My Name is Earl s01e04 Episode Script

You know the kind of guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me.
Every time somethin'good happened to me somethin'bad was always waitin' around the corner.
Karma.
That's when I realized I had to change.
So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done and, one by one, I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes.
I'm just tryin' to be a better person.
My name is Earl.
Number 203 on my list- stole various snacks and drinks from the local Quick Stop.
Of course, that was before I turned my life around.
Luckily, Randy still had a stealing jacket and we had no problem sneaking the stuffback in.
All right.
Well, I guess I can cross this one off.
Hold on a second.
I gotta put these back in the little hot dog Ferris wheel.
Oh, my God! - What are you doin'? - Natalie Duckworth is over there.
- Who? - Natalie Duckworth, number 84.
About seven years ago, the Crab Shack was rented out for a biker party.
No one hassled me at the door, so I came in and learned a new phrase- open bar.
- Beer, please.
- Make it two.
I decided then and there that I did, in fact, wanna ride.
- After what some might call a few too many beers- - Yeah, mama! we went back to her house and had a really good time in the dark.
Then it got light, fast.
Wake up, sleepyhead.
What? That was some costume party last night, wasn't it? What? My God.
Whoops.
My temporary tattoo rubbed off on you.
Wow.
I've never brought a guy right home before.
This is wild, huh? So, what do you wanna do today? Do you wanna go to the park? Oh, my God.
You know what would be great? - The farmer's market.
- The who's what? We were not cut from the same cloth.
But no matter how different we were, there was one thing we both liked.
Besides, I didn't wanna run out on her.
- She had been hurt before.
- This is Ted.
He left me for a stripper.
That's a lock of his hair, and that's a lock of the stripper's hair.
That's a lock of my sister's hair, which leads us toJohn.
Even though I took home a Harley and ended up with a moped I decided to give it a shot.
I mean, why not? She was cute and had a satellite that sent kung fu movies from space.
- Ooh.
- It's a beautiful day out.
- Let's go for a hike.
- I was gonna watch this kung fu movie.
Come on.
"Pwease" go for a hike with me.
Mmm.
I tried to seem interested in the same things she was but itjust didn't come natural to me.
Look, an Anthemis tinctoria.
! Wow, look at the size of that dog turd next to it.
She wanted me to do arts and crafts.
- It's called papier-mâché.
Somehow she figured out a way to make newspapers even more boring.
Oh, "wook," someone's fingers are all sticky-wicky.
- She even made me go on picnics.
- So we just sit here? Well, we're gonna eat in a while.
What do we do until then? - Just sit, talk.
- You know, we passed a Denny's.
Before I knew it, we had been dating for a whole month.
When her parents came out to visit and we all got our faces lasered in crystal I knew things were gettin'too serious.
I had to get out.
And I didn't wanna hurt her feelings, so I figured there was only one thing to do.
Earl's dead.
He was lost at sea.
This is all they found of him.
I thought you'd want it.
I realize now that faking your death to break up with someone is not exactly thoughtful.
It's time to find a way to cross her off the list.
You look like that little monkey in E.
T.
Shh.
- You faked your death? - I didn't wanna hurt her feelings.
This woman is very fragile.
Very needy, clingy and fragile.
Here.
Put some more baby's breath in there.
It fills in the gaps with neutral coloring.
It's funny how the brain sucks things up.
One summer, Randy worked at a florist for almost 10 minutes.
I'm gonna put in some more baby's breath.
It fills in the gaps with neutral coloring.
Ma'am, are these vases always gonna make that sound when I'm drying them? The squeaking makes my toes hurt.
You can't just tell a girl you faked your death to get away from her.
- She'll be devastated.
- I have to tell her.
It's on my list.
I lied to her, and the only way I can cross it off is if I tell her the truth.
So, what is more important, your list or someone's feelings? - I don't know.
My list? - No.
Feelings.
I bet it's feelings.
Look, I- I have to tell her.
She almost saw me today and I'm not gonna hide in another refrigerator.
Earl, if you really need to tell her, at least say it was because of you.
- Say you weren't good enough for her.
- That's another lie.
But it's a good lie, to protect her.
Maybe you should listen to Catalina.
She's a woman just like Natalie.
They're both women, her and Natalie.
You and I are men.
We're not women.
Sometimes Randy takes a long road to a simple thought.
You see, men think different than women.
You and I think different than Natalie and Catalina cause we're men and they're women.
I'm right, right? I- I'm not wrong.
- Am I wrong? - No.
Randy's long thought was right.
Catalina seemed to know a lot more about women than I did so I decided to take her advice.
Surprise.
Whoa! That was just like in E.
T.
when that little girl first saw the monkey.
You see, it wasn't you.
It was- It was me.
I pretended to be dead because I was afraid I wasn't good enough for ya.
I mourned you for months.
I kept your shirt.
I even made a papier-mâché bust of you to wear it.
Ah, very nice.
Very detailed.
See, it was that kind of perfection in your life that made me feel inadequate.
It was that kind of perfection in your life that made him feel inadequate.
They turned you into a mushroom.
Are you all right? Talk to me.
I just wished you would've said something.
Why wouldn't you just tell me? I mean, what does that say about me? No, n-nothing.
It doesn't say anything about you.
It's not your fault.
You're-You're perfect.
I'm the one.
It was me.
Sorry I'm late, sweetie.
I hit the gym.
Took the fast train to ab town.
- Are you being robbed? - No.
This is my ex-boyfriend Earl.
- The one with the stripper? - No, I'm- I'm the dead one.
Are these candies free? Thanks for telling me the truth.
It makes me feel better knowing you're alive.
I just wanted to make sure you were happy.
I'm glad you found Dirk.
He seems perfect for you.
Thanks.
We only met three weeks ago, but we just clicked.
That's great.
Good for you.
- Well, I should, uh- - Oh, wait a sec.
I want you to have this.
I'm glad you're not dead.
Good-bye, little fella.
Good-bye, Natalie.
Thanks for making me.
Oh.
- All righty.
I'll see you later.
- Bye.
I was feeling pretty good about Natalie and how we left things.
And the me made of wet newspaper added a nice decorative touch to the room.
Randy, have you seen the pen? I need to cross Natalie off my list.
Nope.
Catalina, how often do you clean the bedspreads? I don't know.
I've only worked here for a year.
- Dirk is gone.
- What? Dirk is gone! When we got Natalie calmed down, she explained that something terrible had happened to Dirk.
The police found his car in the woods with blood in it and they think he might have been killed.
Earl, is she gonna keep squeaking like that? It's making my toes hurt.
Uh, just uh- sit here and- and- and try to calm down.
- I'll get you something to drink.
- Okay.
Thanks.
Oh, yeah, feel that.
How do you like that rock-hard candy, huh? - Dirk? - Hey, Earl.
Don't tell me your hooker works here too.
- You're supposed to be dead.
- Well, yeah, I know.
Thanks for the idea.
Boy, just in time.
I was about to build a noose out of papier-mâché and hang myself at a picnic.
Earl.
- Hey.
- I'm just gonna go home.
- It's probably best if I wait there in case the police come.
Yeah, that's, uh, probably a good idea.
- Yeah.
- Okay, right there.
You found it.
Okay, a little less pressure.
- Whew! - I can't believe Dirk faked his death too.
He got the idea from me.
That's why karma wouldn't let me find a pen and cross her off.
- I'm not done.
- Are you gonna tell her that he's alive? She thinks he's dead, but he's not.
He's not dead.
He's living.
He's alive.
He's not dead like she thinks he is.
I think I should tell her, right? You can't tell a girl two men faked their deaths to get away from her.
- It will crush her spirit.
- What am I supposed to do then? She's very upset.
She's been through a lot, she thinks.
So be her friend and comfort her.
Maybe if a man is nice to her for a change, it will build up her confidence.
- Trust me.
I'm a woman.
- She's right, Earl.
She is a woman, and we're men.
You remember how we talked about that.
Yeah, I got it, Randy.
Thanks.
The first few days ofhanging out with Natalie all she did was wait for the phone to ring.
Since I knew it wasn't gonna, I thought I should get her out of the house.
Who's up for a hike? - Come on.
You love hikes.
- Mmm.
"Pwease" go on a hike with me.
"Otay.
" See? Hiking.
Huh? This is fun.
I like going uphill.
I wish we could go uphill on the way back.
All I had to do was seem interested in the things she liked doing and she started to cheer up.
Hiking turned into arts and crafts.
I started to, uh, make you a magical fairy but I ended up with, uh, a magical clump.
Thanks.
It's a very nice clump.
I'll name him Alexander.
Alexander the Clump.
Or Pepe.
How about Pepe the Clump? - I don't get it.
Why Pepe? - Oh, Pepe's a name.
I think it's Mexican.
Jose, Rodrigo, Pepe.
Yeah, it's Mexican.
Papier-mâchéin'turned into picnickin For smelling like feet, this cheese is pretty damn good.
- I love you.
- What? Then our picnic somehow turned into a relationship.
I don't ever want you to think you're not good enough for me again.
You're perfect for me.
My little butterfly flew away, but he came back.
He came back.
And like a butterfly, I too was trapped.
But instead of a net, I was caught by a crazy girl wiping her nose on me.
- She told me she loves me.
- What? I was nice to her like you told me to, and she told me she loved me.
She even rubbed her nose against mine, real soft.
What'd that feel like? It tickled for a second, but then it itched.
You must have been too nice to her.
Too nice? You didn't tell me how nice to be to her.
You just told me to be nice.
She thinks we're back together.
Hey, Earl, is there a condom machine around here? - No, Dirk.
- Hey, what are these? - Shower caps.
- That could work.
Hey, Earl, you want me to tell Natalie you're dead again? - You can't do that.
- What am I supposed to do then, huh? I don't wanna hurt her feelings, but how am I supposed to get rid of her? She's been kicked around by men her whole life.
You have to give her the power.
Let her break up with you.
She won't do that.
Thanks to you, I'm her nature-hiking papier-mâchéing, soft-nose-rubbing butterfly in shining armor.
So change.
Be a bad boyfriend.
Bad boyfriend? It's not that easy.
Being mean goes against everything I stand for these days.
Hey, Catalina, the mouse catcher's full again.
I knew being a bad guy was gonna be hard but since Catalina said it was for Natalie's own good, I gave it my all.
- Hey, look at the pretty yellow flowers.
- Aw.
Happy Fourth ofJuly! Check it out.
I made your bust.
I upped you a cup.
You're welcome.
Aahh! Excuse me.
Honey, you think it might be better to relieve yourself a little farther away from the blanket? Nah.
This poor girl was so insecure there wasn't anything she wouldn't put up with.
Did you throw away my junk? Nothing worked, and I was running out of ideas so Catalina agreed to help me put an end to the whole thing once and for all.
Come in.
Oh, yeah, mama.
! Earl, what's going on? Oh, just blowing off a little steam, having a good time.
Can't a guy have a party around here without getting hassled? Pssh! Get off my back.
You're right, Earl.
Sorry for interrupting.
Just have fun and call me when you're done.
"Call me when you're done"? I'm in bed with another woman.
- Don't you wanna slap me? - Do you want me to? Oh! Natalie, this is not working.
Remember when I said it wasn't you, it was me? Well, it's not me, it's you.
It's all you.
- Earl- - No, no, no, no.
I'm done listening to you.
You're just as crazy as she is.
The truth is, you're clingy, you're a doormat, you have no self-respect.
That's why guys wanna leave you.
They have to get away from you.
That's why I'm trying to get you to break up with me now.
Oh, yeah? Well, maybe it is you, because Dirk didn't think I was a doormat.
He didn't wanna leave me.
He loved me for who I am.
Hey, Earl.
Are there no other motels in this town? Well, that went well.
I know I was hard on her, but she needed to hear the truth.
And when she's over being upset it's gonna make her a better person for the rest of her life.
As it turned out, the rest ofher life wasn't that long.
Sadly, Natalie's parents told me she was so distraught over yet another relationship ending that she took her own life.
Yes, yes, yes! Who's the joke on now, Earl Hickey? - Who's the joke on now? - Me? That's right.
Y-O-U.
How does it feel, huh? - How does it feel to think someone's dead? - Crappy? Crappy's right.
That's exactly how you made me feel, Earl, twice.
It turned out that Catalina and I were both kinda right.
By being honest with Natalie, I made her mad.
That anger gave her the idea to fake her death, and by doing that she finally got to leave a relationship with the power that Catalina said she needed.
Natalie had finally stood up for herself, and I admired her for that.
Although her parents had a different opinion.
You could have at least told us you were faking! It had to seem real, Mom.
Lighten up.
Oh, she's alive.
! Clearly, Natalie had finally found her backbone.
And as I had hoped, it carried on past her funeral and into the rest ofher life.
Hey, Dirk, I'm still getting your mail.
It's from the clinic.
Somebody got themselves an S.
T.
D.
- I can deal with that.
- Turn the page.
Aw, crap! Damn shower caps.
Her newfound confidence even let her finally showcase her wet newspaper art in a public setting.
And because I'd earned it, karma finally let me find a pen.
It was nice to see Natalie so happy, wasn't it? Yeah.
I'm glad she's not dead anymore.
Being dead is definitely worse than being alive.
When you're dead, you can't do all the cool stuff you can do when you're alive.
You and I, we can do all kinds of cool stuff, cause we're living.
We're not dead.
We're alive.
If we were dead, we wouldn't be able to do all the cool stuff we can do because we're alive.
Dead people can't do cool stuff.
Only people that are alive can do cool stuff, because they're living and you have to be living to be able to do cool stuff.
You have to be alive.
Yeah, except when you're alive, sometimes bad stuff happens too.
Like, sometimes you can get in a car wreck or you can have a headache or twist your ankle or even stub your big toe.
So being alive's kinda hard too but I think it's definitely better than being "a-dead.
"