White House Plumbers
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In real life, the crash was attributed to pilot error.
The Writers Wife picks up six months earlier, in the closing moments of episode three.
(They were undercover street cops.)
For Howard, that means speeding home to Witches Island.
Yes, this is Howards contingency plan.
This is what it looks like for a top campaign operative to break glass.
A cop knocking at the door?
An angry call from the White House?
For Dorothy to race home from Paris and save them all?
In the end, its Bob Woodward who makes the first approach.
And from that point forward, the Hunts are forbidden from answering the telephone.
The soundtrack of their lives will be the interminable shrill of the family landline.
Alas, its already too late to avoid an association between the Watergate arrests and the White House.
The FBI will be at Hunts door by the end of the day.
Somehow, though, the situation is still in the process of getting worse.
Remember Mark Felt, who refused to help Liddy when he proposed breaking into Doctor Ellsbergs Los Angeles office?
We havent seen Gary Coles G-man sinceepisode one, but hes heading up the FBI investigation into Watergate.
But while Hunts beginning to doubt Nixons loyalty, G. Gordon Liddy tells J.
As a plan, its only marginally worse than what Howard cooks up.
This is when Dorothy takes the reins.
Eventually, Nixons posse comes through with cash for Howard, McCord, and the Cubans only.
There wont be any help for Liddy and his five kids, though its unclear why.
Maybe the White House is sure hell stay silent for free?
Maybe they dont think anyone would believe a nut like Liddy anyway?
And just like that, Dorothy gets dealt back into the spy game.
(The Liddys keep her cash casseroles in the freezer a delightful detail.)
Its more of a slow dribble, really.
Dorothy is angry and astonished, but McCord sees Nixon and his men for what they are.
Theyre motivated by fear and power, he explains, suddenly far more astute than hes ever been before.
Mainly the fear of losing power.
Now that theyre no longer afraid of that, theres no reason to pay up.
For McCord, it turns out, politics was always a job.
For Howard, whos since been fired by the PR firm, too, it remains a religion.
But Howard still likes the finer things in life.
His logic is sound if naive: The story of Watergate will come out no matter what.
Maybe they can even accomplish a little reputation rehab in the process from third-rate burglars to patriots.
Half a million dollars goes much further when you dont have to split it.
Unfortunately, Liddy wants to ensure they both stay broke.
Needless to say, the quartet never makes it past the salad course.
The next day, everyone is arraigned.
Liddys mom pays his bail, a detail so bizarre it must be true.
But why should they fear this guy now?
His credibility is nonexistent.
Well, it was all for nothing, she spits.
When she gets back from this one last trip, shes leaving Howard.
Shes leaving because he made her befriend racists.
Their conversation is set to somber music, but its not actually sad.
Dorothy hates her husband.
On the flight, she tells Michele Clark everything she knows about Watergate, and then she dies.
Did she take a stand against corruption and against her husband too late?
Yeah, of course.
But that she was finally taking a stand at all proved to be useless.
A lot more than one womans sacrifice or a vengeful tell-all.
Perhaps theres no force big enough to stop it at all.
