Bored to Death

After celebrating the release of his new book, Jonathan learns some distressing familial news. George reunites with his daughter Emily and Ray spends time with his biological son Spencer. Meanwhile, Jonathan's latest case leaves him in a precarious position.

On the run from the police, Jonathan and Ray turn to Howard (Patton Oswalt) for help with trying to find out who framed Jonathan for murder, while George runs interference for them in his own inimitable, marijuana-induced way.

Jonathan is to appear on Dick Cavett to pitch his new book only to learn that the guest who'll follow him is his nemesis Louis Green. Ray takes Spenser to the park where he sits in with a breast-feeding support group. He then pushes the stroller home and finger paints. George sits his daughter down to warn her about her fiancé's age. Will anything go well? A tackle, a neck brace, and an arrest embody the conflicts and errors.

George wants to save Emily from Bernard so he tells Jonathan to take her out for a youthful but platonic good time; when she shows him an ad in Craig's List for a detective named Jonathan Ames - and it's someone else's ad - he takes her with him to track down the impostor. Meanwhile, Leah tosses Ray from the apartment for serving a factory-farm chicken to her daughters, so he ends up talking at a bar to an older woman who's a good listener. George, meanwhile, is dining with the earnest Bernard: they have dinner at a restaurant that proves to be owned by Richard in an attempt to both copy George and drive him out of business. Bernard thinks fast.

Ray wonders if he should break off his torrid affair with Belinda now that Leah has invited him back to bed. George refuses to talk to Jonathan, but they do go to friendship counseling. To get back into George's good graces, Jonathan investigates Richard's claim that his restaurant's produce comes from within 50 miles; he gets help from Ray, who plays his jail brotherhood card with Louis with unexpected success. George, preparing for a singing role in a Yale Club review, finds his voice teacher irresistible.

Men's performances leave something to be desired. Leah finds Ray in a compromising position, and he moves in with George for a few days. George responds limply to Josephine. Jonathan continues his pursuit of information about the sperm bank engulfed in flames years ago. Then, the father of Patti, his first college girlfriend, gives him a job to guard a valuable family necklace during the night before his daughter's wedding. The job comes with strings: Patti wants to sleep with Jonathan one last time before the wedding. With the necklace in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, what will Jonathan do?

Four quests. Jonathan makes headway in his search for information about the fire at the sperm bank when Rose, a graduate student in library science, pays him a call; she's searching for her father as well. Her information takes them to Riker's Island and then to a hat shop. There's a Ferris wheel ride as well. George gives Ray a book about the psychological aspects of back pain. George hopes Emily will come to his performance of "Dream the Impossible Dream" - he wants her affection; Ray wants Leah to let him back in. For at least one, a successful quest comes at a price.

Ray finds solace in the fans of Super Ray, George offers a toast at the engagement party he hosts for Emily and Bernard, and Jonathan continues to sort through his feelings, questions, and expectations that accompany the discovery of the identity of his biological father. Thugs take Jonathan's sperm donor to the locker room of a baseball stadium where he's menaced by a man he owes $10,000. Jonathan agrees to stay as a hostage while dad goes to get the cash; the clock ticks and Jonathan may be murdered. George, Ray, and the Super Rays attempt a rescue. Will Jonathan live to tell the tale? And what about Rose?