Accused (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

Why'd you do it, Ava?
Can we get just one word for the Herald?
Can you talk about the baby?
She has no comment, okay?
And she can't hear you.
Just let us through.
- Where's the interpreter?
- She's stuck in traffic.
- We need an interpreter. It's the law.
- Yeah, I know!
And if she'd taken the plea
deal, we wouldn't be here.
Right, she'd be in prison.
Look, I, I just
I'm worried the jury
won't find her sympathetic.
Okay?
Juries, uh they they feel
very protective about babies.
Hi!
Hi.
I was grocery shopping.
I just bought a few things.
I have a green juice for you.
It's much healthier than these.
A cookie or two won't hurt.
I know. God, I'm sorry.
I just overthink everything.
If I was carrying my own baby
I would have eaten
all the cookies by now.
Oh it's just so unbearable.
I worked full-time through school,
built a business in a world of men,
stayed married through IVF
but I have this stupid
incompetent cervix
so I can't do the one thing women
are supposed to be able to do.
That clueless teenagers do every day!
Oh, I, I'm sorry. I didn't
She says she was 16 and
she didn't know anything.
She's glad that she can carry your baby.
Um so, I have to go teach.
Oh, of course! We're good.
Right?
He is such a good guy.
I know this must be weird for him.
Can I?
I just
I want her to hear my voice.
I want her to know me.
You know, I'm afraid
that when she gets here
she won't know me.
You know?
Oh! What a kick!
Hi, little one!
I'm here! I'm your mama!
Oh, I can't wait to meet you!
Yeah. She takes after you!
Let me make you some lunch!
Oh, is that?
Oh, Ava!
Hey! What's goin' on? I'm just workin'.
Get your ass to the hospital!
We're havin' a baby!
Oh, my God! We're havin'
a baby! Okay. Whoo!
- Push, Ava! Push!
- You got this, Ava!
Oh.
Oh hello.
It's okay.
So, your baby is healthy and strong,
with an excellent Apgar score.
Great color, great heart rate,
great reflexes.
Uh, what about the the hearing thing?
Newborns fail hearing tests
all the time.
For fluid in the ears, for reasons
that aren't significant.
Yeah.
Um, if she can't hear,
it's not because we had
a deaf surrogate, right?
No. No, no.
There might be a genetic component,
but I understand you two
were the gamete providers?
My great-aunt Margo was deaf.
Oh! Then we'll definitely
want to follow up.
I'll schedule it now.
- Your who?
- My grandmother's sister.
She was an artist.
She used to give me drawing lessons.
They're gonna do more tests.
Max, it'll be okay.
It'll be okay.
Can we talk a minute?
Uh, I kinda need to finish this.
It's just that we have
the audiology appointment.
And I know these tests
have been upsetting for you.
Yeah, well, she cried
through half of them.
Weren't they upsetting for you?
They were.
But I think it would help
if we talked about it.
About
her being deaf.
I don't really know what to say.
You could tell me how you're feeling.
Because not talking about it
is killing me.
Okay
I'm feeling betrayed.
Betrayed?
You know, I just can't figure out
why you didn't tell me
about your deaf great-aunt.
Oh I guess I never thought about it.
So she's not why
you chose a deaf surrogate?
No! I loved the statement Ava wrote.
She was so genuine and kind.
And she lives so close.
- So we could be involved.
- Yeah, I just, I
I keep thinking how you were so
obsessed with every little detail.
All the organic groceries.
And so I wonder why
you didn't think of this
kind of crucial genetic fact.
Or why you would keep that a secret.
I didn't keep it secret.
What do I know about your great-aunts?
That none of them are deaf!
Let the record show that the
defendant is charged
with kidnapping and reckless
endangerment of a child.
The jury has received
my preliminary instructions.
We are proceeding to opening statements.
Hello.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I've never seen that face before.
- Are you comin' to bed?
- Look at this. Look.
- Hello!
- Look at her face when she hears her mother's voice.
She looks surprised.
Well, she looks amazed.
I've never seen that
Please come to bed.
Don't you want skin time with her?
You know, our insurance company
is not going to cover the
cochlear implants until she's 2,
that's way too late.
You know thank God for royalties.
We don't even know if she's a candidate.
I know you wanted a musical kid.
And that is still possible.
The technology now, it's just so good.
I mean, sometimes people can't
even tell their kid is deaf.
It's okay.
You're okay.
Let's go to bed, my love.
I was nearby. I thought you
might want to see the baby.
And you said you had milk?
Yeah, and she's gaining weight.
All on track. 96th percentile in height.
So maybe she'll be a supermodel!
Or a rower.
A volleyball player.
Uh, can I sit down?
Yeah.
No, no, no! Of course not.
Uh, my great-aunt Margo was
deaf, so maybe it's that gene?
And you can see, she's wonderful!
Not so good.
He's having a hard time.
Uh can I ask you a question?
I don't know if this is rude. Uh
The audiologist talked
about hearing aids
and sign language and cochlear implants.
Right. Did you ever think
about getting them?
But some people use them,
right? Like KJ has hearing aids.
The computer
processes sounds to send to the nerve.
Not the same as hearing.
Is it close, though?
Max really wants her to hear.
Music is everything to him.
And honestly, I want her
to hear, too, if it's possible.
It's an easier life, right?
Um, Max is my partner
and my baby's father
so I have to make
these decisions with him.
Parents make decisions
for their children all the time.
Yeah. Yeah.
Um, she's called Lucie.
Ava! Hi.
Oh! Well, that is
so generous of you, but
Um, come on in.
Hey! Ava!
I was driving around,
hoping she might sleep.
Ava brought milk!
Fantastic!
Hey, uh, Ava, I've been
watching this documentary.
It's called "Moonlight Sonata".
It's about a deaf kid
with cochlear implants
who's learning Beethoven on the piano.
Right, but the implants are
they're so much better now. Right?
Um, you know Jenny told me about
your your headaches.
But everything's just so
much more advanced now
so I guess that's just science, right?
Oh !
"Dear Max and Jenny.
I wanted to try and communicate
something better than I did in person.
Jenny says you're considering
cochlear implants.
Some people may think you
should let a child decide later.
There are benefits to deafness.
There's a beautiful culture,
and a beautiful language.
If you knew Lucie was gay, and
would belong to that culture,
you wouldn't get her
a straightness implant
to try to make her life easier.
Right?"
Um, it's not like being gay.
- She said, "How do you know?"
- No, I, I know what she said.
But it's just not the same.
No, no, we don't
we can't wait. I mean
The implants work best if you
get them as soon as you can!
Max, can I talk to you for a second?
Excuse excuse me.
I told you we can do the surgery!
- Just stop talking about it!
- Why do you want to lie to her?
I don't! I just don't want
to be insensitive!
I'm not being insensitive,
I am being honest!
And incredibly rude!
If you'd been honest about your
aunt Margo, we could have tested.
We wouldn't be in this situation.
Are you saying you'd
rather not have Lucie?
Our baby, that we tried so hard to get?
Jenny, be serious!
This is a child's life
we're talking about!
I know! Are you a eugenicist now?
No! No! I'm being rational!
You're being a nightmare!
No! I am being a parent!
I am being a father!
Did I marry a guy who
throws things at his wife?
I don't know! I don't know.
Are you gonna throw things at Lucie?
No! No. No.
I'm sorry.
I'm
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
We've got to get back to Ava.
I know.
Where's Ava?
Where is she?
Ava?
Ava!
Stop! Stop! Stop!
Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, please follow me.
We've reached Ava's mother.
Do you have family that Ava trusts,
or people that she might
be heading toward?
No. It's just us, just us two.
I was an only child. So is Ava.
What about her father?
She mentioned him.
I bet she said he left
because she was deaf
and that I blame her for it.
Ava tends to make
everything about herself.
I've always found her incredibly
generous and altruistic.
Does Ava know where her father lives?
No. I mean if she did,
she wouldn't tell me.
But he's long gone now.
Well, she might have looked for him.
Ava does what Ava wants.
She's always been stubborn.
Well, please call us
if she gets in touch.
I'm telling you, she won't.
You're her mother. Why
wouldn't she talk to you?
Just because you rented
my daughter's uterus,
you don't get to speak to me that way.
I have to go now.
My tour bus is leaving.
Yes, thank you for joining us
on your vacation.
I knew surrogacy was going
to be too much for Ava.
I warned her.
Ava said her mother was tough, but wow.
- Poor Ava.
- Poor Ava?
Imagine growing up
with a mother like that!
She stole our baby, Jenny!
It's hard for me to get worked
up about all the why of it.
Well, we put out a description
of Ava's car and plates.
We'll keep you apprised
when we know something.
Thank you.
Ava
So I'll be in touch when
we know something, okay?
Whoa. Wait, wait, wait, what?
You're not arresting him?
- He says he doesn't know anything.
- And you believe him?
There's no evidence
that he was involved.
And he came in of his own
accord, to talk.
Please, KJ.
I'm Lucie's mother.
If there's anything you know
about where my baby is
The baby you wanted to mutilate
and to send back like a
broken damaged package?
She's our child, dammit!
Yes, and I teach kids who
have parents just like you two
and they feel like failures
because they can't hear,
and that's all their parents care about.
Do you know how deep that goes?
- Max!
- Hey.
- How dare you! - Max!
- Hey!
You want an assault charge
mixed up with all this?
No, you don't.
- What'd he say?
- I don't know. Something you deserve.
Why am I the bad guy? Ava took our kid!
Because she thought
we were gonna hurt her!
And because her mother's a nightmare!
How do you not understand that?
Oh, Lucie!
Oh!
Oh, Lucie.
I love you.
I will always.
I'll always be here.
Oh, God.
I considered her a friend.
I trusted her completely
and I thought she trusted me.
It must have felt like a
betrayal, when she took Lucie.
- Objection. Leading the witness.
- Overruled.
It did feel like a betrayal.
I'm so sorry. It did.
I have no further questions.
No questions, Your Honor.
Are you kidding? No questions?
Order, please.
Are you familiar with
postpartum depression, Rose?
I've heard of it.
So you know it can be debilitating,
and can impair judgment?
I don't know about that.
Did you see any signs of
depression or stress in Ava,
when you saw her after the birth?
No. She seemed fine.
Do you remember when Ava was born?
Uh, how it was for you, afterward?
Yes. It was a long and difficult labor.
And Ava cried.
She cried all the time.
But I still went to work.
I still fulfilled my commitments.
I, um
uh, no further questions.
No questions, Your Honor.
Let the record show that the State
has chosen not to cross-examine.
Let's adjourn for today.
We'll reconvene at 9 am tomorrow.
Thank you all for your time.
We told you not to put her on the stand!
But you you were so sure you had it!
Look, I mean, who throws
her own kid under the bus?
Ava tried to warn you
but you just didn't listen!
You have to do something!
I'm doing the best that I can, okay?
I'm just trying to avoid her
getting 15 years, you know.
So she said no to the 2-year
plea deal but won't
Good morning.
Uh, this is Sari.
I've briefed her on the case.
And given her the football.
KJ was right. I'm no
the right lawyer for you.
The football?
Can I have a moment alone with Ava?
Can you tell me about growing up
in a family that didn't sign?
I'm nervous
saying this, in front of my mother.
We've never had this conversation before
and I don't want to hurt her feelings.
When I was growing up
I was always trying to read lips
to catch what people were saying
at home and at school.
Hearing people always
forget to look at you.
And when I would ask
why are people laughing,
they would say,
"Oh, it's not important".
But it is important to me.
When I was 10 years old,
I went to a deaf school
and finally, I was able to catch up.
But I'd missed so much.
Do you know why your family didn't sign?
- Objection. Irrelevant.
- Overruled.
When I was two, my father left.
My mother raised me alone.
She was working all the time.
You've given birth before, correct?
- That's required for surrogacy.
- Yes.
When I was in high school I was pregnant
for six months and I didn't know.
And I would imagine
if the adults in my life
were able to communicate with me,
if they were motivated,
if they really wanted
to communicate with me,
that wouldn't have happened.
But that experience led me to this one.
And Lucie
she's so wonderful.
When I was pregnant with her,
she would kick and I would think about
how she would be such a good dancer.
After she was born,
her parents didn't seem happy.
And then they started fighting.
And I could see, or I
thought I could see,
that all of the pain that I endured
for all those years
was about to come to her,
someone I cherished.
And at that moment
all I could think to do
was to protect her,
to make sure she was safe,
to give her all of the love,
and for her to be wanted.
Back in high school, the baby
that I had was hearing.
And maybe someday in the future
I might have a hearing child of my own.
I know that might not happen now
but I would sign with them,
I would give them options.
I would give them a hearing role
model, and music, and speech.
Surgery and devices might be helpful,
but they're not going
to make Lucie like you.
She isn't like you.
If you give her sign language,
she will learn everything
so much faster.
She will be able to study
all different things
and not just focus on learning
how to use her voice.
She will find who she is.
She will have a complete
language from the start.
I think you have to consider the child
for who they are,
not what you expect them to be.
Just let them be themselves.
Thank you.
I have no further questions.
Would the State like to cross-examine?
One moment, please, Your Honor.
May we approach the bench, Your Honor?
Your Honor, the parents
don't wish to continue.
You represent the State,
not the parents.
We've taken a lot of people's
time to get a jury.
I know.
But they're very insistent.
Well
I do think, based on what we've heard,
that it would be
a miscarriage of justice
to convict on kidnapping charges.
And no one has established
that the child was endangered.
If the parents are truly in agreement,
I would look favorably
on a motion to dismiss.
May I talk to Ava for just one minute?
Thank you.
I promise. I heard you.
We're gonna find teachers, a school.
And maybe you can come
see us sometime
with the baby.
Um
Bye.