Ep 3. Work

Tara (Toni Collette), a suburban housewife and mother-of-two who suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID), continues to struggle with her multiple personalities in episode 3 of United States Of Tara. The episode, titled "Work," revolves around Tara's difficulty in finding and maintaining a job due to her uncontrollable alters.

At the start of the episode, Tara's husband Max (John Corbett) encourages her to attend a job fair in hopes of finding a suitable job. However, Tara's anxiousness of switching personalities in an unfamiliar setting makes her hesitant to go. Nonetheless, Max convinces her to attend, and she reluctantly goes dressed in a conservative business suit.

At the job fair, Tara meets a recruiter from a marketing firm named Jackie (Viola Davis). Jackie takes a liking to Tara, and Tara's sweet and submissive personality, Alice, comes out during their conversation. Jackie offers her a job interview, and Tara leaves feeling hopeful.

During the interview, Tara's aggressive and vulgar alter, Buck, emerges, and he flips over the interviewer's desk, sends papers flying, and threatens him with a stapler. Buck also leaves a crude note for the interviewer on his computer which tarnishes Tara's chance of getting the job.

Meanwhile, Tara's daughter, Kate (Brie Larson), gets a job at a department store with the help of her grandmother, Max's mother. Kate's job teaches her about independence, and she starts to feel the need to move out of the house and become self-sufficient.

Tara's other alter, T, who is a chain-smoking teenager, starts to feel left out and unneeded amidst the job search chaos. She decides to skip school and hang out with her friends, which leads to her getting her nose pierced.

Tara's job search takes a turn when her former high school teacher, Evan (Matthew Del Negro), offers her a job as a teacher's aide at their alma mater. Tara takes the job and starts working alongside Evan, who she develops a crush on.

Throughout the episode, Tara's alters continuously create complications, making her job hunt challenging. However, the episode ends with Tara feeling relieved that she was finally able to obtain a job that could accommodate her DID.

"Work" highlights the obstacles that those with DID face when trying to find a job. It also showcases the impact that DID has on the lives of the multiple alters and those around them. The episode portrays the importance of finding understanding and support from loved ones when coping with this disorder.