Joan of Arcadia s02e17 Episode Script

Parent/teacher night? That is just 3 words you never want to see next to each other.
Should be called tyrant-oligarch-nacht.
Oh, it'll be fun.
What? All of us together, snacks.
Wait, we don't have to work at the design studio that night, do we? No, but we can ask.
Lischak asked me to do the student science presentation.
Do you get extra credit? Not really.
So it's for the love of sucking up? - You're gonna have to get your lips surgically removed from Lischak's.
- Ok, I get it, Grace.
Wow, they really make you believe in love, don't they? Mom! Oh, hi, honey.
Didn't she just see her mom, like, Hey, Erica Marx, this is my daughter Joan.
- Oh, hi.
- Hi.
Adam rove.
Nice to meet you.
My mom is vice-president of the PTA.
- She won in a landslide.
- Oh! And I'm her little helper.
We're doing refreshments.
You want to help? I want to help? Yes, you do.
Ye uh yes.
We'll do ice cream.
I'll do chips and salsa.
Ok, great.
Well, gotta run.
So much soda, so little time.
- Bye.
- Bye, love you, honey.
Can I count on you to be guides, too? Wait, wait, wait.
How hard is it for parents to find classrooms? Ok, but I want an l-pod.
Ok! We'll pretend that'll happen Borrow mine.
Oh, no, no, I I don't know what I'm saying.
Great.
- Bye.
- Uh, wait, Mrs.
G Listen, if you need me to do the advanced art presentation Uh, you know, I already asked Nicky Freezer to do it.
Oh.
Cool.
She's great.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Bye.
What was that all about? Nothing.
I don't want to do it anyway.
I'm gonna be late for Spanish.
Hasta luego.
English.
See you later, ok? Hey there, Joan.
Oh, god.
The one and only.
Can we, uh, make this snappy? I have to get to the library.
I'd like you to help Stevie get what she deserves.
What?! Like secret Santa? Christmas was 2 months ago, and still I have not gotten my l-pod.
- You got Stevie's.
Now you can return the favor.
- Oh I've only known her for a few weeks.
How how am I supposed to know what she deserves? What about what I deserve? You ever thought about that, huh? What about me?! What about me?! Saison 2, Episode 17 Shadows and Light I'm a guide.
I love the button.
I got roped into refreshments.
You think Einstein had to pour punch? I'm just gonna stare a lot and scare the parents.
What about Friedman? Uh, he escaped.
He's on another cruise.
Another one? Yeah.
His mother won it selling vitamins.
So I say we get a few tons of toppings.
You know, like caramel, fudge, butterscotch.
Oh, hey, they have those gi-normous sprinkles.
You know, from the market.
We what? You want smoothies? We're gonna be trapped with parents and teachers.
You want healthy? Jane, did you tell your mom about us at the concert? You didn't notice I was grounded for, like, a week? No.
I mean us.
You know, that I wanted us to sleep together.
Oh.
That.
Oh, my I knew it.
Oh - What do you mean? - Jane she hates me now.
Oh.
Ok, now you're just being paranoid.
She asked Nicky Freezer to do the art presentation, ok? She she paints sunsets over the ocean with seagulls.
Hey, you're lucky I didn't tell my dad, ok? He's the one with the gun.
Ohh! I'm not even going to be able to look at her now.
Hey.
- Hi - Hey Is this a bad time or something? - Yes.
- Yes.
Look, I'm supposed to get my first paycheck from work, but they won't pay me until I fill out one of those W-4 thingies.
It's not hard.
You just have to put down your social security number.
Right, but I didn't know it, and then when I asked my mom for it, she got mad that I was working.
She said that I had to quit to focus on school.
You've been working or 2 weeks now.
She didn't know? I said I was in the glee club.
Look, I'm so sorry, Ads.
I know that you trained me and everything.
No, it's ok.
Wait a second, you can't quit.
I mean, you really love your job, right? Yeah.
Besides, you're 16.
I don't even think it's legal for her to stop you from working.
- Jane, you really think you should be - No, no, no, no, no She deserves to work if she wants to.
Just tell her you want your social security number.
It's yours.
But she got really mad.
Look, Stevie, I know you're all crazy into your mother, but sometimes we have to stand up to our 'rents.
Besides, you really deserve this.
Yeah.
Yeah, you are totally right.
Of course I am.
The kid has done it again! Mmm.
Ooh, let me pick just a little bit of that crunchy bit off.
And spoil the presentation? So I haven't yet settled on a thesis for my parent/teacher night presentation yet, but you know, I'm thinking, maybe just hit 'em with the big one super string theory.
That's terrific, honey.
Yeah.
I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when I tie it into quantum field theory and general relativity.
Yeah, they're gonna look like this.
So, um, mom, you know that thing we were talking about in confidence? I didn't tell anyone.
I know, but, um are you taking it out on Adam? Of course not.
He's a 17-year-old boy.
He can't help the wiring.
So why didn't you let him show his art at the presentation? I had other reasons.
I would never take a personal matter out on a student.
I'm amazed you even asked me that.
Ok.
See, string theory provides a unified description of the universe.
I mean, it's the holy grail of physics.
Yeah, like lasagna's the holy grail of Italian food.
Not an exact analogy.
Well, maybe when I see the strings This just in.
You're late.
Indeed, ma'am, but Kevin Girardi has just been contacted by WPFK TV news to return and grace the airwaves as the human-interest story guy.
That is great! - All right! - Nice! - My boy! Yes, I am.
And you better believe it.
Goin' in mañana to pitch ideas.
Does anyone have one? Something interesting or human? Well, I got my friend Stevie Marx to do battle with her controlling monster of a mother for the right to work.
A little advice, Joan don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
Trust me, I know what I'm doing.
I'm helping the meek, the ditzy.
It'll be a great story.
Local teen argues with parents.
Riveting.
- Not! - Thanks for the support.
Hey.
Hi.
So, I was thinking we'd go for that ice cream later.
You know, sneak a couple pounds of it, curl up on the couch and groan.
I don't know.
Why don't we ask your mom? All right, I'm sorry you're mad that I told her, but she is my mom, and I was confused, and it's a good thing that I can trust her, you know? Fine.
But why'd you have to bring me into it? You were kind of involved in the whole wanting to have sex part.
Anyway, she says she's not mad at you.
You told her I thought she was? No, I said I I thought she was.
It was all me mostly, I think.
This is a nightmare.
I said no.
But other kids work! I don't care about them.
My daughter is not working! - Why not? - I don't want to talk about it.
This is not negotiable.
Hey, are you ok? Y eah.
I guess I'm gonna have to quit after all.
That's ok.
No, it's not.
She deserves to work if she wants to.
Adults are all about kids taking responsibility and building character.
It's kind of a private thing, Jane.
I know that doesn't mean all that much to you Iook, we'll call the social security place and get your number.
I tried, but because I'm adopted, they couldn't find it.
Stevie, this may seem weird, but I am positive you need to be able to work, so Look, I have never seen my mom freak out like that, ok? Just forget about it.
Look, Jane, I'm sorry about what I said.
But this thing with your mom and us I needed my mom.
So I talked to her.
This is not my problem.
It's yours.
Hi, Joan.
You're getting, uh, junk all over your uniform.
What kind of god would I be if I was afraid of gettin' a little dirty? Look, uh, I think you should handle this whole Stevie thing yourself.
It's a mess.
Because she doesn't have what she needs like the person who lost this.
Keep looking, Joan.
She doesn't want me to.
Sometimes, when the search gets too hard, it seems easier to stop.
But the search is all that's important.
It allows people to discover the truth about themselves.
Help Stevie find hers.
Like, she has a dog, but she's really just a cat person? What? Her life seems fine! There's no adoption record for a Stevie Marx.
Yeah.
But you said without an adoption record, we can't find her social security number.
You're a quick study.
I had an adoption investigator do a 50-state search.
He didn't find anything about her.
Even if her parents adopted her from out of the country, - there should be a domestic record somewhere.
- No, then you're missing something.
This guy is the best.
The paper uses him all the time.
If there's one life lesson I impart to my children, it's that lasagna is even better cold the next day.
I thought it was to pee before leaving.
Well, that, too.
Maybe her parents changed her name.
Yeah.
But her current name would have to be on record somewhere.
What are you doing? I'm just showin' off my investigative skills, which, by the way, are coming soon to a TV near you.
Unh.
This whole TV thing is gonna turn you into a monster, isn't it? Oh, yeah.
Adoption records? I'm sticking my nose where it doesn't belong.
My friend Stevie deserves something, and I'm trying to help.
Uh, she told Joan she was adopted.
But according to my investigator's report, she's not.
Which is wrong, right? I mean why would her mother tell her she's adopted if she's not? I don't know.
Hey, how's it goin'? Look, sorry I got mad at you yesterday.
Oh, heh.
Mothers and daughters are like, uh dynamite and a match.
Look, uh I found out something when I was looking for your social security number.
Look, I told you to just forget about it.
No, I know.
But I I think I think you should know about this.
I think it's important to discover new things about ourselves.
So you're searching for stuff about me? Yeah, but not like that.
'Cause you're startin' to creep me out over here.
Yeah, I know.
But you deserve to know the truth even if you think it's easier not to.
But according to my brother who's a real reporter the reason you can't find your social security number is because Stevie, you were not adopted.
What? Yeah.
He had a professional guy investigate it.
I'm adopted.
Why would you say that I wasn't? I just think you deserve to know the truth.
Yeah, that you're a freak.
I'm not.
Just leave me alone.
Stevie.
Just stay away from me.
Great.
Thank you.
That went That went great.
Fire up those lips, whiz kid.
Uh Grace.
Ok, you could choose to forget this or I could inflict brain damage.
I'm sorry.
I I just uh, listen.
I, uh, uh, I I kinda, I have I have an issue that I Ok, lose the Hugh Grant stuttering thing.
Who'd you kill? When Jane and I went to the concert, we spent the night in the back of my dad's pickup truck.
Do I really wanna hear this? We didn't do anything.
But I wanted to.
And I tried.
Dude, there are certain images I don't want seared in my brain.
Grace, she told her mom.
Ha ha ha! Ah.
Nice knowin' ya, Rove.
Look, she she said her mother was cool, ok, and, you know, that she understood.
And And you believe that? No.
Heh heh.
No.
You had to choose someone who has a good relationship with her mother.
So what do I do? You can invent a time machine.
I have to sit in Mrs.
G's class every day.
See her in the hall, at their home she's to write me a college recommendation, Grace.
And you want me to tell you that she really does understand, because she knows underneath all of this that you are a decent, upstanding guy.
I am! I know.
But to a mom, you're just another pimply-pubescent-horndog trying to get into her daughter's pants.
Oh.
Oh, god.
How the hell did this happen? Ask the little friend in your pants.
I had reggie run that girl.
Yeah? Your kids were right.
Stevie marx wasn't adopted.
Died in a fire 14 years ago in Dallas.
She was 2.
Joan's friend is 16.
It adds up.
To what? Identity theft.
By a 2-year-old? "Mother also died in the fire.
Erica Marx.
" Hey.
How'd it go, man? Are you a star? Nah.
I told them I wasn't interested.
It's your presentation? - You're gonna make people's heads explode.
- Wait.
You turned them down? Did they want you to do the news naked or something? It doesn't matter.
Last night, you were ecstatic.
What happened? "Electrical stimulation therapy for spinal cord injury patients.
" It's a gimp story and they want a gimp reporter so they can feel good about themselves.
Kevin, there's probably a waiting list for treatment.
So, I mean, you know, if you can jump the line I'm not gonna be anybody's trained monkey.
So let's just drop it, ok? Hi.
Hi, joan.
Great.
I knew you wouldn't be able to keep away.
Where'd you get that sweater, a dumpster? Excuse me? It's the truth.
You like that, right? You know, here's something else.
Stevie hates me, and it's all your fault.
Who's Stevie? Oh, you met my mom.
I'm so glad.
Yes.
I'm thrilled.
I I think I need some punch.
Oh, god.
Yes.
Here I am, Joan.
Cute.
So, what is the big lesson supposed to be here? Stevie deserves to hate me or something? You tried to share the truth with her and it's hard to accept sometimes.
How is she supposed to accept it if she doesn't even understand it? Well, how can she understand it if she doesn't see it? Ok, this is very chicken-egg, tree falling in the woods kind of stuff.
I think you need Luke's help on this one.
I think you're doing fine.
Just help Stevie understand.
But I don't even understand! Dad, hey, dad.
I thought you were at work.
Uh Luke's doing his geek-a-palooza speech in room 113, so he'll be psyched to see you here.
With backup.
Is something wrong? Do you know if Erica Marx is here? Stevie's mom.
I think so.
Why? Will.
Dad, does this have to do with what we talked about? Honey.
Excuse me.
Um Alice Sokol? Call a lawyer, Charlie.
Why? What is this? We don't have to do this in front of everyone.
You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Bridget Verkin.
Who? This is obviously a mistake.
Erica? He didn't know.
I swear.
What don't I know? We still have to bring him in.
As a possible accessory.
To what? Who's Bridget Verkin? Hey, dad, what's going on? Joan, please.
He's your dad? What are you doing to them? - Honey, I'll take care of this.
- Stevie, it's ok.
It's ok.
Your father's gonna be home real soon.
They have to come with us so we can ask them a few questions.
This is our daughter, and we are not leaving her until you let us know what the hell is going on! We can put the cuffs on in the car if you both cooperate.
We'll make sure that she's ok.
Ok.
I love you, Stevie.
You know that I love you.
It's gonna be all right.
Stevie, Hunny, wait right here.
No, I won't! Wait! Somebody tell me what's happening! It's gonna be all right, sweetheart.
I'll take care of this.
Come with me, Stevie.
We need to talk.
You did this! Why did you do this?! Hey.
You're still up? We wanted to know what happened.
Are you sure there isn't some mistake, Will? Erica's real name is Alice Sokol.
She kidnapped Stevie from a woman named Melody Verkin 14 years ago.
There was an outstanding warrant, prints.
There's no mistake.
Erica Marx is the perfect mom.
This is surreal.
Why did you have to come barging into school like that? In front of everyone? She was a flight risk, honey.
We got information that Erica had withdrawn a lot of cash, was planning to leave the country.
Oh, my god.
I guess when she found out that people were looking for Stevie's social security number, well, we couldn't take the chance that we'd be too late.
What's gonna happen to Stevie? We're trying to track down her real parents now.
She'll be in foster care until then.
Now, if you want to see her Me? No.
I already ruined her life.
You were just trying to help her.
Yeah, well, I won't be doing that again.
Kidnapped and raised by strangers.
It's dickensian.
And I thought I had it bad.
At least I know who my mom is.
You did the right thing, Joan.
I didn't mean to do anything! Hey! Hi.
How come you weren't in physics? I tried calling you all morning.
Oh, they heard about what happened to Stevie at work and gave me some cash to bring to her.
Oh.
She's in this foster home on Willow Street.
How's she doing? Freaked.
And they sent her a shrink to make sure that she's not gonna hurt herself.
I forgot.
Stevie wanted my help with this for the class.
Hey! Hey, Jane! Hey, Jane! Jane! Hey, Jane! - Hey! - No, I'm ok.
No, you're not.
You're right.
But there's probably not anything anyone can do about it.
I thought you were still mad at me.
No.
I don't really matter right now.
Uh-huh.
Ok.
Thanks.
Yeah.
We'll be here.
Do you know every hot dog has meat from a thousand different cows in it? And I am grateful to every one of them.
State police in Texas couldn't find any current DMV info on the girl's biological mother.
So she likes the bus.
They'll send some uniforms out to her last address and run her through the system.
Stay on 'em.
I don't want to leave this kid hanging.
Whoa.
When did you get here? I'm always here, Joan, even when you can't see me.
Subtle.
Why don't you let me fiddle with the light bulbs and you can do your own dirty work.
Ahh.
It's painful what happened to your friend.
It's very difficult to see something like that.
Yeah, what did Stevie do anyway to deserve that big lightning bolt from on high? I don't punish people and I'd never ask you to harm anyone.
You know that.
What you witnessed was the power of the truth.
Uh, but isn't that supposed to set you free, not kick you in the head? Heh.
The light of the truth can be harsh to those who have been in the dark.
In the republic, Plato writes about prisoners who lived their whole lives in a cave, chained in place.
A fire throws shadows against the wall in front of them.
That's all they ever see, so they have no reason to believe there's more to the world.
Stepping out into the light after that can hurt your eyes.
But once you adjust Can you flip that switch? Isn't it your job to "let there be light"? It's everyone's.
"Fix the proverb" for 400, please.
"All root is the evil of money.
" Wes? What is "money is the root of all evil"? Correct! I'll take "canadian flags" for 400, please.
"This province's flag depicts the setting sun over wavy blue stripes that symbolize the pacific ocean.
" - What is British Columbia? - Uh-uh.
Yukon territory.
What is Yukon Territory, dude.
The Bugles? Wes? - What is British Columbia? - Correct.
Geek.
Ahh you're home early.
I took a few days off for that TV thing.
Thought I'd burn them anyway, catch up on some quality television.
Kev, I think I know why you bailed on the story.
You're worried that you may have peripheral nerve loss.
You win a bag of bugles, now you're a neurologist? I did my presentation on electric stim.
I used the materials that you tossed.
I don't need a lecture.
I know all about it.
They strap you to some shopping cart It's a walker with braces.
Hook you up to a car battery - a microprocessor.
which makes your legs twitch.
For what? A few baby steps.
don't even respond to it.
Which means that there's an And if I don't, it means my nerves are fried, which means I'll never walk again no matter what sci-fi crap they invent some day.
Yeah, but don't you want to know if you can do it? You're a journalist.
Isn't it your job to find the truth? Spend a day in this chair and then we'll talk about the truth.
Actually, you'd be ok with that, wouldn't you? You wish you were Stephen Hawking.
Just a big brain in a chair.
Too bad this isn't you! "Attached by a stalk to the base of the brain is this master gland which controls the others.
" Ann? - What is the pituitary gland? - That's it.
Uh, "Brain tease" for 2,000.
"These brain cells that transmit nerve impulses number in the billions.
" - Amy? - What are axions? What are neurons, idiot! - No Wes? - What are neurons? Neurons, yes.
What are you doing here? Uh I wanted to see how you were doing.
Great.
I share a room with Janey who cries all the time because her parents just died.
I'm sorry.
I mean, you probably hate me.
Hey you're the only person that's been honest with me.
Have you talked to your mother? Don't know who she is, remember? Bridget, more visitors.
Hi, sweetheart.
What's going on? What are you doing here? This is an ongoing investigation, honey.
I think you should come back later.
We need to talk to Stevie.
Stay.
I've dealt with enough secrets.
Just tell me.
Your biological mother, Melody Verkin she passed away 12 years ago.
Are you sure? Yeah.
Who was she? When she had you, she was addicted to heroin.
You were in a very dangerous environment.
Social services was called quite frequently when you were little.
The social worker on the case was Erica, the woman you always believed was your mother.
She found you hungry with bruises once almost dead.
And my real father? Melody never knew who he was.
Erica tried to get you into a foster home, but the court ruled in favor of Melody.
A week later, a neighbor called.
You'd been crying for hours.
Melody was passed out.
Erica knew that you were in danger, and she didn't want to risk that the court would leave you in the house, so she took you.
After you left, Melody had a baby boy.
He drowned in the bathtub.
He was 4 months old.
Melody went to prison for killing him and died while serving her time.
The D.
A.
Is making a deal for a light sentence.
You'll be able to see her.
What if they could have helped my real mother? Honey, she tried.
She loves you.
Yeah? Is that why she was leaving? What could she do? Take you? Make you live like a criminal? She sacrificed herself so that you could have a life.
Yeah.
And that's working out great.
Stevie, we can get through this.
And they're sure that a judge is going to grant me custody so that you can come home.
I don't have a home.
Stevie, wait! You do! Listen! I know it's hard to see, but your eyes will adjust.
Sunrise ice cream.
What's the occasion? Oh, I nuked a whole family.
With your help.
The Stevie thing I heard.
Yeah.
I was supposed to help her.
Instead, I just ended up stealing her l-pod.
You gonna keep it? No.
I already feel bad enough.
I hear you.
Ooh.
So, uh, what about you? Ice cream for breakfast usually comes with a dark underbelly.
Tv thing didn't happen.
Sorry.
That sucks.
Yeah.
I took it out on Luke.
Mmm.
Told him he should've been the one to get paralyzed, not me.
Ouch! Yeah.
Well, that calls for some more whipped cream.
Open your mouth.
Mmm.
That's good.
Didn't we used to be good people? I think so.
What happened? Huh.
Well maybe it was just easier to dump on other people than deal with our own garbage.
But have to face it eventually.
Why? Well you can't live in a cave.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- What's up? - Hum It's Stevie's.
I was just dropping it off.
It's still so hard to believe, isn't it? Yeah.
Joan said Stevie's pretty destroyed.
Yeah.
Are you ok? Sure.
Uh, you know, if it's ok, I wanted to take this home.
Oh, yeah.
Go ahead.
I already graded it.
I gave you an "A".
It's great work.
Why didn't you use it for the presentation? It's not what you think, Adam.
No? That's between you and Joan.
So you're saying you don't care? Of course I care.
She's my daughter.
I don't want to see her get hurt or used but I choose to believe that you wouldn't do that.
I I didn't want to mess things up with you.
I mean, it's complicated with me and Joan, but I don't have anyone else like you in my life, either.
I I knew how hard it was for you to finally paint your mom.
I didn't think you'd feel comfortable sharing it in front of so many strangers.
I should have asked you first.
I'm sorry.
Thanks.
Stevie! It's Bridget.
Bridget, right.
Hum I'm just returning your l-pod.
So, where are you going? They gave me my social security number, so I have a couple job interviews.
Well, you could still work with Adam at the design studio.
I don't think so.
What about school? I can't go back there! And legally, I don't have to.
I can get a job, get emancipated, and be on my own.
But you're a kid.
And you do have a family.
Not anymore.
Look, Charlie's been your dad for years.
He didn't have anything to do with this.
Look, it's horrible what you've been through.
But you still have your mom.
Call it what you want to.
She gave her life up for you.
A lot of real moms wouldn't even do that! - I didn't ask her to! - You're right you didn't, but she did it anyway! You really think she's a criminal? All she ever did was love you! That's what matters, isn't it? Look, if you're still gonna run away and not see what's been given to you, then I guess you're getting exactly what you deserve.
The microprocessor fires electrodes on the quadriceps, the gluteal muscles, and the peroneal nerve, causing muscle contractions.
So basically it's like my battery is dead and I'm getting a jump from another car.
Basically.
We'll send a signal to your peroneal nerve.
If it still functions, your quadriceps will twitch.
Are you ready? Don't worry.
- Uh-huh.
- We can take a brake if you're not No.
Let's just do it.
Randy, make sure you get this.
It's the money.
- Got it Kev.
- Ok.
Light me up, Igor.
Uh to this type of therapy.
Guess your humble reporter falls into that group.
Sometimes you just have to adjust the electrodes.
Ok.
Hey, brainy doctor copping a feel.
Ha! Guess this hasn't been a total loss for the viewers.
Ha ha! We're gonna try this again.
Ok.
I'm increasing the voltage, Kevin.
Whoa! Does this mean Congratulations.
Want to take a stroll? Are you kidding? Ha ha! It's alive! It's alive! Uh just, uh for WPFK, this is Kevin Girardi.
I'm running the marathon at Hogan county hospital.
Back to you, Chuck and Maria.
Hi, baby.
They told me why you did it.
I had you in my arms.
And you were so small.
And you looked at me and I couldn't let anything happen to you.
So, what's gonna happen now? The D.
A.
Cut a deal.
She'll get 3 years, minimum security.
That doesn't seem right.
Going to jail for saving someone's life.
I know.
I'll be back in a sec.
You're not actually gonna let her go to jail, are you? It's all working out the way it has to.
So Stevie has to lose her mom for 3 years because of me? They would have been fine if I'd just stayed out of it.
Their relationship was built on a lie, and a lie even if it's motivated by the best of intentions, blinds people from the light.
Love can't survive in the dark, Joan.
Look at them.
How are they gonna get through this? Eh you made them see what they have, what they were going to lose.
You let them see the truth.
That's the light they need to find their way.