Lovecraft Country (2020) s01e04 Episode Script

1
If the United States fails
to proliferate its stockpile
of nuclear bombs,
the barbaric Soviet Union
will wipe out civilized America.
We have entered a new global age.
Ain't shit new about it.
Whitey keep cooking up
death for the rest of us to eat.
I don't need your advice
when it comes to raising my son.
- [sobbing]
- He might not be yours.
- You shut your fucking mouth.
- Uncle George!
- [gunshot]
- Look at these niggers.
- I see the flower in your hair.
- [laughs]
Preening in the goddamn mirror.
What else you think happened?
- I don't know.
- Please. I promise.
Dad, I won't do it again, I promise.
Begging won't save your hide.
I said pick a switch.
Pick a switch!
"Adam named."
Eve fucked.
God brought forth Monsters.
Monsters devoured.
"God smites Eve."
The only way for us to defeat the Reds
is to destroy their stockpile.
Take this. Give it to
Tic to protect our family.
[roaring]
[ominous music]
You might be all Tic has left.
Smells like Tulsa.
[Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money"]
[engine revs, tires squeal]
What the fuck are you doing here?
- Can I come in?
- [energy crackles]
Who helped you evict Hiram?
[foreboding music]
How the hell did you
Hmm.
The money.
So you want something
in this house, then?
Something that has to do with Atticus?
Don't let the men fool you
into thinking it's always about them.
His blood may have power in it,
but that's only because
Titus spelled it that way.
It doesn't make Tic special.
Not really.
Certainly not enough
to get away with murder.
Oh, he didn't tell you.
He showed up at the
Realtist's office this morning
and tried to shoot me.
If he keeps operating
in the way that he is,
he's going to get you killed.
Again.
And I don't want that.
Or this house.
I just want Hiram's orrery.
What the fuck is an orrery?
It's a model of the solar system.
I believe Hiram's ghost kept it
locked away somewhere inside.
Listen, you may have paid for this house,
but my name is on the deed,
so you can get the fuck off my porch.
Call me if you find Hiram's orrery.
What galaxy could sustain two suns?
The Virgo Cluster?
They said last year
that any galaxy within
200 billion light-years of it
is confined to a giant supercluster disc.
That could explain
why they're perpetually
eclipsing each other.
- Yes, it would.
- But.
But, Daddy, what if
what if they aren't eclipsing?
What if they are really two suns?
Well, that sounds like the new
comic you told me Diana's drawing,
- AKA out of this universe.
- [laughs]
Mama, we're going to
Bobo's to read some comics.
Bobo, you tell your mama to call me.
I will, ma'am.
Now, is that my granddaughter I hear?
What's that you're
messing with, Hippolyta?
Hold on for a second, Dad.
It is
a mechanical model of a solar system.
It moves and predicts
the relative position of planets.
At least it's supposed to.
This one's broken.
I can't figure out how
to get to the gears.
Well, it's a piece of
work, that's for sure.
Yeah.
Well, if there's one thing I do know,
every locked thing has its key.
You'll find it.
[dark hip-hop music]
You try to kill Christina?
- Answer me.
- Shh.
Can you calm down, please?
How the hell am I supposed to do that
when I got a white sorceress bitch
showing up at my house
she apparently bought for me?
Which you somehow figured out
but didn't think it was
important enough to tell me.
I didn't wanna scare you.
[scoffs]
So what happened? Hmm?
You got cold feet?
She can't be killed.
- What?
- I had the gun to her head.
No matter how hard I tried,
I couldn't pull the trigger.
The invulnerability, it's some
spell her father cooked up.
So does that mean that he's still alive?
The rest of the Sons of Adam too?
No, he had to remove his invulnerability
to cast the spell that ended
up crumbling the lodge.
I'm pretty sure Christina used me
as a Trojan horse to kill him.
[both sigh]
Wait. You were leaving.
You were gonna kill her
and then just go back to Florida?
I'm not I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere until I know
you and my family are safe.
That's what I'm doing here,
trying to figure out a way
- to stop Christina.
- Mm-hmm.
Leti.
All right.
So what's all this got to do with her?
- Go on, tell me.
- [chair scrapes]
What does this have to do with her?
She told me there's two
sets of deciphered pages
from the lost Book of
Names still in existence.
Hiram kept his hidden
from beyond the grave.
That's why she was
asking me about his orrery.
Must be the key to finding his pages.
It's not in the house. I looked.
She also mentioned Titus kept his hidden
in a booby-trapped vault
only he could access.
You have his blood.
You think you can access his vault?
If I can get my hands on those pages,
I can learn the Language of Adam
and start casting some
spells of my own to protect us.
[dramatic music]
Okay.
So where's this vault?
I don't I don't I don't know.
I've been reading
everything I can on Titus to
To try to find a clue.
I might have to go back to Ardham.
And what?
See if you can excavate
something out of the rubble?
They teaching colored boys
paleontology in the army now?
You need to talk to your father.
No.
He probably did all
this research and more
once he got wind of
your mama's connection.
I don't want him involved,
or you either, for that matter.
Go home.
- Shit.
- Shh!
[Bo Diddley's "Cops & Robbers"]
They in the back.
[baseball bat cracks]
[all cheering]
Where in the hell did I
go wrong with you, boy?
Every time I tell you to do something,
you do the exact opposite.
I told you to stay away
from this grand wizardry shit.
[indistinct radio broadcast]
You wanna run chest first
into some magical treasure hunt
like a goddamn fool.
No wonder y'all two sweet on each other.
Foolish and crazy go well together.
- "Pioneering."
- You gonna help us or not?
What do you think happens
when you find Titus's pages?
What happens if we don't?
Christina was at my house.
We need to be able to defend ourselves.
Either one of y'all been
listening to the news?
- We're the Reds in this fight.
- Oh, hell.
That means outnumbered, outgunned,
fumbling to catch up.
We already got one lodge gunning for us.
You want the other 34?
How you know there's 34 lodges?
- [all cheering]
- [stammers]
I don't!
That's the whole goddamn point.
Now, none of us knows nothing
except what this
cracker bitch done told us.
So the answer is no.
I ain't gonna help you kill yourself.
Even if you too dumb
and pigheaded to realize,
you can't win this game
that she's setting up
for you to play, boy.
[foreboding music]
I told you this was a waste of time.
[all groaning]
You really gonna let him chase his tail
looking for answers you already have?
[scoffs]
Now I see where your son gets it.
You're a real asshole.
You got family in Boston?
I think I know where
to find the damn vault.
[suspenseful music]
Ninety-five, 100.
- Ready or not, here I come.
- [car horn honks]
[children giggling]
- Safe.
- Safe.
I got you!
What are you doing?
You're supposed to run to home base.
Ain't you ever play Hide
and Go Seek before?
No, it's my first time. [laughs]
[grunting]
- Hurry.
- I'm safe!
Whoo! Safe!
[ominous music]
Captain Lancaster?
What the fuck are you doing
in my city unannounced?
Went by the Winthrop house.
Wanted to have a chat with Hiram.
Convince him to give me the orrery.
[moaning]
That is the key to unlocking
his time machine, isn't it?
[dramatic musical sting]
[moaning]
I was surprised to find
Negroes had moved in.
How'd you let that happen in your city?
You come here and try and
take my lodge's rightful property,
and you have the fucking
nerve to say it to my face?
Forgive me.
Did I miss your official
initiation into the Order?
I know I didn't miss yours.
No cunts allowed.
Not even if you think you
can find the stolen pages.
[light mischievous music]
Let go.
[sighs]
Told me to let go.
Unlike you, I listen.
[sighs]
If I'd have listened to you,
we wouldn't have a lead on Titus's vault.
Hey, hey.
This is not my fault.
Tic.
- Catch.
- [laughs]
You're gonna love this museum, Dee.
You won't find a better astronomy exhibit
outside of NACA.
[laughs]
- You got this, young lady?
- Mm-hmm.
Why the hell would you invite them?
This isn't a family road trip.
You think I don't know that?
It's her damn car.
I had to tell her where
the hell we were going.
Did you tell her we were planning
on breaking in to the museum?
Hoping to find a hidden
vault too? You tell her that?
We can call this whole
thing off right now if you'd like.
I can't believe I have to
spend the next 15 hours
with you two in a car.
[trunk slams]
Everything okay?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yes, ma'am.
Get in the car.
[engine turning over]
[brakes squeal]
God damn it.
Man, what the hell you doing?
I got a filly in Philly.
Thought I'd catch a
ride with y'all to Boston.
Save myself part of the bus fare.
[whispering] I didn't invite him.
What?
Get in.
[laughs]
George always said
big ol' Woody could fit
the South Side of Chicago if it had to.
[Leikeli47's "Money"]
[refined music]
Excuse me, ma'am?
Can I help you with something?
I'm just browsing.
Let me know if you need anything.
Did you just start working here?
Yes.
Yesterday, in fact.
Do you shop here often?
No, I
I didn't realize this store
was hiring colored girls.
- I know.
- [laughs]
I applied on a whim.
Can't believe I actually got it.
[indistinct chatter]
Welcome to the museum.
Five.
Oh, the Light of the Universe
exhibit is this way, Mama.
- Be back here in two hours.
- Three.
Yes, ma'am.
Hey.
That's the guy right there.
He's expecting me.
We'll need to find the
entrance to Titus's vault.
I read the annual reports last night.
A few renovations happened
while Titus was on the board.
You listening to me?
The vault could be in
any one of those galleries.
Why don't we just start here?
Hey, they got dinosaurs?
We're not heading in that direction.
That's all right.
I'm sure we'll get around
to it in the next three hours.
Hey, you know why
they call me Tree, right?
Most men got two legs.
I got tree.
Shouldn't I already know that,
since we fucked in high school, Seymour?
[wondrous music]
Dee.
See right there?
That's a comet.
It's called Hera's Chariot.
Hera's Chariot?
That's a cool name.
Yes.
It was mine.
You never told me you named a comet.
Not officially, I didn't.
That credit goes to Nancy Studebaker.
Who's that?
She's the niece of an
astronomer in Sweden.
The astronomical society
who held a naming contest
didn't want a little colored girl to
be the face of their competition.
That's
You should've fought that, Mama.
We know the truth.
That's all that matters.
Y'all see that comet?
My mama named it!
My mama named Hera's Chariot.
[crowd gasps with wonder]
Now they know the truth too.
[laughs]
If everyone's ready, let's
proceed to the next room.
This way.
In this,
one of our museum's oldest sections,
we see the many artifacts
the famed explorer Titus
Braithwhite was given
in exchange for
teaching the savage tribes
the ways of civilized man.
Excuse me.
His last expedition to the Caribbean
So you told Letitia what
I said about her, huh?
- I mean, you can have her, man.
- [scoffs]
Ain't no call trying to backstab me.
Yeah, okay.
Any more questions?
I know what this about.
Yeah, this 'cause I sent you out back
when Sammy was with that man.
I just thought you might wanna know.
If everyone's ready, let's
move on to the next room.
That's Sammy's business.
You sure it's not yours?
I'm not a sissy.
Never said you was.
Just, uh, noticing how close
Montrose and Sammy
become since you've been gone.
[whispering] Oh, what time?
Okay. Thank you.
Okay, so I spoke to the security guard.
He gonna let us in
through the back tonight.
How you know him again?
What? Friend at the bar.
What? You can trust him.
Now, look, we only got two
hours before the next security shift,
so I hope you found this damn vault.
[dramatic music building]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[tires squeaking]
[sneaky music]
- What is he doing?
- Shit.
He sees us.
Gentlemen.
[grunting]
[suspenseful music]
[groans]
[coughs]
Tell your captain
Ms. Braithwhite doesn't
like to be followed.
Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen,
I have a date.
[tense music]
This is definitely a door.
Spread out.
See if you can find a way to open it.
Turn off your flashlights.
Huh?
I said turn 'em off, damn it!
[tense music building]
[door rumbles]
[grunting]
[mysterious music]
Mm.
[wings fluttering]
This is some Journey to the
Center of the Earth type shit.
You see Titus's pages?
I see three tunnels.
"Beware, all ye who tread the path."
"Ever the tides shall rise."
We're gonna need the
map of Titus's voyages.
Now, wait a minute.
I promised the security guard
we wouldn't mess with
none of their artifacts.
[grunts]
[tense music]
I'm coming down!
Wait, Le Leti!
Leti, wait.
Shit, let me see what
we're dealing with first.
Fuck.
[grunting]
Oh, shit. Oh, God damn it.
God damn it. Oh, shit.
[breathing heavily]
Oh, shit!
[breathing heavily]
I got it. Damn it.
Give me that.
The compass and the ledger match up.
If we follow the logic
of adventure novels,
these three tunnels
should relate to Titus's expeditions,
which means all we have
to do is figure out which one,
and the buried treasure
should be at the end.
Tour guide said his voyage
to the Caribbean was his last.
Titus raided Guyana for all it's worth,
which means the tunnel
would've been westbound.
How you know he raided Guyana?
Same way I know
anything. I read a damn book.
Well, I read the damn brochure,
and it said
the first renovations
were done to the museum
after he returned from the Caribbean.
What year was that?
He established the Sons
of Adam three years later.
You might be right.
North tunnel it is.
Whoa, wait!
Let's think about this for a minute.
[both sigh]
We could always double back, boy.
We only got two hours. Let's go.
Come on!
Y'all hold up!
It was early this morning
That I had
My trial
[bluesy guitar music]
Ninety days
On the county road
And the judge didn't even smile
[scattered applause, chatter]
Well, fuck you too.
[sighs]
No, I can't afford another.
Nah, blue eyes at the end of
the bar has your tab tonight.
[uneasy music]
May I join you?
Keep my glass full and you
can do whatever you want.
[chuckles]
You didn't come over here
hoping I was modest, did you?
Nah, that's not what
you white boys come over
to the dark side for.
But I can buy my own drinks,
so you're gonna have to
do a bit more to impress me.
What if I told you that I
could change your life forever?
[chuckles]
Then I would say that
you're not the first white boy
to offer to make me a kept woman.
Oh, I would never
dare insult you like that.
[laughs] Fine.
Then I would say that
you're not the first white boy
to promise me the world
trying to lay with me.
It's a promise that I can keep.
[chuckles]
How long we been walking?
Twenty minutes.
Hope y'all picked the right tunnel.
Oh, shit.
Don't die on me now.
Son of a bitch.
[wind howling]
[suspenseful music]
Let's find another tunnel.
No.
No time.
- We walk the plank.
- No, no.
This thing probably been
down here rotting for years, Tic.
Is it even sturdy enough to walk on?
You about to find out.
Oh, hell.
Oh.
Will this hold if I plunge to my death?
- Yes.
- Are you sure?
It's a special knot, so yeah.
Oh, they teach you this in the army?
He learnt it from me.
I learnt it from my father.
He learnt it from his father,
who was an enslaved man
charged with tying down the horses.
Now, if one of those horses got away,
my great-ancestor would've got beat,
but on Juneteenth, he walked
off that plantation a free man,
not one whoop mark on him.
So you can best believe
this special fucking knot
that was passed down
from generations to
generations is gonna hold.
You hear me?
[groans]
[wood creaking]
[tense music]
[breathing heavily]
That's good. That's good.
- You're doing good.
- [gasps]
- Leti!
- Leti. Leti.
[grunts]
- Don't look down.
- Shut up.
- [wood creaking]
- Shit.
[exhales]
The Freemans were never slaves.
She out there, ain't she?
- [dramatic musical sting]
- [screams]
Leti!
Leti, hey, hold on!
I'm coming!
[dramatic music]
What's wrong?
There's something
Something flying around.
[whooshes]
Tic!
We're okay! It's a booby trap!
I'm coming out!
Oh, shit. Wait, damn it!
It's o
You're gonna have to time it
and jump through it.
- All right?
- [whooshes]
The blade's not that
fast, so it's not a big deal.
You just untied the safety knot,
so it's a pretty big fucking deal.
Get ready.
[breathing heavily]
Go!
[yells]
[hissing]
Tic!
The plank is disappearing!
[gasps]
Okay, I'm coming.
I can't do it, Tic.
You're gonna have to jump, Pop.
Come on! Throw me the bag.
[grunts]
[both breathing heavily]
You better catch me, boy!
- I got you. Come on.
- [yelps]
I got you.
[both shouting]
- Oh, shit!
- Okay.
Okay. Okay.
What the fuck is happening over there?
Oh, fuck.
Oh, shit! What the
[grunts]
- Come on!
- [yells]
[gasps]
Go!
Run!
[suspenseful music]
[grunting]
Oh! These move!
We gotta figure out the combination.
It's the Garden of Eden.
Adam, Eve, God shit, Monsters?
Shit.
Adam. Adam.
- What?
- Adam named.
- What?
- Eve fucked.
God brought Monsters.
- Monsters.
- Monsters devoured.
- Eve.
- God smites Eve.
- Eve.
- [screaming]
- Shit.
- Whoo!
- [screaming]
- [coughing]
Hot damn, boy, you see my jump?
Jesse Owens ain't got shit on me!
- [laughs]
- [panting]
Wait, wait, wait. You're bleeding.
- Leti, I know.
- Let me see.
Leti, I know. Shit.
Let's keep moving.
[ominous music]
Hey, is this water rising?
Moonset occurred right
before we came down here.
What?
"Ever the tides shall rise."
High tide is three hours after moonset,
which means
We got less than an hour to
find the vault and get them pages.
Oh, shit.
Before we drown.
She got there first.
[sniffs]
Would've been me. Should've been me.
But I let Leti distract me.
Who's Leti?
My sister. Half sister.
Lying-ass
Why not just apply anyway?
- [sighs]
- You never know.
[scoffs] I fucking know a lot.
I know there are 103 employees
at that damn department store,
and two of them are
never gonna be colored.
I know that because for us,
it's a rat race to the finish line.
And it's "winner takes it all."
And I damn for sure know
that if I was in your skin,
I wouldn't even have to run.
What I don't know
Is what to do about it.
[Marilyn Manson's "I Put a Spell on You"]
You better stop looking at me like that.
It ain't happening, white boy.
- [glass shatters]
- [moans]
[moaning]
Can you slow down?
I can't see.
Is that what they taught
you in the imperialistic army?
Leave soldiers behind?
No.
No, I've never left a man
behind, you hear me?
Ever.
Out in the trenches, I can
trust those standing next to me.
Hell's that supposed to mean?
How you know so much
about the Sons of Adam?
Hmm?
How many lodges there are?
Whatever it was that helped you
with that that combination back there.
How you know that?
[foreboding music]
George gave me the Order
of the Ancient Dawn bylaws
The night he died.
When were you gonna tell me that?
Where's the book now?
I read it and I burnt it.
- What?
- You heard me.
Why would you do that?
Answer me! Why would you do that?
Because my brother told
me to protect our family!
That was his dying wish.
And I did it the night I
burnt that damn book,
closing Pandora's box once and for good!
Then why you here helping us anyway?
Because your stupid ass won't stop, Tic!
And I wasn't about to sit in Chicago
while you charged
headfirst into the lion's den
with no backup!
Don't yell at her.
- Get out of my way, boy!
- No.
You gonna tell me what
else was in the bylaws.
[screams]
- Tic!
- Leti?
What is what is it?
Aw, shit.
[both gasping]
I'm pretty sure that's
That's one of my neighbors
who went missing.
[mysterious music]
[elevator whirring]
[elevator dings]
Hiram Epstein was part of the Order.
He must've been
chasing Titus's pages too.
That's probably how he got killed.
[dramatic music]
It's getting too dangerous. Y'all get in.
Take the elevator up.
- No!
- Pa, get in!
It ain't just get dangerous.
He was kidnapped!
I died!
Can you stop acting like
this is only happening to you?
You're not the center
of the fucking universe.
[pensive music]
Hey, Tic?
You have to apologize to your girl.
I don't think it's gonna be that simple.
Yeah, your mama was complicated too.
Mom was complicated?
She navigated you all right.
Yeah, you got a point there.
But she was crazy like
the rest of 'em, though.
Hey, you know what your grandpa told me?
Said, "Always have a
love song for your woman."
This way, when they get to fussin'
You just sing that song to yourself.
When you're through, she'll be done
and you can get back to what you want,
the lovin'.
Cause that's all that fussing is anyway.
"Whole lotta lovin'."
This might be the vault!
- [gasps]
- Oh.
Is that an arm?
[foreboding music]
Looks like a lock.
With the wrong key.
[dramatic music building]
[grunts]
[coughs]
[mysterious music]
[suspenseful music]
[all screaming]
Wait, wait, wait!
[grunts]
[mysterious droning]
[stone scraping]
[mechanism clunks]
[both scream]
[grunting]
[mysterious music]
Up there!
- Shit!
- [all screaming]
[corpse growling]
[suspenseful music]
[corpse wheezes]
[corpse roars]
[all scream]
[corpse roars]
[screaming]
[groaning]
[roars]
[wheezing]
[speaking Arawak]
Titus has been dead for over a century.
You understood her?
What?
[speaking Arawak]
No. I mean shit, yes. Yes.
Blood
but not not family.
[mysterious music]
What are you?
Who are you?
Yahima.
Maraokoti.
Yahima Maraokoti.
[speaking Arawak]
Woman. Man.
Two spirit.
How did you get here?
How did you get here?
[speaking Arawak]
"I come from a land of many waters."
[speaking Arawak]
Titus came on his ship
searching for ones
who could read his book.
I knew the symbols from
the cave of Alomun Kundi.
[speaking Arawak]
I had no reason
to distrust him.
[speaking Arawak]
I'd never encountered
people with so much hunger.
Always hungry.
[speaking Arawak]
When I saw Titus for what he was,
I refused to decipher another word.
He promised to reunite me with my people.
And he kept that promise
[sobbing in Arawak]
By killing them
"and imprisoning me here."
[somber music]
He was a monster.
I'm I'm sorry
for what he did to you.
But I need your help
to stop others like him
from hurting my people.
[speaking Arawak]
What'd she say?
She said
I am not guilty of
my forefathers' sins
But she doesn't know my spirit.
She will not help.
Let's get the damn pages
and get the hell outta here.
[foreboding music]
[suspenseful music]
[glass shattering]
Come on, boy!
We gotta get out of here!
- [screams]
- Come on!
Go!
[grunts]
[all gasping]
[elevator dings]
[screams]
[all gasping]
[sweeping romantic music]
[both laugh]
You okay?
[high-pitched screech]
[all groaning]
[tense music]
What was that?
How'd they get back to
Chicago without Woody?
I don't know, Diana.
Everything's been weird since Pop died.
[ominous music]
Is that your dad's atlas?
Where'd you get that?
Where'd you get it?
I found it in the glove compartment.
- [tires squeal]
- What's wrong?
[engine revs]
Mama, where are we going?
To get answers.
She thinks you're right.
Titus turned her into a siren
so she couldn't speak
if she escaped his vault.
Does she think she can break the spell?
She doesn't.
But I got Titus's pages now.
I'll figure it out.
Meantime, we should teach her English.
Might be easier for her to write
down the Language of Adam
than for us to decipher it.
You were brave as
hell out there today, boy.
You grew to be a good man
in spite of me.
[soft music]
Your mama would've been proud.
Night, Pop.
[ominous music]
I'm sorry.
[gasps]
[Alice Smith's Sinnerman playing]
Oh, Sinnerman
Where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman
Where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman
Where you gonna run to?
All on that day
Well, I run to the rock
Please hide me
I run to the rock
Please hide me
I run to the rock
Please hide me
All on that day
But the rock cried out
"I can't hide you"
The rock cried out
"I can't hide you"
The rock cried out
"I ain't gonna hide you"
All on that day
"I said," Rock
"What's the matter with you, Rock?
Can't you see I need you, Rock?"
Devil was waiting
All on that day
Power
Power
I cried, "Power"
I cried, "Power"
I cried, "Power"
I cried, "Power"