Love, Theoretically

Jack invites Elsie to a game night at George’s, where they have a Go tournament. Jack and Elsie are the only two at the party who have not lost a game and face off against each other at the end of the tournament, with Elsie winning and beating Jack’s eight-month-long winning streak. George corners Elsie and asks her about the job offer, and Elsie says she wants to accept but needs Laurendeau’s approval. When she gets to the kitchen, Elsie sees Jack with one of the MIT experimental physicists, Andrea, who makes fun of Elsie and insinuates that she and Jack were once involved. This makes Elsie question whether or not Jack still somewhat despises her for being a theorist, and she is reminded of why she never liked Jonathan Smith-Turner in the first place.

At her apartment, Elsie finally talks to Jack about his article and how much it impacted her field and how everyone views her. Elsie calls Laurendeau an unintentional victim that Jack didn’t consider, but Jack tells her that he intentionally targeted Laurendeau and it was the mockery of theorists that was unintentional. He tells her about how Laurendeau collaborated with his mother and was the one who forced her out of physics because he was jealous and wanted control over her, just as he does with Elsie.