Plot
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is concerned that Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is stressed and underperforming as the head writer of TGS with Tracy Jordan because of a lack of human contact. He suggests that she go on a date with his friend "Thomas", which she initially refuses. When she almost chokes to death alone in her apartment that night, an action that Jack had foreshadowed as "a single woman's biggest worry," she changes her mind. She meets her date in a restaurant and finds that Jack has set her up with Gretchen Thomas (Stephanie March), a lesbian. Although Liz and Gretchen have great chemistry, Gretchen is not interested in chasing after a "straight girl". The next day, Liz chastises Jack for thinking she was a lesbian. At night, Liz gets lonely and calls Gretchen. After sharing their fears as single women, they go to dinner. There, Gretchen expresses that she feels she is starting to chase the "straight girl" and says they should stop seeing each other. Liz attempts to make a pact that they get back together after 25 years and start a relationship then if they are both still single, but Gretchen walks away.
At the same time, poker night is a Thursday night tradition among Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit), Josh Girard (Lonny Ross), Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander), James "Toofer" Spurlock (Keith Powell), and J. D. Lutz (John Lutz), the TGS staff. Jack and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) join them for the first time. Jack is able to read and defeat all of the other players, except for NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer), who wins the final hand. The next day, Jack sets up another poker night. Eventually, Jack and Kenneth come down to the final hand. Jack has more chips and goes all-in. He offers to make the hand winner-take-all if Kenneth bets his page jacket. Kenneth agrees, and Jack's pair of twos beats Kenneth's king high. Liz asks why Kenneth would bet on a hand like that, and he responds that he enjoys living on the edge and was also confused about the rules. Jack stops Kenneth from leaving, explains that he only made Kenneth bet his job to prove his power over him, and returns the jacket to Kenneth with the expectation that he come in early on Monday.
Read more about this topic: Blind Date (30 Rock)
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I’d read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers—especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“Morality for the novelist is expressed not so much in the choice of subject matter as in the plot of the narrative, which is perhaps why in our morally bewildered time novelists have often been timid about plot.”
—Jane Rule (b. 1931)
“Ends in themselves, my letters plot no change;
They carry nothing dutiable; they won’t
Aspire, astound, establish or estrange.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)