Tom Swift (2022) s01e04 Episode Script

1
I'm Tom Swift. Inventor, billionaire,
shoe collector extraordinaire.
But none of that was
good enough for my dad.
I thought if I built him
a spaceship to Saturn
I could earn his love.
But his mission ended
tragically, or so I thought.
Turns out it was sabotage.
My father survived the attack
and sent me a message capsule
with the data I need
to rescue him from space.
But it exploded
when it entered the atmosphere.
Now I have to find
the pieces of that capsule
and reassemble my dad's message.
A global conspiracy called
"The Road Back"
is standing in my way,
so I can only trust my squad:
my best friend Zenzi,
my bodyguard Isaac,
my adopted brother Lino,
and my A.I. Barclay.
Together, we're going to find
my father and bring him home.
Lit, like right now
I ain't driving my whips ♪
The taxi driver ain't getting no tip ♪
You talk loud then
I'm hittin' your lip ♪
Like a faucet, you gonna
probably drip, drip ♪
Oh!
How romantic.
Is this how he proposes?
Mm. Traditionally,
that's done in a thong.
That's cute. Can we focus, please?
Oklahoma, capsule piece.
Saving your dad.
I attempted to triangulate its location,
but it appears the capsule's
copper alloy signal is fading.
I can't refine the location
to less than five miles.
Okay, so we need to find it
before it loses its signal.
Do I want to know what that is? Mm.
Perpetual energy that lasts for a year.
I got tired of bringing
charging packs to Coachella.
- Why is it Harlem shaking?
- Mm.
The reaction is causing
a small vibration,
but I will have that sorted out
before it goes to market.
You know this will revolutionize
battery tech.
Susannah Robb and our other
investors are gonna love it.
And my mom will, too. Right?
Look, I need to play good son
after the summit.
I know.
If they could see for you,
wouldn't have been a bitch ♪
I'm the realest,
I'm as real as it gets ♪
I'm it ♪
Congressman Eskol opening
a children's hospital?
Mm, Tom, can you invent something
that keeps people from
looking at your phone?
I did. It's called
minding your own business.
You should try it.
Why are you stalking the man
whose satellite destroyed Barton's ship?
He's with Stone Corporation
and The Road Back.
They're planning something.
What, like another attack?
Like-like Uncle Barton's spaceship?
I think it's how
they send their message:
don't fly too close to the sun.
They could go after MIT's
nuclear engineering keynote next week.
Or, there's a climate-mapping
drone launch in Dallas tomorrow.
Hey. What's good?
Boy!
Barclay, take us home. Now.
Diverting back to
New York will burn half of our fuel.
The capsule's signature will be lost.
Lino, don't you have
teenager things to do?
TikTok dances and fencing rehearsal.
I quit the team.
What? Since when?
I'm just over it. I mean
helping you rescue Uncle Barton
is a much better use of my time.
And if you send me back,
I'll have to go to
cotillion practice this afternoon.
You did this to avoid the foxtrot?
Come on, I know you
hated cotillion, too.
I'll be the Klay Thompson
to your Steph Curry.
I'll be the Kelly to your Beyoncé.
No way! That's an actual tumbleweed.
Barclay, updates on the target.
The capsule piece's
alloy signal has weakened
Don't post that.
but it's somewhere
within this five-mile radius.
Congressman Eskol.
To what do I owe the pleasure?
I was hoping we could finally
have that dinner date.
I finished up business
in Portland early.
Don't have to be in Dallas
for an education reform
meeting until tomorrow, so I've got
an unexpected night off, and, uh,
I know a great steakhouse that just got
a second Michelin star.
Can you hold on a second?
I need a favor.
You wanna borrow the jet?
No. I want to borrow your house.
And, yes, the jet, too.
I have an even better idea.
How about we have dinner at Swift Manor?
Lorraine and Lino are out of town,
and Tom is off busy with who knows what?
- I'll see you later?
- I'll be there.
Please do not let Thomas the Tank Engine
break your back
on Lorraine's good sofas.
First of all, okay, never would I ever
- on Lorraine's good leather.
- Uh-huh.
Second of all, Eskol said he's
traveling to Dallas tomorrow.
Stone Corp. could be planning
an attack in Dallas,
and tonight is my chance
to see if he's involved.
What about the capsule piece?
Oh, we'll divide and conquer.
You take Oklahoma while I do dinner.
Uh, go with her, please.
- Uh, excuse me
- No. You need him
more than we do here.
Be careful, please.
Go find the capsule piece.
"Home of the Chocolate Cowboys"?
I gotta get a pic of this.
I won't post, don't worry.
Haven't had visitors in Langstonville
in quite some time.
Thought I'd come see if
they were friend or foe.
Hmm. Oh
We are V-V friendly.
That means "very very."
IDK if you speak text. LOL.
Oh, my stars. Aren't you Tom Swift?
The genius inventor.
That's what's on my LinkedIn.
I'm Calvin McElroy.
How you doing, son? What's an esteemed
individual such as yourself
doing in our humble little town?
Oh, uh, well, we're looking for a place
- to celebrate Mom's birthday.
- Mm-hmm.
She loves the rodeo.
That true?
- Just huge horse stan.
- Yeah.
Ah. Well, um, I'm so sorry,
but our family rodeo closed
now going on a decade.
But I just have to have
Tom Swift over for lunch.
You must be starving.
Huh? Yeah?
- Oh.
- Oh! I could eat.
- Maybe.
- Yeah, let's go.
- Get on the back of this truck.
- Okay.
- Y'all like chicken?
- Absolutely.
Ah
Boy
we're supposed to be on a mission.
Would've been rude to say no.
- Chivas all right?
- Of course.
- Especially the 12-year.
- All right.
Here you go. Salud.
Mmm.
- Mmm!
- Mmm.
Ooh.
So, Calvin, what's new around town?
Anything big happen lately? Hmm?
You know Mr. Jenkins?
He ran off with the choir director.
Oh?
You know how they are.
Ah, I do.
This you?
Oh, yeah, minus a few pounds.
Now, that's, uh, that's my dad,
and that's my granddad.
That is a full rodeo moment.
Mm. I respect it.
Gucci's fall collection.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, hey.
What's this old car next to the trees?
We, uh, we ran the Chocolate Cowboys
until everything crashed in 2008.
That's cool. But where is that?
That ain't nowhere special.
See, I was the bulldogging
champion for years
before I decided to quit.
Why'd you quit?
'Cause I was ready to.
I went out with my head held high,
knowing I was the best, and that way,
nobody can tell you nothing
about quitting.
Or press you for being too good.
Yeah, exactly so.
The Black Cowboys was about
being your own man,
but the movies erased us.
But-but Nat Love, Bill Pickett,
Bass Reeves,
aka the real Lone Ranger, all Black.
That's your history, too.
Dope. So I could be a cowboy?
Yeah.
That's from the old rodeo.
What kind of cowboy you want to be?
What kind of cowboy are you, Tom?
That was lit.
He really got me.
Boy, you were just hopped up
on all that sweet tea,
talking about, ooh, his horses.
Please. You know,
my daily driver has 700.
Asking about his stupid pictures.
I wasn't asking, I was testing.
I think I know where
that capsule piece is.
That's where I'm taking you now.
Gassed him up about the pics,
but he kept avoiding this car.
Didn't want to draw attention to it.
Excellent deduction. The alloy signal is
indeed getting closer.
This secretion is causing
the capsule to deteriorate.
This ain't the kind of party
your mama was looking for, either.
This is mine. You don't
even know what it is.
That thing appeared
and made that tree weep.
Scratched my hand,
the tears healed it, like a miracle.
Cured a lot of other people, too.
It's tree sap.
The micro-vibrations must have activated
the tree's natural defense mechanism
of excreting antiseptic sap.
Yeah, well, whatever it is,
we are bottling it
and turning our town
back into a destination.
Hmm. Tears from a magic tree?
That's your cowboy plan
to save your town?
Fine. How much do you want for it?
- How 'bout $70 trillion?
- Hoo!
So the entire U.S. economy
for some magic tree juice?
No.
I don't take kindly to thieves.
- You can't take that.
- Fellas. Get away.
Let 'em pass.
So we're just gonna leave?
No, Michelle, we're gonna steal it.
But he's trying to save
the whole town with it.
Okay, what happened to doing what I say?
- I found the tree grove!
- And that was luck. Hey!
Listen to me when I'm talking to you.
Which one of us has
two degrees from MIT? Hmm?
When I give you a plan Look at me
You need to follow it.
Stop acting like a child.
Whatever you say, Uncle Barton.
I have something for you,
because Eskol isn't
your average visitor.
Yes, of course not.
I don't do average.
What?
Is there something on my face?
Uh, not yet.
May I?
There's a mic,
video and an earpiece in your com-strip.
I don't need a bodyguard.
If he tries to grab you,
defend yourself.
All right? Kick to the groin,
then run away.
You understand this is dinner, right?
Maybe you're rusty.
When was your last undercover
op, or dinner with a woman?
Hmm, my necklace is stuck.
Let me help you with that.
Thank you.
My last op was in 2016.
Kabul. A mission with my ex.
The mission
ended our relationship.
- Well, what went wrong?
- Listen.
If and when tonight's
situation goes bad,
I'll create a distraction
I can handle a date.
It's not a date.
It's a tactic. You're using Eskol
to find out what
The Road Back is planning,
and he's using you to get to Tom.
He had an invitation hand-delivered.
He was glamouring you.
Making you feel special.
- Congressman Eskol.
- Hey.
Sorry I kept you waiting.
Ah. You can make it up to me
by calling me Nathan from now on.
He wants you to let your guard down.
Don't be charmed by him.
I don't like having his
security detail this close.
If something goes wrong,
I won't be able to get to you in time.
Please call this off.
Thank you for coming
so far from the city.
I don't mind traveling
- to get to a worthy dinner companion.
- Hmm.
Is that from being a politician
or from running Stone Corporation?
I would have waited longer
before bringing that up.
I did a little Internet stalking.
- Do you miss it?
- No, I don't.
No, that's why I handed
it off to the COO
before my first term.
- Hmm.
- You should back off this topic.
So you're not up to date
on the daily satellite operations?
Yeah. Well, I was looking
into possible synergies
for the Swift Enterprises
geolocator app.
Stop talking.
It's something I'm
personally interested in.
Why don't we discuss it over
that delicious meal I'm smelling?
He's a dangerous man.
You're not ready for this mission.
I think I'm ready now.
Zenzi. Zenzi!
Barclay, what's the situation
at the tree right now?
There are five men guarding
that capsule piece
of your dad's message.
I have a plan.
1969 Boss Mustang 302. Chase-ready.
Beautiful car, but
you said you only needed its parts.
We need to knock those guards out
without actually hurting them.
Safer to take them out from a distance.
Exactly. With a nap gun.
Barclay, pull up the Yacht Week files.
Uh, safe for work, please.
Whew, Yacht Week in Croatia was rough.
I modded the speakers to emit
infrasonic pulses
to get rid of everyone's seasickness.
Huh. I'm thinking
I could adapt the design
for a more targeted purpose.
I used the shifter, my Zenzi
noise-canceling headphones,
and the earbuds Lino dropped at lunch.
Now all we need is a sound tube.
It carries sound from the engine bay
to the rest of the car
so you think every decibel
of that classic engine rev is you.
Nothing wrong with making someone
feel bigger than they are.
I wouldn't know.
Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up.
Great news. It works.
Was that
or those shoes really necessary?
Okay. I always travel with YSL.
Cowboy, but make it fashion.
Get up. We're going stealing.
So, that cheese soufflé was
incredible, wasn't it?
It was.
- These Swifts sure know how to live.
- Yeah, well,
Aunt Lorraine literally has the Banon
flown in from Provence.
Well, when you have a jet
Mm. And no lactose intolerance.
Yeah, mac and cheese is my specialty.
My, uh, grandfather taught me.
- He was a ranch hand.
- You're serious?
- What?
- What?
- Uh
- I come from a long line of people
that actually worked for a living.
Mm, yes, before your parents
moved to the city
and lost the common touch.
Oh, do all ranch hands
ignore their dates?
No. Sorry.
Grandpa would whup me good
for ignoring guests at the dinner table.
Now, the pièce de résistance:
- dessert.
- How about
we, you and I,
enjoy this by the fire?
Got it.
All right. Fine.
Secondary listening device is active
as long as she's in the radio hot zone.
Come on.
Where are you?
So you're traveling to Dallas tomorrow.
Well, if the weather holds.
I don't do bumpy.
I didn't take you for a nervous flier.
Well, don't judge by the cover.
Oh, is that peach cobbler?
- Yes.
- With puff pastry?
Wow, you're familiar.
Y-Yes!
- Okay
- What?
My nana used to make this all the time.
Really?
I-I haven't seen
a latticed top like that
- in years.
- Please.
- Mmm
- Huh?
That tastes like home.
Yeah? With hot cider?
Yeah, first day snow
with real woolen mittens.
And a real book in your hands.
I'm kind of a bookworm.
- Are you?
- Yeah.
Mm What's your favorite classic?
No, no, no.
- Let me guess.
- Okay.
The Grapes of Wrath.
You stand for the proletariat.
Native Son.
That is a very Black book
for a white boy
from upstate New York.
Hey, I always travel with my copy.
It, uh
It helped me see the world as it is
rather than how I wanted it to be.
And it showed me that
we can't heal our nation
unless we start from truth.
That's really beautiful.
I was gonna say the same
about something else.
Um
- Just the pastry.
- Oh, yeah.
Uh, it's good for the heart
but not for the lipstick.
- I, um
- Oh, yeah.
- Um, I'll be right back.
- Uh-huh.
"I always travel with my copy."
You really are a bookworm.
That doesn't belong to you.
Are you in place?
Ready to aim on your command.
Drop 'em like they're hot.
That's what I'm talking about. Yes!
Yes.
Whoo! Lino, we did it, we
Based on the damage,
I'd say the infrasonic cannon
collided with another object
of great force.
Lino must have put up a fight.
Okay, so, you-you can't
find Lino's phone.
Either it's off or it's broken.
Oh, wait, there it is.
Incoming video call from Lino.
Where the hell are you?
He's with me. If you want him back,
meet me at high noon tomorrow
at the tree with my machine.
Incoming call from Tom Swift.
Incoming call from Tom Swift.
Transmit. Copy? I'm coming in.
Incoming call from Tom
I didn't mean to pry.
Isaac, Lino's in trouble. I need backup.
I'll call when we're en route.
Zenzi, come in.
This is all a misunderstanding.
Sir, she was going through
your briefcase.
No, I wasn't.
I was admiring the patina.
On the inside of the bag?
I just wanted to figure out for myself
about your taste in books.
I mean, when you told me that
Native Son was your favorite,
and what you said
about healing the nation,
it just seemed a little
too good to be true.
I-I'm not used to having dinner
with idealists.
Richard Wright comes from my
mom's hometown in Mississippi.
He writes with a conviction
that I recognize.
Well, if you're into
Mississippi authors,
then maybe you should try
Jesmyn Ward next time.
I mean, she's not as
unrelentingly bleak.
So shall we just go back to dessert?
She went in there alone.
She was looking for something.
Okay, I was hiding something.
I
I really like you.
So you felt the need
to go through my belongings?
Do you need my assistance?
I haven't decided yet.
Oh. But you need an entourage
to help you figure it out?
Where did this man even come from?
Why do you need his help?
Help. Isaac. Help.
Isaac. Help.
No
No, no, no. Stay with me.
Stay with me. Don't go.
Don't go.
I'm right here. I'm right here.
I'm right here.
Help!
She needs you.
All right.
By the way, menacing bodyguards
aren't the best first-date chaperones.
Oh, this happens from time to time.
Tom's experiments go on autopilot,
and I've just learned how to
handle these things myself.
So, if you'll follow me
Given that the power is out,
and I'm sure it's past these
friendly gentlemen's bedtime,
you should go.
Bring the car around, please.
I'm sorry that our night got cut short.
Next time, I'll bring fewer bodyguards
and more desserts.
Assuming there'll be a next time.
Safe travels, Nathan.
Told you I could handle a date.
Welcome back to Oklahoma.
Tom is on his way up the tarmac.
Oh, hey.
Um, if you're done
giving me the silent treatment,
I got some intel.
Eskol may not have been
targeting the drone in Dallas,
but he's clearly up to something.
Whatever you think you got
wasn't worth dying for.
I can't protect you if you don't
take your own life seriously.
Everybody good?
Cool. Let's get started.
We're gonna go get Lino.
Beverly Hills straight
covered in grease ♪
I'm a lone cowboy stuck in my jeans ♪
Drinking PBR, got a couple in me ♪
Won't drive no truck
if it's way too clean ♪
Yo!
- Whoa, whoa, you are early.
- Oh, you gonna get your coat?
Cowboys always on CPT?
Dude, I'm fine. Let him go.
I wasn't gonna hurt the kid.
He's been killing us in bones
since we grabbed him.
Ah, so you admit to kidnapping.
I need the thing.
It's our ace in the hole.
How do you figure that?
Just listen for a second.
My family has been fighting
against land dispossession
and predatory developers for years.
To protect our legacy.
But if you take that machine away,
I lose my last chance
at building something
that could carry forward to my daughter
and future generations.
Look, I just want my brother back.
Lino, come on.
Come on, honey.
Lino, I said let's go!
You think this is a game you can use
to run away from your problems.
But getting Dad back is not a game.
You should have talked to me
instead of hiding away
in a luggage rack.
But instead, you endangered yourself
and me and our mission because
you wanted to play tagalong.
I tried talking to you, but you kept
blowing me of at the summit.
I tried to help, but I should have known
it's Tom's way or the highway.
It's not my fault you
gave them the capsule piece.
I didn't give it to them.
We activated the portable 3-D printer
on the Swift Enterprises jet
to fabricate a duplicate.
You lied to them to get what you want.
Wow. You learn that at MIT?
I did what I had to do to keep you safe.
Now let's get out of
this Black cowboy hell.
Come on!
What happened between you and Lino?
I checked him. He needs to listen.
But what if he was listening
to himself instead of you?
Because it sounds like he had
his own ideas on how to help,
and you went off on him for not doing it
the way you would have.
Just like my father did
every day of my life.
I promised myself I would never
be like my father, but
And how are you going to do that?
He's your dad.
He's your model for manhood.
I'm more like my dad
than I ever want to admit.
So I have to become him?
No.
No, you can control your choices,
your action and your character.
My father taught me that
being a man isn't about
never making mistakes.
It's about being vulnerable
enough to admit them,
make amends and do better.
Have you met Barton Swift?
He never admitted
when he made a mistake.
And it didn't matter what I accomplished
because he couldn't accept
the way that I did it.
That's
That's not the type of man I want to be.
Then don't be.
Do it different.
I know Calvin kidnapped me,
or whatever
"Kidnapped me or whatever"?
Look, hey.
I'm sorry, man.
I shouldn't have yelled
at you back there.
Look
I was acting like Dad.
I should have let you
be brilliant in your own way
instead of being mad at you
for not being me.
What you did back there was major.
We couldn't have done
any of this without you.
Hmm?
One more thing.
Why'd you quit the fencing team?
You killed it at that last match.
Um
all my teammates called me
a cheating freak.
Cheating? Why?
Because I beat them 12 times in a row.
They said there was no way
someone like me could win.
Oh
I get it.
Like Venus, Serena,
and Tiger before you,
you are kicking Black ass
in a white sport,
and when you do that,
they're pressed. Okay?
But why is the solution
quitting something that you love?
Because what if they're
right, that I'm a freak?
I felt something
strange that day.
What if I'm dangerous, like my mom,
and you send me away?
That will never happen.
You can't promise that.
You just turned your back on Calvin.
No, that's-that's different.
Look, he has nothing to do with us.
Why do you keep defending him? Hmm?
I envy him. Okay?
I envy him and his daughter.
They know who they are
and where they came from.
I don't.
They'll always have
a connection to their past.
Well, until their, um, town disappears.
Barclay,
turn the plane around.
We're going back.
Look, I was wrong for giving
you all a fake machine.
But I'm here to make up for it.
Better be the real one this time.
You're thinking too small.
Now, one weeping tree is cute,
but you need to make this place
a healing and wellness destination.
Where people spend a week,
not just an hour.
And I can make that happen.
Perpetual power packs.
Working title.
I modified them to produce
the same microvibrations and radiation
needed to make an entire grove weep.
And no one will ever know
they're the reason
the trees are weeping.
And you're gonna sell
those tears in the gift shop
of your wellness spa and resort,
whose construction and design
Swift Enterprises will fund.
Thank you.
What-what made you come back?
I guess I finally figured out
what kind of cowboy
I want to be.
Oh.
And call me when you bring back
the Chocolate Cowboys.
I've been looking for an excuse
to bust out my Dior chaps.
Ah.
Is-is that anything
like Stacy Adams? Huh?
Just like it.
Ah.
Mmm
Look, a spa.
Look.
Are you okay?
Just because she broke up
with you and things went wrong
- doesn't mean
- She didn't break up with me.
I've been telling people
to keep it a buck.
Guess I should do the same.
Her name was Marissa.
Specialist Marissa Sanchez.
I was her ghost.
The mission went sideways. I
I got there too late.
And because I was too late
she died.
It's just easier to say "she dumped me"
than "I'm responsible for her death."
Isaac.
I'm so sorry.
I had no idea.
If something had happened to you,
I would have never forgiven myself.
I made my own choices.
That's not on you.
You can't control
what the world does to people.
But I can try,
when they're people I care about.
The deterioration
of the casing did not cause
permanent damage.
It should operate as needed when
joined with the other pieces.
Mm. Won't He do it.
I still can't believe you legit
went through that man's bag.
What's next?
Gonna go through his phone?
Follow him from a finsta?
It was not my best work.
But now we have this list.
It's initials with latitude
and longitudes.
And the, uh, first set of initials
crossed out are B.S.
Barton Swift.
You think it's a hit list?
I don't I don't know.
There's no way Calvin's men
should've gotten the jump on you.
How did they catch you?
I saw these guys walk out.
I just knew they were gonna see Tom
and stop him from getting
the capsule piece,
so I put myself in their way.
If I'm hallucinating like my mom,
she's the only person who
can help me figure it out.
My contact came through
in locating your mom.
- You still want to meet her?
- Yes.
Uh, can we keep this on the low?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
Aunt Lorraine would
freak if she finds out.
Oh, my God.
Uh
this set of coordinates on the list
is for San Diego, with the initials O.A.
Dr. Odi Adesina had a stroke
in San Diego last week.
The physicist that's
pioneering wormhole theories?
Yeah.
Flying too close to the sun.
- What's the next set of initials?
- Um
It's X.C. But I don't
I don't know who that is.
Uh, uh, uh, Dr. Xochitl Castros.
She's working on a
brain-computer interface
that allows astronauts
to operate robots in space
without leaving Earth.
She had a heart attack in her lab
in Portland yesterday morning.
She's in critical condition.
Eskol was in Portland yesterday.
The Road Back isn't targeting tech.
They're targeting the people behind it.
My father wasn't The
Road Back's only mark.
He was the beginning.