Feud: Capote vs the Swans episode 4 opens to the strains of Perry Como's "It's Impossible," which plays over a montage of Babe Paley (Naomi Watts) getting her hair done in front of her dressing table and getting dressed. She leaves the house looking like any New York City socialite out for a day of shopping.
But Babe is going for an MRI. As the song plays on she enters a private treatment room at the hospital and takes off her expensive jewelry and designer clothes and trades them for a hospital gown so she can be scanned.
After the scan she sits with Dr. Bernard Magnin (Ned Van Zandt) to discuss her prognosis. It's not good. She asks how long she has, and the credits begin.
Swans at lunch
A Swans lunch at La Cote Basque sees Slim (Diane Lane) talking to C.Z (Chloë Sevigny). C.Z. tells Slim Truman wants to put on a sequel to his infamous Black and White Ball; he told her himself while they were at La Cote Basque the previous day.
Even though Truman has a fantasy guest list that includes pop culture stars and political figures, as well as the Swans, C.Z. told him it would never happen. Slim wants to take action immediately to shut it down. Babe comes in and joins her friends.
Slim starts telling Babe about Truman's ball and Babe cuts Slim off saying she's tired of talking about Truman. Babe also says if she's invited to the ball she may go, it's been too long since she danced. Life is short and Babe doesn't want to waste any of the life she has left.
Truman goes to treatment
The scene shifts to Truman's (Tom Hollander). He is cooking while John (Russell Tovey) sits sulking on the couch. Truman talks about who he wants to invite to the ball, but John is disinterested, and drunk. He offers a bottle to Truman, but Truman is trying to stay sober. They have another fight in which John hits Truman, then leaves.
While Truman is dealing with his domestic situation, Slim is lying post-coital in bed in a black slip and gartered hose, talking to Bill Paley (Treat Williams). Yep, she's sleeping with Babe's husband. Slim tells Bill she's going to sue Truman for defamation, but Bill warns her to be careful.
Later that night Truman, wearing sunglasses to hide his black eye, is drinking at La Cote Basque. Coming out of the bathroom he runs into Slim. She tells him she's suing him, resulting in an exchange of verbal blows that hit hard. Truman tells Slim she lives for the spotlight and all he did was give it to her. Slim retorts that Truman won't be able to get back in Babe's world before she dies.
When Truman returns to the table, Jack (Joe Mantello) is there. He relays a message from Truman's doctor: his drinking is going to kill him if he doesn't stop. So Jack delivers an ultimatum — Truman must go to treatment and dump John or Jack will leave. Truman agrees.
Ruffled feathers
Slim calls in favors with gossip columnists at all the major publications, forcing them to write blind items about Truman and his plans to throw another ball. She's hoping the bad press will keep anyone from supporting his attempts to get back into society.
At a fashion show, C.Z. tells Slim to stop her offensive against Truman because it might impact his sobriety. Babe, meanwhile, tells Slim that if Truman invites her to the ball she's going to go, which infuriates Slim.
Later, Lee (Calista Flockhart) and Slim meet at La Cote Basque, but not for a happy chat. Lee joins in telling Slim to stop attacking Truman. Lee points out Truman is a sick and unhappy man who is doing a fine job of destroying himself. Slim says she's only doing it to avenge Babe. But, Lee calls her out for sleeping with Babe's husband. She tells Slim to stop attacking Truman to assuage her guilt, and to stop sleeping with Bill. Slim agrees, reluctantly.
Making peace
When Truman comes home from treatment, Jack has cleaned the apartment, removed all the alcohol and done everything he can to help Truman stay sober. Truman appreciates Jack has stood by him and not left him. Jack tells Truman he's not sure why, but Truman is just the most important person in his life.
In a rare moment of togetherness, Bill and Babe, in her pajamas, talk in her sitting room. Bill puts on the Perry Como "It's Impossible" record and asks Babe to dance with him. Babe tells him it's good practice because he's taking her to Truman's ball, explaining she's too close to the end not to forgive Truman. She also tells Bill to marry Slim after she's gone, indicating she knows about their affair.
Jack comes into the apartment talking about the invitation samples he picked up for Truman. Sadly, he finds Truman drunk and in bed with John. The next day Truman gets a surprise visitor, John's daughter Kerry O'Shea (Ella Beatty). She wants Truman to be her mentor. He agrees to help her.
The next day, Babe is standing in front of a shop window when Truman comes up to her. They chat lightly, but there is a heavy undercurrent of forgiveness that is unsaid. They hug tightly for a long moment. As Babe leaves she turns and blows him a kiss.
Feud: Capote vs the Swans airs new episodes weekly on FX. All episodes are available the next day on Hulu in the US.
