The Republic of Sarah (2021) s01e08 Episode Script

"This Is Not a Love Song"
by Katie Cruel playing
What did I say?
What did I do?
Lord, I'm a hurricane
Headed for you
Runaway train
Nothing to lose
Boy, I'm a hurricane
Headed for you
Runaway train
Nothing to lose
Boy, I'm a hurricane
Headed
Headed for you.
THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH
Season 01 Episode 08
Episode Title:
"The Perfect Conditions for Disastern"
Aired on:
August 02, 2021.
Surprise.Weston.
What are you doing here?
Come in. Come in.
I thought
you were in South Carolina.
Finished my assignment early.
- A week early.
- It doesn't happen often.
But I had this extra time,
so I figured
why not spend it with you.
I'm surprised you made
it here in this weather.
Oh, my gosh,
tell me about it.
My four-wheel drive
was barely hanging on.
Nobody
should be on the road right now.
Yeah.
Hey, Fenway. Yeah, hopefully,
our plow teams
will make some progress. Sarah,
temperature's dropped, like,
ten degrees in the past hour.
All that wet snow
is freezing over.
Main Street's like the world's
most extreme luge track.
You can't send
plows out there.
I already did.
Oh. I'm shocked
you're still here, Grover.
Yeah, Luis asked me to
stay here and watch the roof.
Thank God. I just pulled
a bus out of a snowbank.
But I had to stop.
The roads are all iced up.
It's way too dangerous
to try to get
to Lakeshore. Lakeshore?
What were you going
all the way out there for?
- It was because of me.
- Oh.
Bella.
Uh, is it winter break
already?
Uh, no.
They let me come home early.
I'm gonna take my finals
at home.
- Oh. Everything okay?
- If you call my dad
and Alexis
getting a divorce "okay,"
then yeah. Everything's great.
I thought they were back
- in New York.
- They were.
For couples therapy.
But that didn't work,
obviously, so Alexis is
gonna come back this
weekend to get her things.
So, here I am, seven and a half
hours alone on a bus
to help my dad
pick up the pieces.
- You were alone on the bus?
- Mm-hmm.
Yeah. I guess everyone else
was smart enough
to avoid traveling
during the snow-pocalypse.
Yeah, her dad was supposed to
pick her up from the station,
but his car wouldn't start
in the cold.
Called him, told him
we'd wait it out here
until the worst
of it passed over.
Yeah, of course.
I'll get you home
as soon as the
visibility improves.
Yeah, no rush.
The mess my life just became
isn't going anywhere.
I wish I had
better news, but this blizzard
is much worse than we expected.
With zero visibility
and windchill factor at -25,
I have no choice
but to call in the plow teams
and stop
all snow-clearing efforts.
Anyone who is
still outside,
I need you to find
the nearest shelter
and stay there
until the storm passes.
Like any storm,
we need to be prepared
to lose power and cell service.
If we all stay calm
and stay warm,
we will get through this the way
we get through everything:
together.
We've all seen
our fair share of nor'easters,
but this is not
your average storm.
It looks like we're about
to give the blizzard of '78
a run for its money.
We find ourselves
in the perfect conditions
for disaster.
So stay where you are
and hold your loved ones close.
It's gonna be a long night.
I can't believe we did this.
How could I let
this happen?
I I think I'm gonna be sick.
Look, just calm down.
It's not that bad.
I'm married, Danny.
Not sleeping with other people
is, like, the one rule
you're not supposed to break.
It isthat bad.
It literally couldn't be worse.
And now it's worse.
You okay?
No, I'm not okay!
I am the opposite of okay.
And you asking me
if I am okay
makes me even less okay.
I'm sorry. Look,
can we just talk for a second? No.
I don't want to talk to you.
I don't want to be
in the same room with you.
I don't want to look at you.
I just
I want to put the nightmare
of this night behind me
and never think of it again.
Door's blocked.
Blocked by what?
By a family of cave trolls.
By snow, Danny.
So we're trapped in here.
Together.
Quite the library.
You have Faust
in the original German.
Gravity's Rainbow.Ah.
Emma Goldman's autobiography.
I know she's your favorite.
Emma Goldman was
an anti-war, anti-oppression
anarcha-feminist
who defended free speech,
fought for workers' rights,
promoted sexual literacy
for women
and supported
homosexuality
all before the invention
of sliced bread.
Of course she's my favorite.
She should be
everyone's favorite.
This? Okay,
this is my favorite.
Oh. That's from
the Penny Lane Playhouse.
It's been in Greylock
since 1923.
They put on an annual
summer show for kids.
Corinne, Grover, AJ and I,
we all did them every year.
Danny was even in a few.
Titus Andronicus, I assume.
Yeah, that's right before
I eat the pies
with my children's heads
baked into them.
Nice.
Um
I think I still have
that bunny costume
somewhere
in my bedroom.
You should
probably go see it.
See what, your bunny costume?
My bedroom.
Boom. Hat trick.
"Hat trick" is a hockey term.
It applies to all sports.
Grover, this is not
a sport. This is barely a game.
Fun fact: "hat trick"
actually comes from cricket.
When a batsman took
three wickets
with three consecutive balls,
he was rewarded with a hat.
Mm, okay.
"Batsman" is not a thing.
Uh, "batsman"
is absolutely a thing.
And you are stalling.
Is there any way
we can play something
that doesn't smell
quite like pickles?
Oh, I get it.
Intimidated by my hat trick.
I'm in your head, Johnson.
I'm in your Batsman, my ass.
Yeah, poor kid. I had no
idea Alexis and William
were having problems.
Me, either.
That's life, I guess.
There's no end
to the secrets people keep.
I don't know.
It's not working for me.
No? It's not?
I'm going for, like,
an Abraham Lincoln thing.
Oh. And I preferred Thoreau.
Really?
Well, not many women
can pull off a neck beard. Here.
Own it. Own it. Yeah.
Oh, be still, my heart.
You have Thor-own me
into a tizzy.
Oh, my God, I'm gonna
Thoreau you out of the tub.
I'm gonna interview you, okay?
Tell me about South Carolina.
Mm, Palmetto State.
Birthplace of James Brown.
Okay, I mean your assignment.
My assignment. Sorry,
I was distracted by your thighs.
Can we talk about something
besides work? Come on.
Um, will you, t uh,
tell me about your tattoos?
Uh, this one is obvious.
This one I got after
my first story was published.
Um, and Mm-hmm.
"They condemn
what they
do not understand."Cicero.
That's right.
Mm.
It's kind of
my-my philosophy
on journalism.
An educated, informed public
is not a luxury
of civilized society, it's a
It's a prerequisite for one.
Exactly.
Well, that, and neck beards.
I really like you.
What?
This is the only bathtub I want
to be sitting in right now.
But, uh, I mean,
if you want to sit
in other bathtubs,
that's
that's fine, you know?
I'm not trying to
Chain you to one tub.
I don't need to sit
in any other bathtubs.
This is, this is the only tub
I need.
Okay. Cool.
Okay.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Have you been down
in the basement?
I didn't know
t-there was a basement.
Well, there is, and it's packed.
Costumes from Shakespeare
in the park,
musical instruments, props
from the Christmas pageant
and decorations from
every holiday you can think of,
including these.
Batteries are still good.
Absolutely not.
Are you crazy?
I'm just trying
to get us some light.
No, okay, well, then
I don't know, use
use these.
Okay, I guess
we'll spend
the evening in the eerie glow
of the undead then.
How's there no signal?
Do you have any service?
Cell towers are probably out.
Won't be back online till
after the storm lets up.
You said Josh and Adam are
in Boston all week, right?
Cub Scouts retreat.
I know they're safe.
Adam checked in a few
hours ago, I just, I
I don't know, it's all
hitting me, you know, it's
How's Adam
ever gonna look me
in the eye again?
How's Josh?
Yeah, I've been thinking
the same thing about Piper.
I get how you feel.
You have no idea how I feel.
Piper is only your fiancée.
It's completely
different.
It's not completely different.
Yes it is fiancées
are disposable.
Trust me, I would know.
Okay, look, this whole thing
is gonna stay between us.
As far as anyone else
is concerned,
we were at the art show;
then you went home,
I went back to my motel.
Wow, if only that were true.
What's taking so long?
I'm starting
to regret this idea.
It's not my fault you didn't
bring enough warm clothes.
Are you filming this?
No.
Well
you should be.
Huh?
Oh
I admire your
commitment.
I really admire that commitment.Good.
Yeah, because I took the liberty
of borrowing one of your thongs.
As long as you didn't use
my razor to shave your legs.
Never. I'm a wax man.
What are you doing here?
Look, I know I'm,
like, the last person you want
to see right now, but my car
just slid off the road
over on-on Mapleton.
And your address was
the only one I knew, so
Okay, well, um
Yeah, come in.
We will get you thawed out.
Uh, uh, Paul Cooper,
Weston Woods.
Weston, Paul.
I-I'm her father.
Inside? Gloves? Okay. Yeah, hang up
your gloves inside.
Yeah, from, um
from where I stand, I could,
I could swear you're sleeping
with the guy who wrote that
really unflattering article
about you
in the national magazine.
From where I stand,
it's none of your business.
Please tell me
you're not that naive.
You can't trust him.
You don't even know him.
I know he's a reporter.
Which means he's here
for one reason a story.
I'm not sure that
you're the person I would
look to for a lecture on trust.
I'm just trying
to be protective.
That's what fathers do.
Is it? I actually wouldn't know.
He's a liability. For you,
he's a liability, not for me.
I'm not a wanted criminal.
I didn't steal a bunch
of American state secrets
and leak them online.
I'm not hiding out in Greylock
because it's
a non-extradition country.
Fine, yes.
I-I would
rather not reveal my location,
or the details
of my life,
to a reporter, which is why
I'm not sleeping with one.
Weston is not that person.
We didn't even start dating
until after he published
his article. Reporters never clock out.
It's a trait of the breed.
You're taking
a huge risk here.
I hope I'm not interrupting.
No. No, not at all.
Guacamole?
Yeah.
Listen, um
I'm really sorry
about everything that's
going on with your family.
You know, divorce,
divorce can be
Divorce is divorce.
Exactly.
And, um
well, you know, it
Sucks.
Yes.
Yeah.
As do I,
at giving pep talks, apparently.
Look, I'm gonna be fine,
okay?
It's not my first rodeo.
My mom took off with some
other guy when I was four,
so "divorce" was kind of
an early
vocabulary word
in the Whitmore house.
That must've been hard.
Yeah.
But then my dad met Alexis.
And she's been
in the picture longer than
my biological mom
ever was, so
I just
kind of thought
I thought
she was different, you know?
Of this distant memory
Bella Grover, I have to study.
Get up and go
There's no time to kill.
Do you mind?
Maybe if you'd talk to me.
If I do, will you stop
throwing the ball?!
What, you carry that around
in case a yuppy duel breaks out?
Pistols at dawn,
racquets at brunch.
It doubles as a stress reliever.
I didn't even know
you played racquetball.
I picked it up
in New York.
It's really good for you.
Hmm, seems like a lot of things
about New York were
good for you.
Not at first.
I was scared, broke,
couldn't figure out the subway.
I was all alone.
But I was also free.
Being away from my mom
and all her baggage
was instant relief.
And then after a while
I was less scared.
Less broke. Less alone?
Eventually I met Piper.
Yeah, and lived
happily ever after. I'm glad
it all worked out
for you, Danny.
So, Paul, what brings you
to Greylock?
What do you mean?
Oh, here we go.
I was
wondering
My kids live here.
What brings you to town?
Sarah does.
So another
interview?
No, just-just a visit.
What does your magazine
make of that?
Oh, I'm here on my own time.
It's none of their business.
I would think it would be
exactly their business, huh?
I mean, you wrote
the big article on Sarah.
Wouldn't wouldn't they
naturally want a follow-up?
Well
No, what the magazine
publishes and why
is really above my pay grade.
What did they say
about you coming here?
Uh, they didn't say anything.
You were in South Carolina doing
an article about the governor.
Uh-huh.
Right?
The magazine wasn't mad
that you left early?
They were fine with it.
Who wants more wine?
Yeah, it's not
bad, right?
It's not bad.
It's not bad.
You're really gonna
sleep in the stairwell?
Not if you stand there
watching me the whole time.
I wasn't trying to say that
things were better without you.
Or that leaving you was easy.
I know.
It's gonna be just fine
Got to hold on to my hand
Listening
to you just
reminded me of the days
right after you left.
It all came back to me.
While you were in New York
finding yourself,
I was here,
having panic attacks
and missing the prom and
I'm sorry about that, too.
They were my demons.
It was my battle,
but you were
the casualty.
Shouldn't have done it
like that.
Hurt you the way I did.
If I could do it over again
Yeah, but you can't, Danny.
It's in the past, so unless
You found a time machine
under all that weird crap
in the basement, there's
nothing you can do to change it.
I'm sorry about
my attempt
at Divorce 101.
I should've
stayed in my lane.
You don't need me making your
life harder than it already is.
Oh, you didn't make
my life harder, Grover.
Alexis did.
Have you thought
about maybe
talking to Alexis
about all this?
Alexis doesn't care
about me any more
than she cares about my dad.
Which is not at all.
By this time next week,
she'll probably be
on a beach somewhere,
with her new girlfriend.
Her new girlfriend?
Yeah. Alexis cheated on him.
So if she really
cared about us,
then why would she have
an affair in the first place?
How do I look?
Dickensian.
Yeah, the Shakespeare stuff
was too small.
What is this?
A dance floor.
Do you feel any better now?
For you.
You can't go to prom
without a dress, can you?
I'm trying to follow
what you told me ♪
Danny, I-I don't think
it's a good idea. I
Prom should've been one
of the best nights of your life.
And I took that away from you.
We don't have a time machine.
But
we do have time.
Please, Corinne.
Will you go to prom with me?
You all right?
I'm fine.
I-I just feel bad for Bella.
Divorce is bad enough
without your stepmom
running off with some
Easy.
You don't even know
what happened,
and neither does Bella.
She doesn't even know
who the other woman is.
Yeah, I wonder if William does.
No, I doubt it.
He is not one to stay quiet
when he's pissed.
If he knew,
he would have been
ranting about it to somebody.
My guess is
Alexis is trying
to protect her partner.
William is her partner.
He's who Alexis
should be protecting.
This other woman is a
I don't understand why Alexis
would be
protecting her.
Probably because of how
something like this
could damage her reputation.
As a policewoman.
And a newly elected member
of the town council.
No.
Oh, my God. I had no idea.
Wait, you're not,
you're not still
No. No, it's no, it's over.
Just one more relationship
I managed to destroy.
Two more, AJ.
You know I love you
and I always got your back,
but I'm not gonna stand here
and tell you that it's okay
that you were sleeping
with a married woman.
The Whitmores are getting
a divorce because of you.
Oh, hold on.
The Whitmores
are getting a divorce
because of the Whitmores.
That marriage was doomed
long before I came along.
Mm, so you don't,
you don't feel guilty?
No, of course I feel guilty.
What I did
Look, you ask me,
Alexis and William's marriage
isn't the real casualty here.
Bella sitting out there thinking
her stepmom doesn't
care about her is.
The scenario she has
in her head is wrong, Grover.
AJ, you've already crossed
a serious line with this family.
The last thing they need you
to do is to cross another one.
They need to work on
this on their own.
You want to help Bella?
Stay out of it.
Do you feel any better now?
Hi.
Hi.
Wow.
Do you feel
You look beautiful.
Any better now?
Your, uh
corsage, madam.
W-Where did you get this?
I repurposed it
from a Christmas wreath.
Shall we?
A little lost
Colony from the start
Thank you for doing this.
It's perfect.
I can't forget the skin
pulled tight ♪
Every letter read
Is it your justice
Your dad take Fenway out
to make some yellow snow?
Are you lying about
why you're here?
What?
You are.
I can see it on your face.
Okay, wait a second.
Wait You're just using me
to get another story
for the Yorkshire.
Sarah. It was weird enough,
you showing up a week early.
And then you're dodging
questions about your assignment.
In the bathtub,
you went blank when I asked
you about South Carolina.
It's not what it looks like.
It looks like you're a liar.
I'm not using you for a story.
From the moment
you arrived,
you have been trying
to weasel your way into my life.
Because I like you.
Of course you do.
I sell magazines.
That is not fair. Doesn't make it untrue.
So tell me, what was
the angle for this one?
Were you gonna publish
a tell-all
about what I'm like in bed?
Is that really
what you think of me?
Is that really what
you think of me?
Can we just calm down
for a second?
Did you even go
to South Carolina?
Yes, I went to South Carolina. For a story?
For you.
What is there in South Carolina
that I could possibly want?
Emma Goldman's desk.
What?
There's an antique dealer
in Charleston
who has the desk
she used in 1906
when she was editor of
Mother Earthmagazine.
It was supposed to be
auctioned off tomorrow,
which is why I told you
I'd be in South Carolina
this week.
And then, two days ago,
dealer calls and says
the owner will sell me
the desk directly
if I drive down right now,
so I did.
And then suddenly
I'm back in New York
with a whole week
I didn't think I'd have, so
so I came up here.
You inspire so
many people,
I figured you should
have something
from the woman who inspires you.
I wanted to surprise
you for Christmas.
Bye-bye. See you never.
What are you doing?
I'm deleting pictures
of Alexis and me.
It's freeing up a lot
of space on my phone.
Bella, you know
um, I spent a lot of time
with your stepmom in the choir,
and she was always
talking about you.
That doesn't mean much
if she's doing it
out of both sides of her mouth.
I know you're important to her.
Not as important as
her new girlfriend, apparently.
I guess I shouldn't
be surprised
that she left.
My own mom didn't want me.
And now
Alexis doesn't want me.
Alexis does want you, Bella.
She loves you
with all her heart.
When you started playing tennis,
she studied the official
rule book for, like, a month
just so she would know
when to cheer for you.
When you got arrested
at the border protest,
she drove her car
up on the sidewalk
on Finch Street
just so she could
get to you faster.
She came into the station
with a mangled muffler,
but she didn't care.
As long as you were okay.
And when William bought her
that locket last year,
she put your photo inside
instead of his.
You are her greatest joy, Bella.
Hey, uh,
why do you know that?
What?
That thing about
Alexis's locket.
That was
supposed to be
our little secret.
My dad doesn't even know
the photo's not of him.
Oh, my God.
It's you, AJ?
You're the one Alexis
has been sleeping with?
Bella
Oh, my God.
What Why would you
Why would you do that?
Bella
Bella, just wait. Bella
No, no. No, no, no.
Please, please-please just
Please just stay away from me.
I know you don't want to see me,
but we're stuck
here, okay?
We might as well talk.
I don't want to talk to you.
Things between me
and Alexis are over.
I swear to you.
I'm sorry.
I don't care if you're sorry.
I don't forgive you.
If you're
This is not about
my conscience, but
if it's forgiveness I'm after,
I'll seek it with God,
not a teenager.
Look, I've made more mistakes
than I can count, Bella.
And none worse than this.
I wouldn't blame you
if you wanted
to run me over with
a pickup truck tomorrow.
But you need to know,
everything I said about
Alexis's feelings for you
is true.
Like you're told
She loves you.
She's so proud of you.
She's so proud to be
your stepmother.
You can hate me,
you can hate her, but just
know you're loved, Bella.
And nothing's ever
gonna change that.
Good boy.
Good boy.
I'm hungry again.
Where's Weston?
Upstairs.
Something happen?
Yeah, you.
What's that supposed to mean?
He was in South Carolina, um,
to get me a present.
It was gonna be a surprise.
That's why
he was cagey earlier,
not because he was
hunting some
some tabloid scoop on me,
or chasing
some dark secret of yours.
He was just trying
to do something nice.
He was trying to do
something nice.
And I tore his head off.
Sorry, I was just
trying to help.
You didn't help.
You actually made things worse.
Like always.
Like always? It was hard enough
when you were just like
a ghost haunting me.
Now you're he-here
I didn't realize. You didn't realize
that you leaving might have
actually affected me?
It did.
And now you're back. What do you
want? What do you want?
You're right.
I'm sorry.
I'll leave you alone.
I mean, it shouldn't be
too hard for you.
You've had 18 years of practice.
Imagine if it were always
like this.
You're crazy.
Am I? Mm-hmm.
You're crazy if you think
that I'm gonna live
in Town Hall with you.
Okay, then where?
Mm
Any better now?
Big house with a porch
that wraps all the way around.
And there should be water
right out front.
Salt or fresh?
Salt.
And there should be
a little beach,
for bonfires.
Okay, salt, beach, bonfires.Mm-hmm.
Anything else?
There should be
a view of the sunset,
good schools.
We've got a big house
on the ocean.
You want to teach,
teach surfing.
No, not for me; for Josh.
I can't forget the skin
pulled tight ♪
Every letter read
We could do this, you know.
Find a way to be together
without disrupting Josh's life
too much.
It's not just Josh.
What you're talking about
would affect
everyone in our lives.
Everyone we love would be caught
in the blast radius
of that decision.
I guess things are more
complicated now
than when we were 17.
What only you can say
I can see that house
on the beach.
Me, too.
It's more real than
any dream I've ever had.
What only you can say
Yeah, but
it's still just a dream,
and that's all
it can ever be.
We are ready for it
I love you.
I love you, too.
What only you can say
We are ready for it.
Can I come in?
It's your bedroom.
I'm so sorry.
I had no right to behave
the way I did.
It's just when you have
the dad that I have
and the brother that I have,
you spend
every second of every day
convinced that
Every man who comes
into your life
is just looking for a way
to get back out again.
It's not an excuse.
I don't get to hurt you just
because someone else hurt me.
The problem is I like you.
A lot.
When it looked like you were
lying, I-I got scared
and I-I just tried
to push you away
before you could push me away;
I'm so sorry.
It looked like I was lying
because I was, Sarah.
I told you I was going
to South Carolina
for a story,
and that wasn't true.
But you weren't wrong to
feel like something was off.
Neither was your dad.
So you're not upset?
You have a bit of a temper, yes.
That spark is
Is part of what drew me
to you in the first place.
See, the problem is
I like you.
A lot.
I don't want to sit in
anyone's bathtub but yours.
I don't want anyone else
in my bathtub.
Okay.
Okay? Okay.
If you're not brave enough
to call ♪
No, um
Sorry. Can't seem to stop
getting in your way here.
Yeah, tell me about it.
Listen, Sarah,
let me get out of
your hair and then
you won't see me
again, I promise. Okay.
I think that's a pretty
unrealistic promise to make
in a town this size.
Well, I will do my best.
I do not want to
complicate your life.
I think it's pretty clear that
you've been complicating my life
for a while now.
Well, so
What-what do you suggest?
I think we need to
set some boundaries,
define the terms, you know,
starting with the "dad" thing.
What dad thing?
You don't have to avoid me,
but you also don't get
to be my father.
You abandoned that
responsibility
a long time ago.
Any relationship we
have moving forward
starts with that.
Deal?
Deal. And
thank you, Sarah.
You're welcome, Paul.
Go by, let it go by
Let it go by, let it go by
Let it go by Danny?
Let it go by,
let it go by ♪
Danny, I have to get going.
Let it go by
Do you think that you can handle
this last box on your own?
Let it go by
Let it go by,
let it go by ♪
Let it go by, let it go by
Let it go by,
let it go by ♪
Let it go
Till we reach the other side
The roads are all clear.
I'm gonna head back to my car.
Okay.
Do you need me
to give you a ride?
Oh, no thanks.
I'm-I'm good walking.
Nothing like the morning
after a snowfall.
So, uh, so long, you guys.
Weston, it was nice to meet you.
You, too, Paul.
Be careful out there.
Till hurt starts
Okay, I know technically
we can leave,
but
do we have to?
No
No?
No.
Let it go by, let it go by
Let it go by,
let it go by ♪
Good news.
The plows are out.
That is good news.
Let it go by
I'd offer to take Bella home,
but I'm sure I'm the last person
she wants to be around. She already
asked me while you were asleep.
So we're heading out now. Thanks, Groves.
You ready, Bella? Yeah.
Till you reach
the other side ♪
Till you reach
the other side ♪
Till you reach
the other side ♪
Till you reach
the other side. ♪