Phony (2026) s01e04 Episode Script

1
[Mysterious music playing]
[Mallory]
You think that your mom has been
swapped out
with a different woman?
[Sonny]
Yes, that is what I think.
[Vogel] I mean, come on, if something
was really different with her,
wouldn't I notice?
Shovel started a rumor
about a dead person
in the woods.
He saw a dead body?
[Mr. Bingsley]
He says he saw a dead body,
but please consider the source.
[Shovel] You should, uh, you should
come to my party later.
I'm throwing it with,
uh, Dylan and Jerm,
like, out in the woods.
I think that she's worried
[sighs]
That we're gonna have sex.
Have you heard anything
about a "Dead Body Party"?
Do you think he was able
to tell, like, who it was?
Or, like, what, wh
What it looked like?
We should go.
I like this for us.
Party on a weeknight.
[teen 1] Let's go, let's go.
- [Benny] Cole, help me out.
- [leaves rustling]
[Cole] Yeah, I got it, I got it.
Let me fill it up real quick.
- [teen 2] I got a handful right here.
- [Benny] There's one.
[teen 2] Okay, there's one.
Where's the second one?
- Stuff that butt.
- [laughter]
So, we gotta make this thing big.
[Cole] Oh, dude, you guys
are using my sweatshirt?!
[Benny]
Chill, don't be so material.
- [teen 1] A lot more in there.
- [teen 2] Oh, there we go.
- There we go.
- [Cole] Beautiful!
- [laughter]
- It doesn't look like a dead body.
It looks like a scarecrow
with a huge ass.
- [Cole] Oh, is that poop?
- [Benny] Smell it.
- [group laughing]
- I'm not smelling that.
- It looks pretty good.
- Ready? Three, two
[Benny] Ahh!
["RIDE LIKE BIKE"
by Harrisun and Flex Grizzly playing]
[Ethan] [chanting]
Yeah! Dead Body Party!
Dead Body Party!
Dead Body Party!
♪♪
[group]
Three, two, one!
- [potato cannon blasting]
- [teens exclaiming]
[indistinct chatter]
♪♪
Hey, man, have you seen
Shovel around?
- Mm-mm.
- No?
Sara! Do you know anything
about the body, by any chance?
- Mm, no.
- 'Kay, I'm gonna
Hey! Do you guy
Do you guys know
if Shovel really saw
a dead body?
- [group] Mm-mm.
- Okay, cool. All good.
- Hey, man, have you seen Shovel? No?
- Mm-mm.
[teen 1]
He's never gonna find her.
- [Eerie music playing]
- [teen 2] She's gone.
[teen 3]
He has no clue what to do.
[air whooshing]
♪♪
[eerie humming]
[echoing]
Sonny?
[teen 4]
Sonny's kinda, like, fucked up.
That's true. That's true.
[teen 5] Dude, he's living
with a fucking impostor.
- Really?
- [teen 5] He has no proof.
[teen 6] Yeah, Shovel found,
like, his real mom's
- corpse in the woods right here.
- Oh, wow.
[teen 7]
His mom's dead in the woods,
and he's never gonna find her.
Yeah, I've heard.
[teen 8] There is no body.
He's losing his mind.
[teen 9] He's looking at us,
and he thinks this is what we're saying,
but we're not.
Dude, his mom's alive.
She's right there.
- [Eerie, unsettling music playing]
- [wind chimes jingling]
Sonny.
[air whooshing]
[Chloe] [muffled]
Sorry, there's only one. [Chuckles]
Do you wanna share?
[normal] Sonny?
Do you wanna share?
Oh, no, I'm not gonna drink tonight,
I don't think.
It's a seltzer.
Girlina, what are you doing here?
- Hi.
- You're never out.
- Oh, we are celebrating.
- Celebrating what?
- Hey.
- [Jessica] Wait.
- You absolute ho.
- [laughing] Stop.
- [Jessica] So, tell me everything.
- [Chloe] Stop, I'll tell you later.
Oh, hey, Matty.
How you doing?
Um, have you seen
Shovel anywhere?
- No?
- Okay, we're borrowing Chloe, Sonny.
We're getting her a shot.
[Chloe] Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!
Like, half a shot.
Are Are you gonna be okay, Sonny?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm chilling.
- Okay. Okay.
- [excited chatter]
[eerie music playing]
[Ethan] [chanting]
Dead Body Party!
[group] [chanting]
Dead Body Party!
[Unsettling music playing]
[Upbeat classic rock music playing]
[Mallory]
Dude, where is this party?
[Weldon] It's at the pond.
It's [indistinct] left.
- [van clunking]
- [Mallory] Ooh, this is a bad road.
This road is not for vans.
[Weldon] Well, you're also speeding.
You just wanna see Shovel,
don't you?
[Mallory] Definitely not.
I literally just met the dude.
And don't be weird
around him, okay?
[Weldon]
I'm gonna ask where the body is.
- You should ask him.
- Wellie, it's just a party theme.
Alright, but-but what if it's not?
What if the body
really is Sonny's mom?
There is no body.
Sonny's mom is fine.
Let's just go to the party.
Come on, you've never been
to a party in the woods before.
Neither have you.
Bro, where are you going?
And it's so dark in there.
[Weldon]
I'm gonna go look for the body.
I've got 500 lumens on my head,
two liters of water on my back,
and I'm covered with permethrin.
[softly] What?!
Hi, have you guys smelled
anything strange out here?
That's hell a bright, little guy.
- [Weldon] Sorry. Enjoy the party.
- [Mallory chuckles]
- [teens laughing]
- [teen 1] Oh, my God, did you see that
Michaela got dressed up for this?
[teen 2] She looks like
she's going to prom.
[teen 3] Jocelyn's wearing
her mom's jewelry.
[teens laughing]
["All Out" by Culture Villains
ft. Big Yae & KJ Carter playing]
- Run it back, run it back ♪
- [inhales] Hm.
- [teens reveling]
- How can we stop now? ♪
- I'm on a dream team ♪
- [fire whooshing]
It's cool if they sleep now ♪
I need some big rings ♪
Dude, you're my craziest friend.
- [groans]
- Nice.
Hey, you guys,
have you seen Shovel around?
- No? Thanks.
- [acoustic guitar music playing]
- Hey, guys, has anyone seen Sh
- [bangs guitar, music stops]
- Sorry! Sorry.
- [partygoers groaning]
Dude, it is so hard to describe.
Dude, all of us smelt it.
- [teen 1] It had this
- [Cole] Coach almost passed out.
Hey, we had to stop practice
for, like, five minutes. It was crazy.
Okay, so, Jake farted, right?
Like, he always farts?
No, no, bro, you weren't there.
[Cole]
It was so bad, we had to run.
[teen 2]
Vogel can't run with that boot.
He would've died.
- [group laughing]
- [Cole] Dude, it would've been like
that one volcano town
where everyone died
frozen in time.
- Mount St. Helens.
- [Benny] No, dumb-ass, Pompeii.
[Cole] Vogel would've gotten
Pompeii'd by Jake's fart.
[group laughing]
- [teen 1] Dude, Vogel's like a fart mummy.
- [teen 2] For real, though.
When you're smelling a fart,
you're breathing in poop.
- [Benny] Hey, cheers!
- [Cole] To Vogel, the fart mummy.
[group cheering]
- [fire whooshing]
- Oh, shit! Yo.
Whoa! Whoa.
[chuckles]
Sorry. [Chuckles]
Sorry about That could've
That could've been bad, um
Oh, no, no, no, it
It's, it's okay.
Um, so, is that, like
Is it supposed to be like that?
- Like
- Yeah.
on fire?
Like-Like, you want it like that? Ooh.
[Benny]
Vogel, there you are, man.
Hey!
You can't talk
to an able-bodied girl
until you get your boot off.
This guy, his bones
are made out of glass. [Laughing]
Right. Hey, you should, uh,
see a doctor about your bones.
[Enchanting music playing]
- [Distant party music playing]
- It was like a, like a three-day trip.
[Weldon coughing]
Weldon!
Where have you been? Dude.
How did you break out
of your house?
I-I She got a cut on her hand,
and-and she had to go get
stitches at Urgent Care.
And I think it was, like,
some weird fucking [groans]
Like Okay, it doesn't matter.
W-We have to find Shovel.
Whatever about the other shit, okay?
I mean, I asked him already
about the body,
and he tried to tickle me.
You've, you've seen him?
- Yeah.
- Well, let's go Let's go find him!
Where is he
W-Where'd you see him?
He's been no help.
He tried to tickle me!
Okay. Well, let's go
Let's go get him, right?
- Now?
- Yes, now!
- Which way?
- Uh, he's with Mallory.
Um, bearing 233.
- Well, take me there, please, dude.
- Okay.
- [firecrackers popping]
- [teen] Hit that tree!
[Dylan and Jerm laughing]
[Heavy metal music
playing on speakers]
So, uh Homeschool.
[snickers]
Oh, I'm "Homeschool" now?
That's my name? Okay.
What, uh
Like, why were you homeschooled?
That shit's, like, kinda heavy.
Yeah, my, my family's
They're pretty hardcore
about religion, so
Okay, so, what, does that make you,
like, a Jesus Freak, or?
No. No, no, no, no.
I don't really know
I'm still trying to figure out
what I actually believe in.
Like, maybe I'll believe in the clouds.
Or, like
Or, like, you know,
like, the, the
[laughing]
Or rocks or something.
- Right, yeah.
- Yeah.
I, uh, I believe that there's, like,
no such thing as death.
Like, it's just, uh,
our souls, like, changing clothes
for the next life.
- Damn.
- [Shovel] Does that make sense?
That makes sense.
That's cool.
Did you come up with that?
Um, no, that's, uh,
the teachings of Rammed Ass.
[teen chuckling]
Oh, I think it's pronounced,
"RAHm DAHss."
- [both laughing]
- Okay.
Yeah. No, good.
I, uh,
I was wondering.
I was like weird name.
[both laughing]
- Thank you.
- [Sonny] Oh, my God, Mal! Hey!
What's up, guys?
How are you doing?
Mal, what's up?
You guys are all friends,
that's awesome.
Small, small fucking world.
Um, Shawn, what's up, my guy?
- How are ya?
- My government name, bro.
Oh, yeah. Well, I-I
Sorry, I didn't mean to
I was, I was just wanting
to find you and just, like,
ask if you were okay.
I mean, you
Like, you-you saw
a fucking body.
That's so intense, dude, like
Uh, yeah, I don't know, dude.
I was, um, kinda tripping balls.
[awkwardly laughing]
Hell yeah, hell yeah.
Um, sorry to pry, whatever.
Like, you remember where
the body was exactly? Like
Sonny, the I think
the body thing is, like, a joke.
Oh.
[awkwardly laughs]
Well, it's k I don't know.
It's kind of a weird joke, right?
Like, if there's a real body,
then it could be, like,
a real person that
people care about
Did your mom, like,
send you out here
to be her creepy little spy, or, like
[firecrackers popping]
- [Dylan and Jerm laughing]
what are you doing here?
No, she didn't. I
She and I aren't even talking,
and, and she fucking sucks, so
- Your mom is actually cool.
- Yeah, she's nice, bro. What the hell?
- She's not.
- I love my mom.
Me too, man.
Oh, shit!
Fuck that.
She's a backstabber.
She likes to act like
everybody's best friend,
and then she went and called
the CPS on my dad
because I had a one-hitter.
- [Dylan] His dad is sweet.
- [Jerm] Yeah, his dad's a legend.
Well, look, sorry, I don't,
I don't mean to be an asshole,
but, like, you were,
you were dealing
out of your house with your dad,
and, like, I'm sorry
about that whole thing.
I just I think she, she
was just trying to help out
Yeah, so, see, you are
your mother's little narc bitch.
- [Jerm laughing]
- I heard about the dance.
You-You pulled
a cheap shot on Vogel,
and then went
and hid behind her?
[Dylan and Jerm laughing]
- I didn't do that.
- [Shovel] That's so fucking cringe, dude.
- [firecrackers popping]
- [sarcastically] Ah!
Um, Sonny, even if I, hypothetically,
did see something
I would never tell you
narc.
Alright, well,
I was trying to be nice.
I was trying to be
a good friend,
- a good guy to you, but
- [Shovel] Oh, you're super nice.
- Enjoy the party.
- Thanks. Thanks, man.
[Shovel]
Yeah. See you around, dude.
- [Dylan and Jerm laughing]
- [firecrackers popping]
- [Jerm] Fuck, I wish I had a dad.
- [Dylan laughing]
Okay, we don't need them, okay?
We can do another search grid.
- Um, I have
- No, dude!
He's the only one that saw it!
That was my chance,
and I fuckin'
I fucked it. I fucked it. I fucked it.
Hey, we-we can't go that way.
There's a crow up there.
I had some string cheese earlier.
I gave it to him, but I ran out,
- so he's really mad now.
- Okay, thank you.
[sighs]
- [Hip-hop music playing]
- [teens reveling]
[indistinct chatter and laughter]
[fire crackling]
I think the most ridiculous thing
in the world is certainty.
- [Hip-hop music continues playing]
- [reveling continues]
Yeah.
[keypad clacking]
[Hip-hop music playing in distance]
[Melancholy music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- [Melancholy music continues]
- [fire crackling]
This is the best night of my life.
[laughter]
I think I'm ready to go home.
[grunting]
Paige, do you want a ride?
What? No, we're supposed
to make wishes at sunrise.
[Paige and Matthew chuckle]
- But I'm hungry.
- [Jessica] I'm cold.
Guys, just [sighs]
Please, okay?
There is never gonna be
another group exactly like us.
Okay?
And there's never gonna be
another night where
we're all here together.
And-And if we cut it short,
we're never gonna know
what could've happened.
So, please, please, can we just
do something, anything?
Like what?
What do you wanna do?
Let's go get pancakes.
- [friends laughing]
- I'm serious! Okay?
Let's go get pancakes.
Out by the highway.
I'm gonna find Sonny.
We're gonna do it.
- [crosstalk]
- Where's my bobo?
- [Jessica] She's wasted.
- [Matthew] [indistinct] bobo.
- [fire crackling]
- [indistinct chatter]
- [Melancholy music playing]
- Oh. Sorry.
[teens groaning]
[Melancholy music continues]
[Vogel] Hey, yo. Yo!
- Yo.
- Yo.
Um, you know that girl Sofia?
Uh, yeah, the girl, the girl twirling
the twirling the fire around.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Theater girl.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
I need you to wing man for me.
- Oh, dude, you don't
- No. Yes, I do. Trust me, bro.
She thinks I'm, like,
a total jackass now
because of fucking Benny, okay?
So, I need you to balance out
the full picture for me.
So, just pull up on us
over there, cool?
- Cool. See you in a second.
- Okay, okay.
[teens chattering indistinctly]
- [exhales]
- [melancholy music playing]
[speaker] Shit.
[Sonny]
Oh, my God!
- Sofia, hey!
- Sonny! Hi!
[in British accent]
Cheerio, my chimney sweep. [Laughs]
Ah! It's so good to see you.
By the way, just real quick,
this is Sofia.
Sofia was on my bus route.
She's really into theater.
She played Mary Poppins,
and everyone loved it,
including me,
thought it was better than the movie,
which it was.
And this is Vogel.
He's a fucking awesome guy.
What can I say?
He's the best guy I know.
And he's really kind,
and sweet, and funny,
and he's a, a
sensitive soul, you know?
Um treat him well.
[laughing awkwardly]
Okay.
Alright, bye, guys.
- [Sofia and Vogel chuckle]
- I-I-I I don't know.
I did not tell him to say that.
- [chuckles] Yeah.
- Okay. Great.
So, how are you
a sensitive soul?
[both chuckle shyly]
[beaver whining, sniffing]
[Melancholy music playing]
[Mallory]
Hey, don't get beaver fever.
[sighs] What?
Well, beavers poop in there,
and then if you swallow
the water of the poop,
it gives you [laughs]
It makes you super sick.
It happened to Weldon
a couple years ago
'cause he swims with his, uh,
with his mouth open.
[chuckles]
That sucks.
[party continues in distance]
I'm sorry about Shovel.
I didn't know what to say.
Yeah, well
[clears throat]
That kid's fuckin' fried,
so [sniffles]
He said that he was
building something.
He said that he was building a, uh,
kayak out of mushrooms.
Fucking liar.
[sniffles]
Yeah.
Well, maybe if he is a liar,
perhaps, he's actually
just messing with you.
Why would he do that?
That's
Because you're the principal's son.
And obviously, people like him
are gonna think
you're, like, a bitch boy.
People at church, they're like,
"The pastor's daughter."
No one tells me shit.
No one actually, like,
you know, talks to me
- 'cause they're scared of, like
- Well, then
Well, then why don't
you just talk to him?
I mean, he trusts you.
You can just talk to him for me.
And he can tell you
where it is that he saw
whatever, whatever he saw, right?
I don't wanna do that.
Why not?
I mean, you
I thought you like
talking to Shovel, right?
What's that supposed to mean?
What if this is actually
absolutely all nothing?
And you could just actually
just come and hang out
- and that would be fun?
- Well
- How 'bout that?
- Then just talk to him.
Then just, just talk to him,
and then we're gonna know.
Then we'll know if it's nothing.
Please.
- Please.
- [lips fluttering, blows raspberries]
- [laughing] What?
- [snickers]
[Mellow music playing]
[Ethan clearing throat]
- [laughter]
- [teen] No way!
[Anxious music playing]
[inaudible conversation]
[indistinct conversation continues]
[Anxious music continues]
[Intriguing music playing]
[Weldon] Hey. Hey.
Hey, Mallory convinced Shovel
to show us where the body is.
Let's go. Come on.
[line ringing]
[phone ringing]
- Hello.
- [caller] [on phone] Hey, just drove past.
Bucket's Pond,
lotta kids out there.
I'm holding up
my end of the deal.
Just hope you're keeping
an eye on Sonny.
[Ominous music playing]
- ["Motion" by Julisa playing]
- [Ethan] [indistinct]. [Clears throat]
[exhales sharply]
[slurring] This is one of the most
death-defying magic tricks
that a, a magician can do.
Now, you see, four strings
are attached to this hook.
Uh, three of them
are tied tight enough
Nope, loose enough.
[chuckles] Loose enough,
that they will easily come off
if you pull on it.
But one mystery string
is tied so tight
that it will rip through
my lips and face.
[chuckling] Okay? Okay.
So, I trust you guys
so, so much
that I'm gonna let you yank
on any one you want
knowing you're not
gonna pull on the real one.
[teen] Okay.
[Benny]
Oh, bruh. Ugh.
- [laughter]
- Hey.
- [teen] No, no. Don't, Ethan.
- [Trinity] I'll do it, I'll do it.
- You're too drunk. No, no!
- I'll do it! I'll do it!
[teen]
Y-You're too dr No way!
- [Cole] One, two, three!
- Get a water or something!
[group yelling]
[teens chattering]
- [teen 1] tried Styrofoam before.
- [teen 2] Ah, dude!
[both laughing]
Could probably smoke
out of a potato.
I've tried that.
I've tried that with an eggplant actually.
Okay. So, seriously,
you've never had a birthday party?
[Mallory] Nope, my family
doesn't believe in them.
[Shovel] I'm throwing you one.
[chuckling] Like, it's my duty.
When is your birthday?
- I'm dead serious.
- [Mallory chuckles]
And, uh, headlamp,
you can come, too, dude.
Yo, uh, Shovel,
I just wanna say, um,
thank you
for-for taking me out here.
You know?
Means a lot.
Yeah, um, she kinda told me
what's going on.
It's all good.
I'm sorry about being a dick earlier.
Shit's fucked up, so
[Sonny]
No, it's all good, dude.
[Weldon] So, when you found the body,
how decayed was it?
Was there any skin slippage?
Jesus, Weldon.
[Shovel]
I, uh, I don't, I don't know.
It was, like, pretty bloated.
[Unsettling music playing]
Um, but I was, like, uh,
running from the cops, and,
and I got, like,
kinda lost, and, um,
I don't know, I was just,
like, turned around, and then,
I was standing, like, over there,
and I could just sense that, like
there was just something off
about the vibes.
Uh, like, the vibes
were, like, rancid.
- [branch snaps]
- [wings fluttering]
[whispering] That's the crow.
[Shovel] Um, and then I-I,
like, came through here.
[Trinity/Cole]
One, two, three!
[Benny] Oh, shit!
[group gasping and laughing]
- [Trinity] 'Kay go, 'kay go.
- [Cole] Fifty-fifty right here. Hold on.
Let's go with this one right here.
Ready?
- [Benny] Cole. Cole, no!
- [suspenseful music playing]
[Shovel] It was, uh
It was, like, right here.
[Sonny] Right here?
[insects chirring, frogs croaking]
[Unsettling music playing]
Must have been, um,
like, a bad trip or something.
I don't know.
Or somebody took it.
[Dylan] Oh, shit!
There's someone in the water!
[Jerm] Oh, there's somebody
in the fucking water!
[Dylan] Oh, my God, it's right there!
It's right there!
[teen 1]
Oh, my God, dude, [indistinct].
- [Intense, ominous music playing]
- [Sonny panting]
[teen 2]
Sonny, don't touch it. Don't Sonny.
- [Dylan and Jerm laughing]
- [music stops]
Dude, no way!
He actually went
in the water, bro.
Shovel, what the fuck?
Did you know about this?
What the fuck, dude?
That shit's not funny, dude.
He's got, like, trauma and shit.
- [Dylan] Dude, it's just a fucking joke.
- [Shovel] It's not fucking funny.
- [Trinity] Three.
- [Cole/Braydon] Two, one!
[Cole and Braydon grunting]
[all laughing]
[laughing]
[police sirens wailing]
- [teens clamoring]
- [officer] [over PA] Do not run.
Underage drinking is a crime.
[Ethan] Ow!
- [Trinity retching]
- [officer] Oh!
- [Tense music playing]
- [splashing]
[teens clamoring]
[teen 1]
Cops, cops, cops, cops, cops, cops!
- [teen 2] Run!
- [teen 3] We gotta go! We gotta go!
- [teen 4] Cops, dude! Scatter!
- [Weldon] Sonny, come on.
- Um yeah.
- Warship pattern to the van.
[Tense, melancholy music playing]
[Ellen 2] Sonny?
What are you doing?
H-How did you know where I was?
Because I'm your mother!
♪♪
[indistinct radio chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[Ethan] Officer, thank you
for being so kind.
[burps, gags]
[breathalyzer beeps]
♪♪
[indistinct chatter]
- Chloe.
- [Chloe] Oh. Hi, Ms. Cooke.
I really expected more from you.
I just wanted
to watch the sun rise.
Sonny's coming home with me, okay?
♪♪
[singer vocalizing]
♪♪
Let's go.
I'm not going.
Honey, are you drunk?
Have you been drinking?
Are you?
And you smell like cigarettes.
What, you s You smoke now?
- All of a sudden?
- Get in the car.
Get in the car, Sonny.
- No. I don't have to.
- Get in the car. Get in
Now!
A lotta people watching,
Principal Cooke.
Sonny.
Sonny? Sonny!
[Sonny]
I'll be at Vogel's.
- Let's just Let's go.
- [Vogel] You okay?
[Sonny] Yeah, yeah.
[Melancholy music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Mysterious music playing]
[shovel clunking]
[Mysterious music continues]
[shovel continues clunking]
[Unsettling music playing]
[shovel continues clunking]
♪♪
[shovel continues clunking]
[Music fades out]
[voice] Sew faster.
[Fanfare playing]