Frontier (2016) s03e06 Episode Script

1 (SOFT, INTENSE MUSIC) (MEN YELLING INDISTINCTLY) (INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING YELLING) (GUNSHOT) (THUDDING, GRUNTING) (FIGHTING COMMOTION) (NO AUDIBLE SCREAM) (FIGHTING COMMOTION CONTINUES) (EXPLOSION) (INDISTINCT YELLING) (AGONIZING SCREAM) (LOUD SCREAM) (COMMOTION BECOMES MUFFLED) (SOFT MUSIC) (COMMOTION CONTINUES) McTaggart! (GUNSHOT) (EXPLOSION) (GUNSHOTS) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (MUSIC FADES) (SOFT MUSIC) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (FINAL CRESCENDO, MUSIC STOPS) (THEME MUSIC) (MICHAEL): The plan that our partnership agreed upon is completely dependent on O'Reilly and his men throwing their weight behind us.
It's the only way to topple Vanstone without killing him, and I promised Kamenna that (SOKANON): You will have to do it without him.
Harp gave me a mission: to see the HBC crumble, and that's what I'm trying to do.
I've made alliances with men we once saw as enemies, because we all want the same thing.
All the men do, anyway.
Sokanon! O'Reilly's a son of a bitch, I know.
I won't stop you from settling what you have with him.
But in order for both of us to get what we want, we need to get rid of Vanstone first.
No, he is your distraction.
O'Reilly's my target.
(IMOGEN): In my experience, Mr.
O'Reilly has always been a dependable, reliable gentleman.
He'd better come through for me.
The thought of that reekie Irishman out there roaming free pisses me off.
Fort James has been neglected for too long by men with priorities other than the trade, Mr.
Vanstone.
It has.
But now that I'm doing the business of the Company, they'll see what Fort James could be under my command.
And then, those sons of bitches out there will show me the respect I deserve.
Well, we both know someone who can take care of that for you.
If you want to spend time with your girl tonight, it's gratis.
No, I can't.
There's too much work to be done.
But don't you work too hard before I can see you again, eh? (WHISPERING): You're turning out to be a poor investment.
If you don't start smiling for your silver, you'll end up in a very unpleasant place.
Oh, I could kick Michael's ballbag right up into his fucking chest for this.
Or maybe it's you needs the kick for this stupid fuckin' plan in the first place.
Whoa, my plan was solid.
I created an opportunity for us to dictate the terms of the conversation to Vanstone by bringing Michael to him! It is Michael who needs to answer for this, Malcolm.
I will not let my business be threatened by his infatuation.
He's not just infatuated, Pond.
Michael is steady in his allegiance to Harp's people.
Oh, wait, wait, wait This Sokanon Is she Black Wolf? It's no excuse to leave us at the mercy of that buffoon, Vanstone.
He just needs to think that he's supported, and that everyone's playing by Company rules, right? Now, we don't need Michael for that.
(POND): I'm gonna make some firm decisions in Michael's absence.
I don't see a future for this company, where Vanstone's flag still flies.
If you kill Vanstone, right after that demented hard-on you're gonna get from killing him goes down, word's gonna get out.
Kamenna's gonna hear about it.
Soon as she knows that one of Michael's alliance has shed blood, she'll turn her back on all of us, and we'll lose the Lake Walker trade for good.
When Michael returns, O'Reilly will take him to Vanstone, just like you planned.
As soon as Vanstone is captured, his men will sooner stand down than fight.
And that'll be the end of it.
You better be certain of that.
We'll soon find out, won't we? (SNAPPING FINGERS) Until then I should go and talk to Vanstone, try to smooth things out a bit.
I'll return after I've spoken with him.
(DOOR CLOSING) Where the fuck do you think you're going? If I find Michael, I can offer him a modicum of protection.
It's a very dangerous world out there for Mr.
Smyth, isn't it? (SIGHING, DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING) Did you know Sokanon was a Black Wolf? That night I heard her ask you about Mr.
Smyth.
- Is she his wife? - I don't know what she is, but she's trouble we don't need! I don't think Michael understands our way, Kahwihta.
What we do for our Lord and Saviour.
We needs to pack up.
We needs to pack up now.
We needs to find Mercer and the rest of 'em, and we get out of here.
Do you intend not to honour the deal you made with those men? Indeed, I don't.
I'm gonna warn Vanstone about the coup that's forming against him, and we're gonna fly out of this den of inequity.
After that, well I'll never set eyes on Michael Smyth ever again.
Ah.
What's the most popular boy in town doing skulking around my ale house? Is this not the heart of business in Fort James? I know someone who really wants a word with you.
And I know someone who's just aching to put you in your place.
So I suggest you take this money, and turn the other way, Imogen.
It's the best warning you'll get.
- How dare you threaten me? - It's just business.
You take this money, you keep your mouth shut, and you and I will get along just fine.
Do we understand each other? (FIRE CRACKLING) (MICHAEL): I made a mistake.
O'Reilly's been selling Native women as country wives, offering 'em up as companions to traders with money to spend.
Like it or not, he's our link to Vanstone.
O'Reilly's got to go.
You were the one who said we cannot take Fort James without O'Reilly! Now you want to dump our plans because you heard some, some bad news about him? I need Sokanon more than I need him! I don't get rid of him, I lose her.
I don't give a rat's arsehole about the trouble you're having with your country wife.
She's not a country wife.
She's a hunter, she's a fighter, and she's a tracker, and we need her.
The Brown Brothers did not put our empire on the line so that you could make your candle, Michael.
It's not about that! It's about doing what we know is right! The right thing to do is to get O'Reilly's men and do this now! Finish what we started, what you fuckin' started! Michael, I went behind my own brother's back because you convinced me that it was the right thing to do for the Brown Brothers to side with you! - Or were you just pushing me about the whole time? - No! I meant what I said.
I just didn't expect O'Reilly's business to undermine us, I didn't know what I was getting into with him.
Oh, I know the feeling.
Fine.
I'll take care of it.
Good.
But O'Reilly stays.
(WHISPERING): You head straight for the gate.
I'll be right behind you.
(SLOW, DRAMATIC MUSIC) (INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER) Leave.
Now.
Go to the tipis by the gate.
You will be safe until I come for you.
(SLOW, INTENSE MUSIC CONTINUES) (DOOR CLOSING) (GRUNTING) (REPEATED STABBING, GRUNTING) (MUFFLED GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) (GRUNTING CONTINUES) (WHEEZING) (GRUNTING) (UPTEMPO, DRAMATIC MUSIC) My Lord, Declan Harp is in the castle, and my men are currently occupied.
Let me deploy your men, and I assure you, we will capture him.
You may deploy my men, but you had best be on your guard.
No, he'll be trying to find her.
It seems as likely he is coming for you as for her.
Nonetheless, I shall warn the Captain of the Guard.
Please, ensure he understands that Declan Harp is mine.
Indeed.
(MUSIC STOPPING, DOOR OPENING) Madame.
May I? Please yourself.
- Are you comfortable? - Is that why you came down here to speak with me? To see if I'm comfortable? I have come to ensure that you are well protected.
I think you've come because you seek the truth.
Which is? Lord Benton's personal hatred of Declan Harp led him to make terrible decisions.
He put revenge ahead of HBC interests, and as a result, I saw a precipitous decline of conditions in Fort James.
I cannot fault a company man for zealously pursing a fugitive.
What Benton did to Harp's family is unutterable.
Any human being who faced what Harp faced would be changed by it forever.
And if I were to concede that that were true What difference would it make? It would mean that you already know the truth.
That Benton isn't just a threat to Harp, or to me for that matter.
That he is, in fact, a liability to the HBC itself.
You'd do far more good for the Company by getting rid of him than you ever could by pursuing Declan Harp.
I'm sorry.
I wasn't honest with you.
I do not accept your apology.
Because there is no need for one.
You may think our time together was a transgression, but I thought it was wonderful.
It felt honest to me.
Madame? Ah, Mr.
Pond, I was just coming to say hello.
Hello.
Have you received any company this evening? No.
I was just out for the evening, I'm just returning now.
- Ah.
- Is there something wrong? No! No, no It's just, there was someone about who shouldn't be.
But I thought I saw him come up here.
Oh dear.
Darling, look at me.
Go downstairs with the crowd.
You'll be safe there.
I will look at the other rooms.
Go.
(MICHAEL): I made a judgment call.
You're a lying selfish prick, Michael.
You lied straight to my face, partner! Malcolm, keep your voice down.
Now, Michael, we can all be fools when we're in love, I understand that more than most, but trust is trust.
I think that I speak for my new friend Malcolm when I say that I'm not sure that we can fucking trust you.
I got us the deal with the Lake Walkers, yeah? If I didn't give Sokanon what she wanted, it would have compromised that.
- You don't give a pig shite about this, do you, eh? - (MICHAEL): What? I will not follow you to a grave, Michael.
Malcolm, just calm down and listen to me for a second.
- I'm sure that you can understand our apprehension.
- Just trust me! If we keep Sokanon on our side, we keep the Lake Walkers.
If we stick together and we keep O'Reilly's men on our side, we might actually make this happen.
We're so close.
If this is the dish that we wish to serve, we have to use the sudden tragedy of Mr.
O'Reilly's death to get his men to act now.
They're already hot.
We need to bring them to a rolling boil.
Let's fuckin' do it, then.
I need you to stay here.
I don't want to have to look for you again.
It'll work.
You must do something about this, Mr.
Mercer.
It cannot go unpunished.
Who did it? Michael Smyth.
He was here, not an hour ago, and he threatened me harm if I didn't let him up there.
I saw him walk up those stairs, and then I found O'Reilly dead.
The Black Wolf is vicious.
I didn't see it happen, but I know it to be true.
When Smyth shows up again, you keep him here and get word to me.
- I'll let the others know.
- Yes.
Come live with me.
You move fast.
I'm not asking you to do that, Douglas.
I'd do anything you asked.
I'm more than certain Miss Josephette would kick me out the door - the moment you announced my arrival.
- Hm Luckily, it's my name that's on the deed.
I decide who lives where.
I cannot come with you.
We've not been exactly discreet, in our meeting here.
Huh.
Samuel Grant is going to find out about it, and when he does, he's not going to be easy with you, Clenna.
That's my problem.
I would not make it yours.
I cannot leave you here, with him.
I can't go with you.
Not unless Unless what? I was there, right after.
I saw Saw what he did to Elizabeth.
You you-you saw him kill her? No! No, I-I came in after it was done, after it was too late.
- (DOUGLAS GRUNTING) - I would never have have just watched him kill her.
So uh, I I w w was right to make your acquaintance, I was just so stupid to have trusted you.
I did not mean to deceive you.
Have you ever had to make a choice between doing what is right and staying alive? The choice between living here with a murderer, or living on the streets? - I know what I'd do.
- If I hadn't stayed silent, I would surely have met the same fate as Elizabeth.
All she did was insult him, for God's sake! I I cannot imagine what he would do to me if he thought that I betrayed him for you.
Ah, and I thought she died because of a slight? I know I have lost your trust.
And your good faith.
But there is something I can do for you.
I can give you what you've wanted all along, I can give you what you came for in the first place.
I am your proof, Douglas.
For the magistrates, or the judges, or whoever it is that will help you see justice for Elizabeth.
I am a witness (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) (SHE CATCHES HER BREATH.
) (MUSIC TEMPO QUICKENING) In the morning, I will take you to the Lake Walkers.
(SOLDIER): Alright, men! (SOLDIERS SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY) He's been discovered.
Maybe you should go tonight.
How did you get here? (GUN COCKING) You will come with me, now.
Take her to Kamenna.
It looks like Mr.
O'Reilly's men are keeping busy.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
Hello, Mr.
Smyth.
Mr.
O'Reilly would thank you, Mr.
Mercer, for your swift justice in apprehending his killer.
I didn't kill him.
- Imogen says she saw you.
- Imogen's a liar.
(WHISPERING): You threatened me, now you've got what you deserve.
Michael Smyth.
Thief.
Murderer.
Marauder of Fort James.
You are guilty of the murder of Patrick O'Reilly.
The punishment for your crime shall be death.
The method of justice should be administered by those loyal to the deceased.
Mr.
Mercer? Get him readied for the stakes.
Excellent choice.
Miss Dolan, here claims to be a witness for you, but she forgets that she is also a co-conspirator, in the eyes of the law.
I mean, I suppose that's what the courts would say, as someone who has mopped up blood and bones from our floor, and made arrangements to remove a body from our home.
(SIGHING) You are nothing, and no better than a whore who's taken my good nature and generosity for granted.
You made me a whore, for you to flirt with your businessmen, and to make you look normal.
You used me, - and threatened me - (GLASS SHATTERING) I'll not suffer these abuses in my own home.
Get out, Douglas.
So I can deal with this ungrateful cunt.
Do not speak to her like that again.
I won't tell you a second time.
Unless you wish to be reunited with your beloved Elizabeth.
(YELLING) Not like this, Douglas! (GLASS SHATTERING, GRUNTING) (GRUNTING) Stop it! Stop it! (DRAMATIC MUSIC) Oh, oh (GRUNTING, WHIMPERING) (DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS) Douglas! (SOBBING) Douglas.
(BREATHING QUICKLY) (QUIVERING BREATH) (FIRE CRACKLING) Let Sokanon go.
She's done nothing wrong.
Let's get this fire started.
You will be next.
I'm sorry.
Pond, we need to do something.
Mr.
Mercer! These are not the persons you seek for this.
It was him.
You giddy wench, sod off! Light 'em up, Mercer.
Tell me what you know, Kahwihta.
Vanstone came to our room.
He told me to leave.
When he opened the door again, my husband was dead! You're a fucking liar, you want to get roped up here too? You know my love of Mr.
O'Reilly.
I know your affections for him.
You must balance the scales with the man who really killed my husband.
He wanted Mr.
Smyth dead.
- He's using you for his own evil purpose.
- She's lying, Mercer.
I had nothing to do with O'Reilly's death.
(POND): I can corroborate! I heard Lieutenant Vanstone threaten Mr.
O'Reilly tonight.
Please.
Mr.
Smyth is an honourable man.
You're gonna die, now.
(CROWD MURMURING) Get off of me! I didn't fucking do it! (SOFT MUSIC) (NO AUDIBLE SCREAM) (FIRE CRACKLING) (SOFT FOOTSTEPS ECHOING) (SOFT, EERIE MUSIC) You must be Declan Harp.
Where's Benton? He is not far.
Do you know who I am? - Fisher.
- Lord Fisher, actually.
You're no Lord to me.
And you are remarkable.
It is rare indeed to meet the man that more than matches the myth.
You see, I know a great deal about who you are.
About your family.
I know more, perhaps, even than you do.
I doubt that.
Your Irish father died an unaccomplished Company man with no merits worthy of mention.
Leaving you, a penniless, half-breed bastard, to be raised by savages.
Yet, despite these disadvantages, you found favour with Lord Benton, who took you under his wing, and raised you as his own, helping you to become one of the most effective men in the entire Company.
Then, inevitably, like father, like son, you impregnated a Native, and fathered another little bastard with her, prompting a sharp decline in your profitability.
- He murdered my family.
- As you knew he might, yes? Be honest.
You always knew it was a risk, Mr.
Harp, did you not? Lord Benton is not the only man you blame for the death of your family, is he? In the deep of night, when you dream their deaths over and over, you blame yourself.
As you rightly should.
After all, whose responsibility is it to safeguard a man's family if not the man himself? You failed to see what Lord Benton was truly capable of, because of your own desperate need for that which you never had A father.
And now, the family you could have had is gone, most likely burning in hell.
So, with every throat you slit, you see Benton, and you pray to whatever savage god you think will listen, that your guilt will die behind the swift ribbon of blood.
But by now, I am sure you know it won't.
Do not despair, Declan.
Salvation is still possible.
I offer the chance of revenge and redemption at one fell swoop.
Rejoin the Company a senior position with my patronage.
Your testimony to Lord Benton's criminal acts will see him dangle from the end of a traitor's rope.
With you, his executioner.
Finally allowing us to conduct HBC business properly.
After all, while people are being slain, no money is being made.
Money.
You clearly have no idea what motivates me.
Perhaps.
Do you enjoy rum, Mr.
Harp? I must admit, it is not to my taste.
Made from garbage.
It's true.
A spirit derived from the waste product of refining white sugar.
It was the sugar plantation slaves that first distilled it, to ease their misery, no doubt.
And now, this slave garbage is coveted the world round.
Fortunes are being made on its prolific popularity.
But at its heart, it is a dark spirit.
Born from dirty, dangerous work being done by slaves who suffer terribly for their master's great benefit.
Make your goddamn point.
I happen to know of one such slave boy, who most likely still toils somewhere on a plantation as we speak.
That young boy, Mr.
Harp, is your son.
Lord Benton did not have him killed, but instead sold him into slavery.
You lie.
Under such circumstances, it is natural to fear hope.
But as a father myself, I give you my word, sir, it is true.
Join me, Declan.
Help me stop Lord Benton.
Find your son.
I will never join you.
Pity.
Where the fuck is Benton? (DOOR OPENING) Back on top, eh? A drink for you, patsy.
I'm surprised you don't have a man's shoe.
Say this after me, Mr.
Brown: À vous, à les vôtres, puis à ta santé.
- À vous, ah, fuck that! - Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir ? Whoa! Jesus (INDISTINCT CHATTER) What the hell are you all doing? Lassi I think you'd best make yourself scarce around here, eh? You need to be gone by morning.
I'm not going anywhere.
You need to leave.
- Where will I go? - Nobody cares.
I don't want to see you around here again.
The ale house is ours, now.
If I were you, I'd get going.
A lot can happen before the sun comes up.
And how are these men? - Amenable.
- Good.
I, uh must beg your forgiveness.
Thank you for listening to reason.
We're gonna have to trust each other moving forward, Mercer.
And um I must demand something of you.
I don't know what part you had in O'Reilly's business of buying and selling women, but whatever it was, it's over now.
I'll build you a church if that's what you desire, I won't disconnect you from your faith, but marrying off unwilling women, that's forbidden now.
We're gonna be everything that the HBC is not.
And you.
You who remain loyal to the Hudson's Bay Company, you can leave.
And never return.
Find a new station, forget this one existed.
The HBC flag will no longer fly above Fort James.
For those smart enough to see that your loyalty to the Company will result in nothing but death, starvation, and poverty, by putting you at the mercy of madmen in charge, like Vanstone, and Benton before him, this is your chance, to sign on, and join a new company.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING) A toast! To you, brave men.
To us, the North West Company! (CHEERING) (SOFT, SOMBRE MUSIC) I don't suppose he took you up on your offer? No, Archibald.
He did not.
Now tell me the truth.
You must have been just a little tempted? The prospect of taking charge in the New World.
Like your own little fiefdom.
I don't think the way you do.
No I suppose not.
Had you thought the way I do, it would have been much more difficult to trap you the way we have.
Or all those poor friends of yours who've died because of you.
Was it worth it? And even now, at this very moment, your few remaining friends engage in a futile battle with my men.
Once they learn of your demise, they will lose the will to fight.
And they too, will die.
And for what? This futile attempt to challenge me, and spirit Miss Emberly away? Well, tell me, son, how does it feel to have failed so abysmally? Choose your words carefully, or they will be your last.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) Lord Fisher! Lord Fisher, put a stop to this.
(SOFT MUSIC) Is my son still alive? (GASPING) (CHOKING) Let's get it over with.
(KNIFE CLINKING) As I said, this man was a criminal.
You have rid me of him to the great benefit of the Company.
Nonetheless, you have murdered a Lord in his own home.
You will be pursued to the ends of the Earth.
Wherever should your path cross with that of Company men, or those of the Crown, you will be shown no quarter.
For helping me, in your own way, to achieve that which I otherwise could not, I shall afford you a brief head-start before deploying my men.
Our account is settled.
Know that the next time we meet, Declan Harp, I shall destroy you.
(SOFT MUSIC CONTINUES) (GRACE SNIFFLING) (SOFTLY): Go.