Black Box (2014): Season 1, Episode 10 - I Shall Be Released - full transcript

Previously on "Black Box"...

Know that new hostess at the
restaurant? I slept with her.

See, if you fire her after
you nail her, she can sue.

This dream of yours...

I know what you want.

I know what you need.

You know, it's a charming
hotel with a quiet bar.

Join me for a drink.

I have to make a decision.

You can have both of us.

I can handle anything... anything but lies.



The Hotel Mirabella.

Aunt Kate and I ran into one
of her doctor friends there...

The handsome one.

Thank you for seeing me so early. I...

You said you're in crisis.

Well, I just...

I did something... impulsive,

and I-I think it might be very wrong.

I-I don't know.

What happened?

We just got back from Joshua and Reagan's.

I was getting ready for bed and...

Do you want to tell me about this?

Don't try to play me, Catherine.



I know Bickman hangs out at the Mirabella.

Esme told me.

Is this where you were the night
you told me you lost your phone?

- What?
- Don't lie to me.

Okay, this is absurd.

I mean, the pen could be Bickman's.

Of course it can.

I mean, I could've picked it up at work.

You're keeping something from me.

Tell me what it is, or I'll leave.

You'll leave?

No, wait! Will, don't go.

I...

I have kept something from you. I...

Tell me now.

I'm Esme's mother.

You know, it just...

It just happened.

It just happened?

I mean, I was gonna have
to tell him anyway, right?

I mean, if we're planning on spending
the rest of our lives together...

Well, are you planning to spend
the rest of your life with Will?

Let me guess.

He listened to you with love,

with understanding, with compassion.

I was 16. I started drinking.

I got pregnant, and the
mood swings got worse.

The hormones...

I cycled into my first manic episode.

What about her father?

Johnny was long gone.

I was an inpatient on a psych
ward when she was born.

I mean, I couldn't even take care of myself.

You never saw him again?

No.

Joshua and Reagan had only
been dating a few months.

Reagan always knew she
couldn't have children,

and she really wanted
her on one condition...

that I would never tell
anybody that she was mine.

She doesn't know?

No, no.

I mean, they may tell her one day,

but it's... It's up to them.

I mean, this is the most important promise

that I have ever made in my entire life,

and I just broke it.

You have to promise me...

Please, promise me that
you won't ever tell anyone.

You can trust me.

You covered a lie by telling a truth
you promised never to reveal.

You're judging me.

Oh, what do you expect? I'm human.

I thought you might help me.

I thought you might understand.

What do you think will happen

when Joshua and Reagan discover
you broke your promise?

Honesty, integrity...
These are not easy things,

but they're building blocks
of love and character.

I've s... I've said this too many times.

Something's got to change.

I have an appointment with a psychiatrist,

Dr. Mahmoud, 10:00.

Dean Norwood.

I need your insurance
information, Mr. Norwood.

And I need you to fill out these forms.

I'll let Dr. Mahmoud know you're here.

My... my problem won't be
listed anywhere on these forms.

What is your problem, Mr. Norwood?

I'm dead.

I think you'd find this intake
a lot more comfortable, Dean,

if we were in my office.

I don't sit still.

I'm a wanderer, a spirit
that can't find rest.

What do you do for a living?

I was a mechanical engineer
until the accident.

Tell me about the accident.

I got a motorcycle.

That's what guys do when
their wives dump them.

I ended up skidding out in a downpour.

I crashed into the concrete median.

And then I died.

She was referred from the
E.D. for her headaches.

She also complained of nausea and myalgia,

all of which are consistent with the flu.

I recommended the mother take her home.

- You recommended?
- You have a brutal day.

I didn't want to waste your time.

All she needs is fluids and rest.

Okay. So, use the patient's name.

It keeps in mind that...

That she's a person and not a case, okay?

Okay, sure.

Well, I recommended that
the mother take Lily home.

- Okay. Hello.
- Hi.

I'm Dr. Black. Nice to meet you.

Hi.

Hello, Lily.

Can you get a blanket, please?

So, tell me what's been going on.

She started complaining about
headaches and muscle aches

a couple of weeks ago, I think,

and... and then she started
feeling sick to her stomach.

Can I just see your fingers?

Vomiting or just nausea?

Uh, no, this morning was the
first time she actually threw up.

But I-I took her to the doctor a few times,

and he couldn't figure out what was wrong,

and, well, she was getting worse,

so I brought her to the E.R.

Can you tell me about your headaches?

It just, um... I don't know.

It just hurts really bad.

Can you look up for me?

All right.

That light make your headache worse?

She had any fever or a stiff neck?

Oh, the other day, yeah, she said it was...

It was hard to turn her neck.

All right.

So, I'd like to start her on
some broad-spectrum antibiotics.

We're gonna need a lumbar puncture

and some blood cultures.

Antibiotics?

I thought she said she has the flu?

You see when she winced at the light?

- Uh-huh.
- That's called photophobia.

Could be a symptom of meningitis,

but meningitis is treatable, okay?

As long as we get it fast.

So it's a good job that you
didn't go home and get into bed.

Let me just make something easier here.

So, we'll get the nurse in right away, okay?

Thank you.

Do I need to say this?

I'm not a doctor.

I should not be giving my
diagnosis to the patient.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

So, you suffered a
moderate closed-head injury

with no permanent repercussions.

Uh, Dean, can you wait here
for just a moment, please?

Hey.

Might not want to touch me.

There's...

Maggots.

Uh...

I understand that you have a
real-life Cotard's Syndrome?

Is he textbook?

I'll have to do some research
before I can make a definitive...

Oh, that won't be necessary.

I know everything you need
to know about Cotard's...

A.K.A. walking dead syndrome...

Named by the French neurologist
Jules Cotard in 1880.

The patient actually holds the delusional
belief that they're dead, rotting,

missing blood and internal organs.

It's a nihilistic, hypochondriacal delusion.

Of course. This interests you.

I... have been waiting my
whole career for this.

Do you mind if I...

By all means... join me.

Hello.

So, Lily's lumbar-puncture
results came out normal.

There's no evidence of any
known bacteria or virus.

Well, what does that mean?

I-if she doesn't have meningitis,

then how come she's sicker now

than when I brought her here this morning?

Dr. Black will be in soon to speak with you.

In the meantime, Lily
needs to stay hydrated.

Mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh.

- Honey, you need to have some water, okay?
- It's all right, honey.

Oh, it's all right, honey.

- Lily.
- It's just a little bit of water.

All right, it's okay.

Lily!

Aah!

Lily!

She bit me!

Lily!

What's happening to her?!

- What's happening?!
- Someone help!

Oh.

Stop it.

I haven't broken up with Will.

So?

So I need to make a decision.

All right, I'll back off.

I can see you're hurting.

I got to go talk to my patient's mother.

Not the little girl who bit our ankle biter?

What?

Lily bit you?

Yes, when I tried to give her some water.

I'm sorry. I had no idea
she was so much worse.

Wait. She's afraid of water?

Yeah, and she was foaming at the mouth.

I had to sedate her.

Have you been vaccinated for rabies?

Rabies?

Hi. She's sleeping.

Good. Don't... don't get up.

I-I just wanted to ask you a few questions.

Um, do you know if Lily has been
bitten by an animal recently?

Uh, n-no, I don't think so.

I mean, we don't have a dog or anything.

Uh, like a-a wild animal...
Like a skunk or raccoon?

I can't imagine.

A petting zoo, maybe? Camping?

Could she have been in a cave with bats?

Oh, um, you know what?

There was, um... there
was a school field trip,

I think about a month ago,

in, uh, yeah, um, Lost Silver Caverns.

But I-I'm sure she would've told
me if anything had happened.

Yeah, bat bites are very small and painless,

so she could've been bitten
and not even known about it.

Her symptoms are consistent with rabies.

Rabies?

But we need to get the lab
results to know more, all right?

So, just... just get some rest.

Okay, yeah.

And, uh, I'll be back, okay?

Thank you.

Okay.

And would you mind telling
me how it feels to be dead?

My flesh is... is rotting.

It's covered in l-legless larvae.

I can't eat because the smell is so vile.

I don't know how you all can stand it.

I guess because you're doctors.

One second.

Uh... Blood pressure 117/76.

Pulse rate is 82. Those are normal numbers.

Owen, he's wasting away.

Okay, Dean, we're going
to do a P.E.T. scan now

and take a look at what's
going on inside your brain.

I don't have a brain.

Died in the crash.

Go ahead. See for yourself.

Owen, he doesn't eat.

His teeth are rotting.

I really think he's severely depressed.

Well, we'll see.

You know, this is one of the
first P.E.T. scans ever done

on the brain of a patient with Cotard's.

Certainly you agree that it's
a form of delusional psychosis?

Here it comes.

Oh, my God.

The... the metabolic activity in the frontal
and the parietal regions of the brain

is consistent with a patient
in a vegetative state.

He's clearly not dead, Owen.

I know, but his brain thinks he is.

That's how powerful the delusion is.

Excuse me.

Dr. Morely, Dr. Black asked me to find you.

What?

Lily Huggins' rabies
test came back positive.

Ohh. I have to go.

I'm gonna start Dean on a combination
of pharmacology and behavioral therapy.

Okay, fantastic.

Can we have a word?

I'd like you to meet Dr. Owen Morely.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

Please take a seat.

So we, uh... we got Lily's lab results back.

Okay.

And, um, as suspected...

Uh, unfortunately,
it's a very late-stage case of rabies.

And there's shots.

It's curable.

At the time of the bite,

a person can be given a series of shots

to help the immune system fight
the disease in its early stages,

but once the symptoms have developed...

Unfortunately, it's too late.

I'm so sorry.

What do you mean it's too late?

Well...

We want to make Lily as
comfortable as possible right now.

Um...

That's all we can do.

I don't think I'm hearing you right.

Um... are you saying Lily's gonna die?

Mrs. Huggins...

I'm so sorry.

We're here to help you and your
family make the best decision

- for all of you, especially for Lily.
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

- The best decision is all of...
- No, no, no, no!

There are no decisions, okay?

I-I-I don't accept this, okay?

You have to do something.

You're doctors.

Do you have children?

No.

If you had children, you wouldn't give up.

Please don't give up on
my daughter... I beg you.

Yes?

Well, we have to dig deeper, okay?

Catherine, I'm concerned that
no matter how deep we dig,

we're gonna hit bedrock.

This virus climbs about
two centimeters a day

up the peripheral nerves
until it reaches the brain.

Yes, I know.

It's an unstoppable death march.

I can't accept that, all right?

I can't accept that we can't stop this.

There's nothing that we can do, Catherine.

- We're not magicians.
- No, I know we're not.

I chose neurology because
it is the final frontier.

We make new discoveries every day.

And if we don't, then we're stuck
spinning our wheels, going nowhere.

If we don't do everything
we can to make advances,

then what is the point?

Thank you.

Hey.

You did great on your first day.

Oh, thanks.

Make sure you get your
share of the tips from Delilah.

Okay.

Will said I should ask you
for my share of the tips?

Did he?

You don't get a share of
anything on your first day.

You're still in training.

__

___

__

___

__

Damn. Sorry. Eh.

__

No, um, Will and Delilah, that
happened a long time ago,

way before he knew Catherine.

And now he can't fire her?

Not unless she makes a big mistake...

Something that affects the restaurant,

something that everyone sees,
and there's no question.

Outpatient surgery center, line 35.

Outpatient surgery, line 35.

Son of a bitch.

In Thailand, tissue-culture or
purified duck-embryo vaccines

were effective in certain
category II post exposures.

She's way beyond category II.

Look for anomalies.

Got to think out of the box here.

What is the longest anyone's
survived without treatment?

Where does she get her energy?

What is the longest anyone's
survived without treatment

- since the symptoms started?
- What? I'm looking.

Okay, not in there.

What the hell's wrong with you both?

You guys, you should know this.

You should know this.

Three days? Two hours?

Huh? A year?

No. Seven days.

That's how long we've got.

There's a young girl in there,

her whole life in front of
her, and she's gonna die.

Seven days... that's one week.

All right, one week. One week.

I'm still dead.

I'm still alive.

I couldn't kill myself
because I'm already dead.

No. No. No, no.

You're alive because Dr. Bickman saved you.

He... he found you in time.

No, he didn't.

I'm in hell.

You have to give the
medications time to work.

It takes four weeks.

I couldn't wait that long.

Look, I'm sorry.

I didn't realize you were
in such... in such agony.

You didn't care.

You wanted to know what death was like.

You thought it was interesting.

Death is hideous.

It's putrid, painful...

sad...

boring and pointless.

I'm gonna find something
that work more quickly.

I found something.

You've been in here all night.

Look.

It's obscure, but it worked.

It's risky. Read it.

In clinical studies?

No, read it.

How much coffee you had?

Read it!

All right, the Milwaukee Protocol...

hypothesizes that

"rabies kills by abnormal
excitation of neurons."

Exactly.

"Not by permanently damaging the neurons,

"which has been the conventional thinking,

but by over-stimulating them."

All right, so what we do is,

we subdue all the neural activity,

and then we administer antiviral drugs.

Boom.

Is Owen in?

Yeah, he just got in.

Okay, good.

So, they shut down the patient's brain,

put her into a coma in
order to gain enough time

to let the antiviral
medication do its thing.

It's too dangerous

to put this child in a
medically induced coma.

You got a better idea?

You did say that this
procedure's been tried before?

Yeah, four times.

Twice it worked. Twice it failed.

I need better odds than that, Catherine.

Where are you going?

To get you better odds.

It's like she's on speed or something.

I believe she is on some kind of medication.

Why do you say that?

Observation.

Oh, come on.

Look, she may have used modafinil

to pull an all-nighter and
she's a little bit amped,

but a kid's dying.

The point is, it doesn't
matter how she got there.

She's on to something.

What are those? They look
like torture devices.

We use electrodes to pass a
current through your brain

in order to induce a tonic-clonic seizure.

Now, you won't feel a thing.

Your whole body will be
paralyzed except for your foot.

You know why we do that?

To verify that he's
actually having a seizure.

Exactly. Now, I have to inform you

that there can be memory
loss with this procedure.

Let's do it.

All right.

We're good.

Da, da, da, da.

Hey.

Hi, it's Catherine.

I can't make my appointment today.

I'm sorry.

I, uh... I got to come up
with a cure for rabies.

Catherine, there's
no cure for rabies.

Yeah, well, there will be soon.

Catherine, let me make
sure I understand you.

That's interesting.

- "Hedison, harkness, hepatitis,
- You are saying you are going to find...

the cure for rabies?

X, I, I...

Um...

Have you stopped taking your medication?

No. I'm great.

I'm totally great. You don't
need to worry about me.

I, I...

Take your medication. Right now.

Before it's too late.

I, I... I will.

Isbin, ischemia. J, J, Jason, jaundice.

K, karyotype.

Are you in your office?

Kim... keloid.

- Catherine?
- K, K, K...

K, K, K, K, K!

K, ketamine.

It antagonizes the NMDA, countering
the neural excitotoxicity.

You want to use ketamine to induce coma.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Special K? It's a dissociative agent.

It's a hallucinogen.

It's not used to induce comas.

What does it do to rabies?

- Prevents dysautonomia.
- Right.

And what kills a fifth of rabies patients?!

The autonomic nervous system

controls all the functions of the body,

and shutting it down is one of the ways

rabies decimates its victims.

Ketamine induces coma

and prevents the entire
system from shutting down.

But there's a risk.

There's a very serious risk

that Lily won't wake up from this coma.

My child is dying.

And now you're telling me

there's a chance you can save her?

Try it.

Oh, God.

Good.

Good.

Catherine, what...

Excuse me?

Keith... Mr. and Mrs. Despont,
may I show you to your table?

Will set aside the best in the house.

Mr. and Mrs. Despont, may I take your coats?

- Hey, Carlos?
- Mm.

Who is that?

That's Keith, Will's business partner.

He owns 50% of the restaurant.

And the other two... very important.

Mucho dinero.

Thank you.

Welcome.

It's lovely to see you both. Lovely.

I know you have one of the
best cellars in Brooklyn,

but I hope you don't mind.

It's from Naomi and Anton's
vineyard in the south of France.

Ah, Chateau Despont.

I read about this in the Wine Spectator.

I am just thrilled to have
this in my restaurant.

Thank you.

Delilah, will you please decant this?

Mais, bien sûr.

Excuse me.

All right, okay, how we looking?

- We good?
- Great.

Hey. How you doing?

- Great.
- Yeah?

So, some special clients, huh?

Yeah.

Deep pockets.

I'm hoping my future investors.

Mm-hmm.

Ah. My God.

We induced the coma.

And now?

We wait.

What are you doing?

Go clear table five.

And again?

- Anton will do the honors.
- Yes.

This is not the wine we brought.

Uh...

- Um...
- Will!

Is everything okay?

Um...

We brought a $500 bottle of our best wine.

This tastes like vinegar.

Uh, this is the bottle you brought.

I decanted it myself.

I am so sorry.

I'll get to the bottom of this.

I'll make this up to you, I promise.

Can I speak with you?

This is their wine.

Okay, you can tell by the color.

- Wait...
- You served them

- our cooking wine.
- I have no idea how this got here.

Unbelievable.

- I don't even know what to say.
- Hey, sweetie.

- I came to walk you home.
- Great.

You do this on purpose,
yeah, to blow our deal?

Why would I do this
on purpose? I work here.

- You've been trying to ruin my life.
- What's going on?

- Well...
- You are crazy.

I think the hostess made a
terrible mistake or something.

She's...

I have not been trying to ruin your life.

- I've been trying to be a part of it.
- Stop that. One good thing has come of this...

you're fired.

- Reagan, hey.
- Yeah? Hey.

He made it fun.

I'm sorry.

Oh, bye, Delilah.

You.

You did this, you little bitch.

What? What?

You switched the wines!

- What?
- Okay, that's enough.

Leave now.

What is she talking about?

Fine.

I have no idea.

Esme didn't do a thing wrong.

That woman is crazy.

I'll be right back.

How's she doing?

We won't know until the spinal tap.

I think we need to talk.

- Yeah.
- Earlier, you were very...

Yes, I know.

I was crazy.

I, uh... I'm sorry.

I-I was exhausted, and I...

I am... I'm... I'm mortified.

Is there anything else you want to tell me?

I took something, okay,

just to help me get through the night,

and I... and I had a terrible reaction.

I've never taken amphetamines before.

It was a big mistake, and
I-I've learned my lesson, so...

Thank you so much for understanding.

We have her spinal-tap results.

Her rabies antibody has
increased from 32 to 2,034.

Uh, what does that mean?

It means her immune system

is actively fighting the virus, okay?

Okay.

So we've stopped inducing the coma.

What we're looking for is some response now.

Normal Alpha waves in every lead.

Okay, great.

Let's, uh, test for the
cranial-nerve function.

I just finished it.

Two and three are intact.

No corneal reflex.

Gag reflex absent.

All deep-tendon reflexes are absent.

All of them?

Mm-hmm.

Lily.

Lily?

Can you hear me?

What's happening? Why isn't she responding?

She has a lot of cerebral activity.

We got to give her a bit
more time, all right?

When did we stop?

- About three hours ago.
- All right.

No gag reflex at all?

Not yet.

Will she ever wake up?

We don't know yet.

I just took her vitals.

She spiked a fever... 103.1.

It's her first since we put her in a coma.

Okay, thanks, Tinker.

Just, uh, check on her every hour

and page me with any updates, okay?

- Of course.
- Every half-hour.

All right.

Great job.

Numbers were good, you know?

Antibodies through the roof,
but she won't wake up.

Now she's got a fever.

You didn't give up when her odds were zero.

You cured her rabies.

I might well have killed her in the process.

What if we, uh, uh...

What if we bring the thermostat way down...

Freeze the fever out?

Okay?

So, I'm just really pleased that the E.C.T.

is working so well for you.

I don't know if I'm back to being alive,

but I'm not completely dead anymore.

I seem to be getting less and less dead.

We're going to continue the
E.C.T. treatments once a week,

but I'd like you to try
the medication again, too.

Once it has time to start working,

you should feel even better.

Okay?

And we'll be seeing you soon.

- Yeah, thank you.
- Pleasure.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

Dr. Black!

Her temperature's stabilized.

She moved her eyes.

She moved her eyes.

If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.

Lily, squeeze my hand.

Can you hear me?

She's awake.

Lily?

Lily?

Oh, my God!

- Oh, my God!
- Lily, it's okay. You're in the hospital,

but you're okay.

Lily... Lily, I love you.

Lily, Lily.

Lily, can you see me?

Oh, my God!

Hey.

Looks like you've been doing
a little bit of shopping.

Yeah.

I don't know what came over me.

Well, we actually have
something to celebrate...

I fired Delilah.

Yeah.

It might have cost me a major investor,

but at least she is gone.

She's out of our lives for good.

Will, I'm so sorry, okay?

I can't do this anymore.