Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - The Creator - full transcript
Oh, my God, it's her.
The real Clara.
Janice, Simone and I
are gonna go on a date.
You look beautiful.
- Cake or pie?
- I like both of those things.
Can I be honest? I don't think
you're ready for this.
I'm on my way.
What can I do?
Nothing.
Thank you, Fredwynn,
for coming to find me.
As you are clearly aware,
this entertainment is called
"Dispatches From Elsewhere,"
a title whose relevance
I personally became aware of
only recently.
Unless this is
your first experience
with a limited-run episodic,
which we all know
that it is not,
you would assume that we are
rapidly approaching
the end of our journey together.
But you would be wrong.
While our time together
is drawing to a close,
we are, as we've always been,
in the middle of our story.
Take Peter.
Yeah.
I can do that now.
It's a lot more fun
than I anticipated.
So I'm going to do it again.
Peter is you
if 351 days had passed
in your temporal frame
of reference
since the absolute,
indisputable,
no two ways about it
worst night of your life.
I'm not getting ahead of myself.
Take care of yourself,
Petri Dish.
♪
Peter is you if,
for most of your life,
you couldn't quite
shake the feeling
that something was missing.
And then you finally got a taste
of what real happiness was.
But then it was just gone.
♪
Then one day, it dawns on you...
A realization as terrible
as it is totally obvious.
That the real problem...
Worse, maybe the only problem...
Is actually just you.
♪
I don't know. It wasn't that
hard a decision, you know?
Cake or pie.
Couldn't make a choice.
I couldn't make
a really simple choice.
And why do you think
that might be?
I think at some point,
I got on some track
and I didn't even realize it.
Elementary school
became high school
became college became my job.
And I have no idea who I am.
I'm like nobody.
Hmm.
For a minute, during the game,
I was somebody...
Felt like I was somebody,
and I tried to run with that,
and, uh...
I was like Wile E. Coyote
running off the cliff,
you know what I mean?
Like, she asked me who I was,
and then I looked down
and I'm just floating.
I'm just floating in midair
with nothing to stand on.
I can see you're in
a lot of discomfort.
Yeah. But I actually think
this is a sign of real progress.
Oh, is it?
Thank you.
Or is that just
something you say
to keep me suckling
the teat of psychiatry?
Sorry, that was
a weird thing to say.
I'm mad.
Not at you. I'm...
I'm mad at myself.
You're taking your first steps
toward genuine self-exploration,
opening a vault
you've kept locked so long
you've forgotten what's inside.
♪
What happens if I o...
Open the vault and it's empty?
Peter, is it fair to say that
you like cake and pie equally?
♪
I-I mean, that would be
a fair thing to say, yes.
Okay.
Well, that's a valid opinion.
So why do you put
a question mark at the end?
♪
I'm really scared.
I guess that's
the really simple answer.
I'm scared.
I'm scared.
I'm scared.
What if you made
a list of things...
Big things, little things,
doesn't really matter...
And you started to take note
of your honest reactions
to them?
♪
Yeah, I could do that.
I could do that.
Good.
Just try not to judge yourself
as you go.
That's...
Okay, that's good advice.
Learning who you are isn't like
flipping a switch.
It's a process, a journey.
It's a journey.
Mm-hmm.
How long does that journey take
approximately?
I don't need, like, a specific
day count, but it would help.
One could say a lifetime.
Right.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm just asking because Simone
said I could call her in a year.
I don't think she meant that
literally.
Fredwynn: Like I said,
Peter is you
if you were smack-dab
in the middle of your story,
but there's one thing you still
haven't figured out.
Is this story a comedy...
or a tragedy,
or something in between?
♪
Me again.
Three things...
One, stories are made of smaller
stories like Russian Dolls.
Two, Russian dolls are adorable
but pointless.
Three, and this is big,
so pay attention...
Stories are manipulations
of time, of space,
of point of view.
They show us
what they want us to see.
Got it?
Take Simone.
Simone plays a major role
in Peter's story.
Take care of yourself,
Petri Dish.
But Simone's story
is also her own.
Simone is you
if you ever felt like
the only thing you could count
on in life was being let down.
Peter and I have been in a...
In sort of a weird place.
Our date was a total disaster.
Oh, no.
I told him
we shouldn't see each other.
Oh.
Simone, you two seem so good
together.
Yeah, in the game we were great,
but...
in real life, we are...
We are not so good.
I don't know,
I think I was seeing him for
what I thought he could be
and not who he really was.
Mm.
I just...
I don't think he's ready for...
You know.
I mean, he's been hiding
from the world for so long,
he, like, forgot what it's like
out here.
Yeah, yeah.
What?
Yep.
What?
I...
What are you not saying?
Simone, th... that's Peter.
There he is, that's Peter.
That's Peter's thing,
but what about you?
You quit your master's program
and your job.
Well, they fired me.
You stopped showing up.
And it is hard not to notice
that your only friend
and closest confidant seems
to be a very short older woman
who you met
only a few weeks ago.
Well, maybe I just like change.
Change is a good thing, right?
Change is a good thing.
Yes.
Change is very, very good,
but Simone, honestly,
is this about change
or is this about running?
Running and running and running
and running and running
and running?
♪
I mean, at one point,
you've got to stop and say,
"Alright, this is it.
This is who I am,
take it or leave it."
♪
Be courageous, be brave, be you.
♪
♪
Magician: We'll take one ring,
hold it in front,
hold the other ring high in the
air and go one, two, three!
And they glide together
just like that.
Alright, let's try it.
Here we go.
That's one, that's two, and...
three!
♪
We've made
a terrible habit culturally
of putting the words "just a"
in front of "coincidence."
Is it because we're afraid of
the web or the spider?
And just where in the hell
do you think you're going?
Um, I am actually
in the wrong place.
I'm going to the, uh...
Are you or are you not dressed
and ready to shake that ass?
Come on, baby.
We'll take good care of you.
Aerobics Instructor:
Alright, alright, alright!
You kitty cats ready to work?
That's what I like.
And bounce, and bounce,
and bounce.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Aha!
Yes, show me that shimmy.
When we start taking action...
Forward action...
The spider gives us signs
that we're on the right track,
if we're brave enough
to see them.
♪
Simone.
Hey.
Hey.
Peter, wow.
Yeah, crazy.
♪
Uh...
Man, I thought I didn't know
what to get.
No, I-I've been trying stuff,
like experiencing new things.
It's really fun.
Wow.
Good for you.
Thanks.
And of course you have
an actual list, don't you?
I do.
Hats.
Are... They're on both
likes and dislikes.
Well, I was surprised to find
out how much I like hats,
but also how much
I dislike wearing hats.
'Cause the whole time I'm like,
"I'm wearing a hat.
I'm wearing a hat."
I get that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And magic.
Like, tricks and stuff?
Um, illusions.
No, I'm not joking.
I'm just coming from class.
Really? Yeah. I-I
usually stop here.
It's on my walk home.
Oh.
Cool, uh, mine, too.
I'm coming from, like,
a dance exercise thing.
It's fun and it's funny.
Oh.
It's fun.
It sounds really fun,
and you look great.
Oh. Uh, thanks.
Hey, I don't know what
you're doing in a couple weeks,
but I'm... Yeah, I have
my graduation showcase.
I invited Janice.
She's gonna be there.
I invited Fredwynn.
He hasn't RSVP'd yet,
but I don't know if you're free.
Oh.
Um...
Yeah, I'll see if I am free.
There's no pressure or anything.
Is this your card?
No.
Okay.
♪
She didn't come.
That's fine, right?
It's no big deal.
We got a show to put on, right?
Thanks.
We can do this.
What about this?
Um...
Why are you doing this to me?!
Let's have a round of applause
for AbracaDebra, everybody!
Thank you.
And now for our next act.
He will amaze you
with his daring,
astound you with his skills.
Put your hands together
for Peter the Great!
♪
♪
♪
♪
Simone!
♪
♪
It was... except for the part
where you almost drowned.
That was awful,
but I-I just... I'm...
I'm full of amazement.
I'm really glad that you came.
It really is
so meaningful to me.
Thanks.
Well, um, uh,
I'll just leave the two...
Oh, no, Janice,
you don't have to do that.
Yeah, oh, look at that.
A table of fliers and brochures.
I'm gonna go over here to
the fliers and the brochures.
I'm really glad you came.
I didn't know if you would.
Then I saw you in the tank
and...
Um...
Okay, so Peter, I...
Can I... Can I...
Can I go first this time?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna try and tell you
that we should try again
because I figured myself out.
I haven't.
I do know that for the very
first time in my life,
I actually feel like
I'm headed towards something
instead of just standing still,
do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think... I think I do.
Can I show you something?
Sure.
Is that your list of
likes and dislikes?
Yes.
Yeah. I got...
Just read the likes.
"Talking to Simone.
Kissing Simone."
"Simone's laugh.
Knowing I'm gonna
see Simone later."
"Simone reading
my list of likes."
I put that
so I could hear your laugh.
I was a mess when you met me.
And I probably still am.
But a... a really smart woman
recently told me
that happiness isn't just
flipping some switch.
That it's a journey.
And I just really don't
understand why you and I
wouldn't think about
taking that journey together.
Because I like you so much.
I heard what you said
and I thought a lot about it.
And I know that there are things
that will be really hard.
And I understand that
there will be things
that are gonna be
really new to me,
and I'll probably mess them up
sometimes.
But one thing I can promise you
is that I really want to try.
Because there's one thing...
for as long as I can remember
that I have known how
I felt about, and that's you.
♪
♪
Fredwynn: Stories are acts of
courage, and moments of truth.
♪
I don't want to be presumptuous.
I haven't done this
in a really long time,
and I'm nervous.
♪
Oh.
Well, uh...
♪
I've never done this.
♪
And, um,
I have a lot of anxiety.
But in... in a good way.
♪
♪ Some say love ♪
♪ Is a burning thing ♪
♪ That it makes a fiery ring ♪
♪ Oh, but I know love ♪
♪ As a fading thing ♪
♪ Just as fickle as
a feather in a stream ♪
♪ See, honey, I saw love ♪
♪ You see, it came to me ♪
♪ It put its face up to my face
so I could see ♪
♪ Yeah, then I saw love ♪
♪ Disfigure me ♪
♪ Into something
I am not recognizing ♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Hey.
Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry.
My alarm clock didn't go off.
I didn't set my alarm clock.
Well, I know that this is
just the game-iversary
and not our actual anniversary,
but the day that
we became a team is also
the day that you and I met,
and...
it's, like, the most
important day to me.
So, anyway, I got you this.
♪
Peter.
♪
Oh, my God.
My rats.
Yeah.
♪
I love it.
It's perfect.
I'm so glad.
Okay.
My turn.
What do you mean your turn?
What, you think you're the only
romantic around here?
Come on.
Where are you taking me?
♪
Oh, God, you hate it, don't you?
Ugh.
I am so sorry.
I said to myself,
"Simone, this is either the best
or the worst idea
you've ever had."
I don't know,
I felt like the game
was the first time you really
put yourself out there,
and I-I wanted to honor that.
And I...
wanted you to see yourself
the way I see you.
♪
Please say something.
This is the weirdest...
nicest thing that anyone's
ever done for me.
I'll take it.
I love it.
Do you?
I love it so much.
♪
I look so beautiful.
Yeah, well, that's my guy.
Huh.
Yeah.
Hey, where is everybody?
The sensorimotor stage,
the preoperational stage,
the concrete operational stage,
and the formal
operational stage.
That's right, Janice.
But what are the drawbacks
or the holes in Piaget's theory?
Ah. Well, he... he... he really
just studied his own children
and never took into account
culture
or social interactions
or socioeconomic differences.
But other than that...
Other than that, he nailed it.
Fredwynn: Janice is you,
if you ever worried
that your best days
were behind you...
♪
I miss him.
I miss talking to him.
I know he's still here with me
and all that,
but it's getting harder
and harder to hear his voice.
I miss him!
I miss my team.
I miss my life.
Well, maybe it's time to
pull some more flyers.
Oh, no, no.
The game is over.
Come on.
The game is never over.
We're always right in the middle
of it until we're not.
So, look, I just think maybe
we should play as hard as we can
while we still have the chance.
I don't know.
Come on.
You asked me to stick around
here and pester you, remember?
Alright, this is me
pestering you.
Get off your ass.
I understand time, too,
you know?
Okay.
♪
♪
Do it.
♪
Fredwynn: Sometimes, stories are
about making them your own.
- Let's leave it there.
- Okay.
See you Thursday.
I'm here! I'm here!
I'm here! I'm here!
Hey.
Hi.
I'm here!
Hi.
Don't worry...
Simone was very,
very late, as well.
Hi!
Oh, good. Good.
Um.
Peter.
Yeah.
Look at you.
It's really something, huh?
Well, it's... it's big.
Yes.
Oh. Oh.
Hey, happy Game-iversary.
Happy Game-iversary.
Go, team blue!
Go, team blue!
Whoo!
Yes!
Where's Fredwynn?
Uh, no idea.
I guess everybody's
running late today.
Fredwynn is never late.
He says that tardiness
is a moral failing.
You know, Fredwynn hasn't texted
me back in a really long time.
Wait a second.
When was the last time
any of us, like, saw Fredwynn?
♪
Oh, dear.
♪
Fredwynn?!
Ooh-hoo!
I-It's me... Janice!
I'm here with Peter and Simone!
Would you let us... It's open.
Oh.
♪
Are you in there, buddy?
Fredwynn?!
♪
Fredwynn?
Are you here?
Fred...
♪
Oh, Fredwynn.
By now, you're probably
wondering...
What about you,
F to the Red to the Wynn?
Did you conquer your fears?
Did you find your true self?
Did you make your story
your own?
Well, I did a hell of a lot
more than that.
♪
I am you if you ever suspected
that things were not
as they appeared.
If you sensed that mysterious
forces were at play.
If you knew you couldn't rest
until you finally
knew the truth.
Torres.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
Nothing? Nothing?
No death certificate on file
at all?
Okay, options.
One. Human error.
Clara Torres died,
but the paperwork was misplaced
or stolen or eaten by mites.
What's my name? Fredwynn.
Fredwynn. Fredwynn.
My last name?
W...
What is my last name?
♪
Option two.
Clara is dead,
but she did not die in
the City of Brotherly Love.
Torres. Okay. Nothing?
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
What's my name?
Options... first name... Clara.
Ist gestorben!
You need my last name?
Nothing?
First name... Clara.
Options. Fredwynn.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara. Torres.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Up to this point,
the world had always seemed like
a series of
interlocking puzzles.
And the beauty of puzzles is
that they can always be solved.
♪
I just had to find the pattern.
The founding principle,
the central thesis,
the solution that would
make it all make sense.
Did I mention...
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Sleeping anymore?
Human error.
First name... Clara.
Options. Options.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Torres.
Let's get you some help.
Sleeping anymore?
What's my name?
Show me... where!
Eaten by mites.
I wasn't sleeping anymore.
Sleeping anymore?
Show me!
T-o-r-r-e-s.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
And that's when it happened.
♪
I am not crazy.
I'm not... I'm not crazy.
I am not... not...
I'm not crazy.
I'm not crazy.
I'm not crazy.
Crazy. I'm not crazy.
Aah!
Crazy. Crazy.
♪
♪
♪
Fredwynn.
Fredwynn:
Octavio Coleman, Esquire.
Indeed.
I see you, Fredwynn.
And I see you.
I told you that...
Do you remember?
Yes.
Then you put me in a closet.
Such is life.
But then you found your way
here,
where all is forgiven.
What is this place?
This is the place
of transcendence.
It's the place where...
everything is perfect,
everything's right.
Because you're right, Fredwynn.
You've always been right.
You belong here.
Welcome home.
Fredwynn:
I finally understood.
All of it...
The game, Clara,
the conspiracy, the mystery.
There was only one answer,
one perfect, shining truth.
Is this real?
It's real, and it's not real.
Am I... Am I real?
You are team blue.
Your story is your own.
Can I stay?
You can stay here forever.
Do you want to stay here,
Fredwynn?
What's happened to him?
He's, uh, gone somewhere else.
Well, should we call someone?
Okay, whatever we do,
wherever he is,
we have to tell him that
it's, like, not real, right?
No, no.
No, no, don't do that.
Don't do that.
Wherever he is,
whatever he's feeling,
it's real to him.
Fredwynn?
Fredwynn, it's me... Janice.
Can you hear me?
I'm... I'm...
I'm here with Peter
and... and... and Simone,
your teammates.
Do you remember?
We need you, Fredwynn.
We need you to come back.
Please.
I don't want to come back.
I'm Clara.
Shh!
My story is my own.
I don't want to come back.
I know you don't.
I like it here.
I know.
This is real.
We're not real.
We're not?
But what's happening to me
is real.
You know this is the end, right?
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back.
Come back, please.
But I like it.
It's nice, isn't it...
Where you are?
♪
Elsewhere...
Is that what you call it?
Fredwynn, listen to me.
I know what it's like
to go through something hard,
and you feel like
you're drowning,
and you can't breathe,
and there's no way out.
But there is a way out.
Here, with us.
But remember
sitting in the diner,
and... and the waitress.
♪
And then the house
and the flashlights
and all the writing
on the walls.
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back,
please.
It's real.
Ba-ba-ba-da.
I know it is.
But we're real, too.
Be here.
Be with us.
♪
Hi. How are you?
Be here with me.
♪
Okay.
Fredwynn.
I need you, Fredwynn.
♪
♪
♪
Yeah.
He said none of us are real.
That's...
interesting.
Yes.
It all started with that urn.
I think it started a long time
before that.
Hey.
Hey.
How's he doing?
Well, I...
He says he wants to go back
to Clara's house.
Janice...
I know. I know.
But he... he says there's
something we need to understand.
All of us.
Together.
♪
♪
Hi.
Hey.
Um, thank you for coming.
Uh.
Sure.
H-He had your number.
He has all of our numbers.
Fredwynn...
are you alright?
I think that it's time
you told them the truth.
We know about the urn.
We know that Clara wasn't in it.
We are, as we've always been,
in the middle of our story.
The middle.
Look, Lee, if...
If this is all just some story,
I think we need to finish it.
Don't you?
♪
Yeah.
Sometimes,
you wish you didn't know
that there was something better.
Because then you wouldn't know
what you'd be missing.
You wouldn't know that other
people are having a better life.
But why does this better life
always have to be
somewhere else?
Why can't it be
right where you're standing,
right here, today?
♪
Because I, Clara Torres,
do solemnly swear
that beauty is in
the eye of the beholder.
It's all around us, even now.
Maybe we just need a new pair of
glasses to learn how to see it.
♪
Virtual reality is about being
transported somewhere else.
This is different.
This is about
augmenting our reality,
getting up, getting out,
seeing the world around us
in a whole new way.
Because maybe,
once we see what's possible,
we can make it real together.
This is my call to arms.
We need to engage the world,
not retreat from it.
♪
Who's with me?
What a long and winding road
it has been.
Hm?
10 years.
And never a single moment of
doubt from any of us, right?
Nevertheless, here we are,
ready, finally,
for the unveiling
of The Idea 1.0.
Now, this is
a fully operational,
network-integrated
virtual-reality
personal-user interface.
Running on the very latest
GS-Ojai-3 circuitry.
Please, put on your devices.
♪
♪
Lee: Oh, we have got to cut
another 7 mil off the budget, my dear.
Clara: Mnh,
I'm not hearing you.
My ears are filled with
the sounds of chewing.
You know, we could
sell advertisements.
I know. I know.
But we'd make it discreet.
You know, like a glowing tag
on a gift box.
Seriously?
Advertisements?
I'm seriously trying to
get you the money you need
to make your idea
into a reality.
Or you could cut another 7 mil.
♪
Now, in lucrative partnership
with third-party advertisers,
targeted to personalized
purchasing habits...
♪
5.3 pounds?
You expect people
to walk down the street
with 5.3 pounds
on their heads?
We'll switch to graphite.
No, that messes with
the signal processor.
Hey.
This is how people are gonna
use this thing.
At home?
Yes, couch surfing, baby.
Ride the wave!
Our research has shown
that people are willing
to wear these devices at home
for up to seven hours
in a single sitting.
Couch potatoes with
a credit card on file.
♪
Memories.
Huh?
Actual memories.
People don't want to
change the world.
They just want to
relive the moments
that mean something to them.
But they won't be doing
anything new.
You're sedating them.
♪
Who needs television
when you can binge-watch
your old memories?
Your past is no longer washed
away by the waters of time.
It can be yours forever.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please remove your devices.
♪
Now, the woman responsible
for all of this.
Her vision.
Her idea.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome Clara Torres.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Clara, please, say a few words.
♪
♪
Thank you very much.
♪
♪
So this whole thing, the game...
It was all to make it up to her.
To yourself.
I thought I could
make things... better.
But I lost my way.
I thought maybe this game would
help me remember who I was.
Did it work?
Why are you asking her?
It's not up to her.
You're missing the point.
Fredwynn is right.
It's not up to me.
It's up to him.
♪
Hey.
I got to go with him.
What are you talking about?
You can't go.
Remember the thing about...
me doing something brave
and embarrassing myself instead?
♪
I thought that was the singing.
So did I.
♪
Thank you.
♪
♪
I'm scared for him.
He doesn't have to go alone.
Holy shit, this is so weird,
you guys.
Life is weird.
Let's go.
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You mean we can go with him?
We can help him?
Of course.
Don't you see?
Anything is possible.
We're team blue.
And our story is our own.
♪
♪
♪
♪
The real Clara.
Janice, Simone and I
are gonna go on a date.
You look beautiful.
- Cake or pie?
- I like both of those things.
Can I be honest? I don't think
you're ready for this.
I'm on my way.
What can I do?
Nothing.
Thank you, Fredwynn,
for coming to find me.
As you are clearly aware,
this entertainment is called
"Dispatches From Elsewhere,"
a title whose relevance
I personally became aware of
only recently.
Unless this is
your first experience
with a limited-run episodic,
which we all know
that it is not,
you would assume that we are
rapidly approaching
the end of our journey together.
But you would be wrong.
While our time together
is drawing to a close,
we are, as we've always been,
in the middle of our story.
Take Peter.
Yeah.
I can do that now.
It's a lot more fun
than I anticipated.
So I'm going to do it again.
Peter is you
if 351 days had passed
in your temporal frame
of reference
since the absolute,
indisputable,
no two ways about it
worst night of your life.
I'm not getting ahead of myself.
Take care of yourself,
Petri Dish.
♪
Peter is you if,
for most of your life,
you couldn't quite
shake the feeling
that something was missing.
And then you finally got a taste
of what real happiness was.
But then it was just gone.
♪
Then one day, it dawns on you...
A realization as terrible
as it is totally obvious.
That the real problem...
Worse, maybe the only problem...
Is actually just you.
♪
I don't know. It wasn't that
hard a decision, you know?
Cake or pie.
Couldn't make a choice.
I couldn't make
a really simple choice.
And why do you think
that might be?
I think at some point,
I got on some track
and I didn't even realize it.
Elementary school
became high school
became college became my job.
And I have no idea who I am.
I'm like nobody.
Hmm.
For a minute, during the game,
I was somebody...
Felt like I was somebody,
and I tried to run with that,
and, uh...
I was like Wile E. Coyote
running off the cliff,
you know what I mean?
Like, she asked me who I was,
and then I looked down
and I'm just floating.
I'm just floating in midair
with nothing to stand on.
I can see you're in
a lot of discomfort.
Yeah. But I actually think
this is a sign of real progress.
Oh, is it?
Thank you.
Or is that just
something you say
to keep me suckling
the teat of psychiatry?
Sorry, that was
a weird thing to say.
I'm mad.
Not at you. I'm...
I'm mad at myself.
You're taking your first steps
toward genuine self-exploration,
opening a vault
you've kept locked so long
you've forgotten what's inside.
♪
What happens if I o...
Open the vault and it's empty?
Peter, is it fair to say that
you like cake and pie equally?
♪
I-I mean, that would be
a fair thing to say, yes.
Okay.
Well, that's a valid opinion.
So why do you put
a question mark at the end?
♪
I'm really scared.
I guess that's
the really simple answer.
I'm scared.
I'm scared.
I'm scared.
What if you made
a list of things...
Big things, little things,
doesn't really matter...
And you started to take note
of your honest reactions
to them?
♪
Yeah, I could do that.
I could do that.
Good.
Just try not to judge yourself
as you go.
That's...
Okay, that's good advice.
Learning who you are isn't like
flipping a switch.
It's a process, a journey.
It's a journey.
Mm-hmm.
How long does that journey take
approximately?
I don't need, like, a specific
day count, but it would help.
One could say a lifetime.
Right.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm just asking because Simone
said I could call her in a year.
I don't think she meant that
literally.
Fredwynn: Like I said,
Peter is you
if you were smack-dab
in the middle of your story,
but there's one thing you still
haven't figured out.
Is this story a comedy...
or a tragedy,
or something in between?
♪
Me again.
Three things...
One, stories are made of smaller
stories like Russian Dolls.
Two, Russian dolls are adorable
but pointless.
Three, and this is big,
so pay attention...
Stories are manipulations
of time, of space,
of point of view.
They show us
what they want us to see.
Got it?
Take Simone.
Simone plays a major role
in Peter's story.
Take care of yourself,
Petri Dish.
But Simone's story
is also her own.
Simone is you
if you ever felt like
the only thing you could count
on in life was being let down.
Peter and I have been in a...
In sort of a weird place.
Our date was a total disaster.
Oh, no.
I told him
we shouldn't see each other.
Oh.
Simone, you two seem so good
together.
Yeah, in the game we were great,
but...
in real life, we are...
We are not so good.
I don't know,
I think I was seeing him for
what I thought he could be
and not who he really was.
Mm.
I just...
I don't think he's ready for...
You know.
I mean, he's been hiding
from the world for so long,
he, like, forgot what it's like
out here.
Yeah, yeah.
What?
Yep.
What?
I...
What are you not saying?
Simone, th... that's Peter.
There he is, that's Peter.
That's Peter's thing,
but what about you?
You quit your master's program
and your job.
Well, they fired me.
You stopped showing up.
And it is hard not to notice
that your only friend
and closest confidant seems
to be a very short older woman
who you met
only a few weeks ago.
Well, maybe I just like change.
Change is a good thing, right?
Change is a good thing.
Yes.
Change is very, very good,
but Simone, honestly,
is this about change
or is this about running?
Running and running and running
and running and running
and running?
♪
I mean, at one point,
you've got to stop and say,
"Alright, this is it.
This is who I am,
take it or leave it."
♪
Be courageous, be brave, be you.
♪
♪
Magician: We'll take one ring,
hold it in front,
hold the other ring high in the
air and go one, two, three!
And they glide together
just like that.
Alright, let's try it.
Here we go.
That's one, that's two, and...
three!
♪
We've made
a terrible habit culturally
of putting the words "just a"
in front of "coincidence."
Is it because we're afraid of
the web or the spider?
And just where in the hell
do you think you're going?
Um, I am actually
in the wrong place.
I'm going to the, uh...
Are you or are you not dressed
and ready to shake that ass?
Come on, baby.
We'll take good care of you.
Aerobics Instructor:
Alright, alright, alright!
You kitty cats ready to work?
That's what I like.
And bounce, and bounce,
and bounce.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Aha!
Yes, show me that shimmy.
When we start taking action...
Forward action...
The spider gives us signs
that we're on the right track,
if we're brave enough
to see them.
♪
Simone.
Hey.
Hey.
Peter, wow.
Yeah, crazy.
♪
Uh...
Man, I thought I didn't know
what to get.
No, I-I've been trying stuff,
like experiencing new things.
It's really fun.
Wow.
Good for you.
Thanks.
And of course you have
an actual list, don't you?
I do.
Hats.
Are... They're on both
likes and dislikes.
Well, I was surprised to find
out how much I like hats,
but also how much
I dislike wearing hats.
'Cause the whole time I'm like,
"I'm wearing a hat.
I'm wearing a hat."
I get that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And magic.
Like, tricks and stuff?
Um, illusions.
No, I'm not joking.
I'm just coming from class.
Really? Yeah. I-I
usually stop here.
It's on my walk home.
Oh.
Cool, uh, mine, too.
I'm coming from, like,
a dance exercise thing.
It's fun and it's funny.
Oh.
It's fun.
It sounds really fun,
and you look great.
Oh. Uh, thanks.
Hey, I don't know what
you're doing in a couple weeks,
but I'm... Yeah, I have
my graduation showcase.
I invited Janice.
She's gonna be there.
I invited Fredwynn.
He hasn't RSVP'd yet,
but I don't know if you're free.
Oh.
Um...
Yeah, I'll see if I am free.
There's no pressure or anything.
Is this your card?
No.
Okay.
♪
She didn't come.
That's fine, right?
It's no big deal.
We got a show to put on, right?
Thanks.
We can do this.
What about this?
Um...
Why are you doing this to me?!
Let's have a round of applause
for AbracaDebra, everybody!
Thank you.
And now for our next act.
He will amaze you
with his daring,
astound you with his skills.
Put your hands together
for Peter the Great!
♪
♪
♪
♪
Simone!
♪
♪
It was... except for the part
where you almost drowned.
That was awful,
but I-I just... I'm...
I'm full of amazement.
I'm really glad that you came.
It really is
so meaningful to me.
Thanks.
Well, um, uh,
I'll just leave the two...
Oh, no, Janice,
you don't have to do that.
Yeah, oh, look at that.
A table of fliers and brochures.
I'm gonna go over here to
the fliers and the brochures.
I'm really glad you came.
I didn't know if you would.
Then I saw you in the tank
and...
Um...
Okay, so Peter, I...
Can I... Can I...
Can I go first this time?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna try and tell you
that we should try again
because I figured myself out.
I haven't.
I do know that for the very
first time in my life,
I actually feel like
I'm headed towards something
instead of just standing still,
do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think... I think I do.
Can I show you something?
Sure.
Is that your list of
likes and dislikes?
Yes.
Yeah. I got...
Just read the likes.
"Talking to Simone.
Kissing Simone."
"Simone's laugh.
Knowing I'm gonna
see Simone later."
"Simone reading
my list of likes."
I put that
so I could hear your laugh.
I was a mess when you met me.
And I probably still am.
But a... a really smart woman
recently told me
that happiness isn't just
flipping some switch.
That it's a journey.
And I just really don't
understand why you and I
wouldn't think about
taking that journey together.
Because I like you so much.
I heard what you said
and I thought a lot about it.
And I know that there are things
that will be really hard.
And I understand that
there will be things
that are gonna be
really new to me,
and I'll probably mess them up
sometimes.
But one thing I can promise you
is that I really want to try.
Because there's one thing...
for as long as I can remember
that I have known how
I felt about, and that's you.
♪
♪
Fredwynn: Stories are acts of
courage, and moments of truth.
♪
I don't want to be presumptuous.
I haven't done this
in a really long time,
and I'm nervous.
♪
Oh.
Well, uh...
♪
I've never done this.
♪
And, um,
I have a lot of anxiety.
But in... in a good way.
♪
♪ Some say love ♪
♪ Is a burning thing ♪
♪ That it makes a fiery ring ♪
♪ Oh, but I know love ♪
♪ As a fading thing ♪
♪ Just as fickle as
a feather in a stream ♪
♪ See, honey, I saw love ♪
♪ You see, it came to me ♪
♪ It put its face up to my face
so I could see ♪
♪ Yeah, then I saw love ♪
♪ Disfigure me ♪
♪ Into something
I am not recognizing ♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Hey.
Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry.
My alarm clock didn't go off.
I didn't set my alarm clock.
Well, I know that this is
just the game-iversary
and not our actual anniversary,
but the day that
we became a team is also
the day that you and I met,
and...
it's, like, the most
important day to me.
So, anyway, I got you this.
♪
Peter.
♪
Oh, my God.
My rats.
Yeah.
♪
I love it.
It's perfect.
I'm so glad.
Okay.
My turn.
What do you mean your turn?
What, you think you're the only
romantic around here?
Come on.
Where are you taking me?
♪
Oh, God, you hate it, don't you?
Ugh.
I am so sorry.
I said to myself,
"Simone, this is either the best
or the worst idea
you've ever had."
I don't know,
I felt like the game
was the first time you really
put yourself out there,
and I-I wanted to honor that.
And I...
wanted you to see yourself
the way I see you.
♪
Please say something.
This is the weirdest...
nicest thing that anyone's
ever done for me.
I'll take it.
I love it.
Do you?
I love it so much.
♪
I look so beautiful.
Yeah, well, that's my guy.
Huh.
Yeah.
Hey, where is everybody?
The sensorimotor stage,
the preoperational stage,
the concrete operational stage,
and the formal
operational stage.
That's right, Janice.
But what are the drawbacks
or the holes in Piaget's theory?
Ah. Well, he... he... he really
just studied his own children
and never took into account
culture
or social interactions
or socioeconomic differences.
But other than that...
Other than that, he nailed it.
Fredwynn: Janice is you,
if you ever worried
that your best days
were behind you...
♪
I miss him.
I miss talking to him.
I know he's still here with me
and all that,
but it's getting harder
and harder to hear his voice.
I miss him!
I miss my team.
I miss my life.
Well, maybe it's time to
pull some more flyers.
Oh, no, no.
The game is over.
Come on.
The game is never over.
We're always right in the middle
of it until we're not.
So, look, I just think maybe
we should play as hard as we can
while we still have the chance.
I don't know.
Come on.
You asked me to stick around
here and pester you, remember?
Alright, this is me
pestering you.
Get off your ass.
I understand time, too,
you know?
Okay.
♪
♪
Do it.
♪
Fredwynn: Sometimes, stories are
about making them your own.
- Let's leave it there.
- Okay.
See you Thursday.
I'm here! I'm here!
I'm here! I'm here!
Hey.
Hi.
I'm here!
Hi.
Don't worry...
Simone was very,
very late, as well.
Hi!
Oh, good. Good.
Um.
Peter.
Yeah.
Look at you.
It's really something, huh?
Well, it's... it's big.
Yes.
Oh. Oh.
Hey, happy Game-iversary.
Happy Game-iversary.
Go, team blue!
Go, team blue!
Whoo!
Yes!
Where's Fredwynn?
Uh, no idea.
I guess everybody's
running late today.
Fredwynn is never late.
He says that tardiness
is a moral failing.
You know, Fredwynn hasn't texted
me back in a really long time.
Wait a second.
When was the last time
any of us, like, saw Fredwynn?
♪
Oh, dear.
♪
Fredwynn?!
Ooh-hoo!
I-It's me... Janice!
I'm here with Peter and Simone!
Would you let us... It's open.
Oh.
♪
Are you in there, buddy?
Fredwynn?!
♪
Fredwynn?
Are you here?
Fred...
♪
Oh, Fredwynn.
By now, you're probably
wondering...
What about you,
F to the Red to the Wynn?
Did you conquer your fears?
Did you find your true self?
Did you make your story
your own?
Well, I did a hell of a lot
more than that.
♪
I am you if you ever suspected
that things were not
as they appeared.
If you sensed that mysterious
forces were at play.
If you knew you couldn't rest
until you finally
knew the truth.
Torres.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
Nothing? Nothing?
No death certificate on file
at all?
Okay, options.
One. Human error.
Clara Torres died,
but the paperwork was misplaced
or stolen or eaten by mites.
What's my name? Fredwynn.
Fredwynn. Fredwynn.
My last name?
W...
What is my last name?
♪
Option two.
Clara is dead,
but she did not die in
the City of Brotherly Love.
Torres. Okay. Nothing?
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
What's my name?
Options... first name... Clara.
Ist gestorben!
You need my last name?
Nothing?
First name... Clara.
Options. Fredwynn.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara. Torres.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Up to this point,
the world had always seemed like
a series of
interlocking puzzles.
And the beauty of puzzles is
that they can always be solved.
♪
I just had to find the pattern.
The founding principle,
the central thesis,
the solution that would
make it all make sense.
Did I mention...
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Sleeping anymore?
Human error.
First name... Clara.
Options. Options.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
Torres.
Let's get you some help.
Sleeping anymore?
What's my name?
Show me... where!
Eaten by mites.
I wasn't sleeping anymore.
Sleeping anymore?
Show me!
T-o-r-r-e-s.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping
anymore?
And that's when it happened.
♪
I am not crazy.
I'm not... I'm not crazy.
I am not... not...
I'm not crazy.
I'm not crazy.
I'm not crazy.
Crazy. I'm not crazy.
Aah!
Crazy. Crazy.
♪
♪
♪
Fredwynn.
Fredwynn:
Octavio Coleman, Esquire.
Indeed.
I see you, Fredwynn.
And I see you.
I told you that...
Do you remember?
Yes.
Then you put me in a closet.
Such is life.
But then you found your way
here,
where all is forgiven.
What is this place?
This is the place
of transcendence.
It's the place where...
everything is perfect,
everything's right.
Because you're right, Fredwynn.
You've always been right.
You belong here.
Welcome home.
Fredwynn:
I finally understood.
All of it...
The game, Clara,
the conspiracy, the mystery.
There was only one answer,
one perfect, shining truth.
Is this real?
It's real, and it's not real.
Am I... Am I real?
You are team blue.
Your story is your own.
Can I stay?
You can stay here forever.
Do you want to stay here,
Fredwynn?
What's happened to him?
He's, uh, gone somewhere else.
Well, should we call someone?
Okay, whatever we do,
wherever he is,
we have to tell him that
it's, like, not real, right?
No, no.
No, no, don't do that.
Don't do that.
Wherever he is,
whatever he's feeling,
it's real to him.
Fredwynn?
Fredwynn, it's me... Janice.
Can you hear me?
I'm... I'm...
I'm here with Peter
and... and... and Simone,
your teammates.
Do you remember?
We need you, Fredwynn.
We need you to come back.
Please.
I don't want to come back.
I'm Clara.
Shh!
My story is my own.
I don't want to come back.
I know you don't.
I like it here.
I know.
This is real.
We're not real.
We're not?
But what's happening to me
is real.
You know this is the end, right?
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back.
Come back, please.
But I like it.
It's nice, isn't it...
Where you are?
♪
Elsewhere...
Is that what you call it?
Fredwynn, listen to me.
I know what it's like
to go through something hard,
and you feel like
you're drowning,
and you can't breathe,
and there's no way out.
But there is a way out.
Here, with us.
But remember
sitting in the diner,
and... and the waitress.
♪
And then the house
and the flashlights
and all the writing
on the walls.
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back,
please.
It's real.
Ba-ba-ba-da.
I know it is.
But we're real, too.
Be here.
Be with us.
♪
Hi. How are you?
Be here with me.
♪
Okay.
Fredwynn.
I need you, Fredwynn.
♪
♪
♪
Yeah.
He said none of us are real.
That's...
interesting.
Yes.
It all started with that urn.
I think it started a long time
before that.
Hey.
Hey.
How's he doing?
Well, I...
He says he wants to go back
to Clara's house.
Janice...
I know. I know.
But he... he says there's
something we need to understand.
All of us.
Together.
♪
♪
Hi.
Hey.
Um, thank you for coming.
Uh.
Sure.
H-He had your number.
He has all of our numbers.
Fredwynn...
are you alright?
I think that it's time
you told them the truth.
We know about the urn.
We know that Clara wasn't in it.
We are, as we've always been,
in the middle of our story.
The middle.
Look, Lee, if...
If this is all just some story,
I think we need to finish it.
Don't you?
♪
Yeah.
Sometimes,
you wish you didn't know
that there was something better.
Because then you wouldn't know
what you'd be missing.
You wouldn't know that other
people are having a better life.
But why does this better life
always have to be
somewhere else?
Why can't it be
right where you're standing,
right here, today?
♪
Because I, Clara Torres,
do solemnly swear
that beauty is in
the eye of the beholder.
It's all around us, even now.
Maybe we just need a new pair of
glasses to learn how to see it.
♪
Virtual reality is about being
transported somewhere else.
This is different.
This is about
augmenting our reality,
getting up, getting out,
seeing the world around us
in a whole new way.
Because maybe,
once we see what's possible,
we can make it real together.
This is my call to arms.
We need to engage the world,
not retreat from it.
♪
Who's with me?
What a long and winding road
it has been.
Hm?
10 years.
And never a single moment of
doubt from any of us, right?
Nevertheless, here we are,
ready, finally,
for the unveiling
of The Idea 1.0.
Now, this is
a fully operational,
network-integrated
virtual-reality
personal-user interface.
Running on the very latest
GS-Ojai-3 circuitry.
Please, put on your devices.
♪
♪
Lee: Oh, we have got to cut
another 7 mil off the budget, my dear.
Clara: Mnh,
I'm not hearing you.
My ears are filled with
the sounds of chewing.
You know, we could
sell advertisements.
I know. I know.
But we'd make it discreet.
You know, like a glowing tag
on a gift box.
Seriously?
Advertisements?
I'm seriously trying to
get you the money you need
to make your idea
into a reality.
Or you could cut another 7 mil.
♪
Now, in lucrative partnership
with third-party advertisers,
targeted to personalized
purchasing habits...
♪
5.3 pounds?
You expect people
to walk down the street
with 5.3 pounds
on their heads?
We'll switch to graphite.
No, that messes with
the signal processor.
Hey.
This is how people are gonna
use this thing.
At home?
Yes, couch surfing, baby.
Ride the wave!
Our research has shown
that people are willing
to wear these devices at home
for up to seven hours
in a single sitting.
Couch potatoes with
a credit card on file.
♪
Memories.
Huh?
Actual memories.
People don't want to
change the world.
They just want to
relive the moments
that mean something to them.
But they won't be doing
anything new.
You're sedating them.
♪
Who needs television
when you can binge-watch
your old memories?
Your past is no longer washed
away by the waters of time.
It can be yours forever.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please remove your devices.
♪
Now, the woman responsible
for all of this.
Her vision.
Her idea.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome Clara Torres.
♪
♪
♪
♪
Clara, please, say a few words.
♪
♪
Thank you very much.
♪
♪
So this whole thing, the game...
It was all to make it up to her.
To yourself.
I thought I could
make things... better.
But I lost my way.
I thought maybe this game would
help me remember who I was.
Did it work?
Why are you asking her?
It's not up to her.
You're missing the point.
Fredwynn is right.
It's not up to me.
It's up to him.
♪
Hey.
I got to go with him.
What are you talking about?
You can't go.
Remember the thing about...
me doing something brave
and embarrassing myself instead?
♪
I thought that was the singing.
So did I.
♪
Thank you.
♪
♪
I'm scared for him.
He doesn't have to go alone.
Holy shit, this is so weird,
you guys.
Life is weird.
Let's go.
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You mean we can go with him?
We can help him?
Of course.
Don't you see?
Anything is possible.
We're team blue.
And our story is our own.
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