The Shards (2026) s01e06 Episode Script
Homecoming: Part 1
1
[person 1] Do you remember
where you were, Rhonda?
Do you remember how you got
to the TV studio?
[person 2] Did you recognize this person
or persons who took you?
Did they say anything to you,
anything at all?
No.
Is that because you can't remember
or don't want to?
Yes.
Can you remember anything?
No detail is too small.
[sniffles]
Girlie smell.
What was that?
Girlie smell.
Girlie smell. That's good.
That's really good, Rhonda.
- What was… What was the girlie smell?
- Girlie smell.
Girlie smell. Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- [crying] Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- Whatever she's saying
- is clearly upsetting her.
- Girlie smell.
- Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- We're done for today.
Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
[Bret] Though she returned to school,
Rhonda did not come back.
- [people clapping]
- No one could console her,
and no one could protect her.
What she felt, she felt alone.
The world was lost to her and her to it.
Looking back
Even though I didn't know it then
I deeply related to this feeling.
I was convinced of three things.
One, Rhonda's kidnapping was related
to Matt's disappearance.
Two, Robert Mallory was responsible
for both disturbing acts.
And three, I was the only one
who could see it,
and therefore the only one
who could stop him.
Though it scared me, I had to take action.
No one else was.
I deeply understood this feeling
[doorbell rings]
…As many young people do.
Being alone in it.
Mr. Kellner?
Yeah. Who are you?
I'm Bret. I'm a friend of your son.
Can we talk? It's urgent.
[Jon] So you were… are close with Matt?
No.
Uh, not that close. Uh…
But close.
Yeah, did I ever really know him? I
Uh, what I'm trying to say is there's…
There's closeness
and then there's proximity.
Why is it that you're here, Bret?
I wanted to talk to you about Matt.
I'm convinced his disappearance
is connected to
I'm I'm sure you mean well, son.
But I've already talked to the police,
and they are of the opinion
that whatever happened to…
Whatever happened to Matt,
he did to himself.
You know, ran away or hurt himself.
He wouldn't have done that.
He wasn't unhappy, sir. He was very happy.
Everyone who knew him.
I mean, really knew him, knows that.
[chuckles softly]
You know, this is the only house
he ever lived in.
When he, um…
When he hit his teenage years, he, uh…
He suddenly became removed.
Like suddenly quiet, suddenly secretive.
And then at some point,
he became like a boarder
who rented a room here.
A stranger who occasionally
joined us for meals.
I knew him as well as
any parent can know their kid.
You know, I can trace the constellation
of the freckles on his back by memory.
But I didn't really know him.
I didn't know what kept him up at night.
I didn't know what he dreamt of.
Who he loved.
Did Matt ever talk to you
about a boy named Robert Mallory?
No.
No, but I did meet him.
You met Robert?
- Yeah.
- When?
Matt invited him over
for dinner a few weeks ago.
My… [scoffs]
Wife made spaghetti and clams,
and I guess he must've liked it
because he asked for the recipe.
Said he wanted his own mother to make it.
"His own mother?"
[Jon] Yeah, he was really very sweet.
I never would have guessed
he was such a troubled kid.
What do you mean?
When Matt disappeared,
I hired a private investigator.
That's the reason
I know about Robert's issues.
And my PI figured out pretty quickly
that Robert was institutionalized,
but the psychiatric evaluation
that was done at the time is missing.
Missing?
Missing from where?
Look, Robert's family,
they are very powerful, okay?
Very well-connected, wealthy.
They want a file to go missing,
it goes missing.
Okay. Well…
That…
That's incredibly incriminating.
What about your PI?
Can't he focus on tracking it down?
I would rather he focus
on tracking down my son.
Sir, I strongly suspect
that Robert knows more
about your son's disappearance
than he's letting on.
If we find it, we find him.
I don't know what to tell you.
Maybe the school has a copy
of the psych report,
you know, in his record, but…
Here, look at this.
My PI found that under Matt's mattress.
It's a cult.
Matt was in a cult,
and maybe part of me hopes he still is.
Off on some hippie farm,
smoking God knows what.
I loved him.
I meant, um…
He was my friend.
I loved him. Uh
love him.
[chuckles]
I do too.
I just hope he knows it.
[exhales softly]
[sighs]
Send them in.
No smoking, Miss Schaffer.
No, Mrs. Schaffer, you're fine.
Miss Schaffer.
Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer, your daughter is
in a very precarious position,
academically, behaviorally, and socially.
Her behavior has alienated
classmates and faculty.
Now, if I may speak frankly
Before we get into the nitty-gritty,
could I get a Tab, please?
- A Tab?
- Hmm.
Lydia, would you please bring us a Tab?
- What were you saying again?
- Something about Debbie.
As you may know, it's homecoming week,
and a girl like Debbie should be
a shoo-in for homecoming court,
but she is not.
Instead, she's alienated half the school.
She's inattentive, unserious,
frequently cruel,
and has contributed virtually
nothing to the community.
Now, may I remind you, this school
is a highly competitive institution.
She's exhibited patterns
of disruptive behavior, and we
Are you kidding me? Disruptive behavior?
Okay, wow. Wow.
Name one time I disrupted anyone.
One time.
This, right now.
- [Debbie sighs]
- Now, if I may continue.
She skipped
her college application meeting.
Seriously, Debbie?
I had a previous engagement.
I was at the stables.
- You're the only one that understands me.
- [horse nickers]
Spirit is my best friend,
and, Dr. Croft…
Equestrianism is an extracurricular.
No, it's not. It's a hobby.
[Terry] A fucking expensive one.
Spirit is a liability and a money pit.
And if I could pay some thug
to grind his bones up into glue
- without Debbie finding out, I would.
- Daddy.
Are we done here? This is feeling overish.
I've got drinks with Pollack
at the Polo Lounge. Sydney.
No, we are not done.
We still need to talk about the…
The coke.
Coke?
As in cocaine? As in drugs?
Yes, drugs. [Inhales deeply]
Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer, at this point,
I have to address the, uh
[stammers] the parenting at home…
- Hey, man.
- …clearly not servicing your
- What are you implying?
- [stammers] I'm not implying anything. I
Because if you're looking for a drug user,
I suggest you take a long, hard look in
whatever reflective surface
you snort off of.
Mrs. Schaffer, Mrs. Schaffer,
I have never ever
Oh.
Street coke. No surprise there.
I-I refuse to dignify
these allegations with a denial.
And I refuse to do your job for you.
Now, my husband and I pay tens
of thousands of dollars to this school
so that between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.,
our daughter is your responsibility.
Either she goes to college,
or you go to jail.
You had my back with Dr. Croft.
You defended me.
Course I did. You're my daughter.
She's a good mother, your mother.
[Liz] Debbie, do me a favor.
Find something you do
that looks good for college.
Bluffing and bribery will only get you
most of the way there.
I just had an amazing idea.
Gotta go.
Thanks for the parenting.
[chuckles softly]
What was that for?
You were electric in there, Lizzy.
[chuckling]
Are you wearing perfume?
It's unisex from Giorgio.
It's very expensive.
- Bret.
- Sorry, meeting with Croft. Can't talk.
Bret, whatever this is, it has to wait.
I'm rolling parent teacher conferences
Please, Dr. Croft.
Two minutes of your time.
[sighs] What can I do for you?
Ensure my safety and the safety
of every student at this campus,
especially during homecoming week.
Robert Mallory has spent time
in a mental institution.
He's on antipsychotics.
I believe that he may be behind
the disappearance of Matt Kellner,
and the kidnapping of Rhonda.
He killed his own mother.
[Croft] Robert Mallory killed his mother?
[scoffs]
- Do you have proof?
- There's a psychiatric evaluation.
I believe it may be in his file.
I need to see it.
It's not in there, is it?
Look, Bret… [chuckles] you're a smart kid.
Obviously inventive, obviously bored.
May I advise you to redirect that energy
into getting into a good college.
Now, if you will excuse me
The contents of that file are a matter
of campus security. I need to see it.
[Croft] What you need, Mr. Ellis,
is to listen.
First of all, if I knew anything
about any student's mental health,
the last person I would share it with
would be one of his peers.
The fact that
I'm a student shouldn't matter.
- The reality of the situation
- Bret,
the reality is Robert Mallory is
a good kid from a good family.
Only he's in class,
and you're 60 seconds away from detention.
Fifty-nine, 58, 57.
The theme of the senior class
homecoming float is:
Decadent Restraint
in Conversation with Layers.
It's sexy.
Saturated.
- [Debbie chuckles]
- I'm calling it a tableau bon vivant.
What?
Sorry, what am I looking at?
[Steven] Ferdinando Scarfiotti.
- [Susan mumbles]
- The production designer.
- American Gigolo.
- Yes, yes, but, um…
- Are we in this?
- [chuckles]
Like, where do we stand?
I don't know, Susan, where do you stand?
Where do you stand on the merits, nay,
moral necessity of artistic expression?
Steven, I can tell how much thought
you've put into this.
- What?
- It's very conceptual.
It's very clever.
- Thank you.
- No, it's not.
I love it. I do. I just, um…
[Steven] Spit it out.
[Susan] It's almost too…
It's… too… perfect.
Oh. [Chuckles softly]
Yeah, like me in my perfect dress,
with my hair perfectly set
after hours of curling iron torture,
waving perfectly
on this perfectly designed float.
It's just a lot for me.
A lot to constantly maintain.
[sighs]
You know, sometimes I think to myself,
"Susan,"
just do something bad.
Do something unexpected.
Do something…
"Dangerous."
I'm just so tired
of being Miss Goody-goody Nice Girl
Queen of Everything
all the time, you know?
[Steven] So what do you want?
With the float.
I don't know.
[inhales deeply]
Maybe something…
Purposefully…
Terrible.
[scoffs]
No, like, okay.
Me, standing up there, you know,
and it's and it's r-really bad, like…
Like freshman amateur hour level bad.
People would freak out.
They would lose their minds.
And it it means
I would have made a mistake,
for once in my life.
You can't imagine how freeing
that would feel for me to lose for once.
[inhales deeply]
I'm just supposed to be happy
and grateful all the time.
Like I said…
It's a lot.
- Okay, doll. I get it.
- [Susan chuckles]
It's a lot of expectation to always
be perfect, never make a mistake.
Trust me. I know.
Okay, Steven…
But my relentlessly demanding boss,
Mr. Terry Schaffer,
has instructed me
to go all out with my talents.
Because he wants his selfish,
ungrateful daughter Debbie here,
who is suddenly and shockingly
on the senior class
homecoming float committee, to
- It's for my school record, I have told
- Mr. Schaffer wants the senior class
to win this best float thing,
so a Ferdinando Scarfiotti tribute
is how this float is gonna go down.
I have made myself clear.
Steven, enough with the histrionics,
please. You're like a thousand years old.
You have no idea about the pressures
that girls like Susan and I face.
Let me leave you with this:
I am more than an assistant and much more
than your fucking drug mule, Miss Debbie.
I am an artist. I am a professional.
I have something to offer
and something to say.
And one day, one day very soon,
people are going to be forced
to listen to me.
Whether they like it or not.
Are you wearing perfume? [Chuckles]
Giorgio.
You smell like an old woman
trying to smell like a little girl.
Okay, do me a favor, babe.
Envy me less.
And work harder on that tire of flab
around your gut.
Oh. That's mean.
- I deserved it.
- [Steven] Yes, you did, Little Debbie.
Look, about the float
Honey, I get it.
I understand how hard it is for you to win
and how people hate you for it.
People hate me?
I…
I know you don't want
to be homecoming queen either.
I really don't.
Great.
I have an amazing idea.
I think you're gonna flip for it,
and based on your breakdown back there,
my timing is impeccable.
- Okay, follow me.
- What, wait, where are we going?
To your prearranged salvation.
- Come on. [Chuckles]
- Okay.
Oh, hey, Rhonda.
- We're meeting Rhonda. Hope that's okay.
- Of course.
- Hey, Rhonda.
- Okay, good news.
I've decided, and Susan agrees,
to make you homecoming queen.
- What?
- What?
[Debbie] Yeah, Susan will be
the front runner, right?
But since she agrees with me
that it really should be you,
she's gonna tell all
of her supporters to vote for you.
And so, at homecoming,
it's gonna be you up there
on that winner's stand, crown in place.
Debbie, that's actually a great idea.
Sidebar later on the word "actually."
[scoffs]
Rhonda, you totally deserve it.
I'd be honored to vote for you,
and I bet everybody else would be, too.
Totally.
And if you both want to tell everyone,
including Principal Croft,
that this charitable endeavor
was entirely my idea,
and actually it's becoming
an official scholastic committee,
everybody wins.
Except Susan, of course.
But I'm not beautiful though.
- It doesn't matter.
- Of course you are.
Debbie.
I don't know what to say.
"Thank you, Debbie Schaffer."
Yeah.
[creaking]
[electricity crackles]
[police radio chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[Donaldson] Jesus Christ.
[Fregosi chuckles] Still think
it's the Night Stalker?
It's not inconsistent.
The mutilations, the sexual sadism.
Jim, come on,
there's no way this is the Night Stalker.
This is not the same guy who's bludgeoning
little old ladies in their beds.
This is The Trawler.
If we go on TV and confirm that there's
multiple serial killers on the loose…
Bedlam in the streets of Los Angeles,
and we get shit canned.
The young victim, Seth Tracy,
was just 18 years old,
an honor student at Crossroads
bound for Princeton next fall.
Police strongly suspect
this could be the work
of a serial slayer known
as the Night Stalker.
However, a source inside the department
told us about a secondary theory.
This brutal killing could be the work
of an increasingly dangerous individual
police are calling The Trawler,
a reference to a disturbing pattern
of mutilation involving fish.
[Bret] The time between murders
was decreasing.
It was almost as if the killer
was gaining confidence, a strength.
I, too, felt newly emboldened.
I had to stop him.
This time I didn't bother with Croft.
I went straight to the police.
Bret Ellis, crime reporter, LA Times.
I have some information
about The Trawler case.
I'd like to see the case files.
Freedom of Information Act.
[Bret] Debbie's fake ID guy was expensive.
And worth every penny.
Wait here.
Detectives will come and get you.
Hope you help them get the fucker.
Okay.
Who the hell are you?
I should throw your ass in jail
for trespassing.
Fine, but hear me out first.
You guys are way off base
with the Night Stalker.
This is The Trawler, and you know it,
and whoever The Trawler is,
he's a member of the community.
Oh. Well, that really narrows it down.
[chuckles]
Think about it. Why would a serial killer
who strangles people in their homes
deface our school mascot?
And you have information about this.
No.
Yes.
I was there. I saw it happen. It…
It was a coincidence, okay?
- What about Cha Cha Rodriguez?
- [scoffs]
Teenage girl brutalized and killed
in the bathroom during a live TV taping.
Does that really sound
like the Night Stalker to you?
Sneaking onto a studio lot
in broad daylight?
That No, no, we got someone
that looks good for that.
A lover's spat.
Are you joking?
It's another kid.
Someone who's desperate for attention.
He's dumping bodies on tennis courts,
playgrounds, dance floors,
places rich kids play games
because this is also a game to him,
and he's winning.
These are deeply personalized
fetishistic killings.
He's mutilating his peers
because of how we make him feel.
Like a freak.
Think about Manson.
His victims were people
or the sort of people who made him feel…
[takes deep breath]
…rejected socially.
I mean, Didion covers all of this.
In her book, The White Album?
This has been helpful.
Thanks for coming in.
Look.
The suspect you should be looking at
is a kid named Robert Mallory.
He's a dangerous psychopath
who left his school in Chicago
because he was institutionalized.
And he definitely killed his mom.
And probably Matt Kellner.
It's the strangest thing.
I can't tell if he knows a lot more
or a lot less than he's letting on.
Rich kids for you. [Scoffs]
Let's tail him.
[indistinct chatter]
What are we looking for, Thom?
I feel weird.
People can see us.
We should do this later, not at school.
You still care what people think.
Don't you?
Your friends are inconsequential
to your enlightenment journey.
Susan…
- Susan is nothing.
- Susan's the love of my life.
Her presence is
neither additive nor detrimental.
I just…
I don't know, I feel like everything
in my life is falling apart.
That is exactly where I want you to be.
It's in the loss of identity
that we find authentic spiritual purpose.
I'm so lost.
Things used to make sense.
- I miss my dad.
- Hmm.
The way he was when I was young.
Count the hours till he came home
so I could ask him to put me in a blanket
and swing me around the yard.
And one day he came home and…
He wasn't smiling.
Then everything changed.
And he started telling me
that I was just like my mom.
And then he finally ran off with some…
Fucking slut cocktail waitress.
I'm so broken.
I just want my dad. [Cries]
[Bruce shushes]
Look at me, Thom.
The man who was once your father,
he took your lantern, and he departed.
You still crave guidance.
You don't need your father.
You don't need Susan.
I have your lantern. I will guide you.
Your needs can be met, Thom.
They can.
But only through death.
People need to die.
You need to die.
The day we allow ourselves to die
is the day that we are finally born.
So say it with me.
"Let me die."
- Let me die.
- Let me die.
"Sacrifices must be made."
- Sacrifices must be made.
- Sacrifices must be made.
We used to summer in the Hamptons
and winter in Harbor Island.
- [Susan] Oh, beautiful. [Chuckles]
- [Robert] Aye, aye, aye.
- What does that mean?
- I don't want to interrupt the party,
but I called you last night
and you didn't pick up.
- So where were you?
- What are you, her father?
- You want a fry?
- Can you shut up for one second?
- Shut up before I punch you in the face?
- Yeah?
Yeah, I did it at Dance Off!
And I'll do it again.
I seem to remember being the one
who kicked your ass.
Okay. Okay, Thom.
Thom, baby. Hey, sit down, please.
Please, baby.
What were you doing?
- I was making homecoming posters.
- Yeah, but not for us.
The posters you were making
weren't for us.
Thom, buddy, calm down.
You seem very upset.
I am upset, Bret. I'm extremely upset.
The things that I've heard
and seen have made me very upset.
Is it true? You're really gonna do this?
Really gonna give Rhonda the crown?
'Cause the posters you made for Rhonda,
they're written in
your handwriting, Susan.
- Don't deny that.
- I know.
Thom…
There are bigger things in life
than homecoming.
Who cares about the crown?
[Debbie] None of this
is up for discussion because
I've already gotten it all arranged,
and Principal Croft endorses it.
So, let's all just admire I'm doing
something good for the world, all right?
I just think it's gonna be weird
when Rhonda's crowned queen,
- and I'm crowned king.
- I wouldn't be so sure of yourself.
- Come on, Thom's a shoo-in.
- If they don't give it to me,
then who else is there?
What, you think you got a shot
at the crown, new boy?
I think the student body deserves,
you know, a literate,
well-traveled man to represent them.
Good luck, Robert. You'll need it.
I've always been a very lucky guy.
[Susan] Thom! Thom,
we need to talk about this.
I so root for those two.
I'm sorry. I do.
Hate to eat and run, but I've got
"Rhonda for Queen" posters to make.
- See you later.
- See you.
What are you wearing to the funeral?
What funeral?
Of your latest victims.
Or is it gauche for the killer to attend?
Not familiar with what
the Miss Manners' Guide suggests for that.
You really think you're on to something.
Don't you, Nancy Drew?
You know what they say
about fellas who are nosy, right?
They lose their noses.
I would check that one out
if you missed it.
Nicholson in Chinatown.
I love him in that movie.
Even more than in The Shining.
["Seriously" playing]
Hey, Mr. Hollywood, it's so poetic ♪
How you don't listen to me
Ah, ah, ah ♪
So, Mr. Hollywood, I'll be pathetic ♪
I can do pathetic effortlessly ♪
If it cuts through all the noise
Maybe ♪
It'll make you pay attention to me ♪
If it kidnaps every eye in the room ♪
If it's the cherry on top of my tomb ♪
Anything
I'll do anything ♪
A-A-Anything ♪
I'll do anything
Anything ♪
'Cause no one takes me seriously ♪
I've run out of options, baby ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
Anything
I'll do anything ♪
A-A-Anything
I'll do anything ♪
Hey, Mr. Industry
Thanks for the lyrics ♪
I wouldn't know what to sing ♪
Oh, Mr. Industry
Bring in the critics ♪
Sign my independence in perpetuity ♪
If it cuts through all the noise
Maybe ♪
It'll make you pay attention to me ♪
If it kidnaps every eye in the room ♪
If it's the cherry on top of my tomb ♪
'Cause no one takes me seriously ♪
I've run out of options, baby ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
Anything ♪
I'll do anything
Anything ♪
[song ends]
[person 1] Do you remember
where you were, Rhonda?
Do you remember how you got
to the TV studio?
[person 2] Did you recognize this person
or persons who took you?
Did they say anything to you,
anything at all?
No.
Is that because you can't remember
or don't want to?
Yes.
Can you remember anything?
No detail is too small.
[sniffles]
Girlie smell.
What was that?
Girlie smell.
Girlie smell. That's good.
That's really good, Rhonda.
- What was… What was the girlie smell?
- Girlie smell.
Girlie smell. Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- [crying] Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- Whatever she's saying
- is clearly upsetting her.
- Girlie smell.
- Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
- We're done for today.
Girlie smell. Girlie smell.
[Bret] Though she returned to school,
Rhonda did not come back.
- [people clapping]
- No one could console her,
and no one could protect her.
What she felt, she felt alone.
The world was lost to her and her to it.
Looking back
Even though I didn't know it then
I deeply related to this feeling.
I was convinced of three things.
One, Rhonda's kidnapping was related
to Matt's disappearance.
Two, Robert Mallory was responsible
for both disturbing acts.
And three, I was the only one
who could see it,
and therefore the only one
who could stop him.
Though it scared me, I had to take action.
No one else was.
I deeply understood this feeling
[doorbell rings]
…As many young people do.
Being alone in it.
Mr. Kellner?
Yeah. Who are you?
I'm Bret. I'm a friend of your son.
Can we talk? It's urgent.
[Jon] So you were… are close with Matt?
No.
Uh, not that close. Uh…
But close.
Yeah, did I ever really know him? I
Uh, what I'm trying to say is there's…
There's closeness
and then there's proximity.
Why is it that you're here, Bret?
I wanted to talk to you about Matt.
I'm convinced his disappearance
is connected to
I'm I'm sure you mean well, son.
But I've already talked to the police,
and they are of the opinion
that whatever happened to…
Whatever happened to Matt,
he did to himself.
You know, ran away or hurt himself.
He wouldn't have done that.
He wasn't unhappy, sir. He was very happy.
Everyone who knew him.
I mean, really knew him, knows that.
[chuckles softly]
You know, this is the only house
he ever lived in.
When he, um…
When he hit his teenage years, he, uh…
He suddenly became removed.
Like suddenly quiet, suddenly secretive.
And then at some point,
he became like a boarder
who rented a room here.
A stranger who occasionally
joined us for meals.
I knew him as well as
any parent can know their kid.
You know, I can trace the constellation
of the freckles on his back by memory.
But I didn't really know him.
I didn't know what kept him up at night.
I didn't know what he dreamt of.
Who he loved.
Did Matt ever talk to you
about a boy named Robert Mallory?
No.
No, but I did meet him.
You met Robert?
- Yeah.
- When?
Matt invited him over
for dinner a few weeks ago.
My… [scoffs]
Wife made spaghetti and clams,
and I guess he must've liked it
because he asked for the recipe.
Said he wanted his own mother to make it.
"His own mother?"
[Jon] Yeah, he was really very sweet.
I never would have guessed
he was such a troubled kid.
What do you mean?
When Matt disappeared,
I hired a private investigator.
That's the reason
I know about Robert's issues.
And my PI figured out pretty quickly
that Robert was institutionalized,
but the psychiatric evaluation
that was done at the time is missing.
Missing?
Missing from where?
Look, Robert's family,
they are very powerful, okay?
Very well-connected, wealthy.
They want a file to go missing,
it goes missing.
Okay. Well…
That…
That's incredibly incriminating.
What about your PI?
Can't he focus on tracking it down?
I would rather he focus
on tracking down my son.
Sir, I strongly suspect
that Robert knows more
about your son's disappearance
than he's letting on.
If we find it, we find him.
I don't know what to tell you.
Maybe the school has a copy
of the psych report,
you know, in his record, but…
Here, look at this.
My PI found that under Matt's mattress.
It's a cult.
Matt was in a cult,
and maybe part of me hopes he still is.
Off on some hippie farm,
smoking God knows what.
I loved him.
I meant, um…
He was my friend.
I loved him. Uh
love him.
[chuckles]
I do too.
I just hope he knows it.
[exhales softly]
[sighs]
Send them in.
No smoking, Miss Schaffer.
No, Mrs. Schaffer, you're fine.
Miss Schaffer.
Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer, your daughter is
in a very precarious position,
academically, behaviorally, and socially.
Her behavior has alienated
classmates and faculty.
Now, if I may speak frankly
Before we get into the nitty-gritty,
could I get a Tab, please?
- A Tab?
- Hmm.
Lydia, would you please bring us a Tab?
- What were you saying again?
- Something about Debbie.
As you may know, it's homecoming week,
and a girl like Debbie should be
a shoo-in for homecoming court,
but she is not.
Instead, she's alienated half the school.
She's inattentive, unserious,
frequently cruel,
and has contributed virtually
nothing to the community.
Now, may I remind you, this school
is a highly competitive institution.
She's exhibited patterns
of disruptive behavior, and we
Are you kidding me? Disruptive behavior?
Okay, wow. Wow.
Name one time I disrupted anyone.
One time.
This, right now.
- [Debbie sighs]
- Now, if I may continue.
She skipped
her college application meeting.
Seriously, Debbie?
I had a previous engagement.
I was at the stables.
- You're the only one that understands me.
- [horse nickers]
Spirit is my best friend,
and, Dr. Croft…
Equestrianism is an extracurricular.
No, it's not. It's a hobby.
[Terry] A fucking expensive one.
Spirit is a liability and a money pit.
And if I could pay some thug
to grind his bones up into glue
- without Debbie finding out, I would.
- Daddy.
Are we done here? This is feeling overish.
I've got drinks with Pollack
at the Polo Lounge. Sydney.
No, we are not done.
We still need to talk about the…
The coke.
Coke?
As in cocaine? As in drugs?
Yes, drugs. [Inhales deeply]
Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer, at this point,
I have to address the, uh
[stammers] the parenting at home…
- Hey, man.
- …clearly not servicing your
- What are you implying?
- [stammers] I'm not implying anything. I
Because if you're looking for a drug user,
I suggest you take a long, hard look in
whatever reflective surface
you snort off of.
Mrs. Schaffer, Mrs. Schaffer,
I have never ever
Oh.
Street coke. No surprise there.
I-I refuse to dignify
these allegations with a denial.
And I refuse to do your job for you.
Now, my husband and I pay tens
of thousands of dollars to this school
so that between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.,
our daughter is your responsibility.
Either she goes to college,
or you go to jail.
You had my back with Dr. Croft.
You defended me.
Course I did. You're my daughter.
She's a good mother, your mother.
[Liz] Debbie, do me a favor.
Find something you do
that looks good for college.
Bluffing and bribery will only get you
most of the way there.
I just had an amazing idea.
Gotta go.
Thanks for the parenting.
[chuckles softly]
What was that for?
You were electric in there, Lizzy.
[chuckling]
Are you wearing perfume?
It's unisex from Giorgio.
It's very expensive.
- Bret.
- Sorry, meeting with Croft. Can't talk.
Bret, whatever this is, it has to wait.
I'm rolling parent teacher conferences
Please, Dr. Croft.
Two minutes of your time.
[sighs] What can I do for you?
Ensure my safety and the safety
of every student at this campus,
especially during homecoming week.
Robert Mallory has spent time
in a mental institution.
He's on antipsychotics.
I believe that he may be behind
the disappearance of Matt Kellner,
and the kidnapping of Rhonda.
He killed his own mother.
[Croft] Robert Mallory killed his mother?
[scoffs]
- Do you have proof?
- There's a psychiatric evaluation.
I believe it may be in his file.
I need to see it.
It's not in there, is it?
Look, Bret… [chuckles] you're a smart kid.
Obviously inventive, obviously bored.
May I advise you to redirect that energy
into getting into a good college.
Now, if you will excuse me
The contents of that file are a matter
of campus security. I need to see it.
[Croft] What you need, Mr. Ellis,
is to listen.
First of all, if I knew anything
about any student's mental health,
the last person I would share it with
would be one of his peers.
The fact that
I'm a student shouldn't matter.
- The reality of the situation
- Bret,
the reality is Robert Mallory is
a good kid from a good family.
Only he's in class,
and you're 60 seconds away from detention.
Fifty-nine, 58, 57.
The theme of the senior class
homecoming float is:
Decadent Restraint
in Conversation with Layers.
It's sexy.
Saturated.
- [Debbie chuckles]
- I'm calling it a tableau bon vivant.
What?
Sorry, what am I looking at?
[Steven] Ferdinando Scarfiotti.
- [Susan mumbles]
- The production designer.
- American Gigolo.
- Yes, yes, but, um…
- Are we in this?
- [chuckles]
Like, where do we stand?
I don't know, Susan, where do you stand?
Where do you stand on the merits, nay,
moral necessity of artistic expression?
Steven, I can tell how much thought
you've put into this.
- What?
- It's very conceptual.
It's very clever.
- Thank you.
- No, it's not.
I love it. I do. I just, um…
[Steven] Spit it out.
[Susan] It's almost too…
It's… too… perfect.
Oh. [Chuckles softly]
Yeah, like me in my perfect dress,
with my hair perfectly set
after hours of curling iron torture,
waving perfectly
on this perfectly designed float.
It's just a lot for me.
A lot to constantly maintain.
[sighs]
You know, sometimes I think to myself,
"Susan,"
just do something bad.
Do something unexpected.
Do something…
"Dangerous."
I'm just so tired
of being Miss Goody-goody Nice Girl
Queen of Everything
all the time, you know?
[Steven] So what do you want?
With the float.
I don't know.
[inhales deeply]
Maybe something…
Purposefully…
Terrible.
[scoffs]
No, like, okay.
Me, standing up there, you know,
and it's and it's r-really bad, like…
Like freshman amateur hour level bad.
People would freak out.
They would lose their minds.
And it it means
I would have made a mistake,
for once in my life.
You can't imagine how freeing
that would feel for me to lose for once.
[inhales deeply]
I'm just supposed to be happy
and grateful all the time.
Like I said…
It's a lot.
- Okay, doll. I get it.
- [Susan chuckles]
It's a lot of expectation to always
be perfect, never make a mistake.
Trust me. I know.
Okay, Steven…
But my relentlessly demanding boss,
Mr. Terry Schaffer,
has instructed me
to go all out with my talents.
Because he wants his selfish,
ungrateful daughter Debbie here,
who is suddenly and shockingly
on the senior class
homecoming float committee, to
- It's for my school record, I have told
- Mr. Schaffer wants the senior class
to win this best float thing,
so a Ferdinando Scarfiotti tribute
is how this float is gonna go down.
I have made myself clear.
Steven, enough with the histrionics,
please. You're like a thousand years old.
You have no idea about the pressures
that girls like Susan and I face.
Let me leave you with this:
I am more than an assistant and much more
than your fucking drug mule, Miss Debbie.
I am an artist. I am a professional.
I have something to offer
and something to say.
And one day, one day very soon,
people are going to be forced
to listen to me.
Whether they like it or not.
Are you wearing perfume? [Chuckles]
Giorgio.
You smell like an old woman
trying to smell like a little girl.
Okay, do me a favor, babe.
Envy me less.
And work harder on that tire of flab
around your gut.
Oh. That's mean.
- I deserved it.
- [Steven] Yes, you did, Little Debbie.
Look, about the float
Honey, I get it.
I understand how hard it is for you to win
and how people hate you for it.
People hate me?
I…
I know you don't want
to be homecoming queen either.
I really don't.
Great.
I have an amazing idea.
I think you're gonna flip for it,
and based on your breakdown back there,
my timing is impeccable.
- Okay, follow me.
- What, wait, where are we going?
To your prearranged salvation.
- Come on. [Chuckles]
- Okay.
Oh, hey, Rhonda.
- We're meeting Rhonda. Hope that's okay.
- Of course.
- Hey, Rhonda.
- Okay, good news.
I've decided, and Susan agrees,
to make you homecoming queen.
- What?
- What?
[Debbie] Yeah, Susan will be
the front runner, right?
But since she agrees with me
that it really should be you,
she's gonna tell all
of her supporters to vote for you.
And so, at homecoming,
it's gonna be you up there
on that winner's stand, crown in place.
Debbie, that's actually a great idea.
Sidebar later on the word "actually."
[scoffs]
Rhonda, you totally deserve it.
I'd be honored to vote for you,
and I bet everybody else would be, too.
Totally.
And if you both want to tell everyone,
including Principal Croft,
that this charitable endeavor
was entirely my idea,
and actually it's becoming
an official scholastic committee,
everybody wins.
Except Susan, of course.
But I'm not beautiful though.
- It doesn't matter.
- Of course you are.
Debbie.
I don't know what to say.
"Thank you, Debbie Schaffer."
Yeah.
[creaking]
[electricity crackles]
[police radio chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
[Donaldson] Jesus Christ.
[Fregosi chuckles] Still think
it's the Night Stalker?
It's not inconsistent.
The mutilations, the sexual sadism.
Jim, come on,
there's no way this is the Night Stalker.
This is not the same guy who's bludgeoning
little old ladies in their beds.
This is The Trawler.
If we go on TV and confirm that there's
multiple serial killers on the loose…
Bedlam in the streets of Los Angeles,
and we get shit canned.
The young victim, Seth Tracy,
was just 18 years old,
an honor student at Crossroads
bound for Princeton next fall.
Police strongly suspect
this could be the work
of a serial slayer known
as the Night Stalker.
However, a source inside the department
told us about a secondary theory.
This brutal killing could be the work
of an increasingly dangerous individual
police are calling The Trawler,
a reference to a disturbing pattern
of mutilation involving fish.
[Bret] The time between murders
was decreasing.
It was almost as if the killer
was gaining confidence, a strength.
I, too, felt newly emboldened.
I had to stop him.
This time I didn't bother with Croft.
I went straight to the police.
Bret Ellis, crime reporter, LA Times.
I have some information
about The Trawler case.
I'd like to see the case files.
Freedom of Information Act.
[Bret] Debbie's fake ID guy was expensive.
And worth every penny.
Wait here.
Detectives will come and get you.
Hope you help them get the fucker.
Okay.
Who the hell are you?
I should throw your ass in jail
for trespassing.
Fine, but hear me out first.
You guys are way off base
with the Night Stalker.
This is The Trawler, and you know it,
and whoever The Trawler is,
he's a member of the community.
Oh. Well, that really narrows it down.
[chuckles]
Think about it. Why would a serial killer
who strangles people in their homes
deface our school mascot?
And you have information about this.
No.
Yes.
I was there. I saw it happen. It…
It was a coincidence, okay?
- What about Cha Cha Rodriguez?
- [scoffs]
Teenage girl brutalized and killed
in the bathroom during a live TV taping.
Does that really sound
like the Night Stalker to you?
Sneaking onto a studio lot
in broad daylight?
That No, no, we got someone
that looks good for that.
A lover's spat.
Are you joking?
It's another kid.
Someone who's desperate for attention.
He's dumping bodies on tennis courts,
playgrounds, dance floors,
places rich kids play games
because this is also a game to him,
and he's winning.
These are deeply personalized
fetishistic killings.
He's mutilating his peers
because of how we make him feel.
Like a freak.
Think about Manson.
His victims were people
or the sort of people who made him feel…
[takes deep breath]
…rejected socially.
I mean, Didion covers all of this.
In her book, The White Album?
This has been helpful.
Thanks for coming in.
Look.
The suspect you should be looking at
is a kid named Robert Mallory.
He's a dangerous psychopath
who left his school in Chicago
because he was institutionalized.
And he definitely killed his mom.
And probably Matt Kellner.
It's the strangest thing.
I can't tell if he knows a lot more
or a lot less than he's letting on.
Rich kids for you. [Scoffs]
Let's tail him.
[indistinct chatter]
What are we looking for, Thom?
I feel weird.
People can see us.
We should do this later, not at school.
You still care what people think.
Don't you?
Your friends are inconsequential
to your enlightenment journey.
Susan…
- Susan is nothing.
- Susan's the love of my life.
Her presence is
neither additive nor detrimental.
I just…
I don't know, I feel like everything
in my life is falling apart.
That is exactly where I want you to be.
It's in the loss of identity
that we find authentic spiritual purpose.
I'm so lost.
Things used to make sense.
- I miss my dad.
- Hmm.
The way he was when I was young.
Count the hours till he came home
so I could ask him to put me in a blanket
and swing me around the yard.
And one day he came home and…
He wasn't smiling.
Then everything changed.
And he started telling me
that I was just like my mom.
And then he finally ran off with some…
Fucking slut cocktail waitress.
I'm so broken.
I just want my dad. [Cries]
[Bruce shushes]
Look at me, Thom.
The man who was once your father,
he took your lantern, and he departed.
You still crave guidance.
You don't need your father.
You don't need Susan.
I have your lantern. I will guide you.
Your needs can be met, Thom.
They can.
But only through death.
People need to die.
You need to die.
The day we allow ourselves to die
is the day that we are finally born.
So say it with me.
"Let me die."
- Let me die.
- Let me die.
"Sacrifices must be made."
- Sacrifices must be made.
- Sacrifices must be made.
We used to summer in the Hamptons
and winter in Harbor Island.
- [Susan] Oh, beautiful. [Chuckles]
- [Robert] Aye, aye, aye.
- What does that mean?
- I don't want to interrupt the party,
but I called you last night
and you didn't pick up.
- So where were you?
- What are you, her father?
- You want a fry?
- Can you shut up for one second?
- Shut up before I punch you in the face?
- Yeah?
Yeah, I did it at Dance Off!
And I'll do it again.
I seem to remember being the one
who kicked your ass.
Okay. Okay, Thom.
Thom, baby. Hey, sit down, please.
Please, baby.
What were you doing?
- I was making homecoming posters.
- Yeah, but not for us.
The posters you were making
weren't for us.
Thom, buddy, calm down.
You seem very upset.
I am upset, Bret. I'm extremely upset.
The things that I've heard
and seen have made me very upset.
Is it true? You're really gonna do this?
Really gonna give Rhonda the crown?
'Cause the posters you made for Rhonda,
they're written in
your handwriting, Susan.
- Don't deny that.
- I know.
Thom…
There are bigger things in life
than homecoming.
Who cares about the crown?
[Debbie] None of this
is up for discussion because
I've already gotten it all arranged,
and Principal Croft endorses it.
So, let's all just admire I'm doing
something good for the world, all right?
I just think it's gonna be weird
when Rhonda's crowned queen,
- and I'm crowned king.
- I wouldn't be so sure of yourself.
- Come on, Thom's a shoo-in.
- If they don't give it to me,
then who else is there?
What, you think you got a shot
at the crown, new boy?
I think the student body deserves,
you know, a literate,
well-traveled man to represent them.
Good luck, Robert. You'll need it.
I've always been a very lucky guy.
[Susan] Thom! Thom,
we need to talk about this.
I so root for those two.
I'm sorry. I do.
Hate to eat and run, but I've got
"Rhonda for Queen" posters to make.
- See you later.
- See you.
What are you wearing to the funeral?
What funeral?
Of your latest victims.
Or is it gauche for the killer to attend?
Not familiar with what
the Miss Manners' Guide suggests for that.
You really think you're on to something.
Don't you, Nancy Drew?
You know what they say
about fellas who are nosy, right?
They lose their noses.
I would check that one out
if you missed it.
Nicholson in Chinatown.
I love him in that movie.
Even more than in The Shining.
["Seriously" playing]
Hey, Mr. Hollywood, it's so poetic ♪
How you don't listen to me
Ah, ah, ah ♪
So, Mr. Hollywood, I'll be pathetic ♪
I can do pathetic effortlessly ♪
If it cuts through all the noise
Maybe ♪
It'll make you pay attention to me ♪
If it kidnaps every eye in the room ♪
If it's the cherry on top of my tomb ♪
Anything
I'll do anything ♪
A-A-Anything ♪
I'll do anything
Anything ♪
'Cause no one takes me seriously ♪
I've run out of options, baby ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
Anything
I'll do anything ♪
A-A-Anything
I'll do anything ♪
Hey, Mr. Industry
Thanks for the lyrics ♪
I wouldn't know what to sing ♪
Oh, Mr. Industry
Bring in the critics ♪
Sign my independence in perpetuity ♪
If it cuts through all the noise
Maybe ♪
It'll make you pay attention to me ♪
If it kidnaps every eye in the room ♪
If it's the cherry on top of my tomb ♪
'Cause no one takes me seriously ♪
I've run out of options, baby ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
No one
No one ♪
Takes me
Takes me ♪
Seriously
Seriously ♪
Anything ♪
I'll do anything
Anything ♪
[song ends]