Sugar (2024) s02e01 Episode Script

Planet Earth.
I stayed behind.
I said goodbye to Ruby and
and I stayed.
If I wanted answers
about my sister's disappearance,
I had to find my friend, Henry Thorpe.
Henry.
And finally I did.
You found me.
Henry, you can't leave me.
Yeah. It's too late.
Come on.
No.
I'm sorry you stayed behind.
You wanted me to.
That was before.
Before what?
Your sister.
What did you do to her?
What did you do to her?
Look, I know you know.
You showed me the dress.
You took her.
You took her.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I forgive you.
You just gotta tell me.
You just gotta tell me.
Henry. Henry.
You gotta tell me what happened.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
You just gotta tell me.
What did you do to my sister?
What happened to my sister?
Suicide is unheard of on our planet.
But when we go on mission,
when we stay too long
on worlds not our own, we can
forget where we come from.
Who we are.
It's rare, but I've seen it before.
Djen's gone.
Really gone.
Any chance I had of solving the mystery
of her disappearance died with Henry.
I was so clear that staying behind
was the right thing to do.
I was so certain that I would uncover
the answers to my loss.
But all I've done is lose more.
My mission,
my friends,
my home.
And so
now I'm alone.
Here.
Good morning, my friend.
I can never go back home.
But
there's always California.
Dear, John.
If you're reading this, it means you
didn't listen and decided to stay behind.
As your friend,
the thought of not seeing you again
is more painful than I can put into words.
But I do understand.
Of all the planets I ever visited,
Earth was the hardest to leave.
The colors, the noises,
the winter clouds over Santa Monica.
This place, for better or worse,
takes ahold of you.
You'll have to find a way
to enjoy it on your own,
because I have to go now.
Be strong, be good, be safe.
I love you.
Ruby.
Mr. Sugar. Your mail.
- Welcome back.
- Thank you, Elinor.
Thanks.
PS, I renewed your subscription
to American Cinematographer, just in case.
All right,
no one else can know about this.
Do you understand? It's against the rules.
I'm trusting
you all know how to keep a secret.
Okay?
Come! Frida, Ben!
Frida, Ben!
Let's go! Let's go, buddy!
Ruby,
I do love my American Cinematographer
subscription.
So there's some good news.
Still, at this point I was hoping
things would get a bit busier.
Find a client, take on a new case,
take my mind off things.
It's not as easy as I thought.
Ruby did a lot more for me
than renew magazine subscriptions,
she handled the business side of things.
Not many people have my number.
And so it was a nice surprise
when I got a call from an old friend.
Munzer!
Munzer Amin
The limo driver with the sick daughter.
Fatemeh is all better now,
but he asked if I might meet
with someone who could use some help.
I believe in you, Danny.
Go out there and kick his fucking ass.
Danny Moon.
A hope to be up-and-comer from Korea.
Danny's an immigrant. Like me.
Like most people
in this part of Los Angeles.
Munzer knew him from the neighborhood.
Follow through!
He said he was a good kid.
Tough kid.
Real tough.
And the winner by unanimous decision
Danny Moon!
A young man with a temper
who is good at fighting
seems like a dangerous concoction,
but maybe
it just goes with the job description.
Still, if Danny's the good Moon brother,
I was curious to hear
about the one that's trouble.
His brother Ji Moon has gone missing.
And that was three days ago?
- Nothing since?
- No.
You guys, you usually talk every day?
We live together.
Yeah, but if you're two ships passing
We're not two ships.
I mean he's a fuck-up.
He's high lately pretty much always.
I don't know, man.
I think this is just him being stupid,
trying to scare me.
Don't you?
Play them again.
Shit.
Play the other one.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay. Okay, I got away. For now.
I think I'm safe for now.
Oh, my God, bro.
What I just saw.
I saw this fucking
He fucking looked down
on me with those fucking eyes,
and he said, "Run."
Then he let me go,
so I just fucking ran, bro.
I ran like hell.
But he'll be coming. I know it.
He's gonna fucking come for me.
He'll be looking for me.
I'm scared, bro.
But I'll be all right.
I'll come up with a plan.
But no cops, okay?
Whatever you do, don't call the cops.
Don't call the fucking cops. Shit.
Just keep working.
Just keep training like I taught you.
Two rounds, shadow box.
Two rounds, double-end bag.
He's high obviously.
Stressed out, seeing things.
But the fear in his voice
well, that's real.
Don't forget your footwork.
'Cause that's your best weapon, okay?
I know.
A missing sibling in trouble.
Ruby would disapprove.
"Bit on the nose, Sugar."
And she'd tell me to move on.
I love you, bro.
Don't give up on me.
But if I walk away, who helps them?
No. No, this is it.
This is the case I take.
Danny gave me a list
of his brother's usual hangouts.
It was already late
but I wanted to get started.
And besides,
while the rest of LA is climbing into bed,
Koreatown is just getting going.
Hey, can I talk to your boss?
You seen this guy? Ji Moon.
Come on! Come on, get him!
Hey, have you seen
this guy around? Ji Moon?
Hey, guys. Looking for someone. Ji Moon?
His brother said he comes here sometimes.
No?
So the one with the eight in it
goes in last?
Hey, mister.
That your car?
Silver blue '66 Corvette Stingray.
300 horsepower variant with
a two-speed Powerglide transmission.
She's a beauty, huh?
Hey. One game? You and me?
I win,
you tell me something about Ji Moon.
You win, you take her for a spin.
What do you say?
Does Does that count?
Nah, man. Do-over.
Thank you.
All right.
Ji Moon.
Hey, mister.
They took your car.
Come on.
Someone took your car.
Yeah.
I saw who did it.
Total asshole but he's a friend of mine.
Do you want me
to try and see if I can find him?
Maybe I can get it back for you.
- Yes please.
- Okay.
300 bucks?
500?
300. I just got a credit card.
No problem, I have a card reader.
Well, that's lucky.
Nice.
So what do you do for work?
I'm a private investigator.
Okay, for like divorces?
Like husbands and hookers kind of stuff?
No, no divorces. Missing persons.
Cool.
- Okay, I'll be right back.
- All right.
Where did you learn
to shoot pool like that?
Movies. Mostly.
You're worried about him.
Hannah McDaniels.
Girl I heard he was seeing.
Hannah McDaniels. Okay.
She's a doctor or something.
So, why are you worried?
'Cause it's fucking Ji.
And this time
a lot of people are looking for him.
Like who?
Let's just say some guys
who don't wear suits and ties.
I hope you find him first.
You really think
she's coming back with the car?
I miss my dog.
I miss my friends.
Is she actually not coming back
with my car?
Shit, look.
It's your lucky day.
Could tell you a lot
But you've got to be true to your code
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
Maybe someone else stayed behind.
Second group, third wave, California.
John Sugar.
I'm still here if anyone else is.
It'd be
It'd be nice to talk to someone.
Outgoing message sent.
I tend to keep to myself
when I'm not on the clock.
Order in, watch a movie.
But I've been on my own for months now.
A night on the town might do me some good.
It's quarter to three
There's no one in the place
Except you and me
Not that the hotel restaurant
counts as a night on the town but,
you know baby steps.
So set 'em up, Joe
I got a little story
I think you should know
We're drinkin', my friend
- No cinnamon?
- No cinnamon.
- Thank you.
- Enjoy.
to the end of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
I got the routine
Outside of the movies,
the boxing world is pretty new to me.
I learn as I go but
it's already clear that these brothers
have been going in different directions.
Danny on the rise.
Ji struggling.
Going the other way.
Still, Ji sounded like he was more
than just struggling on that phone call.
He sounded terrified.
I tracked down the name
I got at the pool hall.
Ji's friend Hannah McDaniels,
she's a nurse at St. Anthony's.
Maybe she knows something.
Sign in at the front desk.
Sure.
Blaine. That's a cool name.
Right.
What, you don't like it?
Come on, man, I've been getting shit
for Blaine ever since I could even talk.
That's Bogart's character in Casablanca.
Never saw it,
but that's my mom's favorite movie.
Well, he's tough, he's smart,
and in the end he sacrifices
his own interests for a greater cause.
I mean, you should see it. You would
You'd thank your mom.
Yeah, Blaine's a hero.
- John Sugar.
- Blaine Bosco.
Very cool.
Excuse me?
I'm looking for Hannah McDaniels.
Yes?
Hey.
I wanna ask you a couple
of questions about Ji Moon.
What?
- Ji Moon. I was told--
- No.
I don't know that. No idea.
You don't know what?
She's nervous.
Hiding something.
So I'm getting fired now?
Because of this?
Might be good
if we went somewhere to talk.
Privately.
You scared the shit out of me.
I thought you were HR.
No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.
So, Ji.
You know where I could find him?
No.
Can you tell me a little bit about him?
I mean, if you're not HR,
and you're not police,
I don't really have to, do I?
No. No, you don't have to.
You know,
if you care about your boyfriend--
Boyfriend?
Ji is not my boyfriend.
Is he someone you care about?
He's all right.
Well, I think there's a chance
he might be in a bit of trouble.
Yeah? Like what?
I'm not sure yet.
But
That's why I'm asking for your help.
He was here four days ago.
Here in the hospital?
Doing what?
Okay.
But you gotta understand
this was his idea.
It was a graveyard shift,
so it was just a few of us working.
Hey, Stace.
- Hey, Hannah.
- Where's Luann?
Maltby in 411.
- Bedpan.
- Lucky her.
How you holding up?
It's been one of those nights.
Something's up with the printer.
Let me see.
I mean, I pressed print like I always do.
Maybe it's the Wi-Fi.
Here, let me try it again.
Should be fine. It's brand-new.
So typical of this place.
I'd rather have the bedpan than this.
Okay, how's it--
Finally! Thanks, Stace.
Yeah.
- All right, I gotta go do rounds.
- Okay.
Ji only needed a minute.
We were supposed to
meet up after but he never showed.
He probably just kept the drugs for
himself and is off somewhere having fun.
Maybe.
No, like, definitely, he is.
He's a wild man. I mean,
who even said he was my boyfriend?
I guess they were confused.
Let me know if you hear from him.
Yeah.
Oh, this stairwell,
where you last saw him,
where is it?
Shit.
A wild man with a thermos full of drugs.
For someone like Ji,
that can get you in a lot of trouble.
I looked all over.
The underground clubs, the bars,
the dealer courts.
I ended up here.
Three minutes, they say.
After an overdose, you've got
three minutes for help to arrive.
Get revived and come back from the dead.
This poor guy. His help came too late.
I'm sorry.
I'm glad it wasn't Ji.
But if he keeps pushing his luck
the next time it'll be him
they drive off into the night.
Hello.
Hi.
I don't mean it as Have we met before?
I don't think so.
Zurich, the sustainability conference.
That wasn't you?
No. No.
- My mistake.
- Not at all.
John Sugar.
Sugar. Like what, sweet?
I suppose.
I'm Charlotte.
Like the web?
Like the spider's web.
I got to, uh
Nice to meet you, Charlotte.
You too, John Sugar.
Good night.
I'd been waiting for that text to come in.
The Moon brothers are my priority, but
I've got something else going on the side.
Something personal.
This is it.
The Hollywood Hills.
The real estate broker told me
that Bogart used to live right nearby.
- Sight unseen.
- Yeah, I trust you.
All set.
Great.
And the S.P.A.C.E. people
will contact you directly?
That's right.
- I hope you like it.
- I'm sure I will.
- Thank you.
- Pleasure.
Well, at least my stuff arrived.
In LA, a three-bedroom
with a dirty swimming pool isn't cheap.
But I'm not complaining about the view.
My people were betrayed.
Hunted and forced to flee the planet.
Why?
That's my question.
The home of Senator Tyson Pavich.
Father of Ryan.
Stop!
The son died of his sins.
But I'm thinking
the father has secrets of his own.
They found out about us
- the humans.
- Yes. Some did.
These are powerful people.
I'm sure.
They can exterminate us
at any time if they want to.
How did we-- How did they
find out about us?
I don't know that part.
And at this point, does it even matter?
Of course it matters.
More than anything.
Six months later and it still matters.
I'm still here.
Asking questions, looking for answers.
Only now
there's no one left to stop me.
You do that for a couple
of rounds, make it look good.
Make a good showing.
And the first time he connects,
and you feel hurt,
stay down till the referee counts you out.
I don't know.
What will people think of me?
What do you care
what a bunch of bloodthirsty,
screaming people think of you?
Did you ever get a look at their faces?
They pay a few lousy bucks
hoping to see a man get killed.
To hell with them!
Get your money and get
out of this rotten business.
I know, I know. Two cases at once.
It's a lot to take on but I'll make time.
Shit--
In this world, doing this job
Shit.
someone always ends up getting hurt.
Sometimes it's the other guy going down
but sometimes it's you.
You or the people that you love.
Ruby was right.
What she said in her letter
about having to find a way
to be on my own here.
In this place, with these people.
So I gotta be careful.
It's just me now.
I have to be strong.
Be good.
I have to stay busy or else
I could end up like Henry.
Losing my mind too.