Strange Angel (2018) s03e04 Episode Script

1 - You shall not eat of the fruit! - Daddy, I wasn't! I'm going to teach you about shame.
Could you give this to Marisol for me next time you see her? I've enlisted, and I'll be shipping out soon.
I love you.
I want to know everything about you.
No.
You don't.
What happened? What did you do? Why do you assume it was something I did? I've heard the Parsons have at least ten people living inside of that home.
How did you get that information? What does it matter where I got the information? Is it true? Do you have all these tenants living under your roof? I'm fighting a war, Susan.
So are we.
If we can get the IRS to recognize.
Thelema as a religion, officially, then our house would become a church, like you said.
What do you want me to do? I want you to cut the head off the snake.
Tighter.
Tell me what you want.
To vanquish my enemies.
Susan? Thank God you're awake.
I-I was waiting for you.
What happened? Jack stood before me, and I was ready to sacrifice him.
When I raised the knife in my hand, I saw Saw what? Jack was transformed into the angel Azazel with wings of holy fire.
I-I'd seen him once before.
And I was worried that I would never see him again.
And then, the angel spoke to me.
Well, that's not quite right.
He, uh I felt him here.
And he stayed my hand.
See, I thought I wanted to kill Jack.
But as the angel showed me, I was just carrying out the will of another.
Tell them whose will, exactly.
Virgil Byrne's.
You haven't just betrayed Frater J.
P.
You have betrayed us all.
That the forces of vice and corruption have found no refuge here in our county.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Byrne.
Hello.
It's very nice to see you.
Thank you so much for your support.
Mrs.
Van Buren.
Oh.
Thank you for opening your magnificent home.
Nonsense, Mr.
District Attorney.
It is my pleasure and my duty to see that you get four more years.
All I ask is that you don't forget Pasadena on the way to the governor's office.
Oh, well, Sacramento can wait.
There's too much to clean up around here.
Warren, allow me to walk you to your car.
You had them eating out of the palm of your hand.
Appreciate the introduction.
Well, the diocese, like the Orange Grove Preservation Society, is fully committed to your reelection.
Cut to the chase.
This is the part where you ask me for another favor.
Well, I'd like to think that we are united in our efforts against a common enemy.
That wretched cult is trying to incorporate.
Now, if they gain religious status, fighting them will become all the more difficult.
We're in a war against the fascists.
I can't be seen prosecuting religious groups whose beliefs I don't happen to share.
Especially not an election year.
Well, this isn't about religious persecution.
The First Amendment cannot be used as a cover for criminal activity.
This is deviancy.
Sodomy.
Animal sacrifice.
It's all just hearsay.
You haven't given me any proof.
What if I could? Well, I'm sure that Mrs.
Van Buren and everyone on Orange Grove would give almost anything to see this situation dealt with.
These brunches are gonna start costing a lot more than $50 a plate.
We can't put this off any longer.
It's clear he'll stop at nothing.
We need to bolster our defenses.
The appearance of the angel guarantees Ernest's devotion.
He's no longer a threat.
I'm talking about Virgil.
Look, if we can officially make this house a church, then You mean if I give the house to the Agape? You wouldn't be giving it away.
We would be.
But it was my money that paid for it, and I'd be the one signing the deed over.
Look, I shouldn't even be telling you this, but there's about to be a very important test at work, and assuming it succeeds which I know it will I will become an even more vital part of the war effort.
Well, how does that help us? Because men as powerful as Roosevelt will be standing behind us, ready to crush Virgil if he keeps it up.
- So we do nothing? - That's not what I'm saying.
But if we have to give up our house to defend ourselves, then what exactly are we defending? Our way of life.
I conjured a goddamn angel, Susan.
I think I can handle your stepfather.
What is this? Sausage coming up in a minute.
Frater E.
D.
has been up all morning atoning.
Please, join us.
We all helped.
Not everyone.
You've done so much for us, and we rarely show our appreciation.
Thank you.
Um There's enough to feed a whole village.
Please, help yourselves.
Something the matter? I think they're all just keen to hear more about the angel.
What was it like when it took over your body? Um, well Honestly, I can't really remember.
I just sort of blacked out.
Crowley describes his encounter with Aiwass as a rapture.
Yet you felt nothing at all? Well, I guess I felt something.
Like I don't know, a kind of raw power that was surging through my body.
Do you feel it now? Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
Um it's almost like I'm still vibrating.
Like a cymbal that's been struck by the hand of God himself.
Yeah.
I think I can feel it.
Careful, baby.
Don't want you getting all shook up.
I just find it strange that Azazel should choose to speak through a vessel.
When Frater E.
D.
saw it for the first time, the angel appeared on its own.
I don't understand it, either, but I guess that's the nature of miracles.
That's what it was.
A miracle.
- Bacon? - Yeah, please.
Indeed.
Parsons residence.
It's been quite a while since we had a session.
With these revelations, I'd say now is the time.
I would be happy to.
I have so many questions myself.
That was General Braxton's office.
But I'm afraid it's gonna have to wait.
I've got a war to win.
Excuse me.
Well, at least we know the angels are on our side.
I'm just saying, his arm was warm when I touched it just now.
Arms are always warm, baby.
Okay, you know what I mean.
Like electricity flowing through it.
Yeah, yeah, I knew a dancer in Sonnenberg, and she'd seen her angel.
She was a changed person forever after.
Let's get it going! Yeah, he's good! I'll take it.
Got it? Careful of the nose.
- Watch the wings.
- Yes, sir.
Let's get these hookups ready.
Gentle.
Next.
Good work.
Om Om What are you doing? Making sure everything goes the way it's supposed to.
- Ready for launch.
- Copy that.
Ad astra per aspera.
First flight at 2.
85 miles.
Yes! I am Heaven.
There is no other God than me.
You have become a rudderless ship turned around on a dark sea.
You cannot tell bow from stern, truth from lies.
Thus, to see clearly, you must upend your entire view on the world until your lies spill out like water.
There are no more lies.
There are no more doubts.
Doubt is central to our faith.
Without it, we cannot know what we truly believe.
The second appearance of the angel proved it was real.
I'm ready to make the crossing.
Before I'd even consider helping you, I need to know the being you saw was your holy guardian angel, and not some other entity.
You were the one who said Jack was the key to my liberation.
We live in his house.
He has more power now.
Maybe your doubt is just another word for jealousy.
I may not own the house, but I am still the Magus.
Azazel came when Jack summoned him, not when you did.
You are still far too impure to ascend any further.
Tell me what I must do to purify myself? That answer must come from you.
Sí, señor, todos somos pobres.
Pero todos necesitamos vivir.
Wow.
You are gonna get this.
I hope so.
Because last time I auditioned for this casting director, he said I was too Mexican.
And the time before that, he said I wasn't Mexican enough.
Hey, dolls.
Steaks all around for me and my boys.
Well, coming right up.
Do you want to take this one? These types always tip big.
Mari? Oh, n-no, Connie, you take it.
I got to make a call.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
That's what we say, may even be how we live, but all we do here is meant to serve a higher purpose.
Now, my eyes have been opened.
I've seen the error of my ways.
I must make amends.
By gardening? We have been mooching off of the Parsons' kindness for far too long.
It's time we pitched in.
And so, we are going to make a Victory Garden.
But not just victory abroad; victory over the hate in our hearts.
Frater E.
D.
Someone just called for you.
What the hell are y'all doing? We're planting a garden, baby.
An offering to the angel.
Baby, we left Alabama to get away from this kind of work.
Oh, this is not just hard labor.
This is in service of a divine messenger.
Uh-huh.
Lester Young's playing a set at the Dunbar.
- Oh.
- Come with.
But I was just about to get star No buts.
Come on now.
Hold on a second.
Who'd you say called? Oh, yeah.
The power company.
Said your bill was past due.
Figured it must be some kind of a mistake.
Probably.
It's not a religion so much as a technique for getting anything you want by focusing on it and making it real.
And that's how Mr.
Parsons contacted an angel? Crowley believes we all have an angel inside of us.
If we can contact it, we can become exactly who we want to be.
You mean you don't want to be an Aerojet secretary forever? If you want to learn more, we hold a mass every full moon.
Patty, in my office, now.
What have I told you? What happens at home is only meant to be shared with those who are ready to listen.
I know, but did you see their faces? The miracle with the angel is the best advertising we could hope for.
Recruiting new believers is not my chief concern right now.
Why not? The bigger our congregation, the harder it'll be for him to get at us.
We work for the military.
If they catch any talk of the Agape, they could shut us down for good.
I get it.
Prophets are rarely understood in their own time.
But can you imagine an army of true believers hanging on your every word? I can.
Mr.
Parsons' office.
It's Ernest.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Why don't you sit down? What's taking so long? Soon it will be done, and we will have our church.
I already feel like I betrayed Jack once, and now this.
It's not the first time you've signed something for him.
Usually it's just mortgage checks, not signing the whole house away.
You're not signing anything away.
You are turning it into something greater.
I don't think Jack would see it like that, considering What happened between us was a working.
To vanquish our enemies.
Here we are.
- He almost died.
- You couldn't have known.
No, but maybe the universe is trying to tell us something.
That is not the universe.
That is your own shame.
And you know where that comes from.
Your step-father instilled it in you, trying to control who you could and could not fuck.
And now Jack is doing exactly the same.
What are you talking about? He made it very clear that your new arrangement doesn't apply to me, and that there would be serious consequences.
When did he lay down this restriction? Just before I broke it.
Which is what I find so galling about his so-called conjuring of the angel.
That a man who truly does not practice what we preach would be a divine messenger.
Mrs.
Parsons? Sorry for the delay.
I had trouble finding your application because it's been put on hold.
Uh, it shouldn't be.
I have the final requirement here.
- The quitclaim for the deed.
- That's not the problem.
There's a note on the file.
You're late.
I didn't realize I worked for you.
Mrs.
Van Buren has spotted Jack Parsons on multiple occasions, coming out of his home, hale as an ox.
Have you ever killed a man? Once, at Château-Thierry.
Then you'll know it ain't easy.
Well, I'd be lying if I didn't admit some part of me was relieved when I heard you hadn't carried it out.
Love for my daughter can push me to extremes in the name of saving her.
You have to be careful fighting monsters, or you might turn into one yourself.
Precisely.
Which is why, rather than breaking the law, I've found a way to use it to our advantage.
And it requires you to drop this ruse and reveal our association.
For that reason, it is the last task I will ever ask of you.
Todos somos pobres, pero todos necesitamos vivir.
Vivir.
Sí, señor.
Sí, señor Marisol? What are you doing here? Can we talk, please? You've gone back to waitressing? I'm acting again.
Oh.
Okay.
Things are pretty good on my end, too.
I'm happy for you.
But the thing is I'm not happy.
Because I've only been able to think about you.
- Richard - No, please, just Let me finish.
I know now how stupid I was to go see your family without asking.
And I'm so sorry for my idiotic comment.
You were living in my world, surrounded by people constantly judging you, and then I do the same thing.
- Oh - I'm-I'm not I'm not proposing.
It's just I bought you this ring, and you never even had a chance to see it.
I accept everything about you.
Even the things I don't know, even the things that you don't want to tell me, because whatever they are, they made you you.
That's easy to say Damn it, Marisol.
How bad could it be? We got past you being in that-that group of Jack's when we first met.
Because you don't know anything about it, - or what happened there.
- That's my point.
I don't need to know.
It's all in the past.
- I have to go.
- No, please, I I can't, Richie Richard.
I'm sorry.
You deserve better.
I know a forked tongue when I see one, - even if no one else here does.
- What is that supposed to mean? You know what, you blind, brother.
- You should listen to your girl.
- No, get him the fuck out! You can get rid of me, you can't get rid of him! What is the meaning of this? Tell him.
Tell the Magus how you betrayed us again.
Virgil asked me to come see him, and I went.
What? Why? Because I told him to.
If Virgil thinks Ernest is still doing his bidding, we'll be able to figure out what he's planning next.
Oh, we figured it out, all right.
The D.
A.
is building a case against us.
Aren't we protected now? Our efforts to get certified as a church were blocked by this case.
- They will look into us all? - Yeah.
And Ernest is the key witness for the prosecution.
The D.
A.
wants to meet with him.
Frater E.
D.
is on our side.
We're being tested by the angel.
Ah, fuck this angel.
None of us were there.
How we even know if it was real? Son of a bitch! Please, please.
Frater E.
D.
Ernest! Let him go.
Can't you see we have a mole? Someone who can undermine the enemy from inside? How? By giving them exactly what they want.
Let them build their case on Ernest's "eyewitness testimony.
" And then, when he takes the stand, he can become a witness for the defense.
Our witness.
It'll unravel the D.
A.
's case, and embarrass Virgil in front of the entire city.
Embarrass Virgil? I don't want to embarrass him, I want him to pay for what he's done! Maybe we should talk about this in private.
It was your idea to move the Agape here.
It's your responsibility to protect it.
That's what I'm trying to do.
How did you even file the paperwork at the clerk's office? - I never signed the deed.
- No, you didn't.
You forged my signature? You refused to see it was necessary.
So you tried to steal the house out from under me? We didn't try to steal the house from under "We"? I know you, you wouldn't try and do this by yourself.
The Magus and I saw the need to - Fuck me over.
- To do what we had to, to fend off that monster.
You have no idea what it's like - to live with this - I don't care.
You don't care? You lied to me, Susan.
You forged my signature.
- What else are you willing to do? - Oh, you're hardly one - to talk about forgery.
- What does that mean? I've seen chemical burns on your body for as long as I've known you.
You can conjure fire out of thin air, but an angel? Now you're actually starting to think you're invincible.
- Go on, keep digging.
- Ernest is a ticking time bomb.
What's he gonna do when he finds out you tricked him? You're talking months before a trial.
And after? I-I mean, how long are you gonna keep this lie up? It's not a lie.
This is our faith.
If you abuse it, Virgil won't have to come after us.
It'll fall apart on its own.
Even if the angel wasn't real, a man was determined to kill me, and now he's my faithful servant.
If that's not miraculous, then what is? Is that really what you believe? Yes.
I believe.
Do you? What is all this, Rich? Don't-don't touch it.
I'm nearly finished.
What are you doing? It's just my Benzedrine tablet.
Works faster this way.
Not him, too.
Yesterday, Marisol and I officially broke up.
Oh, Rich, I'm sorry.
No, no, no.
It's good.
It's-it's great, actually.
It taught me a very valuable life lesson.
I waited too long to pop the question, and then I waited too long to try to make things right.
You got to strike while the iron's hot.
Check that out.
What is it? Well, this whole time, we've been trying to compete with the Nazis, - but we need to be the Nazis.
- What? I mean, we need our own secured testing facility, like Peenemunde, fully dedicated to our primary objective, with real resources.
Wind tunnels, launch pads, expert staff.
I-It's all ready to present to Braxton.
We've only had one test, and you want to ask for more money? Not just more money, an ungodly amount of money.
You're always saying I need to think bigger.
Well, we need to make this project so big, that we become permanent, and t-they can't just get rid of us because they change their mind, or-or they, they suddenly decide they don't need us anymore.
This facility will take years to build.
This war will be over before we pour the foundation.
That's not what he's getting at.
It's not just about winning this war, it's about winning every war to come.
When we can build a missile that can cross the ocean, we'll be able to fight a war without ever having to put a single soldier on the battlefield.
And when we build missiles that cross oceans, we're one step closer to building a rocket that can reach the moon.
But this figure's a lie.
You're just making things up.
It's not a lie if it's going to come true eventually.
- Hey, Connie, can you cover me? - Yeah.
I'm gonna take my lunch.
Mattie.
Look at you, a soldier.
Please, I'm shipping out in a few weeks.
All I want is for you two to at least talk to each other.
So do you know where they're sending you? No.
But even if I did, I couldn't tell anybody.
One of his commanders said it's Europe.
Papá Might make or break the war.
Papá, I told you not to tell anybody.
It's okay.
I can keep a secret.
Richard wasn't supposed to talk about his work, either, but he hated keeping things from me.
Ah, the gringo.
How is he? No ring on your finger.
Did he get cold feet, or did you? Papá Probably better it didn't work out.
Can't say I saw you two living happily ever after.
- Mari, let's not - You should be grateful.
Mom was so devout.
It's the only reason she forgave you.
Hey, I'm no saint.
- - Come on, Mari.
Cancer killed Mom.
I wish I never told her.
Finally, you admit it.
Some secrets are better kept.
The mistake was you sleeping around in the first place.
You're judging me? God knows what you've been doing all this time.
An actress shacking up with gringos.
I'm not proud of what I did but at least I was there at the end to hold her hand.
Unlike you.
You just ran away, like a spoiled girl.
Te amo, Matias.
Wherever you're going, I'll pray for your protection.
Fine.
Keep running away.
See where that gets you.
Now you see why I left? How could I ever forgive him? Are you sure he's the one you need to forgive? General Braxton.
- Jack.
- I'd like you to take a long, hard look and tell me if you see a problem with this picture.
You're the scientist.
You tell me.
What you're looking at represents the entirety of the American missile program, overseen by these three men from a small back room in a midsized factory.
One could extrapolate from all of this that the U.
S.
Military isn't taking this endeavor with the same degree of seriousness as our enemy.
That is how we compete for real.
This war may be nearing its endgame, but the arms race is just beginning.
You really think your missiles could eventually hit Tokyo? It's the nature of all technology to improve.
Just compare the Model to what we drive today.
What you're proposing is way beyond anything we've ever talked about.
We know.
If I run it up the chain of command, big picture, what's it gonna cost? Three million dollars, sir.
And we already have a name for it: JPL.
J-Jack Parsons Laboratory? Jesus.
You got balls.
It stands for Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sir.
Don't think of this as a line item for winning this war.
Think of it as a down payment on the future of this country.
I finally figured out how you get people to buy into every crazy idea that comes into your head.
You just say it like you actually believe it's true.
Now you're catching on.
After what, 20 years only? Would you look at that? Looks like you're manifesting all sorts of things today.
Were you waiting long? Not long.
I want you to know I didn't run off because of you.
I ran away because of me.
That sounds like a lie.
Marriage, Richie.
That's the lie.
When I was young, I had a best friend, Lala.
Our families spent every weekend together.
Then, one day, Lala and I came home from school early, and we caught my father and her mother in bed.
Lala kept it a secret, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
But I told my mother.
And you know what she did? Nothing.
She stayed with Papá.
But she swallowed her anger until it became a cancer inside of her.
Now do you understand? If you're worried about me becoming your father, - I promise you that - I'm not, Richie.
I'm worried about me becoming him.
Being married to someone who loves you so much they'd let you get away with anything I couldn't do that to you.
Then what if we didn't get married? I only proposed because it seemed sensible, but you and I have never made sense.
We don't have to do this the way other people do it.
We can do it however we want.
Invent our own rules.
Jack's starting to get to you.
Maybe that's a good thing.
Let's not get carried away, Richie.
Okay, maybe not.
Perhaps we can start with this.
How would you feel about staying the night? I'm-I'm almost done.
Is this all meant to earn our forgiveness? Do you have any idea what that man you conspired with did to me and my sister? He took something from us that we can never get back.
I-I I'm so sorry.
It's not good enough.
You want to atone? You won't do it by keeping up the bargain you made with him.
What would you have me do instead? I want you to teach him about shame.
It's a big ask.
I'm gonna have to take this to the top.
I'm glad you're intrigued, sir.
Can you imagine combining this with the work that we're doing in Los Alamos? Well, let me think about it.
Give me a few days.
Till then, those boys should hold tight.
I'll let Mr.
Parsons and his team know.
- You have a moment, General? - Sure.
Come in.
Was that Marshall on the phone? I spoke with him earlier when I caught wind of this new proposal.
And I have informed him of my misgivings.
What misgivings? The man who wishes to run the future of America's missile program is the same man who wrote this.
You had one of my MPs doing your dirty work.
I had to see what was happening inside Mr.
Parson's head.
Dabbling with the occult is one thing, General.
But lying to us M.
Therion is an alias for Aleister Crowley.
Parsons has been in touch with the very man he claims he's never met.
A man with known German contacts and an unknown agenda.
You still think Parsons is working for the other side.
I just think he's working someone other than us.
It's strange.
You were so clear when we first met.
Now you seem lost.
Even to yourself.
Must be the angel.
It shattered me and now I'm being reformed.
Do you know why Frater E.
D.
is attempting to summon this angel? He wants to cross the Abyss.
I'm not as ignorant as you think.
But do you know what "crossing the Abyss" involves, or even means? Crossing the Abyss is our most perilous working.
It requires shedding of all earthly attachments.
Love wealth desire fear.
In order to be one with the divine.
How do you do it? First, you purify yourself by atoning for any pain you've caused others.
Then you take the oath.
That sets you on a path from which there is no turning back.
Frater E.
D.
may believe he has met his angel.
But if there were a trace of falsehood the outcome would be tragic.
Come, brother.
Now is the time to admit you are no more a conjurer of angels than I am a man of science.
You don't think I can be both? Maybe.
After years of devoted study.
But not the man before me now.
You lack the discipline.
Are you sure you should be second-guessing the man keeping a roof over your head? The only reason I haven't second-guessed you in front of the entire congregation is out of respect for what you've given us.
You conspired with my wife to steal my house out from under me.
Was that out of respect, too? I did not conspire, I merely followed through on what was promised: that this would become our house.
If the circumstances don't agree with you, you don't have to stay.
You're scared, aren't you? Scared that if you leave, the others would rather stay here than follow you.
They will follow me.
Once they learn the truth.
Mr.
Byrne? - Hmm? - I better head out if I want to get dinner on.
Well, if you must.
Good night.
Good night, sir.
What, you forget something, Gertie? You're early.
The D.
A.
isn't meant to be here until 10:00.
Uh, well, it's just as well.
Gives us a chance to go over just what exactly you're gonna tell him.
So did you bring some kind of evidence? What are you doing? Uh Patty.
Go wake the believers.
What if someone catches us? Do what thou wilt, Sister.
"even as we are now physically bound" "unto the cross of suffering" "Even as we are now physically bound" "unto the cross of suffering" "That I will lead a pure life" "as a devoted servant of the Order.
" "That I will lead a pure life" "as a devoted servant of the Order.
" "That I will work without attachment.
" "That I will work without attachment.
" "That I will work in truth.
" "That I will work in truth.
" "That I will rely only upon myself.
" "That I will rely only upon myself.
" "That I will interpret every phenomenon" "as a particular dealing of God with my soul.
" "That I will interpret every phenomenon" "as a particular dealing of God with my soul.
" "And if I fail, herein" "may my pyramid be profaned" "and the Eye closed upon me.
" "And if I fail, herein" "may my pyramid be profaned" "and the Eye closed to me.
" Ah, please.
Call the police.
Uh, I don't think that'd be a good idea.
Wait.
Come back! Come back!