Eleanor defies her guests and sits with the isolated Mary at Sara Roosevelt's women's luncheon.

Eleanor and Mary bond over their shared dedication to education and equal rights for women.

Franklin Roosevelt wins New York's governor race, and Herbert Hoover wins the presidency.

Eleanor confronts a hotel manager to force him to seat her and Mary at a segregated DC tearoom.

Eleanor reaches across the racial divide and grasps Mary's hand after learning about recent lynchings.

Eleanor presumptuously assumes Mary will join Franklin's presidential campaign, and Mary calls her out.

Franklin Roosevelt wins the presidential election and is sworn in as president.

Eleanor and Mary spend an entire day together drafting their shared goals for racial equality.

Mary shows Eleanor photographs of George Armwood's brutally lynched body.

Eleanor accompanies Mary to the NAACP headquarters, meets Walter White, and joins the organization.

Mary accepts a federal appointment to the National Youth Administration's advisory committee.

Eleanor calls Mary the First Lady of the Struggle at a national conference and shakes her hand publicly.

Eleanor places her chair directly between the segregated white and Black sections at an Alabama conference.

Franklin signs an executive order guaranteeing full equality in military and defense jobs.

Eleanor and Mary take their seats together as a unified force at the United Nations conference.

Eleanor and Mary's extraordinary friendship begins at a 1927 women's luncheon when Eleanor defies social norms to sit beside the only Black woman in the room. Over the following years, they build a powerful alliance that spans Franklin's rise from governor to president, working together toward shared goals including anti-lynching legislation, Black appointments in government, and equal rights. Their friendship becomes increasingly public and politically impactful, from Eleanor joining the NAACP to giving her famous speech calling Mary the First Lady of the Struggle. Together they challenge the segregated South at an Alabama conference and push Franklin to sign a landmark executive order guaranteeing military equality. Their decades-long partnership culminates at the United Nations, where both women take their seats as unified forces for peace and human rights on the world stage.

The headline moments of Eleanor and Mary's friendship and civil rights journey.

Sara Roosevelt approaches Mary at the luncheon and chats warmly about their shared experiences in Europe.

Mr. Gamble hosts a lavish party at his estate celebrating twenty years of partnership with Mary's school.

Eleanor relaxes at Val-Kill Cottage with close friends Marion Dickerman and Nan Cook.

Mary campaigns in Florida for Herbert Hoover and listens to election results on the radio with her family.

Mary chastises a train conductor who repeatedly calls her Auntie rather than using her proper title.

Eleanor suspects President Hoover is deliberately making Franklin stand too long at a White House state dinner.

Mary discusses Eleanor's presumptuous campaign pitch with her friend Mary Church Terrell over a meal.

Eleanor drives Mary to a YWCA meeting and Mary misunderstands why Eleanor is carrying a gun.

Franklin appoints a white man named Clark Foreman to lead the federal office for Negro affairs, angering Mary.

Sara Roosevelt uses maternal guilt to force Franklin to hear Walter White's anti-lynching plea in the White House.

Eleanor and Mary tour a powerful anti-lynching art exhibit hosted by the NAACP in New York City.

Franklin privately tells Eleanor he wants to create a special NYA division and asks Mary to lead it.

A hostile crowd of white people gathers outside Mary's window while Eleanor dines with her at home.

Eleanor secretly attends Marian Anderson's historic Lincoln Memorial concert despite active death threats.

Eleanor and Mary visit the Tuskegee Army base and Eleanor flies in a plane piloted by Charles Anderson.

Behind the headline-making partnership of Eleanor and Mary are numerous vital events that shaped their friendship and the course of their activism. From the very beginning, their separate worlds are shown in rich detail — from Val-Kill Cottage to the Gamble Estate celebrations — revealing the different lives these women led and what drew them together. As their friendship deepens, they navigate escalating challenges, including the political resistance to anti-lynching efforts and the racial hostility that follows Eleanor's choices. Their determination surfaces in moments of quiet courage, whether Mary demanding respect from a disrespectful train conductor, Eleanor suspecting Hoover of deliberate cruelty, or both women turning a threatening crowd into an opportunity for positive press. The pool closes with some of their most triumphant achievements, including the anti-lynching art exhibit, Mary's NYA appointment, and Eleanor's historic flight with the Tuskegee Airmen.

The supporting moments and milestones behind Eleanor and Mary's alliance.

Lorena Hickok gives Eleanor a sapphire ring and confesses her love; Eleanor asks for time to consider.

Mary's grandson Albert Jr. is harassed and called racial slurs after sneaking onto a whites-only beach.

Eleanor and Mary confide about their husbands' infidelities; Mary advises Eleanor to forgive so she can heal.

Eleanor shows Franklin photographs of George Armwood's lynching; he is moved and promises to act.

Franklin refuses to support the anti-lynching bill, fearing Southern Democrats will block his entire New Deal.

Eleanor battles Steve Woodburn and Franklin over her right to attend the NAACP National Conference.

Mary spends the night at Hyde Park as a Roosevelt guest, shocking her fellow committee members.

Eleanor confides her romantic feelings for Hick to Mary at Hyde Park; Mary encourages her to seek love.

Mary formally switches her political affiliation from Republican to Democrat to support Franklin's reelection.

Mary presents her Blue Book of Black citizens' plights to Franklin; Steve Woodburn secretly blocks the follow-up meeting.

Steve Woodburn attacks a Black police officer outside a campaign event, forcing Franklin to retract his segregation statement.

Eleanor falls into deep depression after a series of devastating losses; Mary visits and helps revive her spirit.

Mary reveals to Eleanor that the FBI is investigating her as a potential Communist threat.

Franklin dies suddenly and Eleanor grieves at his funeral with Mary's support at her side.

Eleanor learns Franklin was with Lucy Mercer when he died but chooses to forgive and honor his legacy.

Beneath the public activism of Eleanor and Mary's friendship lie deeply personal turning points that shaped both women profoundly. Eleanor's awakening romance with Lorena Hickok, the women's shared confessions about unfaithful husbands, and Mary's quiet encouragement are all moments of vulnerability that strengthened their bond. The political landscape forced constant difficult decisions, from Franklin's refusal to back the anti-lynching bill to Mary switching political parties to fully support the Roosevelts. Setbacks mounted — the FBI's investigation of Mary, Eleanor's paralyzing depression, and Steve Woodburn's persistent obstruction — but each time the women found a path forward together. By Franklin's death, Eleanor had followed Mary's long-given counsel to forgive, and when the full truth of Lucy Mercer emerged, she chose grace over bitterness. These turning points reveal the emotional depth beneath the women's activism and the personal transformation each achieved through their friendship.

The personal breakthroughs and pivotal decisions that transformed Eleanor and Mary.