Strange Angel (2018) s01e07 Episode Script

1 WOMAN: None of us were much familiar with this Aleister Crowley.
I'm just glad he lives so far away.
SUSAN: He's not as far as you'd think.
Be careful with the pages and be sure to close them when you're done.
ALFRED: Keep pure your highest ideal.
Strive ever toward it without allowing aught to stop you or turn you aside, even as a star sweeps upon its infinite and incalculable course of glory.
Love is the law.
ALL: Love under will.
- ALFRED: - Your minerval has earned the right To partake of the workings.
It means you can stay.
The key of the rituals is in the secret word, which I have given unto you.
Love is the law.
Love under will.
Do what thou wilt, Jack.
That's why we're here.
Are you ready? What is it I should be ready for? Sacrifice and ascension.
Love is the law.
Love under will.
By uniting with the eternal force of creation, we bend the world to our will.
[DOORBELL RINGS.]
[SNIFFLES.]
[GRUNTS.]
I've put everything on the line now.
The master tells us sacrifice is what's required.
Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it.
That's not the point.
When's the world gonna start bending to my will? Well, it was only your first time with a high priestess.
You've barely scratched the surface.
General Braxton's only in town till the end of the week.
You keep trying to play a game that's rigged against you.
Doesn't matter.
I still need to win.
But you don't get it.
Why suck up to a general with only two stars when there's a million of 'em out there waiting for you? - All right.
- Careful.
[EXHALES.]
[CAMERA BEGINS WHIRRING.]
A ka dua Tuf ur biu Bi a'a chefu.
[MUSIC PLAYING IN DISTANCE.]
Susan.
I was just thinking, I've barely seen you since our camping trip.
Oh, I know.
I've been so busy.
It'd be nice to catch up, just the two of us.
Figure we're overdue.
I brought lemonade with a little something extra.
Please.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS.]
[FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRING.]
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
Sorry, sir.
Demonstration in progress.
I'm looking for my partner.
How long is the demo gonna be? Jack.
Jack.
Wait.
- What's going on? - We've got a meeting - With Professor Mesulam.
- That's on Tuesday.
It is Tuesday, Richard.
Oh.
Goddamn it.
I'm sorry.
Working both these projects it's just killing me.
- Is General Braxton in there? - Yeah.
Why don't you show him our film? We had our chance.
Braxton has written our project off.
He hasn't seen any of our latest work in the arroyo.
- TILLMAN: Mr.
Onsted.
- Yeah? The general is asking if you'll be much longer.
Um, I'll be right there, sir.
Is there any way we can reschedule? No.
I can see you're busy.
It's incredible, right? Please tell me what is incredible? You just witnessed gas exhaust speeds in excess of 5,000 miles an hour.
Would you like to watch it again? - Yeah, yeah.
- No need, Alice.
Where is Richard? He's splitting his time with another project.
And without Richard, the rest of the team's not showing up, either.
But the work you are doing is very dangerous.
You shouldn't be out there alone.
I'm not.
There's the guy holding the camera.
The project needs to keep moving forward with or without Richard.
Back in Europe, I too worked with a friend.
Max Schull.
We shared our love of aeronautics, worked on PUZ 1 together.
But as the Nazis rose in power, suddenly my university was worried, uh, they had too many Jewish professors.
Max had already secured a chair, but I was denied mine.
And no one protested.
Not even Max.
I called him coward.
I said many horrible things.
He and I haven't spoken since.
Given state of the world, we may never speak again.
Why are you telling me this? Uno Ne Peleya Sino Dos.
It's an old Ladino saying meaning, "it takes two to have argument.
" Without Richard, you are like car with gas pedal but no brake.
The military is about to pick the projects they're bringing to D.
C.
Now is not the time to slow down.
There will be other opportunities.
When? I'm not about to give up on this chance.
These equations prove a solid-fuel rocket can burn stable.
But you will need to work with Richard to understand them.
MAGGIE: Look at you Making cocktails in the middle of the afternoon.
I knew there was more to Susan Parsons than met the eye.
Perhaps.
But I'm not the only one keeping secrets.
Forgive me.
What secrets are you referring to? What's this? I know Jack's been going.
Going where? To that house, with Ernest.
Question is, do they know what they've been going to? It's about the man who started Thelema, this Crowley.
The paper makes him out to be a monster.
They say he's seduced young girls, that he practices animal sacrifice, even bestiality.
Mm, I know what it says.
Is it true? Ernest would say it's all propaganda spread by Crowley's enemies.
People who are afraid of freedom.
What do you think? Does it matter what I think? Why not ask your husband? Because I need to know what I'm up against first.
The truth is even worse.
That mass you saw That's just the beginning.
The high priest Alfred he he claims monogamy's a form of slavery, that no one owns anyone else.
He separates couples, makes them switch with each other.
It's not just husbands with other wives.
It's wives with wives and men with men.
Three at a time.
More.
How do you know all this? How do you think? You've been going? [SCOFFS.]
Ernest can't seem to live without it.
And I can't seem to live without him.
So now that you know what you're up against, are you gonna confront him? Susan? - What are you two doing? - Mm.
Oh, just catching up, talking about how we've been spending our evenings.
You, me, Jack.
You're drunk.
So? What if I felt like being drunk? Sorry, Susan, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.
I was just going.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
What'd you tell her? Maggie.
What do you think? I see the way you look at him.
Who? Don't play dumb.
You know.
Or do you really expect me to believe that you suddenly care so much about rockets? You wouldn't understand.
Then explain it to me.
Alfred thinks that Jack could be the key to unlocking my true self.
- [SCOFFS.]
- He thinks he might be my liberation.
From what? All of this time, everything I've done for you, for us I never wanted you to do anything you did not want to.
What choice did I have? Be true to yourself! That's the whole goddamn point! If you're feeling unhappy [CRYING.]
: I can't just leave.
Not without knowing the truth.
Ernest, please.
We're not like the Parsons.
We don't we don't hide things from each other.
Just please tell me what's really going on with you.
Whatever it is you think I am, I'm not.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS.]
[WHISTLE BLOWS.]
Richard? What are you doing here? Just found out that Braxton selected the project he's gonna be submitting to his superiors in D.
C.
Professor Tillman's new prototype is one of them.
And they're all meeting at the Ath tonight to finalize the details.
If the propeller project gets funded, it's gonna require more of my time.
More or all? I'm really sorry.
Mesulam sponsored this project because of you.
If you leave, it's over.
Right now I need to focus on my future.
Rockets are the future.
[GRUNTS.]
It's Frater J.
P.
Please, it's an emergency.
JOAN: Tell me what you want.
To manifest my will.
[JOAN INHALES.]
[EXHALES.]
[INHALES.]
[EXHALES.]
Don't look at me.
Tell me what you want.
To manifest my will.
Focus on your intention.
Free your mind.
And it will break through everything that stands in your way.
[MOANING.]
Just free your mind.
The barriers you feel are illusory.
Just free your mind and it will break through everything that stands in your way.
It will break through everything that stands in your way.
[MOANING.]
[MOANING CONTINUES.]
[MOANING CONTINUES.]
Yes.
Oh! [MOANING CONTINUES.]
[MOANING LOUDER.]
[MOANING INTENSIFIES.]
[GASPS.]
[PANTING.]
MAN [IN DISTANCE.]
: Why don't you pick me up in an hour, all right? DRIVER: Yes, sir.
- Gentlemen.
- Evening.
Evening.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
[JOAN CHANTS.]
Damn it.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING IN DISTANCE.]
Evening, sir.
Will you be joining the others for cigars and brandy? Yes.
- Yes, I will.
- Very good.
They've already retired down to the Rathskeller.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
[LAUGHING, INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS.]
BRAXTON: Those islands in the Pacific They are damn tiny.
[CHUCKLES.]
General, if the results hold, we may even squeeze out an extra four percent in propeller efficiency.
[WHISTLES.]
A whole four percent? I thought the military was on campus to find cutting-edge technology.
Four percent sounds a little tame.
I'm sorry for the intrusion, General.
Jack Parsons, from the GALCIT Rocketry Group.
Good to see you again.
Ah, the admirers of von Braun.
Oh, we've come a long way since then.
- Jack, this is, uh - Correct me if I'm wrong Professor but there's an upward limit to propeller speed? Around 500 miles per hour? We're not gonna stand here and listen to this charlatan.
Is that right, John? [STAMMERS.]
Well, yes.
Technically.
But JACK: Funny thing is, just the other day, we had a rocket reach 5,000 miles per hour in exhaust velocity, and we have the footage to prove it.
That's it.
Find someone to show him the door.
You were telling us that von Braun is trying to hit London with rockets from Berlin.
Well, we're aiming much, much further.
Where to? The moon.
Going to the moon is not just a scientific inevitability.
It's a strategic necessity.
Forget about Europe.
Up there is the front of the future.
And the first nation to plant their flag on its surface will be the greatest superpower the world has ever seen.
Now, do you want that flag to have a swastika, or the stars and stripes? Filip, are you gonna put a stop to this? Professor Mesulam is the one who helped us prove it was possible.
These equations show that my solid-fuel rockets can burn stable even as we strive to reach escape velocity.
Solid fuel? That's what I said.
DOORMAN: Time to go, sir.
Are you leaving, or do I need to call the police? No need.
My work here is done.
Remember, General, the front of the future.
My team is already fighting that war.
I'm gonna enjoy this.
[EXHALES.]
Donovan, it's your wife.
She's asking when you'll be coming home.
Tell her soon.
[MOTORCYCLE ENGINE REVVING.]
[ON RADIO.]
: It all Depends on you [LAUGHS.]
I can be lonely out in a crowd I can be humble, I can be proud It all depends on you I can save money, or spend it Go right on living, or end it You're to blame, honey For what I do I know that I can be beggar I can be king I can be almost any old thing It all depends - On you - [COUPLE LAUGHING.]
- [INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS.]
- [SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE.]
[HORN HONKING IN DISTANCE.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You sure you're in the right place? All right.
My left shoe's on my right foot My right shoe's on my left Oh, listen to me Mimi Of reason I'm bereft The buttons of my trousers Are buttoned to my vest Oh, listen to me Mimi Mere passion's in my breast Mimi You funny little good-for-nothing Mimi - Am I the guy - What'll you have, sir? Rye.
Straight.
You got it.
Mimi, I'm aiming high Mimi, you've got me sad and dreamy You could free me.
If you'd see me, Mimi.
Enjoy.
You know I'd like to have a little son of a Mimi Bye and bye So you're gonna be shy now that I'm standing here? You know it's not polite to stare.
I'm sorry, I-I thought you were someone else.
I'm sure you did.
In here everybody's looking for someone else.
You funny little good-for-nothing Mimi Am I the guy Mimi, you sunny little Oh, Mimi, Mimi.
You funny little good-for-nothing Mimi Am I the guy Mimi You sunny little [WHISTLING "MIMI".]
[LIGHTER CLATTERS.]
Susan.
Please open the door.
I can explain.
[DOOR BANGS.]
It's not what you think.
I did this for us.
To make it all happen.
[SIGHS.]
I'm sorry, Susan.
I'm sorry.
He thought she was getting a deal.
Freedom, support, plus, he did the cooking.
[LAUGHS.]
So then what happened? The dreaded proclamation.
"I want to have kids.
" No avoiding the elephant in the living room.
Not that I'm one to say I told you so, but I told him so.
[CLATTERING, WHISTLE.]
What's going on? Act normal.
Normal? DETECTIVE: Good evening, gents.
It's awfully quiet in here.
PATROLMAN: Everybody stay put.
DETECTIVE: We've been getting some complaints.
We're here just to make sure everything is on the straight and narrow.
Wouldn't happen to be a friend of Dorothy's, now would you? Hmm? Haven't seen you here before.
You, on the other hand You should steer clear.
This one's a real pervert.
You don't look like the guys I normally catch in here.
What kind of guy I look like? Only, if I saw you on the street, I'd never take you for a queer.
Is that what I am? Well, you're here, aren't you? You must be looking to get your pole smoked.
Or are you the other kind The kind who likes to do the smoking? Oh! [ALARMED CHATTER.]
[GRUNTS.]
Get up! Get up! [GRUNTS.]
- [GROANING.]
- Get up! Yeah! Yeah! Get off him! Beat the crap Get up! - Hold that son of a bitch.
- You're dead! You're dead! Get up.
PATRON: Oh, my God.
[PATRONS CLAMORING.]
[LAUGHING.]
Get out of here! Get out of the way! NIGHT OFFICER: Donovan, Ernest.
Assaulting an officer, public perversion, attempted sodomy.
Turn to the right.
OFFICER: Left thumb.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS.]
All right, let's go.
If I were married to a woman like you, no way you'd find me in a place like that.
I don't know why I Shh, shh.
You don't have to say anything.
[GRUNTS SOFTLY.]
[EXHALES SLOWLY.]
You remember that little diner in Omaha? Right by the Orpheum.
They did the best hash.
I think they used Professor? Come in, Richard.
Your secretary said that you needed to see me.
Is everything all right? Your partner made unexpected visit last night.
Before you say anything, I explicitly told him I didn't ask you here to assign blame.
God knows I played part, uh, by giving him these equations.
Well, maybe it's best I'm leaving the project.
We work better as friends than colleagues.
You will have to learn to be both.
Mr.
Parsons broke many rules.
But in so doing, he managed to spark the general's interest.
What, in going to the moon? The general is not interested in "front of the future.
" The military cares about what they can use now.
General Braxton believes, uh, there may be a military application for these solid-fuel rockets.
We're being considered for funding? Yes.
What about the propeller team? The rocketry project now takes priority.
The general has requested a presentation be given before his committee at Army Air Corps in Washington, D.
C.
He suggested you be the one to make it.
Uh, no.
No, no, sir, I-I couldn't.
Jack's the one that-that should present this.
[CHUCKLING.]
: Yes, I know.
Mr.
Parsons refusing to give up his dream is what made this possible.
[CHUCKLES.]
But with war coming there's no time for such things.
[DOOR SHUTS IN DISTANCE.]
[SIGHS.]
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.]
[CAR DOOR SHUTS.]
[DOOR OPENS IN DISTANCE.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[CAR DOOR OPENS.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING.]
Maggie? Don't worry, this had nothing to do with you.
[SIGHS.]
It's a relief, to be honest.
At least now I know the truth.
[SCOFFS.]
I never stood a chance.
Against them? No, no, that's that's not what I meant.
Listen, he's not in so deep that he can't be pulled back out.
Take care of yourself.
[ENGINE STARTS.]
[KNOCKING.]
Susan? [JACK SIGHS.]
No, Jack.
I came here to talk, and Susie told me that you'd be out here.
What's going on with you two? [GROANS.]
Nothing.
Just the usual marital woes.
You don't have a wife.
You wouldn't understand.
No, I suppose I wouldn't.
What did you want to talk to me about? Well, Mesulam told me that you made quite a show at the Athenaeum.
Jesus, Richard, if you're just here to scold me No, I'm not.
Believe it or not, Braxton wants to hear a full proposal on solid-fuel rockets in Washington.
You mean it worked? It worked? This time, but I wouldn't make a habit of gate-crashing the Athenaeum.
That's not what I mean.
I did this.
I willed this into existence.
What are you talking about? It doesn't matter.
All that matters is that we're gonna go to D.
C.
Yeah.