Halt and Catch Fire S1E4 - "Close to the Metal" Recap

Joe announces to everyone that he's having a reporter come in to write about Cardiff Electric's computer program. When the reporter comes, there's a power surge and all of Cameron's code that she had been working on had been deleted. She hadn't backed up a large amount of her work, too. When Gordon and the others check the backup disks she had been keeping, they're found to be useless, apparently erased by magnetic interference from the music she blasts through her speakers while working. Cameron is distraught, tensions are high, and the reporter just sits back watching the drama unfold.

Donna comes in to work with Gordon while Cameron is moping after this disaster. She's technically brilliant so she starts giving advise to all the men in the office about working on the hard-drive. Cameron offers to look after their daughters while they work but then she learns from them that Donna and Gordon have been calling her white trash and laughing at her. She then goes into Donna's purse and learns their address. She goes over ready to trash their place but ends up stopped by their drunken neighbour who has broken in with a shotgun, ready to shoot up the place.

Donna is able to recover most of the data, about 93%. She then finds some floppies on Joe's desk and determines that Joe orchestrated the whole debacle in order to sell an interesting story and get the company some publicity. Joe has no guilt for what he's done and he tells Donna that Cameron will get over it and perhaps learn to be more careful. He tells her she would be wise not to say anything about what he has done, lest it interfere with everyone's productivity.

Cameron returns to work and we don't see how she did it but she managed to get the mad neighbour to back off and decides not to damage Gordon and Donna's belongings.

Then we see Joe pulled over for apparently speeding but he's pulled out of the car when he goes to reach for his license and beat up by some hick officers. He's hauled into the station and eventually released.

Donna and Gordon return home and put their children to bed. Donna tells Gordon about what Joe has done and he's not all that bothered by it, simply asking if it worked and if the reporter will in fact write the story. Donna ends up being put on probation by her boss because of the day of work she skipped. We can only wonder if it's a matter of time before she's no longer an employee there but a member of the Cardiff team with Joe, Gordon, and Cameron.

Halt and Catch Fire airs on Sundays on AMC at 10PM.