Great Expectations (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

1
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(INHALES DEEPLY)
(HAMMERING ON METAL)
PIP: "In my stars, I am above thee.
"But be not afraid of greatness.
"Some are born great,
"some achieve greatness,
"and others have greatness
thrust upon them."
(JOE LAUGHS)
Every day, always mumbling
to yourself, Pip.
- It's Shakespeare.
- Oh.
I learn passages by heart
and recite them.
Why would you do that?
Oh, you know, because I can.
And because it helps to pass the time.
And soon, it'll be you hitting
the iron and making the tools.
And then time will pass all by itself,
without the need of mumbling.
SARA: Joe! Pip! Come.
JOE: Dinner time, Pip.
I'll collect up the nails.
SARA: Joe, Pip!
Are you deaf?
Coming, love.
Be quick, Pip.
One farthing saved
SARA: Pip, I say three times!
- PIP: Two farthings saved.
- SARA: Dinner is ready,
- and I'll mince your legs
- Three farthings saved.
for sausages if you don't
get in this second.
I'll lock the door.
(RATS SQUEAKING)
(KEYS JANGLING)
(MAN 1 MOANING IN PAIN)
(MAN 2 COUGHING)
(MAN 3 MUMBLING)
(SCRATCHING NOISE)
GUARD: What is that scratching?
COMPEYSON: What do you think?
It's a rat.
MAGWITCH: The only rat
in your 10 square yards
is you, Compeyson.
You're Lord of the Rats!
Why don't you keep your mad
bloody ravings to yourself?
(MAN COUGHING)
It may amuse your superiors to put me
and my only mortal enemy on this earth
next to each other.
To have to listen to him breathing in
and breathing out all night long
when every muscle and sinew
in my body strains to get on him
and squeeze the last breath out of him
so he will never fucking breathe
a breath ever again!
COMPEYSON: Tell the mad bastard
the inconvenience
of our proximity is mutual.
I'd rather be neighbor
with a burning volcano.
MAGWITCH: Which I am!
- (PUNCHING DOOR)
- I am a volcano!
Burning with injustice.
Because you are the reason
I am here in fucking chains!
GUARD: Well, you two
better get used to it.
You're gonna be side by side,
like sweethearts,
all the way to Australia.
MAGWITCH: You garbage rat!
(MAGWITCH PUNCHING DOOR)
(SCREAMING)
(CRYING)
(GRUNTING, GROANING)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
(SCRATCHING NOISE)
(HITTING FLINT WITH BLADE)
Fire!
Fire on deck!
Come quick! Fire!
Compeyson, you rat!
(PRISONERS SCREAMING)
- Fire!
- MAGWITCH: Guard, this cell!
You'll pay for this, Compeyson!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
I'll kill you, Compeyson.
I'll kill you.
(GRUNTING)
(PRISONERS SCREAMING)
MAGWITCH: Open the door!
Let me out.
Hey.
Open the fucking door.
COMPEYSON: I didn't really like
the sound of Australia.
I think I'll go to London
and pay a visit to your wife.
(SCREAMING)
Burn in hell, Magwitch.
(SCREAMING)
No!
No! No!
No!
No!
No! No! No!
(SCREAMING)
(PRISONERS SCREAMING)
(YELLING)
No, please don't!
(PRISONERS SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)
- MAN 1: Stop him!
- MAN 2: Prisoners aboard!
(GASPING, PANTING)
(GRUNTING)
(CHAINS CLANKING)
(PANTING)
(INDISTINCT MUTTERING)
- (CHAINS CLANKING)
- (PANTING)
SARA: Boots!
Treading mud all through the house.
The ground is frozen.
How can there be mud?
The water and the mud freezes
and makes it hard.
SARA: What's this?
Decorations. For Christmas. I
I thought they looked nice.
Joe, the boy here is implying
that there is something lacking
in the way I decorate
our house for the season.
And look, he's been bold enough
to provide a remedy.
Berries are not even Christian.
Hands.
There are some in the village who say
that bringing berries into the house
is summoning the Devil himself.
So, it's the Devil himself
you're inviting into our home,
is it, Pip? Just in time for Christmas.
No, that was not my express intention.
Oh, Joe. The boy uses words
longer than himself these days.
JOE: Yes, Pip?
You should cut your words in half.
It's all them books they keep
giving him at that school.
Or cut them into quarters.
SARA: Words coming out of his ears.
Just say yes or no.
Why would I ever dare say "no"?
(CHUCKLES)
(BANGS DISH ON TABLE)
Youse two are always whispering.
How many nails did you save?
SARA: Hmm.
You get room, and board, and lodgings,
all for saving seven nails?
Well, I would say that is
a very good exchange for you.
And a very poor one for us.
JOE: Oh, well, now.
(GASPS) Oh!
(SARA SCOFFS)
Yes, Joe. I made a drop of sauce
on account of it nearly being Christmas.
No, Sara. You made it on account
of all your harsh words.
You see, you speak your goodness
through your savory sauces.
Pip,
untangle the ingredients,
and you'll find love in there,
amongst the sage and parsley.
(SCOFFS) No parsley in there.
It's nettle.
I mean, I do what I can
with what I've got,
which isn't much.
And if it wasn't for my harsh words,
you two would be sitting around
this cottage all day long idle
like them potatoes there
in that steaming pot.
Yes, Joe.
You are one large potato.
She's right, Joe. You look
just like a large potato.
- (PIP CHUCKLES)
- (JOE LAUGHS)
(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)
Got me as daft as the two of you.
(LOUD CANNON BOOM)
Sounds like one
of the devils has escaped.
- (DOGS BARKING)
- (MEN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
(PANTING)
GUARD: He's alive.
(MAN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)
(GASPING)
Damn you, Compeyson.
(LOUD CANNON BOOM)
Well, if any convicted cutter of throats
bound for Australia diverts
and comes to our door
He would soon regret it if it was you
who opened the door, my love.
Spiders as big as cats in Australia.
Snakes the length of rivers.
But nothing so fierce as Sara
with a soup spoon. (CHUCKLES)
Would any convict
come all the way up here
from the river?
JOE: Won't get far on a night like this.
Probably frozen stiff already.
Good. Because I have to go
and see Mum and Dad.
Now, Pip, that might not be wise
with the cannons barking, huh?
I'm not afraid of a frozen man.
I will go and be back
before seven o'clock.
I believe Joe just said it's not wise.
When Joe is finished,
dinner is finished,
so dinner's finished,
so bring your plate.
PIP: But it's Christmas Eve.
SARA: Joe just said It's not wise.
Now, I said that dinner is finished.
So, you will stay indoors, Pip,
and you will bring your plate.
It is a short walk. I'm happy
myself with the wisdom of going.
He is happy himself, himself decides.
PIP: Yes, I have decided.
I'll go and see my parents.
JOE: Now, no need
for that old thing, Sara.
- (CANE SLAMS AGAINST DOOR)
- Need for it,
because even though
I'm 20 years his senior,
my little brother has long words
and I have short words.
But the tickler will have the last word.
I would have gone earlier,
but I was busy
saving you four farthings,
picking up in there.
- (CANE SLAMS DOWN)
- (CANON BOOMS)
JOE: Pip, don't you hear that?
SARA: Well, Joe.
Tell the boy the next one
is for his bare back.
JOE: Pip, it's out of love.
Is that what this is, Joe? Love?
Written on my back
ever since she took me in.
There is a madman on the marshes.
There is a boy gone wild in my kitchen!
JOE: Brother and sister should
not stare at each other so.
- Indeed, they should not.
- JOE: Please, Pip.
In this season of goodwill
(DOOR SHUTS)
You beat that boy again,
he will be gone.
When my knees fail and my back breaks,
who will work the forge
and put food on the table?
He brought red berries into the house.
The devil will come.
(GRUNTING)
(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
JOE: Goodnight, Pip.
Goodnight, Joe.
- (FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
- (DOOR SHUTS)
(WIND HOWLING)
(LOUD CANNON BOOM)
Goddamnit.
Mum.
Dad.
Little ones.
It's Christmas tomorrow.
Another year gone.
Since last year, it feels
like I've grown ten years, not one.
This place more and more is Hell.
My heart wants freedom.
It's a big world.
(GRUNTING)
In Hell is where you'll
find yourself, boy.
In Hell itself.
Who were you talking to?
My mother and father.
My brothers and sisters.
(GRUNTING)
They're the lucky ones
who parted this life
before it could twist their guts
and burn their brains
and corrode their bellies.
- (LOUD CANNON BOOM)
- (GRUNTS)
I am guessing you are the cause
of the cannons.
MAGWITCH: One of the causes.
There are two causes
out on these marshes tonight.
One's a lost cause,
the other a just cause.
Which are you?
(GRUNTS) You're
a bold little boy, aren't you?
Now, you hear me, little boy.
I'm a Christian soul.
I'm in need of help,
and you're going to give it to me!
I'm an animal and my belly's empty.
You You want food?
I have some bread in my pocket.
Give me the bread.
Give me the food.
(GRUNTING)
(MOANING)
(BITES INTO A NAIL, SPITS)
A fucking nail.
Are you trying to choke me, boy?
I'm sorry. I saved some nails.
I work in a blacksmith's shop.
My sister is married to a blacksmith.
MAGWITCH: Come here.
You live in a blacksmith shop,
so I know exactly where to find you.
Do you understand me?
Well, here's what you're going
to do, blacksmith boy.
You're going to meet me at
the twisted trees on the marsh.
You know them?
Well, you're going
to meet me there at first light.
You're going to bring me food and drink.
And strong drink, for the cold.
Oh, and you go to the blacksmith shop,
and you're going to take
a metal file and pinchers.
And you're going to bring
all of this to me.
Well, now you do as you're told,
and I'll spare your life.
If you decide to turn me over,
if you decide to turn me over,
I'll find you, and your sister,
and your blacksmith,
and there'll be three more gravestones
set beside these ones.
You understand?
Go on. Go.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(LOUD CANNON BOOM)
(PANTING)
(DOGS BARKING DISTANTLY)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
Don't let me down, boy.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
SARA: Out of love.
Hello?
Hello?
Food. (GRUNTING) Food.
(MOANING IN PLEASURE)
I brought you what I could.
No nails this time.
So, you're not going to turn me over?
You're the blacksmith, boy.
While I'm eating, cut my shackles.
Did you see another wearing
similar jewelry on his legs?
No, I saw no one.
Good.
The other is your friend?
This is my breakfast.
I catch the other, it will be his heart,
raw and bloody I'll eat for my dinner.
Why do you want to kill him?
You'll learn when you grow.
Some men are as dark and dirty
and cold as this marsh.
You get lost in their lives
like you get lost
in these ditches and streams.
What's your name, boy?
What's your name?
Pip.
(DOGS BARKING)
Give me the file, Pip.
Boy, you better run. Save your skin.
Go on, go home! Go on!
Go!
Thank you, Pip.
COMPEYSON: I heard voices in the fog.
One of them was his.
I left him for dead on the boat.
Is he still shackled?
Who?
You lie badly.
I heard sawing among the voices.
(PANTING)
Come then, my old friend.
Come for me, Magwitch.
And let us end our merry dance.
- (CHURCH BELL TOLLS)
- (CHOIR SINGING)
Shit.
CHORUS:
Comfort and joy
Oh, tidings of comfort And joy ♪
Where the hell have you been?
Watch your language, Joe.
We're in God's house.
We thought you'd been murdered
or run away to America.
Where have you been?
Since I couldn't go and see
Mum and Dad in the dark,
- I went at first light.
- Joe, this child
I brought you these, sister,
to say sorry for
the harsh words last night.
I know how much you like flowers.
The most Christian flowers
without berries that I could find.
(CONGREGATION SITTING DOWN)
(CLEARS THROAT)
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Mrs. Gargery,
the aromas coming from this room
are most provoking.
JOE: In a good way, Mr. Pumblechook?
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: In an excellent way.
MR. WOPSLE: One day,
I will steal the recipe
for her meat sauce.
We were talking only yesterday
about those very ingredients,
and Pip and me decided
the most important ingredient was love.
Didn't we, Pip?
We did, Joe.
JOE: Pip, take the coats.
SARA: As well as the sauce,
I have an extra special treat
for us today,
which I made myself by hand.
It's a savory pork pie.
Made from pastry light as a linnet,
I baked it especially for today.
Took me three days
to gather the ingredients,
some sent all the way from London.
We will eat it
between dinner and pudding.
Pip.
Fetch a sprig of rosemary
from the garden.
Yes, sister.
Shit. Shit.
Shit.
Merry Christmas, Pip.
Biddy, what are you doing here?
Walking home from church, the long way.
Why?
To reduce the amount of time
I must spend
with the guests we have
for Christmas dinner.
I hate Christmas.
I hate this Christmas.
Is everything all right?
I'm a condemned man.
Condemned? For what?
Theft, aiding an escaped convict,
drinking brandy.
Pip, you read so many adventure books
that bits of them come out your
mouth without you knowing it.
If I had two guineas in my pocket
instead of two pennies, I would
What would you do?
I would remove my shackles and be gone.
SARA: Oh, Pip, my love.
Move your arse, boy.
Merry Christmas, Biddy.
Merry Christmas, Mrs. Gargery.
So
to the gallows.
See you in school, Pip.
MR. WOPSLE: Today's sermon was
another typical example
of how our reverend always
chooses the easy, the obvious.
"Thou shalt not this,
"thou shalt not that,
thou shalt not steal"
Now, I I am a humble church clerk,
but if the church would be opened out,
my voice would ring like a bell.
Pip, why are you not eating?
MR. WOPSLE: And on Christmas Day,
my subject would be pigs.
Pigs, Mr. Wopsle?
MR. WOPSLE: Yes, pigs. You see?
With one word,
I already have your attention.
Eat your potatoes, Pip.
MR. WOPSLE: The sermon
I would have given
would have been about the fate
of those who are gluttonous.
A fiery warning against gluttony.
PIP: And inspired by this
pronouncement against gluttony,
I will abstain from finishing my meal.
(LAUGHING)
Oh, I swear, half the words he uses,
he makes up on the spot.
Are you not well, Pip?
No, I'm not.
Perhaps I should go and get some air.
SARA: There's plenty of air
in this room.
We have people.
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: And besides,
Pip, you can't leave just yet.
- I have some news.
- SARA: What news?
Excellent news, Mrs. Gargery.
As a successful chandler
and seed merchant,
I have dealings with those
fortunate enough to live uptown,
as well as those who are
unfortunate enough to live here.
Downtown.
I am, uh, seen as a bridge
between the two worlds,
a go-between.
You go back and forth over the bridge.
With messages, Mr. Gargery.
From high to low.
There is a lady who lives uptown.
Very far uptown.
None of you will have met her,
yet all of you will have heard of her.
Miss Havisham.
The lady who lives in the haunted house?
(LAUGHTER)
Pip, what with red berries
and hauntings?
What's become of you?
And what business does
she have with our Pip?
Thirteen years ago,
Miss Havisham decided
to adopt a baby girl.
Now, Miss Havisham has decided
that this girl needs company.
Someone of a similar age,
but of the opposite sex.
Mr. Pumblechook, she did not use
that awful word, did she?
- MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Sex, yes.
- Oh, this lady.
There is no one from a family
of the girl's own
social standing available.
So, we have decided,
myself and Miss Havisham,
have decided to resort to meritocracy.
- JOE: A new word, Pip.
- Shh!
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Since we can't find a,
uh, boy of the appropriate class,
we've decided to find
the cleverest boy of that age
in the parish.
SARA: And will she pay for the boy?
I mean, money. Will she pay money?
She'll pay a sum to the boy's parents.
And to the go-between, who is
the agent of the agreement.
But, Mr. Pumblechook,
I need Pip in the shop.
SARA: Do go on, Mr. Pumblechook.
How much will she pay?
Mr. Wopsle, you mentioned pigs earlier.
Yes, pigs.
I think this little piglet
will fetch quite a price.
Now, before we begin
the confidential conversation of money,
you mentioned something about
an exceptional savory pork pie.
SARA: Oh! I will fetch the pie.
And the biggest slice
goes to the little piglet.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Very good.
SARA: The biggest slice
for the smartest boy in town.
(BANGING ON DOOR)
All able-bodied men of the parish
are called to do their duty to the King.
Two prisoners have escaped
from the retribution.
We will form a human chain
and sweep the marshes.
- (SAWING)
- (GRUNTING)
(SAWING CONTINUES)
We will form up with an armed soldier
between every four men.
We will walk ten yards apart.
Never mind ten yards.
Pip, you stay close to me.
Joe, there's something
I should tell you.
If it's about this Miss Havisham,
I'll not let them take you, Pip.
I shall need you
in the shop soon enough.
My knees are creaking
even now as I walk.
Got the marshes in my joints.
Joe, it's only partly
about Miss Havisham.
Pip, what is it?
SOLDIER: Hey, you two.
Every man ten yards apart.
- He's not a man, he's a boy.
- SOLDIER: Ten yards, I say.
March on.
(DOG BARKING)
(MEN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
- (GRUNTING)
- (SCREAMING)
- Joe.
- JOE: Yes, Pip?
I don't know about this
arrangement with Miss Havisham,
but
There's one thing I do know, Joe.
I don't want to take over
the blacksmith shop
and be a blacksmith.
I don't.
I can't.
I'm sorry, Joe.
(MEN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
(SCREAMS)
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
(YELLING)
(SCREAMS)
(GRUNTING)
MAN: There they are!
SOLDIER 1: Take them back to the hulks.
And keep them apart.
I want it put on record
that that mad bastard Magwitch
tried to murder me.
The only record I care for
is the one God keeps.
This one's got free of his leg irons.
Oi, how did you get free?
Eh?
- (GRUNTS IN PAIN)
- How did you get free?
(PANTING)
Last night (PANTING)
I broke into a blacksmith's shop.
I stole a file and some pinchers.
And while I was at it,
from the house I stole a pork pie,
and some bread, and some brandy.
SOLDIER: Let's go.
(MAGWITCH GRUNTING)
(DOGS BARKING)
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Pip,
there are some things
that we must discuss
about Miss Havisham.
(WAVES CRASHING)
(COUGHING)
(CHILDREN PLAYING)
(BIRD CAWING)
(BELL TOLLING)
PIP: Biddy.
Do you remember when we used to compete
to collect the most kindling
to light the fire?
BIDDY: I remember.
But soon, you will forget everything.
Biddy, it is one morning a week.
It is a window.
A small window,
but you will crawl through it.
And I'm happy for you.
You don't look happy.
Everyone says the lady is very strange.
It will be the girl
you will be with, Pip.
Biddy, it's a simple
financial arrangement.
This very rich and strange
old lady has offered to pay
for every visit I make to her house.
- How much?
- I don't know yet.
A lot, I think.
But I'll give most of it to Joe.
Hopefully, soon, he can retire,
so he won't need me.
And I will be free.
Leave all of this behind.
How wonderful for you.
I'll find gainful employment in London.
I'll support my sister and Joe
from my own income.
You were born a blacksmith.
What gainful employment?
I don't know specifically.
But rather than be a blacksmith,
I'll be someone more resembling
a gentleman.
Biddy, I'm doing a good thing.
So, why are you sad, or angry,
or whatever it is you are?
Pip Gargery.
Clever, odd,
and also completely blind.
JOE: Pip!
Come. They're ready for you.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Seven times four.
PIP: 28.
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Seven times seven.
PIP: 49.
Fourteen
plus seven, plus six,
plus six.
I mean 33.
(HORSE NEIGHS)
I sold you to them
as a prodigy, a genius
like an orchid growing wild
in the filth of a stable.
Don't let us all down, Pip.
Come on.
(RINGS BELL)
So, what is she like?
She's a girl about your age,
well-spoken
- I mean Miss Havisham.
- Oh. Well, in truth,
like almost everybody else,
I've never laid eyes upon her.
She conducts her business
through a Mr. Jaggers.
He's King's counsel.
- And quite an abrupt one at that.
- (RINGS BELL)
(DOOR OPENS)
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: Here she is,
your future companion.
This is him, Miss Estella.
- Estella?
- ESTELLA: Yes.
What of it?
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: This is the boy, Pip.
The boy, Pip, is it?
Very pleased to meet you, ma'am.
- ESTELLA: "Ma'am"?
- Miss.
MR. PUMBLECHOOK:
Like I was saying to the lady,
Pip is a lump of marble
just waiting to be shaped.
With hammer and chisel?
Perhaps I could come in
and introduce him to the lady?
(SCOFFS) Now you're just being silly.
Only the boy will come.
No one else is allowed.
(WHISTLES) Come, boy,
Hurry along.
MR. PUMBLECHOOK: I say, what
time should I collect the boy?
ESTELLA: When we are tired of him.
(UNLOCKING DOOR)
- ESTELLA: Are you scared?
- PIP: Of what?
You mean the ghosts?
ESTELLA: No.
We don't need ghosts here.
Ghosts would be afraid to come.
- (KNOCKS ON DOOR)
- ESTELLA: Mama, the boy is here.
Are you not staying?
(ESTELLA CHUCKLES) Goodness, no.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR CREAKS OPEN)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Hello?
MISS HAVISHAM: Who's there?
PIP: It's Pip, ma'am.
Miss.
Ma'am, Mr. Pumblechook's boy.
MISS HAVISHAM: Let me see you.
Come here.
Look upon me.
Look on what remains of me.
What do I touch, Pip?
- PIP: You touch your heart.
- Yes.
Broken.
What did you say
about your purpose here?
I was told I would
be company for a girl.
Who I have already met.
"Whom" you met.
"Whom", yes.
Ah, yes. Company.
(SIGHS) I remember
my desire for company.
You see, I'm tired, Pip.
Of men and women.
Sometimes, I have sick fantasies
about what I want.
Call Estella.
PIP: Estella.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(WHISPERS) Welcome to eternal winter.
Innocent moments
before the great corruption.
Estella, what do you think of him?
I think he is a common laboring boy
with big boots,
who smells like a stable.
Boy, what do you think of her?
I think she's very
proud.
And pretty?
Yes.
So, a common boy
and a proud, pretty girl.
I want to watch you play.