Back to Life (2019) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Hi, I'm
My—rie or Miri?
— It's Miri.
OSCAR (VO):
People won ’1‘ think she ’5 still a risk?
People believe what they want.
They're from Mandy.
She's very keen to reconnect.
Are you visiting?
— Staying.
Airbnb?
— What?
Dom? You look so amazing.
Oh, shit.
CAROLINE (VO):
This is all such a mess.
It's really hot down there.
This is the last time, do you understand?
Could you just fuck off?
— Dom!
He's married.
You fucker.
I'm sorry, she's not been well.
NATHAN (VO):
Are you happy to start now?
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Even murderers.
It was a long time ago, and
I'm ready to move on.
PHONE DIALS
WOMAN ON PHONE:
Ambulance service.
MAN: Uh, yes, sorry, l’m on the beach,
below the, urn
Oh, Christ.
— WOMAN: Calm down, sir.
Tell me what’s happened.
— MAN: Oh, God.
You have to send someone.
WOMAN:
Where exactly are you, sir?
TV REPORT BLARES
MAN ON TV:
When / look at what we’ve been up to
in the past few weeks, the rain,
the sad, grey skies
it’s wonderful to be back in the
er, by the seaside again.
DOCTOR (VO):
0K, Mandy.
How's
yo
ur sleep?
It's patchy, but, you know.
Vitamin D?
— Yep.
How's your stress lately?
Well, it's the same, it's fine.
How do you unwind?
| wank, but then I can't always get there.
It's
— Right.
Well, it's just that this is a little high.
So, you really need to be careful.
You remember what happened last time.
I know, yeah. It's all cool.
CAROLINE:
It's evidence.
OSCAR:
It's compost.
Well, you need to keep a sample
for the police.
Please fuck off, Caroline.
What's going on?
— Uh, faeces.
Foxes.
Foxes' faeces.
Do foxes shit in boxes now?
Probably just kids.
Oh, it's nothing to worry about.
— Somebody took a shit
then they put it in a box,
then they queued up at the Post Office——
You can download your own postage labels now.
They could have parcelled it up at home.
Oh! Oh, that's totally fine then.
Lovingly home-boxed faeces.
lt—it's all under control,
we've told the police.
Well, uh, Tina's pretty hopeless
but, uh, but, yeah,
technically she is the police.
and take a really big shit in a box.
Oh, no, no, no.
Tina says it's probably
more than one person doing these things.
Oh, great, so everyone hates me.
Well, isn't that less sinister somehow?
No, it's not, do you know what? Oh
it's my first day at work
and I'm already nervous.
Is that what you're wearing?
Yes, why?
Don't just look at me, help me.
I don't understand clothes anymore.
You look lovely.
You'll be wearing an apron anyway.
Urgh! Bye.
OSCAR:
Uh, good luck.
Oh, uh, swish—swash.
Sorry?
— I saw you on the on the swing.
Were you watching me?
Yeah. No, no, no, not in a creepy way.
Right.
— Like how you watch a pigeon.
Um, sorry, I
I've got to go, so
HE SIGHS
Oh, hi, morning! Billy.
From, uh
Um, I have excrement on my hands.
Oh, don't we all!
Probably, if they tested us with machines.
Oh, fucking hell. Uh
Is it is it yours?
— No.
No!
— No.
Good.
Just gonna wash my hand.
Hello?
HE SCREAMS
Fucking Christmas!
Oh, sorry!
— I didn't, uh
Your door was, um——
— Sorry, this just arrived, so I was
SHE GASPS
Faeces.
Napkins.
Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.
Course, sorry.
Napkins.
— Uh, look.
I don't know if this is a good idea.
Yes, it is, it is.
I really, really need this job
and I'm gonna work so hard
just give me just give it today,
just one day.
You said that everyone
deserved a second chance.
I did say that.
— Yes, you did.
Alright. One day.
But this has to go well.
— Oh, God, it will.
You can't shout "faeces" at customers.
| - | - | do know that.
Just polite. Customer service,
and fish and chip efficiency.
Can you do that?
— Yep.
Absolutely. 100, 300%.
OK, good.
How do you feel?
| feel very, very, very relaxed and positive.
Me too.
— Yes.
I could murder a coffee though.
Shit, sorry.
Oh, God, no, no, it's just a phrase.
It's weird, cos apart from that,
you're just like a normal person, really.
I am a normal person.
Yeah.
I spoke to Tina, she was eating an apple.
She said she'd refer it
to the sergeant later.
I suppose we have to trust her.
This is not good.
— I know.
It's all getting dredged back up,
I can feel it.
Oh, God, I don't want
to go through this all again.
I meant the caterpillar.
What?
A bastard caterpillar has been
at my tomato plants.
Neither of them should be alive
this time of year.
Oscar.
Sodding global warming.
I'm talking about the threats to our family.
That caterpillar is a threat,
it could destroy my entire vegetable patch.
We can buy bloody tomatoes from a shop.
Yeah, hot house tomatoes flown in.
Oscar!
— Wrapped in plastic.
Yes, smothered in plastic, who cares?
I'm talking about our family.
By 2050, there will be more plastic
in the ocean by weight than fish.
Can you stop worrying about
the fucking planet for one second
and listen to me?
What is more important than the planet?
Me!
Fuck the fucking planet!
I used to be your planet!
The customer will come in through the--
Door, yeah.
— The door, yeah.
And, um, you'll say, "Hello, how are you?"
I'm fine, thank you.
No, I wasn't asking you——
— Oh, no, no, l was being them.
Oh, right, yeah.
"Would you like to try the fish?"
Oh, well, I suppose I should,
if I'm working here——
No, this is still in the, uh
hypothetical——
— Oh, right, sorry.
No, no, I wasn't gonna just, like, eat that.
Raw fish makes people very ill.
But sushi's quite popular--
But when it is cooked, you can offer samples.
D'you know what, I think I can probably
feel my way with some of this stuff——
Yeah?
— Cos I'm quite good with people, so.
Now's your chance.
— Hi.
Go on.
Hello, how are you?
It's not cooked yet so goodbye.
Uh, it will be, though. Uh, cooked.
Oh, yeah, I'm not eating,
I just came to check the place out, and
I am gonna be heading to the bench
on the high street at lunch
hoping to meet a girl | used to know.
Used to be our special place.
Great, well, have fun.
She won't come.
Ah. I'm sure she will.
Yeah, I think she will.
— No.
I think she'll wanna hear what I have to say.
— What do you have to say?
Oh big things.
Crikey, well, I'd wanna hear what it is.
She will be busy at lunch.
I doubt it, she doesn't have any friends.
That's not very nice.
— DOM: Yeah, but it's true.
Is it true?
Yeah, but it doesn't mean
that she's not gonna be busy.
What do you think she'll be busy doing?
Um, maybe meeting Janice.
Who's Janice?
— Yeah, who is Janice?
No, I don't know.
— So, can you just, like, see it?
Yeah.
— In your head?
I can, actually.
— What else can you see?
Well, she'd be silly not to meet me.
Well, then she's silly.
— No, she's not.
She's trying to focus on her new job
right now
and anyway you are married.
— Are you married?
Yeah, but
— Fuck me.
Yeah, and she feels very, very stupid
for thinking that you wouldn't be.
Sorry, wwi | l my business thrive?
Well, maybe she would like
to hear the full story.
No, she wants to move on with her new life.
With Janice.
— No.
Well, if she doesn't come then
she will always wonder——
You're not listening to her.
Who is Janice?
— I'll wait for her anyway.
Well, you're wasting your time,
she's not gonna meet you.
She might.
— She won't.
She will.
— Oh, my God!
Can you just get it into your big,
stupid married head
that this is not gonna happen? Goodbye.
OK.
| get it.
You said you were gonna be polite
to the customers.
I'm so sorry, I that was a one—off,
it won't happen again.
PHONE RINGS
Hello.
Mr Matteson, I need to talk to Miri.
OSCAR:
Who is this?
It's Mandy.
— Ah.
Caroline!
Listen, I've pulled a few strings,
I've managed to get her a job.
No, she got one already.
— Already?
The new fish and chip place.
— Oh, for fuck's sake.
I know, we all miss the pie shop, Mandy.
Did she get my flowers?
— Uh
Yes.
— And?
Look, um you hurt her very deeply, l
/ don ’t think she ’s quite ready for you yet.
She'll get there.
Well, she may not——
— PHONE BEEPS
Oh.
Weirdo.
Oh, hi.
— NATHAN: Hello.
Hi, a few people did look in the window.
Ah.
— Yeah.
Be great if they came in.
It'll take time.
Yeah.
— Someone will.
Course.
We could put balloons outside,
people love balloons.
Um I just think it's fish and chips
in a seaside town
it shouldn't need too much, uh
uh, but maybe.
Um take your lunch break.
But I haven't really worked yet.
Take an hour. Take two!
OK.
OK. I'll see you later.
SEAGULLS CRY
GIRLS LAUGH
INDISTINCT CONVERSATION
PHONE RINGS
Hello?
— Hi, Janice.
It's Miri
— GARBLED VOICE
This is such a bad line.
JANICE:
/ can ’t hear. Hello?
It's my first day at work
and it's my lunch break
and | just wanted to talk to someone.
Oh, I'm guessing this is Richard.
SHE LAUGHS
I'm on my way. Ten minutes, boom.
Yeah, I had to pick up some tampons.
No, it's Miri, Miri, Miri——
— Get me a large vodka on ice
The one with, like, the hair.
— / know it’s lunchtime but
My day has been pure jokes, not funny ones.
Messed up people, sucking me
dry fruit mix, yeah.
Sucking me dry.
PHONE CHIRPS
— Hello?
Oh, God, hang on, no, no, hang on.
Look, if that's not Richard, then, um
oops?
Oh, God, hang on, no,
it says it wants more money
I've just given money in, | just put 50p in.
— PHONE CHIRPS
I can't hear. Hello?
M—Miri, it's Mi
— PHONE BEEPS
Oh.
— Oh, Miri!
You alright?
Mmm.
DOM:
Is that your prison walk?
Ugh, for God's sake.
What do you mean, are you following me?
It's pretty sexy, actually.
Is this sexy?
I can handle that.
I mean, if I just
focus out your face,
I can just look at your tits.
Oh, my God. Dom, what do you want?
Oh, I just want to talk about
what happened the other day.
I'm sorry, I what was I supposed to do?
Something a bit less twatty.
See, when I opened the door and I saw you
| just forgot about my life
and just for, like, a little second there
I felt like I was 18 again.
Sound stupid?
Not completely.
I never wanted to be tied down.
Well, you fucked that up, didn't you?
— HE LAUGHS: I know, I
I got married.
— And you got kids.
Fucking twins.
It's like you see me, Miri Bee.
You, like you make me feel free.
Oh, my God.
What?
"You make me feel free, so let's go and
do it in the Holiday Inn."
No, I'm just talking about
what's happening between us
this kinda
sexy energy, it's like you know it.
Goodbye, Dom.
Holiday Inn does a a great breakfast.
It's got free Wi-Fi.
You do you know what Wi-Fi is?
Yep.
Goodbye, Dom.
Thank you so much for trusting me with this.
Yeah, well, they asked for you.
What?
— Mm—hm.
So it's Mrs Munther,
head teacher of Cressfield School.
Cressfield?
— Yeah.
Do you know where that is?
— Uh, yeah, well, I went there.
Oh.
W—would the person you--
No, everyone went there, it's totally fine.
OK. Um
so this time,
when you're talking to the customer——
It will be so much better, I promise.
Good.
— OK. Thank you.
INTERCOM BEEPS
Food delivery.
INTERCOM BUZZES
Hello?
Oh, for God's sake.
What are you doing here?
I'm the head teacher.
What?
— Yeah.
You're the head teacher?
You were suspended, like, three times.
You were awarded most likely
to get fingered in Science.
Mrs Mrs Munther
Mrs
SHE GASPS
Did you marry Mark Munther?
— Well, things change.
He's very tidy, he's actually very
oh, just fuck off.
Happily.
Miri. We need to sort this out.
Goodbye, Mandy.
It's locked.
Yeah? I was just checking,
and I'm happy that it is.
| just want to talk.
You didn't visit me or write to me once.
I know, sorry, I was having a hard time.
Oh! I was having a great time in prison,
in my cell.
I know, OK, alright, I was, I was 18.
Yeah, so was I!
And then I was 19 and 20 and 21——
Alright, well, listen to me, I'm here now,
OK, and I'm so fucking sorry.
so let's not waste any more of it
not being friends
cos we were so, so good at it.
Oh, my God, you need me.
— No, I don't.
Yeah, you're lonely.
— No, I'm not.
Look at you,
you're lonely and you're getting old.
I'm very, very happy.
Well, great, cos it's too late, so.
Who else have you got?
I need to get back to work.
— What, to your job in a fish and chip shop?
Oh, fuck off, Mandy.
You wanted to be a vet or Jules Oliver.
Yeah, well, you wanted to marry Keanu Reeves
and live in Barcelona
but you are head teacher in Hythe
married to Mark fucking Munther,
so just move.
What you gonna do, Miri, you gonna kill me?
I hate you.
I'm
o
rry
, I
I shouldn't have said——
— Yeah.
Do you know,
if my job wasn't so important to me
I would kick you so hard
in the fanny for that.
Enjoy your food.
The Bobacks moved away.
No—one knows where,
but I thought you'd wanna know.
Could have looked that up.
— You haven't got a fucking phone.
And it wasn't in Science,
it was most likely to get fingered full stop!
Sorry.
There you go, mate.
Salt and vinegar there for you
if you want it.
It's busy.
— Yeah, cos of you.
What?
People love a balloon.
Oh! So, can I come back tomorrow?
Yeah. I think so.
— Yes!
Hello, how can I help you?
Hi, yes, can I please have some chips--
THEY SCREAM
— Shit the bed!
Are you OK?
Uh, yes, sorry, I'm fine.
Fine.
Um, I'm just gonna
just see you
see you tomorrow.
Shit!
Oh, Jesus
SHE PANTS
Hey, hello, hello, hello!
Billy. Billy from, uh from next door.
Oh, yes, um, yeah, I know.
Oh, Christ!
Oh, God, what happened? You look like Carrie.
Oh, God, sorry, it's the blood, I can't--
Oh, no, OK, it's I'm fine, it's——
— Sh—sh—sh—shall I take you to hospital?
Uh, it's, uh it's shallow, I think.
OK, well, I—I got, I got plasters
in the door—whatsit, just
Thank you——
— Here.
Thank you, sorry, um, to interrupt your
No, come on, I was just watching the sea.
Oh, God, l was just watching the sea.
Can we just just drive somewhere else,
is that O——
Yes! Yes, come on.
— Thank you, thank you.
Get in.
Yeah
Yeah”.
Just up, up a bit higher.
Like this?
— Yeah.
Sorry, I had a few pints last night, so
HE GRUNTS
Car's looking clean.
Oscar hoovered it.
Oh, great, bring him into this.
SHE SIGHS
Well, it was working earlier.
BILLY:
Love this spot.
It's got, uh 600 different types of plants
and a wide variety of
different birds.
You can't see them now.
No.
Uh, there's also ice—cream.
Do you like ice—cream?
Yes.
— OK.
OK. Wait here, don't
don't go anywhere. Right.
It's so weird seeing her again.
It's like, it's her, but
but she's older.
Like her little face is still there.
We used to do everything together.
HE LAUGHS
It's mad.
— ZIPPER SLIDES
I can't do this.
What? Oh, like, I won't talk about her.
I have to make supper, I
I should never have come here.
Technically nothing happened.
Maybe
like, next time, you could maybe, like,
wear your hair down or
Do you wanna watch the sunset with me?
Oh, don't be ridiculous.
HE SIGHS
Hello!
Got them.
There we are.
HE GRUNTS
That's yours.
— Aw, thank you.
Mmm.
— Actually really brings out your eyes.
Not the ice—cream, the, the, uh
the stains on your face, the red
with the blue.
It actually, it looks really good on you.
Sorry, that's not very, um romantic.
Not that this is supposed to be——
— I know, I know.
But, OK, but anyway, it's just the, uh
this is the best in Kent.
Do you know, I haven't had one of these
for for years.
Christ, why?
Just a diet.
Like, a really, really a really long diet.
Oh, yeah?
— Yeah.
Well, I tried a diet once.
Yeah, but I got confused
cos I had-had the milkshakes along with my
regular meals, and | just ballooned out.
SHE LAUGHS
I don't
Really?
— Yeah. Tiny little face, massive head.
THEY LAUGH
Day can't be that bad
if it ends in ice—cream.
Thank you
for making me feel normal.
Thank you.
MUSIC: "How Sad, How Lovely"
by Connie Converse
# How sad, how lovely #
# How short, how sweet #
# To see the sunset #
# At the end of the street #
OSCAR:
I can't believe I didn't realise.
What?
Well, the caterpillar.
Oh, God.
It's harmless. One of the good guys.
Look, I'm sorry, I | get fixated on things.
You are my planet.
Of course you are.
You and Miri.
SHE CRIES
Do you wanna go for a walk?
Bit of perspective.
I'd really love that.
— Yeah?
I'd love that, yeah.
— Yeah.
Wander up to the cliff,
there's this really cool spot, uh
over by the sound mirrors,
do you know what they are?
No.
D'you know what? I think, actually,
I need I need to go——
They're these pre—radar things
and they built them in the war
to hear the enemy coming.
Apparently it's where some girl
bludgeoned someone to death.
She lured her there
just the two of them
on the cliff at night, and then
smashed her head against the edge.
Urgh. It's like a horror film, isn't it?
It's not the version I heard.
MAN ON PHONE: Um, yes, sorry, there, there ’5
a body floating in the water face down.
WOMAN ON PHONE:
Where exactly are you, sir?
MAN:
Oh, no, no, no
WOMAN:
Sir?
MAN:
Oh, God, / think she ’3 dead.
Um, there ’3 two girls on the cliff.
/ think they pushed her.
WOMAN:
Sir, / need to know where you are.