American Born Chinese (2023) s01e08 Episode Script

Well, Freddy, the fridge
is definitely broken.
It feels like the wheels are
really coming off this place.
I didn't know apartment
building had wheel?
It's an expression. It
means things are going bad.
- Like my whole life.
- Aw.
Really, Jin? What is going on?
Well
My parents' marriage is crumbling,
and I completely failed to help
my friend Wei-Chen in his
quest to find the Fourth Scroll.
Why? What happened?
Guess I was scared.
He thought I was gonna be his
guide and lead him to his destiny,
but I wasn't, and I didn't.
Sound like you need to
put your wheel back on.
Jin, come have dinner.
Mom? Dad?
Hey, Jin, any chance you
can fix the washing machine?
I'm down to my last two socks.
Yeah, I'll get right on that.
Jin.
Oh, my God!
Oh, my Goddess.
I must speak to you about an
urgent matter of life and death.
What's going on?
Today is Qiufen, the autumn equinox.
The day when Heaven and Earth
are perfectly in balance,
and the gate between them
opens for just a moment.
Which mean Bull Demon can
finally complete his uprising.
And you must stop him
or everyone will perish.
I need to stop him?
Remember, power comes from within.
It flows from the core.
Sorry, but I think
you've got the wrong guy.
Jin, a hero doesn't always
have to have superpowers.
A hero is someone who goes on a
journey, shows courage, helps others.
And fixes the washing machine.
Jin, it's dinnertime.
Remember, tonight's soccer
game carries epic consequences.
Ooh.
Found it.
I think this is what's been
causing all the problems.
Everything is more
connected than you think.
Yo, Jin!
- Thanks for ghosting us on game day.
- What?
We've been texting you, man.
You're supposed to wear our
jersey. Coach wants us locked in.
Hey, man. Tonight's game
has epic consequences.
What did you just say?
It's the qualifier.
Right. Um have any of
you guys seen Wei-Chen?
- No.
- No.
Okay.
- Locked in?
- What?
Hey.
Hey.
All right. We all know
what today is, right?
The autumn equinox!
Which, of course, means
gravitational balance.
But did you know that today
is the one day of the year
that you can balance an
egg perfectly on its end?
Hey, cosplayers, four
more hours till showtime.
Thomas, did you put
glitter on this battle axe?
- Yeah.
- Anuj, we gotta talk.
Not a great time. We're
working on tonight's performance
for Kugo Ren Saga.
- You're doing Kugo Ren?
- Pick up the pace.
- What's up?
- Okay, um
How do I put this? Uh.
The characters from Kugo Ren are real.
Okay. Yeah.
Anuj
What? I was just debating whether
I should take you to the doctor or not.
Listen, I can't explain it, but
there's a whole nother world out there.
And why are you telling me this?
I had a dream last night, and
everything in it is weirdly coming true.
Like, the shirt. I knew you
were gonna wear that today.
Dude, I wear this shirt a lot.
Okay, well, in my dream, you were
also wearing mismatching socks.
Blue on the right, yellow on the left?
Okay. That's pretty weird.
If my dream is a warning,
and I think it is,
it means something bad is going
to happen today. Like really bad.
I don't know what, but I know
that we have to find Wei-Chen
and figure out how to stop it.
Okay, yeah. Honestly, I-I-I
don't know what to believe,
but I've never seen you this
passionate about anything, so I'm in.
Yeah.
What's going on?
I left work early.
I told my boss I needed the day to
do something important with my wife.
Do what?
We're going to get your pendant back.
Wei-Chen?
Wei-Chen.
You all right?
He's gone.
No.
Listen. Wei-Chen, we're
gonna get your dad back.
No, Jin.
I had a stupid dream.
I thought I could keep the
staff away from Bull Demon,
but I just got my father
stabbed by a magic mirror.
So sorry, Wei-Chen.
I had a dream too.
Guanyin came to see me.
She said the Bull Demon is here,
and he's going to carry out his
uprising unless I can stop it.
What is he planning to do?
I have no idea.
Phantom Fury 17.
What?
In Phantom Fury 17,
the villain stabs Monkey Lord with
the magic mirror and steals his staff.
You saw that in a comic?
Yeah. Your dad is Sun Wukong,
right? Like, the Monkey King?
You know him?
Yeah, dude, everybody knows him.
Kugo Ren isn't the only
comic book based on him.
Starzinger, Dragon Ball,
Mega Man, Saiyuki, Enma
There's, like, eight
different comic books
where the villain steals
the Monkey King's magic staff
to sort out some sort of evil plan.
Uh, Sango Warriors, Darkest Intention,
and definitely Phantom Fury 17.
So, you think Bull Demon's
plan is hidden in manga?
Maybe everything is more
connected than we think.
We need to see those comics.
Hello.
We were here a few days
ago and lost a jewelry.
Just wondering if anyone found it.
Sorry, it's not here.
Are you sure? Uh, maybe
someone in the back found it.
I told you, it's not here.
It's a pendant. It's round.
It has orange color
Look. We're very busy.
If you not eating here, please leave.
Hey. That is my wife.
Have a little respect.
Why? You didn't.
The other night. Screaming at
each other like drunk idiots.
I remember you two.
I want to talk to
your manager, Mr. Gong.
Gong's not the manager. He's the busboy.
He never show up today, so he's fired.
I know that because I'm the manager.
Well then, I am taking this
Please do. They're two years old.
Come on. Let's go.
- Now you have bad luck!
- Hey, don't do that.
You're rude!
I know it's here.
Let's just go home.
Let's see what's back here.
Let's go!
Simon.
Come on! Come on!
Where are we?
Smells like burnt chemicals.
Kinda reminds me of our first apartment.
Same smell.
I miss that place sometimes.
Me too.
Remember how we'd get dressed up
and argue over which
restaurant to go to?
You always wanted beef noodles.
You wanted lobster. And cheesecake.
But we couldn't afford any of it,
so I'd put on my favorite
dress just to cook rice.
I loved you in that dress.
Look!
Oh, my God.
Okay, so this Bull Demon guy pops up
in different forms
all over these comics.
This one shows him having brothers.
That's true. He has seven.
In this one, he can
shape-shift like your dad.
He can but just a little. Not a master.
Here, he's fighting a drunk
guy with a magic-bead necklace.
Ji Gong just gave that to me. Yesterday.
This one shows him having
chain saws for arms.
- No.
- Ah, damn, I was hoping that one was real.
But why is he still here if
the uprising is in Heaven?
Uh, in my dream, Guanyin said
something about the equinox
and the gate between
Earth and Heaven opening.
Maybe he's trying to
pull a Harvey Elder.
- The Fantastic Four?
- Mole Man.
- What?
- Fantastic Four.
There's this villain,
Harvey Elder, the Mole Man.
He destroys all these
nuclear power plants
by attacking them from below.
I mean, it is called an uprising.
Ooh, check this one out:
"In Kugo Ren Saga 57, the Bull
Demon plants the staff into a field
and extends it down to the earth's core,
harnessing the power
of the whole world."
Guanyin said that power comes from
within. "It flows from the core."
He's going to use your
world to destroy mine.
We gotta get to the soccer game.
It can't be that hard to find a
guy wearing a cheesy leather jacket
and a stupid nose ring.
Unless he shape-shifted.
Right. Unless he shape-shifted.
Let's go.
Water. I need water.
Here.
What is this?
Just hot water and some healthy stuff.
Uh, it's a wildflower herbal
powder. My wife owns the business.
I need to go. I need to
- Take it easy. Take it
- You don't understand
Take it easy.
Drink more.
Do you want us to call for help?
No. Please don't.
Were you in a fight?
My son
He ran away from home.
Got into some trouble.
I had to get involved.
You mean, criminals?
Something like that.
It must be terrible to find
your son in a place like this.
Yes.
But it was my fault.
What happened?
I tried to keep him from
making the same mistakes I made.
But I pushed him away.
Children are like a mirror.
Sometimes it's hard to look.
Well, I hope you feel better.
I do, actually.
Please keep this.
- It gives you strength and energy.
- Mmm.
Have more powder too.
Huh?
- Take care.
- Mmm.
Thank you.
- Heartbreaking
- Mmm.
- to see someone like that
- Mmm.
He has nothing.
No home, no money, he's
probably divorced
and his son is on drugs.
- He was right though.
- Mmm.
- Children are a mirror.
- Mmm.
And when I look at our son
I know we'll be okay.
We should go to his game.
Well, hello, world!
Oh! I hope you're
excited about the soccer!
Go Cranes! Whoo-hoo!
But before that, we have
our Fall Club Showcase.
And first up is Climate Club
with a very cool message
about single-use plasticware.
Whoo!
Our planet is about to be destroyed,
and only you can save it.
Okay, so, we find the Bull Demon,
we get that staff before he
can use it to blow up Heaven.
Yeah, but if he can shape-shift,
he could literally be anyone.
He's not very good at it
though. Not like my father.
Okay, so, we just look
for someone acting weird?
Yeah, I guess.
Hey, guys.
Hi, friends. Everything's normal.
Oh, uh, Jin. Congrats on
starting in the game tonight,
but be careful out there.
It's gonna be dangerous.
What? Why?
Uh, you know. 'Cause revenge.
We're playing Osito Valley, our rivals.
- Oh, yeah, totally. Sports.
- Right, right.
Anyway, Amelia wanted to say something.
- Ruby?
- What? You do.
Hey, Jin, could I
talk to you real quick?
Uh.
- Right now?
- Yeah, it'll just take a second.
Yes, he can, because
everything is normal.
Right. Yeah, okay, I'll
see you guys in a bit.
You keep looking.
And now it's time for our next club
I'm sorry, there's just a lot of
stuff going on right now and
So, you remember at the
beginning of the year
when you asked me to hang out,
and I said we could be buds?
Oh
No, no. Listen, I-I
told you already, like,
I'm totally fine.
Well, I I'm not.
Oh.
I feel like we've hung
out a lot since then,
and you know, gotten to
know each other better
and we were lab partners,
and you came to my house.
And I don't know everything
that's going on with your family,
but I just feel like lately,
you've kind of been dodging me.
- No, no. Um
- I just
I keep trying to find the
right words to, like
draw you out and to get
to the real you, and I
My God, that's it.
What?
We have to draw him out.
That's what we have to do.
See, I feel like you're
doing it right now.
Y-You get distracted or something.
Look, what I'm trying to say is,
you're kind of the only person
that I can really be myself around,
and I wanna hang out with you more.
Not as buds.
Jin.
I don't know if you've heard,
but there's a soccer game tonight.
Oh
Yeah, sorry, I'll be right there.
I should go.
Yeah. Okay.
We'll talk later.
Yeah.
It's starting.
Oh, God.
There's something maybe I
should have told you earlier.
My father's staff is very powerful.
So if Niu Mowang succeeds
everyone here will probably die.
Yeah, dude, you definitely
should have told us that earlier.
Hey, Ruby! Everything's normal.
- Hey.
- Okay.
Guys. Did you find anything?
Where have ya been, dude? The
portal to Heaven's opening.
And if we don't stop Bull Demon,
everyone here's gonna get annihilated.
Oh, no
Where's the Cosplay Club getting ready?
- Did you hear anything I just said?
- Yeah.
I think I know how to find him.
Come on!
Hey, everyone, listen up.
Change of plans. Uh, Lizzie,
I'm gonna need that dress.
And finally,
put your hands together
for our last presentation.
They're really gonna blow your mind.
The one, the only, Cosplay Club!
The Celestial Realm has been
defended by Kugo Ren for millennia.
However, his nemesis Mo
Akuna, the Bull Demon,
has mounted an uprising
and stolen the Sacred Staff.
On the eve of his attack, the
Goddess of Mercy confronts him.
This is gonna be hilarious.
Bull Demon!
Your craven attempt at power is futile!
Surrender your uprising now!
Uh it's too late!
No one can stop my plan of destruction.
Once I plant this staff in the
ground, everyone here will die!
I love it.
If you insist on this
silly act of vengeance,
the forces of Heaven and Earth
I thought he was playing soccer.
- This is your last warning.
- Maybe this is part of it?
I'd like to see you try!
- Stop! Look!
- No!
What do you see? Tell me!
No!
I see
I see
I see a supervillain.
I see a supervillain
who's fueled by revenge,
and he's gonna stop at
nothing to control the world,
even if it means he's gonna destroy it.
Boo!
And I see
I see, um
I see a sad, lonely
little bull, actually.
I see someone who's obsessed with
what other people think about him.
Honestly, I see a guy who doesn't
really like himself that much.
I see someone who doesn't want
to show the world who he is
because he's afraid that if other
people saw who he really was,
they'd just laugh at him.
Or worse, they just wouldn't care.
And that makes him sad.
And, sometimes,
it makes him hurt people
that he really cares about.
And the worst part is, he doesn't
know why he feels that way.
He just does.
But maybe it's not too late.
Maybe he could just drop the act.
Maybe he could just go
back to Heaven right now
and make things right
before anyone else gets hurt.
Maybe?
Yeah, or, uh, maybe not, honestly,
because at the end of the day,
I'm still just, like, a weak,
dumb, whiny, little cow baby,
and everyone knows it.
Right? Guys, I have seven brothers,
and every single one of them is cooler,
smarter, and better-looking than I am.
I try to cover up all these,
like, unresolved insecurities
with this stupid-looking leather jacket
and this dumb nose ring from the 1990s.
And I have this goatee that looks like
someone chopped the butt off a goat
and stuck it to my neck.
But nobody's buying it.
'Cause at the end of the day,
everybody can tell how hard I'm trying.
I'm just so puffed up, it
looks like I'm just, like,
full of, like, cow farts
and, like, if you pull my
nose ring, it all comes out.
Larkins!
That was sick.
- Come on, Wei-Chen!
- Get him!
Go, Wei-Chen!
Watch out!
It's opening!
- Whoa, you kids okay?
- Shh.
Wei-Chen!
What the hell are these kids doing?
Oh, my God! That was so cool.
So much better than last year.
Yo, are they flying?
I mean, I guess.
We gotta stop it!
- What can we do?
- Come on!
How are they doing that?
Anuj's parents are loaded.
Ready!
One, two, throw!
Well, that didn't work!
I want you to see this!
Hey. Hey. Hey, it's gonna blow!
Jin. Come eat dinner.
You have to be brave, Jin.
What if I'm not though?
Do you know who you are?
You are worlds clashing into each other.
You are all the pieces merging into one.
You're everything we ever hoped for.
None of it makes sense, Mom.
And that's okay.
I wish you knew how much
strength you have inside you.
You just have to unlock it.
I don't know how.
Just be you, Jin.
Just be you.
Jin! Jin!
Jin! Jin, Jin.
Jin, wake up.
Oh, Jin, you okay?
Father!
You're alive.
You were right.
You found the Fourth Scroll.
You are the Fourth Scroll.
He's the Fourth Scroll!
He is the Fourth Scroll!
Yes! He's the freakin' Fourth Scroll!
Can we start the game now?
Yeah! You're the man!
Dude. That was insane.
I know.
I can't believe you kissed Amelia.
- Call you in the morning.
- Yeah.
You are the Fourth Scroll! Whoo-hoo!
Wei-Chen! Uh
Where were you? You
guys just disappeared.
My father took Niu Mowang
to face the Jade Emperor.
And I asked him if I could say goodbye.
Well, your dream came true.
You stopped the uprising.
No. You did.
You saved my home.
I still don't know how I did that.
Neither do I.
But I'm gonna find out.
Will I ever see you again?
I hope so.
You are my best friend.
Bye, Jin.
Bye, Wei-Chen.
Mom?
Dad?
Hi, Jin.
Who are you?
You know, I have been wanting
to ask you the same thing.
But I got my answer tonight.
That's why you're coming with me.
If you want to see your parents again.
I'm sorry, can you say
that one more time slower?
My Chinese isn't super good.