Episode 04 - Should I Stay Or Should I Go?


'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?' - Eli is taking his morning shower when a naked Maggie joins him. Before he realizes what's happening, he's arguing with Maggie about their engagement party and Maggie storms out, upset. Eli looks in the mirror and sees he's in the body of Scott, Maggies fiancé. Eli visits Dr. Chen to discuss his vision; Chen surmises that God might be telling Eli not to let Maggie go.

Back at the office, Jordan and Martin separately interview their employees, trying to convince each one to pick their side in the split. Jordan tells his interviewees that they'll be making less money but working for social change, while Martin pitches corporate perks and more salary. Martin tells Matt that he and Marci have discussed making him a partner.

Eli approaches Maggie, who's stressed out about her work and her relationship with Scott. Eli is relieved to discover Maggie isn't even considering leaving Jordan.

Taylor asks Eli to convince Matt not to leave. She begs him to team up with Matt on a case and show him the "Eli Stone magic." Eli begrudgingly approaches Matt, who sees right through him. Matt confesses he hasn't made up his mind yet. Eli convinces Matt to wait at least one week to make a decision and work with him on a case in the meantime. Meanwhile, Martin offers Maggie a position as Senior Associate in charge of his pro-bono department at twice her salary, plus vacation time and a $20,000 donation to an environmental organization. Maggie is stunned.

While Patti makes her pitch to the assistants to stay with Jordan's firm and they ask for more money, Eli and Matt search for a worthy case when a man, Will, walks in asking for help. Homeland Security has arrested his girlfriend... and her husband. Eli and Matt meet with Will, his Pakistani girlfriend Sana, and Carter, her gay best friend and "Green Card husband." Sana is being sent back to Pakistan, but if she goes back, she must go back to Pakistan, where her family has arranged to be married or they will kill her.

At the office, Maggie and Scott prepare for their engagement party. Scott lets it slip to Eli that Maggie has received an offer from Martin. Eli tells Maggie that he'll match Martin's offer.

Jordan and Taylor discuss the company's finances. When Eli tells them they have to match Posner's offer to Maggie, Jordan and Taylor say they can't. They tell Eli not to let his personal feelings get in the way of his judgement. Eli has to tell Maggie he can't match Posner's offer. Maggie tells him she can never leave.

Eli and Matt go to court for Sana, who testifies that if she goes back to Pakistan, her father will perform an "honor killing" on her. Back at the office, Matt expresses his doubts about their case. Patti approaches Eli and tells him the assistants have agreed to stay if they give them raises for the following year. Eli tells Patti they can't do it, and Patti gets upset.

Eli and Matt interview Sana's cousin, who explains that Sana has disgraced their family's honor, and he can't allow it. They try to get him to give evidence that her father will harm her if she goes back to Pakistan. Matt is impressed with Eli's work, but not enough to convince him to stay yet.

Eli finds himself in Maggie's apartment again, in Scott's body. A woman asks him to join her in the shower... who happens to not be Maggie, and happens to be married herself. Eli has discovered that Scott is cheating on Maggie!




At the prosecutor's office, Eli and Matt show her evidence that Sana's father will harm her if she goes back to Pakistan. They convince the prosecutor to offer a deal, but it's a terrible one... if she goes back to Pakistan, they will drop all charges against Carter. While explaining the deal to Sana and Carter, Matt takes the lead in his righteous indignation. Matt tries to convince Sana that they can win the case, but Sana wants to take the deal to save Carter from jail time.

Maggie is upset that so few people are at her engagement party, mostly because most of her co-workers have left Jordan for the other side. While Jordan and Matt dance, Matt speaks to Taylor about his concern for the case. Taylor finds it nice Matt cares so much about a client. As they discuss their relationship, Matt comes up with an epiphany on how to get Sana to change her mind.

Jordan approaches Taylor and finds out that she's pregnant. She tells him about her apprehension about the situation, especially considering Matt's uncertain status at the firm.




At the party, Eli talks to Maggie, who's sitting on her own. Maggie is emotional and getting drunk. She discloses her problems with Scott, but tells Eli how good Scott is to her. He tells her about his visions in Scott's body, but before he can tell her anything, Scott approaches. Scott tells him to back off, but when Maggie is out of earshot, Eli tells him he knows about the cheating. Scott punches Eli in the face. They get in a fight. When Maggie approaches, Eli angrily tells Scott to confess. Maggie tells Scott to clean up and act like nothing happens, then, upset, asks Eli to leave her party.




Matt visits Sana at Homeland Security. He tries to convince Sana that neither Will nor Carter will not be able to live knowing she sacrificed herself for them. He makes an extremely emotional plea for her not to take the deal. In court, Matt argues vigorously on Sana's behalf. In his closing statement, Matt's arguments are equally earnest and emotional. The judge grants her the right to stay in the country, despite her obtaining an illegal green card. The team's celebration is stemmed, however, when the prosecutor reveals that she's going to pursue giving Carter the maximum sentence.

Back at the office, Eli apologizes to Maggie for his behavior. Maggie lets him know that the engagement and wedding are off, but it's for the best. However, she explains that she understands why he cheated on her -- because she's still emotionally attached to Eli. During the conversation, Maggie reveals that the woman with whom Scott was cheating, Candace, happens to be the Homeland Security prosecutor's boss. Then she drops the bombshell. She's taking Posner's offer because she can't stay around Eli.

Eli pays a visit to Candace to convince her on a deal to keep Carter out of jail. When she refuses to budge, Eli tells her that he knows about her extramarital affair. Falling short of blackmail, he asks her to reconsider the case...instead of jail time, she recommends community service and probation.

Maggie goes back to Martin with a counter-offer. She asks for more, knowing that Posner only wants her to hurt Eli. Surprised at her savvy, Martin accepts them and welcomes her to Posner and Klein.

Eli speaks to Matt, who feels gratified and emotional about their victory. Matt tells Eli how much he admires him now. However, instead of staying, Matt decides to leave for Posner; he prefers to work on cases about which he doesn't care so much. When Matt tells Taylor he's leaving, she's crushed.

Eli talks to Patti. Opposite to what she and many of the other assistants felt about raises before, they've stayed in order to work for good instead of for the money. Eli tells her she and the other assistants will be getting their raises... out of his own salary.

Before he leaves for the day, Eli speaks to Jordan. Devastated by their staff cuts, Jordan and Eli still feel proud of their new firm. They shake hands... "To new beginnings."


(Aired on Tuesday November 11 2008 on the ABC Television Network)

'Eli Stone' stars Jonny Lee Miller as Eli Stone, Victor Garber as Jordan Wethersby, Natasha Henstridge as Taylor Wethersby, Loretta Devine as Patti, Sam Jaeger as Matt Dowd, James Saito as Dr. Chen, Matt Letscher as Nathan Stone, Jason George as Keith Bennett and Julie Gonzalo as Maggie Dekker.

Guest stars includes, Tom Amandes as Martin Posner, James Snyder as Carter Jameson, Jonathan Chase as Will Sonneborn, David Giuntoli as Scott Colby, Julie Dretzin as Catherine Booker, Parisa Fakhri as Sana Kahn, Rachelle Lefevre as Candace Bonneville, Omid Abtahi as Amir Khan, Michael Laskin as Judge Kettleman, Peggy Jo Jacobs as Assistant #1, Claudia Choi as Assistant #2, Angela Hughes as Intern, David Villar as Associate, Edward Stanley as Clerk and Evan Lai as Legal Assistant.

'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?' was written by Steve Lichtman and Brett Mahoney and directed by Jamie Babbit.

Source
ABC