Aahana Swrup
In ‘Unstable’ season 2, the dysfunctional duo, billionaire Ellis Dragon and Jackson, his son who’s tired of living in his genius father’s shadows, return with an equally—if not more—complicated home life. In the aftermath of Ellis’ rash actions in season 1, the man finds himself looking for a possible replacement for himself as the future of his biotechnology company. However, the obvious candidate—the Dragon family heir—wants to strike out on his own, creating inevitable friction. Naturally, the father-son duo bring their differences out of the office and to their home as well, where Leslie awaits them as a seemingly permanent fixture. Thus, the third man’s abnormal yet weirdly domestic addition to Ellis’ life invites questions about the pair’s relationship. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Leslie: Ellis’ Therapist-Turned-Accidental-Hostage
Throughout the show, Leslie’s relationship with Ellis undergoes various turns, starting off as his company-mandated therapist, who must evaluate the CEO’s mental health. However, due to Ellis’ rather manic state, the evaluation unsurprisingly comes out to be unfavorable for him. Although he attempts to bribe the therapist at first, the latter ends up demanding even more money. For the same reason, the billionaire kidnaps Leslie, keeping him in his basement. However, things somehow turn even weirder when, after being released as a hostage, Leslie becomes a willing addition to the Dragon household.
As it turns out, Leslie has recently undergone a separation from his wife. Therefore, since he enjoyed Ellis’ company—and hospitality so much, he decides to simply return to his house to continue living under his roof. Ellis’ own eclectic nature allows him to accept Leslie as a somewhat permanent houseguest/nuisance. From there, the duo’s idiosyncratic friendship flourishes until the billionaire finally decides to kick Leslie out of his house for his loud, late-night parties.
Leslie: The Backstabbing Couch Surfer
After Leslie is removed from the Dragon household, the man takes great offense and decides to betray Ellis by partnering with his ill-wisher, Jean. The woman is a board member at Dragon who pretends to be the CEO’s friend while plotting his demise in the shadows. Thus, once he kicks his therapist out of the house, Leslie finds an ally—but mostly a spare room—with Jean. She is willing to let the man crash at her house if he shares the story of his momentary kidnapping with the other board members to solidify Ellis’ instability.
Nonetheless, the solution to the problem remains simple, even if someone only arrives at it at the last second. Minutes before the climactic board meeting that would seal Ellis’ fate, Jackson comes up with the idea to buy Leslie back to their side by offering him permanent residence at the Dragon household. Consequently, the therapist—who has always been after only one thing, a place to crash—readily agrees and denies any kidnapping claims. Therefore, Leslie ends Season 1 with a no-holds-barred invitation to stay at Ellis’ home and takes advantage of it to the fullest in Season 2.
Leslie: Ellis’ Perpetual Roommate/In-House Therapist
Due to Jackson’s previous offer of letting Leslie be a permanent guest at the Dragon residence in exchange for his silence in the Season 1 finale, the therapist almost adopts the role of a third member in the Dragon family. Furthermore, his friendship with Ellis progresses, heightened by the newfound domesticity of their dynamic as roommates. As such, Leslie remains a third wheel of the central father-son dynamic this season without any proper explanation.
By this point, Leslie has simply become an unavoidable part of Ellis’ life that he cannot get rid of even if he wanted. Fortunately enough, Ellis doesn’t seem to mind his company and usually enjoys their relationship—however unconventional it may be. Moreover, the duo takes their partnership up a notch as the season comes to an end by attempting to open a University, Ellis U, together. Weirder still, once it became evident that the idea was going nowhere, the pair dropped it for a new one: Ellis’ presidential campaign. Thus, fans can expect Leslie to become a campaigner for Ellis in the potential future season—at least for a little while—before he inevitably returns to his tenured position as an in-house therapist.
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