Unspeakable s01e08 Episode Script

1 We didn't get AIDS.
They gave it to us.
[LISA KREPKE.]
: "My dad said in his will that you should get his beloved Marlin 336.
He said you would know what to do with it.
" The only real option is a liver transplant.
Unfortunately, the government won't allow it for patients with HIV.
It's going to make a hell of a twist for Dad's new book, right? He can't publish without my permission.
- This was a mistake.
Excuse me.
- Ben I want a child.
Someone to continue on in this world with me.
How'd it go? She thinks it's depression.
What kind of treatment? Similar to the previous one.
Can't it wait? I'm up for this big project at work.
Unfortunately, the study starts now.
She's beautiful.
[WHISPERING.]
Hey, Mya I'm your grandma.
[BEN.]
: They destroy evidence, and nothing.
Those sons of bitches are going to get off.
I swear, Will, I don't know what I'm going to do.
[RETCHING VIOLENTLY.]
[SPITTING.]
[GASPING.]
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
[RUBY.]
: You okay in there? Oh, sure.
Never better.
[IMITATES AIRPLANE ENGINE.]
[GIGGLING.]
Yes, it's pretty good, huh? Yeah? Big one, big one, big one, big one.
[TOYS CLATTERING.]
Mom, leave it.
It's just going to get messed up again.
Well, for five minutes, it'll be clean.
Good morning.
If you say so.
[RUBY CALLS.]
: Mya, we have to go! Hey.
Feel better today.
Thanks.
Love you.
Love you too.
Hey, we're gonna be late.
Bye, everybody else! [WILL AND MARGARET.]
: Bye! Can I fix you some breakfast? No.
That's okay, I got him.
Yeah.
Okay.
Only two months left.
I know my whole point of view is being warped by these drugs.
I just I don't know if I can take it anymore.
I can barely bring myself to take these.
The treatment is 48 weeks for a reason.
[GROANS.]
Well, if it was going to work, it should have worked by now.
I mean, how could a virus survive when I feel like I'm almost dead? Think of how much better you're gonna feel when it's over.
I don't remember what better feels like.
[BABY BABBLES.]
[BABBLING.]
[PETER.]
: I got my latest results.
My T-cells are still pretty low.
None of these new drugs seem to be helping.
I can't wait till your Aunt Emma cures this thing.
Hopefully before it's too late for Daddy.
Why do you say that stuff? He doesn't understand it.
Truth is, I'll be happy to make it through residency.
You're the most determined human being I know.
Some days, the only thing that keeps me going is knowing how hard Mom worked to get me through med school.
You are her shining light.
You're so annoying.
I still have a loan I'll be paying back for the rest of my life.
You been following the trial? Yeah, well, it's pretty hard to avoid.
I'm surprised that you are.
It doesn't seem to be going well, which I don't get.
I thought Krever had it all laid out.
Well, a federal commission isn't the same as a court of law.
There's a big difference between what Krever called "wrongdoing" and proving criminal intent.
Testimony continued today in the Tainted Blood criminal trial.
Sources inside the courtroom say the Crown's key witness may have crumbled.
In short, the Crown would have you believe that Armour Pharmaceuticals put more value on Dr.
Prince's studies than Dr.
Prince did himself.
[REPORTERS CALLING.]
Mr.
Greenspan! - Mr.
Greenspan! - Mr.
Greenspan! Dr.
Rodell and all the top Armour executives were at the Tuckahoe meeting on October 15th, 1985.
The minutes of that meeting acknowledge that Dr.
Prince's studies showed that Armour's heat-treatment was not effective.
And Dr.
Prince was unable to adequately reproduce any results from the initial experiments Yes, but the conclusion of that meeting, sir, was that changing the process would cost millions of dollars.
So was it all about money? At no time did Dr.
Prince communicate to Armour that they were producing an unsafe product.
And furthermore, none of that implicates my client in any way.
- Thank you.
- [REPORTERS CLAMOURING.]
Mr.
Greenspan! [REPORTERS FOLLOW, SHOUTING.]
Hey I heard you were in Toronto.
The Sun now? Yup.
Yeah.
I've been following your coverage.
Five-year investigation, and this is the best they can do? It's a train wreck.
You had the story in '82, and I didn't print it.
Well, you can't rewrite history.
No, you can't.
But for what it's worth, I'm sorry.
Who knows how many lives it could have saved? [DR.
BRADLEY.]
: I'm very sorry.
I knew.
I mean, if it had worked, I'd be feeling better by now.
Yes.
The drugs should be out of your system at this point.
The symptoms you're having are because the virus has rebounded.
Your ALTs are quite high.
I knew I should have quit.
Another year of torture for nothing.
The Tainted Blood Scandal of the 1980s and '90s saw thousands of Canadians infected with Hepatitis C and HIV.
Devastating, for many it was deadly.
But today, in a case involving just a few of the victims, a judge ruled that she saw no crime, acquitting four senior doctors and a U.
S.
drug company on charges of negligence.
"There was no conduct that showed wanton and reckless disregard.
There was no marked departure from the standard of a reasonable person " " on the contrary, the conduct examined in detail for over one and a half years confirms reasonable, responsible, and professional actions and responses during a difficult time.
" "The events here were tragic, however, to assign blame where none exists is to compound the tragedy.
The evidence taken as a whole establishes a thoughtful, careful, and considered course of conduct by Dr.
Perrault that has no element of blameworthiness.
" "Dr.
Rodell's words to Dr.
Walker of the Red Cross were relied on by the Crown to suggest an aggressive stance or a lack of cooperation.
This comment stands in isolation and complete contrast to all of the other evidence about Dr.
Rodell's words and actions.
The evidence discloses patience, and thoughtful, well-reasoned responses.
It is understandable that one intemperate remark was made at this pressure-packed time.
It does not establish a lack of cooperation or concern"! I'm leaving you.
Thousands are dead, and many thousands more are suffering as a result of what the Krever Inquiry identified as grave wrongdoing on the part of those in charge of our blood system.
And yet, not only did this judge find these men innocent, she lauded their behaviour.
Canadians should not sleep well tonight knowing that their justice system has failed, has left us all knowing that not only are there no consequences for the behaviour that led to the death and suffering of so many, but instead, lavish praise.
This is a complete exoneration and absolute vindication of my client's innocence and integrity.
[REPORTERS SHOUTING.]
- Dr.
Perrault, how do you feel? - [CLEARS THROAT.]
I'm feeling well.
Hello.
Any takers? These are the last copies.
Publisher's going out of business.
Yeah, pretty soon, everything's gonna be digital.
I had a guy stop by, couldn't have been more than 30.
He asks me what the book is about.
I'd say the title pretty much covers it.
I say, "The tainted blood tragedy.
" He says, "Yeah, I've heard of that," like he has some vague notion.
Margaret's been talking about petitioning to have a unit included in the high school curriculum.
The guy sold blood products.
The problem is that no one was ever held accountable.
The Red Cross was condemned by a federal inquiry.
And then the judge in the criminal trial said they were saints.
Look at these people.
Try to find one not looking at a phone.
Times change.
Tainted blood probably wouldn't have happened if we'd had the Internet back then.
All I know is that insincere public apologies aren't enough for what they did.
The entire blood system was overhauled.
Look at the Wall Street crisis.
How many lives were ruined? None of those assholes went to jail.
As long as they know they can get away with it, people in high places will always find a way to screw over the little guy.
The Red Cross, the BoB, the provincial ministers, all those people infected my son.
And yours too, thousands along with them, and they all got to walk away scot-free.
- Don't forget that.
- Hey! Do you mind keeping it down? Um I read that, uh Perrault is suing his malpractice insurance company.
They're refusing to pay his defense costs.
More than three million dollars.
He deserves worse.
Are we supposed to just stand by and let corruption win? What's the point of laws if they don't apply to everyone, hmm? What kind of world are we willing to accept, Will? Huh? One where corporations and bureaucrats line their pockets at the expense of innocent children's lives? Most people are too busy taking pictures of themselves to even really know what's going on, let alone do what's right.
Look, dude! Everyone's got their own problems, all right? No one else here gives a shit what you think.
Hey, s Hey What do you give a shit about? Seriously, what do you give a shit about? - Just go back to your table.
- No, no Hey! Hey! - Fuck you! - No, man! Hey, come on, come on, it's okay, it's okay.
Hey, it's okay.
- It's all right.
You're okay.
- Asshole.
He deserved it.
Look at everything we've accomplished.
We have safe blood product now.
Billions of dollars in compensation.
Drug practices are more effective.
I just can't help but wonder what Jim would do if he were still here.
Would he rest knowing that Roger Perrault goes on living his privileged life? The things Jim said were meant to provoke us to take action, to do our jobs better, to work harder.
I don't know.
The man had courage.
And nothing to lose.
You know, maybe Maybe punishing someone like Perrault, maybe that'll make you feel better.
I don't know.
But if you're not changing things for the better, aren't you just destroying yourself? And then he wins.
Again.
What are you looking at? I know the person who designed that building.
It's ugly.
[CHUCKLES.]
- You think so, huh? - Yeah.
You could have done much better.
You have a good job.
With my teaching position, we cover our expenses.
Our kids have everything they need.
I know I'm just feeling sorry for myself.
You're allowed.
That position should have been yours.
But there will be other opportunities.
I'm stuck in this rut of working on other people's stuff.
At a certain point, you kind of get known as that guy.
Perennial number two.
So quit.
Find another firm that will give you a shot.
Or go out on your own.
It's not that simple.
Why not? I feel like I need to provide what I can now.
It's not like I can get life insurance.
That's only a problem if you die, so just don't do that.
I could also just get sick for a really long time and burn through all our savings.
I don't want you to feel like your dreams have been sidelined.
We'll survive.
I'd live in a shack with you.
It may come to that.
- As long as we're together.
- [KIDS ARGUING.]
Mom! [RUBY SIGHS.]
I got it.
[CRYING.]
Mom I don't if I've properly expressed how much I appreciate everything you do for the B.
C.
chapter.
Oh, I'm supposed to be thanking you.
I know it sounds terrible, but, uh giving money is easy for me.
You're putting in the time and hard work.
And you're one of the biggest donors to the society.
- How's your son doing? - He's okay.
I still can't believe that I'm a grandmother.
Yeah, well, you certainly don't look like one, that's for sure.
Considering how many co-infected guys haven't made it, we have to be thankful that Peter's still around.
Yeah, no kidding.
Finding out I had HIV was devastating.
I can't imagine what it would have been like at 15.
I'm sorry if this is too personal, but I read that you almost died a couple years ago? My liver was destroyed by the Hep C.
Canada doesn't allow transplants for HIV positives.
How many have to die? We're lobbying hard to change that.
Well, fortunately, I was able to go elsewhere.
And the amazing thing is with a new liver, - my hemophilia has been cured.
- Of course.
Because Factor 8 is produced by the liver.
I still have HIV, but that seems to be under control for now.
- Touch wood.
[KNOCKS.]
- Well, thank goodness.
I want you to know that if there is ever anything you need Oh, you've done so much already I'm not talking about the hemophilia society.
I'm saying you, personally.
Darby What the hell's this doing in here? Andrew was asking about his grandpa.
The picture on the back is the only one we have of your father in this whole house.
Why don't you read it? There's only so many ways to say it's not what you think.
I don't care.
I know you're embarrassed about how you behaved - when you were younger.
- Darby The way the two of you still don't speak, it's just wrong.
["ALL THE THINGS I WASN'T" BY THE GRAPES OF WRATH PLAYS.]
Hours of hiding spent apart The wall was all we'd share About the closest you could get About all I would bear Tell me all the things I wasn't Could have made this big a difference To all the things you are Time apart I'd realize The name's the most we share But unlike you there's no way I could spend forever there Tell me all the things I wasn't Would have made this big a difference To all the things you are [CAR DOOR CLOSES.]
Did you do this? - I'm calling the police.
- Go ahead.
I don't care what the judge said or what the law says.
I know the truth.
And maybe there were a lot of other people at fault, but you were in a position to make a difference.
Now, you can tell yourself that you did all you could, and you can hide behind your science and all the bureaucratic bullshit.
But I know.
I know that you could have saved lives.
Innocent children's lives.
And you didn't.
You don't know how lucky you are.
You got to write your book.
We could have sued you, but we didn't.
We would have won.
The Krever report was full of inaccuracies.
That was not due process.
He was influenced by misguided and ill-informed victims.
The RCMP were pressured into bringing unfounded charges by an irresponsible and sympathetic media.
I know what I did! I did my job, and I did it well! For decades, I have been hounded as a scapegoat for a problem too complex for most people to understand.
The only thing I'm guilty of is not being clairvoyant.
Judge Benetto told the world what really happened.
You think you know the truth? You don't know anything.
- - [SINGING.]
For she's a jolly good fellow For she's a jolly good fellow For she's a jolly good fellow Which nobody can deny [LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE.]
This is all too much.
[LAUGHING SHYLY.]
You're the best.
Thank you.
Oh, darlin'.
I don't think I've ever properly thanked you.
Oh, it's not something you need to thank me for.
I was doing my job.
I might not be here today if not for you.
Your wonderful parents deserve the credit for that.
Please.
Just know how much I appreciate everything you did.
You okay? I don't know why I'm here.
Well, Ann's retiring, so [CHUCKLES.]
My memory's going, but it's not that bad yet.
Ah, sometimes I think mine is.
- Sometimes? - Whoa, easy, now.
Hey, never mind.
I get it.
Why you? Forget it, all right? Today is not about me.
You're here.
That's all that matters.
And more importantly, you've done something with it.
Something pretty, uh pretty special.
Are you seriously crying? He's such a sucker for this sort of thing.
Dad! Look at my report card! Dad, are you okay? Yeah, buddy, I'm fine.
Your ALTs are over 500.
That explains why I feel this way.
We're seeing situations where Hep C suddenly becomes acute without warning.
[SCOFFS RUEFULLY.]
You really don't understand this thing at all, do you? What I know is we have to deal with it.
Your latest liver scan is out of normal range, indicating fibrosis is occurring.
Liver damage.
If it continues, it will progress to cirrhosis.
Look, the Interferon-Ribavirin combo didn't work.
I'm not going back on that.
There are a couple of different cocktail therapies being used in Europe with much higher success.
"Cocktail" sure makes it sound like fun, doesn't it? I suppose it's the wrong word for someone with liver disease.
There are much fewer side effects, and you only have to take them for three months.
But the big problem is, they're new drugs, and even though Health Canada has decided to license it, B.
C.
provincial pharmacare hasn't decided it's going to cover them yet.
It has to go through their review process.
Six to 12 months.
And it won't be retroactive if they decide to eventually cover it.
The bottom line is that I can't wait.
How much does it cost? $110,000.
Oh, my god.
[RYAN.]
: I've been on the phone for the last week, back and forth between the drug companies and my private insurance.
They all say they want to help, but only as long as the other kicks in first.
What about the class action suit? That's supposed to cover the prescription drugs not covered by provincial health care.
They're saying they're going to wait and see - if Ontario pays for it first.
- Right.
And no one is saying they'll pay retroactively.
Yeah, Dr.
Bradley is recommending three drugs, each from a different company.
It's a mess.
Well, we'll help.
Whatever's necessary.
We'll take out a second mortgage if we have to.
Of course I appreciate that, but you shouldn't have to.
I mean, that's what the class action was for, right? I expect they didn't foresee the cost of treatment being so high.
It'll cost them more if I die.
Well, what about all the other people who don't have parents like you? Dad never quit trying to get safer blood products.
That wasn't just for me.
And I'm not done yet either.
What are you going to do? [PETER.]
: Good job, Andy! [COACH.]
: Hustle, hustle! Jesus, Mom.
I can't take this.
It-it's not from me.
There's a man, one of the biggest donors to the society.
I met him through fund-raising.
He's a hemophiliac.
Co-infected like you.
Very, very rich.
So not really like me.
You're not the only one he's doing this for.
It's not a gift.
It's an interest-free loan.
How am I supposed to pay it back? First things first.
You take the medicine and you get better.
The HIV, combined with the extent my liver is already damaged, greatly reduces the odds of success.
It's funny, all these years, I've been talking about how I was about to die.
Now that it might actually happen I'm having a hard time believing it.
Maybe it's because you have something to live for.
Excuse me, Mr.
Kaufman? I'm Ryan Sanders.
I've been leaving you messages.
This is harassment.
You need to approve the newest treatments for Hep C - under the class action drug plan.
- I'm not a doctor.
That's a medical review board decision.
Just think about what you're saying for one second.
The money in the class action fund is compensation for people who were victimized when politicians and bureaucrats passed the buck and hid behind medical and scientific opinions that suited them.
My doctor says that these new drugs are what I need to live.
There are protocols Things change fast! And you have to at least try to adapt at the same speed, or people will die.
Look, bottom line, if you don't get with the program right now, I'm going to sue you and all the other board members for failure to administer the funds as intended.
You're going to sue a class-action lawsuit? I'm going to sue the human beings who are failing to do what's right.
Thank you.
That's great.
Thank you so much.
That was a woman from the Hep C class action suit.
They've reversed their position.
They're going to pay for the drugs.
That's amazing.
I know.
What made them change their mind? I don't know.
She wouldn't say.
But this means I can pay back that rich guy that gave Mom all that money.
Yeah.
What? No, nothing.
Emma? [SIGHS.]
Okay, I know you're going to be upset because Mom lied.
Um Just please don't hate her for this? She will kill me if you hate her.
What are you talking about? The money didn't come from some rich guy.
It came from her and Dad.
I'm sorry, it's just, you have to know the truth.
Dad sold the house.
Mom lied because she thought you wouldn't take it if you knew.
Do you understand? We love you.
All of us.
Please say something.
She shouldn't have told him.
We shouldn't have lied.
Again.
What did he say? She said that he wasn't angry.
Just disappointed.
You did the right thing.
The house is was half yours.
This money came from us both.
Probably time we sold this place anyway.
I remember the day he was born.
and I remember thinking, "I just hope he has a good life.
I just hope " I finally came to a place where I understood how he felt.
Not just the hopelessness, but the fact that it seemed like nothing was ever going to make me feel better.
I still feel the anger.
I don't think that's ever going to go away.
But it's different now.
It wasn't your fault.
[SIGHS.]
I wasn't just looking for someone else to blame.
Somebody had to try and make the system work, get some justice.
Guess I failed at that, too.
You can't keep beating yourself up about this forever.
I'm the one who gave him the hemophilia in the first place.
No one ever blamed you for that.
We all handled it badly.
I know it's over, but I just want to say that I love you.
Peter needs to hear from you.
You've both hurt each other.
I know it's hard after all these years, but someone needs to take the first step.
You okay? It's an odd feeling.
How many times have we gone in for test results? A million? And every time, I expected the worst.
And things have been okay.
Look, I know you still don't feel well, but they said that it might take a while for the drugs to clear your system.
You're not going to bounce back right way.
Or more likely, I'm feeling this way because they didn't work.
No matter what, we'll get through it.
There's nothing to be gained from sitting here worrying.
Come on.
Let's go.
[SIGHING.]
Undetectable? That's good, right? It's very good.
Oh, my god Oh! - [LAUGHING.]
Okay.
- Thank you! Okay.
- Okay.
Sorry.
- All right.
I just We use the term "undetectable" because the virus isn't turning up on the test.
- Covering your ass legally.
- You could say that.
There's a small margin of error, but at this point, six months after treatment, I feel pretty comfortable calling you cured.
Holy fuck! - [LAUGHS.]
- I'm sorry.
Why don't you look happy? I am happy.
- Believe me.
- Yeah I should call my parents.
It's undetectable? It [GASPS.]
It's undetectable.
[RYAN.]
: Hello? You still there? Yeah, we're still here, we're still here.
[CRYING IN RELIEF.]
I'll tell the kids.
- - [BEN.]
: It seems like every day we are bombarded by new and impending disaster.
Terrorist attacks, mass shootings, disease, drought, famine, melting ice caps, weapons of mass destruction.
It can be overwhelming.
Thousands of people died in this country because of tainted blood.
Tens of thousands more were infected.
People ask me if the blood system in Canada is safe today.
I believe it is more safe than it once was, but but it's not enough.
In no way is that a constant that we can rely on.
We depend on too many flawed systems, often because the time and work and cost to fix them is too daunting, because even the best systems rely on humans to consistently do the right thing.
I looked at those that I believed were responsible and saw no remorse, no admission of guilt.
I desperately tried to effect change, but watched the legal system, which should have exacted some justice, fail miserably.
In many cases, people gave their lives to get us where we are today, so we can say "Never forget," but really, what are we supposed to remember? For me, there are many things burned into my mind the look on my son's face when he found out that his best friend, also a hemophiliac, died from AIDS.
I remember the anger Peter felt because we lied to him about his first T-cell test.
I remember brazenly lying to my daughter, to our family and friends, in some cases to protect them, but also to protect ourselves from the reaction, from the ignorance and the prejudice.
I remember the shock, the betrayal I felt at learning that Peter's infection could have been prevented, and I watched his emotions spin from sickening fear to helplessness.
I remember the hurt in my daughter's eyes when we finally told her the truth, and I watched my wife suffer through decades of the greatest fear a parent can know.
But most of all, I remember my son, Peter, wrestling with his mortality from the age of 15, and somehow, maybe even miraculously, managing to survive.
He overcame anger and despair enough to find love.
[VOICE BREAKING.]
Enough to have a child.
He gives everything he can to his son.
What greater sign of hope could there be? Why else are we here? [SNIFFS.]
Not all tragedies can be prevented, but as long as we're still kicking, it's not too late.
We can make things better.
Thank you for letting me share my story.
[APPLAUSE.]
Dad What are you doing here? I, uh I got my results.
I heard that was I was going to call you.
How did it go? Undetectable.
At least, that's what they say.
The Hep C virus doesn't show up on the test.
My T-cells are back up a little bit, too, responding to the meds.
That's great.
That is really great.
I can't believe I'm actually saying this.
I'm very happy for you, Peter.
Listen Mom's throwing a party.
Actually, right now.
It's just a couple people.
Do you wanna Do you want to come? Meet your grandson? I know he'd really love that.
["LOST TOGETHER" BY BLUE RODEO PLAYS.]
Strange and beautiful are the stars tonight That dance around your head I'd love to.
In your eyes I see that perfect world I hope that doesn't sound too weird What are you smiling about? Well, the truth is, we didn't rent the boat for the day.
The ownership papers.
It's yours.
- No - No, we can't no.
I just landed my first big client.
He's gonna design a 30-storey tower.
I'm gonna help.
Congratulations.
Thanks.
We still can't take the boat.
We-we can discuss it.
Oh, come on.
There's nothing to discuss.
I'll never be able to thank you guys enough for what you've done for me.
No different than what you'd do for your kids.
Can we go sailing now? You bet.
- [WILL.]
: Let's go sailing.
- [LAUGHING.]
Okay.
Okay.
[SIGHING.]
I hope you know what you're doing, because we have no clue.
Oh, dear.
I've heard it all So many times before It's all a dream to me now A dream to me now And if we're lost We are lost together Yeah, if we're lost We are lost together Yeah, if we're lost Then we are lost together Yeah, if we're lost Then we are lost together Together, together