Emperor of Ocean Park (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

1
[PERSON] Previously on
Emperor of Ocean Park
Oliver Garland will be the
next Supreme Court Justice
of the United States of America.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Welcome back to the hearing, Senator.
- [GAVEL BANGS]
- When's the last time
you had in-person
contact with Jack Ziegler?
[MARIAH] Dad didn't
die of natural causes.
He was murdered, Tal.
And Uncle Jack did it.
Money laundering, contracted killings.
The dude is a real-life Bond villain.
[TAL] It's our duty to
honor the judge's wishes.
I just need to figure out
what those wishes were.
Who's sending you flowers at work?
[KIMMER] It doesn't mean anything, Tal.
You don't have anything to worry about.
Uncle Jack?
I must know about the arrangements.
But I don't know about any arrangements.
Tell me about the goddamned
arrangements right now.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[KIMMER] It's a witch hunt.
They're just trying
to crucify the judge.
You realize you compared
him to a witch and Jesus
in the same breath.
I'm serious.
Calling his clerk in to testify?
Who's next, the cleaning lady?
It's a sham.
It's gonna be OK.
- Hey, y'all, it's starting.
- [EDELMAN OVER TV] Thank you
for joining us today, Mr. Haramoto.
Now, it is our understanding
that you may have information
to share about Judge
Garland's associates.
Can you please tell us
about any of the judge's
relationships the public
may find concerning?
I'd like to start by saying
I have the utmost respect
for Judge Garland.
Yes, Mr. Haramoto, I'm sure you hold him
in the highest esteem, but
that wasn't my question.
What can you tell me
about the current state
of Judge Garland's friendships,
acquaintances, et cetera?
I know he is widely admired
and loved by family and friends
and professional colleagues alike.
[EDELMAN OVER TV] Due
to the restrictive rules
adopted by this committee,
we don't have time for you to play coy.
Mr. Haramoto, let me ask plainly.
To your knowledge, has Judge Garland had
any recent contact with Jack Ziegler?
Yes, they've been in contact.
[EDELMAN OVER TV]
And how do you know that?
Shall I repeat the question?
No, Senator, I heard you.
I saw Judge Garland and Jack Ziegler
together at the courthouse.
You're telling me that suspected
war criminal Jack Ziegler
visited a federal judge
at his courthouse?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
I'm going to need a verbal response.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Yes.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[FOOTSTEPS TAPPING]
- Hey.
- Hey, you look nice.
I got that panel at the Black
Lawyers of Chicago conference thing.
Yeah, right, I remember. Big day.
One of the speakers is
District Judge Kyle Tillman,
and he's got a lot of pull in D.C.
You don't get a federal
judicial nomination.
You take it.
- Who said that?
- I did.
[CHUCKLES]
Did you want me to cancel?
No, it's OK.
This place is starting
to feel like a mausoleum.
I don't blame you for getting out.
You know, we don't have
to stay here in this house.
I know, but we should be
here for family, for Mariah.
I think having us
around is the only thing
that's stopping her from
totally spinning out.
She
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
we're gonna get the kids
out of the house later,
have some fun.
Make things feel as normal as possible.
Well, don't forget we have
Mal's tonight for dinner.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[CHUCKLES]
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE OVER TV]
[LAUGHS]
What are you doing here so early?
I slept here.
You said we was going
roller-skating first thing.
Didn't want to miss it.
Is Addy coming? Where's Addy?
I just woke up. I have no idea.
- Sally.
- Hmm?
Any chance you've been
in the judge's study?
No, why?
There's some stuff missing.
What stuff?
A scrapbook, a couple of
pawns from his chess set.
The black one's pretty distinctive.
It's got these white
marble streaks in it.
[SIGHS] What?
It's a mimosa, OK?
It's a breakfast drink.
That's why it's got orange juice in it.
I didn't say anything.
Besides, wouldn't the
judge want us to turn up
and celebrate his life?
No, he wouldn't.
Nice try, though.
Well, I'ma do me regardless.
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE OVER TV]
Pfft! [LAUGHS]
Hey, buddy. I didn't know
you were in here with your auntie.
[MARIAH] Someone had to take care of him
while you and your wife neglected him.
You could have just
come and got me, Mariah.
Relax, I'm joking.
I think I can manage to make
my nephew some breakfast.
Kids, any of you been
playing in Grandpa's office?
- [BOTH] Mm-mm.
- It's OK if you were.
You're not in trouble.
I just want to know
if you moved anything.
Excuse me, why are you
interrogating my children?
Some stuff went missing
from the judge's study.
Just trying to figure out where it went.
Maybe Addison took them
with him as a keepsake.
Our brother Addison?
Does he really strike
you as the keepsake type?
Mm. Where is he, anyway?
He caught a flight back to LaGuardia,
said he had work to do.
Howard left, too, in case
he's your next suspect.
Why are you so fixated on this?
I mean, who cares? The judge
left behind a ton of shit.
Whoa, can you watch your
language in front of my son?
A ton of stuff.
I've been sifting through his junk mail.
I mean, what does it matter
if somebody took some of it?
You and Addison might
not be sentimental,
but I'd like to have something
to remember the judge by.
Aw, Talcott, that's so sweet.
But no, you cannot have it.
I inherited this
property and all therein,
including that very valuable
partially complete custom chess set.
Sorry.
No, you are such an asshole.
Language.
[CHILDREN GIGGLE]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
I'm Agent McDermott.
This is Agent Foreman.
We're from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
I'd like to ask Mr. Talcott
Garland a few questions.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLAYBOURN] I don't give a
hoot who you associated with.
Meeting and talking
with folks isn't a crime,
nor is it evidence
of anything unethical.
You know who Jesus hung around with?
Prostitutes, beggars, street people.
And he was pretty darn ethical.
I think that you will make an excellent
Supreme Court justice, Judge Garland.
And you still have my vote.
- I yield.
- [HASPEL] Thank you.
The chair now recognizes Senator Edelman
of New Jersey for five minutes.
[EDELMAN] Thank you, Chairman Haspel.
Judge Garland, I
didn't expect to see you
before this committee again.
As I understand it, your
counsel initiated the idea
of your testifying again why?
I thought that I might be
able to clarify some aspects
of Mr. Haramoto's testimony.
[EDELMAN] Go ahead.
Is that a question, Senator?
Simply providing you
the time to clarify,
as you've requested.
- Well
- [EDELMAN] OK, a question, then.
No one's asked you this
one today, surprisingly.
Have you had contact with Jack Ziegler
at the federal courthouse where
you are currently appointed?
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[PEOPLE MURMURING]
[OLIVER] What I would like
this committee to know,
first of all, is, I value friendship.
Friendship?
It's one of the essential adhesives
that holds society together.
And I'm guessing most Americans watching
know what it's like to have
a long-standing friendship.
We met as college freshmen,
long before either of us
had anything to do with the government.
He was a friend first.
Not really an answer, so I'll ask again.
Has your friend Jack Ziegler visited you
at the courthouse where you work?
Are the visitor logs provided
to this committee correct?
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
Yes
I've seen Jack Ziegler
at the courthouse.
We've obtained two years'
worth of visitor logs.
Do you know how often your
wife came to see you? Twice.
Your adult children? None.
Your friend and longtime
counsel Mallory Corcoran? Once.
Judge, do you know how
many times Jack Ziegler
darkened your doorstep?
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
No, I do not.
Thirteen times.
[PEOPLE GASP]
All long after regular business hours,
sometimes as late as 10:00 p.m.
That doesn't sound
like friendship to me.
That sounds like business.
And perhaps you and Mr. Ziegler
are conducting the type of business
that can only be done late at night,
outside of public view.
I have no business with
Senator, I'd like to
go on record in saying
that I resent the implications.
You ever ask your friend Jack Ziegler
about documented ties
to criminal syndicates
in Bosnia, Montenegro, and Albania?
No, I don't make it a habit
to interrogate my friends.
[EDELMAN] You ever ask
your friend Jack Ziegler
why he pled the Fifth 43 times
when he testified in front
of this body three years ago?
It's within his rights to.
If we could just go back
to the previous question
[EDELMAN] You ever ask
your friend Jack Ziegler
why one of his partners
wound up in federal prison
and the other two died
in a helicopter crash
due to what "The New York Times" called
a highly improbable series
of mechanical malfunctions?
Wait, are you trying to accuse Jack
[EDELMAN] It seems
anywhere Jack Ziegler goes,
corruption, crime, and
unexplained deaths follow,
except, apparently,
when he visits his good
friend Judge Oliver Garland
at the federal courthouse 13
times in the dead of night.
Then and only then, he's a Boy Scout.
[LAUGHTER]
Or so says you.
I yield my time.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[TAL] I'm glad to answer your questions,
but I can't say I find the
timing totally appropriate.
I'm sorry, what do you
think this is, Mr. Garland?
You're here to vet my wife
for a judicial nomination.
[MCDERMOTT] We're here
to ask about Jack Ziegler
and an associate of his named Lisa.
I can't think of any Lisa
who's associated with Jack Ziegler.
We know that Ziegler showed up
to your dad's funeral yesterday.
Yes, that's true.
[MCDERMOTT] We know you spoke to him.
[TAL] Also true.
So you two must have discussed Lisa.
That's where you lose me.
We didn't talk about that.
Is the FBI investigating
Jack Ziegler again?
We never stopped investigating
Jack Ziegler, sir.
Mr. Garland, you're not under oath,
but I should remind
you that it's a crime
to interfere with a federal
investigation by lying.
Title 18, Section 1510 of
the U.S. Code obstruction.
I'm aware of the statute, Agent.
So then tell us about Lisa.
Again, I don't know anyone named Lisa.
But it's a very common name,
so maybe you can add some context?
[MCDERMOTT] Cut the bullshit!
You're lying.
How about we start from
the beginning, Mr. Garland?
Can you calmly recount
exactly what you and Ziegler
spoke about yesterday?
Sure.
He never mentioned anyone named Lisa,
but he did repeatedly ask me
about something he referred to
as "the arrangements."
[OLIVER] Thank you all for coming.
As you've all heard by now,
I've withdrawn as a nominee
to serve as an associate justice
on the Supreme Court
of the United States.
I spoke to the president
and expressed my concern
that the confirmation
process has become a burden
that is no longer in the
best interest of this country.
It was the great honor of
my life to be considered.
Also, effective immediately,
I am resigning as a judge
of the United States Court
of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
[PEOPLE CLAMORING]
I'll take your questions one at a time.
One at a time.
[PEOPLE CLAMORING]
[NAS OVER EARBUDS]
Rap hasn't been the same since ♪
So irregular ♪
How it messed you up ♪
When Mr. T became a wrestler ♪
Where is everyone?
Addison drove Mom and Mariah home.
Thought I'd wait for you.
You didn't have to do that.
Figured you wouldn't want to be alone.
Why?
[TAL] 'Cause maybe you'd be upset?
Aren't you upset?
Are you upset sacrificing a pawn
when you have mate coming in four?
OK, a chess problem.
What does that have to
do with you resigning?
I've done my duty as
a judge, as a father,
most importantly, as a man.
Now that this is all settled,
I hope next time that
we have a family dinner,
you'll bring Tonya along.
I'd like to see her again.
I don't think you'll
see her anytime soon.
I was pretty naive to
think it would work out.
[OLIVER] You're not naive, Talcott.
You're just not cynical.
You think it makes you see less,
but it makes you see
much, much, much more.
Another riddle?
You're young yet.
You'll know.
You'll know exactly
what I'm talking about.
Trust me.
Let me hear.
Probably not your cup of tea.
Try me.
[NAS OVER EARBUDS] I go by N now ♪
Just one syllable ♪
It's the end 'cause the game's tired ♪
It's the same vibe ♪
- [OLIVER] Ooh!
- [TAL CHUCKLES]
[NAS OVER EARBUDS]
That's why the gangster rhymers ♪
Can you make me a tape of that?
I can burn you a CD.
Oh, that's what we do now?
[LAUGHING] Yeah, that's what we do now.
[NAS OVER EARBUDS] The past the past ♪
Enough of it ♪
A'ight, then ♪
[SINGER] Hey, Mr. DJ ♪
Play me a song, oh ♪
Something that I like ♪
So I can get my groove on ♪
- So?
- So?
So we're finally alone.
Let's have it. What did
the FBI want with you?
Shit, sorry.
Swore me to secrecy.
Tal, stop fucking with me, please.
They wanted to know about Jack Ziegler
and some woman named Lisa.
Lisa? Lisa who?
What did they want to
know about Uncle Jack?
You think they like
him for Dad's murder?
Like him for Dad's murder?
The FBI typically doesn't
investigate murders, Mariah.
Local police do.
And Dad wasn't murdered, so no,
I don't think they'd like him for this.
OK, but you're gonna see
Uncle Mal tonight, right?
So can you ask him what he thinks?
He knows a ton of people in the FBI.
He probably can tell you what
they were really looking for.
Mariah, why don't you use
this time to deal with the fact
that our father died
instead of dragging everyone
into your morbid fantasies?
Get your head out of the sand.
You're in denial.
Denial? [SCOFFS]
I am the only one who's
seeing things clearly, Tal.
I hate this place.
I don't know why I
suggested coming here.
[SCOFFS] Because we have
so many great memories here.
We do?
Yeah, don't you remember
how excited we were
when the judge would emerge
from his study and say
that he was coming here with us?
No, you got excited.
And I don't know why.
He could never just let
us be goofy and silly
like the other kids.
"You don't have proper form, son.
"Anything worth doing
is worth doing right.
You skate that way,
you'll twist your ankle."
If I recall, you did twist your ankle.
Besides, it's not Dad's fault
you can't skate for shit.
- [CHILD] Ow! Malcolm!
- Ow.
Malcolm, let go of your brother now.
[FUNKY MUSIC PLAYING]
[BENTLEY] Daddy, look!
[SINGER] Hey, Mr. DJ ♪
Play me a song, oh ♪
[SKATES CLATTER, BODY THUDS]
[BENTLEY CRIES] Dad!
[UPBEAT MUSIC BLARING]
How's that feel?
You ready to get back out there,
or you need a few more minutes?
OK.
Go play with your cousins.
[SINGER] All right ♪
Don't you feel it ♪
Creep off your bones ♪
Make you touch the ceiling ♪
[FAINTLY] You're a good dad.
- I can't
- [SINGER] You can heal me ♪
Baby, with your energy ♪
All right ♪
Don't you feel it ♪
Creep off your bones ♪
Make you touch the ceiling ♪
All right ♪
So good to me ♪
I said you're a good dad.
Well, thank you.
Why aren't you skating?
Childhood trauma. Two left feet.
Combination of both.
Two left feet. I don't believe that.
A handsome guy like you,
I bet you got some rhythm
to go with all those good looks.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
You from around here?
Not really.
I moved around a lot growing up,
and now I travel for work.
Guess I'm destined to be a nomad.
You?
Yeah, I grew up a few
minutes down the road.
Really?
I'm Maxine, by the way.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
Talcott.
Oops, I
didn't catch that before.
I don't play in another woman's yard.
And I was just about
to take you out there
and show you a few things.
Maybe in another life.
[CHUCKLES]
See you, Talcott.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER]
Talcott, my boy. So glad you made it.
Wouldn't miss it.
Come.
Got to get you some face
time with the other faculty
before they all get hammered.
Theo Mountain and Dana Wirth.
[LAUGHS]
Does everyone remember Talcott Garland?
Former student, newest
adjunct on faculty.
Of course. How are you, Talcott?
You know Marc?
Heard a rumor you're eyeing
the tenure track position.
I like teaching.
I figure why not throw
my hat in the ring?
Oh, and this is forgive me.
Remind me of your name again.
- Kimberly Madison.
- [LYNDA] Right, Kimberly.
Tal is one of our most
accomplished graduates.
He clerked for Judge Yang.
But you wouldn't know if you
only read the alumni newsletter.
[MARC] All the stories in the newsletter
are reported by the alumni themselves.
Sounds like someone needs to work
on their self-promotion skills.
Well, you know what they say, Professor.
Real Gs move in silence like lasagna.
I'm sorry, lasagna?
[LYNDA] Yeah, we were just discussing
the recent student protests
and how the university
really must take care of it.
[DANA] It's on the
student groups, isn't it?
I mean, they're the ones inviting
these controversial speakers,
and they're only doing it
to incite the other students.
Classic trolling.
Trolling? What's what's trolling?
[LAUGHTER]
What do you think, Talcott?
You seem to be connected
with the student body.
[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
Sure, yeah.
You know, it's obviously
a controversial topic
and a very current one.
Ultimately, it's incumbent
on us to find consensus.
Consensus?
Deferring, of course, to
you, the senior faculty.
I'd want to weigh your opinions.
[MARC] I see.
Well, I can tell you all my
very own opinion right now.
No consensus needed.
Any speaker should be
allowed to visit campus
and express themselves fully.
Hear, hear.
[KIMMER] Easy for you to say, Marc.
Is it?
A Nazi gives a speech on campus,
what do you care? Their ideology doesn't
threaten you or your safety.
Ah, I see. My privilege is talking.
Yes. I think, in this case, it is.
And personally, I applaud
this new generation
of students demanding
that the institutions
[LAUGHS] You're kidding me.
Oliver Garland is your dad?
You have to be kidding.
Tell me that's not for real.
It's for real.
You don't share his views, do you?
Politically?
Like, that Republican,
conservative shit?
Nah. Hell no.
I voted for Obama.
OK, 'cause I was this close to asking
the bartender for the check.
That means you're down for another?
[KEVIN ROSS' "SWEET RELEASE" PLAYING]
[BARTENDER] Got you, boss.
I liked your Lil Wayne
reference earlier.
You caught that.
Oh, yeah. Huge Weezy fan.
And you still left me hanging.
More fun to watch you squirm.
[CHUCKLES]
[MUSIC PLAYING IN BACKGROUND]
[BARTENDER] Enjoy.
Now that we're friends
Oh, friends now?
Best friends, actually.
Sorry, but now you're
stuck with me forever.
- Mm-hmm.
- So as your BFF
and fellow Cash Money Records stan,
I should tell you, you got to man up.
Man up?
Or whatever
non-gender-specific term you use
to put some bass up in that voice.
Those faculty tonight, they
don't see you as a peer.
That bad?
You're still acting like a student,
like you still want their
approval, their respect.
They're not just gonna give it to you.
Be assertive.
Think about what you want.
Behave like you already have it.
[KEVIN ROSS]
Soon as you come through ♪
I'll change the way that you feel ♪
Make it sweet, sweet ♪
Sweet, ay ♪
[LAUGHS]
You thinking about what you want?
Sorry, that was
I think I had one too many.
I don't know why I did that.
Sorry.
I'm gonna go to the bathroom.
[KEVIN ROSS] Whenever you need it ♪
You know I'm on call ♪
You better believe it ♪
Put the dash on coast ♪
You know anything goes ♪
Stress won't hold, no ♪
Once we hit the road ♪
Don't you worry about a hair ♪
On your pretty little head ♪
Let it go, go ♪
Come get you a little sweet release ♪
Give me a shot ♪
Whipping the pot ♪
Never miss ♪
Girl, I got ♪
Girl, I got you ♪
Give me the time ♪
Put you in ♪
For a sweet release ♪
Soon as you come through ♪
I'll change the way that you feel ♪
Make it sweet, sweet ♪
Sweet, ay ♪
[INSTRUMENTAL PLAYING]
So, wait, I'm confused.
If they didn't come to vet me,
why did the FBI want to talk to you?
They came to ask me about Uncle Jack
and some woman named Lisa.
What?
Yeah, I didn't get it either.
Mariah said I should
ask Uncle Mal about it,
you know, with all his
Justice Department connections.
Absolutely not.
My appointment to the federal judiciary
has to be made by the president.
It's one thing that my
in-laws have this history
with Jack Ziegler, and
it's a whole other thing
to let you shine a spotlight on it.
Seriously, Tal, don't mention it.
Yeah.
OK, fine.
How's everybody holding
up after the funeral?
I'm fine.
I think Mariah's totally
lost her mind, though.
How so?
She can't accept that the
judge got old and died.
She's in complete denial.
And I'm swimming against the tide,
trying to get everything back to normal
as quickly as possible.
Oh, so you're in denial too.
Hmm?
Trying to get back to normal?
That's just another form of denial.
Not supposed to be normal
the day after you bury a parent, Tal.
I've seen a lot of
coffins dropped into holes,
and let me tell you something.
There ain't no way around grief.
You got to buckle up and
drive right through it.
I guess with all the
other stuff been going on,
we're all a little off.
It's been weird.
What other stuff?
Son, what other weird stuff?
FBI came by the house
asking about Jack Ziegler,
pretty aggressively
asking about Jack Ziegler.
Mariah was actually wondering
if maybe you could reach out
to some of your contacts at the bureau,
find out what that was about.
Yeah, sure.
I got some people I can text.
[SIGHS] Mrs. Corcoran says, and I quote,
"You gonna keep fussing
over that meat all day,
or we gonna eat sometime this century?"
[LAUGHTER]
What are you two up to over here?
Tal was just telling me
about that strange FBI visit
y'all had earlier today.
I specifically asked you
not to mention anything.
Sorry, it just came up.
Oh, just came up?
Tal, you brought it up.
Only way he could have known.
You know, optics matter now
not just for me, for you too.
You can't be seen as
someone who's involved
with Jack Ziegler or the FBI.
And you can't be seen as
someone who believes his wife
is committing adultery.
When I saw the flowers,
I jumped to conclusions.
- [KIMMER SCOFFS]
- That's my bad.
You did.
And I'm sorry I told Mal about the FBI.
That's also my bad.
Thank you for saying that.
Look, I don't want to screw
up this nomination for you.
And I promise I won't
rock the boat anymore, OK?
Can we start fresh in the morning?
Bentley and I leave in the morning
first thing.
I meant metaphorically.
You should come home with us.
Nah, I should stay.
Mariah wants us all going
to church in the morning,
and I can't have two angry
Black women in my life.
Only so much one man can take, shit.
[DOOR CREAKS OPEN, SHUTS]
[CLAIRE] Oliver.
[CHUCKLES] Hey there, Your Honor.
Father Brown. Hmm.
[CLAIRE] You should talk to Father Brown
about the offers you've been getting.
Some spiritual guidance might
help you come to a decision.
What offers?
Cable news shows, Glenn
Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly.
They want me to come on their programs
and tell my side of
the nomination debacle.
OK.
That could be fun.
Get your version out there.
Why not?
Because what they really want me to do
is promote the theory
that Democrats are evil,
deep state globalists
conspiring to silence
hardworking Christian family men
like myself.
But I have no interest in
petty partisan propaganda.
Oliver, I'm worried about you.
Claire's worried about you.
- I'm fine.
- [BROWN] Are you?
It's been 2 1/2 years since
you lost the nomination.
You haven't been to church once.
[OLIVER] That's a lie.
Two years ago,
Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi,
I came for the blessing of the animals.
I threw a ball to the Dungys' retriever.
- I like dogs.
- OK.
You've barely been to church.
And Claire says you haven't been leaving
the house at all for months.
How long have I known you?
How long have I been your friend?
Long enough to know that I'm a man
that makes his own choices,
for better or for worse.
[SIGHS]
Can I at least give you
communion before I go?
How about we just pray?
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
Heavenly Father, we thank you for
No, no, no, no, confession of sins.
Is there something on your conscience
you want to talk about?
Do the prayer.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have
sinned against you
[TOGETHER] in
thought, word, and deed
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone.
[BELL TOLLING]
Why is this place so dead?
Because Americans have turned their back
on God at an alarming rate.
[CRYING]
See, weird.
Ms. Reid, what's going on?
Mariah Garland.
It's Denton now.
[CHANTAL] Mariah Denton.
I'm sorry to hear about your dad.
How y'all doing?
We're fine, but it seems like
you're closed for business.
[CHANTAL] I guess y'all haven't heard.
Father Brown was murdered last night.
- What?
- Murdered?
Szuza, can you take the
kids back to the car?
Yeah. Let's go.
- What happened?
- [CHANTAL] Cops haven't
really given us any details yet.
The only thing we know is, he's dead.
Foul play.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
We might have some relevant information.
Who should we talk to?
[CHANTAL] What?
You didn't even know he was dead.
Ms. Reid, can you put me in touch
with the homicide detective or not?
They're supposed to send someone out
to talk to the church staff.
OK, thank you. I'll wait.
[CLEARING THROAT]
We have relevant information?
Keep up, Tal. This is how we find out
- what the police know.
- Why would we want
to find out what the police know?
'Cause this murder must be
related to Dad's. What are the odds?
Dad wasn't murdered, though.
Whatever. It is related.
Will you talk to the detective with me?
No.
OK, well, then can
you take the kids home?
Look, I'm talking to the
cops with or without you,
so you might as well make
yourself somewhat useful.
[MARTIN] What are you doing?
Looking for some of Grandpa's
stuff that went missing.
Got any relevant information, sir?
What's "revelant" mean?
Never mind. You need something?
Martina put her toys in the microwave,
and they caught on fire.
Are they still on fire?
Is anyone dead?
Go play.
I'll be there in a minute.
[MARTIN] Uncle Tal says it's fine!
[PHONE LINE TRILLS]
[ADDISON OVER PHONE]
You've reached Addison Garland.
You can leave a message, but
I prefer an email or text.
[BEEP]
Yo, Addy, it's your
favorite little brother.
Some of the judge's stuff went missing,
and I was wondering if
maybe you snagged some of it
to remember him by or whatever.
It's a scrapbook and a
couple of chess pawns.
The black one's pretty distinctive.
It's got white marble streaks.
Anyway, let me know if you
did so I can stop looking.
All right.
Oh, and Father Brown got murdered.
OK, hit me up.
Peace.
Detective Portillo,
this is the young lady
I was telling you about, Mariah Gar
Mariah Denton.
I understand you've got some
information for me, Mrs. Denton?
Yes, that's right.
I'd feel more comfortable
if we could talk in private.
Of course.
I'll be in the office
if y'all need my help.
Thank you.
You wanted to discuss
the Freeman Brown homicide, correct?
Yes, that's right.
Could you tell me more
about what happened?
That's not how this works, Mrs. Denton.
If you've got pertinent information,
as you said you do, I hear that now,
and then I use it to
move the case forward.
It's a one-way street.
So what you got for me?
A suspect.
Name's Jack Ziegler.
And what was his
relationship to the deceased?
I'm not sure they had a relationship,
but Jack Ziegler is
a very dangerous man.
And he showed up at a funeral
that Freeman Brown presided
over just two days ago.
They fight? Was there an argument?
I didn't see them interact at all.
Physical description for Ziegler?
Old. 70s.
He's white, very ill, frail.
And evil eyes.
Like, just pure fucking
evil in his eyes.
And you can tell when you see them
- that there's darkness there.
- Thanks for this.
I'll look into it.
I apologize for my language.
I would normally never curse
in the house of the Lord.
It's just
He was my pastor, my my shepherd
guiding me through the
dark and dangerous world
beset with evil and
temptation at all sides.
And he baptized me when
I was just a little baby,
just right up there.
[SOBS]
God put him in my life
from the very beginning,
and now he's he's gone.
[CRIES]
I get it.
I love my priest too. He's like family.
[SOBBING]
[PORTILLO] This might be hard to hear.
We have information that Freeman Brown
was a heavy drug user.
Drugs?
Oh.
I don't think
old man Jack Ziegler
could have done this
murder, at least not alone.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Why not? What do you mean?
Freeman Brown was tortured.
And let's just say, it
takes a lot of strength
to pull out a man's
fingernails one by one.
God.
[PHONE RINGING]
Hey, Mom.
I'm putting your father on the phone.
OK, why?
[CLAIRE OVER PHONE] Because
he refuses to leave the house.
Maybe you can talk some sense into him.
[TAL OVER PHONE] I can't right now, Mom.
- I have company.
- [CLAIRE SCOFFS] You'll manage.
Talcott.
Talcott, how are you?
Doing all right, you?
[OLIVER OVER PHONE] Reading up
on this John Edwards debacle.
If a love child with
Rielle Hunter wasn't enough,
he allegedly used campaign
finances to cover his tracks.
Who's Rielle Hunter?
[OLIVER OVER PHONE] Not his wife.
Abby would be so disappointed.
Did I tell you I've been
publishing some chess problems
under a pseudonym?
Yeah, you mentioned that a lot.
Maybe you could get out of the house,
play a game or two with another
actual, real live person.
Et tu, Talcott?
[TAL OVER PHONE] What?
Your mother got to you?
She just wants what's best.
She's
Worried about me. I'm aware.
You're not the first
emissary that she's sent.
[LAUGHS] How are you?
What's new?
Not much.
Looking to switch to a
tenure track position.
Been dealing with that
application process.
That's fantastic news.
Congratulations.
I still have a lot of work to do
to impress the other faculty.
[OLIVER OVER PHONE] Well,
the world of elite academia
is highly political.
And you've never been
that politically astute.
Wow, thanks.
Oh, no, Talcott, you know
I didn't mean it like that.
It actually is a compliment.
Politics, they're dirty.
I could come up there
and put a word in for you.
The makeup of the faculty
leans a lot more liberal these days.
And?
[TAL OVER PHONE] And the voice
of a conservative judge
who resigned under the circumstances
that you did
I'm just there's a certain narrative
I'm trying to steer clear of.
Steer clear of your father.
Wh no, no, the narrative, Dad.
You know, the whole
disgraced public figure
who disappeared thing.
People talk, including the faculty here.
And if you're gonna be in the house,
they're gonna say what they want to say.
I see.
We can't have it both ways.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
And, you know, I'm grown now.
I can't have my dad swoop in to save me
every time things get challenging.
This is on me.
[MOUTHING WORDS]
Dad, I got to run. Bye.
See you.
[DIAL TONE HUMMING]
[PHONE BEEPS]
See you tomorrow night?
Count on it.
[CHILDREN] Kill the
monster! Kill the monster!
All right, guys, that's enough.
[BOTH] Kill the monster!
Kill the monster!
Mm-hmm. Kill the monster.
Oh, my God, get out of
here. Leave your uncle alone.
Come on.
[SIGHS]
Where is Szuza?
Watching one of your
other dozen children.
Did you solve the murder yet?
Are you sitting down?
Just shut up and listen.
I didn't say anything.
Freeman Brown was a drug addict,
a pill popper.
OK. Hard to believe,
but what does that
And he was tortured before he died.
I saw the pictures.
It was fucking brutal, Tal.
You probably would have fainted.
Why do you seem, like, happy?
We've known Father
Brown our whole lives.
Shut up. I'm not happy that he's dead.
I'm happy that it's all coming together.
I feel like I'm gonna
regret asking this,
but how exactly is it
all coming together?
Torture is a tool used to get
information out of somebody, right?
So this wasn't an ordinary murder.
This was something out of a spy movie.
Doesn't this sound like
something ex-spy, ex-CIA agent
Jack Ziegler would do?
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
I'm going home.
Why?
'Cause I have a wife and a kid
and a job to focus on.
And it would be wise for you
to spend some time at home, too,
maybe clear your head a bit?
Dad's death got you spiraling.
Did you forget I was a journalist?
I literally used to do
this shit for a living.
That was a very, very,
very, very long time ago.
And this isn't a financial crime.
Embezzlement or murder, you
get to the truth the same way.
You find a thread and pull.
Sometimes it's attached to nothing.
Sometimes it unravels
the whole damn sweater.
Sure, Columbo.
Can I finish packing in peace, or
[SIGHS]
[PHONE RINGING]
It's the producers from Fox News.
I'll let them know you're
not interested again.
[OLIVER] No.
I'd like to speak with them.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
If you do blue, yellow, and white,
it makes a lighter shade of green.
Blue, yellow, and white.
Maybe I'll try that.
A little bit of blue,
a little bit of yellow,
a little bit of white.
What? How is that looking?
[GASPS] I like this color.
It's like a little bit of teal.
[GASPS] Daddy!
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
[KIMMER] Welcome home, honey.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
Mm, I know.
[LAUGHS]
[PERSON] All right, Mr.
Garland, how's that mic?
[HOST OVER MONITOR] Judge Garland.
Just wanted to thank you for agreeing
to be on our humble
little program today.
[OLIVER] Good to be here.
Any questions before we get started?
[PERSON] You're all set.
No, ready to go.
Usually I go over run
of show with guests
before we put them on air.
Unnecessary.
Just tell me when we're
on and where to look.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
Damn right, I'm angry.
I spent the last two years angry.
Sonia Sotomayor is a socialist ideologue
who shouldn't be let anywhere
near our highest court.
I was the victim of a radical
liberal deep state witch hunt,
and I'm not gonna be
quiet about it anymore.
What's their ideology,
using campaign finances
to pay off mistresses?
Freedom and safety and
personal accountability
and the American dream.
I never had my upturned open palm out.
I hope they vote her down 100 to 0
and we can finally restore
some faith in our Senate.
I clawed, and I scraped,
and I climbed that ladder
rung by slippery rung.
Chairman Obama and Comrade Harry Reid
won't stop until our flag is replaced
with a hammer and a sickle
and patriotic Americans
are forced into gulags.
The muscular hand of the U.S. government
is not there to lift us up.
It's there to hold us down.
Wow, that was phenomenal.
- It was electric.
- Thank you.
I have a bunch of open segments
over the next few months.
- Are you interested?
- Absolutely.
I haven't even got to
talk about Pelosi yet.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[BELL RINGING]
Oh, hey.
Hi.
What are you doing here?
Drinking coffee.
It's a coffee shop.
Yeah. [CHUCKLES]
Of course. That tracks.
I took all of your advice
for that tenure track job,
put some bass in my voice.
[LAUGHS] And?
Word is, it's mine. Offer forthcoming.
That's really great, Tal.
I'm proud of you.
For real.
You OK?
Yeah, why?
Nah, it's just, you seem distracted.
- No.
- [BELL RINGING]
Parking was crazy out there.
Hey, I'm Andre.
Talcott.
I met Talcott at that dinner party
I went to a few weeks ago.
You know, he's that lawyer
I was telling you about.
Oh, OK. Right on.
Talcott, this is Andre, my husband.
Nice meeting you, Andre.
Yeah, for sure. Be easy, man.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
OK, hot chocolate.
Got to have marshmallows,
'cause you know me.
Whipped cream.
Mm, whipped cream?
That's a little much, don't you think?
- [ANDRE] You got to live it up.
- [FACETIME RINGING]
Uncle Mal, hey.
Tal, what were the names of those agents
that came questioning you?
McDermott and Foreman.
[MAL OVER PHONE] Oh.
What's that mean?
Well, it's the damnedest thing.
Those are the exact
names I gave the FBI.
And?
[MAL OVER PHONE] They've
got no record of any agents
with those names.
In fact, they got no record
of any agents bureau-wide
questioning you at all.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Whoever you talked to, Tal,
they're not from the FBI.
I'll keep digging,
let you know if I find anything else.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, Prof.
Lionel, how are you?
[LIONEL] I should be asking you that.
I just heard about your pops passing,
literally just, like, an hour ago.
I ain't had time to stop by the florist,
but I had these in the trunk.
Thought you might like
them better anyway.
Player exclusives right there.
Yeah, I wore some similar
in the 2018 All-Star Game.
Brought me luck.
Thank you, Lionel.
I appreciate it.
How's the fam?
Mrs. Madison-Garland holding up OK?
- Kimmer?
- Yeah.
She's fine, I think.
I'll let her know you asked about her.
Yeah, yeah. Tell her I said, what's up?
I'm hoping to intern at Newhall and Vann
again this summer.
I'm sure they'd be
happy to have you back.
I'll let her know.
That'd be dope.
Go ahead. Find your seat.
I need to look over those
notes before the lecture begins.
Keep your head up, Prof.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]