In jail after his escapade at Ellen's party, Geoffrey is visited by the ghost of Oliver, who counsels him on the danger of trying to ignore his past feelings for Ellen. Holly and Richard work on their merchandising scheme‒a Shakespeare-themed village of retail stores. Geoffrey is forced to fire Darren as director, to the relief of the cast.

It's opening night for "Hamlet" and, though Jack has shown promise, insidious words from Richard send him running. Ellen and Geoffrey finally talk about the breakdown and the events leading up to it.