The Twilight Zone (2002) s01e42 Episode Script
Homecoming
You stole Lenny Fitzgerald's Mercedes? I told you, I borrowed it.
You borrowed it.
Did you ask Lenny, I wonder.
No, I don't think so because Lenny reported it stolen! I brought it back in one piece.
I can't believe what I'm hearing here not a scratch on it.
Oh, well, I'm so glad you have so much respect for cars.
Maybe eventually you'll work your way down to people.
Failing all your subjects, suspended for fighting suspended for skipping school, and now this.
What are you doing? Trace What? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Yes! Do you have to beat it to death? Look l'm sorry.
Seventeen, Trace.
You're barely seventeen, and you're already self-destructing.
Maybe if your father was here, you'd be Fifteen! I'd be fifteen.
And major big deal special ops would be packing to leave.
I'll get it.
- Mrs.
Malone? - Yes.
I'm Captain Michael Beckett.
The secretary of the army has asked me to inform you He's dead.
Your husband Robert has been reported missing in action in northern Iraq.
When we receive more information you will be promptly notified.
The secretary wishes to extend his deepest sympathy to you and your family during this trying period.
Ahem.
Ma'am.
Major Malone's one of the best we've got.
If he's out there, we'll find him.
Our anniversary's in a week.
Mom? Here.
It'll help you sleep.
We're not giving up hope.
Don't give up.
Look, I'm sorry for you.
I am, but this doesn't change anything.
He's gone.
He's he's always been gone.
No, no.
OK.
Good night.
Good night, honey.
Sometimes we forget that the casualties of war can extend beyond the battlefield.
A teenager about to unconditionally surrender to a life of bitterness and failure will become the beneficiary of a very special rescue mission led by a force of one through the Twilight Zone.
Dad! You're traveling to another dimension a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.
A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are only that of the imagination.
You're entering I didn't mean to scare you.
You didn't.
Oh, my God! Rob! Oh! I can't believe it.
You're really here! They said you were m.
i.
a.
How Trace, can you believe it? He's here.
What happened? I caught him off-guard.
Well, just leave it.
I'll do it.
Talk to your father.
So, what brings you here? I wanted to catch you guys by surprise celebrate our anniversary a few days early.
They said you were m.
i.
a.
They were misinformed.
I'm special forces.
You've gotten taller.
What did you expect? Trace.
I gotta get to school.
I, uh I thought you might stay home today.
That's a good idea.
It's not every day your father comes home.
It gives you two a chance to catch up.
Catch up? Let me cut to the chase.
I stole Fitzgerald's car.
Lenny's not gonna press charges.
Is there anything else you want to tell me? I've got nothing to say to you, OK? You have been gone all my life and I got used to it.
I even got to like it.
May I be dismissed now sir? Welcome home.
I don't know.
We might have to put it off a night.
Dude, we scoped the whole thing out.
That house is just waiting to be picked clean.
Yeah, well, what is a day or two? I mean, the family's gonna be gone for a week.
Come on, bro.
What happened to "seize the day"? Trace, it's me.
Can I come in? I'm gonna have to call you back.
It's open.
So how long is he staying? A day? A week? He hasn't said yet.
Gotta keep those options open.
Look, I can't force you to be nice to him.
Mom, listen to me.
Since when does he care about your anniversary? And then not getting pissed about the car and then letting me stay home from school? And what about all this missing in action stuff? He blew it off like it was nothing.
Your father knows what he's doing.
Listen, Mom, something's not right.
Look, why don't you just try and trust him for a change? Because you trust him and every time he lets you down.
That's not true.
OK, fine.
You know what? You want to celebrate your anniversary? Go ahead.
Knock yourself out.
Just try not to put him on the spot by asking him which one it is.
What the hell are you doing? Knitting a sweater.
Get on the hoist and lower it down.
Easy, easy.
Not so fast.
Good.
Good, Trace.
Well, grab a wrench and help me bolt up the transmission.
So so, what? You think this is gonna change anything? Well, look at it this way we get this car running you won't have to steal Lenny's wheels again.
It's gonna be a beauty when we're through.
Yeah, a 1967 Ford Mustang.
Exact same model Steve McQueen drove in "Bullitt.
" I know.
You gave me the same line brought this home.
You promised me then that we'd fix it together.
We're fixing it now.
You ever seen "Bullitt?" Hell of a movie.
Heh heh! Oh, that was another thing you always promised that we'd watch it together.
I screwed up.
I know.
I've kept a list.
It's pretty long.
Well, here's a chance for you to scratch something off that list.
Now, you just gonna stand there or you gonna help me bolt up the transmission? My father's 70th birthday.
Yeah.
Heh heh! Trace's eighth grade graduation.
Isn't he cute? That was the morning you left for Sarajevo.
Not a nice morning.
Oh, Trace's little league team.
Hmm.
He quit.
He didn't like the coach.
The day he passed his driving test.
He was so sure he failed.
I should be feeding you.
You didn't touch your dinner.
I'm not hungry, I guess.
- Hmm.
- Hey, show me some more.
You used to hate looking at photo albums.
It reminded me of everything I wasn't around for everything I missed.
I'm really glad you're home, Rob.
Trace has just been so lost and angry and Ohh.
But you're here, and I don't know.
It just seems like you knew.
For things that you'll never, never Never, never possess, yeah, yeah But while she's there waiting Which anniversary is this? You asking me how many years we've been married? You're stalling.
- Eighteen.
- Nineteen.
Nineteen? Damn! [Giggles.]
Close enough.
You've always been a very forgiving woman.
Mmm! Heh heh! Close your mouth, honey.
You'll catch flies.
Heh! You guys don't dance.
Hey, if it weren't for dancing you wouldn't be here.
We met at a club.
Yeah.
The first time I saw your mom, I knew spare me the details, please.
Don't even think about cutting in.
Hey, she's all yours.
Uh, ahem.
I'm gonna go upstairs.
Don't tease her, never leave her Don't forget to Try, try, try a little tenderness Yeah, yeah, yeah You gotta try a little tenderness Got to, got to, got to Don't lose her, no, no You've got to love her Keep her, don't leave her Got to try, no, no, no Don't you understand? I need more time! There is no more time, major.
Well, you take the men, corporal.
I'll catch up later.
Go ahead now.
That's an order.
Begging your pardon, sir but you're done giving orders and we're done taking them.
But I can't leave yet, not now.
You're not supposed to be here, sir.
None of us are.
Trace.
You're not m.
i.
a.
You're dead.
What the hell? What the hell?! - Trace.
- This is freaky.
This is just too, too freaky.
I see you.
You're standing there.
I know.
Is this a dream? You're not dreaming.
What the hell is going on? How long? I bought it during a rescue op.
And the others? Part of my platoon.
They didn't make it, either.
You really are dead.
Sounds awfully final when you say it.
Now I get it.
Now I know why you're here.
- Do you? - Yeah.
For all I care, you can go to hell.
Trace, look, I know this is hard for you to understand.
No, no, I understand just fine.
You're here asking for forgiveness.
You can forget it because you are not getting off that easy.
You really think fixing a lousy car is going to make everything all right? I didn't come here to hurt you! Does Mom know? We haven't discussed it.
Tsk! Supposed to be this big hero but you don't even have the guts to tell her do you? Well, I will.
Trace, wait! Mom, I gotta talk to you.
I heard you and your father fighting.
That selfish son of a bitch! I know why he came back.
I know why he came back, too.
No, you don't.
You don't see it.
Trace, please don't tell me what I see and don't see.
Mom, he has hurt you just as much as he has hurt me.
He hasn't hurt me, Trace.
You don't understand our relationship.
Your father has always been a part of me and he always will be.
Fine.
You want to forgive him, go ahead.
L I can't.
Yeah? - Lance, it's me.
- We on? Pick me up in an hour.
I thought you were bailing on me.
We are taking everything in that house that isn't nailed down.
Now you're talking.
Hey.
Listen to that engine purr.
Sounds good.
Come on.
Let's take her for a spin.
I can't.
I'm, uh, heading out with someone.
Isn't it a little late to be running around? I'm seventeen.
Point taken.
I, uh I didn't tell Mom.
Appreciate that.
But I think she knows anyway.
She's always been a smart woman.
I gotta get going.
Trace watch yourself.
Showtime, bro.
Yeah, yeah.
Showtime.
Oh, brain freeze! I forgot.
Flashlight, flashlight.
You got? Yeah.
Come on! H-hang on! Will you come on, man? I'm out.
Something's come up.
What? What the hell did you smoke? Because I want some.
Come on, let's split.
Lance, you heard me.
I'm not going.
Trace Go! And I'm telling you, I'm not ready! I am.
If you still want to take that ride.
So, where you off to? That's a good question.
I promise I'll send him back in one piece.
I'll be waiting up for him.
Of course you will.
Last time we were here, you played Mapledale.
You homered, singled.
You drove in 5 runs and made an unassisted double-play.
You ever come here on your own? Truth? Sure.
Got drunk in that dugout just before Christmas.
You proud of that? Not really.
By the way, it was Overton, not Mapleton.
Oh.
And 6 runs, not 5.
That's not the first time I've been wrong about something.
Anyway, you did love to watch me play.
Truth? Yeah, you played great.
And I used to love to watch you play because when you were out there playing I didn't have to talk to you.
I was afraid.
You're a good kid, Trace.
Hmm.
Not that good.
Hey, we all make mistakes but if you're gonna screw up your life I don't want you to use me as an excuse.
Ah.
So that's why you came back.
You were afraid I'd screw up my life.
I expect you to be a better husband and father than I ever was.
I just I wish you talked to me before.
You know, wrote me a letter or something.
I didn't have the words.
That doesn't mean I didn't have the feelings.
Why can't they just leave you alone? Delta force has a code.
Leave no man behind.
Yeah.
Kiss your mom for me.
Every day.
You got it.
Dad I know.
I know.
It's a hell of a thing.
Every now and then I get like this And it isn't hard to see But the old man in the kitchen I think he's part of me I break my silence all at once There's no more hiding all at once It's to show us how he feels Who's the real hero of this story? A father or a troubled son? So who is the real hero of this story? There's no need to choose.
Because there's room for both in the Twilight Zone.
You borrowed it.
Did you ask Lenny, I wonder.
No, I don't think so because Lenny reported it stolen! I brought it back in one piece.
I can't believe what I'm hearing here not a scratch on it.
Oh, well, I'm so glad you have so much respect for cars.
Maybe eventually you'll work your way down to people.
Failing all your subjects, suspended for fighting suspended for skipping school, and now this.
What are you doing? Trace What? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Yes! Do you have to beat it to death? Look l'm sorry.
Seventeen, Trace.
You're barely seventeen, and you're already self-destructing.
Maybe if your father was here, you'd be Fifteen! I'd be fifteen.
And major big deal special ops would be packing to leave.
I'll get it.
- Mrs.
Malone? - Yes.
I'm Captain Michael Beckett.
The secretary of the army has asked me to inform you He's dead.
Your husband Robert has been reported missing in action in northern Iraq.
When we receive more information you will be promptly notified.
The secretary wishes to extend his deepest sympathy to you and your family during this trying period.
Ahem.
Ma'am.
Major Malone's one of the best we've got.
If he's out there, we'll find him.
Our anniversary's in a week.
Mom? Here.
It'll help you sleep.
We're not giving up hope.
Don't give up.
Look, I'm sorry for you.
I am, but this doesn't change anything.
He's gone.
He's he's always been gone.
No, no.
OK.
Good night.
Good night, honey.
Sometimes we forget that the casualties of war can extend beyond the battlefield.
A teenager about to unconditionally surrender to a life of bitterness and failure will become the beneficiary of a very special rescue mission led by a force of one through the Twilight Zone.
Dad! You're traveling to another dimension a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.
A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are only that of the imagination.
You're entering I didn't mean to scare you.
You didn't.
Oh, my God! Rob! Oh! I can't believe it.
You're really here! They said you were m.
i.
a.
How Trace, can you believe it? He's here.
What happened? I caught him off-guard.
Well, just leave it.
I'll do it.
Talk to your father.
So, what brings you here? I wanted to catch you guys by surprise celebrate our anniversary a few days early.
They said you were m.
i.
a.
They were misinformed.
I'm special forces.
You've gotten taller.
What did you expect? Trace.
I gotta get to school.
I, uh I thought you might stay home today.
That's a good idea.
It's not every day your father comes home.
It gives you two a chance to catch up.
Catch up? Let me cut to the chase.
I stole Fitzgerald's car.
Lenny's not gonna press charges.
Is there anything else you want to tell me? I've got nothing to say to you, OK? You have been gone all my life and I got used to it.
I even got to like it.
May I be dismissed now sir? Welcome home.
I don't know.
We might have to put it off a night.
Dude, we scoped the whole thing out.
That house is just waiting to be picked clean.
Yeah, well, what is a day or two? I mean, the family's gonna be gone for a week.
Come on, bro.
What happened to "seize the day"? Trace, it's me.
Can I come in? I'm gonna have to call you back.
It's open.
So how long is he staying? A day? A week? He hasn't said yet.
Gotta keep those options open.
Look, I can't force you to be nice to him.
Mom, listen to me.
Since when does he care about your anniversary? And then not getting pissed about the car and then letting me stay home from school? And what about all this missing in action stuff? He blew it off like it was nothing.
Your father knows what he's doing.
Listen, Mom, something's not right.
Look, why don't you just try and trust him for a change? Because you trust him and every time he lets you down.
That's not true.
OK, fine.
You know what? You want to celebrate your anniversary? Go ahead.
Knock yourself out.
Just try not to put him on the spot by asking him which one it is.
What the hell are you doing? Knitting a sweater.
Get on the hoist and lower it down.
Easy, easy.
Not so fast.
Good.
Good, Trace.
Well, grab a wrench and help me bolt up the transmission.
So so, what? You think this is gonna change anything? Well, look at it this way we get this car running you won't have to steal Lenny's wheels again.
It's gonna be a beauty when we're through.
Yeah, a 1967 Ford Mustang.
Exact same model Steve McQueen drove in "Bullitt.
" I know.
You gave me the same line brought this home.
You promised me then that we'd fix it together.
We're fixing it now.
You ever seen "Bullitt?" Hell of a movie.
Heh heh! Oh, that was another thing you always promised that we'd watch it together.
I screwed up.
I know.
I've kept a list.
It's pretty long.
Well, here's a chance for you to scratch something off that list.
Now, you just gonna stand there or you gonna help me bolt up the transmission? My father's 70th birthday.
Yeah.
Heh heh! Trace's eighth grade graduation.
Isn't he cute? That was the morning you left for Sarajevo.
Not a nice morning.
Oh, Trace's little league team.
Hmm.
He quit.
He didn't like the coach.
The day he passed his driving test.
He was so sure he failed.
I should be feeding you.
You didn't touch your dinner.
I'm not hungry, I guess.
- Hmm.
- Hey, show me some more.
You used to hate looking at photo albums.
It reminded me of everything I wasn't around for everything I missed.
I'm really glad you're home, Rob.
Trace has just been so lost and angry and Ohh.
But you're here, and I don't know.
It just seems like you knew.
For things that you'll never, never Never, never possess, yeah, yeah But while she's there waiting Which anniversary is this? You asking me how many years we've been married? You're stalling.
- Eighteen.
- Nineteen.
Nineteen? Damn! [Giggles.]
Close enough.
You've always been a very forgiving woman.
Mmm! Heh heh! Close your mouth, honey.
You'll catch flies.
Heh! You guys don't dance.
Hey, if it weren't for dancing you wouldn't be here.
We met at a club.
Yeah.
The first time I saw your mom, I knew spare me the details, please.
Don't even think about cutting in.
Hey, she's all yours.
Uh, ahem.
I'm gonna go upstairs.
Don't tease her, never leave her Don't forget to Try, try, try a little tenderness Yeah, yeah, yeah You gotta try a little tenderness Got to, got to, got to Don't lose her, no, no You've got to love her Keep her, don't leave her Got to try, no, no, no Don't you understand? I need more time! There is no more time, major.
Well, you take the men, corporal.
I'll catch up later.
Go ahead now.
That's an order.
Begging your pardon, sir but you're done giving orders and we're done taking them.
But I can't leave yet, not now.
You're not supposed to be here, sir.
None of us are.
Trace.
You're not m.
i.
a.
You're dead.
What the hell? What the hell?! - Trace.
- This is freaky.
This is just too, too freaky.
I see you.
You're standing there.
I know.
Is this a dream? You're not dreaming.
What the hell is going on? How long? I bought it during a rescue op.
And the others? Part of my platoon.
They didn't make it, either.
You really are dead.
Sounds awfully final when you say it.
Now I get it.
Now I know why you're here.
- Do you? - Yeah.
For all I care, you can go to hell.
Trace, look, I know this is hard for you to understand.
No, no, I understand just fine.
You're here asking for forgiveness.
You can forget it because you are not getting off that easy.
You really think fixing a lousy car is going to make everything all right? I didn't come here to hurt you! Does Mom know? We haven't discussed it.
Tsk! Supposed to be this big hero but you don't even have the guts to tell her do you? Well, I will.
Trace, wait! Mom, I gotta talk to you.
I heard you and your father fighting.
That selfish son of a bitch! I know why he came back.
I know why he came back, too.
No, you don't.
You don't see it.
Trace, please don't tell me what I see and don't see.
Mom, he has hurt you just as much as he has hurt me.
He hasn't hurt me, Trace.
You don't understand our relationship.
Your father has always been a part of me and he always will be.
Fine.
You want to forgive him, go ahead.
L I can't.
Yeah? - Lance, it's me.
- We on? Pick me up in an hour.
I thought you were bailing on me.
We are taking everything in that house that isn't nailed down.
Now you're talking.
Hey.
Listen to that engine purr.
Sounds good.
Come on.
Let's take her for a spin.
I can't.
I'm, uh, heading out with someone.
Isn't it a little late to be running around? I'm seventeen.
Point taken.
I, uh I didn't tell Mom.
Appreciate that.
But I think she knows anyway.
She's always been a smart woman.
I gotta get going.
Trace watch yourself.
Showtime, bro.
Yeah, yeah.
Showtime.
Oh, brain freeze! I forgot.
Flashlight, flashlight.
You got? Yeah.
Come on! H-hang on! Will you come on, man? I'm out.
Something's come up.
What? What the hell did you smoke? Because I want some.
Come on, let's split.
Lance, you heard me.
I'm not going.
Trace Go! And I'm telling you, I'm not ready! I am.
If you still want to take that ride.
So, where you off to? That's a good question.
I promise I'll send him back in one piece.
I'll be waiting up for him.
Of course you will.
Last time we were here, you played Mapledale.
You homered, singled.
You drove in 5 runs and made an unassisted double-play.
You ever come here on your own? Truth? Sure.
Got drunk in that dugout just before Christmas.
You proud of that? Not really.
By the way, it was Overton, not Mapleton.
Oh.
And 6 runs, not 5.
That's not the first time I've been wrong about something.
Anyway, you did love to watch me play.
Truth? Yeah, you played great.
And I used to love to watch you play because when you were out there playing I didn't have to talk to you.
I was afraid.
You're a good kid, Trace.
Hmm.
Not that good.
Hey, we all make mistakes but if you're gonna screw up your life I don't want you to use me as an excuse.
Ah.
So that's why you came back.
You were afraid I'd screw up my life.
I expect you to be a better husband and father than I ever was.
I just I wish you talked to me before.
You know, wrote me a letter or something.
I didn't have the words.
That doesn't mean I didn't have the feelings.
Why can't they just leave you alone? Delta force has a code.
Leave no man behind.
Yeah.
Kiss your mom for me.
Every day.
You got it.
Dad I know.
I know.
It's a hell of a thing.
Every now and then I get like this And it isn't hard to see But the old man in the kitchen I think he's part of me I break my silence all at once There's no more hiding all at once It's to show us how he feels Who's the real hero of this story? A father or a troubled son? So who is the real hero of this story? There's no need to choose.
Because there's room for both in the Twilight Zone.