Curses! (2023) s01e06 Episode Script

The Japanese Painting

1
[panting]
[screams, whimpering]
[screams]
[panting, whimpering]
[breathes heavily]
[sighs]
[inhales sharply, screams]
[Sky] I thought you two said you tried
to organize this section
of the restricted wing.
This is just chaos.
We did try.
We just didn't mention we failed.
-We, uh, did not fail.
-[gasps]
I resigned from the project because
working with you proved to be impossible.
Hey! You're the one who
shot down all my good ideas.
My esteemed colleague
insisted upon curating
a section exclusively for pirate weapons.
Mm-hmm. What?
A true pirate can use any weapon.
Luckily, I know a three-time winner
of the Historical Conservator
of the Year award
who can help us
catalog these artifacts properly.
[chuckles] It's me. I won three times.
Have I ever mentioned that?
[both] All the time.
This will take a lot of work,
but you heard your dad.
He's in more and more danger every
second he's trapped in wherever he is.
-[gasps]
-Mom's right.
We need to know what we have here
so we can figure out
how these artifacts are connected,
then uncurse them.
What's the plan?
Pandora,
I want you to head to the painting room,
and write down
everything we have in there.
Try to organize your list by century.
Then by continent.
Then by country.
Aw. That sounds so boring.
Can't Russ do that while I do this room?
There's absolutely no way I would ever
leave you alone in a room full of weapons.
[groans]
We need to know as much as we can about
the artifacts before we deal with them.
We don't want a repeat of what
happened with the scryer bowl.
We most certainly do not.
Russ, go to Dad's study,
and go through his videos.
See if there's anything
that fills in the gaps in the journals.
Awesome. AV is my jam.
That's not fair.
Why does Russ get
to do all the important stuff?
Come on, Pan. That's not true.
Ever since Dad got turned to stone,
you're the one who gets
to read his notes and listen to his
recordings and watch all his videos.
You're hogging all the Dad.
I am not.
But when it comes to this stuff,
Dad and I have a connection.
You'd be the first to admit you two
don't exactly bond
over historical research.
It's more our thing.
Well, our thing was having fun.
And I'm being punished for it.
Nobody's being punished.
Everything we're doing is important.
-If your dad were here--
-Well, he's not.
And I'm not Dad's favorite like Russ,
so I'm stuck doing
all the boring stuff
he didn't wanna deal with.
That's not what I meant.
I don't care.
I'd rather be the fun one anyway.
-[door opens, closes]
-[groans]
Hmm.
[sighs]
Let's see how much junk is in here.
Ugly painting. Ugly painting.
Uh, really ugly baby.
Huh? Fancy paintbrush.
-[whooshing]
-[gasps] Is someone there?
Oh, this one's pretty creepy.
Cool.
"This work, the last known piece
of the Japanese artist, Hisa,
depicts two people separated in a forest
by faceless spirits called Noppera-bõ."
Ghosts without faces?
[chuckles] Spooky.
[gasps] Did-- Did that thing just move?
[screams] Let go of me!
Help! Mom! Russ! Help! [grunts]
[screaming]
The game we know as darts
has been a British pastime for 700 years,
amusing everyone from
commoners to King Henry VIII himself.
In fact, this dart set
most likely belonged to a royal.
[chuckles]
Well, let's see if I still got the touch.
Ooh! [chuckles] Nailed it.
Yeah. [sighs]
Gonna have to show the kids--
-Ooh! [chuckles] Nailed it. Yeah.
-[grunts]
-[sighs] Gonna have to show the kids my…
-Nice.
Not bad at all, Dad.
Bet you I could hit Stanley from here.
[grunts]
-[sighs] Huh?
-[whooshing]
Huh?
[all panting]
What the heck is that thing?
Hey, you. What do you want?
[Russ whimpering]
[sighs] Whatever it's doing,
I don't like it.
You guys get Mom. I'm gonna find Pandora.
[Stanley] Mmm. [panting]
Pan? Pan, you in here?
Pan?
Oh, for once, I hope she
actually is slacking off in her room.
Hmm?
[panting]
Huh? [gasps] Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
What the-- [grunts] Where am I?
Whoa.
Everything looks all painty.
-Pan…
-Huh?
I don't know if that's you in there,
but if you can hear me, just stay calm.
We're gonna get you out.
Russ? Russ!
I-I'm in the painting, I-I think.
Can you hear me?
-Russ? [gasps]
-[whooshing]
Hey! Stop being a creep
and get out here, whoever you are.
-[bird cawing]
-[gasps] What are you looking at, crow?
[cawing]
[shouts]
[cawing]
This is fine. Nobody's freaking out.
[cawing]
[screams]
[panting]
Okay, I'm freaking out.
[panting]
[whooshing]
[whimpering, panting]
[groans, grunts]
[groans, whimpering]
[panting]
[whooshing]
[whimpering, grunts]
[panting, whimpers]
-[panting] Huh?
-[door creaks, closes]
[whimpers] Go away! Leave me alone!
Huh?
Sorry, I-I thought you were one
of those Noppera-bõ things.
[speaks Japanese]
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down.
Not that it would help much.
Are you hiding in here
from the Noppera-bõ too?
Nice, we're getting somewhere.
Why aren't they coming in here?
[speaks Japanese]
[Pandora] So that's keeping us safe?
Got it. Let's make sure it stays there,
uh-- Oh, uh, I-I-I don't know your name.
Oh, gosh, how can we do this?
Oh, Pandora. Pandora.
Hisa.
Pandora Pandora.
Uh, no, just one-- Never mind.
Close enough.
Nice to meet you, Hisa.
Wait, Hisa?
You're the lady from the painting?
And you painted it.
But how did you get stuck in here?
[Russ] See, Mom?
This paint is fresh.
Mom! Russ! Can you hear me?
And while I don't doubt Pan
would try to "improve" a painting,
-I think that thing put her in there…
-[whooshes]
…and came out here in her place.
Are you serious?
My baby's trapped in a painting?
Uh, people in this family have a bad habit
of getting trapped
in interdimensional voids.
We gotta get her out
-and get that back in.
-[wind whooshes]
[Sky] It's a faceless spirit
called a Noppera-bõ.
They're pretty common
in Japanese folklore.
Whoa, this is a Hisa.
I had no idea we had an original from
one of the masters of the Sengoku period.
-Huh?
-Huh?
Oh, I get it.
You think I'm just
an uncultured sea dog, right?
Well, I'll have you know,
I have a deep appreciation for fine art.
Also, I stole a bunch of these
back in the day.
And there it is.
I often heard your grandfather, Apollo,
discussing Hisa's art.
Evidently, her work is
some of the rarest in the world.
After all,
she vanished when she was quite young.
That's my family.
I think they're talking about you.
[Russ] What happened to her?
[Stanley] No one knows for sure.
Tales like hers
do become taller over 500 years.
But as far as Apollo could recall,
Hisa was known far and wide
for her incredible talent.
[Stanley] The only person that rivaled
her abilities was her twin sister, Yuka.
[Larry] She was real good.
Stole plenty of her stuff too.
[Stanley]
They kept each other's skills sharp,
always challenging themselves.
But friendly competition turned
into bitter rivalry as they grew older.
One day, the shogun announced a contest
to find the best artist in the land.
Hisa painted the most
incredible portrait of him,
and Yuka was afraid her work
would never compare.
So, in the middle of the night,
Yuka destroyed Hisa's portrait.
That way,
the shogun would choose her over Hisa,
which is what happened.
Jealous and enraged, Hisa was
tempted by an evil yokai, or spirit,
to use a hexed paintbrush to create
a prison where she could trap Yuka.
With her sister out of the way,
Hisa would become the shogun's favorite.
Hisa wanted to make sure
Yuka would not come back
and replace her in the shogun's eyes.
So she filled the painting
with Noppera-bõ spirits
that would keep Yuka contained.
Hisa soon regretted what she did
and tried to release Yuka,
but the evil yokai betrayed Hisa.
Now the siblings are doomed
to be haunted by the Noppera-bõ,
imprisoned by their own envy.
[whooshing]
[sighs] I wish we knew what it wanted.
That might be the key
to getting rid of it.
Good thinking, Russ.
We might be able to get
the upper hand if we found it first.
Hmm.
"Hirafude paintbrush, mid-Sengoku period."
Look at the briar around
the painting in the display case.
Some of these thorns are red.
Huh. That's odd.
And look, only the red-thorn briar
went through the display case.
So maybe if we follow the briar…
We'll find the paintbrush.
Mom! Stanley! I've got it.
Great work, Russ.
Let us remove it from this room
so we may plan our next steps.
[grunts]
[Noppera-bõ whooshing, groaning]
Russ, take it and get out of here.
-[whooshing]
-[panting]
[shouts, grunting]
-Russ!
-Let him go, you scalawag.
-Larry, let us not be rash.
-[groaning]
[grunting, screams]
Larry, no!
-[panting, grunting]
-[whooshes]
-[panting]
-[Noppera-bõ groaning]
Russ, did it hurt you?
I-I'm okay.
And now we know why
they want the paintbrush.
It's the only thing that
can stop them and protect us.
But where did Larry go?
[howls]
[screams]
-[grunts]
-[wood shatters]
[grunts]
Oh, feels like I just went
eight rounds with an octopus and lost.
[speaks Japanese]
-Yuka. You're Yuka.
-[whimpering]
-I'm a huge fan of your work.
-[gasps]
They used to fetch a pretty penny
on the black market,
but I always kept a few for myself.
[speaks Japanese]
No, no, no. Wait. I'm not gonna hurt ya.
I'm a nice guy, see?
[gasps]
What? Is something on my face?
-[Noppera-bõ groaning]
-Huh?
[groaning]
[exclaims]
[exclaiming, gasps]
[whooshing]
[Pandora] Where are they going now?
[Hisa] Yuka.
If that's hers, she's in trouble.
[whooshing]
While it is promising to learn
we can use the paintbrush to help us,
there is not enough paint on
the bristles to fell the Noppera-bõ.
Good point.
We need more paint to do any real damage.
And lots of it.
[whooshes]
[grunts]
Hmm.
Bone-dry.
We need some water.
Consider it done.
[panting]
Stay out of sight,
and do not lose that brush.
If they pull it into the painting,
it's gone for good.
And so is your sister.
I-I know you're worried, Hisa,
and we're going to help Yuka,
but we gotta figure out how
to end this curse.
For once, I'm jealous of the way
Russ can solve these mysteries.
[gasps] That's it.
Stanley said this is a prison
of your jealousy,
so all we gotta do
is fix your relationship
with your sister, and you'll be free.
-[groans]
-I know how sad you are.
I bet you miss her a lot.
Are you afraid she
won't accept your apology?
-[sighs]
-Trust me, I understand.
I get jealous of my brother.
He's super smart, never gets into trouble,
and it drives me up a wall.
Sometimes, I don't even feel
like talking to him.
Not for 500 years. Maybe, like, a week,
but then I really start to miss him,
and we patch things up.
I bet Yuka would love it if you two
buried the hatchet.
What do you say?
Okay, Hisa, find Yuka and apologize.
I'll keep you safe from the Noppera-bõ.
You can do this.
[Pandora] Hey, you dumb Noppera-bõ!
Over here! Better come get me.
[panting]
Yuka!
-[whooshing]
-Yuka!
-[gasping]
-[gasps] That's your sister, mate.
I'll run some interference for ya.
Over here, ya cad.
I had no idea someone
without a face could be so ugly.
-[Hisa] Yuka!
-[gasps]
Hisa!
-[panting]
-[whooshes]
[panting]
[panting, exhales sharply]
[panting]
Ow!
[groaning]
[groans, panting]
[growls]
[breathes heavily, gasps]
-[howling]
-[screams, grunts]
[panting]
[grunting]
You lot are awful at this.
You can't even catch two people
in 500 years.
I'll be just fine.
Larry?
Pandora!
I sure am glad I found ya, kid.
I'm here to rescue ya.
Hmm.
Fine. I got trapped by accident.
-Good to see you, buddy.
-[both gasp]
-Whew.
-Russ, we have some paint.
-You need to get over here.
-Hmm.
[panting, grunting]
[grunting] Huh?
[grunting, panting] Mom, catch!
[grunts]
Got it. Amazing throw.
[sighs] Thanks, Dad.
You want this, huh? Come get it.
[grunts]
[screeching]
[grunting]
-[Larry] What are we gonna do?
-I don't know. We're stuck.
[grunts]
[screams, grunts]
-[groans]
-No! No! [screams]
[grunting]
[grunts]
[panting]
[panting]
[sighs]
[gasps]
[sighs, grunts]
[both speaking Japanese]
[grunting]
[grunting]
Serves you right.
Nobody messes with Larry
and lives to tell the tale.
-[gasps]
-[both screaming]
[grunting]
Pandora! Larry! You're okay.
Oh, thank goodness.
-Russ, I-I-I'm sorry I got mad at you.
-[groans] Ouch.
I think you broke my rib.
I just got jealous
because you still seem close to Dad,
even though he's not here right now.
You've had more time with him
and more memories with him.
It just feels like I'm always trying
to catch up.
It's okay, Pan.
I get jealous
of all the fun you have with Dad.
I wish he and I could be silly like that.
But right now, everything we're doing,
even the boring stuff,
will help bring him back here.
-[sighs] Good to have you back, kiddo.
-Mmm.
I was wrong. This wasn't boring at all.
There's a whole world in there.
Hisa and Yuka have been--
Wait, where are Hisa and Yuka?
[gasps]
[chuckles]
Arigato, Pandora Pandora.
Happy to help, Hisa.
Here, take this.
Ahoy, Yuka.
Mmm.
Well, we should probably
get back to cataloging.
Well, we could,
or you could come up to Dad's office
and watch his research videos with me.
Unless, of course,
you'd rather stay here and work?
No way. Let's go. [panting]
[grunts, chuckles]
Hmm.
[grunting]
-[thunderclap]
-[grunting]
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