Interior Chinatown (2024) s01e10 Episode Script

1
[projector whirring]
[typewriter keys clacking]
- [siren wailing]
- [typewriter bell dings]
There's something going on in Chinatown.
[narrator] What will happen to Willis Wu,
the waiter who infiltrated the cops
and became a traitor?
[Willis Wu] Sometimes I just feel like
there's a whole world out there
I'll never get to see as long as
I'm trapped here in Chinatown.
[narrator] Will he make
the right decision or die trying?
[Sarah Green] Police!
[dramatic music playing]
You should run.
I think things are gonna
get much worse for you.
[narrator] [on TV] Stay tuned
to find out what will happen
on the series finale of Black and White.
[tense, dramatic music playing]
They've been watching me?
I'm on a TV show.
Where did you get this?
[woman] I'm good with computers.
I figured out how to tap
into their internal systems.
I'm, I'm sorry. And you are?
Michelle. That's Larry and Benson.
- Hi.
- Hey.
And you guys are the Painted Faces?
I know what you're thinking.
It's not like we're weird mole people.
I'm an optometrist.
Benson works for the gas company
and Larry's kind of
in between things at the moment.
[sighs] I'm taking care of my dad.
He's not doing great.
I'm, I'm sorry about your dad, Larry.
But what the fuck was that?
Did you actually hack
into the police video feeds?
The feeds are licensed to the police,
but the entire system
cameras, monitors, storage
is actually contracted
from a private company.
Hei Bai Wu Chang.
[speaking Mandarin]
My dad used to talk about that.
[Benson] From Chinese mythology.
They escort souls to the underworld.
- Goes by the acronym
- HBWC.
[Michelle] You know of it?
Lana was onto them. What do they do?
[Larry] [scoffs] What don't they do?
Real estate, shipping,
newspapers, TV programming,
- TV stations, video games.
- Video games.
Any screens of any type.
Basically, they control all media.
Each of these is a surveillance camera
owned by the company.
That's why we're in hiding.
We had to go underground
because of what happened to Jonny.
[Michelle] Your brother warned us.
They're watching, he said.
So you started a gang
because of my brother?
We were never a gang.
We all grew up together.
Got into some trouble after high school.
Vandalism, graffiti, shit like that.
The mask thing was just kind of a gag.
The cops gave us the nickname
the Painted Faces
and we just ran with it.
But then, just like you,
Jonny got caught up in the show.
Special guest star, Kung Fu guy,
detective, Chinatown expert.
[Michelle] He stopped playing his role.
[Benson] They didn't like that.
[grunting]
They changed the rules on him.
[gunshot]
[Michelle] The story
around his disappearance never added up
so we started tracking
weird stuff happening in Chinatown.
Local crime logs, obituaries.
[Benson] It all led to the docks,
to the containers.
- People from Chinatown die.
- [Willis] And come back.
[Michelle] If you die, you forget.
A kind of amnesia.
We didn't wanna forget.
Someone had to keep records.
So we went underground to stay alive.
To remember.
[Willis] This is a dream.
[Benson] If this is a dream,
then we're all trapped in it.
Because it isn't Chinatown.
It's the whole city.
They have eyes everywhere.
So my entire investigation
On camera, just like your brother.
What the fuck?
Why?
[Michelle] They're constructing
some sort of narrative. A story.
[Willis] A-a-a story about what?
[Benson]
Jonny, the Painted Faces, Chinatown.
[Michelle] But mostly about you.
[Benson] They're ending it, Willis.
Series finale.
That's why we're talking to you now.
In the series finale,
the villain goes down.
And you're the villain now, Willis.
Just by you being here,
we're all in danger.
[intense, dramatic music plays]
What the fu
[echoing] Are we
No way.
I think that That it's
That's us.
We're on a show right now.
They're watching us right now.
We're on the show.
[Larry] We gotta go.
[dramatic music playing]
- [pounding on door]
- [officer] Police, open up!
Whoever's watching. Cops, maybe worse.
- [Willis] Fuck. Is there another way out?
- This way.
[officers yelling indistinctly]
[pounding on door]
[panting]
Willis, you gotta get outta here, man.
They're coming for you.
You're the bad guy on the show now.
[Willis] Okay, I gotta make a call.
[Michelle] No, no, no. Don't use that.
They're tracking it. Use this one.
[suspenseful music playing]
[keypad beeping]
[Willis] Hey, I need your help.
[news theme music playing]
Tonight's top story,
as a citywide manhunt
in Port Harbour continues,
Detective Sarah Green
of the Impossible Crimes Unit
issued a brief statement.
We're asking anyone with information
on the whereabouts of Willis Wu
to come forward immediately.
We urge citizens to be on high alert
and to be assisting
the Port Harbour Police Department
in apprehending
this very dangerous individual.
[reporters clamoring]
No questions.
Stay safe out there, everyone.
[camera shutters clicking]
Are you happy?
- Yeah. Happy.
- You should be.
I read it word for word.
Big challenges ahead for this precinct.
After the reorg,
could be a role in the new unit for you.
If you play by the rules.
- Thanks, Chief.
- Yeah.
[pensive music playing]
[newscaster] Detective Sarah Green
just issued a statement
urging the citizens of Port Harbour
to help the department
in their search for Willis Wu,
currently the city's most wanted criminal.
- [classical song playing on stereo]
- [Lana sighs]
- You hear any of that?
- Yeah. Not bad.
You're a decent actor.
A little broad but
[Sarah] I'm not asking
for acting notes, dumbass.
You're lucky I'm helping you.
Well, I really appreciate it.
Surprised you called.
[Lana Lee] I needed someone I could trust.
A friend.
Alright, let's not get too mushy.
You're still not my type.
Detective and a busboy. [sighs]
Partners. [scoffs] So stupid.
What about your former partner?
Have you heard from him?
Which one?
Turner? No.
He'll come around.
Just give him some time.
Not sure we have any time.
You been watching the news?
It feels like the world's ending.
- [Lana] Yeah.
- [Sarah sighs]
Alright, what's our plan?
I gotta get to Willis.
- Your boyfriend.
- Not my boyfriend.
Just friends, but it's complicated.
No one knows where he is.
If you find him, just try being honest.
Yeah, I think I'm ready to do that now.
[Sarah] Aw. Want a cookie?
Look, I talked to a waiter who said
that Willis was last seen with McDonough,
so I'll check on that.
Alright, I'll be at Golden Palace.
And, yeah, I do want a cookie.
- Don't slam
- [door slams]
[symphonic music playing]
♪
[beeping]
[reporter] We are coming
to you from the Golden Palace
for tonight's Lunar New Year festivities.
This year, Port Harbour's
largest real estate developer,
HBWC, is sponsoring the event.
At which the company plans
to announce its latest venture,
Chinatown Reimagined.
Meanwhile, rumors of
a large development project in Chinatown,
which, in the words of HBWC Enterprises,
will be a "transformative event"
for the city,
have drawn heavy criticism,
saying it will drive up rents
and drive out those who, for decades,
- have made this place home.
- [siren chirping]
- [door opens]
- [Willis] Oh.
Fuck, thank God.
Didn't expect to hear from you.
Thanks for picking me up.
So what's the plan?
Hit the highway, head for the city limits?
I know a lot of hiding spots.
Life on the back roads, diners, motels.
That's what they want me to
They-they want me to run.
They? Who's they?
I don't even wanna say.
It sounds so crazy, man.
It sounds so crazy.
Fuck.
Green said before you left,
you were starting to feel like
Nothing's real.
Yeah. Well, maybe you were onto something.
I knew it.
Goddamn it, I knew it. I knew it. I
- [knock on window]
- [Willis] Oh. It's Lana. It's Lana.
Did you get my message?
[Lana] Yes, I got your message.
That's why I'm here.
- [siren chirps]
- You're just parked out front?
- If anyone sees us
- We gotta go.
- Fuck.
- [Miles Turner] Willis, seatbelt.
[Willis] I don't think
we should worry about that right now.
Put your seatbelt on.
- [engine revving]
- [fireworks whistling, booming]
[peppy festive music playing]
[Fatty Choi] Welcome.
Welcome everyone to Golden Palace.
Happy Lunar New Year.
[speaking Cantonese]
Which means,
hope all your dreams come true.
This year's banquet is sponsored by HBWC,
committed to celebrating our community
and totally gentrifying our neighborhood.
Oh, no, I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
We are very grateful to our
corporate sponsor for all of their money.
Which I'm sure has
no strings attached whatsoever.
Tonight, someone very special,
Mrs. Lily Wu will be
recognized for her work
in helping to bring change to Chinatown.
Thank you, everyone,
for coming and celebrating
diversity in your community.
Especially this table of VIPs, right here.
Is there anything we can do
to make you more comfortable?
Maybe some forks.
[brakes squeaking]
[Miles sighs]
Should be safe to talk here.
- Hey.
- Hey.
What are you wearing?
I work at Golden Palace now.
I'm sensing some tension between you two.
I have to talk to you about something
and I don't even know where to start,
'cause it's so crazy.
I bet I have something crazier.
No, wait, just listen, okay? 'Cause
I met the Painted Faces.
[tense, dramatic music playing]
- What?
- What?
I went down to their bunker
and I met all of 'em.
They showed me these
surveillance footage.
- Okay. Of, of, of your brother?
- Of us.
Me and you, Lana.
They're filming us?
And that's not even the weirdest thing.
There were credits
to a show called Black and White.
- You were in it.
- What?
You and Green were the stars
of Black and White.
Slow, slow down.
[laughs] I, I don't know
what you're saying.
I'm not sure if I know what I'm saying,
but somehow me, you, Lana,
we ended up in this.
This is why nothing feels real.
Why we solved all the crimes,
every single one.
Until you showed up.
No, until she showed up
and reopened my brother's case.
Okay, but where are the cameras?
Who is making this show?
HBWC.
Hei Bai Wu Chang.
[Joe Wu] It's hell.
Horse-Face, Yama, Ox-Head
Hei Bai Wu Chang?
- [Willis] According to the Painted Faces.
- What does it mean?
[Willis] It means
black and white impermanence.
In Chinese mythology, Hei Bai Wu Chang
escorts souls to the underworld.
- To the other side.
- [Lana] Okay.
I've been doing digging
through all these corporate records
and HBWC is registered as
Hulu, Black & White Corporation.
- [Miles] Hulu?
- Yeah.
What is a Hulu?
Hulu is a type of container in Mandarin.
Container, for what?
For people.
You know about the containers?
- [clears throat, exhales]
- [gentle music playing]
Hey, where's Audrey?
[Joe] Hey, Audrey?
You two a thing?
Big time.
- Oh.
- No.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
[Lana] Willis, your brother knew
that people could die and come back.
Except he didn't come back.
I went to the shipwreck, Lana.
Jonny handcuffed himself to the boat.
Okay, that [sighs]
That's what I've been
trying to tell you, okay?
That's the
I think that your brother's alive.
- What are you talking about?
- And I know how it sounds.
You can't just say something like that.
Do you have evidence
to say something like that?
Messages.
- I think that he's sending messages.
- To you?
Yeah, but I think
that they're meant for you.
And how is he sending these messages?
Through the video game
Neighborhood Rumble.
Just hear me out. Hear me out.
HBWC, they own the video game company.
They own the shipping containers.
They own HBWC 9,
- which airs the show
- Black and White.
- So whoever these
- [siren chirping]
Whoever these Hulu fucks are,
they're the ones controlling your story.
What happened to Jonny,
what's happening to me
I know where it's gonna go.
Jonny's story never ended.
It just
it just turned into yours.
[Betty Chan] [on radio]
At Jade Properties,
your dream is our business.
Join us tonight for Golden Palace's
Lunar New Year banquet
where we will be honoring
our own partner, Lily Wu,
as Chinatown's
small businesswoman of the year.
Sponsored by HBWC.
[Miles] Uh, the radio
just turned on by itself.
It's a trap.
Not if we know it's a trap.
They want me to be there.
We can use that against them.
I'm not gonna let
these fuckers write my ending.
[tense, suspenseful music plays]
[fireworks popping]
[indistinct chatter]
[Willis] If we're going
to get out of this,
we have to give them what they want.
Most of the time
that's staying in the background.
Invisible, anonymous.
Easily forgotten.
But not my brother.
He wanted more.
For himself, for all of us.
And I wanted to be just like him.
To be the star of Chinatown.
[Miles] Okay, Willis, let's go.
[Willis] But the show was called
Black and White.
- [Miles] Watch me work.
- Yeah, go. Go.
He was never going to be the hero.
Everyone remain calm.
And neither was I.
[Miles] Yes, yes, yes. It's okay.
It's me, Miles Turner.
I returned to find Willis Wu.
The vile psychopathic mastermind criminal
who needs to be apprehended.
Ah, you can say it.
I'm the best detective on the force.
[laughs] No more questions.
Alright, up next, uh, Betty Chan
is gonna talk about condos or some shit.
- [guest whoops]
- [applause]
[Betty chuckles]
- [microphone squeaks]
- Uh, okay. [grunts]
Ohh, thank you for the very warm welcome.
I am here today to talk about
Chinatown Reimagined.
A transformed, revitalized downtown area
with mixed-use residential and retail
[Willis] In their show, I'm just a waiter.
They wanted me to stay in the background.
Stay close to home.
Marry the girl next door.
- [Audrey] Willis.
- [Willis] Shh.
Hey, Audrey. I didn't see you there.
No, you didn't.
[camera shutter clicking]
I never did see you, did I?
No. Not really.
[video game music, sound effects]
- [game over music playing]
- [Betty] Here we go, Lily Wu.
[sighs]
- Why is it so hard?
- [Betty] Where are you, Lily?
- [guests applauding]
- [Betty] Oh, there you are. [laughs]
More than anyone, Lily is responsible
Okay.
[Willis] In their show,
they give my mom an award.
[applause]
[camera shutter clicks]
[Lily Wu] Small Businesswoman of the Year.
You know, all my life [sniffles]
I've been living for my family.
[voice breaking]
I've never gotten an award.
I thought this would feel good.
Finally, I got something for myself.
[gentle, somber music playing]
[sighs]
When I became a Jade partner,
I forgot where,
I forgot where I came from.
I wanted to be someone else.
To be
Betty Chan.
But
I'm really just Lily Wu.
That's who I am.
That's my name.
I'm glad that I proved
I can do this, but
without my family,
I'm no one.
[voice breaking] This should be the people
that I supposed to do, do things for.
This place is my home.
It's our home.
But people want to use Chinatown
for their own purposes.
[sighs]
I'm not going to be part of that.
Thank you for this
award.
But sorry, I cannot accept.
[guests gasp]
[guests murmuring]
- [video game effects playing]
- Yes.
[beeping]
[soft, uplifting music playing]
[music swells]
[Joe] You're amazing.
I knew you could do it. [chuckles]
[Betty] This is so embarrassing.
Ugh.
I don't know what you think
you've accomplished.
Good luck getting another listing.
[music continues]
[Willis] In their show,
they want me to be recognized.
Willis?
[Willis] But only so I can get caught.
- [guest 1] Is that you?
- [guest 2] It is. Willis!
- Willis!
- [sirens wailing]
- [Willis] Uh
- [cymbals clanging]
[wailing continues]
[clanging continues]
[Willis] Fatty?
I just wanna say I'm sorry, man.
Now? You really wanna do this now?
Sorry for not being there for you.
And thank you for being there for me,
for my mom.
I'm sorry about dunking you
in Chinese Suffering.
[Fatty] No, you're not.
It's still coming outta my nose
and, uh, some other holes.
- [clanging continues]
- [guests cheering and whooping]
[Fatty] Hey, I slept with Audrey.
[Willis]
You've always had a thing for her.
[Fatty] You knew?
[Willis] Yeah. It, uh, was pretty obvious.
And, uh, I'm happy for you, man.
[Fatty] Yeah, yeah. We'll see.
I think I need to get you out of here.
[cymbals clanging]
Willis Wu, come out with your hands up.
[Willis] In their show,
they want me to punch,
to kick, to fight back.
To play the part I've been given.
- [guests gasp]
- Hey, he's leaving! Hey!
[guest screams]
[clamoring]
We are coming to you
here on the scene, as Willis Wu
is inside Golden Palace
Chinese restaurant.
[clamoring continues]
[Fatty] It's okay. Go, go, go, go!
Go, go, go.
[speaking Cantonese]
- [Larry] Willis. Hey, hey. Willis!
- Shit.
- [Larry] Willis. It's me, Larry.
- Larry?
In their show, they need action.
- [guest] Hey.
- [guests scream]
[Willis] They need conflict.
What are you doing? Wu is getting away!
I'm on it, Chief.
[Willis] They need bad guys.
Even if they're completely made up.
[Fatty] Three, two, one.
Go!
[Chief Walden] What the hell is this?
Which one is Willis?
- [Willis] Shit.
- I'm not here to arrest him.
- [Fatty] You're not?
- We're here to help.
I see. Ha. You're the nice cops.
The same nice cops that fucked up
my best friend and ruined his life.
I can buy you one minute.
Hold, Wu is armed and dangerous.
I said hold. Go.
Okay, that was cool of you.
But you don't get
any credit for momentarily
fixing a problem you caused.
Fascist pig.
He's so mean.
- I know.
- [door closes]
I'm kind of into it.
[Willis] In their show,
there are no options. No escapes.
- [sirens wailing]
- Shit. Here.
What? What the fuck?
Oh, no.
I'd love to talk to you.
Yeah. So you're back.
What changed?
Last time I saw you,
I practically begged you
and you said no to my face, which
Green, listen. I was right.
I was right, there's something
very wrong with this place.
The things we say, the things we do.
The name of our city is Port Harbour.
What even is that?
The name of our unit
is literally Impossible Crimes.
Okay, so what?
You just came back to tell me this?
No, I came back to tell you,
I was wrong about the big picture.
What big picture?
That nothing is real.
Because something is real. You, me.
[gentle music playing]
You missed me
is what you're saying?
Yes.
You could have just said that.
- They went that way.
- Back, left, and down.
- Down the street.
- [sighs]
- I don't think we have jobs anymore.
- Yeah, probably not.
But this is exciting,
and scary to not know what we are.
There's more out there, Green,
we just don't know what it is.
- This is just like Volume 12.
- If you say Takeshi-san
I'm sorry, I won't.
Anyways, it's more like
Volume 13: Takeshi in Limbo.
You've been reading it?
Yeah. So?
We can be unemployed together.
I missed you.
I missed you. I missed you.
I missed you too, you big weirdo.
[tense, dramatic music playing]
- [Lana sighs]
- [Willis] Shit.
[helicopter blades whirring]
If we keep going up,
we'll be trapped on the roof.
- [music continues]
- [Lana groans]
How are they doing this?
Shit.
[Lana] Willis, there's only one way out.
[whirring continues]
[Willis] The fucking roof. Of course.
[Lana] Now that's just cheating.
[whirring continues]
[Willis] In their show,
the ending is already written.
[Willis] This is where it ends.
I guess.
[officer] [on PA] You're trapped.
There is no way out.
[newscaster] We have a developing story
on a rooftop in Chinatown
where Willis Wu, unstable and dangerous,
is holding hostage Lana Lee,
a former detective
with the Port Harbour PD.
We walked right into it.
This is exactly what they wanted.
Willis, I'm sorry.
We tried to stop them.
Willis.
[Joe] You okay, son?
The system always wins, Dad.
This is the ending they wanted.
Guys from Chinatown,
we don't become the heroes.
What if we didn't give them
the ending they want?
- What are you talking about?
- [Lana] Is this on?
- Are we on?
- [reporter] You're on, live.
[Willis] What are you doing?
[Lana] [sighs] Just go with it.
- Go with what?
- Just go
Do you remember when I first
showed up at Golden Palace?
What are you talking about right now?
We're on live TV.
Do you remember when we met?
Of course.
You walked in like you were
in a shampoo commercial.
[chuckles] Yeah.
[Willis] There was literally a breeze.
Do you remember what I said?
Honestly, no.
I was too busy staring at your hair.
I said there was something
going on in Chinatown.
A pattern of incidents
I didn't yet understand.
Okay, and, and, what,
you-you understand it now?
What is a pattern of incidents?
[helicopter blades whirring]
A story.
Jonny
was trying to
escape
this.
All of this.
The ending they wrote for him.
Yes.
But he couldn't.
He couldn't escape
because they're always in control.
Whoever's pointing those cameras.
Whoever's watching on the other side.
They choose what's real.
[Lana] Yes.
The cops, they make the news.
The news makes reality
and they always get their guy.
Nothing ever changes.
Except for it did.
Because of you.
You said that you wanna tell your story.
Yeah.
Then tell your story.
[whirring continues]
There's never been a better time.
[somber music playing]
[softly] Hey, hey, get this, get this.
I'm Willis Wu.
My whole life
I thought I was invisible.
But I was just hiding.
I wanted this to be my story.
That was wrong.
It should have been my mom's.
She's the real hero.
She came here with nothing.
She had to learn a new language,
raise two young boys.
And now look at her,
she is an award-winning real estate agent.
I'm so proud of you, Mom.
And the story should have been my dad's.
He built a Kung Fu school
and raised two kids
a family.
He's the real hero.
He's my dad.
[speaks Cantonese]
My sifu.
They worked so hard
and then they lost a son.
My brother Jonny.
This should have been his story.
And it was, until you guys
took it away from him.
And all those people at the docks
invisible.
You never saw them, but I did.
I knew some of them.
They're from Chinatown, like me.
Like my mom said, I forgot who I am.
I forgot where I came from.
So here's your ending.
Instead of kung fu
I was just a waiter
who became a detective.
But that doesn't matter.
I'm just a guy
who wants to hang out
with his best friend again.
I'm just a guy who loves his parents.
Just a guy who tried
to make things better,
but only made it worse.
Just a guy
who fell for a girl.
Just a guy
who misses my brother.
[somber music playing]
I guess that's my story.
So what do we do now?
[helicopter blades whirring]
Have you ever noticed that this building
looks just like the one
in Neighborhood Rumble?
Um, what?
[Lana] Neighborhood Rumble, the game.
I, I know it's the game,
but what are you talking about?
I-I, I've
I've never been able to beat the boss
so I don't know how it ends
but do you know
how to get to the next stage?
[Willis] You can't beat the boss alone.
You, you have to do it with two players.
Right.
Let's win this together.
[gentle, uplifting music playing]
- I do this out of love.
- Do what?
I really hope I'm right.
- [Willis screams]
- [Lily gasps]
[gasps]
["What A Difference a Day Made"
by Dinah Washington playing]
[video game music playing]
[vocalizing]
[sighs]
Lord, what a difference a day makes ♪
There's a rainbow before me ♪
- [onlookers gasp]
- [Lily and Joe screaming]
Skies above can't be stormy ♪
[clanging]
[dramatic music playing]
[Willis] There's always been
this voice inside my head.
It's telling a story.
And it goes like this
"You're new here.
"Don't rock the boat.
"Don't question the system.
"You start at the bottom,
work your way up.
"Work hard enough and you can get there,
to the other side."
That's how it's supposed to go.
[video game effects]
But some of us never get there.
For some people, like my brother,
the dream doesn't have a happy ending.
Or an ending at all.
He wanted more for us.
For our family, but he got lost.
Forever trapped in the system
with no way out.
Jonny?
The voice in my head, it said,
"Pick up the pieces, finish it,
make sense of it."
So that's what I tried to do.
Oh, my God. Willis.
- Come here.
- [crying]
- [Willis] Jonny.
- Finish his story.
Find a way out, for them,
for myself, for Jonny.
If he were still here,
I think he would've liked it.
[colleague] Willis?
Willis? Wu?
Hey. I know you're on deadline,
but if you have a second,
I want you to meet the new lateral.
[sighs]
[shoes clomping]
[gentle music playing]
Willis.
Meet our new hire.
- [new hire] Hi.
- [gasps softly] Hi.
[Willis sighs]
["Lullaby Grace"
by Grace Ives playing]
[sighs]
I watch that movie ten times a day ♪
I can recite it, you press replay ♪
Root for the lover in every scene ♪
I watch the sun setting on the screen ♪
What a mess, what a lovely mess ♪
What a lie, what a lie ♪
I watch that movie ten times a day ♪
I can recite it, you press replay ♪
[scatting]
I look at pictures of real estate ♪
I see the ad and I take the bait ♪
I hear the neighbors sing
"Love Galore" ♪
I do a split on the kitchen floor ♪
What a mess, what a lovely mess ♪
What a lie, what a lie ♪
[fanfare plays]