American Gods (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Episode #2.5 - full transcript

We are a funeral parlor,
serving Cairo, Illinois, since 1863,

when it was a flourishing town
at the crossing of two rivers.

That was when we became the funeral
parlor for the colored folks hereabouts.

I'm Ruby.

Ruby Goodchild.

It's good
to meet you, Ruby.

Ifrit, Grimnir needs you
at the Corn Palace.

Ask for Old Iktomi.

- To what end?
- Gungnir.

You're getting Fire-eyes and the fairy
to fetch your fucking spear for you?

This is an instrument of death.



That, my very old friend,

is not your
motherfucking concern.

If you truly want
your life back,

I might have
another option for you.

I will literally do anything.

Mark my words.

You're gonna need the Baron,
dead wife.

I'll see you in New Orleans.

Memento mori.

Grow, Yggdrasil.

Grow.

You know
there's a bathroom, right?

Yeah.

You're pissing on a plant.



On the world tree?

Don't be disgusting.
How dare you?

So, where're we
going today?

Well, I have
things to do

and people to see.

But I shall be seeing them
and doing them alone.

So you don't need my help?

Oh, like St. Louis, huh?

You know, maybe a day with Ibis
can put you back on track.

He can teach you the ways
of the dead. I mean,

you're dressed for it and, considering
your domestic situation, huh?

Humans are dead
longer than they're alive.

And we want them
on bended knee

offering up their firstborn and
two more kids to be named later.

Do not wait up!

You are comfortable sleeping
under the same roof as the dead?

As long as they stay that way.

Ah, look at you.

Stop acting so high and mighty.

I mean, were you fucking drunk the
day they handed out the real causes?

Ain't that right, Judie?

You're not better than me,
you little fuck!

Whole...

fucking country's a...

...a lost cause.

Oh!

Jude!

Oh.

Fuck.

It's you.

Yes, it's me.

Do not say, "I told you so."

So Wednesday lied.

See, that's "I told you so."

You look...

less decomposed.

It's temporary.

We need a more permanent fix.
You said you know a guy.

You missed quite
an adventure gettin' down here.

Oh, I'm sure I did.

Stole a party boat
with the...

pontoons.

A party boat? That's how
you got down here?

No, I hitchhiked.

Boat sank.

The further I get from that coin
inside your rotten innards,

the more rotten
my luck becomes.

Sure you're up for this?

Yeah.

That's a really nice shirt.

Classy!

You have no idea.

Hell, no.

- Get that bitch outta here!
- Calm down, Brigitte.

The girl's gotta eat.

I'll cut your dick off with a tomato
knife, serve it up real nice.

We can share it
with the world!

Best not try to serve me that.

Oh shit. Mad Sweeney?

I love you, brother,
but not that much.

- Sweeney fou, mon frère!
- How are you?

Okay, no, if that oversexed
goat sent you,

you can just
turn right around,

the Ghede Loa will not
be joining his fool war!

Don't worry. I'm not here
for Wednesday.

- I'd like a parley.
- Hi.

She's lookin' good
for being dead.

Can you help her?

She can join the chef's table.

After hours.

The chef's table?

Must be a slow fuckin' night.

- Welcome home.
- We got work to do.

- More later.
- Hey!

Won't say no
to a night of drinkin'.

Well, I can't drink.

Am I supposed to sit here
and watch you all night?

Ah, I warned you about the price
of resurrection, didn't I?

Grimnir is late,
as usual.

Alhamdu lil-lah.

I find it funny.

You find what funny?

That you still thank him.

I thank him for every meal
he provides me. Don't you?

You know...

I was born on Thursday
under a scorching desert sun,

long before the first wahy.

Years later, after the
Prophet's revelations,

we Jinn, we were
given a choice.

Convert to Islam or live
our lives as heretic demons.

I chose heretic demon.

After all you've seen,

you still believe your god
is the one true God?

Yes, of course I do.

The first pillar of Islam is,
"There is no God but God."

Thomas Jefferson said
all men are created equal,

but he still owned slaves.

I'm here to pick up two gentlemen
from the city of Sodom.

Hey!

That reminds me.

You must have been there,
old friend.

Tell me, how was the party, huh?

Huh? I mean, Yahweh
can be such a prude. Huh?

You're late.

Keep your audience waiting.

Something I learned from
my old burlesque days.

My spear?

Okay, gentlemen, climb aboard.

The King of the Dwarves
awaits us!

Uh, what about
the motorcycle?

She will be just fine.

Yalla!

So, it's Wednesday
you worship, huh?

No, no...
I don't worship anyone.

I've been hanging in an amulet
around Odin's neck for years.

And when it suited him, that
son of a bitch released me.

I'm beholden to him,
but he's not my fucking god!

What am I,
your fucking chauffeur?

I can't have you two canoodling
in Betty's back seat!

I mean, this is America.
We'll be pulled over!

You! Don't move!
Hands where I can see 'em.

Shit!

Hey!

Jamaar Goodchild.

Opiate overdose.

His grandmother died
three days ago.

Lila Goodchild.

Her funeral is tomorrow.

Opiate overdose?

His wounds are posthumous,

which happens quite
a bit here in Cairo.

Has been happening around
here for the last century,

to young men of color.

Um...

This morning, there was a man in my
bathroom mirror with the same wounds.

I had 'em too.

Ah, Froggy James.

He provides plenty of dream
fuel under this old roof.

What is he?

Is he a ghost?

Demon?

Will James was an affable man

whose tragic end brought
a simmering dynamic...

...to a catastrophic boil.

An eyewitness confirmed
that Will was seen crossing paths

with a white woman
in broad daylight.

When the young lady
turned up dead,

the math was done.

Surprisingly, the sheriff in Cairo was an
honest man who staved off the inevitable,

until a mob caught up to him

and took William James.

Froggy was lynched,

shot, beheaded,

dragged through the streets and burned
for an audience of 10,000 people

who were having
the time of their lives.

Cairo's dignity reduced
to a pool...

of blood.

Do you know why he was
in the mirror lookin' at me?

Memento mori.

Remember that you have to die.

So, what're we doing after this?

What do you wanna do?

Oh, I don't know. Something fun.

While you got your glass out, do you
want me to fill it for you? Cheers.

Do I detect a little
trouble in paradise here?

The All-father knows all about
the vagaries of romance.

Love who you love.

Ask and you
shall be Embla'd.

I believe in the violence
I saw in that diner.

The pain and death suffered
by those immortals.

May Zorya's star shine
on all of us.

But that does not mean
I have faith in them.

I do not have the same relationship
with them that I have with my god.

What Allah and I have is something I
can never get from another being.

Look, there are
many gods, Salim,

and they're all as selfish
as that one is with his women.

Don't admonish him for having faith
in a god. We need more like him.

The only thing is, Salim,
monotheists like you,

you've got too big
a piece of the pie.

But if you do ever think of expanding
who you worship and who you follow,

let me present myself
as a fun-loving,

yet serious addition
to your personal pantheon.

Wednesday's the name;
good time's the game.

Hm? What?

You've been
through a lot.

- Can we at least agree to that?
- Yes.

And...

Well, you're mourning.
You're grieving.

This is no time to make
big decisions.

He's right.

You should not leave Cairo
with me.

I should not factor
into that decision.

We will both stay here for now.

There's nothing left.

When word gets out that
Grandma and Jamarr are gone,

the streets
ain't leaving me alone.

They coming
to take what they want.

I'm not gonna let anything
happen to you.

You said that same shit
about Jamarr!

Everything you said about
things getting better was a lie!

You said to pray,
that it would help!

It didn't!

Look, let's...

let's place
Lila and Jamarr to rest,

and then we can discuss
this later, all right?

It's not all on
you, Reverend.

It's this place.

Cairo ain't home to me.

It's hell.

If these walls could talk,

they'd tell you about
the Freedom Movement.

They'd tell you
about James Bevel.

They'd tell you about,
uh... Al Raby, Dr. King.

People didn't always come
to funerals just to grieve.

They-they came...

Well, they...

They came to organize.
They came to fight back.

It sustained us!

I am sustained by
the tranquility of love.

God's love.

Something like that.

So, follow my lead.

And if Alviss does address you,

compliment him. Or goad him.

Dwarves can be tricky.

Which is it?
Compliment or goad?

Alviss, son of Vindalf.

My answer is no.

Don't you at least wanna
know why I'm here?

It's no.

It's still no.

I know this Ifrit.

But him?

Manat? Hubal?

No. I am Salim.
I am a mortal man.

And you are very tall
for a dwarf.

The tallest dwarf
in America!

And that stature makes Alviss
the King of the Dwarves

in this godforsaken continent!

I like what you've done
with the place, Alviss.

Time was
when I managed hundreds.

Welders, mechanics,
even the cleaning staff.

We were busy
from dawn till dusk.

Now, I manage only myself.

The swaying one.

No.

No, no, no.

Your war is none of my affair.

I've never been a warrior.
I'm a builder.

Oh, I know, and I realize the important
work you do in this busy place.

But as we were passing through,
I thought it only fair that...

I should swing by and show
one of the greatest craftsmen

of the Asgardian era

- the wondrous Gungnir.
- Oh!

She's seen better days.
Glorious days.

She is indeed
in need of restoration,

but only by one whose crafting
is worthy of Ivaldi's kin.

I'm not one of the greatest
craftsmen.

I bested my own kin, Sindri...

...better known
as Spark-sprayer,

to forge the hammer Mjolnir
and the ring Draupnir.

If there's forging to be done,
I'm the one you seek.

But...

it's the runes that
require attention, All-father.

The runes that power
your 18 charms.

The runes that anoint
the tip of your spear.

Like all things,
runes fade.

Rubbed clean by the friction
of time, the fading of memory.

And rune carving
is Dvalin's domain.

Have you seen
that little bastard lately?

How... how did
our motorcycle get here?

This is not
just a motorcycle.

This is Hildisvini,
Freyja's Battle Boar

and sometime lover, eh?

So, do you believe me?
Do I have your faith?

You are not my God.

He still believes in what
he was told.

Not what he sees
or has experienced.

The good little Arab boy,

still doing what his parents
told him to do.

What does it matter to you
what I believe?

Here I am. Worship away!

Because your truth,
it is not my truth.

No, no. You're entitled to your own
truth, Salim, but not your own facts.

Fact is, I have to get back
to Cairo.

You did good, Ifrit.

- Grimnir, do you need me there?
- Yeah.

Yeah, I do.
You should come too, Salim.

You misguided monotheist. Heh.

You know, there's still time to
join the party train to Valhalla.

We shall play
where the moon cannot see us.

I have faith in you.

Men only see what they want to see
and you are just like them, Salim:

Blind and stubborn to the truth
in front of your very own eyes.

You still want to come with me?

- Thank you, my darlin'.
- Yeah.

You're in for a treat tonight.

- Best chef in the bayou.
- Glad you like.

Thanks.

I missed your cooking,
my friend.

You smell a little rank, baby.

It's the heat. Here, drink this

Thank you.

Mmm. Shh.

Oh that feels better.
Thank you.

- Not bad.
- Hey.

Oh, my God.

I can taste this.

They miss
the taste the most.

Nah, they miss touch the most.

You like that, baby?

Uh-huh.

Yeah. Uh-huh.

Oh, knock it off.

I need to turn this one's
clock back...

...so I can retrieve
my property

and send her back
to her husband.

She's a cheater. Like you.

Better and better.

And death is her true
love, but she betrays him also.

Chasing after what
she cannot have.

The favor is to me, Baron.

It's not for her.

Do we have a compact?

I think we can make a trade.

What kinda trade?

I trade in truth.

You give me truth,

- and I give you what you want.
- Hm...

Do we have a compact?

Good.

Time for business
and pleasure. Hm.

Sweeney, mon amour?
Comin'?

Resurrection is
Samedi's business.

Yeah, we're not needed
here tonight.

What's missing from someone's soul
that they can do that to another?

Why would he curse
his own people?

Race is no simple equation
where one thing equals another.

No one hates the children of Israel
more than the children of Israel.

What you say...

...also happens to be true
for a dozen other ethnicities.

But...

when you are
continually reminded

that you have
little to no value,

it's easy to be convinced that all
the rules are stacked against you.

Your worst fears are not
possible; they are probable.

In the case of Will James,
I imagine...

...as women pulled the rope,
he rose,

looked out on a sea
of people,

but only focused on those

who looked like him,

and felt abandoned
by his people.

Who taught the black man
to hate himself?

Who has corrupted
the entire world in the name

of gaining power?

I'll give you a hint.

He does not look like anyone
in our immediate vicinity.

Well, praise Jesus
and four more white zombies.

If it isn't Shadow Moon

still hanging around asking
all the wrong fucking questions.

And there it is.

Why are you always
trying to piss me off?

Better pissed off
than pissed on.

Either way, all I'd need to do is
have Wednesday tell you it's raining.

Now, why'd you have him
do that?

Fuck him! Pussy!

Speaking of...

...I seen your cat.

Now, where's the dog?

Mm, business has been soft,

so Jacquel took some time.

Thrice the great magician.

You, a conjurer of spells.

You sit at the table
between good and evil,

but you
and Mr. Jacquel

bear no responsibility

for Will fucking James!

Ah, you believe
we haunt this town?

If I was in the
dead body business,

war would be music
to my ears, unless...

Unless what?

Please, continue.

Unless I already had a way
to keep fresh bodies

coming through
the back fucking door.

I do not answer to you,
Anansi.

If you are taking brown bodies
from this world,

you are killing my worshippers.

This cannot be.

Hm?

This... cannot... be.

Will James?

I am no one.

That which I was
has been taken from me.

So, you...

...take other people's
lives instead?

I release those who have
no hope to a life of peace.

There's always hope.

The way of the dead is
to know nothing of the living.

Ecclesiastes.

I know the verse.

You worship Dante's Inferno?

I worship death.

Why?

We wear the same skin.

But you do not know the nature
of the land in which you dwell.

Understand my anger.

Killing me was the sweet
release they yearned for.

We are victims chained
to their charity.

They are deeply sorry

for the primal disdain
they carry for us.

You are not unlucky.

You are unloved.

Walk with my burden.

When you share it
with the world,

I will release you.

Now go.

My husband used
to look at me like...

like I was the sun
and the moon.

- And then you married him?
- Ha.

And then I fucked it up.

'Ey... You lived your truth.
That's no betrayal.

Yeah.

I have a long history of, um,
really shitty impulse control.

You betrayed him long before
your marriage vows.

Excuse me?

You betrayed him when you told him
you loved him in the first place.

Poor, poor Laura Moon...

So many lies,
she can not sleep.

So many vows
she can not keep.

Ha.

Because you and Brigitte are...

what, some fucking model
of a healthy relationship?

Oh, Brigitte knows...

that with
every breath,

every cell...

...I worship only her.

The most beautiful,
interesting,

sexy, and powerful woman
I have ever come across.

And when she's not around,

I fuck a lot of other women.

Hm.

One ingredient's
still missing.

I can't help you
with that one.

What? What,
what is it?

Le vrai sang de l'amour.

It's blood infused with love.

Two drops.

But I-I have to...
I have to find that?

Right. 'Cause why
would this be easy?

Look at you.

Belly all shiny...

...sweat on your skin...

You're about as close
to being alive as you can be

while still being dead.

Tell me something,
Laura Moon.

If I give you this bottle,
then what?

What will you do when your
skin warms for another?

For me.

This is a second chance.

What will you do
with it, dead girl?

Hmm?
For payment,

I ask only for truth.

We honor the dead

with flesh and sweat,
maybe a little blood, no?

Give back for what we take?

I see you and the Baron
still eating on the side, huh?

We eat what we want.

And I want you.

Again.

Oh, I see.

Somethin's changed.

You're too gone on
the dead girl to do your part.

The fuck I am.

Oh, yeah.

I can taste it.

Salty.

You trying to pick a fight
with me, is that it?

The good book says,

"Walk by faith, not by sight."

But try as I may, I...

...can no longer walk through
this life with my eyes closed.

Ruby,

you were right
when you said I lied to you.

I've lied not only
to you, but...

I've lied to the entire town
of Cairo.

Oh, yes.

Every time I told you

it was gonna be okay...

...I was lying.

The gift of faith

in the face of torment

was given to us when we
landed on these shores.

It was there we learned

to look away from the cruelty
inflicted upon us.

Well, I can look away
no longer!

I see a world in which

little or nothing makes
any sense anymore.

Amen.

Leave here.

And if you find somewhere...

...our people aren't
catching hell...

...you let me know where it is.

I'll come running.

If there is anyone who'd like
to share, come on up.

In the Middle Ages,
they worshipped death.

They knew its power over life
was suffocating.

I learnt that from...

...my wife.

Now I look into the soul
of death and I welcome it.

Memento mori.

Amen.

You know, we're
gonna try this once more.

So, the 12 saffron-robed monks
chanted as one...

No?

America is the only
country in the world

that measures its food

in feet!

Wow.

Thanks for fucking up
my evening!

Shadow Moon!

Don't you look like pretty shit
on a toddler's shoe.

Wednesday left you
in the capable hands of death

and you lived
to tell about it.

Tiger balls to you, Nancy.

All-father.

Any of you selfish fuckers gonna elaborate
on what happened to me tonight?

Magic is not real, Shadow.

It's a trick.

Stop playing checkers
with your life, boy.

Mmh. Stop avoiding
the questions.

What did Will James want?

Maybe Froggy keeps his memory
alive to share the pain,

the self-hatred, and absence of
simple solutions for our people.

Or maybe he wants
what we all want.

A tall glass of hops
fermented...

...by yours truly
in the cold-brewed

contaminated drinking
water of Cairo, Illinois.

I will drink to that.

Fuck you.

Well.

Cat got his tongue.

Got more than his tongue.

Sensitivity is such
an unattractive quality.

The shit you be up to.

Hey.

By yourself?

I don't know why you came
back here. I'm leaving.

Where're you off to?

- Away from you.
- What? No, wait!

Don't make me
hurt you.

Might I remind you
that we had a deal.

You get your life back,
I get my coin.

Well, I didn't get
my life back, did I?

So, fuck you, deal's off,
I'm keeping your fucking coin.

Like fuck you are!

What happened, huh?
It didn't work?

Oh, please.

Bullshit.

- What?
- Bullshit! Fucking bullshit!

This is all Wednesday.

All of this! All the way
back to the casino,

he sends you to fuck my plan and
then he sends you to fuck me?

I mean I knew you were his bitch;

I didn't realize
you were his whore as well.

What happened last night is not part
of some grand plan, you stupid cunt!

They're death Loa!

They fucked us!

And I don't do Wednesday's
errands because I like him!

I do 'em because
I fucking owe him!

I hate that one-eyed cunt
more than you will ever know.

You do Wednesday's
errands because...

...no matter how much you claim
you want a war to die in,

you're too much of a fucking
coward to find your own.