Elizabeth rejects KCTV’s skintight dresses and ridicules the show’s brassy theme. Walter, under orders from his boss Phil Lebensmal to deliver a sexy, homey persona, tries to sell her on television’s needs. A flashback shows Phil demanding tight dresses, suggestive touches, and a cocktail, while dismissing Elizabeth’s scientific angle.

Back in the present, Elizabeth proposes a lab coat and specialized gear; Walter deflects, hiding that the set is a kitschy, ready-made kitchen. He urges her to make cooking look “a little fun,” citing TV’s three rules—entertain, entertain, entertain—and explains the Afternoon Depression Zone and the 4:30 p.m. slot’s duty to re-energize homemakers. Elizabeth concedes the framing but insists she is a scientist, not an entertainer.

They banter about Einstein before Elizabeth reveals she’s unmarried, lived with Calvin, and that he died, which still devastates her; Walter hugs her. She blames herself for insisting on a leash the day he died. Walter confides that Amanda isn’t his biological daughter but he is her father by choice. Their shared losses forge trust.

They discuss school issues: Mrs. Mudford suspects Walter as a single father; Elizabeth bluntly names the stigma and cites Kinsey, launching into frank talk about sex. The chapter ends with a pragmatic truce: Walter will loosen seams or let Elizabeth use clothes from her closet, but no lab coat—for now. He urges her to smile on camera; she insists she is a scientist, and he replies that it’s only a start.