Work in Progress (2019) s02e08 Episode Script

Previously on Work in Progress.
Your dad's in the ICU.
Was he trying to
It would appear so, yeah.
I just want answers from him, you know,
and we can't even see him.
I mean, what is that about?
But with COVID, they're
being extremely vigilant.
There's a lot that we
still don't even know.
Something doesn't add up.
Hi, Bobby.
Everything's fine.
Everything's okay.
- What's in the boxes?
- Mom.
Hear that, Mom? We miss you.
I just can't wrap my brain around
that you're moving back to
your apartment tomorrow.
Are you gonna be okay on your own?
Ugh What the fuck, brain?
Fuck!
Good morning, Abby.
- What the ?
- From NPR News,
I'm Audie Cornish.
- Where shall we begin?
- Uh
Perhaps with the numerous
Black Lives Matter protests
across the country.
"In the nation's capital,
a homeowner sheltered dozens
of protesters in his house
while police surrounded the property
waiting to arrest and take them "
You know, um, I didn't sleep
so good last night so
Well, how about local?
"Mayor Lightfoot is
drawing harsh criticism
for her 9:00 p.m. curfew
announced just 30 minutes
before it went into effect,
trapping thousands of
protesters downtown
to be tear gassed and arrested "
I don't think that's the one.
Or we could pivot to COVID-19.
"Cook County's infection
numbers are steadily increasing
- as Governor Pritzker "
- Hey, Audie.
I I'm so sorry. I l love you.
And I have like six NPR tote bags,
and I can show them to you
if you don't believe me.
And I'm really aware that this is
a very privileged thing to say,
but I have news fatigue.
And I honestly don't think
I can listen to any of that.
It's wrecking me.
Abby, it's absolutely okay
to have boundaries.
And it's okay to turn off the news
and give your brain a break.
It It is?
I promise.
Hey, do you want a cup of coffee?
- Love one.
- Okay.
Nobody ever offers.
Rude.
How do you take it?
Black.
BEZ.
- I am a supporter.
- Well done.
Cheers.
Fuck!
Oh, fuck, fuck.
Shit.
Shit.
Pah!
Oh, there she is, my girl
Hey, Susan.
Oh, Eli.
Yes, so glad you could make it.
I thought this was mandatory.
- Hey, Abby.
- Hi, Eli.
- So Abby?
- Uh-huh.
I have a very special job for you.
Oh, no.
In these unprecedented
and challenging times
Oh, God.
we at Equi Resi want
to show togetherness
and unity with the community.
- Hey, Susan?
- And
What community exactly
are you talking about?
All of them.
Well, anyways, since you are our
internal communications specialist,
in addition to being, well, diverse,
we chose you to write our
company's solidarity statement.
Hey, Susan. Actually, an
individual can't be diverse.
But following that logic,
shouldn't Eli write the statement?
I mean, he is "diverse."
And also and probably more
importantly, he's the copywriter.
Well, Abby, it was actually Eli's idea
- to have you write it.
- What?
Oh
So we want our statement
to show that we're progressive
- but not too progressive.
-
We're not anarchists, you know?
Don't burn down Target.
I need my Bullseye's Playground
and my coconut caramel soy lattes.
I only allow myself one
of those a week as is.
I remember.
Anyways, the team would
like a draft ASAP.
I will get you a draft
ASAP at the very latest.
Super-duper.
All right, well, I got to zoom
to another Zoom, you guys.
Oh, and Black lives ma
Jesus Christ.
Oh, my Go
- Hi, Travis.
- What the hell are you doing?
Well, you know how your girl
hates to take multiple trips.
Uh-hmm. What do you got there?
Women and Children First,
Semicolon Bookstore.
- Uh-hmm.
- Let me guess;
you bought out one of those
anti-racism reading lists
- that are circulating.
- Do not tell me there's more than one.
- I can't afford it!
- Aw
Actually, I'm so glad I ran into you.
- I have a favor to ask.
- Name it. Of course.
Well, I'm headin' down to see my mom
- for a couple of days.
- Okay.
- Maybe more.
- Is everything okay?
She went to Urgent Care,
and they refused to test her
because she doesn't have a fever.
But she's got a bunch of other symptoms.
So I'm gonna go down there
and have her seen by somebody
and I'm gonna wait
- until I get some answers. So
- Okay.
I was wondering if you could
water my plants for me again?
Oh, my God. Of course. Don't mention it.
Just leave your, uh, keys
under my mat. Okay?
Abby, you never gave my
keys back the last time.
- What?
- Yeah.
Um, I know exactly where they are.
- Great.
- I'll find 'em. Don't worry.
And also, just leave me a list
of the plants that you really
don't love that much,
- and I'll kill those first, okay?
- Okay.
Maybe I should find new
friends in the building.
Don't you dare!
- Okay, take care. Okay, Travis?
- Later.
All right, see you later.
The three other officers
who were fired along with
Chauvin have not been charged
even as new video appears to
show two of them also kneeling
on George Floyd's body
as he laid on the pavement
and Chauvin had his knee
- on his neck.
-
On Saturday, Minnesota governor Tim Walz
said he'd fully mobilized
the National Guard
for the first time in
his state's history,
adding another 1,000 soldiers to the 700
he'd already ordered into
the streets of Minneapolis
and St. Paul.
- Ugh
- Hi, Ma.
We headed out.
Where, exactly?
People are gathering in Grant Park.
So we're startin' there.
CPD are arresting folks left
and right at these marches,
whether they have cause or not.
Mom, we're grown men.
We'll be careful.
Well, what's the plan if you
two get arrested or separated?
Mom, the plan is to not get arrested.
Or separated.
Wow. Great plan.
Turn on Find My Phone, right now.
What? Why?
So I can track you if something happens.
Jamal, take that chain off.
What for?
Because it makes it easier for
someone to yoke you up, stupid.
You should worry about someone
punching you in the face, dummy.
Knock it off.
Show me where you wrote my number down.
Mom, you don't have to worry about us.
We can handle ourselves.
I'm not worried about what you will do.
I've never been worried
about what you will do.
Okay, Ma. Love you.
Oh.
Be smart.
Be safe.
I also want to applaud
our police officers
for maintaining their professionalism
and restraint.
Hands up! Don't shoot!
Hands up! Don't shoot!
Don't shoot!
George Floyd!
George Floyd!
The policeman isn't there
to create disorder.
The policeman is there
to preserve disorder.
No.
Oh fuck you, Susan.
We know you're at a fucking party,
posting these pictures.
Like what the fuck is that, you know?
Abby?
- Abby? Abs.
- I'm so sorry.
I'm so tired.
- I'm so tired.
- I know.
I mean, when you came down
the stairs I was like, "Yikes."
Not in a good way.
Oh, I was confused for a minute.
Of course you're gonna be tired.
It's a really hard time right now.
Right. But compared to 99
percent of the population,
I have it so much easier.
Give yourself a fucking break.
Your dad tried to kill himself
and you haven't been able to see him.
Yeah, I know.
I can only imagine.
Yup, fuckin' Alison.
She's driving me fucking crazy.
Listen to this, she called
me yesterday and was like,
"I'm so nervous about
you living in the city
with all the protests."
And I was like, "I'm not goin'
and livin' in a fucking
basement with Jags."
Wait, what?
Jags is in their pod?
Oh, yeah.
And I made some offhand joke
that they were in a throuple
and Alison flipped out,
so I kind of think it's true.
Well, you do know that the
suburbs is orgy country.
Oh, God, I can't.
Please have never have said that.
-
- Ugh
Shit, shit, shit,
shit, shit, shit, shit.
Fuck.
Okay. Thank you, Travis.
I like you the most so far.
Oh, my Lord. It's hiding.
What the fuck is that?
It's exhausting.
You are beautiful, Travis.
I have rape-colored skin.
My light-brown Blackness is a
living testament to the rules,
the practices, the causes
of the Old South.
If there are those who want
to remember the legacy
of the Confederacy,
if there are those who want a monument,
well, then, my body is a monument.
My skin is a monument.
I am a Black Southern woman,
and of my immediate
white male ancestors,
all of them were rapists.
My very existence is a relic
of slavery and Jim Crow.
As far as family history
has always told,
and as modern DNA testing
has allowed me to confirm,
I am the descendant of Black women
who were domestic servants
and white men who raped their help.
What is a monument
but a standing memory?
An artifact to make tangible
the truth of the past?
Well, my body and blood
are a tangible truth of the South
and its past.
The Black people I come from
were owned by the white
people I come from.
The white people I come from
fought and died for their lost cause.
So I ask you now,
who dares to tell me to celebrate them?
Who dares to ask me
to accept their mounted pedestals?
Eyes front!
Good morning, new students.
-
- My name is Brian Flanagan.
I am an officer
with the University of
Chicago police force.
We are real police with
real police powers.
Now, I know you kids are smart.
Otherwise you wouldn't be here.
But I'm here to talk to you about
somethin' you might not know
about keeping safe in
an urban environment.
Should I have gone to Vassar?
Ha! You didn't get in.
Chicago is one of the
best cities in the world.
But it's also an extremely
dangerous place,
especially here on the South Side.
Why didn't anybody tell me this
when I submitted my application?
Can't you see how overtly
racist this cop is?
Insinuating you're in grave danger
just because you're in
a Black neighborhood?
I mean, he wouldn't have
said it if it wasn't true.
- Oh, God.
- Do not, under any circumstances,
travel south of 60th,
west of Cottage Grove,
north of 53rd or east of Stony Island.
Because if you do,
we cannot protect you.
See?
Turn to page 32 in your handbook
Hey, level with me.
Chicago's not that
bad of a place, right?
How would I know?
I'm from Waterloo, Iowa.
I'm sorry.
I am so sorry.
She is very sheltered.
I'm sure.
Exactly where did your adoration
of The Man come from?
What are you lookin' at me for?
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America.
And to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.
Of fucking course.
Okay, kids, listen up.
Please welcome to the class
Officer Friendly.
Thanks, Mrs. T. All right.
How are we doing, kids?
I'm Officer John Durge.
I'm here to introduce you to NARC
which stands for Narcotics, Abuse,
Resistance, Counseling, okay?
And you better pay attention,
or I'll lock you up!
- Jesus Christ!
- The three Rs Recognize,
Resist, Report.
Say it with me now.
Recognize,
- resist, report.
- Good!
Recognize, resist, report!
- There we go!
- Recognize, resist, report!
And they accuse the homos
of indoctrinating kids.
- You.
- But what does that mean?
Good question, kid.
Uh, so first, you want to recognize
when someone is taking drugs, okay?
Next, you resist taking
that drug. Right?
And lastly, you call 911 immediately,
and report the person taking that drug.
And what if it's their mom or dad?
Are you really telling them
to narc on the very people
who provide them with food
and shelter and safety
just for taking some recreational drugs?
What are we going to
tell them to do, class?
Report! Report! Report! Report!
- Two hands! Report! Report!
- Report! Report!
Report! Report! Report!
Report! Report! Report! Report!
Report! Report! Report!
Baby, I'm sorry.
I can't be here for you anymore.
What's wrong, Bobby?
Did you did you know
that the word "malus"
means both "bad" and "apple tree"
in Latin? Did you know that?
Are you
Are you ending this?
Yeah.
Somebody's gotta tip the
first domino, you know,
even if it's just a symbolic one.
It's gotta be done.
It's gotta be done.
You know what?
Ah.
I don't even miss sports.
Can you make sure that you
don't get that orange stuff
on my dead mom's couch?
In these challenging
and uncertain times,
we at EqRes are committed to
change and fighting injustice
while also communing
- with community.
- What do these words mean?
This country is in pain,
and we embrace the responsibility
- to do this important work.
- Can you please explain
what work a faceless corporation
that exploits the most
marginalized people
in this country plans to do?
Stand against inequality
- and end racism.
- How?
By standing.
Okay. Go on.
- In unity.
- Ugh!
Together! It's for America, Abby!
-
- Fuck!
Oh, hey. I didn't know you were home.
I'm sorry. I got home last
night. I forgot to tell you.
Don't be sorry. If you look
around, you can clearly tell
your plants are in love with me.
How's your mom?
She
she died.
What?
Oh, my God, Travis.
Wh-What happened?
Uh
When she went to Urgent
Care two weeks ago,
they told her to hydrate
and take some Tylenol.
Tylenol.
I knew something was wrong.
I knew something was
wrong. Why didn't they?
She was already so sick by
the time I got down there,
and then she was gone.
You probably shouldn't be in here.
I got tested, but I won't have
my results for another few days.
Will you let me know right away?
I mean, I could, like, order you
- something to eat, or some groceries.
- Yeah. I'll let you know.
Or anything you need.
I'm just upstairs, okay? Oh, Jesus.
I'll leave your keys right
there. And Tra I
I'm so sorry, Travis.
I'm really, I'm so sorry.
Cunt.
Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.
Fuck you!
His mother dies and you back away?
What the fuck are you thinking?
My God, you're a fucking piece of shit!
You are a fucking worthless cunt!
Oh, God.
Mom?
- Chickadee.
- Oh
Hey, now. Hey, now.
It's gonna be all right.
I know.
Shh.
You're okay.
I don't think I am.
Abby, I promise that
you are gonna be okay.
Whether or not you
believe that right now,
that's something I know for sure.
- Dorothy Allison.
- Dorothy Allison.
Mom
Mom
Come on, honey.
Let's get you to bed.
It's cleaner than I remember.
I blame Campbell.
I miss you so much.
I reach for the phone,
it seems like every day.
I just want to hear your voice.
Everything's fine.
Everything's okay.
One minute, please.
- What now?
- Don't blame me.
I'm not the one calling
you at six in the morning.
- I'm not here.
- It's your father.
What?
He has your phone number?
Dad?
Hey, kid.