Great Expectations (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

Why did my mysterious benefactor
think it wise
to make a man like you my guardian?
Because I am known to be evil.
Celebrated for it.
JAGGERS: I'm a lawyer.
Innocence and guilt are not my concern.
ESTELLA: Am I allowed to know
who this very respectable gentleman is?
Or do I meet him first at the altar?
If it weren't for me pulling you up
from the running gutters of Lewisham,
you would be selling your pretty ass
for two shillings a time,
five times a night.
Girls of your birth
really don't have choices.
MAGWITCH: I'm here for one thing.
Vengeance.
(GROANING)
(SCREAMING)
COMPEYSON: It is the boy who
I'm traveling to see.
You just deliberately
introduced me to the man
who is planning to marry
the woman I love.
JAGGERS: Indeed, I did. Yes.
And if you help ruin Drummle's business,
Estella might be freed
from her affiancement.
HERBERT: Pip
Estella.
She's coming to London.
(WIND BLOWING)
(THUDDING)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(GLASS CRUNCHING)
MISS HAVISHAM: Estella!
Come back here!
(GASPING)
PIP: Estella, my love.
Didn't you know
they always change the locks.
The only way out is to change the world.
And how do we do that, Pip?
How exactly do we
change the world, you and I?
(BELL TOLLING)
You have a big day today, Estella.
Listen to the bells.
It's time to wake up.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
MISS HAVISHAM: Estella, did you hear me?
It's time to wake up.
Why have you locked the door?
Because I want to change
the world, Miss Havisham.
MISS HAVISHAM: What are you doing?
Open the door!
(KEYS JANGLING)
All night I pressed your clothes
and polished your shoes
instead of sleeping.
That is how important the day is.
Wash especially well.
He deals spices, he will have
a particularly sensitive nose.
Wash everywhere.
Leave your hair. I will tie it up.
Your carriage leaves in one hour.
(DOOR OPENS, SLAMS)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
- MAN: Morning, Pip.
- Morning.
At 11:00, we will be graced by
a visit from a dealer in cotton
from somewhere in the Yankee colony
Josiah King from Savannah Georgia.
And Mr. Drummle, of course,
America is no longer a colony.
My grandfather was killed and scalped
by Yankee savages in 1776,
I refuse to acknowledge
their temporary independence.
But you do do business with them.
Drummle and Co. will happily do
business with the devil himself.
Do business even with the French.
Then you might want to read this
from a Monsieur Dorget.
Light the fire, boy.
We crossed paths in
The Phoenix last night.
He is seeking insurance
for a cargo of furs.
His ship is in from Montreal
and docked at Wapping.
I've made acquaintance with
the landlord of The Phoenix.
He previously listened in
on conversations for me.
He said Dorget booked
a private meeting room
to meet with a Jamaican planter
called Thompson.
You are a very, very enterprising boy,
Dorget plans to run furs
from Montreal to China.
But on the way plans to pick up
human cargo in Hispaniola
and take them to Kingston.
I've agreed to pay the landlord
two shillings a week for information.
I expect recompense.
I will give you three shillings a week.
And tell the Frenchman I'm
interested in doing business.
In fact, I'll draw up papers.
He dines at The Phoenix at midday,
I'll see him there and he can sign.
After that, you will have to row
your little boat back quickly
to be in Covent Garden for two.
(INHALING)
You will take (INHALING)
my 11 o'clock Yankee off my hands,
and take him to dine in
the Blue Posts in Drury
(SNEEZING) Lane.
Then you will arrange the
afternoon's entertainment for him.
I'm told the Yank likes women
who speak with
a fine English accent, so
See if you can find some actress
who works at Drury Lane
who performs Shakespeare.
She can perform Lady Macbeth for him.
I'm trusted with entertaining
clients so soon?
Today I'll be busy.
The woman I'm planning to marry
is coming to London.
We have a half hour booked in
the presence of a chaperone.
So who is she,
this girl?
Some sort of orphan so her stock
is uncertain.
But she has been raised
by the daughter of an associate
of my grandfather.
And I'm told this little orphan
is pretty as a fawn.
I am done with actresses.
I need a well-built vessel
whose cargo
will be my son and heir.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Cordial today, I imagine,
after yesterday.
No. Rum.
Bermudan rum.
Ginger water with it?
No.
Rum should taste like rum.
A little young to be a connoisseur.
Another.
ISAAC: Before midday?
Does the Frenchmen
have his table booked?
Yes.
Did your employer compensate you
for my fee?
Yes.
He is very pleased with me.
That's me.
Pip, the river rat.
Pip, the spy.
And one more before business, Isaac.
Beware of him.
The marks on his arms tell me
he was a Corsair.
Not just a slaver, a pirate.
He presents himself as a businessman,
but the brute can't even read.
(EXCLAIMING) Monsieur Dorget.
We were just speaking about you.
Is the answer yes or no?
Mr. Drummle says yes.
- From Wapping to Peking.
- All the way.
- Cargo of furs.
- Salted and smoked.
Underwritten comprehensively.
Comprehensively insured
by Drummle and Company.
Good. Nothing hidden in there.
Nothing hidden.
Your cordial and water, Mr. Dorget.
Uh-huh, cordial.
When I was foolish,
rum almost killed me.
Then I'll have another rum.
Assassinate all hesitancy.
I have a clerk.
We'll go through the papers together.
You can come back this afternoon.
Or if you wish, I could just
read the papers out to you.
And why would you do that?
It would be quicker if I were
to read the contract out,
and as long as you are happy with it,
you can make your mark.
Make my mark?
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
Actually, sir, I know French.
My balls have dropped a long time since.
ISAAC: Pip
The boy with balls
wants me to make my mark.
I will forgive you because
you're young and you're drunk.
But you can throw
your fucking papers on the fire.
I will require you
to take that back, sir.
If you insult a gentleman
before a witness,
you must expect to be told to withdraw.
I am not drunk.
Apologize, Monsieur Dorget.
(CLAMORING)
You wanted me to make my mark.
I will make my mark!
(BOTH STRAINING)
You must be Mr. Dorget.
I am the boy's master.
(DORGET GROANING)
Mr. Dorget
As I was saying, as his master,
I would like, on his behalf,
to apologize.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
(GUN COCKING)
Jaggers' pistol is always loaded.
(KNIFE CLATTERING)
Sit down.
Point it anywhere but at me.
(EXHALES)
Now
I understand you have a cargo
which you wish to insure.
These papers will be your indemnity.
Mr. Dorget (CONTINUES IN FRENCH)
Now, make your mark
on the fucking paper,
or spend the next ten years in Newgate.
JAGGERS: Give me that.
Outside.
Pass me the ink.
No, I've had enough.
One more sip and you will be
cleansed of all the others.
There.
I need you sober
'cause I have an important job
for you this afternoon.
I'm busy this afternoon.
Have you tried opium yet?
Not yet.
Well
It calms you
where rum enrages you.
I haven't been calm
since I arrived in London.
(BLOWING)
I'm due in Covent Garden.
I have to introduce
an American cotton planter
to his Lady Macbeth.
Drummle's American is already
taken care of.
I've done business with him before.
I know what he likes,
and it isn't Shakespeare.
Sexual preferences more resemble
the works of Dante.
I'm having him escorted
to the Elephant and Castle.
You know, for all I try, Mr. Jaggers
I don't think I'm suited to this life.
Then change.
Do people change?
I was once a boy
who loved to go fishing.
And one day it was I who took the bait,
and swallowed the hook.
What bait?
Whose hook?
As I say,
this afternoon, I have a job for you.
The chaperone who was going
to sit in with Drummle
and his future wife has
complained of a stomach upset.
They need someone to be
in the room with them
as they have
their inaugural conversation.
A requirement dictated by etiquette.
Why are you telling me?
Because I need you to be at
the exchange at precisely 1:30
where you will sit, in silence,
in the office,
in between Drummle and Estella Havisham
as they meet for the very first time,
and engage in what I'm sure will be
half an hour of sparkling
and coquettish conversation.
You've told Drummle
that I will be his chaperone?
You do these things purely
for your own fucking amusement.
Move!
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
Shit.
JAGGERS: The thing is, Pip,
if you really want to win Estella,
you will need more than love.
You will also need hate.
When Dorget's ship leaves Hispaniola
with its human cargo,
it will be breaking British maritime law
forbidding the transportation of slaves.
But it is we who are insuring the ship.
And it is I who has
already sent a message
to the Royal Navy blockade
outside Hispaniola,
ensuring that Dorget's ship
will be seized.
Dorget will be hanged as a slaver.
He will hang?
A just reward for his
evil trading, don't you think?
And what of us?
We are liable as accomplices
No, it will be Drummle who
will be the legal accomplice.
We will ensure that only Drummle signs
the insurance papers for the ship.
And if it can be proven
that Drummle was aware
of the nature of the cargo
when he insured it,
he will be tried for complicity.
How can it be proven?
You and I together
will give evidence against him.
At the very least,
his assets will be taken,
and we will lay claim to them
by way of unpaid debts.
And the slaves aboard the ship
will be freed.
That is the other consequence
of your plan.
Of no consequence to me.
You've alerted the Royal Navy to
such ships before, Mr. Jaggers.
If there was a profit in it.
How many times, Mr. Jaggers?
Pip Gargery
To be complicit in such a strategy
where a man will hang,
and another will be ruined,
you will need to not only love Estella,
you will also need to hate Drummle.
And I am sure that after
listening to Drummle
talking spite and drivel
to the woman you love for half an hour,
I have no doubt you will have
enough hate in your heart
to make you come on board
with the wicked plans
of the evil Mr. Jaggers.
Learn never to be drunk,
but never to be sober.
Get to Drummle's now or you'll be late.
DRUMMLE: Punctual as ever.
(DOOR CLOSING)
I imagine the lady will exercise
her prerogative and be late.
How do I look?
You look fine.
DRUMMLE: Fine?
Commanding.
Good. Thank you.
As As with a horse,
one must take command immediately.
I have had my hair cut.
It's
Shorter.
It is in the style of Lord Melbourne.
Yes.
You look very much like
a prime minister.
What do you smell in the air?
Tobacco.
Nutmeg.
I want her to know me with every sense.
(SOFTLY) Except for touch, of course.
(SNIFFING)
Of course.
Where do you want me to sit?
Umm
(MUFFLED) You sit here.
Oh, and please understand that
according to convention,
a chaperone, no matter what happens,
does not say a fucking word.
Understood.
DRUMMLE: Take command, Drummle.
Take command. Take command.
(CLEARING THROAT)
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(HORSE WHINNIES)
This way, Miss Estella.
(EXHALING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MAN: Madam.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
DRUMMLE: Come.
BUTLER: Miss Estella Havisham,
Mr. Bentley Drummle.
Yes, yes, I know it is
the normal convention
that the chaperone should be a woman.
We were let down in the last moment.
My servant here is just a boy.
You can plainly see he's not a man.
So I hope we may proceed?
I believe it was agreed we have
a half hour in each other's company.
It is now almost quarter two.
We should talk until 13 minutes past.
How was your journey from Um
My journey was fine, thank you.
- You live by the river?
- Yes.
Where the river is very wide.
ESTELLA: And where the fog
makes everything terribly mysterious.
Mmm-hmm.
My ships pass down the river.
Maybe you've seen them.
They are very large ships.
I have no view of the river.
Though I understand
some in the village spend
all their waking hours
staring at the passing ships.
DRUMMLE: Hmm. Hmm.
Mine are very distinctive.
They have sails beetroot red.
Large, huge sails.
And they sail to the East
to collect nutmeg.
I'm allergic to nutmeg.
Good.
Do you
Do you like to walk?
If I have somewhere
to walk to, I walk there.
I walk to think.
And what do you think?
DRUMMLE: That depends on many things.
Mostly, I think about business, money,
- big ships and
- And nutmeg?
(SNICKERING)
My great uncle knew your grandfather.
It seems everyone
is connected to everyone else.
(DRUMMLE CLEARS THROAT)
Do you ride horses?
No.
I hunt. Foxes.
I feed foxes.
I feed foxes to my dogs.
Oh, how opposite we are.
(SHOUTING) Look at me!
What I mean is,
don't keep looking at him.
Look at me.
You say so soon we are opposites.
In minute two of our acquaintance,
you say we are opposites.
Well, let me be clear from the start.
It has already been agreed
we are to be married.
And there is no room for
opposites in a marriage,
there is only room for one outlook.
And that will be my outlook.
There can be debate,
and discourse,
but it should be merry and light.
Do you understand?
Do you understand?
In matters of importance,
debate would be pointless.
The wife of a Drummle
will become a Drummle
in more than just name.
Are you all right?
Something in this room
is making my eyes sting.
Nutmeg perhaps.
It doesn't speak.
May I please have a handkerchief?
DRUMMLE: No, no!
Very well.
As I was saying, where you are
not prepared to act
and indeed think like a Drummle,
there will be reprimand.
And beyond reprimand,
should the need arise,
at the end of
the spectrum in our discourse,
there will be this
It is a man's right to prevail.
If the stick is of a thickness
to meet the approval of law.
Of course, that would be a last resort,
but I thought you should really know
at the very beginning
how things will proceed,
how things will become,
how things are, and will be.
Might be
Hopefully will never be.
And I thought you would appreciate it
if I impressed upon you at the outset
in the first three minutes
of our relationship
Has it only been three minutes?
(TICKING)
That I am in command.
So
With the serious business
of who's in command settled,
more pleasant topics.
What are the things you really love,
and what are the things you really hate?
For example, I hate cats.
I hate nutmeg
ESTELLA: Is this fate or strategy?
PIP: Neither. It is something
far more powerful than fate.
His name is Mr. Jaggers.
Estella, I have to talk to you.
I have an appointment to be fitted
for my wedding dress in 30 minutes.
You cannot even think about
marrying that fucking idiot!
I see London hasn't
improved your vocabulary.
But it has improved
my position in the world.
I have to go, Pip.
You smell of burnt leather
and something worse.
Estella, there are many things
I can't tell you.
You make your living as a chaperone.
No
It's part of a plan.
But for now, all you need to know
is you must not marry him.
You know I have no choice.
The plan was conceived by Mr. Jaggers,
so it is a good one.
Since when did my mother's
lawyer do anything good?
What I mean is the plan is very bad.
But it gives us hope.
- Which is good.
- Miss Havisham has made it very clear
if I refuse to marry him,
she will disinherit me.
And I will take care of you.
You?
You?
She'd hand me over
to a blacksmith's boy?
A blacksmith's boy who will be rich.
"Will be rich."
Right, because you have a plan,
you and Mr. Jaggers?
Estella, these days I am an underwriter.
Ships. Huge ships.
You sound exactly like Drummle.
Unlike Drummle,
I have a future in the world.
The world of every single thing
that can be transported aboard a ship.
And one day one of those ships
will take us to Cairo.
You and I.
We will arrive at the mouth of the Nile,
and there beyond the banks of the river,
instead of foggy marshes,
we will see pyramids and sphinxes.
Pip, you're a boy whose boots
smell of burnt leather,
and whose breath in the middle
of the afternoon smells of rum.
Your health does not look so good.
I will forsake rum.
I will do it now, today
Please stop.
Your efforts to secure me are futile.
My reluctance to accept Drummle
is pointless.
The only way we can escape
is if we change the world.
Would you and I do that?
If I could change the world
for you, I would.
Because I love you, Estella.
You can love me all you want, Pip.
There's a wedding dress waiting for me.
And I will marry Drummle
because I have to.
(KNOCKING)
Drive on.
(SOLEMN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Fuck!
(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
DRESSMAKER: Let me see.
You don't like it?
It's very beautiful.
You're not happy?
I cannot be happy.
(BOTTLE ROLLING)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Who were they?
Where did they go?
How long have I been here?
Do you know the way to London?
(FORGE WHOOSHING)
Miss Estella?
Goodness
It's an honor.
Ma'am, forgive me.
Don't trouble, Joe. I'm just passing.
I went to London, and I saw Pip.
And how is he, Ma'am?
He did not look well.
Not well how?
For his own sake, you should
write to him and call him home.
BIDDY: Morning, Ma'am.
Please.
Call me Estella.
(CHILDREN CHATTERING IN DISTANCE)
This was Pip's classroom, yes?
BIDDY: Yes.
Since he was seven years old.
He talked about you quite a lot.
I understood things
he didn't understand.
It was obvious to me from the things
that he told me about you,
that you were in love with him.
I heard you went to London.
Did you see him?
Yes.
Pip is very unhappy.
He wants things to happen
that can never happen.
Goodness. We're none of us
children anymore, are we?
Was there something you wanted, Ma'am?
You see, the thing is,
Pip is in love with me.
Still.
Even worse than before, in fact.
But he must stop.
He must. For his sake.
I'm like a lighthouse.
Alone.
And a warning to others to stay away.
If he comes back here,
as I pray he will,
you should go to him.
You will make him happy.
Why'd you even care about him?
You think there's compassion in my soul?
You think there's still hope for me?
I think not.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(CLAMORING)
That way, sir.
Thank you.
(WOMAN MOANING)
You said you have a job for me?
Yes, I need you to help me
deliver a parcel.
PIP: What is that smell?
You are the angel of death, Mr. Jaggers.
The American cotton planter
with whom I arranged
an evening's entertainment,
had the discourtesy
to have a heart attack
whilst bound to this whipping post.
Open the sack.
Don't you have a meat porter for this?
Not in the Elephant and Castle.
No one within two miles either
side of the Walworth Road
can be trusted with a secret.
And besides,
you are my meat porter now.
And this time you did not throw up.
For a young man
on the road to greatness,
that is indeed progress.
Your belly is beginning
to catch up with your bravado.
Let's bag him.
(SPLASHING)
Will you inform his family?
I will say he was last seen walking
at a time of night when
there are often robbers.
When his body is found in Gravesend,
they will imagine the rest,
and his reputation will be intact.
(SEAGULLS SQUAWKING)
So you did this
for a good reason, Mr. Jaggers?
Just as you often inform
the Royal Navy about slave ships.
Pip, please.
My reputation
is increasingly in your hands.
If you should let slip
any hint of virtue,
the demand for my services
would rapidly dwindle.
And to answer your question earlier,
the boy I once was, who liked to fish
Was very much like you.
Visibly an outsider
Who craved acceptance
Then demanded it.
And finally despised it.
Despised it the more so,
since I met you.
I have affected you, Mr. Jaggers?
Thirty five seconds of
self-examination per month
is enough for any gentleman.
- Should I turn her about?
- God, no.
We have business, don't you remember?
We'll continue east.
To Limehouse.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
BRYANA: Mr. Jaggers.
Are you here to take comfort?
Yes.
And I also have business.
Please.
Wait over there.
I have locked my terrible dog
in his iron cage.
First, business.
A French captain of my acquaintance
was due to ship smoked and salted furs
from Montreal to Peking.
He is pretty.
On arrival in Peking,
this captain was due
to collect a shipment of opium
to take back to New York.
I have two daughters.
I'm afraid the boy is already in love.
Poor boy.
Actually, I'm not a boy.
This particular ship captain
will never make it to Peking.
He'll not arrive to collect the opium
because he will hang
before he gets there.
Does she love you?
No.
Solace.
And torture.
The opium that is waiting at
the dock is already paid for.
I'm planning to have it collected
by someone using the captain's name.
So we will take the opium for free.
(LAUGHING)
What's funny?
(LAUGHING)
I just remembered
I don't even have a dog anymore.
But I do have this.
For when men come
with their bad thoughts.
I have no bad thoughts.
How much for how much?
Two hundred pounds for 500 pounds.
As a matter of fact
I am a man.
A gentleman.
Yes, you are a gentleman indeed.
And you will fight anyone
who says otherwise.
BRYANA: One hundred and fifty pounds.
So who wants to fight me now?
I want him for my eldest girl.
Sorry, I'm a gentleman.
And I am not for sale.
Because I am in love.
She is lost unless I find her.
This boy is nothing but fucking trouble.
Pip.
Please go outside and get some air,
while I make a lot of money.
One hundred and seventy five.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Tell me the truth, Estella.
Who are you dancing with?
Of all of them,
which one are you dancing with?
(SOFTLY) Remarkably.
Insanely.
Impossibly.
I am dancing with the blacksmith's boy.
Perhaps, Mama,
it isn't out of love for him.
It is out of spite for you.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
This London life will either
make you or kill you, Pip.
It will make me, Mr. Jaggers.
And we will go to Cairo.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
We are one hour from
the mouth of the Thames.
We'll make Wapping Wall before dawn.