Synopsis of Do the Right Thing
Written by TK
Syd's mother wakes her up and makes her look out the window. She's looking out the window of a huge skyscraper, and Robbie is about to jump off the ledge. She didn't even know Robbie was upset and her mother reminds her that Heather is marrying another man. Jim and Joanie are down on the ground, holding a little target for Robbie. She steps out on the ledge herself and tries to get Robbie to take her hand, but instead Robbie jumps. Lynda tells Syd to go after him and pushes Syd off the ledge. Jim and Joanie are moving the target around, trying to make sure Robbie will land on it. Syd yells, as she's falling above Robbie, that's she's coming to get him. Robbie asks her what she's talking about since she's falling too. She realizes she is, and screams. She wakes up screaming.
It's morning. In the kitchen, Jim is struggling to write a help-wanted ad for Heather's position that fully conveys everything that Heather is. Syd realizes that Heather is definitely leaving and realizes that she should talk to Robbie because he must be devastated.
At the clinic, Syd calls Robbie. The answering machine picks up, but then Robbie grabs the phone once he hears Syd's voice. They start to talk about how depressed he is about the situation when Syd has to hang up due to a loud disturbance in the clinic. A man is stumbling around waving a butter knife and holding a leather envelope-style bag. He says he needs morphine, and he's being followed. As Syd is trying to get the knife away from him, he passes out. He drops an empty prescription bottle which, Izzy reads, was filled with oral morphine. He also drops his leather bag and it falls under a chair.
Heather is showing Jim how she catalogs things in the computer. Jim is mystified by Heather's very personalized system, and says he's really going to miss her. Heather bursts into tears and says she's going to miss him too, and everything is changing so fast.
Cops come into the Barkery and ask Joanie if she's seen Doug since he's reportedly back in town and there's a still warrant out for his arrest. Joanie says she hasn't heard from him, but she'll definitely contact the cops if she does.
Syd checks up on the old man who is now in the hospital. He's still unconscious. The doctor who is treating him says they're running some tests, and the man has been admitted as a John Doe. He did have a visitor, but the visitor wouldn't provide a name. Syd wants to know where she can find the visitor. The doctor points her to the hallway where she's just in time to see the man disappear into an elevator.
Donna comes over to Robbie's apartment and tells him that she's found out that Charlie was married twice before and hasn't told Heather. She encourages Robbie to be the one to break the news.
Syd comes into the old man's room to find him struggling with a nurse. He wants his leather bag, and the nurse has no record of him having it when he was admitted. Syd calms the man down and says she wants to talk about his test results. He has very advanced cancer and doesn't have long to live. The old man says he only need three days, just keep him alive three more days.
Syd is in the garage of the hospital when she is approached by the old man's visitor who disappeared into the elevator. He introduces himself as Daniel Hartman and tells Syd he'd like to talk to her about her patient, Monroe Ellison.
Robbie is having lunch with Heather at O'Neill's. He admits to her that her mother got Charlie the grant, and Robbie had a hand in talking Charlie into it because he wanted another chance with Heather. Heather is hurt and touched at the same time. Robbie says now her mother has dug up dirt on Charlie. Heather asks if it's his prison term or his two previous marriages. Robbie is shocked that Charlie was in prison, but glad that Heather knows about it. He tells Heather that her mother isn't giving up, and she should just marry Charlie right away. Heather thanks him for the advice, gives him a big hug, and runs off to find Charlie.
Syd and Hartman are talking in the hospital. Hartman tells her how Ellison scammed a whole bunch of people out of a lot of money, and put it in an off-shore account to which only he knows the password. He's been in jail, but was released when he got incurable prostate cancer. In two days, the statute of limitations runs out on recovering the money, and then it's Ellison's for good. Hartman needs to get the password, and asks Syd that if Ellison says anything while under medication, maybe she could pass it along. Syd says that's like spying on her patient, and breaks all kinds of confidentiality, and she can't do it.
Joanie finds Doug dog-walking in the park. She let's him know that she's a bit upset that he's been back in town for a month and hasn't gotten in touch, and warns him that the cops are looking for him. He says he's been afraid to come in, but he goes by the Barkery every day. He tells her what she was wearing yesterday. She's touched. He invites her to walk with him.
At the clinic, Syd leaves another phone message for Robbie about Heather, and then finds the leather bag that Ellison dropped with his monogram on it.
Doug and Joanie are walking the dogs. Doug explains that he's been dog-walking for money, and wants to start his own business. He's been staying in this female divorcee's guest house, and Joanie is jealous until she hears that the female divorcee is in her forties. Doug says he didn't want to contact her until he was a little more back on his feet. Joanie says that's great, but he can't start his own business when there's a warrant out for his arrest. She advises him to turn himself in. He'll probably just get community service or something. He refuses until she promises to go with him.
Heather is at Jim's office trying to put together her wedding for Saturday. She comments that it's not easy to get a wedding together in two days. Jim asks her if she's rushing into things, and she says yeah, a little. He asks her if it's because of Robbie. She says that she did used to be crazy about Robbie, but it's not like he's marriage material. Jim admits that Robbie has his problems, but deep down he's a pretty great guy. Jim says he just wanted to get that out there, and now he wishes Heather much happiness with Charlie.
Hartman waylays Syd on her way to Ellison's room and tries to get her to sit down with him for awhile and have dinner. She turns him down. She goes to Ellison's room and addresses him by name and he's rude to her, asking if that lawyer guy, Hartman, got to her. Syd says she spoke to Hartman, but he didn't "get to her." She gives Ellison his bag, and he snatches it, asking if she opened it. She says she didn't, and he orders her out of the room. As soon as she leaves, he pulls a piece of paper from his bag. He unfolds it lovingly. It's a crayon picture drawn by a little kid.
Syd has a dream where she and Daniel Hartman are 1930s spies, and she's trying to decide whether or not to give up the good to him. Lynda advises her to give it up so maybe he'll ask her out. She decides not to give in, but still has feelings for Hartman.
Charlie comes into the bar and tells Robbie that he's a little nervous about getting married tomorrow. Robbie tells him it's just a case of cold feet and a beer will take care of it.
Syd goes to Ellison's room to find Hartman there. They argue.
Robbie tells Donna that he's not going to be her errand boy anymore. He's doing what will make Heather most happy, and it's a shame that her own mother can't do the same.
Doug has his day in court. He is sentenced to community service... with animal control. He says he won't help animal control, so the judge gives him a thousand dollar fine and three months in jail instead.
Syd finally asks Ellison why he won't give the money back. He tells her how he lost his family farm as a kid because the bank foreclosed on a nine-hundred dollar loan. He pulled the scam to get back at the loan officer that did that. He accidentally scammed a bunch of other people as well. He's sorry about that, but he won't give the money back, because then that loan officer would get his money back too.
Syd gets home to find Hartman there waiting for her. Hartman says there are only two hours left. Syd can't help him. She says Ellison told her why he did it. Hartman says there are stories from his clients that would tug at heart strings even more, and hands her an envelope.
Robbie watches Heather in their apartment, posing in her wedding dress. He tells her he won't be coming to the wedding, that Jim will cover best man duties. She asks him if she'll see him again. He says of course. He wishes her the best, and kisses her on the cheek, just barely holding back the tears.
Syd checks Ellison's room and finds the bed empty.
Syd goes to Hartman's office and asks her if knows what happened to Ellison. Hartman says he watched Ellison leave the hospital just after midnight, when the statute of limitations ran out. Syd asks Hartman where Ellison was staying, because she needs to find him. Hartman unwillingly gives her the address.
Joanie and Doug are having a conference with the judge regarding Doug's sentencing. The judge says he's having dinner with his wife, so he only has a couple minutes. Joanie starts to argue that Doug thought he was a dog, when the judge's wife walks in carrying their little fluffy dog, Lady Jane. Lady Jane and Doug make little whimpering noises at each other, while the judge asks his wife if she really has to bring that mutt everywhere. The judge's wife goes to wait outside, and Doug says he knows that dog, it's one of the dogs he set free from animal control. Joanie realizes the judge must have left the dog out like a stray, hoping it would go away, and uses this knowledge to blackmail the judge into reducing Doug's sentence.
Syd finds Ellison lying in bed, gloating. He asks her to hand him the picture on the floor. It's the child drawing again, of a boy and a horse. The boy is Ellison and the horse was his, Shadow, that he lost with the farm. Syd tells him he still has time to make things right. Ellison thinks things are right now. Syd reads him the letter that Hartman gave her, from an eight-year-old boy that lost his farm due to Ellison's scheme.
Robbie is at O'Neill's preparing to drink himself into a stupor. Donna comes by on her way to the airport and gives Robbie a really nice diamond ring to give to Heather. She says that she still doesn't regret trying to break up Heather and Charlie, because Heather is in love with Robbie.
Jim pops his head into the room at the church where Heather is getting ready and tells her it's time.
Robbie asks his friend behind the bar if he can borrow his car keys. The bartender gives him the keys, but warns him the car is low on gas. Robbie drives away from O'Neill's as Jim is walking Heather down the aisle. Robbie is driving like a maniac. Heather is walking down the aisle. Robbie is driving like a maniac. Jim deposits Heather onto Charlie's arm. Robbie is driving like a maniac. The ceremony begins. Robbie runs out of gas. The minister asks if anyone knows any reason why these two should not be married. Syd, Joanie, Jim, and Heather all look around. Robbie gets out of the car and starts running. The ceremony continues. Robbie gets to the doors of the church, finds the inside doors locked and runs up to the balcony. He yells for Heather from the balcony. He says he has just one question: does she love him. She says yes and they run out of the church together. They get on a waiting bus outside, and he gives her the ring that Donna gave him. They kiss as the bus driver informs them that the bus is out of order.
Syd goes to Hartman's office and gives him the childhood drawing. She says Ellison is dead, but this is a picture of his horse, Shadow, and Shadow is the password. Syd says Ellison told her to make sure that the money was returned. Hartman thanks Syd. Syd says it was all Hartman and that letter that he gave her. Syd is on her way out when Hartman asks her to coffee and she accepts.
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