Cape Fear (2026) s01e04 Episode Script

Hey. I'll get one more on the…
Thank you.
Your friend already picked up the tab.
Who?
What?
A defendant and a prosecutor
walk into a bar.
You're a member here?
They were nice enough
to renew me after 17 years away.
May I join you, Tom?
Tom, can I call you Tom?
I was… I was just leaving.
Okay.
Hey.
What did you give my son?
- What?
- The other day.
Don't bullshit me.
I saw you on my security camera
giving him something. What was it?
No, no… I didn't give him anything.
He gave this to me.
Zack had a dream about my boy,
my unborn baby, Adam.
And in his dream,
apparently, he looked like this.
It's a beautiful drawing.
It's…
Why would he tell you that?
- Why would he talk to you?
- I don't know.
Sometimes, it's easier to talk to…
to strangers than to a parent, I guess.
It made me feel that Zack…
He really needs a father, Tom.
You don't know my son.
No, no, no, no. Yeah.
Absolutely not, that's not what I…
You are the father.
Obviously.
It's just that, I wish that I would've
had a chance to be a father.
Because it makes me…
makes me think about my Adam, my boy.
And I'd do anything…
to just meet my son for one small moment.
I… What…
You-You name it, I would cross fire,
I would eat glass, whatever,
just to know him. One second.
And for him to know me.
But what do I know?
Sorry. I had a couple of drinks, sorry.
Thanks for mine.
Good night, Mr. Prosecutor.
You've gotta be kidding.
Can I help you?
Do you live right here?
Max Cady isn't here.
Max doesn't come around here.
You should go.
Go.
I don't know where he is.
Don't come here.
What do they know about love, my dear?
What do they know about love?
The jingle of a dog's collar
Would be good right here
The jingle of a dog's collar
Would be good…
Why are you making coffee?
'Cause her coffee
tastes like mattress sweat.
'Cause I'm running late.
You're leaving?
You said you'd take me to soccer
and let me drive.
I need my supervised hours
so I can get my license.
Honey, I'm sorry, I can't.
We have to go out and see Ruben.
It's always something, isn't it?
Morning, Ray.
Did you make this?
Yeah.
Not that I don't prefer
my wife's coffee, but…
Zack! Dr. Carlisle will be here soon!
Hope you're getting dressed!
I can't join Zack's session today. Sorry.
It's all right. I got this one.
Another thing Mom said
she was gonna do and isn't doing.
License.
You want me to take you driving later?
No, you're not the one who said you would.
Don't be such a cuck.
Excuse me?
Nat.
Don't talk to your dad that way.
Which dad? Tom or Paul?
Hey. Watch it.
You want me to be perfect,
so you don't have to pay attention to me.
I'm fucking tired of it.
You know what they say,
"Hell hath no fury
like a 17-year-old without a license."
Let's go somewhere more peaceful,
like prison.
I'm done.
I give up.
Don't give up yet, Ruben.
We still have some moves left.
We can pressure the governor
for a last-minute stay.
Another little press conference?
Nobody gives a shit.
Give me a break.
The judge is sympathetic.
If we can find any new evidence
that could have affected the verdict…
And where are we gonna get
new evidence in the next two weeks?
We'll go back after Warren Pitt.
Do I need to remind you
why we call him Smiley?
Man smiles when he slits your neck.
He was there when Maya Cook got shot.
He knows you weren't.
He saw Andre King do the shooting.
Smiley could still
catch an accessory charge.
Ruben.
I am going to do everything I can
to save your life,
whether you like it or not.
I will get him to talk myself.
Fine.
So last week, I gave Zack some exercises
to try to help regulate his emotions.
But sometimes,
it's easier to express things nonverbally.
He's also been expressing, again,
his desire to reach out to Sophia,
but we've talked about
why he can't do that.
Dr. Carlisle, respectfully,
Zack made a mistake last year
and he knows it.
It's why we've been doing this
for months on end,
to help him get back to normal.
But I-I…
I don't see any progress
toward a solution here.
What if we didn't think of people
as a problem to be solved?
Well, the point of therapy
is to get better.
Tom…
Yeah.
Zack shared with me,
when you were his age,
you had an older brother that died…
In a car accident.
What does that have to do with this?
Maybe we could talk about it together.
With Zack.
You've been very helpful.
But I know my son,
and he is not taking this seriously
because he does not take you seriously.
So, I think we're gonna
have to find a new therapist.
But thank you.
Good hands.
I didn't think I'd see you again.
What are you up to?
I'm gonna get a new tattoo.
Wanna come, hold my hand?
Kiss it better?
How did you miss that? How?
Callie, it's practice.
Wow, your friend's really on one.
See you around.
Maybe we should go
to a real tattoo parlor.
Don't be a princess.
It's a pop-up.
Hey!
Look what I brought.
I knew you'd be back, Angel.
So, what's your friend gonna get?
Nat wants to get her nipples pierced.
She's joking.
I'm-I'm just moral support.
Who's joking?
You don't want him to do it?
Is that what it is?
This isn't funny. I'm gonna wait outside.
I did my own, you know.
It's a sharp pinch,
and then your body
floods you with endorphins
and you get this…
rush.
You feel so alive.
My mom would kill me.
You trust me, right?
You swear you know what you're doing?
I promise.
I'll be gentle.
Unless you tell me not to be.
Just my left one.
You're gonna look so hot
with a pierced tit.
Hold it in place, right here. Right there.
Okay.
Count me down.
Three.
Two.
Fuck.
Oh, my God.
That's my girl.
Just a minute!
Mr. Pitt. Smiley, right?
I'm Anna Bowden, I'm a lawyer.
I'm sorry,
- it's not a great time.
- This will only take a minute.
Look, you may be entitled
to participate financially
in a misconduct judgment
against the Savannah PD.
- No shit.
- Yeah.
Well, come on in.
Thank you.
My girl, Rose, is Vitamin B deficient.
Not eating enough bones,
but Papa gonna take care of that.
There you go, sweetie.
So, what'd you wanna ask me?
Your name came up
in some research I was doing.
The Savannah PD, they targeted
you and your friends' parties, right?
Police…
- Always fixated on us.
- Yeah.
Do you recall a party
at Darius Bennet's house
in Barton County, August 2003?
Was that that-that one
where that girl got…
where the girl was shot?
Yeah, I was at the party.
Police dislocated my elbow.
So, are you gonna cut me a check?
You were at the party.
Do you recall anyone else that was there?
It just helps me confirm
your story to the judge.
Get out your phone.
Excuse me?
You want to put me in that room
where that girl got shot.
Make me an accessory.
No. No. Accessory to what?
Get out your phone.
You know, I think I'm gonna go and then--
You think I don't know
that this is a one-party consent state?
I was not trying to make you complicit,
- I just was--
- No, no.
Trying to save a man's life.
Trying to save a man's life, okay.
- Yeah.
- So that's what you're doing.
You know that Ruben Ramirez is innocent.
You were at that party.
You know he wasn't there.
Go.
Get the fuck out!
Zack!
- Hey. Hi.
- Hey. Hey.
What you doing in there?
I was just… I was…
I was looking for my Asics.
What-- Why do you have that?
Thought that we could carpe some diem.
Hey, where's your toe?
I ate it again.
Seriously.
I-I-I threw it away.
Okay.
All right, well, that's-- that's…
that's probably healthy.
So I found all our old gear in the garage.
How about it?
- Well, I-I-I don't really--
- What? Come on.
You love fishing.
Ever since you were a kid.
You remember that time you had
that huge trout on the line,
almost pulled you in the water, I grabbed
you by the shirt, but you landed it?
- Yeah.
- Let's do it today, come on.
We can go to Tybee right now.
- Could rent a boat.
- There was…
There was actually this student
art show I wanted to go see at SCAD.
Great. Art show, it is.
SCAD, let's do it.
- Okay.
- See you downstairs.
Why do innocent people
like Ruben Ramirez end up in a cage?
Because police and prosecutors
close their eyes.
They just choose not to see.
They knew from the beginning
that Ruben Ramirez was innocent,
but they pushed him.
They pushed him to confess.
Yeah. And let me tell you,
I know a lot about that.
Because they'd already decided
I was guilty.
And I lost 17 years.
Seventeen fucking years.
So, I urge the governor.
Please, open your eyes.
Give the family and Ruben Ramirez
more time, please.
Amy Brancato was your alibi.
Did you know that she was lying?
Max, you got a message for
the CadyHawks? We love you!
Respectfully, we will only be
fielding questions about Ruben Ramirez.
But what do you have to say
to the families?
Well, I believe that we have
sufficient evidence for a new case.
My daughter is dead.
Questions regarding donations
should be directed to my colleagues
right here. Thank you.
Didn't you have contact
with your wife before she died?
They don't even mention Ruben.
It's all just clickbait.
I doubt this is gonna get
the governor's attention.
Maybe Ruben was right.
Maybe this is just a waste of time.
So we make another run at Smiley.
It's a dead end.
No, we just need him to confirm
that Andre was at the party.
That would count as new evidence.
Look, the man pulled a gun on you.
I'm just saying.
Every case is impossible until it's not.
You should know that better than anyone.
Okay. Okay.
I-I'll knock on his door again.
You know that Smiley guy?
Did a few years in Tarwater Prison
when I was there.
Right fucking there.
I can't believe this.
I didn't know him,
but I don't think he's gonna
just give you what you want.
And what? What, you can help?
You are persuasive, Anna.
Yeah.
But for some people,
it's not enough to persuade.
You have to compel.
And I can help with that, yeah.
I think we're good, Max.
Okay. I hope you get what you need.
You know, whatever he's offering,
it ain't worth it.
Hey. Nice car, nice ride.
I'm jealous.
Of my busted Hyundai?
Yeah, I-I've been trying
to get a car of my own.
I've been using, how do you call it?
The rideshares.
It's crazy.
Just have to get into a stranger's car.
It is dangerous.
And also,
you get their kid's Cheerios on your ass.
It's a whole new world when you get out.
Yeah. Listen, I can tell
I've done something to offend you.
And what gave you that impression?
The SJLP,
that's your place, right?
So I'm…
If I'm pissing on your leg,
or stepping on your toes,
however you wanna put it, I'm sorry.
Because I learned inside
not to step on another man's toes.
Because when you do,
there are consequences.
You also learn
people don't offer something
unless they want something in return.
Right. Okay. You know what?
I just see myself in Ruben Ramirez,
and I want to help.
That's all.
I'm glad to see
you're coming from a good place.
And I'm glad
we had a chance to clear the air.
Tu madre.
Hey, man, if you wanna go
to more of these things, just say so.
This is cool.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm-I'm gonna go find
the bathroom real quick.
- All right.
- Yeah.
You wake up every morning of your life
and you know perfectly well that there's
nothing in the world to trouble you.
You go through your ordinary little day,
and at night you sleep
your untroubled ordinary little sleep,
filled with peaceful stupid dreams.
And I brought you nightmares.
Took Zack to SCAD for an art show. Period.
Seems good.
Oh, shit.
- You can't be here.
- I know. I-- I ju--
I feel terrible. I'm sorry--
- Hey, I wanna--
- Go home, you fucking pervert.
- Hey! That's enough.
- Man, I-I…
Zack, we're leaving. Now. Let's go.
- No, no… I--
- Hey, hey!
- What is going on here?
- Beth, we'll leave.
- Hi, Beth.
- Did you come here on purpose
- because he knew she'd be here?
- Mom, it's okay.
Of course not. This is just a coincidence.
No, I… I just wanted to come see you…
- Get out of here!
- …so I can--
Your son humiliated my daughter.
- Okay, Mom… Mom, let's just go.
- He's lucky he wasn't arrested!
I know, and he knows.
And he is struggling with what he did.
Forgive me if I don't lose sleep
over his well-being.
The guilt you feel is there for a reason.
And you just have to fucking sit in it.
Hey! Don't talk to him that way.
- It's completely inappropriate. Let's go.
- No, wait. I'm sorry.
It's not worth it.
You know, I wish you would have
told me why we were there.
It wasn't a good idea.
If you keep talking about it,
I may go stick my head in the oven.
Don't say that. Don't!
D--
No way. No. No. No.
- What the fuck?
- What are you doing?
What are you doing?
Dr. Carlisle gave me exercises.
To drown yourself?
Dive reflex!
- What?
- Holding your breath underwater,
it tricks your brain, calms you down.
Dude…
I… saw ya, I reacted.
I'm trying to help you,
- I'm not trying to scare ya.
- Well, you make things worse.
At the art show with Sophia,
you ruined it.
Zack, why do you need her
to forgive you so badly?
Because I'm not who sh…
I'm not who she thinks I am.
I know. I-I kn--
I know you're a good person.
- And deep down, man, you--
- Just stop. Stop.
You're talking
like a fucking greeting card.
What happened?
It's…
It's always been hard
for me to accept change,
and I bet it's the same way for you too.
After my brother's…
crash…
I woke up…
expecting to see him
at breakfast every day…
and every day I'd lose him all over again.
How did you accept that things were
never gonna be how they were before?
I just thought about
the man I wanted to be.
And over time, I became him.
And I think you could do that too.
I know you can.
Yeah.
Samuel Dovery,
- please come to customer service.
- Wow.
Samuel Dovery, please come…
Hey! That beauty is not for sale.
No, really?
What a shame, come on.
People will want a Corvette or a… or a…
or a Miata, but, come on.
Men like us with a taste in cars
know that this is the prom queen.
- Come on.
- My hands are tied.
Well, nice watch.
But then what is it doing here
if it's not for sale?
I'm guessing you don't recognize me.
No? Maybe you remember my wife, Sandy?
She was a friend of your wife.
Does that ring any bells?
Now, Sandy told me stories about you.
You may not have killed Melissa,
but you screwed around on her.
And you treated her like trash,
made her life a living hell.
I know what kind of man you are.
Okay, what's…
What was her name, Sandy?
Yeah. Did Sandy ever tell you
how she knows I screwed around?
No, I guess not.
Did she tell you about the time
that I fucked her so hard,
she broke a blood vessel in her eye?
You're a lying sack of shit.
Fuck.
What?
- You are the guy.
- What?
That photo of the two of you
on your bedside table,
with the matching sunglasses.
With the big, red hearts.
That's you, right?
Fuck you.
What? You wanna hit me?
Yeah, I'll knock your fucking head off.
Say one more fucking word.
I didn't have "Max Cady buying a Buick"
on my bingo card
but I'm sure glad you're here.
Dave, why haven't
we gotten Max here the keys?
I'm not selling him a fucking car.
It's okay, it's okay, sir.
It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
I understand.
- He's judging me, I-I-I can't hold…
- Nobody's judging you.
- I should've taken care of you.
- I'll go somewhere else.
You deserve special attention
after all you've been through.
- Dave…
- Really? Are you sure?
Yeah. Let's go inside, trust me.
Come on. Come on, it's okay.
You get the damn keys.
- Come on.
- I'm-I'm used to that.
Yeah, well, you shouldn't
get used to that. Nobody should.
Bet Callie is so pissed right now.
When can I take this off?
Say "please." Maybe I'll let you.
Please.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Oh, my God. This is Callie's house.
Is it? I…
I had no idea.
Well, good thing I have a Wi-Fi jammer.
Fucks with anything that needs Internet.
Like alarm systems.
We can get some snacks.
We've been smoking weed all day.
I know you're hungry.
Come on. We won't take anything.
No one will know except us.
Come on.
Smile.
- Oops!
- Just a couple of snacks?
Yeah, you can't back out now. Let's go.
- Open up.
- Okay.
That was pretty easy.
Okay.
Be careful.
Come on.
Yes, ma'am.
I've been in this room so many times.
But not like this. This is so weird.
Victimless crime isn't crime.
Should we go? We should go.
I bet you've dreamed about
getting fucked in this bed.
You look pretty.
Let's play.
What if her parents come?
No problem.
We'll kill them.
I'm usually really anxious.
But it's all so quiet with you.
What's been stressing you out so much?
My brother.
I don't know. We used to be really close.
But now he's not…
really Zack anymore.
I don't know if he is someone
I know how to love.
Is that terrible?
Only good people secretly
worry about being bad people.
- Fuck!
- Shit.
Okay.
Ron's never mad.
Ally can help with Ron.
Yeah. Let Ally worry about that.
I'll worry about Megan.
All right.
Well, this is exactly why we do
project management, right?
It should've been mitigated.
This is Anna.
I wanted to talk to you about your offer.
You can try me back on this number.
Let me call you right back.
You got a dog?
You can buy anything these days.
Even unconditional love.
I went to see the witness in Ruben's case.
Uh-huh.
Didn't get what I needed.
So I was thinking…
Thinking you need my help?
Yes.
Max, I need your help.
I've been thinking too.
What does that mean?
I've been thinking about that for years.
Of course I will help you.
Don't do that again.
I'll text you the info.
Keep an eye on the car.
Your friend here, the… What's the name?
The-The Smiley or whatever.
In prison, he had a padrino.
It's a kind of a spiritual guide.
And I had one too,
so that makes us brothers.
I think he'll talk to me. All right?
Max, as your lawyer,
I need to advise you not to do anything…
illegal.
What you see is your choice, counselor.
Would you let us in for a second?
Wow.
Qué bonita.
Look at this beauty.
Soft. Nice and soft.
Don't, don't. Don't, don't. Don't do that.
You'll upset her.
No, she's fine.
She loves me.
- Okay.
- Don't ya?
Mr. Pitt, I'm not trying
to make you an accessory.
I just need your help.
You start taking about
that dead girl again,
even he can't protect you.
You got your crown, don't you?
Yeah, that was prison.
I don't fuck with that shit no more.
No, no, no, no.
You are still a santero of Obatalá.
The orisha of peace and justice.
And yet you'd let a man die
for a crime he didn't do.
What are you doing,
talking about this in front of her?
Once you've been crowned…
you serve the orisha.
And now your path
has led you to me, your brother.
I was crowned by Changó,
the orisha of thunder, vengeance
and the ferocious correction of injustice.
I'm gonna get some air.
You're a new man, no?
The past is past.
And that's all I gotta say about it.
Right.
Motherfucker!
If you can't see injustice,
what are those eyes good for?
Hey, you piece of shit?
Fuck you, fucking fucker!
Sorry, what are you doing?
Hey, did you follow us here?
I saw you with him earlier.
So, you're his whore now?
No, whatever it is
you thought you saw, it's just…
Can… Can you turn that off?
- I can't--
- I told Amy to stay away.
And I told Melissa too.
But they didn't listen.
Did you know Amy?
And Melissa?
He made them his whores too.
And look what happened to them.
Who are you?
Stay away from him.
Got your phone.
I sent your recording.
It was August 13th, 2003.
I saw Andre King shoot and kill
Maya Cook at the party.
Ruben Ramirez was never even there.
You got him to admit
that Andre did the murder?
What did you do to him?
Use it.
Or don't.
It's up to you.
You're welcome.
There must be some kind of catch.
They're gonna make sure
I stay locked up, right?
I mean, it's gonna take some time.
We have to fill out some paperwork
and jump through some hoops
for the prison,
but this is what the judge needed.
You're going home.
How'd you get him to talk?
This is all Anna.
Power of persuasion.
We just did our job.
Thank you.
Okay.
Congratulations.
I'm just gonna get some air.
Thank-- Thank you.
Yeah.
Hi.
Soph?
I unblocked you because
there's something I have to say.
Okay.
Don't come near me again.
I'll never forgive you for what you did.
You are a bad person.
I've been trying to get ahold of you.
Okay, what? What is it?
You asked me to do some digging
on the girl Zack was talking to.
Nevaeh Valentine.
Yeah.
Look what I found.
Nevaeh's mom.
In a past life, Faith was a prison nurse.
But she got fired for having relations
with a high-profile inmate.
Guess who that inmate was.
You hear what I'm saying?
I think the girl Zack was talking to
is Max Cady's daughter.
Let's play.