Ghostwriter (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 9 - Ghost Castaways, Part 2 - full transcript

Why did Ruben disappear?
What did we do wrong?

We must've accidentally changed
something here in the past.

And I think
it's making my time sickness worse.

That's not the only thing
it's making worse.

You have made a ripple in time

that has erased
your friend's very existence.

Perhaps you should not
have stolen my ship.

-You're Captain Vincent?
-Of the Vermillion?

Pleasure's all yours.

Now, follow me.

We have a lot to talk about.



Captain Vincent, sir,

I'm really sorry we borrowed
the Vermillion without telling you,

but we really need
to get our friend back, so...

But the Vermillion is not the only thing
you borrowed from me, is it?

I think he means the compass.

You don't happen to have a pudding cup
or some fruit gummies, do you?

First things first, my compass.

Your only item to barter,
and yet you gave it up so quickly.

You should know never to trust a pirate.

Did that rat just drive that car?

Meet Santiago, my most devoted companion.

Wait, this isn't just a car.

It's your transforming time-traveling
ship, the Vermillion, isn't it?

Very perceptive.
You'd make a good first officer.



Are you gonna help us
bring back our friend Ruben?

Well, I would need something in return.

What do you want?

As with all things,
my intentions will be revealed in time.

Please, join me.

What do we do?

We don't really have a choice, do we?

Not if we wanna get Ruben back.

Prepare for a quantum time leap.

What just happened?

It really does transform.

Where's Curtis?

Looks like I'm seasick now too.

This is incredible.

Now could someone
please tell me how I got up there?

Items have a tendency to shift
when the Vermillion transforms.

You'll learn where to stand.

No, Santiago, it's not for you.

This popcorn is from your time.

It should heal your time sickness.

You want a piece, Santiago?

So, where are we?

The Vermillion prefers to return
to her original form between missions.

But our only mission is to find Ruben.

Such loyalty.

Now, if I'm to help you find your friend,
you must first do something for me.

What were you thinking?

Well, when you borrowed my ship,
my crew disappeared.

I will need a new one,
'cause rats alone can't run a ship.

Wait, you want us to be your crew?

Precisely.

Pirates forever.

Forever?

On the Vermillion,
you have loyalty or you have nothing.

-We need to discuss this as a group.
-Think quickly.

There is a Spanish battleship
headed our way.

What do they want?

Well, I may have taken some of their
prized possessions off of their hands.

-Looks like they want them back.
-Did they just fire a cannon at us?

Cannons, yes.

So, discuss, but discuss quickly.

Hard to starboard, Santiago.

We have no choice but to be in his crew.
We have to save Ruben.

We can't be trapped here forever.

In the book,
Captain Vincent double-crossed three kids.

He told them one thing,
but then did another.

And we can do the same to him.

I'm sure once we find Ruben
and get the manuscript,

G.W. will put him back in the book.

They're not yours!

But we do get to be in his crew
for a little while. I can work with that.

As long as we get Ruben back, of course.

Faster, Santiago, faster!

We agree.

We'll be part of your crew
if you help us save our friend.

And if you help us recover
a Mason Briggs manuscript.

Yes, I did overhear you
talking about this Mason Briggs fellow.

But we'll save that for later.
In the meantime, pirates forever.

Forever.

Forever.

For Ruben.

Not a moment too soon.

Now, prepare for a quantum time leap.

When are we?

Your new present.

We must see
what has changed in the present

to figure out what to correct in the past.

-Bookstore?
-We better change first.

I do not require you on this mission.

Mason Briggs is a mystery writer.

People think he left behind an unpublished
manuscript called The Cobalt Mask,

so we're trying to find it.

Is he a well-known writer?

Can we please focus
on finding Ruben right now?

Grandpa?

I don't have any grandchildren.
Welcome to Crowley Books.

-Crowley Books?
-Yeah.

It's been in my family over 70 years.

My grandpa started this
way back in the 1950s.

And now you see how your actions
have shifted the sands of time.

Is everything all right?

We're just surprised.

We thought a man named
Ernesto Reyna owned this store.

The only Ernesto I know
is a teacher over at Hammett Middle.

He comes in here
all the time to buy books.

Speaking of which...
shouldn't you kids be in school?

We're on lunch, but we're headed back.
Thank you so much for your help.

If the bookstore
doesn't even belong to Ruben's family,

I wonder what else has changed.

Looks about the same to me.

Never underestimate
what one small change in the past

can do to the future.

Hello, fellow Hammett-ites.

Wait, did he win the election?

-Hey, Asher, congratulations.
-Thank you.

Yeah, congrats. You ran a good race.

Well, it wasn't much of a race.
No one ran against Krista and I.

No one?

Wait, Curtis,
what are you even doing here?

I thought you got sent to boarding school.

What? When?

Months ago.

Anyways, gotta go. See you around.

Why would I get sent away?

Seems your friend Ruben

may have had a bigger impact
on your life than you know.

He's right. If there's no Ruben,
then there's no mystery,

and we wouldn't have all become friends.

And if we weren't friends, I wouldn't
have gotten help with my dyslexia.

Mom and Dad must have sent me
to boarding school because of my grades.

-I don't like this timeline.
-Me either.

We better find Grandpa.
And I bet I know which class he teaches.

I knew it. You're an English teacher.

Yes, Chevon. I'm your English teacher.

And I already told you this morning
I'm not changing the grade

on your Wrinkle in Time paper.
You deserved a D.

I got a D? But I get A-pluses.

Not this time.

We already talked about how you need
to cut down on the extracurriculars.

Do you remember this?

"Bring your favorite characters to life
with Miss Weaver."

It was a lifetime ago.
Where did you get this?

We're doing
a history project on the neighborhood.

We heard you won the mural design contest.

That's true, but I haven't
thought about that in years.

Who told you?

Tess Vargas.

Who's that?

There's our time ripple.

We accidentally changed the past
and created a ripple,

so Ruben's grandma and grandpa
never became friends when they were kids.

Which means
they never met again in the future,

never had Ruben's mom,
and since she never existed...

Then Ruben never existed.

Does that sound about right, Captain?

This Owen Quinn
is quite the private investigator.

Now, Ruben's grandparents
never becoming friends is why he's gone,

but we still don't know
what you did to cause the ripple.

I caused it.

I told Tess I admired how much
she stands up for what she believes in.

You think that's why
she wrote a boy's name on her design?

I think so.
If she hadn't made Mr. Crowley mad,

she would've been the girl winner.

And Ernesto would've been the boy winner.

The mural contest
is where they were supposed to meet.

Exactly.

And I messed it up.

But we can clean up the mess.

Together.

I have a plan.

-Captain?
-Quantum time leap?

Why did Ruben disappear?
What did we do wrong?

We must've accidentally changed
something here.

Which is exactly
what we weren't supposed to do!

We can't see our past selves, or else...

Time catastrophe.

You have made a ripple in time.

It may already be too late.

We must hurry and bring back your friend
so we can focus on the manuscript.

Then one of us
should go find Albert Hughes.

He's here in 1955, and we think he knows
where the Mason Briggs manuscript is.

I like the way you think, Curtis.

I will accompany you while Donna
and Chevon work to bring back Ruben.

Time is not on our side.

Oh, Donna, there you are. Good.
I wanna get a photograph with the winners.

Ernesto, come here, please.

Miss Weaver, could you get the camera?

I'm sorry, Mr. Crowley,
but I can't paint the mural.

But you're our girl winner.

And I'm honored
that you chose my mural design,

but you liked Tess's design better.

Well, that was before I knew
a rule breaker had designed it.

I prefer people who stay within the lines.

Miss Weaver,
what do you think of Tess's drawing?

I think...

that the best artists
see the world a little differently.

I know you only want the best
for your bookstore, Mr. Crowley,

and you said it yourself...

Tess's design was best.

It is a beautiful design.

And I get such a kick
out of the dancing teacups.

Fine, fine. Tess can paint
her mural in the back hallway.

Not a chance.

I don't want to paint my mural in a store
that doesn't treat girls fairly.

So that's when we figured out
that Albert Hughes

and Mason Briggs are the same person.

Fascinating.

And how do you intend
to make this Albert confess?

I hadn't really thought that far ahead.

You could borrow my sword.

Let's try talking to him first.

Well, we should hurry.

The time ripple's worsening.

This is the building that Albert
went inside when I got time sick.

Like Miss Weaver said, this contest
isn't about winning or losing.

For me, it's about
what's right and what's wrong.

And if you paint the mural,
you think you'd be telling Mr. Crowley

that you think his rules are right.

-She has a point.
-Tess.

I know that the hallway
isn't the best mural location,

but isn't it better that some people
see your work rather than no one at all?

I know what I need to do.

Hello, Ernesto. My name is Tess.

May I help you with your paints?

Timeline restored.

Where's Ruben?

Hello?

One second.

He's alone.

Shh, just be quiet.

Everything all right?

Can I help you?

Yeah, I need a lawyer.

Really? You're a kid.

Sometimes kids need lawyers.

My office is this way.

Let me do the talking.

-Swell book?
-I haven't started reading it yet.

Because you know how it ends?

Do you really need a lawyer?

I need the truth. You know
how this book ends because you wrote it.

I'm no writer. I'm just a lawyer.

I don't write anything but contracts.

You, sir, are a scoundrel and a liar!

Qualities I normally find admirable,
but not today!

You're telling tales!

You write about this city
on a typewriter with a slanted U,

and even though
you don't want anybody to know...

This is you. You're Mason Briggs.

Not bad, kid.

That is me.

But a photograph
doesn't make me Mason Briggs.

-It doesn't?
-Doesn't?

If the person
who writes Mason Briggs novels

doesn't want anyone to know,

would they put
their own photo on the book?

Would you like my sword now?

But if Albert isn't Mason, he must know
who is. Did you ask him about "S"?

No. I can't believe we're back to "S".

The mystery continues.

Don't get too excited, Donna.

If you got Ernesto and Tess to meet,
then why isn't Ruben back yet?

Perhaps you have caused
another time ripple.

We'll have to return
to your present to investigate.

Prepare for a quantum time leap.

We must've done something right.
It's called Village Books again.

Chevon, you're late for work.

Grandma?

-Didn't she...
-Die.

Die, yes.

Grandma?

"Grandma"?

You trying out another nickname for me?

You know, I prefer "Boss."

You work here?

Not for much longer
if she keeps showing up late.

I'm so sorry.

Just kidding. Mostly.

There's a delivery in the back
that needs sorting.

Grandma's back, but Ruben is still gone.

Time works in mysterious ways.

We need to find out
what happened to Ernesto.

Hey... Boss.

Can you remind me,
when did you and Ernesto get married?

Who's Ernesto?
You know I've never been married.

What's with you today?

Do you remember this?

Where did you find that old relic?

We're doing a history project
on the neighborhood.

-We heard you won this mural contest.
-Boy, did I.

If I remember correctly,

the contest rules
weren't fair to us girls.

So I might have convinced the boy winner
to switch mural spots with me.

-But how did you do that?
-I didn't give him any choice.

I was fighting for what I believed in,
for what I thought was right.

And sometimes, to do that...

you have to spin the wheel of life.

Thanks for the trip
down memory lane, kids,

but I better take care of this customer,
and you need to start sorting, huh?

It's one thing to stand up
for what you believe in,

but she stole Ernesto's spot.

No wonder they didn't become friends.

But why does that mean she's... here?

One ripple in time can cause others.

She took a different path.

It means she made different choices.

Take comfort in the fact that she may
still be alive in countless timelines.

But not in ours.

And those two,
they're up against the left wall there.

Thank you.

I'm actually having a really bad day.

I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo.

Do you mind if I get another hug?

Sure, if you think it'll help.

It does.

I miss you.

Okay, I forgive you for being late.

Come on.

Tess, this isn't right.

This isn't your spot.

Don't be a square.
Ernesto agreed to switch with me.

Didn't you, Ernie?

Now, stop making a big fuss,

or Mr. Crowley and Miss Weaver
will come back here to stop me.

Maybe they should.

Come with me, Ernesto. Come on.

Why did you let her take your spot?

Dude, she stole your spot.
Go tell her you want it back, come on.

Answer me, why aren't you talking?

My English is...

How do you say...

I'd say it's pretty good.

Thank you.

Listen, it's not a big deal
to ask for help.

We all need it sometimes, right?

Do you wanna practice
what you're gonna say with me?

Please.

Tess, listen up.

Ernesto has something
he wants to tell you.

Your mural design is very beautiful, Tess.

Thank you.

But we are both winners,

so we could paint
something together, maybe.

I show you.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

That's a great idea, Ernesto.

I mean, painting together would be fair.

I like your Alice.

But we should use your rabbit.

They're getting along.

Does that mean the timeline's restored?

But where's Ruben?
He should be back by now.

We can't keep doing this. We need him.

Need who?

-Ruben!
-There you are!

I missed you, man.

Okay, this is weird.

Curtis, are you better?
Do you still need a snack?

Wait. Captain Vincent?

The one and only.

And you, Ruben,
are a very hard person to find.

We'll explain later.

No way!

You know, when I think back...

What is Albert Hughes
doing in the bookstore alley?

Come on.

That's great.

Look at this, now.
You're a published author. It's amazing.

I was hoping you could
autograph your book for me.

This moment right now
is why G.W. sent us to 1955.

Albert, you are such a good friend.

I hope you don't mind
I sign it Mason Briggs.

As your lawyer, I insist.

Congratulations on your first novel,
Sarah.

Miss Weaver's first name is Sarah?

She's the "S" from Grandma's letter.

She's Mason Briggs.

And she's Ghost Writer.