It turns out not everybody loves a speech.
Margaret Ratliff (Sophie Turner) attempts to lighten the mood with some encouraging words the night before her father Michael Peterson's (Colin Firth) retrial hearing for the murder of his wife Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette) in this exclusive clip from the June 9 finale of HBO Max's The Staircase.
Surrounded by a large group—including siblings Clayton Peterson (Dane DeHaan), Todd Peterson (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Martha Ratliff (Odessa Young) and their father's partner Sophie Brussard (Juliette Binoche)—Margaret pulls out a golden trophy and says "I have a surprise!"
When somebody asks what she's holding, Michael responds sternly, "It's a silly cup that Kathleen and I bought."
Margaret fills up the trophy and begins to give a speech, but her father cuts her off. "No," Michael says, "please don't start with me."
Michael makes an already tense situation even more heightened, but Margaret pushes on and turns the focus to Sophie.
"Sophie, thank you for being there for our dad," she says. "For fighting for him. You never gave up. I don't think my dad would be here if it weren't for you."
Sophie and Michael dated for roughly 13 years from 2004 to 2017. Their relationship, which is chronicled in the series, began while Michael was in prison after being found guilty in his wife Kathleen's murder in 2003. In 2011, Peterson was released from prison and granted a new trial after the judge ruled a prosecution witness gave misleading testimony.
In the penultimate episode of the series, Sophie is seen urging Michael to take an Alford plea—for which a defendant claims their innocence but acknowledges there's enough evidence for a jury to convict—which he eventually does.
Michael's case rose to prominence with a 2004 documentary series about his case, on which Sophie worked as an editor.
The Staircase also stars Parker Posey, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rosemarie DeWitt.
The finale of The Staircase premieres June 9 on HBO Max.