dirty, but Charlie returns to New York without hiring him. He receives a phone call from Nora, who warns him to get a lawyer soon or risk losing custody of Henry. Charlie returns to Los Angeles and hires Bert Spitz, an empathetic and retired family lawyer who favors a civil and conciliatory approach. Henry spills to Charlie that Nicole wishes to live in Los Angeles and not move back to New York. A confused Charlie then calls Nicole, angrily interrogating her. Nicole then calls him out, revealing that she hacked his emails and learned of his affair with Mary Ann. Charlie later rents an apartment in Los Angeles, on Bert's counsel, to be closer to his family and strengthen his custody case. Charlie wishes to avoid court, so Bert arranges a meeting with Nora and Nicole. Nora argues that Charlie refused to respect Nicole's wishes to move back to Los Angeles and that Henry would prefer to stay with his mother rather than fly back and forth between coasts. Bert advises Charlie to drop his New York residency altogether, but a frustrated Charlie refuses and fires him. Using the first payout of his fellowship grant, Charlie hires Jay. The case moves to court, where Nora and Jay argue aggressively on behalf of their clients, leading to a series of character assassinations; Nora highlights Charlie's emotional distance and past infidelity, while Jay exaggerates Nicole's drinking habits and threatens criminal action for hacking Charlie's emails. Meanwhile, Nicole and Charlie remain friendly out of court and share time with Henry, who is increasingly annoyed with the back-and-forth. Disillusioned with the legal process, the pair decide to meet in private. However, their initially friendly discussion turns emotionally vicious; Nicole claims that Charlie has now fully merged with his own selfishness, and Charlie wishes death upon her. He then breaks down in tears and apologizes; Nicole comforts him. Soon after, they agree to relax their demands and reach an equal agreement to finalize the divorce, although Nora negotiates slightly better terms for Nicole, against the latter's wishes. A year later, Charlie's play enjoys a successful Broadway run, while Nicole has a new boyfriend and is nominated for an Emmy Award for directing an episode of her television series. Charlie informs Nicole that he has taken a residency at UCLA and will be living in Los Angeles full-time to be closer to Henry. Later, he discovers