The Imperfects (2022) s01e09 Episode Script

1
I'm tired of waiting for Sarkov
to fix my problem for me.
I'm gonna fix us myself.
- How do you plan on doing that?
- No idea, but I know this.
Everything Sarkov needed
to find a cure was in this lab.
Ah, shit.
Looks like he didn't
give you much to go on.
- We'll figure it out. I know we will.
- We?
- I draw graphic novels for a living.
- So?
So, Dr. Burke said that
it could take her years to fix us.
Before we identified the mitochondria
as the cause for the side effects.
We don't have months either.
I'm not a scientist
It won't take us months.
Sarkov figured it out in a week.
We don't have a week!
Sarkov is getting ready
to unleash nanobot hell.
- We have to find him now!
- You heard what Dr. Burke said.
She wants us to focus on the cure.
What she said
was she wants to find Sarkov.
I know you're worried about Tilda,
but I cannot do this alone.
This is not a Tilda thing.
You know what it was like
to be infested by those nanobots.
It was horrific.
I'll die before Paloma experiences
something like that.
And I will kill anybody
that tries to put her through it.
Juan, for all we know,
Sarkov's already left town.
Replicating the cure makes the most sense.
Looking for Sarkov
is what makes the most sense.
You know what?
I don't need your help, okay?
Have fun playing private detective.
Have fun playing mad scientist.
The correct term is "rogue scientist."
Don't worry. You got this.
- Can I get you anything else?
- I don't know, can you?
Just the check, please.
Oh, leaving so soon?
Too bad.
Oh.
He was flirting with you.
- Of course he was. It's time for the tip.
- Maybe he just thinks you're cute.
- Yeah, right.
- You should ask him out.
- No, thank you.
- Why not?
You want me to do it for you?
I do everything else for you anyway.
- Oh, hi.
- Hi.
I said no, Sydney. Now drop it.
- You owe 15 plus tip.
- Jeez. Sorry for trying to help.
It's bad enough I have to endure
insults from the department.
I don't appreciate being
the butt of your jokes too.
I wasn't joking.
We both know
I'm literally a freak of nature.
Don't say that.
Everybody else does.
Everybody else can suck a bag of dicks.
- I'm your boss. You have to be nice to me.
- I don't.
You can't fire me.
You will never find anyone else
who will put up with all your bullshit.
Why do you put up with my bullshit?
You're my friend, and I like you.
And it breaks my heart
that you can't see how great you are.
What if he says no?
Then he says no.
It's not the end of the world.
Need any change?
I'm good. Thank you.
I have you.
I don't need anybody else.
Yeah. Let's get back to the lab.
AGDS is not going to cure itself.
Know what you want?
- You have the best tuna melt in the state?
- Three years running.
Which state?
Washington.
Great.
I'll have a cheeseburger
with fries and a milkshake.
It's cheat day.
At least we landed close to home.
We still have to get there, regroup,
and find a way to stop
these random transformations.
I'm more concerned about Flux.
They're gonna want us dead.
Look at the back of your hand.
Charming. Those are new.
Stem cells have an expiration date
and will deteriorate
astheygetclosertoit.
I know what stem cell exhaustion is.
Those liver spots
are a sign of that exhaustion.
We need to fix this.
We need Alex.
- So, no killing him.
- No promises.
- Where's the other woman?
- Restroom.
She said I could have this.
Her treat.
I'm charging her for that plate!
Great.
It's isolated.
Abandoned.
Heavily fortified.
And creepy.
It practically screams Sarkov's name.
I'm not sure that creepy and isolated
is the smoking gun you think it is.
Burke. Sarkov.
The Portland bio-hackers. Monday.
- All rogue scientists.
- Yeah.
All of them lived in abandoned
or isolated places,
as far away from other people as possible.
This is definitely
a rogue scientist's lab.
Or a meth lab.
Do you wanna help or not?
I'm here, right?
So, what's the plan?
Go in and look around.
If Sarkov's there,
you turn into Chupacabra.
Only if I have to.
Oh.
Let's go.
Pure Russian.
That's both crates.
Yeah, you get those two over there.
And I'm gonna throw this in for free.
Yeah, check out the weight on that.
- Huh. Looks like we were both wrong.
- Owen, shut up.
Who the fuck is over there?
Show yourselves.
Game on.
Who are these clowns?
You said this place was secure, Greg.
This place is secure, Elliot.
- Who the fuck are you?
- We are nobody.
We didn't see anything.
We are very sorry
for interrupting your day.
We will now leave. Owen, let's go.
- We're not going anywhere.
- Owen.
But we're looking for Sarkov,
and none of these guys are Sarkov.
- But they're criminals.
- Criminal? I'm a fucking entrepreneur.
Owen! Owen.
Oof.
- I just got this shirt.
- Owen, you could have gotten us killed.
And you could've killed that guy.
Kind of lucky I was there to stop you.
And to stop the bleeding.
And to call an ambulance.
None of that would've happened
if you'd listened to me and left.
I'm surprised you wanted to just leave,
given that he was selling illegal guns.
That guy isn't important.
Finding Sarkov is the only thing
that matters.
- Oh. You've changed.
- No shit.
I'm not talking about the Chupacabra.
I'm talking about you.
When all of this started I figured,
"If there's one person who will
use their powers to fight crime,
it'll be Juan."
- You know why?
- Why?
- Because I read comic books as a kid?
- No.
Because you love comics. You and I would
You know what we did as kids?
Sat and talked about how cool it would be
if Sarkov's experiment gave us powers.
- Do you remember?
- I don't remember.
Well, I do.
I remember you said,
"It doesn't matter what power you get,
because it's not the power
that makes the hero, it's the person."
I don't
I don't remember that either.
Yeah.
No shit.
I'm keeping this.
Hey, brother.
Paloma wants to know why
you haven't RSVP'd to her birthday party.
- You're coming, right?
- I want to, but
What's more important
than your niece's birthday?
This sounds like
a trick question, Alejandro.
Just a question.
What's more important to you
than your niece's birthday?
Nothing.
See you Saturday.
Proprioceptive memory.
Excuse me?
It's a conflict between your sensory
perception and your memory.
That's why you're scratching
your prosthetic.
It's just itchy.
So, you're here early.
I'm surprised you're here at all.
Please. I am indestructible.
Like a roach.
Never underestimate a roach, agent.
When everything else
on this planet is dead,
they'll still be here.
On that note.
It was found floating off the coast.
Dr. Burke is still alive.
You need to do something about this.
Put everyone on it.
You're still in my office.
Are you asking me to focus
my entire division onto one scientist?
- No, I'm telling you.
- One scientist?
One extremely dangerous rogue scientist,
who also happens to be a GP,
which is why she is your top priority.
Why?
Just call me curious.
Curiosity is not part
of your job description.
If she's still alive,
it won't be for long.
I want visual confirmation.
Of course you do.
Yes.
Yes.
No.
- Hey. Why are you calling so late?
- Okay, listen.
First off, you can't tell Mom
I told you this.
- Tell me what?
- Second, it's probably nothing.
Ben, what the fuck? Just tell me.
Mom found a lump.
Where?
You know.
- There.
- For God's sake, Ben, she's our mother.
You can say, "Her breast."
What did the doctor say?
We're still waiting for results.
She's already had a biopsy.
Why didn't you call me sooner?
Mom didn't want to make you worry.
You know how she is about stuff like this.
I know, I know.
But if you maybe
randomly decided to come home
- Just for a weekend?
- I know the routine.
- It would make Mom's day.
- I'll figure something out.
So, you'll come?
As soon as I can.
It's open.
- Sydney?
- Oh, good. Can you come here?
I need to know
if this is the right spot for this.
Oh, my God.
- What happened?
- Oh, yeah.
Just the usual ecchymosis of the eye.
Lacerations to the lips.
Maybe a broken rib?
A few bruises from blunt force
trauma. I definitely have a concussion.
I I mean, how?
How did this happen to you?
That is a funny story.
- Not gonna leave the couch there, are you?
- Don't change the subject.
- We should get you to a hospital.
- No. Absolutely not.
No hospital. No police.
Alex, who did this to you?
You know the research grant I got us?
I didn't.
That grant was $150,000.
Who would give you that kind of money?
Someone who would do this if they
don't get their interest payments on time.
I have until Saturday
to get them their money
or they're gonna kill me.
Sydney, I don't know what I'm gonna do.
What were you thinking?
That we needed money for the research.
That you had already contributed
far too much from your settlement.
It's not about the money.
The settlement with Yake
set me up for life.
- We have nothing to worry about.
- You have nothing to worry about.
- I just have nothing.
- That's bullshit, and you know it.
How much?
It's a quarter of a million dollars.
I'll call the bank.
No, I can't let you give me
this type of money.
I'm not giving it to you.
I'm investing in you.
You are gonna help me cure AGDS.
I won't forget this.
I won't let you.
You fabulous idiot.
Maybe if you spent more time on your work
and less time texting your boyfriend,
we wouldn't be having this debate.
This isn't just a debate.
Juan said the nanobots are dangerous.
And he's not my boyfriend.
So, your friend, who is a boy,
is trying to sabotage my efforts,
because he's mad at you
for double-crossing him?
And you wonder why people don't like you.
No, I don't.
I don't wonder that. Not at all.
Liar.
This whole concept that life is some
sort of popularity contest eludes me.
You can drop the whole lone wolf act.
If anyone understands
the benefit of a facade,
it's the girl who used her daddy's
credit cards to start her own punk band.
Please let this conversation be over.
Caring about people
isn't a sign of weakness, Al.
I saw your face
when we found that dead guy in the truck.
His name was Hank.
See? You care.
This This is why Monday built robots.
I've given you a job to do.
Now get back to work.
Yes, sir.
Shit, shit, shit.
Hannah.
Abbi.
I know you said you wanted your space.
I just found out my mom may have cancer,
and I really need someone to talk to.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
If there's anything I can do
There is. I'm reverse-engineering
Sarkov's restorative stem cells,
and could really use your help in the lab.
I don't think I'd be much help.
I can talk you through it.
Can't Juan or Tilda help you?
They're doing their own thing.
Abbi, I'm sorry. I can't.
Why is everyone fighting me on this?
I'm not fighting you,
but I can't help you.
I helped Finch and people got killed.
I helped you and I got tortured.
This is a different situation.
You're not gonna get hurt.
You can't promise that.
I'm sorry.
You do realize everything
I'm doing is for your benefit, right?
- I am the reason you're still alive. Hey.
- You're the reason I'm stuck like this.
- Holy shit.
- It's not like I have any other choice.
This experiment has to succeed.
I have to make the cure.
So please say you'll help me.
Would you listen to yourself?
You sound just like fucking Sarkov!
- None of this would be happening to me
- Shit, shit, shit.
if you had stayed out of my life.
You're the reason I'm a monster!
Hannah.
You're not a monster.
No, I'm not.
You are.
Juan.
Hey.
I wanted to come by early
to help set up for the party.
- But if that's a problem, I can just go
- No, no, no. You're family.
You're always welcome.
Renata. Paloma.
Tío Pendejo's here.
Ah.
Would it have killed you morons
to run the vacuum?
- Finch, what are you doing here?
- Relax, Cobra Kai.
I'm not looking for a rematch. Not yet.
Where's Sarkov?
I'd rather have this conversation
with Dr. Burke.
Oh, yeah? Tough.
We don't have much say
over who drives the bus.
Why? What's happened?
Crain tried to reverse-engineer Sarkov's
cure from that dead Portland dick.
I guess we're ordering pizza.
She injected us mid-transformation,
and now we're changing randomly.
So unless you figured out a way
to recreate those restorative stem cells,
we really need to find Alex.
Oh. Thanks, Finch.
- So, have you?
- Not yet, but I'm close.
How close?
I tried creating a new mitochondrian
from our own undamaged sections,
but that didn't work.
If it makes you feel any better,
I tried the same and got the same result.
I'm sure us working together
will accelerate our progress
exponentially.
I appreciate the optimism,
but there is a reason
why Alex could do in a week
what we couldn't in months.
Yes, I know. He's a super genius.
He could also be anywhere.
No, he's in the city.
How can you be so sure?
Dr. Burke?
Because we've known him his whole life.
He's still here, because he's impatient.
Which is a good thing
because this is starting to hurt.
- Not in a way I like.
- That's not good.
Well, no shit.
The longer Sydney
and I transform randomly,
the sooner our system
will wear itself out.
I can think of a hundred
more interesting ways to die.
Juan's out looking for him.
Our energies are better spent in here.
You won't figure this out.
You're actually a decent human being.
- You can't think the way he does.
- Like a rogue scientist?
Why are we tiptoeing around this.
He's a fucking madman.
I'll think like a fucking madman.
Okay.
I'm Alex Sarkov. I'm a selfish,
self-centered, narcissistic jerk.
- I think I'm always right.
- Duh.
Now I have to repair
damaged mitochondrial DNA.
But I won't methodically
identify any problem areas.
No. Why would I care about test subjects?
I've got better things to do.
So
I will just
I'll replace it with my own mitochondria.
That's it.
Abbi, that seems like kind of a long shot.
It's worth a try.
Why does this mean so much to you?
They died when I was two.
Yeah, but it's the anniversary.
I thought you might wanna
commemorate them.
I don't even remember
what they looked like.
How am I supposed
to mourn someone I never knew?
Well, they're your parents.
You must have some feelings about them.
Dr. Hallenbeck said
feelings are a waste of energy.
Hallenbeck was your thesis advisor,
not your parent.
This is what happens when you get signed
over to a university at the age of 5.
Raised by a cabal of scientists
more interested in using you
as a human computer
than giving you a childhood.
We still got cake on my birthday.
I mean, you must feel something. Anything?
Nothing.
Maybe a simmering resentment
for their selfishness.
That's something.
No one wants to hear about how mad you are
your parents perished in a house fire.
It's okay to feel angry,
if that's how you feel.
I just I want you to understand that
there's no wrong way to mourn someone.
Who are you expecting me to mourn?
No one.
We're starting clinical trials
next week with children, so
You thought you should make sure
I won't alienate them
with my off-putting personality?
No. I just think maybe
a little sensitivity wouldn't hurt.
No, it wouldn't.
I'm sorry I'm not a better person, Sydney.
That's not what I meant.
I know.
I've been thinking about it a lot lately,
and you've already done so much for me.
You lent me
a quarter of a million dollars.
My God.
I've told you, the money doesn't matter.
It does to me.
You're the first real friend I ever had.
Let's be honest. You are the only
real friend I've ever had, and I
I don't know what I'd do without you.
Or something.
Well, I'm not going anywhere.
Or something.
They were both here, a couple of days ago.
Pulled a scam to get a free burger.
Anything else you remember?
I remember having to pay
for that burger out of my tips.
They also had a milkshake.
They also stole a plate.
This one said she was
more concerned about "Flax."
This one said, "No killing him."
I gotta get back to work.
Benning.
Burke's three GPs. I need eyes on them.
Our time would be better spent
just looking for Alex.
How can you put your faith in him
after all he's done to you?
Because I know
why he acts the way that he does.
Underneath that crusty exterior is
Is a crusty interior?
And underneath that,
is a scared little boy
who had a hellish childhood.
He was literally raised in a lab,
was experimented on.
He was treated like equipment.
What do you think that does to someone?
He's not the victim here.
She is right, you know.
Your devotion to him is misguided.
Case in point.
Shut up.
What?
Finch. Finch.
Look, he's not a villain either.
He spent his entire life
pushing people away
because he thinks it's safer to be alone
than it is to lose someone.
Look, Dr. Burke,
what happened to Sarkov is very sad,
but it only explains his actions,
it does not excuse them.
There's nothing here.
We don't need Alex's mitochondria.
Any undamaged one will do.
A risk I'm not willing to take.
The only undamaged mitochondria
in your lab was Sarkov's.
And we know it cured Nate.
Maybe he used the upstairs restroom.
Wait. I think I found something.
Yes.
You're welcome.
You're getting
into dangerous territory here.
Would you rather keep
Alex's secret, or live?
Honestly? Both.
Finally.
What are you saying to each other?
One canister?
I know nanobots are small
but this doesn't seem like enough.
I'm doing a test run
to make sure the printer's working,
which, given the circumstances,
I thought would be
What's the opposite of "reckless"?
Prudent.
And how would it be prudent?
To make sure the nanobots
aren't dangerous.
Because of your boyfriend's texts?
These things are communicating
with each other.
Yes.
They're nanobots.
It's like their whole thing.
They communicate with each other.
That's why I need so many.
So chop-chop.
I betrayed my friends because
I believed in what you're doing.
But if these things
are as bad as Juan says,
we've got a problem.
I promise you, Tilda.
These are not dangerous.
Well, shit.
Anything?
Not yet.
- I wanna see.
- Hang on.
It's stable.
It worked.
Sarkov's mitochondria is the key.
This should cure everything.
Including these random transformations?
Yeah, all of our side effects.
I did it.
Huh.
Amazing.
- Let me see.
- Wait. No!
Please tell me you made more.
That was all of Sarkov's DNA
that we could find.
Fuck. We need to find Sarkov.
We need to find Sarkov.
Do you feel magical?
- Yes.
- Let's see your magic fingers.
Go ahead. All right.
- Say "abracadabra."
- Abracadabra.
Holy shit.
No, no, no. Holy shit.
Perdón. Enjoy the party.
The burgers are almost done.
Watch the swears.
I'm a little bit distracted.
There's a lot going on in Seattle.
- What's her name?
- No, it's not like that.
Then it can wait.
You're here with family.
Good to have you here.
It's good to be here.
Holy shit.
Is that her?
I thought you said it wasn't like that?
It's gonna be very quick. I promise.
- I'll be right back.
- She better be worth it!
You ghost me for
an entire week, and now you call?
I started writing a response
to all of your nanobot warnings.
And I was just writing and writing,
and I realized
this isn't a text message,
it's a phone call.
So
here I am, phoning.
You seriously think you can just call me
and act like nothing's happened?
Please, I stopped you
from making a fool of yourself.
There's no way you or Abbi
could have out-witted Al.
So level with me.
On a scale of 1 to
"Holy fucking shit,"
how bad are those nanobots?
When you left, those nanobots
invaded our body and took control.
I was trapped inside my own skin.
So, "Holy fucking shit." Okay. Got it.
Yeah. Holy fucking shit.
Tell me where you are.
Nope.
Tilda, why are you doing this?
The more you help him,
the harder it'll be
for us to get back to normal.
PJ was my normal.
Oh, Tilda.
Tilda, no
You'll do.
Hi.
The party's around back.
I'm not here to party.
Where's Dr. Sydney Burke?
You're with Flux?
Has she made contact with you?
What do you want with her?
What's with the freaking disguise?
Hey. Focus.
Or I'll ruin your niece's big day.
You shouldn't have said that.
- Have a drink.
- Thank you.
- Where'd Juan go?
- He had to take a call.
He'd better hurry up,
or he's gonna miss out on the burgers.
I think burgers are the last thing
on his mind right now.
Okay.
Well, fuck.
Juan?
Hey, um
So there is something more important
to you than your niece's birthday.
- I don't have a choice.
- You've got nothing but choice.
What I don't understand
is why you keep choosing to leave.
If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.
If you leave now, don't ever come back.
That's not fair.
What's not fair
is how you keep treating my family,
your family, like an afterthought.
You're not an afterthought.
I swear to God, you're not.
Then prove it.
Come back to the party.
Whatever's in Seattle can wait.
It can't.
- It really can't.
- Guys.
Guys, come on. It's time for cake.
Alejandro, what's going on?
Juan's leaving.
- You have to go?
- He sure does.
But why? What happened?
I'm sorry.
Hi.
I have a problem.
And I didn't know who else to call.
Do? Oh, shit.
The Flux agent really is a clown?
I thought you were
speaking metaphorically. Oh! Oh!
Juan. It's okay. It'll be fine.
I I should have
just stayed with you and helped.
But I didn't do it, because I'm selfish.
No. I was the selfish one.
I used the nanobots as an excuse
to just go after Tilda.
I tried to pheromone Hannah
into helping me in the lab.
Oh.
I think you win.
Yeah. On the plus side,
it did help me realize
I owe you an apology.
I say I don't wanna use my pheromones,
but the second I need something,
I have no problem using them.
Maybe if I was a little less selfish
we wouldn't be in this mess.
Let's just bury this clown,
then we can go back to the lab.
Yeah.
Hey, Abbi
do you think we can be human again?
On a genetic level, sure.
After everything we've done?
I don't know.
Yeah.
That's what I thought.
But I am gonna find out. And so are you.
How are you gonna do that?
We'll cross that bridge
when we come to it.
- Bridge.
- What bridge?
- I know where Sarkov is.
- What?
When I was on the phone with Tilda,
I heard this sound and
Come here.
See? Here.
They're in Fremont.
All right.
There is something wrong
with the nanobots.
Finally. Thank you.
It's okay, we'll sort it out
before the next round of tests.
Next round?
Yes, science is not
an exact science, Tilda.
If we waited for everything to be perfect,
we'd never accomplish anything.
That's not what we agreed to.
We didn't agree to anything.
I'm conducting my research.
And if you're not helping me,
you are hindering me.
You said your plan would save lives,
not turn people into robot monsters.
I'm disappointed in you, Tilda.
I honestly thought you understood
what I was trying to do here.
I guess we were both wrong.
I suppose so.
What the fuck?
How are you surprised?
I literally told you I carry a gun.
I'm sorry.
I don't think this is gonna work out.
Oh, okay.
Well, before I go
No!
Don't you fucking move.
You were right.
He was too impatient to leave the city.
When we get in there,
let me do the talking.
I'm good, thanks.
- Let's go.
- Your transformations are accelerating.
- Could be a sign of stem cell exhaustion.
- In that case
There you go.
I have to do everything myself.
That nanobot printer
is an essential part of my work.
Do you have any idea what you've done?
Probably made her life a lot easier.
You have no idea.
Of course you're here.
Look, I don't have time for this.
You'll have to come back later.
I'm sorting out a human resources problem.
That's not an option. I need permanence.
You're the only one
who can help me achieve it.
I'm sorry. Why would I do that?
I can give you a new transmission method.
Viral vectors.
Bullshit, Sydney already said
that wouldn't work.
Sydney lied to you.
You'd do it, wouldn't you?
You'd betray your oldest friend
for her deranged id
over some stupid science.
Bad timing.
Oh, God. I hope not.
I really hope you'll save me.
I know we've had our differences,
but I've never stopped caring about you.
Sydney, you've always been my best friend.
I need you to believe me
when I say no matter what happens,
you have nothing to worry about.
- You, on the other hand.
- Alex.
This will all be over soon.