that she misses her grandfather and arranges for her to see him.
Plot[]
Mayor Tom Kane is unable to sleep due to intrusive hallucinations of Ezra Stone haranguing him. He calls State's Attorney Jeff Doyle to tell him about a series of corruption indictments that he will issue the next day, ignoring the lateness of the hour. Doyle jokes to his wife that it is true that the devil never sleeps.
Stone continues to haunt Kane as he readies for the day. He questions why Kane has not put himself on the list of corrupt officials. Kane claims that he has never profited personally from holding elected office and Stone counters that allowing others to was just as bad. Contractor "Merc" Mercani is among the former Kane supporters arrested in a series of early morning raids. Stone warns Kane that he has built a house of cards and cannot expect it to stand as he pulls pieces out of it. On his way to the office Kane is caught in traffic and takes an alternate route. His chauffeur drives over a pothole and Kane orders the car stopped. He calls the public works commissioner and demands that the defect be fixed by the end of the day. His hallucination mocks him, telling him that the measure of a man is what he does with power.
Kitty O'Neill arrives at the Walsh campaign bus, concluding a call about acting as a source for a media outlet. She asserts that she will only give information when she chooses before hanging up. She reads a positive piece Sam Miller has written about Walsh on the front page of the Chicago Sentinel. She is distracted by a television news segment about the arrests. Kitty calls Walsh at home with the news. They see it as a mis-step by Kane, who is both disrupting the Chicago organization of his party and alienating key supporters. Walsh is pleased and predicts that they will win the election. As Walsh leaves the house she shouts goodbye to her, as yet unidentified, lover.
At the sentinel officers Jackie Shope gives Sam a draft story about the corruption sweep. She also takes the opportunity to criticize him for writing the Walsh piece, pointing out that it is beyond his mandate as the City Desk editor.
Kitty meets Sam for lunch. He rejects her thanks for the story. She says that she cannot stay and gives him an envelope. He refuses to take it because he does not want to enter into a quid pro quo relationship. She tries to seduce him and he says that he is not that kind of guy. Kitty heads to the bathroom and he considers following her but leaves instead.
Ben Zajac is frustrated at his powerlessness over the raids and the damage the arrests will do to his campaign. Maggie tries to console him but sees that he is having a crisis of confidence. She comforts him with rare marital sex, conducted hurriedly in his office.
Mona Fredericks also reads Sam's article with interest at City Hall. Ian Todd approaches her to say that he has no idea what to tell the press about the arrests, annoyed about being kept out of the loop. Mona challenges that Kane does not owe them explanations. Ian worries that the arrests are a dangerous misstep and Mona rebukes him for questioning the Mayor's judgement.
In Indiana Joe Young's Y&M construction firm deal with vandalism on their lot - several construction vehicles have been damaged. Young says that it could just be kids but his foreman suspects industrial sabotage. Later Young gets a threatening phone call about his contracts in Chicago and warns the caller that attacking him is like attacking Mayor Kane.
Mona reports the vandalism to Kane, explaining that Young fears that he will not be able to deliver on his stringent bid if he has to deal with the cost of sabotage. Kane tells Mona to order him to increase on site security and she points out that this will also raise overheads. Stone's hallucination references Kane's sexual attraction to Mona. Kane shouts "enough" loudly, which she mistakes for a dismissal. Ian reports Walsh capitalizing on the arrests and Kane orders $1,000,000 transferred to Zajac to compensate. Jackie calls from the sentinel for comment and Ian angrily tells Kane's aide to deal with it himself. Kane intercedes and asks for the call to be put through. He tells a surprised Jackie that he will always "do the right thing."
Mona and Kane meets with two Chicago bank managers to propose renting their properties repossessed through mortgage foreclosures to displaced residents from the Lennox Gardens Housing Project. The bankers are reluctant to give up the possibility of selling the properties for market value. Hallucinations of Stone continues to bother Kane during the meeting. Kane offers control of the city pensions as a sweetener and the bankers agree, with the caveat that foreclosures must be processed more quickly through the courts.
Emma speaks about her feelings of isolation and imprisonment at a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. She says that she finds house arrest worse than prison and that the only person in her family she connects with is her grandfather (Mayor Rutledge). Kane's operative, the Grey Haired Man, sits at the rear of the meeting listening to her.
Emma is restless when she returns home. She raids Tom's medicine cabinet and is caught by the maid. She calls Darius, pretending Tom asked her for the prescription number. She tells him that she has an NA meeting and needs help. He says that he is not sure and she ends the call. He goes into the safe in his apartment and warns his cut girls to mind their own business.
That night Kane's sleep is again disturbed by hallucinations. He wanders the house and finds Emma in the lounge. He tells her that he has arranged for her to visit her grandfather. Tom claims to have changed and Emma says that he is delusional. He manically sings "the sun will come out tomorrow" and she walks away from him.
Darius attends Emma's next NA meeting and she ducks out of to talk to him in private. They make out in a back room and he questions whether it is him or the drugs that she is really missing. He gives her a handful of pills and she is angry that he did not bring a larger amount. He says that he will get more but wants to be in control. He asks if the was all she wanted and she softens and kisses him. They have sex on a tatty couch.
During her visit Emma is distressed by her grandfather's deterioration since she last saw him. She offers to change his catheter bag for the nurse, citing her experience from the clinic.
Kane returns to work and Ian approaches him about his meeting with Judge Scanlon regarding the foreclosures. Kane sees Ian as Stone. He asserts that Ian is not Stone, which Ian takes as an insult. Ian confirms the $1,000,000 transfer to Zajac and Kane claims that Ian has mistaken that amount and that he asked for $500,000. Frustrated, Ian says that he will recall the funds.
Ian takes a cheque to Zajac. Zajac announces a round of advertising buys to applause from his staff. He then asks Ian what the catch is. Zajac wonders about talking points for the upcoming debate and presses Ian for Kane's reasoning on the arrests. He discerns that Ian does not know what Kane is up to either.
Judge Scanlon meets with Kane and Mona. Scanlon blames delays on the bank's rushed paperwork. He asks for help moving up to the apellate court in exchange for pushing through foreclosures. Kane's hallucinations prompt him to see Scanlon as a greedy pig. He tells Scanlon what he thinks of him and Scanlon storms out of the meeting. Mona is astounded by Kane's recklessness.
Kane has a review with Dr. Ella Harris at Mayor Rutledge's apartment. She asks him about mania, sensing a change in his affect. He denies having problems in that regard and remains resistive to anti-psychotics because of their noticeable physical side effects. He brings up the Toronto clinic and she says that they offer untested therapies and that there are proven treatments available in Chicago that can help. He rejects her offer.
Kane returns to his office and checks in with Mona. She criticizes his alienation of Scanlon. Kane responds aggressively, intimating that he started the project for her. She challenges that he did it for himself. He continues to bully her and she leaves in tears. Ian asks Kane if the staff can have the conference room to watch the debate. Tom dispatches him to remedy the situation with Scanlon. During the meeting Scanlon pushes Ian for sex in exchange for his aid with the foreclosures. Ian delivers.
Young is murdered as he leaves work. The man who threatened him earlier in the day waits in the back seat of his car and strangles him with a garotte when he sites down. Later, a crime scene technician and a homicide detective find a map stuffed in Young's mouth.
Stone tells Kane that he is losing friends and control. He asserts that Kane hurts people, referencing him driving Mona to tears. Kane screams at Stone loudly in his office. His screams halt his staff outside but they return to work as though nothing happened. Kane eventually dispels the hallucination.
Tina and Kitty prepare Walsh for the debate aboard the campaign bus. Kitty pushes for targeting new voters over their base. Tina is dubious of Kitty's strategy and ability but Walsh is impressed with the results she has gotten to date.
Doyle watches Chad Langley, the suspect in the sniper attack on Mayor Kane, babbling in a police interview room. A psychiatrist reports that Langley has glaucoma which makes him an impossibility as the man who took the long distance shot.
As Kitty prepares the staff at the town hall for the debate Zajac interrupts to talk to her. He says that he hopes she is happy with her choices and offers her a handshake, which she tentatively accepts. Maggie brings the children to wish their father luck. She quickly reminds him to accept his first question from a woman in a green dress. Walsh waves to Zajac. Kitty prepares the camera crew as Miller arrives. Tina and Walsh share a good luck hug which they hurriedly break off when Kitty enters. Walsh checks Kitty's readiness for the upcoming exchange.
Kane watches the opening of the debate in his office, troubled by a tremor and more hallucinations. As Zajac gives his opening statement Kitty makes a phone call. During Walsh's statement Kitty gives a go order on her leak to the Springfield Ledger. They post an online story about Zajac's affair with Tia Ross, including photographs of them in bed together. Kane gets an alert about the leak. The story quickly spreads through the debate audience. Zajac's first question set-up targeting Walsh's lack of family is ruined by the spreading news. Audience members ask Zajac about the affair and he lamely tries to return focus to the issues. Miller sits quietly amid the chaos of the unfolding political theater. At city hall Stone blames Kane for the scandal, as he was the one who originally obtained the photos. Mona comes in with news of Young's murder. She tells Kane that his killer stuffed a map of Chicago into his mouth. She suggests slowing down the project. Kane is silent and she leaves him alone, he begins to cry.
After the debate debacle Sam stops Kitty on her way back to the bus. He asks if the leak was all that she was plotting when she met him and she admits that she had other motives. He says that he cannot tell when she is bullshitting. She promises not to come at him again and says not to worry. He says that he is not worried.
Ben and Maggie return to their headquarters and deduce that Kitty was responsible for the leak. Zajac plans damage control but Maggie refuses to help him, fearing the image it will give their sons. What seems to be the end of his political career is the last straw for her and she asks him to move out.
Kane watches a political commentator predict that the scandal will be the end of Zajac's career. Doyle visits with the news about Langley. Kane orders him to find the shooter. Doyle asserts his position as Kane's contemporary and demands to be spoken to with respect. Kane meekly rephrases the order as a request and Doyle leaves. Ian announces success with Scanlon and is amazed at Kane's lack of gratitude when he dismissively orders his car.
On the way home Kane is deluded that the pothole is still there. He stops the car and rants in the street, drawing attention from passers by. Stone tells him that there is no pothole and he realizes the extent of his hallucinations. He ditches his security detail and drives himself to Toronto.
Appearances[]
- Main:Mania/Appearances
Deceased[]
- Joe Young - Murdered by agents of "Merc" Mercani on orders from Gerald "Babe" McGantry in response to Tom Kane awarding Young the Lennox Gardens contract and arresting Merc and others for corruption.
Credits[]
Cast[]
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Starring
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Guest starring
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Co-starring
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Uncredited
- Unknown as Corrupt Official 2
- Unknown as Corrupt Official 3
- Unknown as Corrupt Official 4
- Unknown as Kane's maid
- Unknown as Cut girl 1
- Unknown as Cut girl 2
- Unknown as Zajac son 1
- Unknown as Zajac son 2
Crew[]
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Opening credits
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Closing credits
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References[]
- ↑ Bibel, Sara (September 17, 2012). Friday Cable Ratings: 'WWE Smackdown' Wins Night, 'Yukon Men', 'Bering Sea Gold', 'Ultimate Fighter', 'Lost Girl', 'Gravity Falls' & More. TV By the Numbers.
External links[]
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