The Path (2016) s03e12 Episode Script
A New American Religion
1 EDDIE: Previously on "The Path" This is my resort property on Kuta Beach.
I would like to convert it into the first Meyerist Center in Asia.
ALL: To the Light in Bali.
CAL: He wants me to take things over for a couple of days.
Okay, but you're still gonna make it to Washington, right? No, actually no.
No, I can't.
MARY: What the fuck is wrong with you? A waitress from a women's rights dinner.
- What are you doing here? - So nice to meet you.
Thanks for supporting a woman's right to choose.
Let's get the vote out in November.
Something happened, Cal.
- Happened? - To you.
With Steve.
- How did - You don't have to tell me.
We are looking at the very first draft of Ladder, and I believe that - there's a second author.
- Lilith.
She believes that Eddie will die.
- Why? - The Movement will crumble without Eddie, and the world will crumble - without The Movement.
- Where is she? LILITH: I just knew you'd find me.
You never told me that Vera was your daughter.
Vera put me in here, and she's the only one who can get me out.
I think you're right where you need to be.
Sarah! [tense music.]
[suspenseful music.]
The Meyerist Movement, until recently, was a small fringe movement in upstate New York.
In the past year, they've increased their membership 70% and expanded to Europe.
You called it a "Second-generation phenomenon.
" Uh, yeah, their their founder, Dr.
Steven Meyer, recently died.
Now It's very rare for a new religion not to die with its founder.
In this case, their new leader, Eddie Lane, tripled the base.
Now, he's a guy from a blue collar family in Brooklyn, with a history of mental illness and abuse.
He married a woman high up in the faith in 1999.
Took over October of last year.
And, uh, has a mystical experience in the first few weeks of his leadership.
He walks a pregnant woman through fire a video which conveniently trends on YouTube.
RUBEN: I've seen the video.
Are you saying it was staged? JACKSON: I'm not saying anything I don't have the facts to back up.
[tense music.]
RUBEN: You called your article "The Fastest Growing Faith.
" What do you think it is about Meyerism that appeals to this younger generation? The future is more uncertain than ever.
And young people are looking for something to believe in, and Lane has an "everyman" quality.
He's a regular guy.
That is until he asked you to sign your life away.
He recently introduced a 25-page contract for all members for their "security," um, that essentially requires them to waive basic human rights.
Have you ever seen this guy before? No.
Somebody's talked to him, obviously.
We'll check the log of Possibles and intake sessions.
We can look at security footage outside the city center.
I'm sure that's where he came in.
Yes, I was able to get my hands on early notebooks of Meyer's, notebooks that no one had seen before or rather they'd been hidden away.
And these notebooks pointed to another writer.
A darker voice.
And my research showed her to have been a patient - of Steven Meyer's - What notebook? when she was she was just 13.
Are they real? Is he making this up? JACKSON: Meyerism is not a religion.
It is not a "movement" as they like to call it.
Lane is a dangerous man.
And this is a cult.
[breathing heavily.]
GABY: It's disgusting, and it's libel.
- It's a direct attack on Steve.
- Yes, it is.
And what the hell was that bullshit about someone else writing The Ladder? How did he even find out about the contract? - We're looking into it.
- What about the article? Can you get a retraction? Um No.
No.
But there is some good news.
I've been in touch with Ruben's producers, and they got a great response to the segment and would like to bring Eddie on for a follow-up next Thursday.
You'll be able to go head to head with Professor Neill.
[sighs.]
Eddie, we have plenty of time to prep, and they've promised us an unbiased forum - for our response.
- It will not be unbiased.
Okay? He called us a cult.
Yeah, and you can explain why we're not.
Eddie, it's a it's a very good show.
It's popular, and Ruben will moderate.
I I think it's a good move.
Eddie.
You have to do this.
I agree.
You have to go on that show.
Defend us.
And Steve.
I can't do this.
Cal.
I mean, I can go on and defend myself, but how can I defend him? Um I'll do it.
He's taken enough from me.
It's time.
Are you sure? I'd really like to do this.
[indistinct chatter.]
Mary? Buck needs to see you.
BUCK: I didn't read that article, the exposé in "The New Yorker.
" I mean, you spend your time reading magazines, you don't get shit else done in your day.
But one of my interns, they have Google alerts - for everything.
- It's not true.
I did skim it.
Some other woman involved? [clicks tongue.]
Always a woman behind the man, huh? So, that's it? I called your husband because I have a problem.
An impulse that I can't control.
An impulse that I know could destroy me.
And you are actually helping me.
Meyerism is effective.
You're effective.
You're a force, you know that? What if you came to work for me? Be on my staff.
- As what? - Executive Assistant but you'd function as an advisor.
I want you on the team when I run for governor.
You'd get hands-on campaign experience, and then when we move to Albany, you can transition to be in my office there, if you wanted.
I'll admit it's enticing.
Health insurance for you and your family, travel stipend, full-time salary.
I mean It's government so you're not gonna be rich, but it'd be something like - What about Cal? - What about him? He's the the one with the insight.
I don't know.
He didn't charm the pants off the ladies for reproductive rights, and he didn't keep me from getting a hollow blow job from that waitress afterward.
You did.
And the fact that I'm a Meyerist? Oh.
I believe in the separation of Church and State.
Of course, if it came out on the campaign trail, that would be annoying, but personally it doesn't bother me.
What the fuck, Sarah? I know.
I'm furious.
How could you trust someone like that? I met him at a vulnerable time.
I'm going to talk to him.
You're done with him, okay? I need you now.
Everything that he knows I need to know and more.
Okay? Let's go.
[train horn blaring.]
[soft music.]
EDDIE: So you were one of Steve's patients.
LILITH: Yes.
And The Ladder.
You saw in your dreams? Visions, yes.
So what happened on Huayna Picchu? I don't know.
I wasn't there.
But Steve had a wonderful imagination.
All right, so what's the difference between Steve's imagination and your dreams? My dreams come true.
SARAH: So Eddie has to die for your apocalypse to happen? LILITH: Eddie doesn't have to die.
Eddie gets to die.
SARAH: What if you're just a mentally ill person.
LILITH: I'm not.
Why not ask the professor about all of this? He seems to know more than anyone.
How do you know about that? We get "The New Yorker" in the loony bin, dear.
We're not savages.
It was you, wasn't it, Sarah? I thought so.
All that information about me had to come from you.
Well I wish I could change the future.
But I can't.
None of us can.
You understand, Eddie.
You've had visions too.
[sighs.]
All right, well, thank you, Lilith.
Vera, I want you to get her out of here.
That's that's not a good idea.
I don't care.
No, she's right.
Lilith has manipulated and lied.
Eddie.
You don't know her.
If she's out in the world, she'll make sure that prophecy comes true.
Well, I don't want to lock up someone for her ideas.
That's exactly what Steve did to her.
[tense music.]
Get her out.
I had to do it.
I think maybe my father wasn't my father.
What are you talking about? There was this man named Rajeev.
He went to college with my parents.
He was my dad's best friend.
When I was a child, he would, you know, visit in the summers, holidays, that kind of thing.
Always brought me something.
One night I woke up to get some water.
My mother and Rajeev were arguing in the kitchen, and I walked in, I saw tears in my mother's eyes, and I just knew They must have been lovers.
It made sense to me.
My whole childhood I never felt like my parents.
They were scientists.
I liked stories.
I always felt like I had been born into the wrong family.
What happened to him? He died of a brain tumor before he was 30.
Why are you telling me all of this now? There are things I haven't told you.
Things I need you to know.
About me.
Why? Why now? Because I saw it.
The end.
It's gonna be in Bali.
Wait.
Who who told you about Bali? Who told me what about Bali? That we're going there to set up a new site.
When? Wait, wait.
You're telling me no one told you about Bali, but somehow you just you just know? I saw it.
You set this up.
You set this whole thing up.
No, I didn't, and that is how I know it's real.
[dark music.]
Okay.
What did you see? A palace.
A pond.
Surrounded by lotus flowers.
Lit by the hunter's moon.
I I need to unburden.
I read some of Professor Neill's article.
- I did too.
- [affirming chatter.]
- Is it true? - Come on, guys.
All that, you know it's bullshit.
But he says he was given access to Steve's early journals.
This guy is trying to sell a book by making up a bunch of stuff about us.
But who talked to him? I mean, we're supposed to be transparent, but nobody's come forward.
We are looking into it.
It's most likely someone who left.
Yeah, but why would someone want to do that? Yeah, seriously, what do they have against us? Our mom asked if we were in a cult and I said I don't know.
Okay.
Look, this is exactly what he wants.
I need everyone to look at me.
We're not a cult.
We are not a cult.
Okay? MARY: Mr.
Roberts, tell us a little bit about your history with The Movement.
Well, Mr.
Wise, I came to Meyerism when I was a young child.
My parents were, ah, - unfit to care for me.
- You said "ah.
" And you should call him Ruben.
All the other guests do, I checked.
All right.
Well, Ruben, I came to Meyerism when I was a young child.
My parents were unfit to care for me, and the community embraced me in their absence.
The compound became my home and still is to this day.
Professor Neill describes Dr.
Steven Meyer as "a master manipulator, who stole the tenet of the religion from a very ill, young female patient.
" Dr.
Meyer did no such thing.
His aim was to help people - and, uh - Sorry, I - I can't let you do this.
- Hang on.
Hang let me figure out the right way to say it.
[sighs.]
Hm.
You're defending him.
Hmm? I don't know the details.
But I know.
I know Steve abused you.
Yeah.
Then why how can you do this? Because I want to own the narrative.
Going on a TV show and saying that Steve was a brilliant man - isn't owning anything.
- No, you're wrong.
Because he's dead and now I get to speak for his Movement and have his followers.
He couldn't destroy me, and now I'm the one with the power.
Are you listening to yourself? What would you rather me do? Crawl into a hole and give it all away, everything I've earned? Harbaugh offered me a full-time job.
Well, we we can't do that.
We have responsibilities to Meyerism.
Not us.
Me.
What did you tell him? That I needed to think about it.
This is what we want, right? Selling your soul to protect a pervert's reputation? - Not really.
- Isn't that what you're doing? Going on that TV show? - Mary, I'm your husband.
- You're not my husband.
I'm your partner.
And Harbaugh's not a pervert.
He's a messed up person just like the rest of us except that he is really trying to do something about it.
He wants to change.
[solemn music.]
Please don't take that job.
Please don't go on that show.
EDDIE: Okay, so Vera was born in 1981.
So that puts Lilith on the compound the summer of 1980.
Same year that Steve transcribed the ninth and tenth rungs.
Actually, will you grab the ninth rung so we can see what the language looks like? Wow.
[cell phone buzzing.]
I'm, um I'm gonna take this really quick.
Fine.
Eddie, I'll I'll step out.
You stay.
Oh.
Thanks.
- Hey.
- Are you in your office? - Uh.
No.
- I, uh Okay, we need to we need to meet up.
I have something to tell you.
Look, I'm just kind of tied up at the moment, working.
Eddie, we have to cancel the trip to Bali.
- Why? - My mom just had a vision, and she said that's where's it's all going to happen.
No.
No, I am not living in fear of your mother.
- And neither should you.
- No, I Eddie.
- Look, I have to go.
- Eddie, please.
I'm just I'm in the middle of something, okay? I will call you later.
[sighs.]
[soft music.]
Hey.
[clears throat.]
Vera? Did you tell her you were here? No.
I don't want to be in the middle of your relationship.
You kind of are in the middle, Sarah.
You done working for the night? Does anyone know about me? About Jackson? No.
Cal is going head to head with him on Ruben Wise.
To defend Steve? He He shouldn't do that.
That is not a fair fight.
- Yeah, well, he wants to.
- Why? It's not like his book is going to destroy The Movement.
You're opening up a center in Bali.
Only Vera wants me to cancel.
Why? Her mom thinks that's where the fucking prophecy's gonna happen.
And, um what do you think about her prophecy? You both have visions, she said it.
I'll know when this is all over.
Maybe you shouldn't go.
- You believe Lilith? - I don't.
But maybe after you're done doing all this work, we're done doing this work, maybe you'll feel like none of it's real.
That's not going to happen.
It happened to me.
No, what happened to you, Sarah, is that you started digging up the truth.
And all of the contradictions made you lose your way.
But we are going to finish this, and when we do, we will understand what we need to do.
And then it will all be real again.
I promise.
[rock music playing on speakers.]
Excuse me.
Could I have a whiskey? - You 21? - I forgot my I.
D.
- What kind? - Anything.
Are you in my history of photo class? Um, no I don't I don't think so.
I just said that so I could talk to you.
Oh.
So are you at Tisch? No, actually, I don't go to school.
What do you do? I [groans.]
I am on the leadership team of a spiritual movement.
What do you mean? Like a start-up? No, like a cult.
- You're in a cult? - Some Some people like to think so, yeah.
[chuckles.]
That's awesome.
I always wanted to meet somebody in a cult.
Uh, so like What do they make you do? Nothing, really.
My dad's in charge, so Your dad is the cult leader? [slaps bar.]
That's amazing.
I'm buying you a drink.
Excuse me.
Can we get two shots of tequila, please? - Thanks.
- [sighs.]
So, what kind of cult is it? - A nice cult? - [laughs.]
- A nice cult? - Yeah.
- Is that possible? - I think so.
Okay.
- To nice cults.
- Mm.
- [knock on bar.]
- [laughs.]
I think that deserves another round.
Yes, please.
[lounge music playing.]
VERA: So, you'll understand if we have to cut off ties and the trip to Bali.
[chuckles dully.]
We all make bad decisions.
You're not a bad person.
I know that.
You have the resources to handle this.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm gonna have to ask you to please not contact us again.
Please, help me.
I'm extremely confused.
[cell phone buzzing.]
I'm guessing that's your lawyer.
You're gonna want to take that.
How did you know? I heard they found some nasty stuff in your hotels.
[dark music.]
[cell phone continues buzzing.]
You should try and be a little more discreet next time.
Hello? I don't know anything about that.
He was so thorough.
Mm.
That's what happens when you consider yourself a god.
You assume that you're leaving behind a legacy.
Man, who knows what's from The Light and what's fiction.
Do you want to get something to eat? No, I'm all right.
When was the last time you ate? - What day is it? - [chuckles.]
Here.
Thanks.
This has our wedding in it.
No, I don't want to hear what he has to say about us.
It's not what he said.
It's what you said.
Mm.
"Every moment of my life, my childhood, the pain has all been worth it.
" God, I was corny.
No.
I love it.
"Because it led me to you.
" You are kind.
You are beautiful.
You are Light.
You have shown me what love is.
I wish I was still that person for you.
Hey.
- You still are.
- No.
- Yes.
- I'm not.
Just in a different way.
[approaching footsteps.]
Hey, Vera.
Oh, so, this is what you're caught up with? - Vera.
- I have nothing to say to you.
There's an entire Movement out there depending on you.
People who believe in you.
Counting on you, and you're in here reading a bunch of Steve's shit! With a woman who sold you out to a safety school college professor.
- That's enough.
- No, it isn't.
Eddie, I believe in you.
I believe in this Movement.
I would destroy my life for it.
I would destroy everything I've worked so fucking hard to put behind me.
What are you talking about? You should be out there fighting for us instead of hiding in here with someone who doesn't believe in it, or you.
Hey.
[solemn music.]
[piano music playing.]
MARY: Should we head back to Forest? CAL: Yeah, in a minute.
- It's so beautiful.
- Yeah, it is.
I need to tell you something.
[romantic music playing.]
[chuckles.]
It's just like I stole their music.
- What do you need to tell me? - Uh Ah, I, um[clears throat.]
Maybe I'm not clear enough, um - I love you.
- I know.
No, no, no.
No.
No, okay, Mary I love you.
And, um I wanted to come out here today to the city because, uh My parents and the compound and all the Steve stuff It's the past.
You are my future.
You and Forest.
[sighs.]
I I thought of us as married for a long time, but you deserve to have a ring on your finger.
I mean, you deserve everything.
I want to give it to you.
I will try to give it to you.
So, uh [chuckles.]
Mary Cox, will you marry me? - Really? - Yeah.
[chuckles.]
Well, um.
I mean.
Wow, um.
Okay, so I'll take the job, and we'll figure out the next steps.
- And we'll start.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I mean I'll still be with Meyerism.
But you won't do the TV show? Yeah, yeah, but with you at my side.
[both chuckle.]
Is that why you're doing this? - No, no.
No, that's not why.
- Cal.
I supported you, and I followed you wherever you needed to be, but You won't get better unless you leave this place.
And, um if you don't get better, I can't love you.
[somber music.]
You're wrong because I'm working on myself, and I'm in therapy.
I'm in secular therapy.
All right? And I'm making progress.
You'll never leave him.
Or Meyerism, will you? And you know how fucked up that is? No, no, but I don't need to leave Meyerism.
I need to take it back from him, and that is what I'm doing.
Okay? I'm gonna take the job.
Empirical evidence.
Who has read Professor Neill's article? Be honest.
Great.
We are going to unburden with any questions and concerns.
We don't have to do this, Hawk.
Yes, we do.
Because in this Movement we do not oppose critical thinking.
Could you hit the light, please? Which, by the way, is the first sign that you're in a cult according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Monica.
Do we "dishonor the family unit"? - Um, no.
- No.
If I recall correctly, my dad actually encouraged you to be loyal to your family instead of The Movement.
Do we penalize members for leaving? - ALL: No.
- No, Cal left, and he's back.
My dad left, and now he's The Guardian of the Light.
So, no.
Cross that off.
Not a cult.
Hawk.
We get it.
No, we're doing this.
Garth, do we put down other churches and groups? - No, not that I know of.
- Right.
I dated someone from another faith.
I fucking loved someone from another faith.
"Do you feel like something is being hidden from you?" - ALL: No.
- No.
We are transparent.
"Are you told not to question what is taught?" - ALL: No.
- No, you can ask any question, any time.
"Are you made to feel like a failure?" ALL: No.
"Do you feel like you have no home outside of The Movement?" - ALL: No.
- Great, so you guys get it.
Now, do you have any questions or concerns? ALL: No! [applause.]
[clears throat.]
- Right this way, Mr.
Roberts.
- Okay.
All right, thank you.
- You're right here.
- Thank you.
[indistinct chatter.]
[phone buzzes.]
[line trilling.]
Look, I'm about to go on TV.
I can't talk now.
I'm the mole.
What? I'm the student who talked to Professor Neill.
I took his class.
I gave him information about The Movement.
We learned about Lilith together.
You're telling me this now? - And I slept with him.
- Fuck, Sarah.
What do you want me to do with this? I want you to use it.
Do whatever you want.
Use my name, I don't care.
I want you to crush him.
WOMAN: All right, everyone, we're going up in five.
Mr.
Roberts, Professor Neill called Meyerism "controversial" And and a cult.
That's okay, Ruben, I'm not afraid of the "c" word.
I've been a part of The Movement almost my whole life, and I've seen people come and go because contrary to what you might believe, our doors are open.
In fact, I myself left for a time, but I came back because I believe in Eddie Lane.
And I can assure you, he's not the megalomaniacal monster you described in the article.
He's a real person.
A humble person.
He didn't seem like a real and humble person when he showed up at my house in the middle of the night and called me ignorant and physically threatened me.
[whispering.]
You threatened him? I told him to stay away from my wife.
Maybe you should have said something to Cal.
- No, he's okay.
- CAL: Like I said, Eddie Lane is a real person with flaws and a temper.
You must have done something to really piss him off.
I assure you this is not just about Eddie Lane.
In my book, which will be out in the spring, I get into the history of violence - in your movement.
- Sorry, violence? Yes, going all the way back to your founder.
Something called The HC? As a type of autoerotic asphyxiation that you used to suppress dark urges [chuckles.]
I don't know anything about that.
- Specifically, but it - Here, sweetie.
It doesn't surprise me.
Dr.
Steven Meyer founded The Movement because he saw so much darkness in the world and he wanted to find a community - of people looking for Light.
- How's he doing? He's about to tear him apart.
- Good.
- So you're not doing it now? - You've never tried it? - We're not tying each other up now any more than people at the church down the block are actually drinking the blood of their savior.
Because [dark music.]
CAL: Like every great leader, Eddie has brought The Movement into a new generation, and we're bigger, more relevant than Steve ever imagined.
Meyerism's changed as the world has changed.
But but look, here's the point.
- Eddie Lane gives me hope - JACKSON: Because he's gonna lead you to "The Garden", just like he promised, right? You are a professor of religion.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I'm sure you understand that most religions believe - in some sort of afterlife.
- Yes, they do, but they don't blindly follow some guy from Brooklyn - into the afterlife.
- Jesus wasn't from Brooklyn.
That is true.
Is it Brooklyn specifically that's the problem? Would it be easier if he were from Manhattan? - [laughs.]
- No? What do you think happens when we die? Oh, I honestly don't know.
Nor do I think anyone should - claim to know - Well, I choose to believe in a Garden.
That's what helps me get through my day.
That and the belief that I'm helping others do the same thing.
So if having deep faith in something greater than you makes you a cult then I guess we're a cult.
- [laughs.]
Yes.
Yes.
- RUBEN: We'll be back.
[door opens.]
Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Everything okay? Yeah, yeah, just felt like being home.
- Since when do we have a TV? - It's just to see Cal.
- Here, sit down.
- Are you staying the night? - Um, yeah, maybe.
- Grandma lives in your room.
I will sleep on the couch.
RUBEN: Welcome back.
Cal, before the break, you called Meyerism a beacon of hope and light in today's confusing and dangerous world.
Can you talk a little more about why Meyerism is more relevant now than ever? Yeah, sure, sure, Ruben.
Everybody's searching.
It's not a comfortable notion, but I I think we're all in some sort of cult.
A job.
Alcoholics Anonymous.
SoulCycle.
- A class - So now I'm a cult leader.
Yes, okay, of course.
Education is about searching.
But I assure you, we do not enlist students in some sort - of, for people to sign away - I read some of your reviews when I was prepping for for this interview.
Um, uh, bear with me.
- You're quite popular.
- Thank you.
All your classes have waiting lists.
- Okay, that's great.
- Um Right.
Oh, "Professor Neill is brilliant, brilliant, and he knows it.
" "So smart, so hot.
" "His class will change your life.
" Oh, yeah, here's one.
Um [clears throat.]
"Professor Neill has - a 'cult following' on campus.
" - Wait, seriously, you keep trying to make this point.
This is ridiculous.
We do not ask students to sign away their basic human rights in order - to take a class, so - Okay, one more.
Uh "Professor Neill is super dreamy.
He's a PILF.
" - P-I-L-F.
What's a PILF? - I honestly don't know.
I don't read these comments.
I don't care.
But you did "eff" a student, right? [chuckles.]
Any chance you had a sexual relationship with the student you you used for a source in your article? Of course not.
That would be unethical.
Right, right.
Because that's, in fact, what cult leaders do, right? They exploit people who are vulnerable, maybe just lost a parent or are going through a divorce.
You're writing a book, right? To spread your gospel, hoping to publish it this spring I think you said.
I don't know, it just sounds like you're a little bit of a cult leader yourself, no? Very thought-provoking, Mr.
Roberts.
Thank you.
[applause.]
Yes.
Excuse me.
[soft music.]
HAWK: There's a TV in our house.
- Thanks again.
- Oh, hey, thank you, Ruben.
I did care about her.
I do.
Tell her I miss her and hope she's okay.
Yeah, she's fine.
- I can take that for you.
- Oh, thank you very much.
[dark music.]
[grunting.]
Eddie.
Eddie.
[grunting.]
Eddie.
Stop.
Fuck him! It's okay.
It's okay.
Your dad just needs a minute, okay? [panting.]
We need to cleanse.
Okay, we need to purge this Movement of darkness.
- Of Steve.
- How? We tell everyone.
[traffic honking in distance.]
[siren blaring in distance.]
[knocking on door.]
Hey, uh, sorry to show up out of the blue like this.
No, no, it's okay.
Come on in.
Hey, uh, sit down, sit down.
Can I get you some coffee? - Uh, no.
- Where are Mary and Forest? Uh, she's, um We separated.
I am so sorry, Cal.
Uh Cal, if there's anything that I can do? Um, uh, Cal you were - You were great last night.
- Thank you.
We just wanted to come here to tell you that, uh that I'm going to tell the truth.
The history of The Movement needs to be rewritten.
Steve needs to be written out.
- Revelation.
- Revelation? The new book that I will write.
That tells the real truth.
Right, but I just went on that show No, no, look, I know I know, and that's great for the IS, the non-believers, but for those of us who believe, - it's not good enough.
- Sorry, what is this? It's time for us to face all of it, Cal.
We have to.
The damage, the pain, the hurt inflicted by that man.
It's destroying you.
It made you destroy a life.
We'll lose everyone.
You know [chuckles.]
we're not the Catholic fucking Church.
No, we're not, which is why we need to do this.
There could be others like you.
No, there aren't.
- We don't know that.
- No, I can't.
I can't.
Um I can't let you do that.
It took me thirty years to be able to tell you.
I'm not ready.
The people aren't ready.
- They deserve to know.
- I will not use your name.
I will just say that Steve betrayed the ones that considered him a father.
Cal, he stole The Ladder from a patient I can't let you do that.
I won't let you do that.
This is not about you, Cal.
- Okay? This is about people - No.
You owe me.
Right? 'Cause I saved your fucking life.
This is something that you will never understand, this is why you could never lead.
Look, The Movement won't survive.
Yes, it will.
They are not here for Steve.
They are here for me.
Right.
Right, but I've given up everything.
Like my family.
You know, I I had my son Embraced.
And I have a duty to live up to that Embrace.
To protect him and every other child.
And the only way to do that is to be transparent.
Look, Revelation next week, you can tell me how you want to do it, or I will do it my way.
[alt-J's "Adeline".]
MALE: Ooh [door opens, closes.]
My Adeline Ooh Ooh Down In Tasmania I, um I ended Bali.
Why would you do that? - Did Eddie ask you to? - No.
No, he he didn't want me to.
Sweetheart, this [shushing softly.]
It's gonna be all right.
[crying.]
- It's not.
- I saw it.
It is beyond our power to stop at this point.
[softly.]
Okay? - I just want it to be over.
- And it will be.
It will be soon.
Ooh My Adeline I watch your morning swim again Ooh Cold from the blue sky Strokes from passing mopeds My sweet Adeline Ooh My Adeline, I wish you well My Adeline I wish you well I wish you well My Adeline I wish you well I wish you well [dog barking.]
[bird chirping.]
I would like to convert it into the first Meyerist Center in Asia.
ALL: To the Light in Bali.
CAL: He wants me to take things over for a couple of days.
Okay, but you're still gonna make it to Washington, right? No, actually no.
No, I can't.
MARY: What the fuck is wrong with you? A waitress from a women's rights dinner.
- What are you doing here? - So nice to meet you.
Thanks for supporting a woman's right to choose.
Let's get the vote out in November.
Something happened, Cal.
- Happened? - To you.
With Steve.
- How did - You don't have to tell me.
We are looking at the very first draft of Ladder, and I believe that - there's a second author.
- Lilith.
She believes that Eddie will die.
- Why? - The Movement will crumble without Eddie, and the world will crumble - without The Movement.
- Where is she? LILITH: I just knew you'd find me.
You never told me that Vera was your daughter.
Vera put me in here, and she's the only one who can get me out.
I think you're right where you need to be.
Sarah! [tense music.]
[suspenseful music.]
The Meyerist Movement, until recently, was a small fringe movement in upstate New York.
In the past year, they've increased their membership 70% and expanded to Europe.
You called it a "Second-generation phenomenon.
" Uh, yeah, their their founder, Dr.
Steven Meyer, recently died.
Now It's very rare for a new religion not to die with its founder.
In this case, their new leader, Eddie Lane, tripled the base.
Now, he's a guy from a blue collar family in Brooklyn, with a history of mental illness and abuse.
He married a woman high up in the faith in 1999.
Took over October of last year.
And, uh, has a mystical experience in the first few weeks of his leadership.
He walks a pregnant woman through fire a video which conveniently trends on YouTube.
RUBEN: I've seen the video.
Are you saying it was staged? JACKSON: I'm not saying anything I don't have the facts to back up.
[tense music.]
RUBEN: You called your article "The Fastest Growing Faith.
" What do you think it is about Meyerism that appeals to this younger generation? The future is more uncertain than ever.
And young people are looking for something to believe in, and Lane has an "everyman" quality.
He's a regular guy.
That is until he asked you to sign your life away.
He recently introduced a 25-page contract for all members for their "security," um, that essentially requires them to waive basic human rights.
Have you ever seen this guy before? No.
Somebody's talked to him, obviously.
We'll check the log of Possibles and intake sessions.
We can look at security footage outside the city center.
I'm sure that's where he came in.
Yes, I was able to get my hands on early notebooks of Meyer's, notebooks that no one had seen before or rather they'd been hidden away.
And these notebooks pointed to another writer.
A darker voice.
And my research showed her to have been a patient - of Steven Meyer's - What notebook? when she was she was just 13.
Are they real? Is he making this up? JACKSON: Meyerism is not a religion.
It is not a "movement" as they like to call it.
Lane is a dangerous man.
And this is a cult.
[breathing heavily.]
GABY: It's disgusting, and it's libel.
- It's a direct attack on Steve.
- Yes, it is.
And what the hell was that bullshit about someone else writing The Ladder? How did he even find out about the contract? - We're looking into it.
- What about the article? Can you get a retraction? Um No.
No.
But there is some good news.
I've been in touch with Ruben's producers, and they got a great response to the segment and would like to bring Eddie on for a follow-up next Thursday.
You'll be able to go head to head with Professor Neill.
[sighs.]
Eddie, we have plenty of time to prep, and they've promised us an unbiased forum - for our response.
- It will not be unbiased.
Okay? He called us a cult.
Yeah, and you can explain why we're not.
Eddie, it's a it's a very good show.
It's popular, and Ruben will moderate.
I I think it's a good move.
Eddie.
You have to do this.
I agree.
You have to go on that show.
Defend us.
And Steve.
I can't do this.
Cal.
I mean, I can go on and defend myself, but how can I defend him? Um I'll do it.
He's taken enough from me.
It's time.
Are you sure? I'd really like to do this.
[indistinct chatter.]
Mary? Buck needs to see you.
BUCK: I didn't read that article, the exposé in "The New Yorker.
" I mean, you spend your time reading magazines, you don't get shit else done in your day.
But one of my interns, they have Google alerts - for everything.
- It's not true.
I did skim it.
Some other woman involved? [clicks tongue.]
Always a woman behind the man, huh? So, that's it? I called your husband because I have a problem.
An impulse that I can't control.
An impulse that I know could destroy me.
And you are actually helping me.
Meyerism is effective.
You're effective.
You're a force, you know that? What if you came to work for me? Be on my staff.
- As what? - Executive Assistant but you'd function as an advisor.
I want you on the team when I run for governor.
You'd get hands-on campaign experience, and then when we move to Albany, you can transition to be in my office there, if you wanted.
I'll admit it's enticing.
Health insurance for you and your family, travel stipend, full-time salary.
I mean It's government so you're not gonna be rich, but it'd be something like - What about Cal? - What about him? He's the the one with the insight.
I don't know.
He didn't charm the pants off the ladies for reproductive rights, and he didn't keep me from getting a hollow blow job from that waitress afterward.
You did.
And the fact that I'm a Meyerist? Oh.
I believe in the separation of Church and State.
Of course, if it came out on the campaign trail, that would be annoying, but personally it doesn't bother me.
What the fuck, Sarah? I know.
I'm furious.
How could you trust someone like that? I met him at a vulnerable time.
I'm going to talk to him.
You're done with him, okay? I need you now.
Everything that he knows I need to know and more.
Okay? Let's go.
[train horn blaring.]
[soft music.]
EDDIE: So you were one of Steve's patients.
LILITH: Yes.
And The Ladder.
You saw in your dreams? Visions, yes.
So what happened on Huayna Picchu? I don't know.
I wasn't there.
But Steve had a wonderful imagination.
All right, so what's the difference between Steve's imagination and your dreams? My dreams come true.
SARAH: So Eddie has to die for your apocalypse to happen? LILITH: Eddie doesn't have to die.
Eddie gets to die.
SARAH: What if you're just a mentally ill person.
LILITH: I'm not.
Why not ask the professor about all of this? He seems to know more than anyone.
How do you know about that? We get "The New Yorker" in the loony bin, dear.
We're not savages.
It was you, wasn't it, Sarah? I thought so.
All that information about me had to come from you.
Well I wish I could change the future.
But I can't.
None of us can.
You understand, Eddie.
You've had visions too.
[sighs.]
All right, well, thank you, Lilith.
Vera, I want you to get her out of here.
That's that's not a good idea.
I don't care.
No, she's right.
Lilith has manipulated and lied.
Eddie.
You don't know her.
If she's out in the world, she'll make sure that prophecy comes true.
Well, I don't want to lock up someone for her ideas.
That's exactly what Steve did to her.
[tense music.]
Get her out.
I had to do it.
I think maybe my father wasn't my father.
What are you talking about? There was this man named Rajeev.
He went to college with my parents.
He was my dad's best friend.
When I was a child, he would, you know, visit in the summers, holidays, that kind of thing.
Always brought me something.
One night I woke up to get some water.
My mother and Rajeev were arguing in the kitchen, and I walked in, I saw tears in my mother's eyes, and I just knew They must have been lovers.
It made sense to me.
My whole childhood I never felt like my parents.
They were scientists.
I liked stories.
I always felt like I had been born into the wrong family.
What happened to him? He died of a brain tumor before he was 30.
Why are you telling me all of this now? There are things I haven't told you.
Things I need you to know.
About me.
Why? Why now? Because I saw it.
The end.
It's gonna be in Bali.
Wait.
Who who told you about Bali? Who told me what about Bali? That we're going there to set up a new site.
When? Wait, wait.
You're telling me no one told you about Bali, but somehow you just you just know? I saw it.
You set this up.
You set this whole thing up.
No, I didn't, and that is how I know it's real.
[dark music.]
Okay.
What did you see? A palace.
A pond.
Surrounded by lotus flowers.
Lit by the hunter's moon.
I I need to unburden.
I read some of Professor Neill's article.
- I did too.
- [affirming chatter.]
- Is it true? - Come on, guys.
All that, you know it's bullshit.
But he says he was given access to Steve's early journals.
This guy is trying to sell a book by making up a bunch of stuff about us.
But who talked to him? I mean, we're supposed to be transparent, but nobody's come forward.
We are looking into it.
It's most likely someone who left.
Yeah, but why would someone want to do that? Yeah, seriously, what do they have against us? Our mom asked if we were in a cult and I said I don't know.
Okay.
Look, this is exactly what he wants.
I need everyone to look at me.
We're not a cult.
We are not a cult.
Okay? MARY: Mr.
Roberts, tell us a little bit about your history with The Movement.
Well, Mr.
Wise, I came to Meyerism when I was a young child.
My parents were, ah, - unfit to care for me.
- You said "ah.
" And you should call him Ruben.
All the other guests do, I checked.
All right.
Well, Ruben, I came to Meyerism when I was a young child.
My parents were unfit to care for me, and the community embraced me in their absence.
The compound became my home and still is to this day.
Professor Neill describes Dr.
Steven Meyer as "a master manipulator, who stole the tenet of the religion from a very ill, young female patient.
" Dr.
Meyer did no such thing.
His aim was to help people - and, uh - Sorry, I - I can't let you do this.
- Hang on.
Hang let me figure out the right way to say it.
[sighs.]
Hm.
You're defending him.
Hmm? I don't know the details.
But I know.
I know Steve abused you.
Yeah.
Then why how can you do this? Because I want to own the narrative.
Going on a TV show and saying that Steve was a brilliant man - isn't owning anything.
- No, you're wrong.
Because he's dead and now I get to speak for his Movement and have his followers.
He couldn't destroy me, and now I'm the one with the power.
Are you listening to yourself? What would you rather me do? Crawl into a hole and give it all away, everything I've earned? Harbaugh offered me a full-time job.
Well, we we can't do that.
We have responsibilities to Meyerism.
Not us.
Me.
What did you tell him? That I needed to think about it.
This is what we want, right? Selling your soul to protect a pervert's reputation? - Not really.
- Isn't that what you're doing? Going on that TV show? - Mary, I'm your husband.
- You're not my husband.
I'm your partner.
And Harbaugh's not a pervert.
He's a messed up person just like the rest of us except that he is really trying to do something about it.
He wants to change.
[solemn music.]
Please don't take that job.
Please don't go on that show.
EDDIE: Okay, so Vera was born in 1981.
So that puts Lilith on the compound the summer of 1980.
Same year that Steve transcribed the ninth and tenth rungs.
Actually, will you grab the ninth rung so we can see what the language looks like? Wow.
[cell phone buzzing.]
I'm, um I'm gonna take this really quick.
Fine.
Eddie, I'll I'll step out.
You stay.
Oh.
Thanks.
- Hey.
- Are you in your office? - Uh.
No.
- I, uh Okay, we need to we need to meet up.
I have something to tell you.
Look, I'm just kind of tied up at the moment, working.
Eddie, we have to cancel the trip to Bali.
- Why? - My mom just had a vision, and she said that's where's it's all going to happen.
No.
No, I am not living in fear of your mother.
- And neither should you.
- No, I Eddie.
- Look, I have to go.
- Eddie, please.
I'm just I'm in the middle of something, okay? I will call you later.
[sighs.]
[soft music.]
Hey.
[clears throat.]
Vera? Did you tell her you were here? No.
I don't want to be in the middle of your relationship.
You kind of are in the middle, Sarah.
You done working for the night? Does anyone know about me? About Jackson? No.
Cal is going head to head with him on Ruben Wise.
To defend Steve? He He shouldn't do that.
That is not a fair fight.
- Yeah, well, he wants to.
- Why? It's not like his book is going to destroy The Movement.
You're opening up a center in Bali.
Only Vera wants me to cancel.
Why? Her mom thinks that's where the fucking prophecy's gonna happen.
And, um what do you think about her prophecy? You both have visions, she said it.
I'll know when this is all over.
Maybe you shouldn't go.
- You believe Lilith? - I don't.
But maybe after you're done doing all this work, we're done doing this work, maybe you'll feel like none of it's real.
That's not going to happen.
It happened to me.
No, what happened to you, Sarah, is that you started digging up the truth.
And all of the contradictions made you lose your way.
But we are going to finish this, and when we do, we will understand what we need to do.
And then it will all be real again.
I promise.
[rock music playing on speakers.]
Excuse me.
Could I have a whiskey? - You 21? - I forgot my I.
D.
- What kind? - Anything.
Are you in my history of photo class? Um, no I don't I don't think so.
I just said that so I could talk to you.
Oh.
So are you at Tisch? No, actually, I don't go to school.
What do you do? I [groans.]
I am on the leadership team of a spiritual movement.
What do you mean? Like a start-up? No, like a cult.
- You're in a cult? - Some Some people like to think so, yeah.
[chuckles.]
That's awesome.
I always wanted to meet somebody in a cult.
Uh, so like What do they make you do? Nothing, really.
My dad's in charge, so Your dad is the cult leader? [slaps bar.]
That's amazing.
I'm buying you a drink.
Excuse me.
Can we get two shots of tequila, please? - Thanks.
- [sighs.]
So, what kind of cult is it? - A nice cult? - [laughs.]
- A nice cult? - Yeah.
- Is that possible? - I think so.
Okay.
- To nice cults.
- Mm.
- [knock on bar.]
- [laughs.]
I think that deserves another round.
Yes, please.
[lounge music playing.]
VERA: So, you'll understand if we have to cut off ties and the trip to Bali.
[chuckles dully.]
We all make bad decisions.
You're not a bad person.
I know that.
You have the resources to handle this.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm gonna have to ask you to please not contact us again.
Please, help me.
I'm extremely confused.
[cell phone buzzing.]
I'm guessing that's your lawyer.
You're gonna want to take that.
How did you know? I heard they found some nasty stuff in your hotels.
[dark music.]
[cell phone continues buzzing.]
You should try and be a little more discreet next time.
Hello? I don't know anything about that.
He was so thorough.
Mm.
That's what happens when you consider yourself a god.
You assume that you're leaving behind a legacy.
Man, who knows what's from The Light and what's fiction.
Do you want to get something to eat? No, I'm all right.
When was the last time you ate? - What day is it? - [chuckles.]
Here.
Thanks.
This has our wedding in it.
No, I don't want to hear what he has to say about us.
It's not what he said.
It's what you said.
Mm.
"Every moment of my life, my childhood, the pain has all been worth it.
" God, I was corny.
No.
I love it.
"Because it led me to you.
" You are kind.
You are beautiful.
You are Light.
You have shown me what love is.
I wish I was still that person for you.
Hey.
- You still are.
- No.
- Yes.
- I'm not.
Just in a different way.
[approaching footsteps.]
Hey, Vera.
Oh, so, this is what you're caught up with? - Vera.
- I have nothing to say to you.
There's an entire Movement out there depending on you.
People who believe in you.
Counting on you, and you're in here reading a bunch of Steve's shit! With a woman who sold you out to a safety school college professor.
- That's enough.
- No, it isn't.
Eddie, I believe in you.
I believe in this Movement.
I would destroy my life for it.
I would destroy everything I've worked so fucking hard to put behind me.
What are you talking about? You should be out there fighting for us instead of hiding in here with someone who doesn't believe in it, or you.
Hey.
[solemn music.]
[piano music playing.]
MARY: Should we head back to Forest? CAL: Yeah, in a minute.
- It's so beautiful.
- Yeah, it is.
I need to tell you something.
[romantic music playing.]
[chuckles.]
It's just like I stole their music.
- What do you need to tell me? - Uh Ah, I, um[clears throat.]
Maybe I'm not clear enough, um - I love you.
- I know.
No, no, no.
No.
No, okay, Mary I love you.
And, um I wanted to come out here today to the city because, uh My parents and the compound and all the Steve stuff It's the past.
You are my future.
You and Forest.
[sighs.]
I I thought of us as married for a long time, but you deserve to have a ring on your finger.
I mean, you deserve everything.
I want to give it to you.
I will try to give it to you.
So, uh [chuckles.]
Mary Cox, will you marry me? - Really? - Yeah.
[chuckles.]
Well, um.
I mean.
Wow, um.
Okay, so I'll take the job, and we'll figure out the next steps.
- And we'll start.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I mean I'll still be with Meyerism.
But you won't do the TV show? Yeah, yeah, but with you at my side.
[both chuckle.]
Is that why you're doing this? - No, no.
No, that's not why.
- Cal.
I supported you, and I followed you wherever you needed to be, but You won't get better unless you leave this place.
And, um if you don't get better, I can't love you.
[somber music.]
You're wrong because I'm working on myself, and I'm in therapy.
I'm in secular therapy.
All right? And I'm making progress.
You'll never leave him.
Or Meyerism, will you? And you know how fucked up that is? No, no, but I don't need to leave Meyerism.
I need to take it back from him, and that is what I'm doing.
Okay? I'm gonna take the job.
Empirical evidence.
Who has read Professor Neill's article? Be honest.
Great.
We are going to unburden with any questions and concerns.
We don't have to do this, Hawk.
Yes, we do.
Because in this Movement we do not oppose critical thinking.
Could you hit the light, please? Which, by the way, is the first sign that you're in a cult according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Monica.
Do we "dishonor the family unit"? - Um, no.
- No.
If I recall correctly, my dad actually encouraged you to be loyal to your family instead of The Movement.
Do we penalize members for leaving? - ALL: No.
- No, Cal left, and he's back.
My dad left, and now he's The Guardian of the Light.
So, no.
Cross that off.
Not a cult.
Hawk.
We get it.
No, we're doing this.
Garth, do we put down other churches and groups? - No, not that I know of.
- Right.
I dated someone from another faith.
I fucking loved someone from another faith.
"Do you feel like something is being hidden from you?" - ALL: No.
- No.
We are transparent.
"Are you told not to question what is taught?" - ALL: No.
- No, you can ask any question, any time.
"Are you made to feel like a failure?" ALL: No.
"Do you feel like you have no home outside of The Movement?" - ALL: No.
- Great, so you guys get it.
Now, do you have any questions or concerns? ALL: No! [applause.]
[clears throat.]
- Right this way, Mr.
Roberts.
- Okay.
All right, thank you.
- You're right here.
- Thank you.
[indistinct chatter.]
[phone buzzes.]
[line trilling.]
Look, I'm about to go on TV.
I can't talk now.
I'm the mole.
What? I'm the student who talked to Professor Neill.
I took his class.
I gave him information about The Movement.
We learned about Lilith together.
You're telling me this now? - And I slept with him.
- Fuck, Sarah.
What do you want me to do with this? I want you to use it.
Do whatever you want.
Use my name, I don't care.
I want you to crush him.
WOMAN: All right, everyone, we're going up in five.
Mr.
Roberts, Professor Neill called Meyerism "controversial" And and a cult.
That's okay, Ruben, I'm not afraid of the "c" word.
I've been a part of The Movement almost my whole life, and I've seen people come and go because contrary to what you might believe, our doors are open.
In fact, I myself left for a time, but I came back because I believe in Eddie Lane.
And I can assure you, he's not the megalomaniacal monster you described in the article.
He's a real person.
A humble person.
He didn't seem like a real and humble person when he showed up at my house in the middle of the night and called me ignorant and physically threatened me.
[whispering.]
You threatened him? I told him to stay away from my wife.
Maybe you should have said something to Cal.
- No, he's okay.
- CAL: Like I said, Eddie Lane is a real person with flaws and a temper.
You must have done something to really piss him off.
I assure you this is not just about Eddie Lane.
In my book, which will be out in the spring, I get into the history of violence - in your movement.
- Sorry, violence? Yes, going all the way back to your founder.
Something called The HC? As a type of autoerotic asphyxiation that you used to suppress dark urges [chuckles.]
I don't know anything about that.
- Specifically, but it - Here, sweetie.
It doesn't surprise me.
Dr.
Steven Meyer founded The Movement because he saw so much darkness in the world and he wanted to find a community - of people looking for Light.
- How's he doing? He's about to tear him apart.
- Good.
- So you're not doing it now? - You've never tried it? - We're not tying each other up now any more than people at the church down the block are actually drinking the blood of their savior.
Because [dark music.]
CAL: Like every great leader, Eddie has brought The Movement into a new generation, and we're bigger, more relevant than Steve ever imagined.
Meyerism's changed as the world has changed.
But but look, here's the point.
- Eddie Lane gives me hope - JACKSON: Because he's gonna lead you to "The Garden", just like he promised, right? You are a professor of religion.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I'm sure you understand that most religions believe - in some sort of afterlife.
- Yes, they do, but they don't blindly follow some guy from Brooklyn - into the afterlife.
- Jesus wasn't from Brooklyn.
That is true.
Is it Brooklyn specifically that's the problem? Would it be easier if he were from Manhattan? - [laughs.]
- No? What do you think happens when we die? Oh, I honestly don't know.
Nor do I think anyone should - claim to know - Well, I choose to believe in a Garden.
That's what helps me get through my day.
That and the belief that I'm helping others do the same thing.
So if having deep faith in something greater than you makes you a cult then I guess we're a cult.
- [laughs.]
Yes.
Yes.
- RUBEN: We'll be back.
[door opens.]
Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Everything okay? Yeah, yeah, just felt like being home.
- Since when do we have a TV? - It's just to see Cal.
- Here, sit down.
- Are you staying the night? - Um, yeah, maybe.
- Grandma lives in your room.
I will sleep on the couch.
RUBEN: Welcome back.
Cal, before the break, you called Meyerism a beacon of hope and light in today's confusing and dangerous world.
Can you talk a little more about why Meyerism is more relevant now than ever? Yeah, sure, sure, Ruben.
Everybody's searching.
It's not a comfortable notion, but I I think we're all in some sort of cult.
A job.
Alcoholics Anonymous.
SoulCycle.
- A class - So now I'm a cult leader.
Yes, okay, of course.
Education is about searching.
But I assure you, we do not enlist students in some sort - of, for people to sign away - I read some of your reviews when I was prepping for for this interview.
Um, uh, bear with me.
- You're quite popular.
- Thank you.
All your classes have waiting lists.
- Okay, that's great.
- Um Right.
Oh, "Professor Neill is brilliant, brilliant, and he knows it.
" "So smart, so hot.
" "His class will change your life.
" Oh, yeah, here's one.
Um [clears throat.]
"Professor Neill has - a 'cult following' on campus.
" - Wait, seriously, you keep trying to make this point.
This is ridiculous.
We do not ask students to sign away their basic human rights in order - to take a class, so - Okay, one more.
Uh "Professor Neill is super dreamy.
He's a PILF.
" - P-I-L-F.
What's a PILF? - I honestly don't know.
I don't read these comments.
I don't care.
But you did "eff" a student, right? [chuckles.]
Any chance you had a sexual relationship with the student you you used for a source in your article? Of course not.
That would be unethical.
Right, right.
Because that's, in fact, what cult leaders do, right? They exploit people who are vulnerable, maybe just lost a parent or are going through a divorce.
You're writing a book, right? To spread your gospel, hoping to publish it this spring I think you said.
I don't know, it just sounds like you're a little bit of a cult leader yourself, no? Very thought-provoking, Mr.
Roberts.
Thank you.
[applause.]
Yes.
Excuse me.
[soft music.]
HAWK: There's a TV in our house.
- Thanks again.
- Oh, hey, thank you, Ruben.
I did care about her.
I do.
Tell her I miss her and hope she's okay.
Yeah, she's fine.
- I can take that for you.
- Oh, thank you very much.
[dark music.]
[grunting.]
Eddie.
Eddie.
[grunting.]
Eddie.
Stop.
Fuck him! It's okay.
It's okay.
Your dad just needs a minute, okay? [panting.]
We need to cleanse.
Okay, we need to purge this Movement of darkness.
- Of Steve.
- How? We tell everyone.
[traffic honking in distance.]
[siren blaring in distance.]
[knocking on door.]
Hey, uh, sorry to show up out of the blue like this.
No, no, it's okay.
Come on in.
Hey, uh, sit down, sit down.
Can I get you some coffee? - Uh, no.
- Where are Mary and Forest? Uh, she's, um We separated.
I am so sorry, Cal.
Uh Cal, if there's anything that I can do? Um, uh, Cal you were - You were great last night.
- Thank you.
We just wanted to come here to tell you that, uh that I'm going to tell the truth.
The history of The Movement needs to be rewritten.
Steve needs to be written out.
- Revelation.
- Revelation? The new book that I will write.
That tells the real truth.
Right, but I just went on that show No, no, look, I know I know, and that's great for the IS, the non-believers, but for those of us who believe, - it's not good enough.
- Sorry, what is this? It's time for us to face all of it, Cal.
We have to.
The damage, the pain, the hurt inflicted by that man.
It's destroying you.
It made you destroy a life.
We'll lose everyone.
You know [chuckles.]
we're not the Catholic fucking Church.
No, we're not, which is why we need to do this.
There could be others like you.
No, there aren't.
- We don't know that.
- No, I can't.
I can't.
Um I can't let you do that.
It took me thirty years to be able to tell you.
I'm not ready.
The people aren't ready.
- They deserve to know.
- I will not use your name.
I will just say that Steve betrayed the ones that considered him a father.
Cal, he stole The Ladder from a patient I can't let you do that.
I won't let you do that.
This is not about you, Cal.
- Okay? This is about people - No.
You owe me.
Right? 'Cause I saved your fucking life.
This is something that you will never understand, this is why you could never lead.
Look, The Movement won't survive.
Yes, it will.
They are not here for Steve.
They are here for me.
Right.
Right, but I've given up everything.
Like my family.
You know, I I had my son Embraced.
And I have a duty to live up to that Embrace.
To protect him and every other child.
And the only way to do that is to be transparent.
Look, Revelation next week, you can tell me how you want to do it, or I will do it my way.
[alt-J's "Adeline".]
MALE: Ooh [door opens, closes.]
My Adeline Ooh Ooh Down In Tasmania I, um I ended Bali.
Why would you do that? - Did Eddie ask you to? - No.
No, he he didn't want me to.
Sweetheart, this [shushing softly.]
It's gonna be all right.
[crying.]
- It's not.
- I saw it.
It is beyond our power to stop at this point.
[softly.]
Okay? - I just want it to be over.
- And it will be.
It will be soon.
Ooh My Adeline I watch your morning swim again Ooh Cold from the blue sky Strokes from passing mopeds My sweet Adeline Ooh My Adeline, I wish you well My Adeline I wish you well I wish you well My Adeline I wish you well I wish you well [dog barking.]
[bird chirping.]