[7.5/10] Very solid episode that balanced the plot and the romance stuff better than the last one, even it was still a bit heavy-handed. Sending Mo and Dawn to L.A. for an *Eyes Wide Shut*-style shindig is an amusing setup, and the show juggled some good plot bits as well with the machinations for and against the Lehman Bros. Dawn getting a win and Mo going along with it is a good beat, that’s nicely undercut by the Yakuza deal reveal in the final scenes. What’s impressive about this show is that as it’s doing its nice character work and raunchy comedy, it’s actually pretty damn well plotted throughout. But I like the character stuff a lot too! Again, I’m not particularly invested in the Mo/Dawn romance, if only because I don’t think we’ve ever really seen Mo being anything but manipulative and often mean to her, even if he mopes about it later. That makes it hard to root for the relationship. But I do like the storyline that Dawn likes Mo’s personality but is tired of him not being there for her, literally or figuratively, when she needs him. Her ploy to get the Lehman’s on board, using her leverage as a partner, so that she can punch her exit ticket, is a good one, and speaks to the character’s wants and capabilities. And the fact that it’s motivated by him not telling her about the Yakuza situation, only for that to come back and bite both of them, is a neat twist. Mo’s part of the story is a little more on the nose, but it works. Him visiting his idol in California (Bruce Dern), as a reveal of the source of his firm’s name and the source of his philosophy is an old trope, but a solid one. The show lays on the “greed is only good at making you lonely” message pretty thick, but it’s still a nice wake-up call for Mo, and I appreciate that it motivates his actions rather than just being a hollow epiphany, even if he comes to regret it. The B-story is good for some laughs too. Again, the Tiff/Blair stuff runs a bit broad for my tastes, but the whole shredding escapade is fun, and I like it as motivation for Blair to stand up to Keith. The whole SEC thing is an interesting wrinkle (again, good plotting), and Blair and Dawn continue to have oddly great chemistry, which makes me more invested in them than Mo/Dawn. The whole sexual harassment gag in the opening which plays on Mo’s jealousy of that is, again, a little too broad and blunt for my tastes, but still not bad. Overall, a nice rebound from the last episode which at least uses the Mo/Dawn relationship to develop both characters in interesting ways, and provides some solid chuckles on the Blair side of things.