Full Plot[]
Erica wants to get away for a break. Adam suggests renting a cottage, but she wants to jet somewhere. He brings up his business, her job, and lack of money. Erica suggests Dublin in August and taking a long weekend. Adam says yes to Dublin, except in September. Erica notes that September is when school resumes. That's when Adam reveals there is a foreman job opening, but he'd have to put school on hold. Erica doesn't like the idea, and says if you graduate, you can get a better paying job. Erica offers to help out with money for the trip but Adam says no. Erica suggests he wait until end of semester, and sell the motorbike. Adam becomes irate and asks: "Can we finish one fight before we start another one?" He then says forget it, and walks out to go to work. Distressed, Erica follows Adam and both find themselves in Dr. Tom's office - welcome to couples therapy.
Dr. Tom asks: What's going on? Erica and Adam say they're fighting again, that Adam is making decisions that Erica doesn't agree with. Erica says she wants Adam to make his own decisions, but doesn't she get a say? Like settling for a foreman job. Adam feels she's pushing him to live up to some invisible standard, and that he's her boyfriend, not her patient. He walks out. Erica can't understand why everything was good, and now every conversation turns into a fight. Dr. Tom: "Relationships are difficult, with each person hoping the honeymoon lasts forever. What we attain too cheap we esteem too lightly. Thomas Paine." He reflects on how we don't want to see things about our partner and ourselves.
Julianne and Brent are brainstorming at 50/50, and in the process Brent experiences a stroke of genius on the subject of acronyms: a cheeky guide to 20th century communications. Ray-Ray's idea for a title is Origin of Speech-Ease (a nod to Charles Darwin).
At Goblins, Ivan asks Erica to review the next pass on his wedding speech. Erica then spots Kai who is rewriting lyrics, and breaks the bad news to him that Adam doesn't want her to see him anymore. He says this all seems very familiar: Ethan. Erica responds: This is different. Ethan was insecure before anything happened, but now we do have a history. Kai's not happy but says if that's the way it has to be.
Erica walks into 50/50 and Julianne and Brent pitch her on the cheeky little guide. Adam walks in and interrupts to steal Erica for a walk. Erica apologizes for that morning, and Adam says if I make a mistake, it's my mistake to make. Erica tells him she saw Kai this morning and told him the deal, and that he wasn't happy but gets it. She says you can trust me with Kai. Adam agrees, but says I can't trust him with you. In return, he'll give her anything she wants, and Erica asks that Adam stop walking out when they're in the middle of a fight. He says he's afraid he's going to punch a wall, he can't think straight, and it's safer if he leaves. She feels she needs to talk things out, and Adam says: "l always come back and talk things through like we're doing now."
Erica returns to 50/50 but feels the cheeky guide is less a book, more of an in-joke between Brent and Julianne. She tries to leave but ends up in Dr. Tom's office. She says everything in her life - relationships, job, feels challenged. Dr. Tom notes: What a perfect opportunity for facing an even greater challenge. Erica feels overwhelmed and wants a break, so Dr. Tom suggests she undertake a new challenge. He gives her the opportunity to wield power before she becomes a doctor, granting her the power of time travel for that day. She can also manipulate space. Any doorway leads wherever she wants to go. Dr. Tom: "With time travel there is no learning like doing."
Erica leaves, returns to Goblins and promptly runs into Ivan, causing him to upend a tray and get whipped cream in his chest hairs. Erica realizes she can undo that. She ends up back in Dr. Tom's office, tries again and this time avoids Ivan.
Julianne is upset over Erica's dismissive treatment of their "cheeky guide" idea, and confrronts Erica. As Erica becomes more distressed she finally yells STOP! and everyone freezes. When she is over her initial shock that this actually worked, she unfreezes Julianne. Julianne notices everyone else is frozen and thinks it's a flash mob, but it's not. Erica tells her "I did this", and exuberantly begins to spill to Julianne all of her secrets - that she is a time traveler and can manipulate time and space, that Kai and Adam are also time travelers, etc. She drags Julianne from Goblins through a doorway and transports them into her apartment. Julianne becomes more and more distressed, wondering why she can't wake up. Erica then drags Julianne into Dr. Tom's office and introduces them, and he says pleasure to finally meet you. All of this is too much for Julianne who says she thinks she's going to be sick, and Dr. Tom immediately sends her back to Goblins just prior to confronting Erica, so that she wouldn't recall the drama. Erica says I've been dying to tell someone. Dr. Tom responds: "with great power comes great responsibility - Spiderman."
Erica realizes she doesn't know what she's supposed to be doing with these powers, and Dr. Tom tells her this is training, and she should test her powers to see where it takes her. She asks if she could redo a regret today, specifically the way she handled Adam quitting school. She wanted to try a more subtle approach, where he would listen to her.
She rewinds back to the morning and says we should take a vacation. Adam suggests a cottage. She says we could but she's thinking more about Dublin. Adam thinks it would be nice in September. She says it's better in August, you'll be back in school September. Adam says he doesn't think that's a problem, there's an opening for a foreman position, and that's a big step up in pay and responsibility. Erica says you can't have both, something has to give. Tell Desmond you're halfway through the program - save the promotion until after school. Adam responds that Desmond won't wait. Erica says in a couple months he'll have his diploma and can start his own company. They argue further and Adam says he thought it through, it's my career, my decision. He's upset that Erica is pressuring him into doing what she wants, and she retorts: because you don't decide for me who I can and can't see? An exasperated Adam asks can we finish one fight before starting another one?
Ivan asks Erica to review his wedding speech but she says not right now. She sees Kai and tells him nothing is OK because Adam accuses her of being controlling. Kai is rewriting a song for the album, and Erica asks if he could play it for her. She tells him to bring his guitar and she transports him to her apartment. Kai is surprised and Erica tells him that doctor training comes with some perks. Kai plays the song for her, and says the first time he wrote it the music was right but the lyrics weren't... Now the lyrics aren't so hard. Erica says we should get back but Kai stops her and kisses her, telling her he still has feelings for her. She transports back in time to Goblins where Ivan gives her his wedding speech. She takes the speech and passes Kai this time, avoiding him.
Later that day Adam comes home and says I don't want to fight. Erica conspires to transport them to Dublin a little faster, and Adam asks how when he realizes they really are in Dublin. She explains her doctor training powers and says they only have a couple hours. Adam takes them to a bar with live music, and he's enjoying blood pudding while Erica is eating bacon, cabbage and mash potato, which Adam grew up eating. Adam says he's happy, but their bliss gets derailed when Erica asks him where he thinks he'll be in 5 years and he realizes this is a variation of the conversation they had earlier. He says if I'm the person you want to be with, stop steering me. Stop figuring out life for me, I'm not going back to school.
Back home, Adam says he's going home, and he doesn't know when he's coming back. He can't do anything right, he says that Erica wants to control each and every move and he finds it suffocating. He needs a break from Erica and the relationship.
Julianne and Brent are brainstorming a home spa book, and she is cutting Brent's hair when he flinches and she accidentally cuts his collar. Brent puts on music, asks her to dance with him, and then kisses her. Julianne backs away, says awesome brainstorming session and manages to quickly leave, avoiding any awkward conversation.
Erica is crying, and goes to Dr. Tom's office to tell him Adam broke up with her. She says the whole day has been a disaster and it's her fault, she kept approaching every conversation the wrong way, she couldn't make herself stop. Dr. Tom prompted: You can't make yourself stop if you don't realize what you're doing in the first place. Maybe the problem isn't the conversations, but what's driving them. Erica decides to go back, start the whole day over, and accept what Adam wants to do. Relationships about compromise, and she wants to have a good day so Adam won't break up with her.
It's the start of the day again. Adam is saying you want to get away? Erica says yes, she's thinking of Dublin, and they could steal a week in August. Adam suggests September. Erica asks isn't that when school starts? Adam mentions the foreman job opening and putting school on hold. Erica says if that's what you want to do, I support you 100%, and Adam is surprised. He says he worried she would think this was a step backward, and Erica responds it would be for me, but I'm not you.
Erica walks into 50/50 and handles the book pitch more smoothly. She says it's cute, run with it, and in a couple days I'll see what you've got.
Adam comes home to find Erica cooking Irish comfort food - bacon, cabbage and mash potatoes, which surprises him. She turns on the television to a football game, and says she couldn't make herself make blood pudding which was his favorite. Adam is confused how she knows blood pudding is his favorite; she smooths over this and tries to get them to eat dinner. But Adam knows there is something Erica isn't telling him, and asks if it's therapy related. She says no, let's eat dinner and watch the game. He says if it's nothing, then tell me, and she buckles and tells Adam they started the day with a terrible fight and a different end result. Adam asks: you erased my day and lied about it? Erica tells Adam we were on the verge of breaking up so I changed day. Adam is furious and says: "What about my say in my own life? I can't believe this. I can't trust you. Whatever happened in my original day I bet we could have worked it out... Now this, we're fiction." In tears, Erica says she wanted to make things OK, let him make his own choices, stop beng so controlling. Adam retorts: "So you did the most controlling thing you've ever done, you took away my free will. And that you can't undo. You can't fix this."
Erica voiceover: "With great power comes great responsibility. Why? Because power is an illusion. The desire to yield that is weakness and exercise in ego. And the fact is, that all you really hold when you hold power, is all the rope you need to hang yourself."