On the eve of an important breakfast with Franklin, Eleanor recalls Hick’s visit in which Hick urges her to dress with more intention and then admits she cannot objectively cover the White House for the AP any longer. Hick’s candid use of “love” forces a reckoning; Eleanor offers the idea of a role with Harry Hopkins but learns the real issue is clarity in their relationship. Eleanor tells Hick she belongs at her side, sealing the moment with a kiss.

The next morning, Eleanor strategically joins Franklin for breakfast on the South Portico, mindful that his mother’s absence improves her chances. After small talk about teas and household fare, she raises Franklin’s surprise creation of the Office of the Special Adviser on the Economic Status of the Negro, objecting to being informed by headlines and to the appointment of a white adviser over qualified Black candidates.

Franklin cites Ickes’s recommendation of Clark Foreman and tries to move on, but Eleanor pivots to the lynching of George Armwood. Franklin argues that openly backing anti-lynching legislation could imperil the New Deal’s ability to help millions, framing it as a painful political trade-off. Eleanor counters his minimization, citing approximately ninety lynchings a year and insisting that silence sustains the perpetrators’ power.

Drawing on details Mary shared, Eleanor describes the atrocity and slides graphic photographs of Armwood and the mob to Franklin. Visibly shaken, Franklin abandons his meal and studies the images. Confronted with the moral stakes, he promises to act, and Eleanor warns that inaction would define his legacy.