On That Lazy Grind

I knew from the moment Ingrid quit Parsons (and Murphy didn't leave with her) that she and Murphy couldn't work out — the entire time that she's been doing dodgy shit, i.e. violating her own moral code (remember that letter to Sears?), Murphy was telling her she was doing the right thing. To make partner. Their shared, singular goal, only it turns out Murphy is willing to go even further to achieve it — he betrays her, and while Ingrid before had the luxury of telling herself she didn't have a choice, he knows he does.

I know exactly when he sold Ingrid out: after they heard about Hunter. He had no reason to before, he and Ingrid were the dream team next to Dan (ugh), but then that fell apart. And he told her, he fucking told her: he's not going back.

He sure kept that gloating well under his hat.

Anyway, back to my point: Murphy represents Ingrid's flaws, he was the perfect foil to her ruthless pursuit of partner. He stood right at the beginning of it, with their wedding fling, and now six years later he's here for the end, whispering into her ear all the while that she's doing nothing wrong even as she's screwing people over and hates herself for doing it. What she told him about how she knew she wanted to be a lawyer? The death knell for their relationship. You don't go into Mergers & Acquisitions to right wrongs, or for justice. You go because that's where the money is.

So when Murphy wasn't upset about the dawn raid, when he told her he loved her instead? He saw that as absolution for what he'd done to her, because it marked Ingrid out as the same kind of person even as she's now on Green Tech's side: acting behind her partner's back to pull a stunt. She's on the side of the good guys now, sure, but that only matters to us, the audience. Not to Murphy. He only sees her ambition. And while he had her, he kept her busy with one hand so she wouldn't see what the other hand was doing.

And the entire time, there were subtle vibes between Ingrid and Z, but it wasn't just for the lols. He is someone who acts in alignment with his moral code, and who's actually honest about who he is and what he wants; the polar opposite of Murphy. Ingrid and Z back each other up without expecting anything in return in the finale. And here's the thing I love about Z: he represents optimism, not idealism as opposed to reality; and what Murphy calls realism, what Marty fucking Adler calls "thinking like a partner," that's just stone-cold ruthlessness and cruelty.

So hell, what I want for season 2 is for Ingrid to kick Murphy to the curb — though of course they're still going to have to work together, and that will turn out wonderfully acrimonious — and for Ingrid and Z to make good on those vibes and oh so achingly slowly fall in love. Nick moved too fast, Murphy made his move immediately when Nick was out of the picture, and Z is going to be the one who understands taking his time — and giving Ingrid time. Because, shit, this is gonna hurt.