Home Before Dark (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - The Future Is Female - full transcript

Hey. Heard you and Dad talking... finally.

Of course we're talking.

Does that mean you
guyslove each other again?

You don't love each other?

Okay. Guys, look, your father and
Inever stopped loving each other.

The big event the other nightwas
just a little stressful, that's all.

So, Hilde disappearingwith
a fugitive was a "big event"?

You're smiling, but your eye is doingthat
thing that it does when you're mad.

Are you guys getting a divorce?

What's a divorce?

Okay. Look, parents can be mad at
eachother and still love each other.



Okay? I'm telling you guys.

We're on the same page.

Which page?

We need to talk.

Mom says you're on the same page.

Look, you put your mom and
methrough hell the other night.

Yeah, don't forget about me.

I never forget about you, Iz.

Wait, forget about what?

I... I'm joking.

You. You're grounded.

-Really?-What?

Yeah, I'm serious, Hilde.
No more writing articles.

But who's going to writeabout
what happened to Sam?



Yeah, well, not for a while,
honey. Whoa, okay. Hold up.

I want you to go out and play and...

No, in fact, I want you to stay in

and play computer games or
whateverlike a normal fourth-grader.

If you wanna write, you
can write an apology letter

to each and every personwho
spent the night looking for you. Okay?

The first stop on your apology
tourcan be giving testimony

to help Sam at Frank's suspension hearing.

Wait, won't she miss school?

Yeah, she can go back tomorrow.

And she can still play outside.

Shouldn't we at least talk about this?

We should.

We should've also talked
aboutwhether she was grounded

and what that might look like.

You said you didn't wanna talkuntil
you were caffeinated, remember?

That wasn'twhat I didn't wanna talk about.

Cool. You guys seemsuper on the same page.

Who you texting?

A friend.

Is it that boy from the dance?

His name's Ethan, and no.

But also, pleasestop
whatever this is about to be.

You know, if you like
this Ethan guy, I just...

I just wanna make
surethat he's treating you

in the way you should be treated, okay?

Yeah, well, I'm not texting Ethan.

That's good, then.

Was Ethan therewhen the
whole pot situation went down?

Okay, don't say "went down."It's
basically like saying "groovy."

But the point is that I
knowabout the pot thing, okay?

Okay. Am I in trouble?

No. I'm actually pretty
proud of youfor not doing pot.

The thing about pot is it can...

Okay, now you're just saying
"pot" over and over again.

All right. Weed, ganja, the chronic.
Whatever you kids are calling it.

Look, all I'm saying is that sometimes
itcan make it easier to make bad decisions.

Because you aremy
favorite teenage human being,

who I love with every inch of my soul,

- I just don't want you
to get hurt, okay?-

Okay.

Okay, that's it. I'm done.

-Are you sure?-Yeah, I'm done.

When you were in high school

and Principal Collinswas
your girlfriend, which, ew...

Did she ever, like, you
know, disappoint you?

Yeah, of course. Yeah, I'm sure she did.

And I'm sure I disappointed her as well.

I disappoint your mom too.

A lot.

You know, a thingthat
I'm learning is... is that, uh,

people don't usually know
what you needunless you tell 'em.

So, you gotta tell 'em.

Like, spell it out?

Yeah, yeah, spell it out.

Yeah. Loudly. About a dozen times.

'Cause trust me, boys
are terrible listeners.

Thanks, Dad.

All right, you got it.

Have a good one.

Love you, Iz!

Love you!

Chris, hey. What's up?

Richie's jacket just got here.

I'm gonna put a rush on it.

I've got a meeting with the Bureauin
Seattle tomorrow, so you're in luck.

I can return it in person.

All right. Just tell me where to meet you.

Okay, and listen, I know you know this,

but I gotta say it anywayfor my own sanity.

As evidence, the chain of
custodyon this thing is for shit.

Yeah, well, I'm pretty surethe
legal term is "inadmissible."

Maybe it will help us figure out
ifsomeone in Richie's life was hurting him.

If the perp isn't already in the system,
there's not gonna be a DNA match.

Yeah, I know.

Hey, thanks.

Look, if you've got something to
say, just say it, okay? I'm not an idiot.

We're just glad your sister's okay.

Hey, you.

Take one.

JV soccer bottle drive.

The player who passes outthe
most flyers gets a free pizza.

Yeah? Good luck with that.

You're actually mad at me?

What did I do wrong?

No, what could possibly be wrong?

It's just another beautiful
dayin Erie Harbor.

It's kind of raining.

Okay, you wanna know what you did wrong?

You were so worried about Hilde writinga
story about you being in the same room

as someone smoking weed that you didn'teven
check up on me when she went missing.

Okay, I... I didn't really knowshe
was missing until she was found.

Why didn't you tell me?

I just did.

But I shouldn't have to.

Okay, I-I'm... I'm so confused.

So, wait, you are mad at me?

Oh, my God. Ethan.

Last call or it's another
tardyon your record, Ms. Lisko.

Look, I...

Are you here to arrest me?

I'll take a cup of that coffee.

You know, son,

it's long been a Briggs family
privilegeto be Holmes County sheriff.

I'll drop out of the race, okay?

Let me finish.

Our town's very existence

depends on its elected
officialsmaking its citizens feel safe.

So, when folkstuck in their kids at night,

drop them off at school,

they can go about their daily lives

and not worry that something
badis gonna happen in Erie Harbor.

At least not to them.

Dad...

Continuity equals familiarityequals safety.

What is this? Your stump speech?

I don't need one.

You do.

When this is all over, I'm stepping down.

You're gonna stay in the race for sheriff.

And you're gonna run unopposed.

Are we pretendingthe
other night didn't happen?

I don't see any reasonwhy
the disciplinary hearing

can't go down in your favor.

You were driving
Samstraight back to Northfield.

You pulled over to let the
prisonerrelieve himself, and he escaped.

He was later apprehended without incident.

This whole thing'll go away as long
asyou say the right thing on the stand.

You already talked to the DA.

Smile, sunshine.

You do as I tell ya,

and you're gonna bethe next
Sheriff Briggs of Holmes County.

I wanna get put on the
visitorslist at state as soon as possible.

Yeah, also, uh, could
youput that in his canteen, please?

Sam, I'm going to keep fighting for you.

Hang in there, Sam.

Yeah. We're getting close.

Thank you.

All right, let's go.

Watch your head.

Do you know what they're gonna do to
himin maximum security with those charges?

If Frank's hearing goes well,

maybe I could getthe
escape charges dropped.

What we discussed.

They say cracking your
knucklesis bad for you.

Weakens your grip.

Should I have called it in when Sam ran?

Look, you made a judgment
callyou thought was right.

Second-guessing isn't gonnado
you any good at this point.

If I'd followed protocol, I
wouldn't be standing here.

Yeah, and Sam might have been killed.

You did the right thing. Say so.

And I'm in this with you.

Looks like I'm not the only one.

Mom, is Frank gonna get fired?

We're here to make sure he doesn't.

And to help Sam.

Hopefully your statementcan help them both.

Order in the court.

With the authority ofthe Holmes
County Sheriff's Department,

I call to order the suspension
hearingof Lieutenant Frank Briggs.

Deputy Johnson,

how did you first learn that Sam
Gillishad escaped his escorted furlough?

I got a call from Lieutenant Briggs.

And where was Lieutenant Briggs?

At Penny Gillis' house.

And why wasn't he en
routeto Northfield prison?

In light of recent reports

that Sheriff Briggs concealed
evidencein the Richie Fife case...

Deputy Johnson, stick to the question.

Lieutenant Briggs saidhe wanted
to hear Sam's side of the story.

Is that normallypart
of your job description,

to listento the prisoner's
side of the story?

No, but Lieutenant
Briggswanted to because he...

It was a yes or no question.

When you learned that the prisonerhad
escaped, did you alert the sheriff?

Frank had just discoveredthe
prisoner was gone.

Yes or no?

No.

So, what did you do?

I met Lieutenant
Briggsnear the Gillis home.

And he ordered younot to tell
anyone else. Is that correct?

Yes, but Sheriff Briggs already knew.

In fact, he was there with
Frank and Samearlier that night.

Deputy Johnson, I will remind
you againto stick to the question.

The sheriff is the reasonSam
ran in the first place.

Sam heard him say that even
ifexculpatory evidence came to light,

he'd see to itthat Sam would never go free.

Order in the courtroom. Order!

Deputy Johnson,

how did you know that Sheriff
Briggshad already been to the Gillis home?

Frank told me.

One second. Last one.

Okay.

That healed well.

Yeah, well, you know me.

I get over things easily.

I gotta say, you're as good as your dad.

I remember when he stitched
my knee upwhen I was a kid.

I can't find the scar.

Well, he trained me well.

You guys must be pretty close.

Yeah. We always have been.

I never really knewhow
Richie was with his dad.

We never talked about that kind of stuff.

Well, you were 11.

I mean, I think it would
have been pretty weird

if you psychoanalyzedyour
relationships with your parents.

Yeah.

Yeah, you're right.

Ca... Can you rememberwhat
they were like together?

You know, Richie and your dad?

Uh, not really.

I mean, I was so little.

Sometimes I think I'm lucky.

Because I don't rememberas much about him,

so there's not as much to miss.

Yeah.

I'll see you around, Matt.

All right. Yeah. Thanks.

You ready?

You look like crap.

Yeah, you too, Pop.

You need a pep talk?

No, I need a minute.

Mm.

To psych yourself up and tell the truth?

You'll just be digging
yourselfa deeper hole.

Maybe there's room for the both of us.

This has nothing to do with me.

You knew I took Sam to Penny's house.

I don't remember that.

Lieutenant Briggs,

can you detail the protocolsthat
you were expected to follow

as Mr. Gillis' furlough escort?

It was my job to return Mr. Gillisto
the Northfield Corrections Center.

And would it be within protocolto
take Mr. Gillis anywhere else?

No.

Then did you, as Deputy
Johnson just stated,

break protocoland stop
at Penny Gillis' home

on the way backto
Northfield Corrections Center?

Breathe.

Lieutenant, did youor did
you not break protocol?

No, I did not.

You never stopped at the Gillis' home?

Mom, he's lying.

He's under oath. He...

He has to tell the truth, right?

I headed straight for Northfield.

Under what circumstancesdid
the prisoner escape?

I pulled over to the side of the
roadso Mr. Gillis could relieve himself,

and he hit me over the head and escaped.

And Deputy Johnson's claim that
Mr. Gillisoverheard Sheriff Briggs threatening him?

It's impossible. Sheriff
Briggs wasn't there.

Are you saying that Deputy
Johnsonfalsified her testimony?

Johnson... may have been confused.

It's a yes or no question,
Lieutenant Briggs.

Yes. Deputy Johnson lied.

I have a sworn statement from Mr. Gillis

disputing everythingLieutenant
Briggs just said.

And I was with Mr. Gillis.

He told me the same thing Trip said.

The sheriff threatened him.

A criminal is not a credible witness.

And I have no idea who this child is.

I move that Lieutenant
Briggsretain his status

within theHolmes County
Sheriff's Department.

Pending an internal review, granted.

Hearing is adjourned.

I'm not waiting on some bogus
reviewwhere you lie for your kid.

I get it. I'm fired.

No.

You're gonna ride a deskfor
the rest of your career.

You can't force me to stay.

Finding a job in neighboring
communitieswill be very hard.

This is so unfair.

I have to write about it. No one else will.

You're right, you know.

People need to know. But...

Look, I still think that you've got...

Gotta get ready, Matty.

Championship's tonight.

What?

No, Pop.

There's no one playing tonight.

Get your head in the game.

That Erie Hills pitcher is a weenie.

First pitch, he's gonna try and bean
you, if he thinks he can get away with it.

Dad, that...

That was... That was
when I wasin high school.

Hey, Pop-Pop, don't worry.

If he gets beaned, he'll
just walk straight to first

and then he'll steal second.

Yes.

Hilde, does your
papertake guest columnists?

Like who?

Me.

You're hired.

But I can't pay you.

Aw.

I can't pay you, really.

Okay.

Dad?

Where are you going?

Look, Hilde, after the other night, I... I
just need you to lay low for a minute.

Let me drive.

Please.

Hey, can I ask you something?

Sure.

- How do you do that thing
with Pop-Pop?-What thing?

Talk to him. Connect.

I just talk aboutwhatever
he wants to talk about.

And I don't correct him.

Can I ask you something?

No.

And you're grounded, remember?

No reporting.

Hey. I was hoping we could talk,

but you've beenignoring
my phone calls all day.

It's been a long day, Matt.

- Maybe we could talk
tomorrow.-No, look, this is important.

It's about Richie.

Oh. It's a party.

What do you got there, Matty?

- -Oh, I,
uh... I got medical files.

Yeah, I got all the Fifes.

Got yours. I got Lucy's.

Uh, your ex-wife, your current wife.

Even your, uh, your great-uncle who died,

what, ten... ten years ago?

Where'd you get that?

Funny thing is, there's no file on Richie.

Wh-Why is that?

I don't know what you're getting
at, Matt, but I think you should stop.

You know, Sam Gillis told
Hildeabout the bruises on Richie's arm.

And the day that Richie
was... that he disappeared,

Sam was saying much the same thing.

Is this what you want, Matt?

My confession?

That the last daythat I
saw my kid was my worst?

Well, maybe you went too far that day.

Maybe you didn't want himto snitch on you.

Maybe it was something like that.

Are you accusing me of killing my son?

Look, leave the files here, and
we'll write this off as a mistake.

No, no, no. That's not a mistake.

No, there's something here. I know it.

- I know, I know it.-You hearing
yourself? Let's go outside.

Damn it, Matty. What the
hell's the matter with you?

No, what the hell's the matter with you?

What, you gotta sell your
souljust to become sheriff?

I did what I had to doto
shut this thing down.

And Trip's gonna geta
slap on the wrist at most.

All right, tell me, Frank.

What happens at night when you turn
offthe lights and you close your eyes?

What do you see?

You wanna tell me about nightmares?

You went to New York. You left.

I've been here living 'em.

Swiss cheese and sardines?

Hey! How was the prom?

You and Kim have fun?

No, Dad, it...

Uh, you know what? Actually,
yeah, it was, it was pretty fun.

And you know what? I, uh...

I broke up with Kim, Dad.

What happened?

Well, you know, I'm leaving
for New York after graduation.

And, you know, she wants to stay here.

The right girl is worth
fighting for, Matty.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know.

I...

I don't want you to go to the East Coast.

I'd miss you.

And it'll just be too lonely.

Any chance you... you'll reconsider?

Yeah, okay, Pop.

Yeah, I'll think about it.

Flashlight off or the book's mine.

As soon as I finish this chapter.

No.

You're keeping me up.

Hey.

Thought you were reading
All the President's Men.

Thirteen times seemed excessive.

I wanted to try something new.

You know, I actually
like To Kill a Mockingbird.

Do you think this book'swhy
Dad calls me "Scout"?

Yeah, probably.

Oh, have you gottento
the courtroom part yet?

There's a courtroom part?

Well, yeah. I thought that's
why you were reading it.

You know, 'cause of the hearing today.

Yeah.

We really needed
Atticus Finchat that thing.

I don't think this town will ever
changeunless we get a new sheriff.

But who do you think could do it?

Me.

Yeah. Sheriff Hildewith her
cowboy hat and silver star.

Lights out, Scout.

You get your book back in the morning.

Hey, Iz. How'd it go yesterday?

It's way too earlyfor
another heart-to-heart, Dad.

And where are you headed?

To school. Home by dark.
No writing. Rinse, repeat.

But, Mom, you're on a deadline.

Hey, you got a word count?

The Internet has no limits, Bridget.

- My name is...

When I get all in my head like this,

I miss our weird couples
therapistin Brooklyn.

The one who told me to buy you a Diet
Cokeand a doughnut when you're upset

and not ask you if you're okay?

Yeah. That was terrible advice.

But she did have that one good idea.

I hate the sheriff.

Frank effin' Briggs!

Frank's a piece of work!

I hate the
wayeveryone looks at me here!

I hate the way people look at us!

I hate I can't talk to you.

I hate that Hilde
thinksshe needs to fix you.

Wait. What?

I hate that you didn't know that.

I hate I didn't know that too.

I hate Miriam!

I hate what she did to us.

I know I'm supposed to be past that.

But I'm... I'm just not.

I don't talk to her anymore, Bridge.

I really don't. I mean that.

The thing that sucks is, is I getwhy
she would understand you better.

Because of what happenedto
the both of you, but...

you didn't even give me a chance.

Yeah, I know.

But you gotta understand, I just
wanted to build a life, you know?

Just far away from here.

You know, and we did,
all right? We did that.

We made a good life.

Yeah, and you were the best part of it.

And then a girl disappeared in Montauk.

And you started losing it.

No, I... I never let Richie go.

I guess I didn't know that until I
startedtalking to that girl's mother, you know?

Shit, Bridge. I am... I amso,
so, so sorry I didn't tell you sooner

about what happened with Richie.

You know, I didn't wanna
bring all this... all of this to us.

I'm not gonna lie and say it's okay.

But I'm in this with you.

I'm not going anywhere.

Yeah. Well, me neither.

Hey.

I love you.

I love you too.

Another round?

Hell yes.

Let's do it.

Hey.

I'm picking up the
resultsfrom the jacket this afternoon.

Can you meet me at 4:00?

Excuse me, ma'am.

Can I have the paperworkto
run for sheriff, please?

You need law enforcement
training. About a year, at least.

You also need to be at least 18 years old.

And you need to gather 100
signaturesby the end of the business day.

Today.

Great.

May I have the forms, please?

Thank you.

How can I help... you?

Donny and Spoonare
helping me get signatures.

All you have to dois
decide to run for sheriff.

Mm, look, I don't need savin', lady.

Yeah. But we do.

Me, my friends, my family...
this whole frickin' town.

Did you rehearse that?

So, it's a "yes"?

It's definitely a "maybe."

We can split up after lunch,
and we'll get everyone to sign.

It'll be easy.

Yeah, a little problem with
that. They have to be 18 or older.

Then there's only one place to go.

-You first.-No. You first.

Come on, guys. It can't be that bad.

Would you like to sign a
petitionto change your future?

Would you like to sign forMackenzie
"Trip" Johnson so she can be...

- Ah!- Whoa!

Ow! Clipboards.

What? Wha...

- W-Where's Spoon?-

Whoa!

- Oh, Spoon.-I'm okay.

I told you so.

Let's try the other seniors'
lounge. After school.

Do you seeany of your old friends, Pop-Pop?

This looks like
it's almost enough people.

Why is everyone ignoring your
grandpa? I thought he used to live here.

Maybe they're just jealousthat
he doesn't live here anymore.

Can you blame them? This
place is worse than middle school.

We need to warm it up.

Put people in the moodto sign our petition.

Pop-Pop.

Remember what we used to
doevery Christmas when I was little?

Don't worry. You will.

Okay.

You go this way. And I'll go here.

A hundred by 6:00 tonight.

And protect us at all cost.

- Thank you so much, sir.-
She's trying to run for Sheriff.

Thank you.

Merry Christmas, Pop-Pop.

Ooh.

48, 49, 50.

Half? All that work and we
stillonly have half the signatures?

We have until 6:00.

It's a long shot.

I love being the underdog.

I know who we can talk to.

Basically, we just need your permissionto
bother your customers real quick.

Uh, no. You can't bother them.

But you can help.

-What?-Just ask your customers

to sign our petitionwhen you ring them up.

Which will help save Erie
Harborfrom the evil forces within.

Okay.

Uh, how many signaturesare
you guys hoping to get?

Fifty.

When do you need it by?-6:00.

Tonight?

Is that a problem?

Well, look around.

I mean, it usually takes three
weeksto get 50 customers in here.

But I am going somewhere when
I close upthat has lots of people.

For too long, nothing in
this town has changed.

The old guard is becoming the new guard.

In ten years as a public
defenderin New York,

I never saw as much
corruptionin law enforcement

as I've seen here in Erie Harbor.

Holmes County's elected officials
watchedas Lieutenant Frank Briggs lied

at his disciplinary hearing yesterday

with encouragement from
his fatherand his cohorts.

Sheriff Briggs let down my
husbandwhen he was a child.

He let down Mayor Fife.

He let down Richie.

And they'll all continue to let down ourown
children if we don't insist on change.

The future can be differentif we
decide that it must be different.

And if we're not going to get it done,

then we have tofollow
the lead of our children

or get the hell out of their way.

Oh, look.

Oh, look at all... Yeah. Yeah.
She looks, like, promising.

Hi.

Hi. Um, would you liketo sign our petition?

I think there are some
peopleover there that wanna sign.

Thank you.

Thanks for helping Hilde.

I wanted to help.

And Trip.

Well, you're helping all of us.

Look, I'm... I'm sorry I was a jerk.

Well...

You're a jerkthat just did
a really awesome thing.

- Hey.- Hey.

Hey, look. They've almost done it.

We just need...

- one...- ...last...

signature.

Yes, yes, yes, yes!

-Yes! Whoo!-Yes!

Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop!

Can you believe we made them?

May the best woman win!

I did what I had to do, Trip.

So did I.

Did what you had to do, huh? Stop it.

She's an annoyance, not a threat.

You'll still win once the town finds
outwhat happened at the hearing.

I'm out.

You've proven yourself, son.

This campaign is all yours.

It's your privilege.

Your legacy.

It's in your blood.

Chris.

I got here as fast as I could.

- All right, so, what do you
got?-It's like we expected.

Lots of DNA evidence on
this jacket, including Richie's.

But the blood, it's not Richie's.

It matches an adult in the system.

Well, then whose is it?

I'm worried about you, Matty.

What do you mean?

Last time we worked together. You know.

With the Levin case in Montauk.

Look, I don't want thisto
take over your life again.

Well, then why are you doing it?

I'll say it again. This isn't admissible.

You'll need a confession.

But there might be something here.

Matt. Leave me and my family alone.

I think I know who killed Richie.

Ran a DNA test on it.

I got a name.

Oh, my God.

Who is he?

It's a she.