Hercules: The Legendary Journeys s03e21 Episode Script

A Rock and a Hard Place

He can't be far! Come on! This way! Split up! We'll cover more ground! Over there! Aah! This way! I think I saw him! Any sign of him? I thought he came through here.
He had short hair! He was wearing brown! lolaus, go around! We'll cut him off! How many did he kill? I don't know! Wait! - Don't hurt her.
- I don't wanna have to hurt the little girl! - Back off! - Come on.
- You back off now! She's only a child.
Let her go.
Don't make things worse for yourself.
I let her go, I'm dead.
I won't let that happen.
- I'll see that you get a fair trial.
- From this bunch? You can't hide behind her forever.
I- I don't need forever! - Don't! - Huh? Hercules, he's getting away! lolaus! You'll be okay.
You'll be okay.
Come on.
Come on.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's all over.
This isn't gonna go your way.
You're making a big mistake.
You shouldn't have followed me! You made the mistake.
You shouldn't have run.
Now, drop the knife.
I don't wanna kill you, but I will if I have to! I just- I have to get out of this town.
Can't let you do that.
Don't move.
Like I've got a choice? Are you gonna lift this thing off me, or just stand there? What are you waiting for? Answer me! Your body's been crushed.
If I lift up this rock, you'll die.
This is the story of a time long ago, a time of myth and legend, when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering.
Only one man dared to challenge their power- Hercules.
Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart.
He journeyed the earth, battling the minions of his wicked stepmother, Hera, the all-powerful queen of the gods.
But wherever there was evil, wherever an innocent would suffer, there would be Hercules.
Hail! You're lying.
This rock is all that's holding you together.
If I move it, you'll bleed to death.
Oh, shovel it somewhere else, hero.
I don't scare so easily.
Quit stalling.
Get me out of here.
Believe whatever you like.
I'm telling you the truth.
If I were as messed up as you say, how come I don't feel any pain? You will.
Your body's still numb.
Oh, are you enjoying yourself, watching me squirm? I don't enjoy anyone suffering.
I'm overwhelmed.
It's getting a little crowded in here though, you know, with the size of your heart and all.
Well, what are you waiting for? Break it down! It looks like we're both stuck here.
If I touch anything, the rest of the cavern will collapse.
Well, you'd survive.
You're Hercules.
Me, I'm just a talking corpse, so you've got nothing to lose.
Except the pleasure of your company.
Yeah, I can tell, you and I, we're gonna be the best of pals.
They're in here! This mine's been abandoned for years.
We can't go in there.
Go back to the village.
Get me a torch and some tools.
Go! Give me a hand clearing these rocks! Stuck in a place hotter than Tartarus, and you wanna light a fire? You prefer the dark? Yeah.
Makes it easier to pretend that I'm not stuck here with you.
Look, we can spend all day trading insults, or you can drop the act.
Act? I'm not the one strutting around like I'm a real man just 'cause my father gave me muscles bigger than everybody else.
And slaughtering a family while they sleep- I guess that makes you a real man.
Oh, now you're the judge, jury and executioner.
Slow down, hero.
Other people gotta make a living too.
Keep talking, Cassus.
Just remember, you got yourself into this.
You think you know what's what, don't you, Hercules? Well, you don't.
If you did, you'd know that I'm innocent.
Are you saying he killed an entire family? And there were bloody footprints all over the house.
What? I said there were bloody footprints leading from the house.
Come on! This way! Where is it? It's over there.
Look.
Come on.
I hear he cut their throats and then stabbed them.
I guess he wanted to do a thorough job.
It's perfect, isn't it? I'm looking forward to this.
It was early.
The sun wasn't up yet.
I was walking into town, looking for work.
I heard a scream.
I thought it was an animal dying.
Then I realized that it came from inside a house, so I ran to help.
It was a nightmare.
They were all dead.
Blood everywhere.
I heard a noise behind me.
I turned around.
I tried to get him, but he was gone.
Someone must've seen me coming out of the house, 'cause next thing I knew, I was running for my life.
I- I guess I picked the wrong town.
Why didn't you go to the magistrate? I've got a history.
How many people are gonna believe a guy who spent time in prison? What for? I took a few things here or there, to make ends meet.
Okay, I'm no monk, but that doesn't make me a killer.
If that's true, you could've stood up for yourself in court.
Where have you been all morning? Those animals out there tried to put a hole in me! They don't want the truth.
They want my blood.
What did he look like? Who? The man you saw running from the house.
I don't know.
It was too dark.
I didn't get a good look.
- Tall? Short? - I'm saying that he ran by too fast.
Hercules! lolaus! Over here! You all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
- Did you get him? - You could say that.
You know, it doesn't look too good out here.
It's not much better on this side either.
Great.
What are we gonna do now? There's nothing like watching a criminal get what's coming to him.
Hey! Hey, what's going on here? There's a mass murderer in there.
The children are having so much fun.
And it is such a beautiful day.
Perfect! Front-row seats.
Yes.
Keep it right there.
This could be fun.
Hi.
Hi.
If criminals were properly punished, we wouldn't have this problem.
You said it! The truth is, I hope that murderer is still alive, so we can hang him ourselves.
A proper execution.
Perius has never been the same since his wife died.
Careful.
I am being careful.
Hey, you really think this'll be strong enough to brace the roof? I hope so.
Yeah.
Oh, nice going, hero! Well, what are you gonna do now, hero? Huh? You okay? So far.
I'm sorry, Hercules.
Well, no harm done.
Yeah, a pleasure.
You've been a real service to the community.
- Now, get out of here! - I'll be back.
Yeah, sure.
You tell those people out there they can all go straight to Tartarus.
And while you're at it, you go too! Good to see you.
Look.
Hercules.
Thank the gods you're safe.
We owe you a debt of gratitude.
Well, don't thank me yet.
Is he dead? No, but he's badly hurt, and we can't move him.
Well, you don't mean to tell us you're gonna protect him, do you? By sunset, Cassus will be dead.
Nothing is gonna change that.
He can't hurt anybody now.
Hey! You're going to hold that butcher's hand while he dies? Where were you when my wife was killed, Hercules? I never even had a chance to say good-bye before a bandit slit her throat.
She died alone because of people like that monster in there.
I am truly sorry about your wife.
I know how you feel.
What about him? Is he sorry for what he's done? He says he didn't kill those people.
- And you believe him? - There is a chance that he's innocent.
Until we know the truth, we don't have the right to condemn him.
He won't get away with this.
I won't let him.
I don't get it.
Why are you defending this guy? I mean, he's a murderer.
Well, when Serena was murdered, didn't you find me with the knife in my hand? Yeah, but that was different.
Why? Well, 'cause, you know, you're- you're Hercules.
It didn't seem to matter much to anyone else.
Yeah, but you proved them wrong.
A chance Cassus isn't gonna get.
Guilty or not, he's gonna die without a trial.
Hercules, I have to know.
Do you really think he's innocent? No.
But before this place collapsed, Cassus said something.
He didn't want to kill me, but he would if he had to.
A man without a conscience wouldn't have said that.
So, what? You think you're gonna get him to confess? It's the only way we'll find the truth.
I'll get some more water.
You're gonna be in here for a while.
Yeah.
You forget something? I thought you might be thirsty.
You're welcome.
I don't need you here.
I don't want you here.
Well, gee, that's too bad.
I was really looking forward to seeing you again too.
You just come back to hear me beg for mercy? I came back because a dying man deserves to have his last words heard.
And it looks like I'm the only one who will listen to yours.
I don't get your angle.
Being here hasn't made you popular with the people outside.
Yeah.
Well, what's popular isn't always what's right.
You are some piece of work.
You're just glowing with goodness.
Cassus, do you have so little respect for yourself that you can't see when someone's trying to help you? I'm having a great time.
We should do this more often.
Drink to it! Drink up! There's plenty! Don't do this.
You're in over your head.
- Thanks for the advice.
- Where do you think you're going? Look, we're not doing this to hurt you people.
Then stop this, please.
Before my wife died, we were gonna start a family, have children.
Now, all I know, all I am, dies with me.
I realize you're upset about your wife, but Cassus had nothing to do with her death.
How do you know? The man who murdered my wife was never caught.
For all I know, he did kill her.
Doesn't that mean anything to you? What more can you possibly do to him that hasn't already been done? I can watch him die.
Well, somehow, I don't think that's gonna make you feel better.
You're making a mistake you may not live to regret! We'll take our chances.
Hotter than a baker's oven in here.
All gone.
lolaus will be back soon.
Best pals? I trust him with my life.
But I guess a thief wouldn't understand much about trust.
I told you.
It's not a career.
I just do it to get by.
You never wanted anything else, huh? What do you mean? Like, a house, a kid, and a little lady on the porch? There's nothing wrong with it.
- Why are you here? - I tried to have those things.
The truth is, there's nothing I want more.
But, uh, I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Bad luck? You could call it that, yeah.
Well, you're not missing much.
I had an old lady once.
Nice, pretty.
I would've let her stick around too, but she took off, left her kid behind.
Herkid? Yeah, she said it was mine.
Nico.
Tell you the truth, he didn't look much like me.
What happened to him? I tried to provide for him and gave him everything that I never had.
Little punk just took off.
I haven't seen him in years.
I should've known he'd turn out rotten as his mama.
Oh, so it's her fault that your son left? Damn right.
A man can't be expected to take care of a kid by himself, can he? In your case, Cassus, that may be true.
Thanks.
Is there water? Bring it here! How much more of that are you gonna take? The guy is so full of excuses.
He's never taken responsibility for anything in his life.
Yeah? I doubt he's gonna start now.
Unless- He said he had a son- Nico.
Ran away.
Probably living on the streets.
Think you can find him? Street kid? Yeah.
I got a pretty good idea where to look.
Why? The boy didn't just leave for no reason.
If Cassus won't face his responsibilities- We gotta bring his responsibilities to him.
Yeah.
Hercules! Go.
He doesn't have much time left.
Murderer! Help me! Help me! Do something! Help me! Do something! Help! Please! I'm slipping! I've got him.
Here.
My leg! Sit still.
You probably twisted it.
We didn't mean to hurt you with a fire bomb, Hercules.
Lyna and I just- just wanted to- Lyna? Where is she? - You bastard! - What are you doing? Get that crazy woman away from me! He killed my family.
Killing him won't bring them back.
He deserves to die.
That's exactly what he's doing.
Please.
You shouldn't be in here.
This cavern's not safe.
I've got nothing left to lose.
He's taken everything from me.
Do I have to listen to this little drama? I'm sick enough! I'll kill you! How could you- They never hurt anybody.
Lyna, listen to me.
This is not the answer.
What do you know? I know how easy it is to hate at a time like this.
I also know that hate can make you do things you'll regret.
How could I ever regret killing that monster? Because this is not what your family would want you to do.
It's gonna be hard, but you will make it.
Hey, kid, uh, I'm looking for a guy called Nico.
A kid maybe, I don't know, You've never seen or heard of this kid before? You don't know where he is? You know nothing about him? What's the matter with you? She hasn't been through enough today? Now you have to mock her as well? In case you didn't notice, she tried to kill me.
Put yourself in her place, Cassus! Her family was stabbed to death.
She'll never see her brother grow up, never hold her mother again.
What if someone did that to your son? I haven't seen him in years.
How do you think it'd make me feel? The same way Lyna does.
Or maybe you're afraid.
Afraid? Yes, afraid.
You know what I think? If you saw yourself through her eyes, you'd see someone you wouldn't like.
What happened to that girl's family was a real tragedy.
But for the last time, I didn't kill those people! I hope not, Cassus.
I really do.
Hey, you got a light? Does anyone know where I can find a kid called Nico? Who wants to know? Well, you can ask Nico when I find him.
Tell you what.
You can turn around and walk out that door, or you can stay and bleed.
What is this, Threaten lolaus Day? Come on, kid.
I'm not in the mood.
No? You in the mood to die? You know what? If you wanna stay in this game, you gotta react a lot faster than that.
Are you gonna take that from an old man? Maybe he's scared.
Yeah, what are you, chicken? See what I mean? What do you want? Oh.
Hard of hearing? I'm looking for Nico! I'm Nico! - Then we have to talk.
- We got nothing to say to each other.
It's- It's about your father.
I don't have a father.
Get your bury the butcher tunics here! Five dinars each! Two for ten dinars! Cold mead! Get your cold mead here! Right, right.
You got the mead.
That's what I need.
This oughta hold us a while till things get a little more entertaining.
You said it.
I thought we were gonna see some skull-cracking.
This used to be a safe place to live.
Yeah! Now we can't even sleep without fearing for our lives.
We want justice! Perius is right.
I'm tired of being afraid.
But what can we do? We can stick together so that scum like that will know they can't hide from justice.
The man's a killer! Revenge! Revenge! Know what I think? We're gonna get what we came for.
And why not? We're celebrating, aren't we? Well, that's a tragic story, but what do you want me to do about it? Well, I-I thought you might wanna see him before he dies.
Well, you thought wrong.
He's been dead to me a long time.
That is quite a chip you have on your shoulder.
You wanna carry that around with you for the rest of your life? Hey! Look, I don't blame you for running away.
Is that what he told you? I'm not surprised.
I didn't run away.
He walked out on me.
So you can go back there and tell him exactly what he told me when he took off.
What? Nothin'.
I should've expected this- trapped here like an animal, mob outside that wants my blood on the wall.
Bad luck has a way of following me around.
So that's why you're here, huh? Bad luck? What else? I didn't ask for this to happen to me.
Just kind of fell on me.
Yeah.
You're right.
People can't control everything that happens to them.
But they do have a say.
Get off of your high horse.
You had everything handed to you.
Son of a god.
Strength of a thousand men.
You've never had to struggle for anything in your life.
So you're just a victim here, huh? I'm no victim.
You don't hear me whining.
No? The town has misjudged you.
Your son didn't repay your kindness.
His mother is rotten.
You played a part, Cassus.
The choices you made had an effect on your life.
Get out.
Get out! It's so much easier to blame others for our failures, isn't it? Get this off of me! I can't take this anymore! Stop.
Stop! Get this thing off of me! I can't, and you know that! No! I can't- I can't go this way.
This is no way for a man to die.
I want to help you, Cassus.
Help me what? I'm dying, get it? But you're not dead yet.
You still have a chance to die with some self-respect.
How? By confessing? You know what I think, hero? I think you want me to be guilty.
Because if I'm not, there's still a murderer running loose out there, and you're to blame for the death of an innocent man.
I shouldn't have gone to the lake last night, Geryon.
I should've stayed home.
Maybe it would've made a difference.
There's nothing you could have done.
And if you'd been home- If I'd been home, I'd still be with them! How many dead people can you fit in a meat wagon? As many as you want, as long as you slice 'em thin enough.
Hey, how about a little consideration? - You got a problem, buddy? - Geryon, don't.
They're drunk.
- It doesn't give 'em the right to shoot off their mouths.
- What are you gonna do about it? Please! I don't wanna lose you too! Fellas.
It's not the right time.
Gee.
You're right.
I'm sorry about all this.
Come on.
Some people are so insensitive.
This is what you get for making friends with a murderer.
Hold him tight! Your swing needs work.
Here, I'll show you.
What's going on here? You might wanna try asking them that once they've gotten over their hangovers.
You brought this on yourself.
Did you really think you could light a fire without getting burned? You know, you should try asking yourself that question.
Come on.
Why don't you try and stop this thing before it's too late? Hercules is the only person that can stop this.
It's getting worse out there.
Bloodsucking leeches.
I told you they weren't interested in the truth.
You wouldn't know the truth if it- Ask him why he abandoned his son.
I found Nico.
You had no right.
I thought you said he ran away.
We can't all be perfect, Hercules.
What do I know about raising a kid? I did him a favor, walking out on him.
You did yourself a favor.
- You're a coward, and your son's paying the price.
- He survived, didn't he? Yeah, by stealing, living on the streets.
- Worked for me.
I got by just fine.
- What? You call this getting by? Unbelievable.
That's it.
I want the truth.
You killed those people, didn't you? No.
- I don't believe you.
- I don't care.
Yes, you do, Cassus.
I know you do.
You really wanna die like a man? Then tell me the truth! Nothing I say'll make any difference to those maggots out there.
Maybe not! But it'll matter to you.
And maybe someday, it'll matter to your son.
I don't care what he thinks.
He didn't even have the guts to come and see me.
You haven't changed a bit, have you, Dad? How long have you been standing there? Long enough.
lolaus.
Why'd you come? I wasn't about to let you leave again without an explanation.
You're a lot braver than I thought.
Wish I could say the same.
I heard you were in prison.
Heard from who? Word gets around.
I'm famous.
For getting caught? Is prison as tough as they say? - Why? You lookin' to trying it out? - That'll never happen.
Yeah, you're too tough for that, huh? You didn't give me much choice.
No, I didn't, did I? Listen up.
We've waited long enough.
Time for talking's over.
Who's with me? We're behind you all the way! We'll make an example of him! Indeed we will! Not so fast! You won't stand in our way, Hercules.
Haven't you seen enough death already? No? Then do it.
Shoot me! But ask yourself one thing: What would your wife say if she saw you now? She would- She would- Look at yourselves.
Is this your idea of justice? To celebrate death? To profit from it? Lyna is the real victim here! She lost her family! But it looks like you were all too busy to care.
The party's over.
Go home.
I know you've suffered.
But you are not alone.
You can honor your wife's memory by sharing your strength with someone who needs it.
This is where your attention should have been today.
This is where it should be now.
Forgive me.
Nico bring me some water.
There are some things- some things I wish I had never done.
It's too late for that now.
No, listen.
Let me finish.
If I had another chance, I'd- I'd probably do it all the same.
But that's just me.
But you don't have to make the same mistakes.
You lost the right to give me advice a long time ago.
You fool.
I'm not talking to you as your father.
I'm talking to you as someone who's been where you're going.
Why should I believe anything you have to say? You've never told the truth in your life.
Damn you, Hercules.
Damn you for bringing him here.
We live forever in the hearts of the people we leave behind.
Your son may never forgive you, but he doesn't have to remember you as a coward.
That is what I am.
I've been a coward my whole life.
I- I only meant to rob the place.
It was so quiet.
I couldn't hear the man sneaking up behind me.
He was just protecting his house.
I panicked.
I just kept thinking about prison - how I wasn't going back.
I killed him.
I killed his wife.
I killed their little son.
I killed them all.
I- Hercules was right.
I didn't have the courage to raise you.
For that, I'm very sorry.
Hercules, grant a condemned man his last wish.
Set me free.
- Cassus, I- - Please, it's time.
You go.
You go.
You don't need to see this.
I'm staying.
I- I just hope my death gives that girl some peace.
That's the truth.
I believe you.
You never gave up on me, hero.
Is he- He's dead.
I've been seeing his face over and over- the way he looked when I was about to kill him, and the satisfaction I would have felt taking his life.
Now he's dead, I'm glad I didn't.
You were right, Hercules.
I want to believe someday that the pain will go away.
But I don't.
I won't lie to you.
It gets better, but it never goes away.
It hurts so much.
I know.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode