Wild Palms

S1 • E1

Everything Must Go

Set in the near-future of 2007, Harry Wyckoff is a successful patent attorney living in Beverly Hills who is on the brink of becoming a partner in the agency he works at. He has two children with his wife Grace, a perfect housewife and the owner of Hiroshima, a retro fashion boutique. Their children are 11-year-old child actor Coty, who has just been cast for a new "Channel 3" series, and the ever-mute 4-year-old Deirdre. Grace's mother is Josie Ito, a vain chic socialite and interior decorator of strong will and numerous shady connections. At night, Harry is plagued by strange dreams of a rhinoceros and a faceless woman who has palm tree tattooed on her body. One day, Harry is visited by a former lover of his college days, the alluring Paige Katz, who asks for his help in tracking down her son Peter, who disappeared five years earlier. Paige is closely associated with the "Wild Palms Group", a shady media organization headed by the charismatic Senator Tony Kreutzer, who is also the leader of the religious sect "Church of Synthiotics". Kreutzer's TV station "Channel 3" is about to start a new television format, "Church Windows", which creates a virtual reality on the basis of popular shows like sitcoms, using a new technique called "Mimecom". Due to conflict of interest, in which Harry's firm is going up against Wild Palms in court, their meetings raise suspicions and cost Harry his promotion. Afterwords, Harry quits and gladly accepts a job offered by Kreutzer as Wild Palms business consultant. Meanwhile, Grace soon becomes alienated by Harry's long hours at his new job and his past association with Paige. Grace visits her father Eli Levitt, a former history professor who is currently imprisoned for terrorism, and who is the founder of the "Friends" sect. In this politically and socially divided early 21st century society, a new right-wing political group, called the "Fathers", dominate large sections in politics and in the media. A libertarian movement, the "Friends", opposes the government, often making use of underground guerrilla tactics. Harry's best friend, Tommy Laszlo, takes him to meet Chickie Levitt, (who is Eli Levitt's son from another relationship), a virtual reality boy genius and technology wizard who warns Harry about the dangers of Wild Palms and it's media control. Also, Tully Woiwode, is an infamous and popular visual artist and toast-of-the-town (and Tommy Laszlo's secret lover) whose sister is abducted by men connected to Josie and her "Fathers" connections.

S1 • E2

The Floating World

Harry's co-worker Gavin puts him in contact with the blinded Tully and the leaders of the underground Friends movement where they inform Harry about the dangerous of the Wild Palms Group and the Church of Synthiotics. Later, Coty personally murders Gavin so he will never talk again. Distraught and alienated with Harry, Grace attempts suicide. She continues to have encounters with the young boy Peter who seems to know more about what is going on then Grace does. Meanwhile, Kreutzer sends Harry and Paige to Kyoto, Japan to talk business where he persuades them to find a mysterious "Go chip". Harry is taken and tortured by mysterious contacts over what he knows about Wild Palms. Back in L.A., Grace is visited by Eileen Whitehope, Gavin's widow, who also alerts Grace to a danger in her own home. Elsewhere, Chickie Levitt is imprisoned by Chap Starfall, an erstwhile pop star reduced to lounge singer status until the Wild Palms group "revives" him, where he tries to find out more about Chickie's work. Grace confronts Josie about the fact about Coty not being her biological son. Also, Harry visits Eli and learns more about the Friends group.

S1 • E3

Rising Sons

With Harry newly accepted into the Wild Palms Group, Grace is visited by Hiro, a childhood friend from her years spent in Japan who is an enemy of Kreutzer. Meanwhile, Tommy escapes from prison and is reunited with Tully and the members of the Friends resistance. Eli soon joins them after making his own escape and reestablishes control over the group. Elsewhere, Coty not only becomes a child TV star but also, due to his ruthlessness, a high-ranking member of the Church of Synthiotics. Also, Chickie turns the tables on his captor, Chap, but ends up being tortured to the brink of death. Harry finally learns from Paige about her alliance with Kreutzer and that Coty is her biological son and Josie is actually Kreutzer's younger sister and chief enforcer and executioner. Kreutzer continues to try to get hold of the "Go chip" which supposedly will enable him to become a living hologram with unlimited power. Disgusted by his methods, his future wife Paige gives information to the Friends. Harry's therapist, Dr. Tobias Schenkl, is revealed to be on the payroll of Kreutzer. It is also revealed that Josie's only weakness is her former marriage to Eli Levitt, whom she is still in love. Aided by information from Paige, Eli and Tommy lead an armed raid on the motel room to rescue Chickie. Harry agrees to be a double-agent for both the Friends and the Fathers groups.

S1 • E4

Hungry Ghosts

Kreutzer and Paige's wedding is held where Harry does not hesitate to hide his disgust. Afterwords, Harry meets with Peter who tells him that Deirdre has been kidnapped and Grace is in hiding at Eli's new sanctuary in the Wilderzone slum. Peter finally tells Harry that he is his real biological son. Meanwhile, Tommy struggles with his Mimezine addiction which leads to fatal consequences. Later, Harry gets arrested for Grace's murder when she is found dead. Harry is then tortured by his former therapist, Tobias, when he learns that the Go Chip was implanted in Harry's hand tattoo and then removed, which lands in the hands of Eli. Hiro turns himself into the police to protect Harry and then commits suicide in his prison cell after learning about Grace's murder. Also, Harry takes drastic action to expose the truth about his wife's killing.

S1 • E5

Hello, I Must Be Going

Harry officially defects from the Fathers and joins the Friends and enforces the videotaped broadcast of Grace's murder. The broadcast causes a social uproar; Synthiotics facilities and campaigning offices of Kreutzer, who is running for president, are attacked. Josie is arrested for the murder, but she soon makes bail and plots with Kreutzer to release an doctored videotape which shows Harry instead committing the murder. Meanwhile, Tully, distraught over the death of Tommy, betrays Eli to Josie who has him secretly murdered. Plagued with guilt, Tully then redeems himself by brutally killing Josie and then himself. Desperate to be reunited with his kidnapped daughter, Harry agrees to turn over the Go Chip to Kreutzer if he releases Deirdre. Kreutzer finally manages to get the Go Chip and has it implanted, but it was altered by Harry and Peter. Kreutzer reveals to Harry that he is his biological father, before he loses cohesion and dissolves into nothingness. Coty becomes the new leader of the Fathers, while Harry, Paige, Peter and Dierdre escape the chaos and rioting by fleeing from Los Angeles for parts unknown, although Harry knows he must go back and lead the Friends against their enemies in the continuing civil war between the groups.

S1 • E6

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