North of North (2025) s01e03 Episode Script

1
(intriguing music)
- You do not spark joy.
You do not spark joy.
You do not spark joy.
(sets torn photos on table)
(sighs)
And you, I just despise.
(standoff music)
(many bells tinkling)
(intriguing music)
(motor humming)
(sighs)
Sparking
Joy.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
(grunts)
(sighing)
(mystical music)
(grunts)
joy!
(distant thud)
(sighs)
(rhythmic music)
(singer vocalizing)
♪♪♪
(sighs)
- hi, siaja.
(sniffs)
no.
- ♪do it, do it, do it,
do it like a four-wheel drive ♪
I'm hella gifted
and I don't question why ♪
you might send a message
and I don't reply ♪
- Hi.
No.
- tell you what I'm feeling ♪
with my whole chest ♪
- Mom, are you done in there?
We're heading out.
- (neevee): Calm your tits!
- (softly): Ok. Yeah!
- 'bout to go in overdrive,
ah, woo ♪♪
- Whoa, holy, look at you!
All gussied up
to be helen's gopher.
- I'm not her gopher.
I'm an executive assistant.
- And what does an executive
assistant do exactly?
- Is it hot in here?
It's like minus 30
and I can't stop sweating.
- Ok, since it's your first day
and you're having
A panic attack,
I'll take bun to school.
But don't get used to it.
- Really? Thank you, mom.
(smooching)
- Ah! Bye!
- I love you both.
(speaking inuktitut)
(door opens)
- Why is anaana so sweaty?
(door shuts)
- Because she has no idea
what she's doing.
(rattling)
(sighs)
- (softly): Oh, god.
Where is she?
(sighs)
Hey, co-workers!
I thought work started at 9.
- Ah, whatever.
Time's a colonial construct.
- Yeah, yeah, we take
our cues from the sun,
Wind, and the snow formations.
- Colin, I can't feel my face.
- Ok. Ok.
- I brought you guys coffee!
But I drank them to survive.
(excited gargling)
My own desk?
- Are you going to be
this perky all day?
'cause I can still call in sick.
- Wait.
Didn't this desk used
to be over here?
- Hmm?
- I can't believe she hired you.
- Elisapee,
you don't even know me.
- I know everyone.
Millie thinks she
knows everything.
Colin, he's ok.
- Mm!
- And mikey
He's going to be
fired on Friday.
- Not if I quit first!
- You seem like you're
doing better.
- Sure am! I got my own desk.
I got a hole punch.
This is like that show with all
the people in their office.
- Do you mean the office?
- Do you know how many eas
helen has hired
Since I started working here?
- You're lucky number seven.
- Eight!
Lucy went to one meeting
and then did that.
- Just make sure you look busy
when helen comes in.
- And when does helen come in?
- (whispering): When you
least expect it. Mmhm.
(school bell ringing)
- ♪every day, you wake up ♪
in the morning ♪
trying to ignore
the way you feel ♪
telling you
everything will be fine ♪
- Bye.
- See you.
- she said close your eyes ♪♪
- Late again.
Do you have an excuse?
- Yeah, I dropped these!
Hmph!
(teacher hesitates)
- Shiat.
- You seem nervous.
- I'm not a big fan of schools.
- Oh, right, the whole
residential school thing.
Which was awful, obviously.
I'm so sorry I said that.
Oh, my god
Can you imagine
stealing children?
So horrible!
- Is bun in trouble?
- It's not just me. She's been
giving kids the finger.
- That's just kids being kids.
- Yeah.
She's also flipped off parents
and the canadian flag.
(neevee snorts)
is everything ok at home?
I hear siaja is struggling.
- How about I take bun
for the day?
Tell her I'll be out front.
(door opens)
- uh
(intriguing music)
(vehicle honks twice)
(sighs)
- grandma!
- Hey, you want to get
out on the land?
Just the two of us?
- Yeah!
(speaking inuktitut)
- Let's go.
- Yeah, whee!
(siaja grunting)
(desk scraping floor)
- hey.
Can we agree to never
make that sound again?
- What happened to you?
- Oh, I just took a little spill
During my online cardio
trampoline class.
I may or may not have
a concussion as well.
Listen up, everybody.
We are going to be blessed
with a special visitor
From the department
of the environment
Who will be sharing
our office space.
Just another example
of a southerner coming
To tell us northerners
how to do things.
And in preparation,
I will be reading
This tedious report
written by our visitor.
- While you're doing that
- Oh, you work here now!
New idea, uh,
you read the report
And give me the gist.
- Happy to.
(rhythmic music)
Ok.
(sighs)
(sniffing)
- I smell
(sniffing)
a small
(sniffing)
stinky little inuk!
(sniffing)
- You're the stinky!
I'm super bun,
And I shoot magic
out of my hands.
(bun makes shooting sounds)
(neevee groans)
(both laughing)
(neevee sighing)
- Is there anything
you want to talk about?
- Is there anything
you want to talk about?
- Hey, are you copying me?
- Hey, are you copying me?
- I like when grandma
spits in my eye.
- I like when grandma
spits in my eye.
- If you say so!
(neevee hawking)
- I was joking! I was joking!
- Come here.
- I'm just a little kid!
(both laughing)
(light music)
- I forgot she was
such a keener.
- Don't worry. It'll wear off.
- Everybody calm down.
Uh, the vip is in town early.
Get it together.
Look ali--oh, crap.
He's here. Uh, hi! Alistair.
(halting pronunciation):
Tunngasugitsi!
- (alistair): Thank you.
- Um, I was literally just
saying what a treat it is
When you come up
and visit us northerners.
- Oh
- Uh, elisapee, coats!
- This is my ea, siaja.
(siaja hesitating)
who apparently has had a stroke.
- Hi! Hi.
Um, sorry.
- And I'm kuuk nanuaq.
I'm also working the file.
- Nanuaq?
- Yeah.
- Your parents are ito nanuaq
and penelope lightning.
- Yeah.
- You're the little prince!
- Oh, you don't have
to call me that.
- The little prince is here,
everyone! The little prince!
Don't be modest,
your parents have done
More for nunavut
than any politician.
(helen speaking indistinctly)
(tense music)
- Shall we?
You ok there?
- Oh, this?
Yeah, of course.
I just, uh, a little
hang-gliding accident.
I'm kidding!
(laughing)
I've never been hang gliding.
How can we help you?
- Uh, well, I assume
you've read my report.
- Yes, I loved it.
Uh, I couldn't stop reading it.
There was a lot of, um
Favourite parts I had.
Remember I was telling you?
- Uh
Yeah, uh, helen was saying
What an honour it'd be
for you to choose ice cove
As the site for the new
polar research station.
- Yeah, it would be
such an honour.
- Well, to be clear, kuuk and I
are just gathering the research.
It's actually the higher-ups
who will make the decision
In a few months.
- Helen was also saying
that the recent upgrades
To the airport should help.
(cell phone buzzing)
- Uh, yes, she's right.
You're right, that will help.
- Um, could you excuse us
for a couple seconds?
We will be right back.
(hisses): Come on!
The dump's on fire again.
I told ottawa that we'd have
no more dump fires
Seven dump fires ago!
This research station
would bring a ton of jobs
And be great for my legacy,
but not if they think
Our town is
a raging trash inferno!
- Yeah, that won't look good.
- Ok, your job is
to keep them away.
- Could somebody,
maybe anybody
- And while you're doing that,
I will get this fire thing
Sorted out before I get fired,
because if I get fired,
Then I don't need
an assistant, do I?
Elisapee, coat!
(tense music)
(video call ringing)
- [hey, siaja, what's up?]
- hey!
I just heard the dump's on fire?
(indistinct chatter)
- Yeah, it's beginning
to look that way.
(sighs)
- do they know what started it?
- [your guess is
as good as mine.]
[heck, yours is probably
even better, because, like,]
[you were the only person
here this morning.]
[uh, I think your screen froze.]
(siaja laughs nervously)
- Hey, could you
not mention my name?
Like, you know,
to helen or something?
- [sure, I'll make up a name!]
- No! Don't mention
anybody being there!
- [yeah, that's
probably better.]
It's like, I don't have, like,
That kind of time to make up
a whole new person,
[what kind of hair they had,
what's their job--]
- Thanks, jeffrey! I gotta go.
- [Dreams that they have.]
Hey, I'm busy.
(video call disconnects)
Siaja?
(clock's second hand ticking)
(indistinct speaking)
- Siaja's kind of
interesting, huh?
She's hot, too, a little bit.
- She's my daughter.
- What?
- Yeah, I found out,
like, two days ago.
- Oh, wait. Whoa!
- Yeah, whoa.
- That's insane!
- It's already awkward
enough as it is.
- (softly): She's coming.
She's coming. She's coming.
- Shh! Be cool!
- All right.
- Hey, um, helen had
an important something or other.
Let me show you guys around.
- Ok.
- Mmhm.
- Uh, so this is our office,
and we have, um Desks.
This one right here is,
uh That's mine.
- Mmhm.
- Uh, where'd everybody go?
(indistinct chatter)
- Mm! I love me
a good dump fire.
It's like my calendar
came to life.
- With these new uniforms, I can
imagine it's anyone under there.
- Sure, but why do you
always imagine blake shelton?
- The heart wants
what the heart wants.
Right now,
the heart wants the tall one.
- Oh, yeah
- Don't tell jason.
(millie laughing)
- (millie): Ooh, wow.
Yeah, pull it!
You got to make sure
you got a good grip on that.
- (colin): Great work, guys!
- And we have our concession.
Uh, if you're thirsty,
we got some pops, really fresh!
And This is you.
Isn't it great?
I'll go scrounge up some chairs.
And a light bulb.
- Uh, siaja, uh Wait, um
- Oh, yeah, uh, you know what?
I'll go find that bulb.
(both sigh)
- Ahem.
- Uh, so
Heh, about the other night
- Yeah, let's not
talk about that.
- Can we just forget?
- You're still talking
(phone buzzing)
One second.
- But
(sighs)
- I mean, this is stupid.
This will not work, will it?
This is too big. I mean,
maybe for mood lighting, maybe?
I can't do this. What happened
to not making it awkward, man?
Come on!
- I don't know. It's just
It's not like there's a book
on how to deal with this stuff.
- I mean, there's literally
thousands of books.
What's that smell?
Something burning? What is that?
- Dump's on fire.
(sirens blaring)
- I'm neevee,
and you better not look
In my drawer beside my bed.
- Well, I'm bun,
and I definitely don't look
In the drawer
beside my grandma's bed.
Because I listen to her,
and she listens to me.
Hey, honey,
what's been bugging you?
- A kid at school called
anaana a ho,
So I did the finger thing.
- Oh, sweetie,
your anaana's not a ho, ok?
Hey, look, you were right
to do the finger thingy
But you're doing it wrong.
(rhythmic music)
(video call ringing)
- Hey, jeffrey, what's up?
- [hey, siaja.]
[remember that security tape
I was telling you about?]
- You never told me
about a tape.
- Then who did I tell?
- You didn't tell helen,
did you?
- [oh, no, I would never!]
[she found out on her own.]
(siaja sighs)
- Did I start the fire, jeffrey?
- [uh, sorry, siaja.]
I don't know
what you want me to say to that.
(siaja groans)
- I'm on my way.
- Ok, let me get this straight.
You burned your things?
- Not my things. My ex's.
- Sounds like
someone else I know.
- Haven't you ever wanted
to start over fresh?
Not that you care,
but my life's been a bit of a
- (kuuk): Dumpster fire?
- Tough!
Today was my first day
at a real job,
But since I'm about to get
fired anyways, I might as well
Tell you that your report
read like it was written
By somebody who came here once,
Like 25 years ago, and hasn't
bothered to check in since.
And yes, we have direct flights
to ottawa and winnipeg,
But edmonton will be
added in September!
And no, we don't have an
adequate amount of outfitters.
We have twice as many
as any other town in the region.
Also, the permafrost that
you make multiple references to
Hasn't been perma
since the melt in 2020.
(sniffs)
- hmm. Is that it?
- Watch out,
watch out, watch out!
(mystical music)
(alistair chuckles)
- God, I love it up here.
(soft music)
- Yeah.
Me too.
(indistinct chatter)
- (kuuk): I almost feel
bad for her.
You know, first day on the job,
she sets an apocalyptic fire.
If only she had a loving father
to help her out right about now.
You know what I mean?
- (helen): Come on, jeffrey!
It's siaja!
- I don't know. It could be
a man in a woman's parka.
You know, like a disguise.
- You can see her face, jeffrey.
- He could be wearing
a siaja mask.
- Please, stop.
(door opens and shuts)
- It is me.
- Are you sure?
- All right,
so what did we learn?
- Kids are dumb.
Anaana's not a ho.
Thumb out to the side.
- Yeah, that's my girl!
(neevee laughs)
- When is me
and anaana going home?
- I think you're going to be
with me for a while.
Can I tell you a secret?
- Yeah.
- Grown-ups are stupid.
- Huh?
- Right, and we call
each other names,
And we're never
as smart as our kids.
But you and me and anaana
We're forever, ok?
(gasps)
(mystical music)
- I'm gonna need a bigger gun.
- Jeffrey, could you give us
a few minutes, please?
- Yes, ma'am.
I tried.
- This is a hell
of a whoopsie, siaja!
Tell me why I shouldn't
let you go.
- I was burning
something ting gave me.
It was reckless and stupid
and it was an accident,
But I'm hardworking
and I'm smart and I
I need this. And you need me!
And our town needs
this research station.
But they'll just pick
somewhere else
If you don't use
every tool that you have.
I was raised
in my mother's store,
And I watched
and listened and learned.
I know this town,
and every question
That report asks,
I know the answer.
(knocking on door)
- Uh. Hi, hi, hi.
Sorry to interrupt.
- Oh, hello. Heh.
Welcome to jeffrey's shack.
All is well.
- Uh, I just wanted to let
you know that I've emailed you
A new updated report.
- Oh--
- And I just wanted
to thank my daughter for,
Well, for correcting me
On a few mistakes
that I might have made.
(helen laughs)
- We all think of siaja
as our daughter.
- Oh, no.
She's--she's my daughter.
- Huh? Your daughter?
What are you talking about?
Is he saying this
to make you look cool?
- I think he's trying
to play white saviour.
- Hmm
- No, no, no!
I'm not white saving anything.
Although I would suggest
some fire breaks
Around the dump in the future.
- Thanks.
- Ok.
- Well, aren't you interesting.
- Thanks?
- I didn't say
that I like interesting.
Ok, the fire will remain
a "mystery,"
But I am putting you
on an eight-week probation,
During which time you will
help me land that contract.
Understood?
- Yes! Thank you!
Hey. Hey, alistair!
You don't get to come in
and play the dad card
26 years too late!
- I know. I'm sorry--
- don't say sorry.
- When I'm really sorry, I'll--
- stop saying sorry!
It doesn't mean anything!
What about being sorry
for missing my entire life?
- Siaja, I didn't even know
you existed until two days ago.
- You didn't?
- Nope.
(cell phone buzzing)
- Oh, my god.
Oh my god,
my kid caught a tuktu!
My kid caught a caribou!
- Wait, you got a kid?!
- Of course, I have a kid!
I'm 26.
My kid caught a tuktu!
(excited indistinct chatter)
- Already?
- That's my baby!
- I'm a grandfather.
(chuckles)
- I saved the best pieces
for your sister.
I got lots of meat.
Tell your mom to come by too.
- I'll make sure she gets some.
(bun laughs)
- that one, that one.
Then, I'm gonna eat that one.
- Then, that one over here.
(indistinct chatter)
- She's a complicated woman.
- You don't know the half of it.
(siaja laughs)
- I got a tuktu, anaana!
(gasps)
- I'm so proud
of my little hunter!
(siaja grunts and laughs)
(bun speaking indistinctly)
- What were you two
talking about?
(siaja sighs)
- Fresh starts.
- That's stupid.
- When bun's not here,
we got a lot to talk about.
But first, I got to do this!
- Woo!
- Whee!
(neevee chuckles)
(siaja laughing)
- whee!
Woohoo!
(bun chuckles)
- What are we cooking?
- The head.
- The head?
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
("taimangalimaaq"
by elisapie isaac playing)
♪♪♪
Closed captioning by sette inc.
(child grunts)
- (child): Ah!