Big Swiss

Greta consumes psilocybin mushrooms before going to Big Swiss’s house. On her drive there, she hallucinates Big Swiss yodeling. Greta is impressed by Big Swiss’s house, which is beautiful, opulent, and modern. Big Swiss and Luke practice a few Spanish phrases because they’re planning for a trip to Ecuador. Luke tells Greta that he and Big Swiss are trying to get pregnant. Luke teases Big Swiss’s cold stare, which is culturally normal and acceptable in Switzerland. Greta feels the phantom lice return and the itch on her scalp is painful. One of the things Greta loves about being in bed with Big Swiss is how much Big Swiss stares at her, but now she realizes that it might be cultural and not in admiration of Greta. Greta baby-talks to Big Swiss’s dog, which annoys Big Swiss. When Big Swiss lectures Greta about her overwhelming compliments, Greta accidentally calls her Big Swiss to her face. Luke wants them to stop bickering.

Greta takes a moment for herself in the bathroom, and Big Swiss follows her to apologize for lashing out at her. Big Swiss explains that she doesn’t want to go to Ecuador and she suspects Luke is having an affair. Greta decides to leave early, and Big Swiss makes up the excuse that Greta is having an allergic reaction to the cheese they ate at dinner. As Greta drives home, she resolves to tell Sabine about the affair. When she gets home, Sabine is distracted by an onslaught of spiders.

The next morning, Greta again resolves to come clean about the affair to Sabine, but Sabine is distracted by maggots that have overtaken the beehive in the house.

Greta isn’t comfortable having Big Swiss over at her house with the maggots and Sabine, so she meets Big Swiss at a bar. Greta gets in an altercation with a man at the bar who hits on Big Swiss. Upset, Greta excuses herself to the bathroom. Big Swiss follows her and they have sex in the bathroom.

Big Swiss and Greta go to the dog park. Greta suspects that a man is watching them with binoculars. She confronts the man but discovers that it’s not Keith, it’s simply a man taking selfies. Greta recognizes his voice as one of Om’s patients. Greta runs into Nicole, who has been doing better in therapy since breaking up with Jason. Nicole invites Greta to a party and Greta brings Big Swiss.

After the party, Greta writes her mother a letter for the first time in a while. She tells her mother about the party with Big Swiss, and how she wants to tell Big Swiss the truth.

Greta receives an email from Om with a file to transcribe, telling her that it’s her last and setting up a meeting with her. The file is a therapy session with Big Swiss.

Big Swiss tells Om that she thinks the woman she’s having an affair with, Rebekah, created a fake profile on Airbnb to rent out a guest house Big Swiss owns. Big Swiss could see that the profile was fake, but the man who claimed to be the profile used the app to ask Big Swiss out. She fears that Keith has found her and is behind the profile instead. Big Swiss tells Om that Rebekah makes her feel bad about not knowing anything about popular culture, accusing Big Swiss of being a snob. Om suggests that Rebekah has “terminal uniqueness,” which is when a person believes their experiences are unlike any another person has ever had. These people tend to diagnose others, as Rebekah did when she labeled Big Swiss as a snob. Big Swiss tells Om about Rebekah’s mother’s death by suicide. Om suggests that Rebekah has made herself an available victim to Big Swiss because she’s so damaged herself.

Big Swiss confides that she’s conflicted about Rebekah because their love is passionate, but Rebekah often seems “too damaged.” For example, Rebekah roughed Big Swiss up during sex, giving Big Swiss bruises. And Rebekah had been making a cut into her foot because she’s convinced she has glass stuck in it. Big Swiss admits that she suspects Rebekah is not who she says she is because when Big Swiss tells her something profoundly personal, Rebekah acts as though she’s heard it before. Big Swiss tells Om that she’s heard other people call Rebekah “Greta.” Big Swiss sees that Om recognizes that name and learns that Greta is his transcriber.

Greta goes to Om’s office for their meeting. Om fires her and warns her that she won’t be able to work in Hudson at all anymore. Greta is worried that she isn’t capable of reinventing herself again. Om asks her to narrate her side of the story. Om tells Greta that people in town who know Big Swiss have been talking about her and Greta being with one another. Om suggests that Greta used the illicit affair to try to repress her past traumas. He wants to help her, so he offers her a reference for another transcription job if she has a few therapy sessions with him and transcribes her own sessions.

Greta hides in her house, but Big Swiss arrives demanding that they talk. Greta had sent Big Swiss an email apologizing for what happened. Big Swiss doesn’t accept apologies. Greta proposes that she was dishonest with Big Swiss because she learned dishonesty from her mother’s death. Big Swiss chastises Greta for using her mother’s death by suicide as an excuse for her behavior and problems. Big Swiss accuses Greta of using her private secrets to trick her, seduce her, and exploit her. Greta points out that Big Swiss is not innocent either because she’s the one cheating on her husband.

During the argument, their dogs disappear from the yard, so Big Swiss and Greta go out to look for them. They find Big Swiss’s dog guarding Piñon, who has been shot. Greta collapses in grief and holds Piñon as he dies. But in her heightened emotions, she gets confused about the location of her pain. Big Swiss tries to calm her down because Greta is bleeding profusely, as though she’s having a miscarriage. Piñon is still breathing. Greta and Big Swiss get back to Sabine’s house, where Greta showers and Big Swiss calls for a vet who attends to Piñon and proclaims that Piñon will be fine.

Greta wants to report Keith for shooting Piñon, certain that it was him. Big Swiss insists it probably wasn’t Keith. Greta accuses Big Swiss of acting exploited when really it was Big Swiss who had been using Greta to make herself feel superior since Greta is older and poorer. Big Swiss insists on giving Greta a medical check-up to determine why she’s cramping and bleeding so much.

Sabine comes home and helps tend to Greta and Piñon. She tells Greta that she had heard the rumors about Greta and Big Swiss. Sabine sympathizes with Greta and agrees that Big Swiss is purposely cold to hide her vulnerabilities. When Greta again tries to accuse Keith of shooting Piñon, Sabine tells Greta what she knows about Keith. The story about Keith was big news in Hudson. Keith comes from a large and established family in the Hudson area. He had escaped and made a successful career for himself but had beaten up his wife and stalked her when she left him for a woman. Since then, he’s been in and out of prison, with only his sister to defend him against accusations. Greta falls asleep and dreams that Keith is walking on her.

Greta stands in an alley between two bars–one is a dive bar and the other is an LGBTQ+ bar. She reflects on her lack of an identity. Greta chooses to go into the dive bar. The only other woman in the dive bar is the bartender, Vera. The man Greta sits near at the bar orders her a drink and it is revealed that Vera is his sister. Greta realizes that the man is Keith. She suspects that he recognizes her from stalking Big Swiss. She asks him if he’s Keith, and he confirms. She asks him if he recognizes her. She accuses him of shooting his dog. Keith assures her that he doesn’t know her and would rather shoot her than shoot a dog, as he is an animal lover.

Greta goes back home, where she finds Big Swiss waiting for her, wanting to check in on Piñon. Greta doesn’t tell her about meeting Keith. In her apology email to Big Swiss, Greta had joked that Big Swiss could find closure by spanking her. Big Swiss spanks Greta. Greta suggests that Big Swiss tell Luke about the affair before he hears it from someone else around town.