Home Before Dark (2020) s02e08 Episode Script

Cadmium.
It was one of the chemicals Strata used.
They said they disposed of it safely,
but… what if they lied?
Don't forget.
Lab reports are due tomorrow.
Hilde?
Hilde?
This is my family's business.
I inherited it from my dad
and my grandfather.
I've been looking at this symbol
like it meant something. It's everywhere.
Guys!
Guys, I just realized
that Strata is everywhere.
You.
Hilde, you wanna come in here?
Hilde, you remember
Grant Williams.
The president of Strata.
Good to see you again.
What are you doing here?
Well, you did send me
a request for comment.
Strata Tech Industries used cadmium
in their factory,
and now it's showing up in our water.
Are you responsible for poisoning
our town's water supply, Mr. Williams?
No, of course not.
There was a small leak at an old
Strata facility, but we cleaned it up.
I thought Wott Management owned that land.
So he does work for you.
It's one of our subsidiaries.
So, it's a shell company.
I saw what you were doing at that island.
I think you're covering it up.
I get how it might look that way,
and I'm sorry
that we weren't more transparent,
but really, it's an internal issue.
Believe me, I only have Erie Harbor's
best interests in mind.
Then be honest.
Take responsibility for what you did.
This seems kinda personal to you, Hilde.
It kinda seems like
you need me to be the bad guy.
That's not what good reporters do, is it?
We'll see what people think
when they read my article.
Because I think maybe you are the bad guy.
I think maybe
the grown-ups need to have a word outside.
Wait, so Strata is responsible
for that chemical spill.
I never said responsible.
We're involved in the cleanup.
Okay, so then you won't mind
if she publishes the interview.
She can.
But I don't know what good it'll do. Like
I said, we've already taken care of it.
Believe me, the last thing I want
is for anyone in this town
to get hurt on my watch.
Yeah, well, it's a little late for that.
You know, my dad worked at Strata.
Yeah, it turns out your company were using
those chemicals for, what, two decades?
Or was it even longer than that?
They didn't know
they were dangerous back then.
It was just the way things were done.
But that's no reason to scare people away
from Erie Harbor now, is it?
Tank real estate prices. Cut jobs.
I don't think
the town would thank you for that.
Is that
supposed to be some kind of a threat?
Doesn't have to be. Could be a choice.
You're her parents.
You need to get control of your daughter.
Right. Right.
Yeah, well, I emailed my editor,
and I submitted a bunch
of Freedom of Information Act requests.
Yeah?
You know, the records
that my dad has from that time,
that does not sync up
with the story that Grant is selling.
Well, let's hope Strata
left a long paper trail.
Yeah, well, let's hope
it doesn't take a lifetime to sort out.
Yeah, you try explaining red tape
to Hilde.
Do you think we did the right thing?
Letting her publish?
Here she is. What's up?
My story's been live since last night,
and no one is reading it.
Well, what about Donny and Spoon?
They don't really care
about the paper anymore.
I think they're really mad at me.
Did you apologize to them for
what happened at the sheriff's department?
Yeah, I mean, that must have been
pretty scary for those guys.
Yeah, they don't have a dad
who's been arrested three times.
Nice. Yeah, I like that.
I thought publishing the article
would fix it.
Strata can't hurt them
if the truth's already out there.
It sounds to me like your friends
care more about being hurt by you
than by Strata.
So, what do I do?
Hear them out. Show them you're sorry.
You know what? Focus more
on your friends, right? Just for a minute.
- Yeah, isn't it spirit school
- Spirit week.
Spirit school week.
Spirit week at school or something?
Speaking of which, hey.
Why aren't you wearing your school colors?
I don't know if you noticed,
but I'm not really the school spirit
kinda person, so…
That's mine.
Hey, Junior, I'm sorry we keep missing
Wait, what?
- What's wrong?
- Turn on the news.
Okay. Yep. I will call you right back.
We take you live
to the Johnson family farm,
which has just been sold
to Strata Tech Industries
due to chemicals found on the land.
Junior sold the farm?
He can't give up.
I wanna be transparent about everything.
Traces of cadmium were found
at one of our old facilities
where some chemicals
were being improperly stored.
However,
we alerted the authorities immediately
and conducted a full and thorough cleanup.
Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams!
Is there any danger to public health?
Absolutely not. There never was.
- Unbelievable.
- But he's lying.
Yeah, well, he's controlling
the story, right?
Well, spinning it his way.
We purchased this land
to build a new storage facility
to safely contain
any residual industrial waste.
All of this is to protect Erie Harbor,
the town we love.
The town we've called home
for so many years. Thank you.
How do you prevent runoffs?
Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams!
When are you expecting
to start this build?
So, that's it? Investigation over?
Now no one will know the truth
about what they did to Junior or Pop-Pop.
That was Grant Williams,
head of Strata Tech Industries,
assuring the public
that there's nothing to worry about.
Think that's the last of 'em.
I know you're hurting, Mack,
but I didn't have any choice.
You always have a choice.
You taught me that.
You saw the test. It was rotten.
I had to sell my farm to Strata,
or the state would've seized it.
- Nothing I could do.
- It wasn't just your farm.
It was our family's history.
Our legacy, our name, our everything.
Fought 'em as hard as I could.
We could've fixed it!
How? I can't afford cleanup costs.
I barely got any money out of 'em
as it is,
and if even one of these animals get sick
on that water, that's on me.
If there was any other way, I
I keep seeing your grandpa's face.
Feel like I'm selling my memories.
Like I'm selling a part of me.
Daddy.
How much time do we have?
Until they take over our property?
Around a week. Maybe two.
I need to find new homes
for all these animals.
Delay 'em, Daddy.
Delay 'em as long as you can.
You gotta give me a chance to fix this.
I've got real power now.
There's gotta be something I can do.
There's gotta.
I never bet against you before,
little girl.
I'm not about to start now.
- What are you wearing?
- What are you wearing?
What?
Sorry, I just didn't know
that you were that guy.
You know, school spirit guy.
But you did though. On some level.
I think you did.
I mean, come on. I'm the captain
of the JV soccer team. I'm so that guy.
Oh, no.
I'm just kidding.
This is for soccer practice.
Oh, my God.
So, is Emma gonna be
at the pep rally tonight?
Look, I know I was weird about it,
but she's your friend,
and I wanna get to know her better.
I know she's important to you.
Yeah, no, we're good. So…
- See, now you're making it weird.
- No, am not!
- Are too.
- No, Ethan!
You're looking at pictures
of you and Mom, Pop?
Any progress?
Well, I found some more
Plant Five employees from that time,
but I can't find any public complaints
about Strata at all.
Well, company town.
People are pretty trusting.
Yeah, but, you know,
we can't be the only family
to have suspected something, right?
Yeah, well, maybe we're the first
to not stay quiet about it.
Hey, wait. Let me see that.
- What?
- What is it, Matty?
Wow. No, I remember this day.
This was Richie's
birthday party at the airfield.
That would've been the last birthday
you spent together, right?
Yeah. Yeah, it was.
Wow, yeah. I forgot.
You know, Hank Gillis was there.
Yeah, that's right. He was
showing us around some of the planes
as, like, a treat for Richie's birthday.
Yeah, this would've been
right before the crash too.
The black box.
Yeah.
You remember Hank, Dad?
You remember if you spoke to him that day?
Did he seem upset about anything?
Your mother thought
you looked just like me in this one.
Yeah, well, she's right.
Yeah, she's right.
Hey, guys. Can I help?
Sure.
You can do whatever you want.
It's a free country.
Spoon, I like those shoulder thingies.
They're called epaulets. And thank you.
Donny, is your dad picking you up today?
It's always nice to see him.
Yeah. He has time to drive me around now
ever since he was demoted from his job.
He was supposed to be managing
a whole new team at Strata,
and then suddenly,
they decided that it wasn't working out.
Guilt by association.
Do you think it was because of us?
Because of the paper?
No, Hilde. I think it was because of you.
Look, you got us in trouble
with the biggest company in town.
They're not just giving us
community service.
They're taking it out on my dad.
Wait up!
Come on, Whales. Let's hear it.
We have Whale spirit!
Go Whales!
Yeah, Whales!
Let's go, Whalers!
We have big games coming up this week,
starting off with
our all-star JV soccer team,
and don't forget about
our varsity basketball team
is headed for another slam dunk win.
Can you sign our service logs?
You know, to prove we're not delinquents.
- Do criminals go to college?
- Probably not, Donny. Probably not.
You're not criminals.
You just made a mistake.
People make mistakes.
You know, if I learned anything
from how people treated me
after what happened with my mom,
it's that just because people say things
about you, doesn't make 'em true.
You three, what you have,
that's what really counts.
Principal Collins,
can I steal you for a sec?
- I need two minutes.
- Sure.
Look, guys, I'm really sorry.
I never meant for anyone to get hurt,
especially not your dad, Donny.
No story is worth losing you guys
as friends.
I wanna find some way to make it right.
You will. We will.
Together.
Come on.
This calls for a group hug. Come on.
Thank God.
I was thinking you bailed on me.
Never. I'll always have your back, Iz.
Am I interrupting something?
Nope. Hang out with us.
You didn't strike me
as the pep rally type, Emma.
Really?
Why's that, Ethan?
Do I not seem peppy to you?
This is terrible, right? All this blue.
Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here.
Wait, really? And go where?
Come on. I'll drive.
Hey, Iz.
Hey.
What are you guys doing here? Isn't
the pep rally just for the high school?
- We had community service.
- Really? What did you guys do?
Criminal trespassing,
but in a purposeful way.
For a good cause?
Okay, cool. Yeah, so we were just leaving.
Yeah, I have my dad's car.
Do you little people want a ride?
We might as well be outcasts together.
- I think she's serious.
- Is this for real?
- We're really going?
- Are you guys coming, or what?
Sure. We have time.
That sucks about Strata
spinning your story like that.
- Yeah, what's your next move?
- We don't have one yet.
We could write another story,
but they'd just spin that one too.
Sounds like this town has the heroes
it needs, but no one's listening.
I don't wanna be a hero.
I wanna be a reporter.
Well, what's the difference?
Well, our dad always says that the job
of a journalist is to be a witness.
Publishing an article
isn't gonna clean up the water,
but an article can make people care.
Can inspire people to change.
It's too bad Strata has
so much of a louder voice than us.
That doesn't mean we should stop trying.
I think there's always
someone out there listening.
Someone who needs to hear us.
Yeah,
and even if you're at a dead end now,
you just need to find another way in.
I think I have an idea.
My mom's Grant's assistant.
Wait, what?
And all his files
are just sitting on her computer.
In my house. Which I have a key to.
I don't know. Are you sure?
I don't want anyone to get in trouble.
Yeah, those orange vests
weren't working for me.
It'll be fine.
We're just taking a quick look
to see if anything seems suspicious.
- It is our water after all.
- And I know my mom.
If Strata
really has been poisoning the town,
she'll be glad we warned everyone.
At some point, you gotta ask yourself,
"Am I a mouse or am I a man?"
I'm a man.
But, I don't know,
won't your mom be, like, weirded out
if we just invite them over to your house?
Hey, Iz? Have you met Ethan's mom before?
No, Ethan's ashamed of me.
She knows who you are.
That's a good idea. You're really smart.
- What are you talking about?
- Then we could just
Back door. Exactly.
Wait. What's happening right now?
Iz, it's time to meet the parents.
Careful. Careful.
This is a big shot. Careful.
Don't do it to me. Don't do it to me. Man!
Maybe you should just give up
this principal charade and go pro.
Don't worry. I'll let you keep your money.
- Hey. What can I get for you?
- Nice.
Wow, look who's here.
- Just wave.
- No.
It's not awkward.
Nothing to be worried about.
Kim.
Frank.
How you doing?
Fine, all considered.
You know, since you just fired me.
Yeah, that.
Look, Frank, you know me.
You know I didn't wanna do that.
I'm just under a lot of pressure.
A lot of oversight,
a lot of people to keep happy.
It's all part of being the boss.
Yeah, I know.
I always wanted more responsibility.
I don't think I realized how much
it would hurt when my people hurt.
Look, you're doing a great job over there.
Last thing I wanna do is get in your way.
Good.
Then come back.
- Are you serious?
- You know I am.
I'm launching
an investigation into Strata,
and I need someone I can trust.
Rutherford be damned.
Now look.
If you're waiting on me to beg,
well, we'll be here all night.
All right. All right.
Yeah, I'll consider it, boss.
Now, you wanna try and help me
beat this shark over here?
She's killing me.
Hold that. Hold that.
The coat's coming off.
You know, I always
blamed myself for the time I lost.
You know, not speaking to each other.
You know, Strata did this to him.
I know, honey.
- Mom? Are you home?
- I'm in here, hon.
Hi.
You didn't tell me
we were having company over.
Mom, you know how I've been
telling you about Izzy
and how her parents were nice enough
to let me sleep over the other night
- while you and Dad were
- Yelling at each other?
I was gonna say talking, but yeah.
Anyway, this is her.
This is my girlfriend, Izzy.
You are my girlfriend, and this is my mom.
It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. DeLuca.
Gina. Just Gina. It is so great
to have you over here finally.
Wow. This your house?
It's so, like, clean and nice.
Thank you.
Not that I thought
it was gonna be, like, dirty.
It's just really nice.
You guys are adorable. You really are.
Come in.
Can I take your coat?
Thank you.
We are having chicken potpie.
- Yum. I love chicken potpie.
- Good.
- I hope you are hungry.
- Yeah, I'm starving.
This is Ethan's favorite actually.
Look at that. So how was school today?
It was good. You know,
same old. As good as school can be.
Password.
Hurry up, Hilde.
The password changes every 30 seconds.
Guys, are you sure we should do this?
Oh, my God.
- We've come this far.
- The whole fate of the town…
- Just type it in, Hilde.
- …rests on our shoulders.
Okay.
What?
What are we even looking for?
Look.
That's the same guy
who's on the portrait at the mansion.
Grant's grandmother's
last name was Woodruff.
He must own the mansion.
I knew it. That place screamed illuminati.
- Wait.
- What is it?
Lisko.
Proceed to the route on the map.
Why are there a bunch of files in here
about my family?
We're all in here.
It's a hit list.
It's not a hit list. Don't scare her.
We're gonna get taken out. All of us.
Here. Just put it on the thumb drive.
We'll figure it out later.
We've got a problem.
It's nice to be back in Erie Harbor.
Ethan really missed it here.
Obviously.
I know I'm embarrassing you, honey,
but you brought her here
of your own free will.
Yeah, well, I guess I deserve this.
What do we do?
I don't know. Maybe it's nothing.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Is everything okay?
- Sorry to drop by like this.
I just got a weird security notification
on my phone. I thought I'd stop by.
How can I help?
Well, I guess
we should look at your computer.
We gotta go.
No. If you interrupt the download,
it'll corrupt the files.
Hilde, there's no time.
Hey, kids.
Mom, look. Mom.
We're so sorry about this.
Yeah.
Okay, yeah Thank you.
Okay. Sorry again. Bye.
Hilde was stealing data
from Strata servers.
Matt. What is going on with our kid?
Yeah, I know.
No, she pushed it too far for sure.
Well, she gets this tunnel vision,
and she loses sight
of what's right or wrong.
Yeah.
It wasn't her fault.
What do you mean?
It was our idea. We encouraged her.
Me, Ethan and Emma.
Yeah, well, you should know better.
Okay, Strata had files on us though.
Hilde said
they had our whole family on there.
Pictures of us, everything.
Wait. Are you sure?
Do you have any proof of that?
We tried, but we lost the thumb drive.
Come on. It's Hilde.
She wouldn't lie about this.
Yeah, well, that we know.
Hello.
Can't sleep?
Come. Sit.
I failed, Pop-Pop.
Oh, my goodness.
What are you talking about?
I did all this work,
I got in all this trouble,
just to prove that Strata did this to you.
I wanted to make you better, but…
I couldn't do it.
None of it worked.
Hilde, sweetie.
It did work.
I'm just an old man from a small town
who sold bikes and lived
at the same address for 40 years.
I thought my life was small.
I thought, well…
Except for you guys, my family,
maybe I didn't matter all that much.
But you showed me
there's no such thing as a small life.
Because if my story can help someone else,
well, then… it matters.
So keep going, Hilde.
Keep telling your story.
Thank you, Pop-Pop.
I love you.
I love you.
What's that?
When your dad
When your dad was your age,
he never wanted me
to drop him off in front of the school.
I'd have to pull over to the corner,
and he'd run off to his friends.
But he always looked back.
And when he did, I did this.
And that way, he knew that I loved him.
Even from far away.
Yep, that's it.
I just
I have no idea what I'm gonna do next.
Come read with me.
Even Churchill took time to read
during the Blitz.
Now, do you know
who Winston Churchill was?
A little bit.
He was the prime minister
of England during World War II.
But this book is about him,
and it's a lot about his daughter, Mary.
She really helped him during the war.
- Like me and Dad?
- I would think very much like you and Dad.
Holy
Today's date is September 20th, 1987.
State your names for the record, please.
Oh, my God.
Hank Gillis, test pilot.
Arthur Conway, air traffic control tower.
And it's your belief
Come here. Take a look at this.
We just got a tip
from an anonymous email address.
What's it say?
Yeah, well, watch.
State your names for the record, please.
Hank Gillis, test pilot.
- Sam's dad.
- Yeah.
Arthur Conway, air traffic control tower.
Who?
Yeah, that's…
Yeah, Arthur Conway.
He'd worked with Hank.
And it's your belief
that the sealant we used here
is causing adverse health effects.
Yes. That's why we're here.
I overheard some company executives
say that it was the cadmium.
That they tested it, and it was toxic.
And it makes sense.
A lot of workers at the coating plant
have gotten sick.
Strata stopped using cadmium in the '70s,
but this video is from 1987.
That's proof that they lied.
They kept using it even though
they knew people were getting hurt.
How did you
overhear these executives exactly?
I was showing my friend's kid
the new planes.
I guess they didn't see us.
Dad, that must have been Richie.