Metal Hurlant Chronicles (2012) s01e01 Episode Script
King's Crown
Narrator: The last fragment of a once-living planet.
Its body blasted into dust by the madness of its own inhabitants, while its head was cursed to roam aimlessly through time and space, screaming in pain and in sorrow.
In legend and in fact, it is known as Metal Hurlant.
The king is dying.
And the drones are looking for the new master.
They strive to keep him alive till someone new wins the tournament.
And I will be the one to win.
( grunts ) I'll chop you into pieces and throw each piece over the edge, one by one.
( crowd clamor ) You think you're more worthy than me? I know I am.
Have mercy.
Mercy, mercy! Like you'd show me any.
By rite of the tournament, held here on the king's grounds, where last man standing takes it all, kingdom and crown.
Interview mode engaged.
For the benefit of the viewer, brave serf, state your name.
I am Guillame, of the Thuram Township.
Tell them, Guillame, why do you want to be king? We have lost sight of who we are.
Our will, our drive, and our identity.
The kingdom has grown stale.
But it wasn't always this way.
I want to turn things around.
Return peace and technology to the villages and the townships.
I want to make a difference.
Quit your yapping and do some fighting.
( horn blasts ) Session's over, fortunate for you.
Well, it looks like I'm not your only fan anymore.
Maybe I should teach this Teague some manners.
Just like you taught me, when we first met.
Come on.
Let's go to the banquet and listen to all these mighty warriors.
( laughing ) ( chatter ) My fellow players, as we put our hostilities to one side and boisterous excess becomes the order of what remains of the day, I, Teague of Landau, beg of you for a few moments of your time.
Let me tell you about the king beyond the royal propaganda.
He has grown corpulent on the tributes he demands so regularly from us, a poverty-stricken population.
A constant supply of food, women and drugs he indulges on daily.
I want to be king as proof conclusive that the old man is finally dead.
( crowd booing ) You may want to prove him dead as a king, but you won't, for I shall be the one to send you all to your graves! And once I wear the king's crown, I shall have everyone know that all the hardships you may have endured until now shall pale in comparison to what your days shall look like under my rule.
The rule of King Hudson from Cheshire! I like him.
But fear not, friends, for those who will abide by my rules shall be rewarded with the finest gold and jewelry and more sex slaves and drugs that you could possible handle.
To the king! - To the king! - To the king! Guillame, drink.
No beer.
I'm looking after myself.
Yeah, and either way, we wouldn't be interested.
Fortunate and dry, huh? And I see you have your eye on the empty coronation throne.
How you must long to be seated there.
Aye.
There is a longing inside me, so strong sometimes I fear I cannot breathe for it.
Etched in my mind, it never leaves me.
My ruined township.
I want to make this world a better place.
The king is blind to the miseries of the outside world: At ease in his floating castle, demanding his tributes.
Taking entire crops and leaving us with nothing.
The drones have given me, Guillame of Thuram, a chance to come here and compete.
And I will set things straight once and for all-- Quit the babbling about your past, slum warrior, and let the real fighters enjoy our night! For tomorrow, I myself, will slice open your dead throat and pour down it this rich beverage you so seem to despise! For tonight is our last! Yes.
And of the number who started the day, less than half remain.
For one of us, there waits the ultimate prize.
For the rest of us wretched souls, there's only the fall.
Tomorrow then, we shall have our new king.
( applause ) ( crowd cheers ) Well, if it isn't the one who wants to make the world a better place.
You know nothing of who I am.
You believe so, do you? You should know more than anyone that my kind is what it takes to rule! Aah! How could you possibly believe that your slum township could give birth to the new king? ( laughs mockingly) Behold, your slum king! These are my people and soon they shall be under my rule! ( groans ) You'll never be my king.
My friends, it was not always like this.
All this hardship and misery.
Now it's my turn to teach this one some manners.
Julian, be careful.
I fear he may be more than just talk.
( scoffs ) Centuries ago, the kingdom was a technological utopia.
No one wanted for anything.
It was the king that ended it all.
Asking "What good a kingdom, if not based on sufferance?" Sufferance? I'll ease the suffering of everybody here by shutting you up.
( crowd laughs ) You dare interrupt me.
He made a decree that the kingdom regress from a technological paradise back to a feudal state keeping all the technology for himself.
The king demands his tributes well, here's mine.
( gasping ) ( gurgling ) Now it's time for the real fight.
And now Guillame all the others have taken the fall.
Only you and I are left.
The people need a hero now more than ever.
And if you were to be that hero, you had best do better than this.
You could've been the one.
Never.
For I am the king's bastard son.
One of many scattered across the kingdom.
Conceived on the night he helped himself to my mother whom he discarded shortly thereafter.
And I fear, I too, would bring it all to a smoldering rubble.
Such is the hatred burning a chasm deep inside of my soul.
In my heart, there's no light, no hope for a better world.
Misery runs among my very blood.
But I'm glad to have found you, Guillame.
Long live the new king! ( cheering ) Guillame, you are the last man standing.
And my first act as king is to rid us of this barbaric tournament! If we are to rebuild, we need every man, every woman, and every child! ( cheering ) And let us put some of this technology back to good use for a change! Are you ready? Aye.
I'm ready.
The king is dead.
The chosen one may take place on the throne.
( inhales ) What is this? What's going on? Answer me! I am your king! Soon you will be.
Initiating coronation sequence.
I am your king, I command you to answer me! Stop this, I command you to stop this! ( groans ) ( whirring ) Robot: Transplanting now.
Hunh! Yes.
Good fit.
Hopefully there's a bit more mileage in this one.
Your highness, the people rejoice at the reports of your coronation.
Tributes willingly given flood in to mark this glorious event.
Yes, yes, all in good time.
Your subjects clamor to see your majesty.
I think I'd like to sample some of those tributes first.
( chuckles ) Put this new body to the test.
Yes.
Long live the king!
Its body blasted into dust by the madness of its own inhabitants, while its head was cursed to roam aimlessly through time and space, screaming in pain and in sorrow.
In legend and in fact, it is known as Metal Hurlant.
The king is dying.
And the drones are looking for the new master.
They strive to keep him alive till someone new wins the tournament.
And I will be the one to win.
( grunts ) I'll chop you into pieces and throw each piece over the edge, one by one.
( crowd clamor ) You think you're more worthy than me? I know I am.
Have mercy.
Mercy, mercy! Like you'd show me any.
By rite of the tournament, held here on the king's grounds, where last man standing takes it all, kingdom and crown.
Interview mode engaged.
For the benefit of the viewer, brave serf, state your name.
I am Guillame, of the Thuram Township.
Tell them, Guillame, why do you want to be king? We have lost sight of who we are.
Our will, our drive, and our identity.
The kingdom has grown stale.
But it wasn't always this way.
I want to turn things around.
Return peace and technology to the villages and the townships.
I want to make a difference.
Quit your yapping and do some fighting.
( horn blasts ) Session's over, fortunate for you.
Well, it looks like I'm not your only fan anymore.
Maybe I should teach this Teague some manners.
Just like you taught me, when we first met.
Come on.
Let's go to the banquet and listen to all these mighty warriors.
( laughing ) ( chatter ) My fellow players, as we put our hostilities to one side and boisterous excess becomes the order of what remains of the day, I, Teague of Landau, beg of you for a few moments of your time.
Let me tell you about the king beyond the royal propaganda.
He has grown corpulent on the tributes he demands so regularly from us, a poverty-stricken population.
A constant supply of food, women and drugs he indulges on daily.
I want to be king as proof conclusive that the old man is finally dead.
( crowd booing ) You may want to prove him dead as a king, but you won't, for I shall be the one to send you all to your graves! And once I wear the king's crown, I shall have everyone know that all the hardships you may have endured until now shall pale in comparison to what your days shall look like under my rule.
The rule of King Hudson from Cheshire! I like him.
But fear not, friends, for those who will abide by my rules shall be rewarded with the finest gold and jewelry and more sex slaves and drugs that you could possible handle.
To the king! - To the king! - To the king! Guillame, drink.
No beer.
I'm looking after myself.
Yeah, and either way, we wouldn't be interested.
Fortunate and dry, huh? And I see you have your eye on the empty coronation throne.
How you must long to be seated there.
Aye.
There is a longing inside me, so strong sometimes I fear I cannot breathe for it.
Etched in my mind, it never leaves me.
My ruined township.
I want to make this world a better place.
The king is blind to the miseries of the outside world: At ease in his floating castle, demanding his tributes.
Taking entire crops and leaving us with nothing.
The drones have given me, Guillame of Thuram, a chance to come here and compete.
And I will set things straight once and for all-- Quit the babbling about your past, slum warrior, and let the real fighters enjoy our night! For tomorrow, I myself, will slice open your dead throat and pour down it this rich beverage you so seem to despise! For tonight is our last! Yes.
And of the number who started the day, less than half remain.
For one of us, there waits the ultimate prize.
For the rest of us wretched souls, there's only the fall.
Tomorrow then, we shall have our new king.
( applause ) ( crowd cheers ) Well, if it isn't the one who wants to make the world a better place.
You know nothing of who I am.
You believe so, do you? You should know more than anyone that my kind is what it takes to rule! Aah! How could you possibly believe that your slum township could give birth to the new king? ( laughs mockingly) Behold, your slum king! These are my people and soon they shall be under my rule! ( groans ) You'll never be my king.
My friends, it was not always like this.
All this hardship and misery.
Now it's my turn to teach this one some manners.
Julian, be careful.
I fear he may be more than just talk.
( scoffs ) Centuries ago, the kingdom was a technological utopia.
No one wanted for anything.
It was the king that ended it all.
Asking "What good a kingdom, if not based on sufferance?" Sufferance? I'll ease the suffering of everybody here by shutting you up.
( crowd laughs ) You dare interrupt me.
He made a decree that the kingdom regress from a technological paradise back to a feudal state keeping all the technology for himself.
The king demands his tributes well, here's mine.
( gasping ) ( gurgling ) Now it's time for the real fight.
And now Guillame all the others have taken the fall.
Only you and I are left.
The people need a hero now more than ever.
And if you were to be that hero, you had best do better than this.
You could've been the one.
Never.
For I am the king's bastard son.
One of many scattered across the kingdom.
Conceived on the night he helped himself to my mother whom he discarded shortly thereafter.
And I fear, I too, would bring it all to a smoldering rubble.
Such is the hatred burning a chasm deep inside of my soul.
In my heart, there's no light, no hope for a better world.
Misery runs among my very blood.
But I'm glad to have found you, Guillame.
Long live the new king! ( cheering ) Guillame, you are the last man standing.
And my first act as king is to rid us of this barbaric tournament! If we are to rebuild, we need every man, every woman, and every child! ( cheering ) And let us put some of this technology back to good use for a change! Are you ready? Aye.
I'm ready.
The king is dead.
The chosen one may take place on the throne.
( inhales ) What is this? What's going on? Answer me! I am your king! Soon you will be.
Initiating coronation sequence.
I am your king, I command you to answer me! Stop this, I command you to stop this! ( groans ) ( whirring ) Robot: Transplanting now.
Hunh! Yes.
Good fit.
Hopefully there's a bit more mileage in this one.
Your highness, the people rejoice at the reports of your coronation.
Tributes willingly given flood in to mark this glorious event.
Yes, yes, all in good time.
Your subjects clamor to see your majesty.
I think I'd like to sample some of those tributes first.
( chuckles ) Put this new body to the test.
Yes.
Long live the king!