The Midnight Club (2022) s01e09 Episode Script

1
[Dr. Stanton] There are many
different kinds of days here.
Good days, bad days.
But there really aren't many days
like today.
So I had to be sure.
We did those extra tests
and sure enough, your endoscopy
Well, there's still some polyps
and lesions in your small intestine,
but less than when you got here.
Which means you're healing.
Which means the terminal diagnosis
was an error.
Which means
you're going home.
Wait.
I have peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
I saw the polyps on my first endoscopy,
and after all the chemo,
the polyps were worse.
And they said I'm dying.
When you first got here, it took a while
for the effects of the chemo to wear off.
But now we can see your body is healing.
But I'm not dying?
We're all dying, Sandra.
Each and every one of us.
But right now, for you,
you do not have terminal lymphoma.
I'm sorry.
[inhales]
I have no idea
why I feel the way I feel right now.
However you feel is correct.
However you're feeling,
whatever it is, is right.
But this is wonderful news, Sandra.
How am I gonna tell them?
Jesus
[Sandra sniffles]
Wh-what am I gonna say?
[heavy breathing]
[heartbeats]
There you are.
[gasps, breathes heavily]
Morning.
How did I get here?
You were out of it, so I brought you here.
Okay. I have found myself
down there before.
More than a few times.
Ever since we found it, I
Most nights, actually,
I wake up down there.
I sneak back to my room,
try not to wake up Spence.
It's it's freaky, all right?
I've even woken up in that bed down there.
And the smell of it is just
It's crazy.
The dreams, sleepwalking.
Got to be my meds.
Our meds don't make the halls
look different.
Our meds don't make me see people
in the hallways,
in the room, in the goddamn mirror.
I think you know
what I'm talking about, Kevin.
So, please.
If you do, don't make me go
another minute feeling crazy.
Yeah.
Okay. I do.
Sometimes the rooms change.
And the walls change.
And sometimes you'll hear a noise
and you'll turn around.
And you're not alone.
And there'll be somebody
coming towards you
from out of the dark or the firelight,
and you'll look up
and you'll see this old
Woman?
Man.
Old man. He's got gray hair.
Yeah, I've seen him before.
But mostly, I see her.
An old woman.
And she's got these, like
milky eyes.
You ever see her?
Not as much as I see him, but
glimpses.
Yeah.
Let's get everyone to the library.
[knocking on door]
- Oh, my god. What?
- Get dressed.
Emergency meeting. Library.
[Amesh] Is everything okay?
Is, um
[clicks tongue]
Is everything okay, Ilonka?
Uh, yeah. Yeah, everything's
- okay.
- Oh, God.
[laughs]
- [chuckles]
- Oh, gosh.
Oh, it's unlocked again.
Bet she locks it again tonight.
- You okay, Sandra?
- I'm fine.
What's all this about?
Yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't know
what the fuck you guys are talking about.
Seriously. No bullshit.
Anyone else seeing changing hallways
or old-ass ghost?
Hmm. Negative.
I'm sorry. No, nothing like that.
Me neither. And I'd totally lie about it
if I thought it was funny,
but it's not funny, right?
[Kevin] For real?
Like the old hallways
with the flowers and the lanterns,
and the old man and the woman?
[Ilonka] She's got, uh, milky eyes.
- Yeah, cataracts.
- Cataracts.
And and she keeps talking about
how she's hungry, she's starving.
No.
I haven't seen anything,
like, any of that.
That doesn't make any sense.
I mean, if we did see ghosts
or whatever, that's great, right?
Isn't that what we were waiting for?
A sign?
Yeah, but it doesn't make any sense.
Like you said,
in a place where so many young people die
before their time
with unfinished business,
the only ghosts you see
are two, like, old people.
We we both saw it.
- I mean, we both
- [Cheri] There's a French word for that.
When two people are close,
they share the same
Yeah, uh, folie à deux.
It means, um, delusion shared by two.
[Natsuki] You speak French?
No, but it was the, uh, title
of an X-Files episode
[whispers]
and it was awesome.
So none of you guys have seen this?
Any of it? We're we're both just crazy?
- Maybe it's not
- [Kevin] Not what?
- Crazy?
- Maybe it's not ghost.
My mom told a story,
something her grandmother told her.
This bedtime story about this thing, uh
Toshi no Taberu Hito.
It means "eater of years"
or "the years eater."
It looked like an old woman.
And you'd find it in places
where people were going to die,
and eat the years they would have had.
Wait, this was a bedtime story
that your mom told you casually?
No. It was a way for her to process.
She only told me after my dad died.
But if this thing really exists,
I bet it would love a place like this.
We all should have so many years left.
This place would be a feast.
Kevin and Ilonka can also be wrong.
Have fever dreams, overdo their meds
and see shit that isn't there.
Especially when they tell
each other about it.
Let's not forget
the other part of the pact.
We look for signs, but we keep our cool.
Proof.
That's the whole point
of the pact, isn't it?
No. There's more happening here.
I've got to tell you guys something,
but I promised I wouldn't say anything.
You want proof
that there's more going on here?
Well, I got that.
The ritual worked.
Stanton admitted it.
One of us is cured.
One of us is going home.
In fact, I think
And I'm sorry.
But I I think it's me.
And it can work for you guys too.
But we really have to believe
and do it just right.
- Wait. You're saying you're healed?
- What the fuck, Ilonka?
Hang on, guys.
I think so.
I I feel it.
No, I I know the ritual worked,
and we have to do it again.
This is This isn't funny.
No, she's right. Someone's going home.
Stanton said so.
What the fuck do you mean
someone's going home?
It's me.
[Ilonka] Sandra, look.
We all want it to be us.
And that's the thing. It can be all of us,
but we have to really believe
No, it's actually me.
I'm going home tomorrow.
My grandparents are already on their way.
And it wasn't the ritual.
It was a misdiagnosis.
I had an endoscopy the week before
we even did the stupid ritual
and I was misdiagnosed at the start.
I've got some other GI thing
and so I got to go,
and I got to start all over.
The tests, and the trials,
and the treatments, and the whole thing.
I'm sorry, but no.
The ritual didn't work.
No.
Maybe it just worked different.
It's not just that. It it
There are signs.
We've had signs. We've had
And Spence heard that voice
on the intercom after Tristan.
They're pointing at us.
They're guiding us to do the ritual.
That was me too.
I'm so sorry.
That was me on the intercom.
You were talking about losing faith,
and I thought, just a little nudge,
nothing nothing too bad.
Just enough to to give you some hope.
God would want me to.
Hello?
[static]
[whispers]
Spence.
[Sandra] Listen.
- [Spence] Someone's in the recovery room.
- [Mark] What?
[Spence] Someone's in there
and the door is locked.
- [Mark] Doors are never locked.
- [Spence] It's locked.
Oh, my god.
I know it was wrong,
and I know it was so stupid.
And I'm so, so sorry.
[Sandra sobs]
I'm I'm a mess right now,
and I'm so so relieved,
and I'm so ashamed, and
I don't want to go anywhere,
but I can't wait to go.
And I just
[sniffles]
I feel awful.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[somber music]
[breathing deeply]
Ilonka! Hey.
Hey, Katherine.
I know family day isn't until tomorrow,
but I just couldn't wait.
You have to see these.
I'm actually in a hurry.
Oh, no, no, no. It'll just take a second.
I'm so glad that I ran into you
because I finally got these.
[giggles]
Here.
[chuckles]
Wow.
I know how nervous he was about
just how he looked,
but I kept telling him
that he looked so amazing.
But, I mean, you know, look at him.
Oh, also, he was saying that
you guys went to the beach the other day.
How do I get down there?
Because I would love to set up before
and, you know,
surprise him and everything.
Uh, you just
Well, you, um
You just
The fuck, I guess. Really.
- What?
- The fuck is wrong with you?
What do you think this is,
a fucking country club?
This is a hospice.
Everybody here is really fucking sick.
And now you want to, what?
Show him a picture of himself
under 20 pounds of makeup?
I know, I spackled it on for him
just to see how not normal he is.
No, no, no. That's not what I
Do you understand
what kind of a toll you take on him?
How hard it is for him
to put on a show for you
every fucking time.
He doesn't tell you that
because he doesn't want you to worry
any more than you already do.
And now you want to, what?
Make him walk down to the beach
pretending like
it doesn't hurt like hell for a picnic
so you can feel normal?
He's dying, Katherine.
He's dying and it's not fucking fair.
And that's already hard enough
without having to take care of you
and act all brave
just so you can walk out of here
and live your goddamn life.
[Kevin] Hey!
The fuck are you doing, Ilonka?
[exhales]
[door opens, closes]
What happened?
I need a place to stay.
I can't go back there anymore.
India, make up a bed for Ilonka.
What? What happened?
It's not me.
It's not me. It it didn't work.
It's not me.
[sobs]
[Kevin] Ilonka lost her goddamn mind.
Yeah.
What?
Ilonka.
- Ilonka what?
- You know "Ilonka what?"
What do you want me to do?
What you want to do.
I'm not breaking up with Katherine.
See? See, I didn't even say it.
I say, do what you want to do,
and you go boom, crash right into
"I'm not breaking up with Katherine."
I've got what? Months left, tops?
And I'm just supposed
to break up with her? Jesus.
Right now,
she's a girl with a sick boyfriend,
and pretty soon,
she'll be a girl with no boyfriend.
So who are you helping by keeping this up?
We both know what you really want.
Who you really want.
You know why I don't finish my stories?
'Cause you're an asshole.
You're a plot tease.
Because once people know the end
the rest of the story just fades away.
I'm gonna be nothing but a memory soon.
And I would like to be a good one
for everybody.
But for her, especially.
She's earned it.
It's not a lot, but
it's all we need.
Let's get you some food and some linens.
Thanks for
I I don't know what I'm doing.
Maybe a night or two
while I figure it out?
Don't worry about that. Listen.
We need to talk.
I should go back.
Look, Stanton will notice,
and I don't want you
getting in trouble because of me.
I've dealt with more trouble
than Georgina Stanton.
And going back, that's, uh
That's what I want to talk to you about.
For me, Brightcliffe is special.
- Apparently not.
- Don't.
Don't misinterpret what happened
or didn't happen.
That place is special.
There's a power there and energy there
that doesn't exist
anywhere else in the world.
Believe me,
- I've looked.
- But it didn't work.
- None of it.
- You don't know that.
Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. But it can.
I know that. I know that the
I know that the ritual works
more than anybody.
Do you hear me? I know it.
Better than anyone.
Who are you?
You're a bright girl, Ilonka.
I've seen it
crossed your mind at least once.
So come on, bright girl.
You look at me, you tell me, who am I?
Take a real look.
You're Julia Jayne?
See, I knew you're a bright girl.
You came looking for me.
You found me because you were right.
You are right about all of it.
Are you going to tell me
where we're going?
[Mark] Yeah, look, I know it is crazy,
and I know
you've been feeling alone a lot.
Sometimes I forget
you haven't really met people yet,
so I figured you'd want to check this out.
You got a whole community.
It's time you met them. Come on.
- Oh, there he is.
- [Mark] Hey.
- Hey.
- Hi.
Everybody, this is Spence.
- Hi, Spence.
- Hi, Spence.
Spence, this is everybody.
It's Brandi, Julie, Toni with an "I,"
Brian, and Lisa.
What are you all doing?
Waiting for the pizza,
and then it's game night.
Uh, but also
But also, there's a rally
this weekend at Capitol Hill.
And we're going to represent.
So we're making signs,
helping Glenn with his speech.
Oh, no. You're not going to make a speech.
Uh, of course I am.
Uh, Glenn uses his words
like some people use a billy club.
I know and you know
that I love your sermons,
but this one is just, like,
a little bit clunky.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Is it too clunky for you, Julie?
Our struggle for basic
human recognition is too clunky for you.
Ooh! T-shirts.
Scary T-shirts.
Spence, can I get you a drink or anything?
I'm happy to trade booze
if you want to help.
You want to make some shirts
or some signs.
How can help?
[Julie] Well, sweetie, grab a paintbrush.
And when we're done,
we're gonna get high
and play Catch Phrase.
[laughter]
- Let's do it.
- [Julie] Hell, yeah.
Do you want any more?
No, no, but that was amazing.
It is the best damn food
you will, maybe, ever have.
Why didn't you tell me?
I told you when it was time.
[Ilonka] It worked for you.
It works.
It does.
I'm proof.
Look, we have much to discuss.
You know about
the most exciting part already.
Uh, after I left, I lived hard and well.
And as I got older,
I I wanted to share the miracle.
I started Good Humor
because I I wanted
to understand that better.
I wanted to give back some of that
healing energy into the world.
But it's been difficult
to get back on the property.
The woods are good, the spring is good.
But the magic,
the real magic of this place,
it is right where that house is built.
Stanton won't let you back in?
I probably threatened
something fundamentally inside her.
I I tried everything.
I volunteered at the hospice.
I made donations, generous donations.
But she still won't give us
any meaningful access to the place.
And we are trying
to be respectful of that.
And I understand the history
of the place that
awful Paragon business,
and collective like mine.
[sighs]
You and I are a lot alike, Ilonka.
You even have the same cancer that I had.
And I don't know. I just
I want to help you.
You know what? Let's just do it.
I say you and I go back there together
tonight after the Midnight Club,
after everyone's asleep,
you bring me down there
into that basement.
That's where the ley lines intersect.
That's the energy center.
You bring me there,
I have everything that I need.
Everything you need for what?
To heal you, bright girl.
[sighs]
Here you go.
I'm glad you came out tonight.
Hope you had fun.
- Thanks.
- Mm-hm.
That was a blast.
- Can I ask you something?
- Hm?
How'd you get into all that?
Being gay? I was just born that way.
Oh, I'm sorry. You meant Catch Phrase.
That is just an objectively
awesome party game.
No, I mean the activism, I guess.
[chuckles]
Dear, dear friend of mine.
But he's gone now.
It was
I mean, nobody there seems scared
of anything.
Like, even when I told them
even when I told them I had AIDS, they
still didn't seem scared.
[stammers]
Fear's like, it's like radiation.
You spend enough time around enough of it,
and it changes you genetically.
We've lost a lot of us.
Way, way too many of us.
Lot of empty chairs at empty tables,
and the world's
been indifferent to us at best
and terrified of us at worst.
So a lot of us did a lot of hiding
for a long time.
That's what I did.
So, now
more than ever, we need to be visible.
Ryan taught me that.
Taught me a lot.
And that is why we do this.
And that is why
no one there tonight seemed scared.
Because even if we are,
we choose not to be.
Because every single one of us
is going to die someday.
And before we do,
every single one of us deserves love.
[soft chuckle]
[Amesh] I'm so glad she left it open.
Would have been particularly cruel tonight
if the doors were locked.
You okay, Spence?
Hm? Yeah, just
looking at the chairs, empty chairs.
Almost half of us aren't here.
Hi.
- I wasn't sure if
- Girl, you better be coming to this table.
Um, I mean, I feel like
everybody's super pissed at me.
Nope. Not even a little.
I am so, so happy for you.
[Cheri] Me too. Come here.
I just needed a minute
to pick my jaw off the floor.
I'm happy for you too.
[Cheri] We love you.
And we love the world with you in it.
So stick around
for as long as you fucking can, got it?
[both laugh]
[Spence] I love you fiercely, darling.
But if you even think
about giving Jesus the credit,
I'mma haunt you twice as scary
because I'm going to definitely haunt you
after that intercom nonsense,
you got it coming.
Not my finest hour.
Hi.
I'm, um
I'm really sorry.
I'm sorry, Sandra, and
And I'm sorry, Kevin.
I'm just really sorry.
I'm really happy you're here.
I'm happy too.
For you.
Sit, please. I'm going tonight.
And, well, this one's from the heart.
To those before, and to those after.
To us now, and to those beyond.
[all] To those before, to those after.
To us now, and to those beyond.
Seen or unseen, here but not here.
[all] Seen or unseen, here but not here.
Oh, the story I want to tell
actually scares the shit out of me.
It's a story about knowing
where you're going before you get there.
It's a story about fighting
for the future that you want
instead of the future
that you're destined for,
because destinies can change.
I think we all figured that out today.
I call this one
"The Eternal Enemy."
[Spence] This is a story
about time and fear.
Time has a permanent hold on us
the moment we're born.
It allows us to grow, to get big.
We go to school, we find jobs,
we fall in love.
Time lets us do all of these things.
But then, in the end, it kills us.
This is Rel.
He's devilishly handsome,
wildly attractive.
Hard to believe
he's not a model, actually.
[Natsuki] We get it.
[Spence] Despite his obvious appeal,
he doesn't have a ton of friends.
[upbeat music]
[videogame noise]
Rel's a transfer student,
new to town, only on campus three weeks,
but there's someone
he really wants to know better.
Christopher Perry, resident genius.
In fact, every day since he got here,
Christopher has been the only person
Rel could think about.
The whole board is fried.
You can't fix it?
I thought you can fix anything.
I'm afraid I got no cure for the bubblegum
you Neanderthals got into the gears.
[Christopher] I mean, like,
how the hell do you even do that?
[Spence] It was lonely enough
being the new guy.
Even worse without a roommate
and that's what he told himself
when he bought the VCR.
He could set it up
to record those old sci-fi movies
he knew Christopher liked.
And maybe then, just maybe,
people might want to come hang out.
Yeah. This wasn't
about Christopher at all.
[alarm clock clicks]
That night,
Rel had the weirdest, freakiest dream.
[loud whirring]
[gasps, pants]
[ominous music stings]
[clanks]
[upbeat music]
That's pretty cool.
[Christopher] Thanks.
He's actually my midterm project,
and he doesn't quite work.
Thinking of scrapping the whole thing,
starting over.
I think he's defective.
Are you going to throw him out
because he isn't perfect?
Harsh.
[Christopher] Have a seat.
If you want.
Robotics.
That's cool.
Yeah, I'm just a weirdo.
I'm I just like seeing how things work.
Are you liking it here? Settling in?
I guess.
Thing about being a transfer,
I always feel
- I don't know, I always feel different.
- I know what you mean.
Every day in my life.
Listen, I overheard
you're a sci-fi geek, right? Like me.
Sure.
So I got a new VCR for my room.
The one in the Common never fucking works.
Thank you.
I'm sick of trying to fix that thing.
I decided to tape Terminator.
It was on at, like, 3:00 a.m.
on HBO last night.
And I was wondering
do you want to come over sometime
and watch it?
How about tonight?
- [soft chuckle]
- [knocks on door]
I brought wine.
Pairs really well with Terminator.
Didn't think anyone on this campus
drank anything but skank-ass Natty Boh.
I'm impressed.
All of us engineering majors
are super cultured.
Some of us even eat cheese.
Did you bring cheese?
I brought cheese.
Hasta Asiago, baby.
Nice pun.
Very good-a.
"Come with Brie, if you want to live."
I love this movie so damn much.
The damage to the subway
itself was minimal and no one was hurt.
Sorry, I must have kicked on early.
The news is still on.
I thought you taped this last night
at 3:00 a.m.?
I did.
What kind of news is on
at 3:00 a.m. on HBO?
Well, the biggest surprise of the day
was our very own Seabirds,
who defied all odds
by scoring 20 unanswered points
against the Rushers in the fourth quarter.
I'm sorry. The who?
The Seabirds and the Rushers.
Do you think
those are real football teams?
I don't care. I don't like sports.
- Fine. The 99ers and the Orcas.
- That's not better.
It was a banner day for Mirer
who connected with Everett
for a 30-yard pass as the clock ran out,
winning the game for the Orcas
after an amazing comeback.
A huge upset for the Niners
who, as we all know,
are a very real football team
with a very real name.
I don't get it.
I think you set it wrong.
I did it right.
Two hundred dollars,
the guy said it was the best VCR they had.
No worries.
Hey, there's this great bar
just off campus.
We could go shoot pool or something,
try for a movie another night.
Let me buy you some bad food.
So where were you before this?
You know, nobody's asked me that.
Not one person.
I'm sorry. People are dicks.
They really can be.
People are awful, like
They fuckin' terrify me, honestly.
I wish I could just get in there,
do some basic code repair,
iron out the bugs.
We're unbearable mostly, like
I don't get straight people.
Do tell.
I just mean whatever makes them
love football the way they do,
I don't have that gene.
I love football. I'm not straight.
So you'd be all about this, too?
Watching last night's game in a bar.
[Christopher] No, that's live.
No, that's last night's.
It's the one they said on the news,
the 99ers and the Orcas.
Maybe they're playing each other again.
It's live, Niners and Orcas
ain't played each other yet this season.
Not true.
The Orcas beat the Niners last night.
The Orcas won.
They fought hard this quarter,
but there's only seven seconds left
in around the 30.
Ten bucks says Mirer
throws to Everett for the win.
Everett? Guy hasn't caught a pass
in weeks, princess.
You're on.
[sportscaster]
Mirer fakes a handoff to Warren
The pocket's collapsing,
he's gotta get rid of it.
He's got Everett open in the middle!
- He scored. This guy got touchdown.
- [cheering]
- Orcas win! Orcas win!
- What?
[bar patrons cheering]
[both chuckle]
How did you know that?
I told you, this isn't live.
Oh, this is live.
[sportscaster]
Picks the snap facing to his
How the hell did you know that?
[money rustles]
If you head here,
you can see the timestamp.
[anchorman] It was a banner day for Mirer
who connected with Everett
for a 30-yard pass.
Holy shit.
[Rel] But that's today's date.
- And the time is almost now.
- Go live.
But the biggest surprise today
comes from our very own Orcas.
- This is live right now.
- Right, that's not possible.
- We watched this three hours ago.
- And I taped this last night.
with Everett for a 30-yard pass
as the clock ran out.
Winning the game for the Orcas
after an amazing comeback.
I taped the future.
[anchorman] In other news,
local third grader, Tina Cammarino,
won the National Clogging Championship
Do it again.
[Spence] So they did.
They set the tape again
for 3:00 a.m. just like before.
And the next morning, it happened again.
It's tonight's newscast.
Look at the date.
Fast forward to the sports scores.
[upbeat music]
- On us. No hard feelings.
- [scoffs]
Can't believe they let you ladies,
back in here.
Yeah. I'm going to choose to ignore that.
Tell you what, big man.
There are three games tonight.
Yeah. Mm-hm.
We bet the winners on all three.
You give us 100 dollars.
If we don't get all three, you get 200.
I'm listening.
Who's playing right now?
Buckaroos and Charlatans.
- Dude, these names
- And that worked for a while.
Tape the news, memorize the scores,
hustle the straights.
A week of that,
and they've found themselves
1,200 dollars richer.
They also found something else.
[Spence] But that's the thing about time.
It brings only one thing with it.
[Amesh] Death.
- He's talking about death.
- [Spence] Not death.
Change.
It's the only thing certain
in the universe.
Add time to anything at all
and you get change.
A little
or a lot.
[sighs]
Now we're going to go live
to our very own Nat Roers,
who has the latest on our breaking story
from Kline University.
Nat?
Sad news here today on campus
at Kline University.
A freak accident has taken the life
of a local medical student.
- What's this?
- Right around 10:15 this morning,
an air conditioning unit
fell from the third story
at this residential building.
Did you do something different last night?
- No, I did what I always do.
- now identified as Michelle Dixon,
was pronounced dead at the scene.
- All right, should we call the police?
- And say what?
We have a magic tape
that says an air conditioner
is gonna fall out a window later?
Well, what then?
[anchorman] What a horrible story.
We should try to stop it.
Are you serious?
What time did they say? 10:15?
Fuck.
Out of the way! Sorry.
[thrilling music]
Hey! Hey! Look out!
Look out! Sorry!
Hey, look out.
- [air conditioner crashing]
- [all screaming]
[hissing]
[both breathing heavily]
- [Rel] Are you okay?
- [Michelle] Yeah.
- Thank you.
- [Rel] Yeah, yeah.
[unsettling music]
Some remarkable luck
and a little bit of heroism by a bystander
saved a young woman's life earlier today.
Rel Lindquist,
a student here at the university,
pushed her to safety just before
- the falling object struck the ground.
- Oh, shit. Look, look.
Look. There.
There.
I'm telling you,
there's something off with this guy.
[Christopher] I got goosebumps
just looking at him.
I'm glad for that girl and all,
but something about this feels wrong now.
You saved a life.
What if next time I don't?
- Or I can't?
- [Christopher] You're right.
We got lucky.
We got some cash.
But how about we just stop for a bit?
- I feel like I should cancel my trip.
- Don't cancel the trip.
We've been through this.
That was before you almost died.
I didn't almost die.
Not even a little.
My mom can wait.
She's waited two months as it is.
Go see her.
Okay, listen.
I'm writing down her address
if you change your mind.
It's in Pasco. It's a 40-minute cab ride.
And I know you got the cash.
And let's promised no VCR while I'm gone.
We can figure out what to do
when I get back. But for now
just take a break.
Okay?
Promise.
And get yourself some light this weekend.
You're not Howard Hughes.
[chuckles]
[door closes]
[unsettling music]
[Amesh] Death.
- It's Death.
- No, dude, it's not.
You'll see who it is. It's not that.
It's the commissioner at the NFL
and you're under arrest
because those team names
are an act of violence.
So that night, he sat up,
and he tried and tried not to do it. But
we can't help our nature.
Who we are.
[tape clacks]
How we're born.
Rel was always going to hit record.
And that's the thing
about being alone so much.
Late at night,
when you're alone in a room,
there's no one there to lie to you
about who you are.
[loud whirring]
[screaming]
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
And now for a terrible local story.
A tragedy earlier this morning in Pasco.
Local college student, Christopher Perry,
was found brutally murdered
- in the house of his mother.
- No.
According to police,
Marjorie Perry was woken
in the early hours before sunrise
by the sound of breaking glass
and that some sort of projectile
was thrown into the house,
emitting some sort of a gas
which rendered her apparently unconscious.
- [Marjorie] Hello.
- Hello.
- [loud ringing]
- [gasps, groans]
[anchorman] When she awoke,
she found the remains of her son
dismembered by an as yet
unidentified weapon.
[thrilling music]
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
You got to see this.
- We said you wouldn't.
- You got to get out of here.
If anything happened to you
[breathing heavily]
[Marjorie] Chris?
What on earth is going on here?
[glass shattering]
[ominous music]
- [beeping]
- No, no, no, no
[hissing]
[coughing]
[groans, coughs]
[rattling]
[doorknob clacking]
[fire crackling]
[whooshing]
[suspenseful music]
[electricity crackles]
[electricity whirring, crackling]
[power buzzing]
[pops]
[man grunts, groans]
[Rel] Who the fuck are you?
And why are you trying
to kill Christopher?
And why do you look like Christopher?
I'm not trying to kill him.
You are.
- What the fuck does that mean?
- You're trying to kill him.
You're trying to kill all of us.
You really think
you're just a normal college student?
Let me ask you this.
Where did you go to high school?
Where were you born? Where's your family?
You don't remember?
Because you weren't a person.
You weren't born.
You were made.
[whirring]
In a lab.
My lab, 40 years from now.
My lab
in Robotic Experimentation Logistics.
[suspenseful music]
[man] R.E.L.
You kept that for a name.
You're a cyborg.
An early model.
And you're defective.
I was going to terminate you.
But you escaped.
You escaped back in time.
What kind of bullshit is this?
Look at your hand.
No, take take a good look.
[Rel breathing nervously]
[breathing shakily]
[gasps]
No. Liar. Liar.
You fucking liar.
[thumps]
What the fuck?
[in deep voice]
Yep.
Me too.
I'm the first.
I was him once. But, uh
I got sick.
And I replaced this part,
and that part, and this part.
And before long, I was more than human.
I was the first of a new species.
And I made more.
I made you.
You were one of my earliest models.
You said I was defective.
You suffer from a disease.
A disease called fear.
Sadness.
I've removed those in the future.
We've, uh
We've cured them. I've cured them.
But you, you escaped.
And when you saved that woman,
you let yourself be photographed.
And I found you
back in time.
I don't remember.
You wouldn't.
Time travel is different for your model.
And your memory gets damaged
in the process.
There's no way you could have known that.
But I built in a background code.
Programmed to print on whatever it can
to remind you
of whatever your mission might be.
And it did.
Every time you touch
one of those primitive magnetic devices.
[Rel] It wasn't the VCR.
It was you, your mainframe,
trying to remind you of your mission.
You came here to kill me,
to stop the future from happening.
To stop me creating what I must create.
But I came to stop you.
To save us all.
And when you found me,
you knew you needed to be close to me.
But you'd forgotten why.
But you attacked us.
I used anesthetic gas.
that only affects humans. They'll be fine.
And when they wake up, you'll be gone.
It'll all feel like a dream.
This is where you end, Rel.
Why? I'm not defective.
You still feel the eternal problem,
the eternal enemy lives in you.
Fear.
Which leads to suffering.
And we deserve to live
in a world without fear, Rel.
Without suffering.
[mechanical buzzing]
You're moving again.
That current paralyzed me briefly,
but it was never going to stop me.
Replacing humanity
with these cybernetic improvements.
Rooting out defects.
Isn't all of that just fear?
It is, isn't it?
If you need me to die
so you'll feel a little less afraid
whatever.
You do you.
But I'm not defective.
You are.
And I love you anyway.
[dramatic music]
[crackles]
- [clicks]
- [tape winding]
Hi, sweetie.
[exhales]
I'm uploading this in a split sec.
I don't have much time
because you're about to kill me,
which is okay, don't worry about that.
But I want you to know the truth
about who I am,
about what you're going to become. and
about the things your brilliant brain
is going to do to this world.
[Spence] And he saw it all.
All the great and terrible things he'd do,
all the amazing technological
accomplishments he'd make
in his effort to eliminate suffering,
to eliminate fear.
And in doing so,
he saw how he'd lose his humanity.
So that's it.
I wanted you to know
when I think of that,
of what you become, I feel sad.
Very sad, but
there's beauty in sorrow.
I realize that now.
How fragile we are.
I'm afraid I don't have time
to tell you any more
because my old friend
has come for me, and
that's okay.
Because I loved.
Because I loved.
Thank you.
Thank you, Christopher.
[static]
[Spence] And in that moment,
the future changed,
because Christopher decided
that he'd never, ever look at his fellow
human beings and see defects.
He'd look at them
through the eyes of love,
because Rel wasn't defective at all,
it turns out.
Rel was perfect.
[static]
You once told me about your friend.
- The one who
- Got me sick. Yeah.
[Spence] Christopher.
And I think about him a lot.
But I hope he's loved.
Like I'm loved.
I wish we knew back then what I know now.
We weren't defective.
Not even a little bit.
We were perfect.
Just like all of you.
And, um, Sandra,
you go make that future
something good, okay?
For us.
[ticking]
What Who are
It's five sisters.
We need all five. Don't worry.
You didn't tell me
you were bringing other people.
Where's the nurse?
She went to the bathroom.
That's why I was late.
I had to wait for her.
- She'll be back any minute.
- Let's go.
[unsettling music]
[Shasta] My God.
Do you feel it?
Do you feel it here? It's still here.
It's in the air.
Do you feel it, bright girl?
So what do we do? What do we
[Shasta] We know what to do.
We'll form four points
with one in the center.
- [Ilonka] Here?
- [Shasta] No.
Dear, you sit there.
[suspenseful music]
I don't understand.
You'll see, dear.
Trust me.
- [Shasta] Aceso.
- [members] Aceso.
- [Shasta] Aegle.
- [members] Aegle.
We call on you, the five sisters.
Daughters of Asclepius and Epione,
purveyor of Apollo's arts.
We call on you
to heal your sister, your vessel.
[Shasta grunts]
[members] Panacea. Hygeia.
Iaso. Aceso. Aegle.
Panacea. Hygeia. Iaso. Aceso. Aegle.
[Shasta] Kind Panacea,
daughter of Asclepius and Epione,
first of physicians, swiftest of healers,
trusted mender of men and women.
Through you, our wounds healed,
bones knit, and illness burnt away.
Here.
[unsettling music]
What about our personal items?
By your goodness and might,
we regain joy in our lives.
Panacea, friend to mankind.
We pray to you. I seek your favor.
Let your true believer
be healed of this affliction.
May she recover through and through.
May vigor and vitality return to her.
We ask your blessing.
[members] Our goddess, for you.
- But what about our sacrifice?
- We'll
We'll get there. This is different.
What's in this?
It's just tea.
Drink it.
[members] Our goddess, for you.
Go on.
Go ahead.
[Dr. Stanton] Hello, Julia.
[tense music]
Drink it. Drink it now!
No! Ilonka, do not drink that!
Drink it now. It has to be now or never.
- It will not work if you don't drink it.
- [Dr. Stanton] No!
- Don't!
- Please, Ilonka. Please!
[Dr. Stanton] No!
[coughing]
[woman grunts, groans]
[retching]
[groaning]
[groaning]
[panting]
[closing theme music]