Nine Perfect Strangers (2021) s01e08 Episode Script

Ever After

1
I just want my son back.
I can arrange that.
Zoe. You're the dominant player here.
Your ability to see him
facilitates everyone's.
I thought you were her.
I saw these horrible images.
‐When someone seems so nice and good,
it turns out I'm always wrong.
Well, it's not the worst thing
anyone has ever said to me,
but it's pretty close.
That little girl
who was riding the bike,
that wasn't me. That was
She was my daughter.
She might be going to the police.
‐ Why would she do this to us?
Well, the last time
you dosed a guest
with this mixture, he died, Masha.
To show you that it is safe,
I am gonna take the journey with you.
You can't leave us now.
We can make you well.
It's not safe to be around you.
What now, lapochka?
I didn't go there to shoot you that day.
I did mean to terrorize you
to put the fear of God in you.
Do you remember what you said?
You dismissed me.
You want money?
Five hundred, cash.
Take it.
Fuck off.
First, you fuck my husband,
and then you dismissed me.
I don't remember pulling the trigger,
but I remember that.
‐ Is that why you came here?
To scare me again?
It was you with the texts?
Carmel
I
I wanted you to feel
what it was like to‐‐ to
to lose control.
‐ You succeeded.
You never
you never dreamed it could be me
who shot you, did you?
I was a pretty good
makeup artist, actually.
I was‐‐ I was
I was good at a lot of things before him.
Before you.
‐ You didn't come here just to scare me.
You came here so I could fix you.
‐ But you haven't.
You failed.
Hey, I‐‐ I‐‐ I want you
to call the police.
I want you to tell them what I did.
That I'm a dangerous person,
and and that I need to go away.
‐ This whole place
is because of you, Carmel,
because of my near‐death experience.
Because you showed me
this whole place exists.
This is because of you.
Do not pity me.
I don't pity you.
I forgive you.
‐ But I I don't forgive myself.
‐ You give me nine to fourteen hours
and we are finally gonna heal, lapochka.
‐ Don't call me‐‐
‐ Lapochka.
‐ Don't call me that.
‐ Lapochka. Lapochka.
Lapochka. Lapochka. Lapochka.
Um, I don't wanna disturb
what you're doing.
‐ I'm social distancing.
Remember? First time I saw you
in the pool, you said to me?
‐ Yeah. Yep. I do. I do.
Um, look, I was just with Masha.
We had kind of a whole moment,
and then she got a call
from Delilah, and
and then she just kept repeating
the word, uh, "lockdown."
You know, in kind of a elevated,
not panicked, but elevated tone.
And just hearing
the word "lockdown," you know,
said repeatedly like that
did not exactly fill me
with confidence, so I just thought
you would maybe want to know that.
Um
so that's why I'm telling you.
I know I said stupid things in the sauna.
I tend to babble when I'm nervous.
I tend to babble when I'm not nervous.
So any way you slice that cake,
I'm babbling.
The fact that you seem to be‐‐
not seem to be,
that you are really
Being a lovely guy, it just set off
every panic bell, whistle, and flag
that I've been carefully
constructing for the better part
of 40 years.
‐ I thought you were 50.
‐ Let's just say "40 plus."
‐ Plus 10.
‐ Okay.
Deserve that. That's accurate.
The stuff I said in there,
it was‐‐ I was doubting me,
not
So, I'm
I'm really sorry for what I said
in the sauna.
‐ For the record
I don't think you're wrong.
I think your your instinct
that we don't have a chance
in hell is probably correct.
‐ Okay.
But there's a Four Seasons
a few miles down the road.
What do you say we get
the fuck out of here right now,
go have some dinner together?
‐ Do you own any actual trousers?
‐ I do not.
‐ I'd love to.
Mm‐hmm.
‐ The dose is starting to work, isn't it?
It's time for us to set our intentions.
Let's do it, yes?
I feel
What is it? What's wrong?
‐ Well, actually, Lars has been
filling us in some.
You, uh, kinda left out
a few things, didn't you?
‐ Like the girl on the bike
was your daughter.
And that you want to cross
a divide and reconnect with her,
and you're using us as test pilots.
‐ I no. This is
Lars is mistaken.
‐ Why didn't you just tell us
about your daughter?
‐ It's not acceptable
for a therapist to be‐‐
to be talking about her own life,
telling you stories.
‐ It's time to cut out
the malarkey, all right?
HEATHER
You practically demanded
that we share our pain with you,
telling us that you had all the answers.
I mean, what kind of person does that?
Who are you?
‐ Who am I, Heather?
I am a person who had somebody
who was at their center,
and when I lost her, I lost me.
I am a person who is living
her life defined
by grief and pain and loss.
I am you.
I am you.
I am you.
‐ So, all that talk about
your near‐death experience
Mm‐hmm.
‐ changing your life.
‐ Oh, it did. It did. Because I felt her.
I felt my daughter.
When that happened, I felt her, I saw her,
and I knew now and forever
I must go. I must find her.
I must find that feeling again
that you had.
‐ Is that why you dosed?
‐ I dosed so I could keep you safe.
So I could show you this is safe.
I am going to take you
on this journey now.
I will do it.
You are a family who is stuck.
I am stuck.
I am stuck.
So we have set and setting.
Let's meditate, hmm?
Is that hers?
‐ Yes. This is.
So we must meditate. Sit.
They are out there waiting for us.
We will find them. Let's go together.
Yeah. Come on. Let's find them.
Tati
‐ Zach.
Yeah.
‐ Let's find Zach.
‐ Where am I?
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Listen, Masha scheduled
a self‐care day, okay?
You're currently
in our sensory deprivation tank.
‐ How did I get in here?
Well, you walked, Carmel.
‐ I I did?
Yeah.
What is this place?
It's lightproof, soundproof,
and the water is heated
to the exact temperature
of your skin.
There's also enough
dissolved salts in there
so you'll float effortlessly
on the surface.
Should feel like just being in the womb.
‐ No, no. No, no.
She wants you to purge, Carmel.
This is your chance to start anew.
‐ No, I don't‐‐ I don't wanna
be back in the womb!
I don't like small spaces!
Let me out, please. Please let me out!
Yo. You ready?
You two leaving already?
‐ Uh, yeah.
Yeah. You know, uh,
you guys did such a good job,
you know, so we're already fixed.
‐ Where's Carmel?
‐ Oh, Masha just scheduled her
a treatment.
‐ Oh, so she's‐‐
she's feeling better?
‐ Yeah. She's doing great.
‐ Oh, that's great.
‐ Good. Yeah.
‐ All right. Well, hey, namaste.
‐ Namaste.
Masha strongly recommends
you complete your stay.
‐ It's food for thought, isn't it?
Shit is getting weird.
‐ No. Stay. Stay.
Come back.
Zoe, come back.
Come, Zoe. Meditating is the best way.
‐ No, it's not how he came before. I was‐‐
I wasn't meditating. He just showed up.
‐ I wouldn't know
because she's never come to me.
Not once.
‐ How old was she?
‐ She was seven.
You haven't been able to see her?
‐ No. No.
Some flickering images sometimes.
Some very peripheral,
on the edges of something, but,
no, I can't‐‐ I can't feel her.
I can't conjure her.
‐ Hey.
This doesn't feel right. Oh.
What's happening?
Mommy.
Glory!
I'm done!
Hello!
Hello! Glory!
Open the door.
I'm afraid we need you
to remain in this room
for your own safety, Carmel.
‐ Open the door! Open the dumb door!
Open the door!
‐ Help.
Oh! Napoleon.
‐ Dad! Dad.
Jesus!
‐ Oh, Dad!
‐ Zach!
‐ Dad!
‐ Am I having an aneurysm?
No. Stay calm.
God, Dad.
‐ I'm having an aneurysm.
It's just a nose bleed.
It's just a nose bleed.
No, no, no. You're fine.
‐ No. It's in my mouth.
‐ It's a nose bleed.
No, it's not.
It's in my mouth as well.
‐ You're‐‐ you're okay.
You're okay. You're fine.
It's in my mouth!
I am not fine! I'm not okay! No!
Easy, Dad.
Just tilt your head back.
Pinch the bridge.
‐ Zach? Zach?
Get your index finger, okay?
Place it here under the lip.
‐ Okay.
‐ And press.
Press. Um, it's
Zach. Oh, my God.
Hi.
‐ Back.
‐ What?
‐ Always the hypochondriac.
Isn't he?
He gets a bloody nose and thinks
he's having an aneurysm.
Worrywart.
‐ Yeah.
‐ It is a little bit too bad
that you weren't in charge
of my medication.
‐ No, come on, Zach. That's not fair.
‐ Why the belt?
Why did you hang yourself with the belt?
I had just bought it for you.
Was it a big "fuck you"?
That belt was your note?
‐ Was it me?
‐ Honey, I don't understand. Why‐‐
‐ 'Cause we weren't talking when he died.
We were fighting.
We were playing that stupid
fucking game we had,
who would be the first person
to break down and speak.
I knew something wasn't right with you,
that you weren't being yourself.
But I didn't say anything
'cause I didn't wanna lose
the fucking game.
‐ You guys are all trying to attach reason
to an irrational act.
There's no logic and no blame.
It wasn't because we got into a fight.
Okay, and the belt wasn't my note.
It wasn't any of you, okay?
I mean, it wasn't even me.
Do you get that?
It wasn't even me.
It's something that just happened. And
and if I could take it back
I would.
‐ Stop!
Stop! Stop it!
Damn it! Goddamn it!
Stop it! Stop it! Goddamn it, stop!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
‐ God, I hope I can drive.
‐ Just‐‐ we'll go very slowly.
‐ What's happening here? Hey!
‐ Hey. Hey.
‐ What‐‐ What are you guys doing here?
We're checking out.
What are you guys doing?
‐ Um, nothing. We was‐‐
we was making sure the cars
were still here.
‐ What, are you gonna have sex
in it again?
‐ I told you that in confidence.
I told you that in confidence.
Did you? I didn't think
Yeah.
‐ What the fuck?
What the fuck?
‐ Where did all our cars go?
Where the fuck is my car?
Baby, it's okay.
‐ No. It's not okay.
They disappeared my car.
Why would they take our cars?
Okay, did everyone hear that?
That can't be good.
‐ Hey.
‐ Did you hear that, too?
‐ Yeah. We all heard it.
‐ Where have you been?
With Masha and the Marconis.
They've all taken a huge amount
of hallucinogenics.
‐ Masha, too?
‐ Why would they do that?
‐ They're trying to connect
with people they've lost.
So then, what are you doing here?
‐ I realized it was none of my business.
Glory!
I'm done! Let me out!
Hello? Carmel? Hello?
‐ Frances? Frances?
‐ Carmel, are you okay?
No, I'm not okay.
I'm‐‐ I'm locked in here.
There's‐‐ There's‐‐ There's no‐‐
there are no windows
and I'm getting claustrophobic.
‐ Just take a deep breath, okay?
Deep breaths.
It's locked. It's locked from both sides.
‐ Can you break it down?
‐ It's steel. I mean,
I'm flattered but no, I can't.
‐ Okay. You know what?
We'll figure something out!
I'm gonna go find Masha!
‐ Wait for me. I'll come with you.
Just look right.
‐ I'm fine. I'm totally fine. I just‐‐
I was being a worrywart,
just like Zach said.
He was right.
I heard that buzzer,
the alarm from my phone
in my head.
Did I scare him off?
Oh, damn it! Damn it!
‐ We can try to bring him back.
‐ It's okay. It's okay.
‐ I can feel her. She's close.
‐ Masha? What are you doing?
‐ Oh, Frances. Please, not now. Not now.
‐ Why did you lock Carmel away?
‐ Carmel hasn't finished her journey yet,
so we're gonna take care
of Carmel shortly, I promise‐‐
‐ No. We're not gonna take care
of Carmel fucking shortly.
We're gonna do it now.
Or I'm gonna call the cops.
Believe me.
‐ Hm. Okay. Yes. Uh
Right.
You take care of them.
I will be back very shortly, I promise.
Let's go. Um, we can't release
Carmel yet because
she may hurt herself.
She may hurt you or others.
When it is safe, absolutely,
we can release her.
There.
‐ What? What is it?
‐ It's not real.
‐ It's okay. Okay.
‐ How is she doing?
Oh, she's calmed down mostly, thank God.
We need to get her out.
‐ Why aren't you filming, huh?
Carmel, my darling, can you hear me?
Masha! Masha, please!
You have to let me out!
I‐‐ I'm getting claustrophobic again!
‐ I just have to make sure
you're not going to harm
yourself or anybody else.
No. I promise.
I'll be good.
‐ Are you sure you're okay?
‐ Under the circumstances, yes.
‐ Good.
I have to get back to the Marconis.
I have to keep them safe.
I want you to take a rest.
Can you do that for me?
‐ Okay.
‐ Okay.
‐ And I want you to stay here
with her, keep her calm,
all right?
Glory will be down in a moment.
Yeah. All right. Are you okay?
I think so.
‐ Fuck!
She locked us in.
She locked us the fuck in!
‐ God, she's good.
Glory, my darling. It's time. Now.
Start the fire.
‐ Absolutely.
‐ Thank you, angel.
‐ Hey, let us out! Come on!
All I wanted was a fucking vacation.
I even Googled
"most expensive spas."
The next thing I know,
I got a crazy person locking me
in a fucking steam room.
Does anybody else smell that?
It smells like something's burning?
I smell it, too.
‐ Maybe it's incense?
‐ It's not incense.
‐ Where
I'll be fine, honey.
I'll be fine.
Zach! Zach!
Zach!
Zach!
Zach!
Zach!
‐ Let us out! Come on!
‐ Fucking boiling.
Oh, God, I'm hot. I'm so hot.
I think I'm melting.
‐ Fucking boiling.
‐ You could fry an egg on that door.
She's gonna burn us alive.
How would that benefit her?
Okay. I mean, a killer needs a motive.
There's no motive.
Her motive is she's on drugs,
all right? She's‐‐ She's‐‐
She's whacked out of her mind
in the forest, after locking us
in this fucking dungeon.
‐ Hey, you okay?
‐ I think, um, maybe I'm having
a little panic attack.
Come here. Sit down, sit down.
Guys. All right.
Listen up, team, okay?
We're gonna do some deep breathing.
Connect to our breath, whatever the fuck.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth, okay?
Remember?
‐ I think that's making me hotter.
‐ One more.
‐ You know
if this is it, if this is the end,
I wish I would have been nicer to people.
Especially Ray, who hates me.
And he has every right to hate me.
If this place is on fire,
if I am about to die,
I do love Ray.
And the opportunity to love him,
and to have a kid with him.
And if I've squandered it,
what a fucking waste.
I probably would have been
a shit dad anyway.
‐ You'll be a good dad.
The fact that you're worried
about being a shit dad
means you'll be a good one.
‐ Just to be clear,
the father would be Ray,
not you, Tony.
‐ Deeply hurt.
‐ I'd go back to work.
‐ What, on the food truck?
‐ Maybe. Mm.
I just like working.
Getting up in the morning
with somewhere to go.
Just hanging out, talking shit,
meeting new people.
Man, I used to meet
so many weird and cool,
interesting people.
Like y'all.
‐ I wanna stop giving a fuck
about what other people think.
Maybe run my own business?
I wanna be a boss.
‐ I would do so many things differently.
‐ Pick one.
‐ Well, I'd
I'd let go of the past.
‐ That's a good one, Carmel.
‐ Thanks, Tony.
‐ What about you, sis?
‐ I'm just grateful.
‐ For what?
‐ Eight days ago, I didn't even know you.
And seven days ago,
I met you and I really,
really disliked you.
And then today,
I think it's a pretty good shot
at some point in the near future
of me giving you my house key.
‐ A house key?
Jesus.
No! No!
All right, shut the fuck up.
‐ No!
Zach! Zach!
Zach! Zach! Zach!
Zach, please!
Please! Please!
Zach!
Zach! Zach! Please!
Zach!
Please!
Running to or from, Dad?
What? Oh.
‐ Still hearing that buzzer, huh?
‐ You know, I know what it means now.
It didn't just mean "wake up."
It meant "time's up," "game over,"
"clock expired." Yeah?
You know, I was‐‐ I was
Teacher of the Year seven times.
You know that?
Oh, yeah. Seven times.
I guess I'm popular with the kids.
I don't understand it. I mean
especially the fellas.
My door was always open.
They'd come in, they'd tell me everything.
You know, I have a drawer
full of letters
and cards from students
I've had over the years,
their parents telling me how special I am
and how much I've contributed
to their life
and, you know,
how they'll never forget me.
I helped straightened them out.
I I failed my own son.
My boy. My boy. My boy.
The boy who matters the most
right under my‐‐ my nose.
Dad, I told you.
No. I
Zoe.
Zoe saw.
She noticed that something was wrong.
I didn't.
I‐‐ I failed‐‐ I failed you.
‐ Dad, the buzzer you're hearing,
I don't know, maybe it's "time's up"
on mourning my suicide.
‐ You don't have to be gone.
You can stay with us.
We can be a family.
- Mom.
- Mm‐hmm.
‐ Mom.
I'm not here.
I am so sorry for hurting you
the way I did,
but, okay, you gotta separate me
from that day.
I love you so much.
I know. I love you, too.
‐ Bye.
‐ Hey, Zachary
I think we understand you, okay?
I think we understand.
‐ Bye, buddy.
‐ Bye, baby.
‐ A snowflake.
‐ Snowflake?
‐ Yeah. It melted, but I‐‐
I promise there was a snowflake.
Why, what is it?
‐ Just the flickers I see, they
they sometimes come with the snow.
‐ Look. Do you see that?
There's snow. Masha, we have to go.
‐ Zoe.
‐ I'm fine, Mom. I'm fine.
Come on.
Let's go. Come on.
‐ I don't think it's snowing.
Is it snowing?
‐ Napoleon, it'll be fine.
‐ Yeah. I like that.
It's kinda like the mantra
around here, "It'll be fine."
They're fine. It's fine.
We're fine. It's all fine.
I'm still really tripping.
And very thirsty.
Look.
‐ Hey.
Look.
Look at it.
‐ No! No!
Masha. Masha.
‐ That‐‐
That‐‐ This isn't right.
This isn't right.
‐ Masha.
‐ This isn't right. No.
‐ Masha. Masha. Masha.
You need to let go.
You need to let go now.
Okay?
You need to let go.
Come on. Come on.
‐ Zoe?
Zoe!
I'm over here!
I can't see you.
I I can't see you.
Hey.
Lapochka.
Lapochka.
‐ There's a fire!
Guys. Guys. Guys.
‐ There is a fire.
‐ No, guys. No. There's no fire.
You're okay.
‐ Yes, there is.
‐ There is‐‐ There's no fire.
‐ We could feel it. We smelled it.
‐ Yeah.
‐ We simulated the fire.
It's a therapy we employ to give you
the visceral experience of near death.
‐ It felt so real.
This room has been designed and built
to make it feel as real as possible.
When you feel this close to death,
it breaks down barriers.
It makes you feel vulnerable.
Allows you to connect
with what matters most.
Look, I know this is insane
and crazy and deeply unpleasant,
but
it works.
‐ Oh, fuck you, Yao.
‐ Masha would never put you in any harm.
‐ Where is Masha?
‐ She's, um
‐ Fuck.
Masha Dmitrichenko.
Masha Dmitrichenko.
‐ Yes. That's me.
You left me no choice.
Mm‐hmm.
The choice was never mine to give you.
‐ We have a few questions for you.
‐ I know how this works, detective.
I grew up watching American television.
‐ I'm sorry.
I thought we were gonna die.
‐ We're all gonna die, Jessica.
Just not today.
‐ Did you find what you were looking for?
‐ Never up, never in.
She locked us in a room,
terrified us.
And she drugged us without our consent.
Actually, I consented.
I liked it. Ben didn't consent.
But then he enjoyed it as well.
Um
Oh, oh. We don't know where our car is.
‐ Yeah. It's‐‐ It's a‐‐
It's a yellow Lamborghini,
convertible.
‐ Um, you know,
it's a lot more complicated than
than what I‐‐ Than what I'm saying.
‐ All right.
I guess I should be
slightly more mad but
"I have had a most rare vision.
"I have had a dream.
Past the wit of man
to say what dream it was."
That's Bottom, from
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
That's my statement.
‐ You locked the spa door.
Why would you do that?
‐ What can I say, detective?
I'm‐‐ I'm all thumbs.
‐ I might have recorded some footage,
but, um, I'll have to
discuss that with my editor
and attorney first.
‐ She gave me my brother back.
Even if just for a little bit
so that I could say goodbye.
She gave me Zach.
‐ Hi.
‐ Thanks.
Here we are.
‐ Huh?
‐ Oh, someone wore his dinner jacket.
‐ It was required.
Good evening, folks.
Tap or sparkling water for you?
‐ Could I just start
with a Tito's and soda?
One lemon. One lime.
Uh, burger, medium.
‐ Uh, I'll have a burger, two.
A burger as well?
‐ Two burgers.
‐ Oh. Oh, two burgers? Sure. Sure.
‐ And a Coke.
‐ Coke?
‐ And‐‐ Oh, do you have, um‐‐
Do you have ice cream sundaes?
Yeah.
We do have ice cream sundaes.
‐ I'll take one. Thanks. Yeah.
‐ Okay. Anything else for you, guys?
‐ Uh, well, actually,
do you mind if I borrow a pen
and just a little bit of paper?
Would that be okay?
Oh. Yeah. Of course.
‐ Oh, my God. Thank you.
Do you mind? I just‐‐
I got a little inspired, so
Yeah. Go ahead.
I think I'm gonna try
to FaceTime my daughters.
‐ I'm not going anywhere.
I know it's hard.
I've done some pretty awful things.
And then someone actually forgave me
for those things and
she gave me permission to forgive myself.
And that's what I wanna give
to all of you,
the permission to forgive yourselves
and to know your worth.
‐ Namaste.
‐ Welcome to Tranquillum.
‐ Hey, who's winning?
‐ Mm. Hey.
Hi.
‐ You, you need some help?
‐ No. I got it. Are you totally losing?
‐ I'm letting them win.
‐ Mm‐hmm.
‐ Mind if I
‐ No. Here.
I'm gonna go get a glass. I'll join you.
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