The Commons (2019) s01e05 Episode Script

[solemn music.]
[beeping.]
- [woman.]
Students, proceed to desks quietly.
Please open your computers now.
Please commence your exams now.
You have 40 minutes to complete the first section.
[tapping of keyboards.]
[solemn music.]
[solemn music.]
[gentle atmospheric music.]
[phone beeps.]
[exhales.]
- [Lloyd.]
Why don't we just have like a little gathering in the backyard? - [Ivy.]
No! - [Lloyd.]
Why not? - [Ivy.]
'Cause I don't want one.
- [Lloyd.]
But why not? - [Ivy.]
Since when do I have to have a reason? It's my birthday.
I should be able to choose whether I have a party or not.
Sweetheart, I don't mind if it's just me and a pizza, OK, but I just think that we need to we need to mark the occasion somehow.
- Really? I don't see what's to celebrate.
Baby, hey There's a lot to celebrate.
- Like? - Like you.
Like everything you bring to us, everything you bring to the world.
Because you're a beautiful, beautiful, intelligent person and I'm just really, really proud of you.
Sounds like my funeral.
- Poppet - Can I have my hand back? What? You're a sight for sore eyes.
Hey, hey.
How's your How's your day? Well, I managed not to throttle anyone, so - That's a positive.
- Not really.
-No, that's a definite improvement.
How did your exams go? That good, huh? Ouch.
[indistinct PA announcements.]
[beeping.]
-[Lloyd.]
This has to stop.
It's OK.
It's not OK, babe.
I'm gonna call the insurance company.
I'm gonna get them uninstall the software.
It's just for another month.
You shouldn't have to go through this.
I'm fine, Lloyd.
Really, I'm I'm fine.
[drone buzzing.]
[tense music.]
[sirens wail.]
[gasp.]
- [woman.]
Back off! Get your hands off me! [taser sizzles.]
[groaning.]
[taser sizzles.]
[groaning.]
- [police officer.]
Let's see your hands on the floor! [grunting.]
-[police officer.]
Stay back.
[laughter.]
-[Lloyd.]
Hey.
-[police officer.]
Get up, move, move.
[spitting.]
Hey, let's go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
So I'm thinking about taking a six-month sabbatical from the hospital.
Offer my services to the centre full-time.
Is there a position for you there in your field? Not exactly.
I'll have to remember back to my pre-med days.
Right.
I just um I remember how many hoops you had to jump through to um to make specialist.
It's just seeing all those people and hearing their stories, it's hard to look away.
And if I can help heal some of their trauma with the skills I have to help them get back on their feet -[Ivy.]
So they can what? Go back out there and cop more of the same shit? - Hey, Ivy.
- Well, it's true, isn't it? -What? Hey, hey.
Ivy, Ivy.
Wow.
She's in a dark place.
Yeah.
How am I meant to tell her everything's gonna be alright? Because it is gonna be alright.
-[man.]
See you later.
Why go digital when you can knock down a tree, right? Can't smell the pages of an online edition, Ivy.
And it's made from recycled plantation paper.
'Cause you baby boomers cut down all the old growth forests.
How are you two? Last night was pretty scary.
Shouldn't have opened the door.
What did they want from you? What do scum like that always want, hm? [solemn music.]
[wind roaring.]
[music intensifies.]
[crowd shouting.]
- [woman.]
Offside! - [man.]
Open! Open! [indistinct shouting.]
-[woman.]
Don't make me [indistinct shouting.]
- [man.]
Play on, play on! [cheering, shouting.]
[whistle blows.]
[cheering, shouting.]
[Eadie coughs.]
[indistinct shouting.]
-[Abel.]
What about the foul, ref? -[Eadie.]
Run, Leroy.
Go! All the way! [whistle blows.]
You know, impartiality comes with the whistle.
Sounds like 3-2 to me.
How do you know? You can't see two feet ahead.
- Leroy, was it a goal? - Back of the net, sister.
- Yes! - Total corruption.
Come on, boys, let's go! [Eadie coughs.]
[heavy breathing.]
[notification alert.]
- [Abel.]
Alright, guys.
- Shit.
- [Abel.]
Just go on straight through that tent over here.
-[Abel.]
You can all just set up in there.
-[Abel.]
Thank you.
-[Abel.]
Thank you.
[Eadie breathing heavily.]
The showers are still running hot, I'm told.
Oh, uh [clears throat.]
I'm fine.
Have you looked in the mirror? You're a walking biohazard.
Just grab yourself a towel and some clothes from the bin and get in there.
- [woman.]
That's great, come forward.
Forward.
[indistinct PA announcements.]
-[Abel.]
Why'd you study for ten years, you get the nameplate on the door and you come here and you trade it in to be a glorified first-aid officer.
I have a thing about band aids.
Have since I was a kid.
[laughs.]
Hey, um what's the story with this new medical team? Guys from Uconica Labs trialling a new chagas vaccine.
That anything do with your husband? [tense music.]
- [Lloyd.]
Seriously, you show up to work every second day, and when you do, you're trashed.
I guess I woke up with the realisation that my five minutes of fame might be over.
I think I was ripped off a minute or two.
We're gonna crack it.
We just have to look at it from a different angle.
-OK, whatever you say.
Jesus wept.
Between you and Ivy -What's wrong with Ives? -I have no idea.
She's spiralling into some existential black hole and I don't have 'Spaceship Enterprise' to navigate her out of it.
Or the right metaphor.
[phone rings.]
Hey, love.
Have you heard of a group called Uconica? -Uconica, no.
Should I have? They have a medical team here offering a chagas vaccine.
Are you sure it's for chagas? Shay Uconica? - Hey? - Uconica? It doesn't look like some backyard operation either.
Could they have copied your idea from the presentation? No, I don't see it.
We deliberately held back information.
And even if they did, it's too quick to trial.
It's The whole thing's too quick.
Listen, I'm gonna make some calls.
Thank you for the heads-up.
What? Someone's beaten us to the punch.
Yeah, I want to speak to Herman, please.
Thank you.
-[Herman.]
Yeah, thanks, Earl.
Look, if you could get back to me on that ASAP, I'd appreciate it.
Uconica only listed as a company two weeks ago.
Who's the parent company? Details not available at this point.
- [Lloyd.]
Right.
I'm not sure which is more alarming, Herman - the fact that you don't know who our competition is or that some unknown company managed to get the jump on us without a single published paper or a peer review.
Are you saying there's been a data breach? Well, it's starting to look that way to me, Herman.
What do you think? - I'll speak to I.
T.
- There's an idea.
[tense music.]
-[woman.]
Next please.
[baby crying.]
Are you OK? I've had better days.
There's three residency points on offer if they sign up for the trial.
-[Abel.]
I'm not asking you to lie just Turn a blind eye long enough for my guys to pick up -[Eadie.]
Abel.
Screw the insurance company! Climate Mitigation Review Voucher for the Uconica vax.
What's that? When a disease is considered a big enough threat, you can apply to fast-track it.
That voucher, it let's you leap over a tonne of safety nets.
It gets you to limited human trials in a heartbeat.
- [Abel.]
Bless you.
I'll have my guys over within a half hour.
Thanks.
Sorry about that.
Lloyd, Shay caught you guys on the news.
Congratulations, by the way.
Yeah, we're just a little surprised at the speed this has gone to human trials without the usual checks and balances.
Lloyd and Shay are worried that their data's been stolen.
If this has a version of our technique in it, there could be serious health implications for your volunteers.
We discovered some worrying side effects.
That's why we pushed the big fat pause button on our work.
I read Uconica's disclosure clauses.
Fifty per cent chance of sterility.
They didn't mention that, huh? Look, I'm sorry, I don't know what you'd like me to do here.
You tell me this might be stolen.
But do you have anything to back that up? No.
The second you know either way, please, let me know.
-[Lloyd.]
Thank you.
Karima, Shay Levine.
We need to talk.
So, what now? I'd kill to get my hands on a sample.
[phone rings.]
I'll see what I can do.
Gab, now is not a good time Where is she now? Refusing to sit your exams now? Technically I sat them.
You left the page blank, Ivy.
We were asked to explore the theme of emptiness.
I think I covered it from every angle.
So what's gonna happen with your biology paper, your French and your history - are you gonna sit them out too? I'm thinking about it.
OK, alright, fine.
I don't care.
I don't care about school.
I care about you.
I care about what's going on with you, Ivy.
All I want is for you to talk to me, OK? I just want you to be happy.
I know that's what you want, Dad.
I'm gonna walk home.
Maybe you could have a word to her.
No, no, maybe your negativity and hers, maybe it just cancels each other out.
[scoff.]
-[PA.]
Attention, attention -[Eadie.]
Hey, who's a shy bear? That's OK.
That's OK.
- [Leroy.]
Come on, Tal, this'll be good for you.
Maybe I should have a try? Yeah, good idea.
One quick Ventolin puff is all she needs.
Maybe take Sifa so I can Ah, yeah, sure.
[Sifa cries.]
Shh, shh, shh.
[gentle music.]
[inaudible dialogue.]
-[woman.]
I'm done.
Oh, yeah You have beautiful children.
They're not for sale.
Leroy maybe.
Mum! [laughter.]
Was there anything else I can do for you? You could get us on the list for the chagas vaccine.
Uh It's a private company that's handling the vaccination process.
They've shut up shop for the day.
Tomorrow then? You should know, there might be some dangerous side effects.
My sister died of chagas.
So if there's a shot at sparing my family from that and grabbing extra residency points I want to take it.
If you can let me know how I can get on the trial, I would appreciate it.
Right.
[indistinct PA announcements.]
Eadie, uh next time you see my dad, can you give him this for me? Absolutely.
I'm heading over there this afternoon.
Are you OK? You don't look so good.
Thanks for the compliment.
- I'm fine.
- OK.
[sighs.]
[tense music.]
Do you reckon there'll be enough traces to work with? Should be.
Hey, I'll um leave you guys to it.
Thank you for the uh the break and enter.
Anytime.
I'm so sorry.
You guys have worked so hard.
OK, well You've got this, man.
I might take an early mark.
What? You're kidding.
Someone might have stolen our entire life's work, you want to leave, now? I was gonna give some religious instruction to Ivy.
She's home, yeah? Yeah.
Yeah, she's home.
- [Karima.]
I'm not here right now, please leave a message.
[door unlocking.]
I made scones.
That's what old people eat, right? I've never had a scone in my life.
Arnold, Ivy's here.
Come in.
You gave them what they wanted, right? Everything we had.
How come they still smashed the place up, then? Because they could.
I'll put the kettle on, shall I? Milk and sugar, Ivy? Yeah, three, thanks.
Our daughter Megan's 11th birthday party, Haddon Reserve.
Yeah, I know it.
Looks so different.
The beach has gone now.
Must have been so cool growing up not knowing that the world had a use-by date.
[Ivy exhales.]
Enjoy your walk, Miss Green.
- Israel.
- Miss Boulay.
Eadie, Israel.
Call me Eadie.
I have something for you.
From your lovely boy.
He's a good kid.
Yeah, it's hard for me to get to the centre with my work here.
Talk to my brother.
Tell him your situation.
I'm sure he'll understand.
Hey, how's Talia? Rima said she wasn't well.
Yeah, she struggled with the effects of the dust storm, poor thing.
But the puffer seemed to do the trick.
She's doing OK now.
It must be so hard for you all, not being under the same roof.
- Not long now.
- How many sleeps? Three, if everything goes according to plan and we get our residency permits.
Listen, your wife was making some inquiries about a new chagas vaccine that's being trialled at the centre.
You should know there are some serious safety issues with the vax, relating to fertility problems.
Well, the vax comes with three residency points.
I know the offer of extra points is tempting, but if I were in your shoes But you're not are you? Thank you for looking out for my family, Miss Boulay.
I'll let Mr.
Boulay know that you're here.
So, where did we go on the weekend? The farm.
Uh-uh! Archie, where did we go at the weekend? - What's going on? - We went sailing on the weekend.
- Why are we lying to Auntie Eadie? - We're not.
We're keeping it a surprise for when we take her there.
Are you for real? Come on, princess, one more time.
Where did we go at the weekend? We went sailing.
Yay! Have a cannoli.
-[Eadie.]
Hey.
How you doing? We went sailing.
We went sailing.
We went sailing.
Did you, sweetheart? Oh, that sounds like fun.
[Cosmo grunts.]
I'll go talk to him, shall I? - Catch you up.
- OK.
What was all that about? It's just Cos being Cos.
- How are you travelling? - Travelling fine.
How are you travelling, more to the point? You look like shit.
Have you been to the doctor or are you self-diagnosing again? I can get you into the facility here if you like.
Honestly, it's fine.
Oh, hi.
It's Dominic Boulay.
Can you tell Dr.
Carras that I'm gonna be coming down with someone and that she might need to break out the jelly snakes.
Thanks.
- [Shay.]
This is my old stomping ground.
- [Ivy.]
Seriously? Yep.
Used to hang out here with me mates.
So, I hear you're boycotting your birthday.
-Here we go.
-I'm just curious.
I'm not judging you.
You can do what you want.
I'm with you.
Birthdays mostly suck.
Reverse psychology - nice one.
[Shay chuckles.]
I just don't see the point, OK.
- [Shay.]
I got invited to a 13th birthday here once.
When I arrived, I was expecting to see, you know, adults and kids and streamers and balloons and, you know, all the usual shite.
But when I got here, there was nothing.
No streamers, no balloons.
Not even a cake.
And only one other kid bothered to rock up.
-So what did you do? Kicked the footy around.
Like we did most afternoons.
-Where were his parents? I don't know, really.
Guess they were in separation land or couldn't be arsed.
-So the moral of the story is - feel lucky for what you have? I don't do morals.
Some godfather.
[Ivy laughs.]
It actually sounds like a pretty good party.
Real, at least.
Better than having to pretend that everything's gonna be alright.
[melancholy guitar music.]
Sometimes we do things for others that don't feel right for us because the benefit for them is worth the cost to you.
You're telling me to get over myself.
In the nicest possible way, yeah.
Hup! Come on! - Where are we going? - Come on! Come on! [panting.]
[grunt.]
BP's slightly elevated.
You're lowered immune system explains your fever.
But I imagine you know that.
How pregnant are you? It's my 63rd day.
I'd like to do an ultrasound scan, check how the baby's doing.
You up for that? Yeah, just I just always imagined my husband being here for this moment.
He's been right by my side through all the misfires flowers in hand.
I started to hate the smell of daffodils.
I can give you a copy of the ultrasound? It's not the same thing, I know.
OK.
[crickets chirp.]
[ethereal music.]
So, did you and Dad play here as well? No.
But you go back, yeah? Uni.
You and Eadie met at uni too? Yep.
Who met who first? You and Dad or you and Eadie? I knew Eadie before I knew your dad.
How well did you know Eadie? Did you have sex? No.
But you wanted to.
Jesus Christ.
Alright, come on.
We've only got five minutes.
For what? Patience, god daughter! Patience.
[solemn music.]
-[Shay.]
Oi, stop.
[mumbles.]
What are you doing? - [Shay.]
All right, I can't breathe.
All right, you ready? [laughter.]
- [Shay.]
Yeah, you're laughin', you're dead! All right Arrgh! Aww.
-[Shay.]
Don't get older.
You're such a dag! -[Shay.]
Deal with it.
[ethereal music.]
[quivering inhale.]
Ah.
[heartbeat.]
The foetal heartbeats are nice and strong.
Oh my god, am I Is that -You're having twins.
You knew that, right? [laughing.]
No.
-[nurse.]
Congratulations.
[heartbeats continue.]
[laughing.]
[poignant music.]
[solemn music.]
[music intensifies.]
Alright, hold the moon.
Put your arms a bit lower.
There you go.
You've done this before.
[phone pings.]
[solemn music.]
You've got some missed calls.
Something on your mind? I figure there's not six degrees of separation between you and Uconica.
We don't have to play that game, Shay.
-What I gave you was broken.
And what I thought was gonna happen is what you said was gonna happen.
You throw a shitload of cash and your best people at it until you find a fix or you'd bin it.
You've gone straight to human trial.
I offered you a chance to help drive the project.
You sold your say in what happens with it when you opted for a payout instead.
Oh Don't pretend to make this about money, Karima.
You were gonna screw me whether I took it or not.
Do you give a shit? These people have no idea what they're putting their hand up for.
You're playing Russian roulette with their lives.
We did the lab work.
Risk-ratio met board standards.
We had to fast-track it for a reason.
We don't have five years.
Get out of your bubble, Shay.
-[man.]
Hey! -[Shay.]
Sorry [tense music.]
[dogs barking distantly.]
[door opens and shuts.]
Hey.
Where have you been? I've been trying to call you.
- Where's Ivy? - Upstairs.
It's our vax.
I'm so sorry.
You guys are steamrolling ahead, I take it.
I'm not steamrolling anything.
No, your buddy, willing and Abel.
He's probably receiving kickbacks.
You're wrong there.
Straight to his defence, Eadie.
[solemn music.]
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I'm just behaving like a jealous schoolboy.
-[Lloyd.]
I miss you.
I know you need to focus on something else right now and I get it, I really do.
I'm just really looking forward to getting you back.
[tender music.]
I'm gonna go and check on Ivy.
[knock at door.]
- Hey.
- Hey.
You hang out with Shay today? That was the idea, wasn't it? Control freak father.
Well, that's just part of the territory, I'm afraid.
That and uh, that and bad dad jokes.
What did you guys do? I don't know - shit.
Mm.
Fun shit? Yeah, kind of.
What [laughter.]
So, how are things with you? Shay told me that your research got hacked.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was a bit of a bummer.
So, what are you gonna do? We are going to figure out who stole the research.
We're gonna nail their ass to the wall.
We're gonna get a court injunction.
We're gonna stop their trial in its tracks.
And we are going to figure out what is wrong with ours and we are gonna go and We're gonna go and save the world.
Sounds like a plan.
But, before you start wearing your underpants on the outside of your jeans, you're gonna throw a party for your ungrateful 13-year-old cow.
Why the change of heart? You only turn 14 once, right.
Yeah.
Good for you, sweetheart.
Where am I supposed to find hessian sacks this day and age? And eggs.
We need at least two dozen for the egg and spoon race.
Ahh! Why couldn't you settle for a tenpin bowling.
That's retro.
Oh, come on, you love it.
I'd like to invite Arnold and Carol, if you guys are cool with that.
Sure, yeah! Yeah.
You should ask them if they've got any hessian sacks lying around.
-[Lloyd.]
See you later.
[solemn music.]
[solemn music.]
Oh my god, you're pregnant.
What? No, no.
It's just too much chocolate.
You are.
That's the best news.
Really? You mean that? Of course.
How else was I gonna react? I dunno.
Just um wicked stepmother trying to steal your dad away to start a new family.
Dad doesn't know, though, does he? I'm gonna tell him today.
After the party.
Your secret's safe with me.
[contemplative music.]
[tense music.]
[tense music.]
- Hey.
- Hey.
Barney was just showing me some security cam footage.
I wanted to check the comings and goings.
Anything interesting? No, not really.
But you did a couple of midnight till dawns last month.
I do occasionally put in a late night.
I try not to make a habit of it.
Don't want to make you look bad.
Barney's gonna need your laptop and your phone.
Why? Come on, mate.
Why do you think? If they didn't breach the firewall, they might have accessed your devices.
He's gonna need your second phone too, Shay.
- There's your replacement.
- Thank you.
- [Barney.]
That's yours.
- Thanks, mate.
Barney, you tell your team that no-one goes home tonight until they figure out who stole our shit.
Thanks, mate.
- [Archie.]
There's not gonna be speeches, dumbass.
- [Francesca.]
Archie, if Cosmo wants to say a few words at the party, he can.
Just wait till after the candles, Cos.
- [Cosmo.]
It's not even a speech.
It's a haiku.
What is that about? - [Dom.]
A public park, three hours from voltage reduction.
It's a children's birthday party.
It's meant to be a 5-7-5 syllable, you idiot! Give me back my tablet.
That stays in the car - [Cosmo.]
He hit me! - Guys, please! - You are so stupid! - [Dom.]
I've got a haiku.
Archie and Cosmo, shut the hell up, you nuff-nuffs.
Stay still and silent.
Haiku! [heavy breathing.]
Right.
[beeping.]
Bloody technology.
Maybe you should drive.
Maybe you should see a doctor.
[grunts.]
Oh, that [festive background chatter.]
- [Dom exhales.]
- Dom, you alright? Yeah, no, all good.
Are you self-diagnosing now? Ha-ha.
[background chatter.]
Ivy, you OK? [solemn music.]
Do you know what's up with her? I was gonna ask you.
Oh my god, look at that cake! - [Arnold.]
Sorry we're late.
- [Lloyd.]
Oh! - [Carol.]
It's my fault.
The icing took longer than I anticipated.
-[Eadie.]
Carol, you have outdone yourself.
Happy birthday.
Many happy returns of the day.
Ivy? It wasn't some random break-in.
She was your granddaughter.
They weren't after drugs.
They were coming for revenge because of those papers you wrote.
You knew the cost of what you were doing and you went ahead and did it anyway! I published what I believed to be true at the time.
-[Ivy.]
What about now? Can you say it now, at least? That you were wrong? Let's go.
Ivy, hey Ivy, Ivy.
Ivy! -[Shay.]
Lloyd I'll go.
I haven't said 'happy birthday' yet.
[melancholy music.]
[waves crash.]
-[Ivy.]
I don't want to hate them.
They seem so nice.
People are generally disappointing.
That kid's birthday party, that was you, right? Your folks didn't even show up? Mum and Dad dropped the ball with me pretty early on.
That sucks.
[Ivy sighs.]
Is that for me? Thank you.
I should go put on my happy face then, I guess.
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you [phone rings.]
Happy birthday, dear Ivy Happy birthday What did you find? I've been over both your computers and they're clean.
-[Lloyd.]
You're positive? Lloyd, I'm positive.
I went over them twice.
What about the phones? -Shay's was clean, but I just found some kind of software bug embedded in yours.
MedCare AU an IVF pregnancy app linked to your wife's health chip.
What do you mean? What kind of bug? -[Barney.]
It's a false data feed and I'm downloading the fix to your phone now.
- [Shay.]
Speech, speech.
- [cheering.]
- Thanks, Barney.
- [Ivy.]
I'm not gonna get away with it.
Wow.
14 today.
[phone dings.]
Who would have thunk it? [phone dings.]
-[Shay.]
Yes! - [Ivy.]
Thanks, Dad.
Thanks, everyone.
This has been the bestest day! - Whoo! - Great speech.
Very good speech.
[phone dings.]
Look, Eadie's pregnant.
-[Francesca.]
Eadie, oh my god.
Eadie, is it true? My god, congratulations! That's incredible, darling.
Oh my god! - Thank you.
- Amazing news.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you, Dom.
So I take it you went to the you went to the clinic? [solemn music.]
-[Francesca.]
Guys, everyone, Cosmo's been waiting patiently to say a few words to Ivy.
So go ahead, honey, big voice.
Don't rush it.
-[Cosmo.]
Ivy, 14 now.
Earthy strong funny cousin.
I want to be like you.
[solemn music.]
[applause.]
[solemn music.]
[tense music.]