10 Episodes
Short on time? Here's the essentials:
In 1993, Joe MacMillan, a visionary tech entrepreneur, obsesses over cataloging the burgeoning internet, while his former partner, Cameron Howe, struggles with the failure of their past ventures. Gordon Clark, Joe's friend and business partner, navigates personal and professional challenges, and Donna Emerson, Gordon's ex-wife and a tech executive, works on a search engine. The core premise revolves around their attempts to build and define the future of the internet.
The central conflict ignites when Joe and Cameron reunite, their strained relationship tested by past failures. They eventually collaborate on a new search engine called Comet, alongside Gordon and Donna. Key turning points include Cameron secretly fixing a rival company's algorithm, leading to significant consequences, and the sudden death of Gordon, which deeply impacts everyone.
The season concludes with the collapse of Comet after a major competitor secures a crucial partnership. Joe transitions to teaching, Donna embraces a leadership role, and Cameron and Donna, having rediscovered their friendship, plan a new, ambitious project, signifying a move towards new beginnings.
Season 4 of Halt and Catch Fire covers episodes 1-10. Here's everything that happened:
Season 4, Episode 1: So It Goes - The episode jumps to 1993, three years after the browser project began. Cameron is in Japan, distant, while Joe obsessively catalogs websites. Gordon celebrates his 40th, and Donna's firm works on a search engine. Joe conceives a website directory. Cameron and Joe reunite, strained by the browser's failure. Donna begins to pursue indexing the entire web.
Season 4, Episode 2: Signal to Noise - Cameron reveals her divorce to Joe, leading to an extended phone call where they reconnect and discuss their lives. Meanwhile, Gordon struggles with CalNect's bandwidth issues due to unlimited access. Donna faces workplace challenges as a new partner undermines her authority. Joe travels to Japan to be with Cameron. The episode concludes with Joe arriving at Cameron's hotel room.
Season 4, Episode 3: Miscellaneous - Cameron promotes her game at a conference, facing Donna in an awkward exchange. Joe and Gordon sell CalNect and invest in Haley's search engine, Comet. Cameron struggles with her game review and throws away Tom's belongings. The episode concludes with Haley beginning to work with Joe and Gordon on Comet.
Season 4, Episode 4: Tonya and Nancy - Cameron, feeling adrift, buys land and an Airstream. Joe and Gordon hire "web surfers" for Comet. Donna confronts Bos about his debts and tensions rise at Rover. Cameron secretly helps Rover with their algorithm, leading to Series A funding. The episode concludes with Donna suspecting outside help.
Season 4, Episode 5: Nowhere Man - Donna suspects Rover's algorithm and confronts Bosworth, leading to a heart attack. Cameron confesses to Joe that she fixed Rover's code and declares her love. Tom visits Cameron with divorce papers. Gordon burns his journals monitoring his illness. The episode concludes with Donna playing Cameron's game.
Season 4, Episode 6: A Connection is Made - Donna's professional life spirals as Diane discovers Cameron wrote Rover's algorithm, leading to Donna's removal from the project. Gordon confronts Haley about her failing grades, forbidding her from Comet. Cameron signs away her rights to the algorithm and finds a fan site dedicated to her work. The episode concludes with Cameron setting up her internet connection in the Airstream, ready to begin a new project, while Gordon realizes Haley's friend Vanessa has the same tattoo as Haley's rocket design.
Season 4, Episode 7: Who Needs a Guy - Joe and Gordon debate Comet's future direction after Donna shares insights about Rover. Cameron works on a new game, facing creative challenges. Bos and Diane get married. The episode concludes with the sudden and unexpected death of Gordon, discovered by Katie, leaving Donna devastated.
Season 4, Episode 8: Goodwill - The episode explores the immediate aftermath of Gordon's death, with the characters gathering to pack up his house. A flashback reveals a fight between young Gordon and Donna about their future. Joe steals a bag from Goodwill to retrieve Haley's keepsake sweater. Donna and Cameron reconnect, acknowledging their shared grief and lost friendship. The episode concludes with the group sharing a meal together.
Season 4, Episode 9: Search - Donna faces a career crossroads while Joanie travels abroad. Joe unveils Comet's new look, but Yahoo poses a threat. Cameron is asked to optimize Comet for Netscape. Cameron breaks up with Joe, realizing the "thing" was always her.
Season 4, Episode 10: Ten of Swords - Comet shuts down after Netscape chooses Yahoo! as its search provider. Joe closes Comet and becomes a humanities teacher. Donna considers her future, ultimately deciding to accept the managing partner position at her firm. Cameron and Donna envision a future project, "Phoenix," realizing their friendship is most important. The episode concludes with everyone moving forward.
