The Nevers (2021) s01e08 Episode Script

1
We've heard nothing from
Dr. Hague since yesterday.
Dr. Hague is missing.
His house has been burned.
We are under siege.
- Madam?
- He may be dead for all we know.
The creature must be destroyed.
Before they can free it.
But we've tried everything.
The shell cannot be broken.
Leave me.
Ah, ah!
Fuck. Isaiah.
I'm scared. They're shouting outside.
It's okay. We're safe here. Come on.
If you didn't stay up drawing monsters,
you wouldn't have nightmares.
- They're not nightmares.
- Hm. Come on.
It's alright.
It's alright. Don't worry.
They'll move on.
Move, move, move. Let's go.
Whoa!
Whoa, it's just us! Annie!
It's me!
It's me.
Well, get in, will you?
Go, go.
As it happens
we're due to meet the Pope.
I've never been to the Vatican.
- Is it far?
- It's a great mystery.
I lost her scent. Don't get pissy.
Thought it was a hum.
Oh, ye of little faith.
- Come on.
- Nice costume, lovie!
Ladies
Woo!
Oh!
- Can I help you?
- Your Eminence.
Beg pardon, sir.
As it happens, we'll be
taking run of the place.
Fix us a pie or two, would you?
Been half-starved.
No cheeses in mine.
You heard her. No dairy.
Do us all a favor. Hop to!
Any issues?
Just a few rowdies redecorating.
No one's come looking for more.
You should get some sleep.
You know, there are people
here who need you, too.
Myrtle.
She stopped speaking.
Had she started?
She's home. She's safe.
She's fine. What else can I do?
Sort out your priorities.
You can't just take off all night
in the middle of a riot.
Horatio's here.
- Is he?
- Stashed him in your office.
Figured you wouldn't mind.
Thanks.
Sorry. S
Katherine is in the dorms,
- and wasn't sure that was approp
- Katherine?
Our house was attacked, Amalia.
The Purists.
- Annie said that this would be okay, so
- Right. yes.
Um, of course.
Well, Penance and I made
a bit of a discovery
You know what, he just fell
asleep, so is it alright if we
- Right. Y No.
- 'Cause it's been a long night.
Yes, yes. Yes.
Why don't you bring it to her yourself?
- Not today.
- Not any day.
I have business.
I'll be back this evening.
Can't business wait?
She needs to see you.
She thinks you don't care about her.
So, relieve her of that notion.
You can't leave her down there forever.
She's your daughter.
My daughter is dead.
And I will not allow this house
to fade into obscurity
because I wasn't strong enough
to bear its burdens.
Business cannot wait.
Someone's got to talk
to her about what happened.
Can't just leave her alone in there.
I saved you a fruit bun.
Mine had a big blackberry in it.
Never seen a blackberry that big before.
- Dr. Hague? Hm
- Do you remember him?
Not an easy creature to forget.
He wasn't far off from most
of the lunatics in that place.
That much I've gathered.
Though his file was frustratingly thin.
- File?
- And his "special study"
with Sarah was predictably sanitized.
But I was hoping for some insights.
The man and I didn't
exactly take tea together.
He had a mother.
- Used to talk about her all the time.
- We all have mothers.
Mm. Not like this.
Is this about the case?
It's a mission. I'm not Agatha Christie.
- Who?
- What?
The case. The watch case from yesterday.
Ah, yes. Led me to the doctor's house.
I think he might be the one
guarding the Galanthi.
- What were you doing at his house?
- Christmas dinner.
Amalia, why are you being evasive?
I'm not being evasive.
I'm being defensive.
It wasn't exactly my tidiest work.
Yes, I can see that.
Still, not entirely without reward.
Now, I have a name.
Yes, but you could have had an episode.
You worried about me?
No, no, no, no, don't, don't.
I'll lock the door.
Don't do that either.
Why is it every man turns into a saint
when he smells his wife's perfume?
I'm not a saint, but I'm also
not a fucking madman.
You really think he built those things?
I think we're calling them
Shock Troops now.
Because if he did,
he didn't build them by himself.
I mean, the man was
a proficient lobotomist,
but his gifts ended there.
Perhaps Mother knows best then.
I'm just saying be careful, Amalia.
The fate of humanity
is a dangerous business.
But it doesn't have to be your business.
Wow. Isn't that a thought?
Here comes a candle ♪
To light you to ♪
Huh?
Know what X marks?
Please. Sarah.
No. Not from you.
That's your name, isn't it?
I haven't been Sarah
for a stretch, darling,
or didn't that make it
down your hidey-hole?
I know what they call you.
That's not who you are.
You're a sweet girl.
You're not a disease.
Reckon it wears just fine. On your feet.
Let's get you in the ground.
Do you know why
I took you away from the asylum?
Boring. I'm bored now.
It's not why you think.
Why I think.
Therefore, I am. If not, I'm not.
- And I am.
- I
had
no choice.
Was it I who solicited you
from the darkness then?
Oh, yes.
You're angry. Well, you should be.
But you have to understand, Sarah,
how special No, how important
you are to us Me.
- Us, is it?
- No. No, my
My fellow researchers.
Oh, we mustn't forget Mother!
Mother, keep my body
from yonder grave ♪
And my neck from the gallows tree ♪
But I've been down in
the cold earth, Doctor.
Down in the rot.
I've swung from the gallows
till my blood congealed.
All of it was as nothing.
Nothing to your
shiny, little
knife.
There's nothing about those
days I don't remember.
Shh, no, no, no.
No, I understand. I understand
how hard this must have been for you.
You're about to.
But our work together was vital.
It was pivotal, and this
isn't about anything. It's petty.
As me or you.
This is God's will. Sarah
Come on. Not much gristle on you.
Best get started or
we'll be here all night.
Whoa! Whoa, there.
Guards! Fall in!
Oh, my.
Seems I've been attacked.
I thought I'd help you tidy up
A little-known fact
about cables and cords.
They prefer their tanglings.
Ah.
That explains the hostility.
Well, that's very sweet
of you to come by
and check up on me in the first place.
You know, you didn't have to do that.
Well
Of course.
Sometimes, a gentleman likes to
No, no! Oh!
Sorry. Sorry.
This is not very gentlemanly
behavior, Mr. Bidlow.
Um It's No.
I-I wasn't I'm not Sorry.
You haven't even tried to kiss me yet.
Well, I-I assure you, Ms. Adair,
I'm not trying to do anything.
- You're not?
- No. No
Why?
- W-why?
- Why aren't you trying to kiss me?
Well, I
I suppose, I-I am I am
I am trying to kiss you then.
- Just generally.
- Generally?
Yes, in a general manner
- But not now?
- No! No. No.
W-would you like me to try
and kiss you then?
Generally.
- Oh.
- But not now, of course.
- Right.
- Because your sister's here.
- What?
- And she's brought half an army with her.
- Oh God
- I suppose you better leg it
before she finds you.
What on earth is she up to now?
- And so Myrtle defended herself.
- It's curious.
The papers left that out.
I don't control public opinion.
What do you control?
I take full responsibility
for the incident, but
As I understand it,
Ms. Best has taken full responsibility.
Not much left for you.
As I said, no one asked Lucy to do that.
And yet her incarceration
is a greater sacrifice
for this institution than you,
its supposed caretaker, has ever made.
If Lucy's in jail,
it's because she chooses to be.
The woman could split
the sun open, for God's sake.
Well, I have no interest in
parsing whatever grievance
has arisen between the two of you.
But if it's orders you're looking for,
consider yourself obliged.
This orphanage is a sanctuary.
Many of the girls here
have nowhere else to go
and would end up on the streets
were it not for my charity.
And we thank you for that.
It's a charity that
is difficult to justify
with every single one
of these incidents.
Now, I am not a bottomless well.
I rely on the benefaction of my
compeers to keep the doors open,
and as their outrage swells,
- the purse strings tighten.
- A child was attacked.
Perhaps your compeers would care
to direct their outrage elsewhere.
I'm sorry. Is it fairness
you're looking for?
- I'm not a nanny.
- I don't know what you are.
And neither does the public.
Rest assured, they will be
happy to fill in the gap,
and now that Maladie is in the ground,
the face of this poor, young,
dead girl will do just fine.
My guards will be stationed
outside for your protection.
No one will come in
or out, including you,
until this unrest is settled.
Or I will be forced to withdraw
my patronage fully
and permanently.
How quickly a sanctuary
becomes a prison.
Starting to wish you'd left me
to rot in that asylum.
It's always an option
we can revisit if you prefer.
Can't say I miss that
particular fraternity.
Although perhaps my old keepers
have remained nearer than I presumed.
That is a scenario of your own making.
Is it?
The hospital informed me
that a thief made off
with some choice records
this very morning.
Preoccupied with a Dr. Hague,
it seems. Do you know the man?
- Can't say I'm familiar.
- Neither can I.
But the administration
insists that the perpetrator
bore a striking resemblance
to a former patient.
I assured them otherwise.
You're not as special as you
fathom yourself, Mrs. True.
And if you care at all for
the welfare of these girls,
you will swallow that
sizable pride of yours
and be the person we are
all waiting for you to become.
Good morning.
Door!
Amalia?
I wanted to thank you.
Horatio and I are very
grateful for the hospitality.
Of course.
I'd like to help with some
meals while we're here.
Perhaps the children's schooling?
We'll make up for the imposition.
Not necessary. You're guests.
That's very kind,
but if it's all the same,
I'd prefer not to live on charity.
You get used to it.
I suppose it must be nice for
you to have Horatio around.
You're gonna be
a beautiful bride, Molly.
Now, leave me.
Everything feels so dangerous.
With all the riots
in the city and the tremors.
Good to have a doctor close by.
He's not so hard on the eyes either.
Sorry. That was, um
Another joke?
Generously put.
I happen to agree.
And I don't know what my husband
has told you about me,
but I have a much keener
sense of humor than he does.
A low bar to clear.
Yes, well, um
I should get back to it.
Careful with it. Butcher's kiddos.
Cold as they come.
Officer.
Here to gawk, then?
I'm here to say thank you, Lucy.
Yeah?
What've I got to be thanked for?
Young Ms. Haplisch would
never have made it home
if it weren't for you.
That is the truth.
The truth is
I belong here.
Maybe not for what got me.
One way or the other,
we all end up where we belong.
I have something for you.
A gift.
What to get the woman who's got it all?
What about a cure?
Are all you minted bastards
just the same?
Money's got your problems set,
so you go hunting for new ones.
What if I told you
I could end your disease?
Make you whole again.
I'd say I've already trekked
that road to nowhere.
Thank you, but no.
This is the end of that road.
You alright there?
Hm. What?
Just a shade paler than usual.
You still getting those new ripplings?
Were these walls always
so close together?
I'll look into it.
Find anything useful in Hague's files?
Another dead end.
All these poor people.
Mm-hmm.
I wonder what he really
wanted with them.
Can't stay here.
You can't sneak out.
There's guards all
at the back gates now.
Can't risk getting seen.
I have to say, it's very
kind of Lavinia Bidlow
to keep us all so safe and cozy.
The timing's certainly convenient.
And I got the sense she wasn't
unfamiliar with our dear doctor.
I have been thinking about our
"telephone hitchhiker".
She could be one
of the portal engineers.
- They were dead.
- So were you.
Well, considering who she's calling,
I'd say more likely Freelife than PDC.
So, what does that make Hague?
A man running out of time. What's this?
Oh, just hammering out
a little something.
An electromechanical automated
telephone exchange rerouter.
I'm calling it the Collecticom.
- So, a switchboard.
- No! No!
Do you think that Thomas Edison
has people question
all the names of his inventions?
And you did this all in one night?
Lots of hours in the day
when you don't use any for sleep.
And this is meant to help us
track down Hague's mystery caller?
As soon as I tap into the
National Telephone Company line,
get this little beauty eavesdropping
for electronic telephone signatures
coming into Mr. Hague's address.
- Doctor.
- Hm?
- He's a doctor. I'm just saying.
- Pardon me.
Let's not disrespect the man
keeping brains in a vat.
- You sure you're alright?
- I'm fine.
I simply need to plot an escape
without unhousing us all,
infiltrate a fortified military
complex, and rescue
an alien demigod from the clutches
of a Touched-maimed lunatic
before the city plunges
- into seismic doom.
- So,
I should probably get
this all wired in then.
Right now would be good, yeah.
Dogs barking, are they?
What am I doing?
Is this my grave?
If you're gonna kill me
Fucker!
- He distracted me!
- Ah.
Defecation calls.
Your deal.
You look small down there.
- Sarah
- I said don't call me that.
Maladie, please.
Lost your patience, have you?
As I remember, you took
your time with me,
even when I begged for death.
You had other ideas.
Where's a man get ideas like that?!
I spent two years with you,
and here I am!
You've spent two minutes
with me, and there you are,
quivering like a maid
on her wedding night!
Where's your grit, huh?
Where's your mettle?
Know where I found mine?
I did a murder.
My very first. You never
forget your first.
Poor girl. Had to be done though.
Such a torment, chained to that rock.
Every day opened, and every day,
dissected and devoured and divided
until she was nothing but meat.
I considered it a service in the end.
I'm sure she'd appreciate it
if I helped you in kind.
Go ahead! Beg me!
- And the only way out is down.
- Please, please, please
- Cold earth, eh?
- I-I won't
- Yeah, the cold rot. Rot.
- No, no, no, please, please
- I won't
- No, the other beg! Beg me for death.
Like Sarah begged you.
Like she begged me!
Beg and see if we can find
you some of that mercy!
It's okay.
I understand.
Eh, you were playing the part.
We all got a part.
Can I take a look?
I thought you loved those stories.
Not like how they make it seem, huh?
All that adventure and excitement.
The real thing is much more cruel.
When I was a boy,
we couldn't afford storybooks, so
I used to
swipe penny mags from the navy barracks.
My brother thought I was mad,
risking a beating or worse
if they caught me, but
I figured it was a good deal.
You see, I got to live 100 lives
thanks to those stories.
Even even if they were all made up.
They let me wonder
what else was out there.
You did something very brave, Myrtle.
And I'm sorry you're suffering.
I wish I could heal that, too.
But you stood up.
You stood up and you tried
to save a life because
because it was the right thing to do.
All hands on deck, is it?
Have I got your word
you won't bring the walls down?
The way things are headed, probably
comin' down just the same.
Brave move.
Taking the word of a violent criminal.
I grew up around violent criminals.
You ain't the type.
Well, I think your detector's
off, detective.
Maybe you haven't been home for a while?
Maybe.
I seen what you done to that girl.
Well, there you go.
I also seen the gouge in her chest.
I'd lay steep odds she didn't die twice.
You shouldn't be in there.
If we're making a list
of what shouldn't be,
I'm gonna need pudding.
- This ain't justice.
- Justice?
Justice is a fairy tale
they made up to keep
people like you and me
from executing the cunts on top.
Nah, that's religion.
It's a lot of things.
See, where I grew up,
you either took
or you got taken.
Oi, what you doing?
Sorry, Detective, but
like I said, you were wrong about me.
- No, you don't leave like this.
- You're a good man.
You're a stupid one.
But I see why Mary liked you.
- You miss her?
- Fuck off.
I bet you'd like to know who killed her.
You don't know nothing about that.
You can't bring back what's lost,
but you can have your say
before it all turns to dust.
Now I am gettin' out of here
finish what needs finishin',
and I really hope I don't need
to go through you to do that.
I'm a reasonable woman,
and I am offering you a fair exchange.
Now, come on.
Don't make me feel I'm
exploiting a kindness.
Ask me
about Lord Gilbert Massen
and his Knights of the
Round fuckin' Table.
She's escaping!
The city swallows itself
and shits out the remains
every few hundred years.
Let them kill each other.
What is the virtue of an empire
that cannot protect its most
vulnerable, its children?
This was not a child.
This was a fanatic.
These Purists are a headache
unto themselves.
The Touched should be caged,
or better yet, eradicated.
- Scotland Yard
- Scotland Yard have failed.
Their special detail has
proved unspectacular.
- What are you driving at?
- The Prosperity of London Bill
is moving quickly
through the lower house.
I have tabled an amendment.
To what end?
Unlawful assembly.
Banning all gatherings
of Touched persons
within city bounds.
Is that not premature?
If the Touched cannot congregate,
they cannot organize.
They are not defenseless, as we've seen.
What makes you think they'll comply?
Open your fucking eyes, gentlemen.
He does not want compliance.
Make it illegal for your enemy
to walk down the road.
Suddenly, your streets are clean
and your jails are filled.
Should be filling our gallows.
One step at a time, Lord Broughton.
But the General is correct.
As more and more fall to delinquency,
so public opinion will
continue to be eroded.
Has the esteemed
Alastair Swann rejoined us,
or has senility got to you,
too, Lord Massen?
Unless we resign ourselves
to immortalizing our children
further in newsprint,
this is a charge that
we must shoulder together.
I see. You would have us rewrite the law
every time a child dies in this city.
This is not about a single child.
No, that much is clear. Your
motivations are personal.
This dead girl reminds you of your own.
Your proposal is a clumsy correction
to a passing aggravation
and not worthy of further
debate, let alone support.
Hear, hear.
Now, where is that boy with our lunch?
Alright, True?
No.
Gulliver's battle plans
going well, then?
Fuck off!
Stop it.
You're gonna be
a beautiful bride, Molly.
Oh!
Take the kids.
You're rotted, Amalia!
I didn't know you had a brother.
Four brothers. How much have you drunk?
I suppose sharing has
never been our priority.
No. Not like that.
- Maybe we should try.
- What the fuck is going on with you, Amalia?
What, y-you just smash windows
because you wanna talk about sharing?
Why do you keep doing this to me?
You know I love you.
You must have figured that out.
- I
- And you just keep using me.
I don't Using you?
I think about you all the time.
- I think about you, too.
- Not like this.
When I'm around you, when I'm not.
I want to be there for you.
I like it when you need me,
even when I'm just a distraction.
But the way you float in and out,
I can't do it anymore.
- Brilliant.
- Amalia.
No, no, no, no, no. This is
This is horseshit.
I'm sorry. I know you're
not trying to hurt me
Oh, stop. "I'm not trying to"
You're making it sound like I'm some
- Like this is all my fault.
- It's not.
No, of course, it is.
Of course, it fucking is.
I'm taking advantage of you.
- No, I didn't mean it that way.
- How terrible I was
that I wasn't in-in a-a place to just
We didn't exactly meet under nor
I was in a goddamn nut house,
for fuck's sake. You wanna
talk about advantage?
Amalia, that was three years ago.
- That's right.
- That's right!
And I just told you that I love you.
Right now!
But and you really
can't see the difference?
So what, you just want me
to say it back?
No.
No, I want you to stop
trying to fuck me,
and I want you to stop
throwing fuckin' chairs
out the fuckin' window!
I love you.
But, I love my wife, too.
And it's very different,
but I can't throw away my marriage
every time you're in a bad place.
And why the fuck not?
You're having a party
for the god of harvest?
Is it a feast?
I'm surrounded by heathens.
Ceres is harvest. Harvest is labor.
Labor is awful, so I'm told.
I bring you Saturn, the god
of plenty and liberation.
Imagine the possibilities.
Ready yourselves to Mount Olympus, boys.
Another hard day's drinking
with the puppet masters?
I don't believe I properly thanked
you for saving my neck.
At the hanging.
As miserable in your cups
as you are in your sobriety.
How regrettable.
What's regrettable
is a son who contents
to play the court jester
while his father gasps
his final breaths.
- He is dying.
- Oh
Timely cause for celebration
if ever there was one.
There's no crime a parent could commit
that would warrant such contempt.
Perhaps.
Certainly didn't stop him from trying.
And your disrespect
has not gone unnoticed.
Well, fortunately for me,
most of Alastair Swann's disciples
are gasping for their own final breaths.
- The wheel turns for all of us.
- I think you mean the hourglass.
Including you.
You were always a wayward child, Hugo.
But despite your best efforts,
despite the unyoked humor
of your idleness,
you can neither escape your breeding
nor the duties that are bound to it.
Well, uh,
I should just try harder.
Wastrels and whores
will not restore you.
Family always brings us home in the end.
Go and see the Duke.
Hm.
Hm.
It must be her!
Hello?
It's a bit rude not
to introduce yourself.
Well, look, it doesn't seem fair.
You know so much about me,
and I know so little about you.
How about we start with the
basics? Beatles or Stones?
Something there, but I can't quite
It's a song or
Can you make it louder?
Pen?
Pen?
Penance.
Penance!
Penance!
What was that?
Are you okay? What'd you see?
Thank you for meeting
me at such short notice.
Ooh.
Bit bright for that, innit?
There's a problem with your money.
I've never had a man
short me to my eye before.
It's there in full.
That is a relief. I wore
my favorite shirt.
Your work so far has been exemplary,
but I realize I haven't provided you
with adequate resources
to accomplish our true goals.
You wanna pay me more?
You blesseds are a different breed.
I'm offering to expand our relationship.
Right, and what's that look like?
More dead girlies for ya? More riots?
More everything.
Well, I don't do explosives,
and I don't do assassinations.
Well, nothing above a viscount.
Call it double then.
Our soldiers won't march for tuppence.
And to rout the Touched,
you'll need an army.
Mercenaries march for money.
- Soldiers march for purpose.
- Right.
And what do you march for?
Favors. Debts.
Not too many old men in my line of work.
It's nice to have a friend
I can call upon
in my hour of need.
Couldn't tell you when exactly,
but just know one day,
I'll come knockin' at your door.
I don't make open-ended commitments.
- Oh, is that right? Oh, well, I'll fuck off then
- Mr. Orrun!
An army for a favor.
How do you know what's inside?
We don't.
But it's gaining form every day.
Once it's open
I can't put it back.
It's hard to describe what I saw.
It felt like it was part of me.
- What happened?
- Something's wrong with the Galanthi.
- W-what did you see?
- It's in danger.
We have to go now.
We have to get to the cave.
Hey. No one in or out.
I appreciate your commitment,
but if you could be reasonable for a
Uncalled for!
Come on!
Let's go, let's go! Come on! Come on!
On you go, on you go!
Oh!
It's just labor pains.
Watch it!
Penance!
Oh
Kill it.
Kill it!
Do it now!