The Lowdown (2025) s02e05 Episode Script

1
["We Belong Together" playing]
You're mine ♪
And we belong together ♪
Yes, we belong together ♪
For all eternity ♪
He sleep like that all night?
Yeah, I wonder what he's dreaming about.
You're mine ♪
- [banging]
- [inhales sharply, clears throat]
[Thorne] Wakey-wakey.
Rise and shine, princess.
Good morning. Is my ride here yet?
Yes, they belong to only me ♪
Yeah, your limo is right outside.
[chuckles]
For eternity ♪
What's for brekkie?
[Thorne inhales deeply, sighs]
[Lonnie] Sheriff.
- What?
- Uh…
The governor's here.
Huh.
Thanks, gentlemen. Shit.
[Lee] Goddamn.
- Hello, Sheriff.
- Mr. Governor.
Wish we were meeting
under different circumstances.
Yes, well.
I'd be cautious
with the company that you keep,
- if you don't mind me saying, sir.
- Mm-hmm.
This one ruined a 4H event
with children and families,
a lot of your voters.
Sheriff, don't worry.
I'm… I'm taking care of it.
I'll be seeing you, Sheriff.
I'll see you too.
[Donald grunts] Get in the car.
["T-U-L-S-A Straight Ahead" playing]
There's a detour sign
on a road that winds ♪
Out on the broad highway… ♪
[Donald] Yeah, I think
I can make that happen.
Oh, sure. Yeah, we got it.
Oh, hang on a second.
Lee, uh, you're free, so you should…
Be good now, huh? All right.
We done? All right, very good, yeah.
[train bell ringing]
[train horn blowing]
[Donald] Mmm.
- Yes?
- Sit down.
- A selfie with my governor.
- There we go.
All right.
- Oh, yeah. That's nice.
- Thank you, Governor.
You're so welcome.
Hey, thanks for the coffee.
- [waitress] Oh, yes. Yeah.
- [Donald chuckles]
So that's it, huh?
I said I'd help you. I helped you.
Now we're even.
- [waitress] You want coffee?
- Yeah, I want a coffee.
- Black coffee, no milk.
- No, he's not staying.
Lactose very intolerant, okay?
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Yeah.
Come on, man.
That's not the way you treat a friend.
- What are you talking about?
- I'm talking…
You could drive me to my van.
- Walk.
- Wa… To the expo center?
It's, like, eight miles away.
Shit. Lee, I thought
you parked around here.
What do you mean you thought?
You didn't ask me…
- Jane, can you…
- Thank you.
Lee's got… He's got… Never mind.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- What do you mean, never mind?
- Oh, shit.
What?
- Oh, God. Not right now.
- Who's that?
[Donald] Oh, that's Judge Jed Sallsman.
- [clicks tongue]
- [chuckles]
[Donald] Thinks he's the second coming
of John Wayne.
[Jane] Be nice to the judge.
Okay? His approval is at 78%.
- Seventy-eight percent?
- Yes, yes. We should get a photo.
Mr. Governor.
Hey, how are you, Judge?
- Yeah. Ah.
- [chuckles]
Damn, Donnie, looks like
you've grown an inch since being elected.
- Yeah?
- Oop, no. Your heels just got bigger.
[all laughing]
[Donald] Well,
how did you find me?
You think the governor's gonna
come to town and me not hear about it?
Plus you got your damn chariots
parked outside.
Oh, yeah. Maybe I could be
a little more inconspicuous.
- Maybe.
- Yeah.
I was worried you forgot
all about us country folks
once you moved into
the governor's mansion.
- I worried the same thing.
- Not a chance.
- Judge Jed Sallsman at your service.
- Yeah.
Howdy. Lee Raybon.
Citizen journalist, Heartland Press.
Award winner. [Chuckles]
I know who you are.
You do?
Yeah, I actually come here
to talk to you too.
Don't you worry. He'll be out of
your hair shortly. He was just leaving.
No, I'm not…
Not before I get a chance to apologize.
Our town offers better hospitality
than what you experienced.
Sheriff Thorne can run a little hot.
You know, when women
get into a position of power,
they tend to overcompensate.
Plus she didn't know
you were a friend of the governor.
Yeah, well, we're good friends.
- Go back a long ways, don't we? Yeah.
- Long way.
- Good times, good times.
- Mm-hmm.
So, are you from Tulsa?
Well, I live there now.
I was born in a small town,
sucking on a chili dog
outside the Tastee-Freez.
[cackling] Funny. He… He's funny.
Oh, he's hilarious.
You know, if the writing don't work,
maybe stand-up comedy for you.
Yeah, maybe.
Mm-hmm. So, uh, what are you doing here?
You gonna write a story about Woodrell?
Thinking about it.
Make me look good, now.
Well, let me show y'all
around our beautiful town.
Give you the dime tour.
- Wow.
- Shoot.
I'd be like a dog with two tails.
A dog with two tails.
Damn, I believe you are a writer.
Judge, we don't really have time
for the tour.
Actually, sir,
we cleared your schedule, so…
It'd be a great chance for photos.
Well, it's settled, then.
You don't wanna leave me alone with him
'cause I might tell him all your secrets.
Yeah, Judge, okay. [Chuckles]
Okay, but we got to make it
a quick one, right?
Thank y'all.
Nice to see you,
and still the best pecan pie in Oklahoma.
[chuckles] Thank you.
[mouthing] Check, please.
[Country song playing faintly]
What are y'all doing?
Eavesdrop much?
We're working on the story of the year
is what we're doing.
Helping Marty get ready
to pitch his story.
Wish I could help.
Sounds like that's above
my personal unique knowledge skills.
"Unique" is a word that gets thrown about
rather haphazardly with these two.
What's, uh, your unique skill?
He steals.
[clears throat]
[Abel] What's the books?
What are they about?
Oh, those are about the Spiro Mounds.
[clears throat] They're educational books.
A how-to on looting and stealing
native trade and burial sites.
The boys think they're onto something,
and they may be.
Those artifacts were outright stolen,
first by the Pocola Mining Company in 1930
and then by the WPA
and the University of Oklahoma.
The Sooners. [Chuckles]
It's fitting.
The mining company steals
and loots the artifacts first
and scatters them hither and yon, and then
the WPA and the university come in,
do a more, uh, legitimate dig
and place the record
of an entire human civilization
in the hands of private owners
and museums,
thereby trivializing the prayers
and the hopes
of an entire people, real people.
And asking forgiveness for having done
such a thing maybe later.
Maybe never.
So who's stealing what from who?
I have a Caddo buddy
who will send the pieces that I now have
back to the Caddo Nation.
And one day,
maybe 40 million years from now,
somebody will excavate Sweet Emily's
and sell this coffee cup,
claiming that we drank
the actual blood of Christ from it.
There's gotta be money in that.
He really sounds like
someone we know, doesn't he?
Listen, I gotta write these things down.
- [door opens]
- Oh, hey, Fran with the Plan.
- [Francis] Hey, Abe.
- Too slow.
- There's my granddaughter.
- [Francis] Not fair.
- Sit down, baby. Sit down.
- I've been looking for you.
- [waiter] Coffee with chocolate syrup?
- Why not?
Does your daddy know
that you've come to visit us?
I don't know, and I don't care.
You're my grandpa.
- I can visit you.
- Nobody's ever called me Grandpa before.
Well, I wanted to invite you
to my birthday.
It's tonight. We are bowling.
- Oh. [Chuckles] Oh.
- Look, we made it.
[stammers, chuckles]
You-You want me there?
Yes.
Uh…
You sure that's all right with your dad?
Yes.
[stammers] Where is it?
I'd love to come. Whe…
Of course, I-I'm gonna have to get a ride.
Oh, I'll take you.
- [Lee Senior chuckles]
- Sweet.
- So you like it?
- [sighs]
I love it.
[Jed] See that little convenience store?
My daddy used to send me up
to buy his cigarettes.
[Donald] Ah, simpler times.
So how do y'all know each other?
Well, Lee did a piece on my brother.
Oh, yes.
May he rest in peace.
Yeah, he was a good man.
He was.
Let me ask you this, Judge.
You cover all the cases
in the whole… All Woodrell County?
I mean, the-the whole place?
Oh, yeah. Ain't nobody else gonna do it.
Big counties like Tulsa,
they have judges coming out of their ears,
- but here in Woodrell, it's just me.
- Yeah.
I'm the law, son.
Write that down.
"I'm the law."
[Lee chuckles]
"I am the law." Got it.
[clicking tongue]
Ma'am, you got a minute?
Jeff, you look like shit.
Do I need to pull out the Breathalyzer?
No, I-I just ate a big breakfast.
I'm fine. All right. Can I sit?
No.
I, uh…
In a bit of a jam yesterday.
I… I wanna get ahead of it
before you hear anything.
Oh, Lord.
An old colleague came into town.
She wooed me.
Wooed you?
Yes, wooed.
You know how they do.
What's the name of this colleague?
Uh, Ginger Lafferty.
She's a public defender in Tulsa,
about 5' 7",
hot as shit, big tits,
kind of bluish eyes.
Packing a rack. [Scoffs] Fuckin' kills me.
- Get on with it.
- Uh…
She was asking questions
about Nathan Spence's mom,
and I wanted her to drop it,
but… [sighs] …she wouldn't.
So I took her to visit the lady
just to-to show there's nothing there.
Ms. Spence?
Don't worry.
She didn't let us in. I made sure of that.
Ms. Spence?
You took her to Deborah Spence's house?
So she wouldn't go on her own.
That's… That's my brain working.
You know, Jeff, I'm just…
I'm not following you.
You know, to say, "Dead end.
There's nothing here. Go away."
They killed him.
My son.
Who killed your son?
So, like I said, I just…
I just wanted to let you know.
Make sure we're still friends.
As much as we ever were.
You're not pissed off now, are you?
I appreciate you sharing this.
Hmm.
[Jeff] Uh, I'm gonna go throw up.
[ringing tone]
[Jed] Ain't too much longer
a drive to get up by the old ranch.
[Donald] Thank you, Jed,
I got things to do today.
[Jed] But you ain't going nowhere
till you seen my spread.
[Lee] Wouldn't wanna miss it
for the world, would we, Donald?
[Jed] You're gonna love it.
[Downtempo rock music playing]
[Lee whistles]
Name of the ranch is Tallgrass,
but we call the house Hvsaklatkv.
It's a Creek Indian word. Ain't it pretty?
- [Lee] Mm-hmm.
- It means "the color of sunset."
That's a… Well, now, very nice.
Very nice.
[Jed] This way, gents.
Hvsaklatkv means horny.
Just so you know.
- [Donald] What?
- Yeah. Don't worry about it.
[Lee] Oh, God, okay.
[Sallsman laughs]
- Now, that was a movie right there.
- [Lee] Whoo-hoo!
Oh! "Dances with Kevin." Loved that one.
Whoo-hoo!
Hey, Tombstone.
Buddy of mine did the makeup on that.
He did, uh, all the mustaches.
This way to the pool, gentlemen.
- [object clatters]
- [Donald] Just don't break anything.
[Sallsman] And now…
The crown jewel…
Awaits.
What do you think?
- [Donald] Yeah, well, it's sure
- Hush for a minute.
Just take it all in.
- [Lee] Wow, quite a collection.
- [Donald sighs] So much history.
[Lee] It really is like a museum.
Museum?
No. This is life, son.
- A cowboy way of life.
- Yeah.
- It's dying.
- [Lee] Hmm.
Some of us got to keep it alive.
Now, this… belonged to
Isaac C. Parker himself.
Oh, the Hanging Judge.
- The Hanging Judge, Lee. Well done.
- [chuckling] Yeah.
Mean old cuss by all accounts,
but just what the Indian Territory
needed at the time.
[Lee chuckles]
I sentence you to hang by the neck
until you are dead.
- [mock shriek]
- [Donald chuckles]
[Lee chuckles, screams]
- No, no, no.
- Him, him.
You laugh, you laugh,
but I paid a pretty penny for this,
I don't mind saying.
[Lee] Yeah.
We should bring back the noose,
to be honest.
Clean. Fast.
I guess that's all in the past, though.
Judges back then…
Judges and sheriffs
fighting to win the West.
- Wow. Fuck.
- That's right.
And we won.
Just don't tell the tribes that.
Am I right, Governor?
- Jed, you're gonna give me a migraine.
- [Jed laughs]
Yeah.
What about that, um, Ms. Thorne, huh?
How long has she been sheriff?
I don't wanna talk about her.
[Jane] Governor.
Jane, you found us.
- It's a big house.
- [Donald] Yeah.
It's beautiful. Oh, but this is perfect.
Let's get the photo right here.
- Let's do that right here.
- We can do better than that.
You ever ride in those pants, son?
Ride what?
[Sallsman] Whoa.
["Saddle Tramp" playing]
[Sallsman] Whoa. Come on.
They call me a drifter
They say I'm no good ♪
I'll never amount to a thing ♪
Well, I may be a drifter
And I may be no good ♪
[Donald] Oh, my back.
There's joy in this song that I sing ♪
Saddle tramp, saddle tramp ♪
I'm as free as the breeze
And I ride where I please ♪
Saddle tramp, saddle tramp ♪
Now, if you were gonna
write my story, Lee,
you might start here on the ranch
at sunset
and then jump back to that
rundown cracker box where I grew up.
"Rags to riches" for a theme.
Ooh, that's good. Rags to riches.
[Jed] From three rooms
with bad plumbing to 1,600 acres.
[Lee chuckles]
Yeah, this is a magnificent spot.
I mean, how… H-How do you manage
all this on a judge's salary?
Come on, you must… you must have
a couple side hustles going on.
Am I right? How many…
How many head of cattle you got here?
Lee, Lee, don't ask a rancher
how much cattle he's got.
It's like asking a man
how much money he's got in the bank.
[Lee] All right.
[Donald] We'll just take our picture
and let the Judge be on his way.
Let's just say I got here
with a lot of elbow grease
and a little good fortune,
just like old Donald.
Ooh, he's onto you.
[Sallsman] It's America.
"Land of opportunity,"
just like Woody Guthrie said.
Pinko that he was.
- But what I care most about…
- That's not what Woody Guthrie said.
Woody Guthrie said
the exact opposite of that.
He has lost lyrics that take direct aim
at greed, all right?
As I went walking
I saw a sign there ♪
And on the sign ♪
- Lee…
- It said, "No trespassing" ♪
Okay.
And on the other side
It didn't say nothing ♪
Oh, that side
Was made for you and me… ♪
- What's that, Lee?
- [Lee] Oh, no, I'm just…
Rags to riches, you know, "This land
Is Your Land." I'm smelling a theme.
[chuckles]
Now, which one of y'all thinks
he can beat me back to the ranch?
[Lee] Uh…
- [Jed] Come on.
- [Donald] Whoa, whoa.
- Lee, I see what you're trying to do here.
- What? I'm not doing anything.
I have done enough favors for you today,
haven't I?
- What are you… [sighs]
- Huh?
Don't make me another enemy in this town.
He likes me, okay? He does.
We're getting along great.
[McMann] Goddamn it, hurry on up.
[Lonnie grunts, pants]
[Lonnie breathes heavily]
Why do I gotta do all the hard work?
'Cause God gave you
more muscles than brains,
and you ain't exactly
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Oh, this doesn't make
much sense, you know?
Bury someone, you, uh, you leave them
there. You don't dig them up again.
You do
if you're trying to be extra careful.
Not trying to step on your toes,
but maybe you should have been extra
careful the first time you buried him.
Says the extra careful man
who got himself shot, then choked out,
and, grand prize,
his badge and gun stolen.
[panting]
Wh-Why'd you kill Chili?
I mean, he was a decent guy.
He-He was super fucking weird, but he was…
he was a decent guy, you know?
'Cause he was a problem, okay?
In many ways. I…
I gave that boy lots of chances.
He brought that motherfucker to my house.
[coughs] Pussy shit. [Clears throat]
- Get up out that hole.
- [grunts]
Get up out the fucking hole.
Get out the fucking hole right now!
- I've been digging for hours.
- No.
You got 70 pounds on me.
Are you gonna fight me?
I'll fucking crush you. Crush you.
[both grunting]
- [McMann] Get your…
- Don't you try and lock up on me.
I'm gonna lock you! [Grunting]
Okay. Ow! Ow, ow.
My nuts. Oh, you got me in the nuts.
- I got you in the nuts?
- Yeah.
- Here, let me see.
- I'm good. Get off me.
- This is so fucking stupid.
- You're stupid.
- You're fucking stupid.
- You're fucking stupid.
You're f… so f…
Oh, you're so fucking stupid.
[footsteps approaching]
- [Darla] Ooh, hello, hello.
- Hi, hi, hi.
[Darla] Oh, my God, girl.
[grunts]
Sunday Funday got out of control.
- Jesus Christ.
- [Darla sighs]
- What?
- Picklebacks before pickleball.
Never again, honey. But you know what?
It was worth it, 'cause when I work hard,
I play hard,
- you know what I'm saying?
- I do.
No, you don't,
because you have not been here.
You have not been working hard, honey,
and I've been picking up all your slack.
I am sorry.
I-I know that I've been distracted, and…
- With that writer?
- With the writer? No, not…
Sort of, yeah. Well, kind of. [Laughs]
You don't even know this guy.
- I do.
- No, you don't.
- I do.
- Do you know when his birthday is, even?
Uh, I don't.
You need to watch your literal ass.
Do you hear me?
Because I once had a writer
that shadowed me during a murder case.
[scoffs] And when that story got
really juicy,
he threw me right under the bus.
Well, I t-talked to him about that.
We have very clear boundaries.
You do until you don't.
'Cause the next thing you know,
you got your nudes in the Tulsa Gusher.
I'm not sending him nudes, Darla.
That's too bad. I feel sorry for him.
Have not, will not.
- Welcome back.
- [Lee] Yeah. Thank you very much.
Hell of a ride. [Grunts]
- Thanks.
- [Lee] Oof.
You beat us.
[Jed] Yeah, I thought
maybe the coyotes got you.
- [Lee chuckles]
- Well, welcome to the barn, huh?
Have a cold one, boys.
[Donald] Oh, no.
Never while I'm on the clock, Jed.
Oh, he's afraid mama's gonna find out.
- Well…
- [Lee] I'll take one.
- Attaboy.
- Appreciate it.
[chuckles]
Listen, I loved what you said out there
about public service.
It's my passion, Lee.
You know,
I heard about a diversion program.
- You know anything about that?
- Lee
- You involved in it? What? What?
- Lee.
- [Lee] He doesn't mind.
- [Donald] No.
- Uh, do you mind?
- No, I do have a diversion program.
It is called Fresh Start.
Fresh Start, huh?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
it's a meat-packing facility here in town.
Instead of going to jail,
those boys go to work.
Everybody wins.
Wow. Huh!
- I would love to see that.
- Um…
They made a movie about it.
Well, I did.
I'm just so damn proud.
Ha.
A movie?
- [switch clicks]
- [screen whirring]
[Lee sniffles]
This is really exciting. [Chuckles]
Anticipation's killing me, you know?
[Jed] Well, we're almost there.
[Lee] Whoo.
- [switch clicks]
- Hey. [Chuckles]
- [Jed] Shall we?
- Let's.
[Jed] All right.
Lights.
[Lee] Ooh.
[Sallsman] Mm-hmm. Hmm.
What the hell?
Why don't you turn it off
and then turn it back on again?
- [Lee] Would you stop?
- You don't think I already have?
- I'm just saying
- The man knows how to work his own remote.
I have a remote at home,
and that's what I do.
It's not your house.
It's his house. Let him…
- It's all the same.
- You're not the governor here, all right?
- I am the governor of you.
- Okay, bossy-boots.
- It's a damn remote, and
- Oh, hey.
- Hey, all right.
- [Jed] Here we go.
- See? I told you, he's got it.
- Nothing to it. [Sniffs]
[narrator] America, Oklahoma,
the land of opportunity. Fresh Start.
[Lee] Nice.
Fresh Start.
At Fresh Start, we take pride in
the quality of ingredients we work with.
We take pride
in the quality of work itself,
but most of all, we take pride in people.
You mean to tell me
that some of these guys…
I mean, some of these workers, they're…
They're in… part of your program?
[chuckles] Yeah. Every one of them
is in the diversion program.
Every one of them could be staring
at the walls of a cell right now,
but they chose this instead.
These boys are learning skills.
They're learning a trade.
Once they leave Fresh Start,
they're ready to give back to society.
This program's been real good for me.
I used to be trouble. Partying, all that.
But I come here, and they give me
a chance to clean up my act.
Dorms is a whole lot better than jail.
Food too.
They treat me like I'm a real person.
It's-It's amazing.
The profound impact a program like this
could have on a young man.
[Jed] Oh, my goodness, yes.
We don't even have guards on the payroll.
- How do you like that?
- [narrator] Fresh Start…
Huh? These boys,
they got cable TV, a pool table.
Why would they wanna run off?
[narrator]
Justice isn't just about punishment.
It's about making society
stronger, healthier.
Making sure the people who deserve it
get a fresh start.
Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who is that guy?
The-the guy in the red-checkered shirt.
Oh, that's, uh, Robert, Bob T.
He's the foreman.
He runs the show day-to-day.
Oh, shit, that's the sheriff's husband.
- Am I right?
- Good eye.
Yeah, high school sweethearts,
like that John Cougar song.
Well, how'd you like it?
Oh, oh, yeah, yeah,
really, really informative, yeah.
[Jed] Yeah, what's Big Boss Man think?
Jed…
You surprise me.
You do.
- This is wonderful.
- [laughs]
- Yeah.
- Well,
you'd look great in a video like this.
[Donald chuckles] Well, who does
your production stuff now?
Because I need to get them
to work on my social team.
- Oh, his name's Jimmy something.
- [Donald] Yeah? Okay, well, this…
See? This is exactly the kind of new idea
that I've been searching for, right?
Something that makes
all the sides happy. You know, it's…
It's tough, but it's hopeful.
It's hopeful.
Hmm. Well, human beings aren't trash.
They are not trash.
Society can't just lock them up
and throw away the key.
- [Donald] That's right.
- You know what I'd love?
I'd love to get a tour of this place,
you know, while we're here.
- I mean, you know
- Well, I'm sorry,
but we'd have to file the paperwork,
all that, liability, hygiene.
OSHA's really kind of strict
about visitors, you know?
- Come on.
- We gotta dot all the I's.
Yeah, but you're a big shot. Come on,
you could get us in there if you wanted.
- You know you could.
- Well, maybe down the road, Lee.
Okay.
You know of a young man
named Nathan Spence?
Was he in your program?
- Oh, you know about him?
- I do.
He unfortunately was not.
He never made it. He died in County.
- Yeah, that's what I heard.
- Medical incident.
Had a history of drug use. His…
His poor mother is very confused.
I'm praying for her.
Very tough thing to lose a son like that.
Hell of a thing.
Well, I'm sure she appreciates
your prayers.
I'm sure she does.
I'm sure she does.
Fellas, we, uh…
We never got that photo,
and I think now's the time.
Let's get Jane in here, all right?
Jane! Come on.
Vela's really pissed with you.
Oh, yeah.
Well, you and Vela, you're… you're
fucking brother-in-la wing, aren't you?
- What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
- It means that…
It means that you guys are family
and she treats you different.
She treats me differently
'cause she can count on me,
'cause I'm not a fucking retard.
Hurry on up. Come on.
[squelching]
Oh! [Gags]
[McMann gagging] God. Fuck!
- [Lonnie] Oh.
- [McMann groans]
- God, that is fucking disgusting.
- [McMann grunting]
Put him in the truck.
Drive him to the incinerator.
Do your best not to trip
and fall in with him.
- Goddamn it.
- [Lonnie grunts]
[McMann] Then meet me back here.
I got a plan to fix this shit.
Fuck!
[Lonnie mutters] Fuck!
[groans]
[grunts]
[Lee groans]
Hey. Whoa. Hold on.
[Donald] What the…
Hey, Governor, I just wanna say
thanks for busting me out of jail.
Really appreciate it.
- Lee?
- Yeah?
I'd rather not see you in the near future.
My debt to you is paid.
Are you okay?
Oh, just my back. I-It's…
[groans] It's screaming.
All right, just…
If you do hear anything about me
being charged with murder,
all right, I might need you
to make a couple more calls
Jane, Jane.
Attempted murder?
No, it was a successful murder.
It's just they're trying to pin it on me,
and I had nothing to do with it.
Never call me again.
Jane.
Okay. All right. Well
[Donald groaning]
- [stammers] Okay.
[Donald] Oh.
[Donald] Just a little harder.
Oh, not that hard…
["Belly" playing]
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
- [Lee] Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Okay!
- Hey! All right!
- Whoo!
- Not bad.
- Good?
Not bad, that's not bad.
We can work with that.
- Nicely done.
- Thank you.
- [both chuckle]
- Let's see how your mom does.
- Ah. Grandpa's here.
- What?
- Happy birthday.
- Ray, what the f…
[Ray] Hey, stranger.
Yeah, Dad, I invited him.
A belly at full hang ♪
Why would you do that?
A hand inside a hand ♪
[Ray] There's our birthday girl. Hello.
Hi.
Read my mind and read my soul ♪
Thank you.
Give me a fuckin' break.
[mimics fanfare] It's a little
gift certificate to my store.
Fifty bucks, anything you want.
- Wow. Every teenage girl's dream.
- Well, give that back.
And I've got a better present
than those flowers, but, uh…
It's not here. It's in my storage unit.
I'll get your dad to take me
down there to get it.
It's really special.
No, you don't have to
get me anything else.
Yes, I do. [Chuckles]
Yes, I do.
Get in there, bitch.
- Nice!
- [pins clatter]
- [Johnny] Yeah!
- [Samantha] That was amazing!
[exhales] And fire. [Clears throat]
[sighs] Would you stop this?
- Stop what?
- This, whatever this is.
Well, I just… They've known each other
five minutes and now they're best friends?
I wonder what kind of lies
he's telling her, you know?
- Just let her have this.
- [stammering] Have what?
- No, no…
- She's happy right now.
- Look at her, she's happy.
- Well, she's…
- You're her dad.
- [sighs]
You've always been there for her,
and she knows you always will be.
- Yeah?
- That's what being a parent is.
- It's a thankless fucking job, right?
- I know, and I am always there for her.
That's what I do.
I'm always there for her.
- I know.
- So?
You're up.
This is… You know what it is?
It's the fucking hypocrisy, okay?
You know how many of my birthdays
he was at?
- Zero. Goose egg.
- Listen to me.
If you let somebody take your peace,
then you don't have it anymore.
Oh, okay. Just can't believe
you bought him a shirt, okay?
"Grandpa"? Give me a break.
- Go bowl.
- [Waylon] Come on, Lee.
[Country rock plays]
Your friends don't know…
When I… This is my lane. You got…
- I need… I need space.
- [overlapping chatter]
It's not your ball.
[Waylon and Henry]
Let's go, Lee. Let's go, Lee!
Whoa! Lee!
Deidra.
[Johnny] Yeah! Pretty good.
[overlapping chatter, laughter]
Oh, damn.
- [Samantha] Oh!
- [whooping]
- [Ray] Are we winning?
- [Waylon] Yeah, you get one more.
Uh, are you, like, an artist?
Are you trying to hit on me?
You're, like, 14 years old.
Ah, bitch.
- [Lee] Oh, look it.
- [Samantha] It's awful.
[Waylon] Oh!
Just one more thing. Could you describe
your perfect date to me? That's all.
[Deidra sighs]
Okay. So, your mom comes here
to pick you up, right?
But you don't get in the car,
I get in the car. We drive away
and go home to your house.
I fuck your mom. She loves it.
She leaves your dad, I leave your mom.
I drive back in her car,
I pick you up from the bowling alley.
I sign you up for military school.
Then after you're drafted into the
water wars, which will happen, you die.
Sound fun?
That looks good.
Yeah!
[Waylon] What are you doing?
- [Lee] Oh. Oh, oh.
- Okay!
[cheers, applause]
- You gonna kick me out?
- No, it's Francis's night.
[Lee Senior scoffs]
- That's big of you.
- Yeah, well, you can't take my peace.
Well, do you remember the time
when we took you
to the bowling alley for your birthday?
[chuckles] That never happened.
- Did too.
- No, no. When?
No, you were maybe five.
Had that little bowling alley
over in Seminole.
Man, you'd have thought
we took you to Disneyland.
They had all them neon lights everywhere.
All right, all right, all right.
You know, that-that…
I actually remember that, I think.
You shit in your pants.
[chuckles]
- What?
- Yeah, you'd been having too much fun.
You didn't tell us that you had to go
to the restroom, and, uh, there you go.
You got a lighter?
Well, next time you want to reminisce,
you know, just let me know. It's great.
- [sighs]
- We gotta sing.
You want to know any great old stories
about me shitting myself, huh?
[Samantha] All right,
listen to me real quick.
I need you both to pull it together
and act happy, okay?
If y'all don't straighten up
and sing "Happy Birthday"
with a smile on your face,
then I'm gonna kick
both your asses tonight, you hear me?
I love singing.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Now, let's go.
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday to you ♪
[whooping]
Happy birthday, dear Francis ♪
Happy birthday to you ♪
[whooping]
[all applauding, cheering]
All right. Hey, thanks a lot.
Appreciate it, bud. Yeah.
- Oh, hey, hey, hey. Mmm. Birthday girl.
- Hi. Glad you could make it.
Yeah, of course. Hey, I got you a present.
I should've wrapped it, but ta-da!
Oh, wow.
No, don't take the boot, the book.
I gave it away.
- Shocker.
- Come on. All right. It's Eve Babitz.
She's super cool.
You're really going to like her.
I wrote you a note inside.
I want you to read it later, okay?
- I think you're really going to like it.
- Okay.
All right.
- Dad?
- Yeah?
Thanks.
- Of course. Come here.
- [giggles]
- [phone buzzes]
- Oh, shit.
What?
- Who is it?
- [whispers] Girlfriend.
Hey there.
I called. So much has happened.
When's your birthday?
- My birthday?
- Never mind.
I just don't… I don't know the date.
Oh, uh, November 14th. Why?
I don't know,
I just thought I sh-should know.
Ah. Well, now you know.
Yeah. Um… So, I… [stammers] …met
Deborah Spence yesterday, finally,
um, and, uh, uh, uh, Nathan was
definitely at that diversion program.
It's like a fucking food farm, um,
and she said he called her from there
and he definitely did not die in County.
Right, it's called Fresh Start, okay?
I-I-I met the judge
who-who created the whole thing.
He showed me
this bonkers promo video, okay?
Made the whole thing
seem like it's candy land. It is not.
Well, she's convinced
they worked him to death.
Right, okay, listen to this.
The boss there, okay,
is the sheriff's husband,
and, wait for it,
McMann is the sheriff's cousin, okay?
So it's all, like-like, super connected.
I got to talk to this woman.
- All right, I'll come get you.
- [chuckles] Okay.
Bye.
You're growing up so fast.
- Oh, I'm tired.
- Okay, Ray. Too long.
- [Lee] Is that her house?
- [Ginger] Yeah, this is it.
[Lee] Shit.
[Lee] Oh, shit, shit, shit.
Is everybody okay?
- Who is that?
- My neighbor, Deborah.
Oh, shit.
[neighbor] Poor thing.
Weren't for bad luck,
she'd have had no luck at all.
Carbon monoxide. Silent killer.
[insects chittering]
[distant train horn blowing]
Anybody that would kill a grieving mother
- is somebody who's hiding something big.
- That poor woman.
- I just talked to her yesterday.
- I know, I know, but it's not your fault.
It's a den of snakes up there
in Woodrell County. It is.
We got to turn on the lights
and see where they slither.
I have to say, I'm not feeling
as excited about this as you are.
That's 'cause you didn't see
what I've seen, all right?
This Judge Jed and his bullshit
promo video, the sheriff,
the murder of Chili, Nathan Spence,
and now his mother.
- It's like the
- Okay, okay. Wait. Whoa.
- Can we just slow down for one second?
- Sure.
- What do you mean?
- I mean, I need a minute.
- Okay.
- Like…
I'm just saying
they've already killed two people.
If you think that's the only thing
they're doing wrong…
I mean… [stammers]
…if we don't stop them, who's gonna?
I told this woman I would help her.
I asked her to trust me,
and now she's dead.
So that's what happens when I…
- I guess…
- No, no. No. No.
The question is, what do we do next?
- The only way to right a wrong…
- I-I-I… I…
Am gonna go to bed.
All right, well, I'm not gonna feel good
about leaving you alone.
I'm telling you I want to be alone.
I literally am telling you
that I should be alone.
Okay, all right. Can I sleep on the porch?
- I just
- No.
[Ginger sniffles, sighs]
Hey, Ginger?
When's your birthday?
[door squeaks]
[line ringing]
Would you pick up, motherfucker?
Yo, Gingy, baby girl, good timing.
I was just thinking about you.
Pookie, why-why have you not called me?
Oh, you know, I'm just, uh, collecting
my sources, checking them twice.
Just shut up.
Do you recall what I said would happen
to you if-if… if you did not help me?
I know. I know, I understand, okay?
This is just really intense stuff,
all right? This is fucking heavy.
I don't want to get
mixed up into this shit.
You're fucking mixed in, okay? Just… talk.
All right, so about your boy, Mekko…
This is the word on the block.
Yes, what do you know?
[sighs]
They're saying that he killed some kid.
What did you say?
That he killed a kid.
No, that's not… I… I…
What, they're saying Mekko did?
Yeah, that's the word.
It-It happened at some sort of
work-and-release program.
No, I… Wait. I don't get what…
He would never…
Wait. You… Hey, you have that wrong.
What, you think I'm lying?
I'm in here sticking my neck out for you,
talking to freaking murderers,
and you think I'm lying?
Ginge, you gotta promise me it's not gonna
get out that I've been speaking to you
because these people
are fucking crazy, like, seriously
Fucking idiot.
Idiot.
Give me the phone.
- Give me your fucking phone.
- All right, okay.
Okay, we're gonna go
for a little fucking ride.
Do you understand? Do you remember me?
Fuck. Yeah, yep, yes.
You shot me in the neck,
you fucking bitch.
- Ah, ah… Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Get her in the fucking… fucking…
I'm getting in, I'm getting in.
- [Ginger] It's okay.
- We gotta put her in the trunk.
- She's getting in.
- I think it's less intimidating if we
- Just let her get in.
- Fine.
- [panting]
- Watch your head.
["Everybody Daylight" playing]
Living, burning ♪
Living free ♪
Living, caring ♪
To complete ♪
Everybody ♪
Come to know ♪
In death, to believe ♪
In something better ♪
In something better ♪
There's no fear ♪