Limetown (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - A Simple Life - full transcript

Previously on "Limetown"...

I only mourn Max Finlayson.

What he was able to build was
a foundational shift,

something that would have
tilted the axis of the Earth.

Mind-to-mind communication?

If you keep telling
this story,

everyone who talks
to you will die.

You have to stop, Lia.
Do you understand?

I only mourn Max Finlayson.
I only mourn Oskar Totem.

If there is a god
for this world,

Oskar Totem would be
what she would send to save it.



Move out!
Move! Move!

Holding! Holding!

Go, go, go, go.

Yeah, that's right.
Give it to me.

Now.
Moving now.

Number six!

Stay back. Nobody move.
Stay back!

I have it.
Move! Get back!

Oh.

Look at me, Deirdre.

No, Deirdre, look at me.

Don't touch her.

Don't touch her!
Don't touch her!

Deirdre? Deirdre?



If you attempt to find

Deirdre Wells
in any way, she dies.

Coming up next on "'60s at 6"
is the 1961 classic

from The Drifters,
"Some Kind of Wonderful."

Wonderful, wonderful.

All you have to do
is touch my hand

To show me
you understand

And something happens
to me.

That's some kind of wonderful.

At any time my little world
seems blue,

I just have to look at you

and everything seems to be

some kind of wonderful.

I know I can't express

this feeling of tenderness.

There's so much
I wanna say...

While ultimately neither
incriminating nor revelatory,

Villard's interview
was provocative.

Communication
beyond physical devices,

beyond screens,

beyond your
wildest imagination.

I only mourned Oskar Totem.

If there was a god
for this world,

Oskar Totem would be
what she would send to save it.

And he knew it too.

The only thing larger
than his intellect was his ego.

My name is Lia Haddock,

and you're listening
to American Public...

I need to speak
to Lia Haddock.

Who am I?

Who is she to tell lies
about my work?

Walk over to her desk
right now, and you tell her

Dr. Max Finlayson
is on the phone.

Yes, that Max Finlayson.

I can't believe we're about
to talk

to the Dr. Max Finlayson.

Yeah, you think there's a way
I can negotiate

a limit
of your Signals questions?

Lia, come on.
I'm a professional.

All right.

But it is getting hot though.
I'm just saying.

Oh, my God. Really?
Jesus, Mark.

Haddock.

You talking about me?

Call me Max.

This is my producer,
Mark Green.

It is such an honor, doctor.

- Signals.
- Yeah.

You in a band or something?

You guys
weren't followed, right?

You followed my instructions?

- All of them.
- That's good,

'cause unlike our friend R. B.
Villard,

I don't have
a top secret bunker

in which to hide.

Who exactly
are you hiding from?

You don't waste any time,
do you, Haddock?

I'm gonna get to that
soon enough,

but first, I want to talk about
that lying dung heap Villard.

Oskar Totem was responsible
for a lot of things,

but the discovery
of mind-to-mind communication

was not one of them.

So why would
Villard say otherwise?

That's exactly my point,
Matt.

- It's actually Mark.
- The man was lying,

and I could not stand for it.

- Oh, so that's why you...
- Villard doesn't matter.

Oskar doesn't matter.

If you're the brains
behind Limetown, then own it.

If you're the man responsible,
make us believe it,

and the rest of the world
will too.

I can see
you're good at this.

What can I say?

My ego steers the ship.

Enough with the chitchat, then.
Let's move away from the water.

I'm freezing my balls off.

I'm gonna move pretty quickly,

so if there's anything you
don't get, just shout, okay?

- Okay.
- Okay.

Okay. Let's start at
the beginning of human history.

How's that?

Since we've been walking
upright,

man has been trying to answer
the same question:

how do I, Max, transmit an idea
from my mind to yours, Lia,

with the least amount
of information lost

during dissemination?

Cave drawings and the alphabet,
telegraph, television,

telephone, the Internet... these
were all precursors.

Precursors to what?

- Your head.
- Ding, ding, ding.

Mind-to-mind communication.

Now, the implant...

- you guys see the scar?
- Oh, yeah.

The implant was designed

to definitively answer
that question.

If you want
no information lost,

you must remove every barrier,

sharing information directly
from one mind to another.

So mind-reading is like
sending a mental text message.

Not even close.

Mind-reading implies work.
This is more of a direct link.

Imagine, if you can,
every child is implanted

at birth
with a small metal pill,

the size of an aspirin,
conductive on one side,

so it's able to pick up

the billions
of electrical bursts

that constitute
human thought, decode them,

and then send that signal
out to its brothers

and sisters
implanted elsewhere,

and you can only hear it
if you have it.

- That's...
- "Impressive" is the word

you're searching for.

- I was gonna say "monstrous."
- Ah.

Well, I had a 50-50 chance.

So there's an implant
in your head right now?

- Does it work?
- Well, technically yes,

but not without another person
with the implant,

and The Supplement
to bring it all together.

- What is The Supplement?
- Ah.

Well, the implants
are only the hardware.

Think of The Supplement
as the software

that makes it all work.

Most thoughts we have
are unfinished,

seemingly meaningless:

"jump," "bird," "what?",
"log," "first," "orange."

You put two people with
the implant in the same room,

and then 10 people,
then 100 people,

there's so much noise you can
barely hear your own thoughts.

That's where
The Supplement comes in.

It allows you to focus
on one voice at a time.

- What's in it?
- A little bit of this,

a little bit of that,
tiniest dose of LSD...

You're saying
everyone in Limetown

- was on psychotropic drugs?
- Not everyone.

It was an experiment.
You have a control group.

Wait, Limetown was
one big experiment?

Thanks to me, yes.

What about Oskar?
What was his role in all this?

Oskar was a con man.

He hadn't touched
a scalpel in years.

If it wasn't for me,
The Supplement, the implant...

none of it would have happened.

This... this is a dream!

What about the Man
They Were All There For?

What about him?

He was the secret sauce,
but I made the hamburgers.

Next question, please.

- Max...
- Next question, please.

You said
I could ask anything.

Look, I'm an asshole,

but I'm an asshole
who almost changed the world,

and you're the one lucky enough
to tell my story.

Fine.

Well, we had some hiccups
along the way,

but the implant,
while permanent, was a success.

Some hiccups?

Is that what you would call
Cyndi Walter?

"Winona"?

She paid the price
for progress,

and because of her,
we learned that the implant

was a one-way street,
no give-backs.

She suffered
severe memory loss,

fugue states.

She doesn't remember
her own daughter.

It's all very unfortunate,
but she knew the risks.

How could she have?

I mean, how could you and Oskar
have even known the risks?

You were performing
radical brain surgery

with unproven technology.

Tech was good.
It's just... it's people.

Warren Chambers spoke

about the advance
from animal to human trials.

- Mm-hmm.
- Who was the first?

Now you're talking
my language, Haddock.

Frankie B. and Eloise M.
They loved cats,

and they knitted
sweaters together,

and on that day,
they changed my life forever.

Thank you all for being here.

Let's bring
in The Supplement, please.

I think you guys know
I'm prone to speeches.

When I was 12 years old,
I remember...

But today's not about us.

It's about you, and you,

and most importantly,
it's about Eloise and Frankie.

Let's get on with it,
shall we?

Sounds good to me.

These are ICS flag tests.

You know, Max, I don't think
that'll be necessary.

Let's go old school
on this one.

I need you to focus
on Eloise.

Now, Eloise,

I want you to think deeply

about what I just said.

Focus on the words
and their meaning.

- My God.
- Frankie, breathe.

This is really strange.

Remember, this is just like

when you were a kid
on the monkey bars.

You hold on to one bar,
and you reach for the next bar.

That's it.

Reach for the next one.

Concentrate
on reaching Eloise.

I can hear the future.

I... I...

I can hear the future.

The man craved attention...
you know,

obviously more than I did...

and in the end,
it was his undoing.

What do you mean
it was Oskar's undoing?

My apologies.

This has taken much longer
than I anticipated.

It was a pleasure meeting
both of you.

Good luck with your story.

- Wait. Max...
- I'm tired. I'm old.

I'm going inside.
You guys know the way back.

Well, that's it, then?
I mean, we just started.

Against my better judgment,
Haddock,

I like you,
and because of that weakness,

that interminable tone of guilt

grows louder and louder and...

Max, you made
the greatest breakthrough

of the 21st century,

possibly the history
of humankind,

and right now, everyone thinks

that Oskar Totem
is responsible for it.

- Is she always this tenacious?
- Yes, I am.

Fine.

Let's take
this clambake inside.

Safer there.

Safer?

Safer from what?

Welcome.

Is this your house?

Oh, you'll want to keep
this one around, Haddock.

He's a sharp one.

Seltzers?

Yes. Thank you.

See, I knew it.

You are a "Signals" fan.

"I am not proud,
but in the end,

it was inevitable.
Fate..."

"Destiny.
We're all just stardust

in this vast
unknowable universe."

- It's from the...
- Yeah, I got it.

So, Max,
do you live here alone?

Yeah.
Just me and my crappy Internet.

What about
your wife, Deirdre?

She's not here.

Do you mean
she's not here right now,

or she never was here?

I don't know where she is.

I don't know
if she's alive or dead.

Those of us who had
the implant...

we were all separated
and relocated...

- By whom?
- I don't know.

So what happened to the rest
of the people?

I couldn't tell you.

The people that separated you
and your wife

and placed you here...

Are they responsible

for threatening me
and for Warren's accident?

Maybe, and perhaps,

Lia, darling,
the clock started

the minute
I picked up that phone.

I know what's coming for me.

I'm so sorry.
I have to take this.

I got to step out for a second.

Yeah.

I'm so sorry, Max.

Okay. Where were we?

We were talking about people

who frankly don't want us
talking about them, Haddock.

Look, I don't know
who they are,

but I do know that it was Oskar
who let them in.

Why do you say that?

One night, I was using

Oskar's private bathroom...

Now, sue me.

I liked the potpourri in there.

I finished my business,
but on the way out,

I saw that Oskar
was still in his office...

your judgment
in terms of the shade...

He took out this folder

with a hummingbird sticker
on the side.

A hummingbird?

- Mm-hmm.
- Did you know what that meant?

I had no idea.

Maybe it was some kind of
a secret project or something.

Well, a super duper
double secret project,

if we're being technical,
Haddock.

Did you ever find out
what it was?

I made inferences.

We developed tech at Limetown

that far surpassed anything
that our competition had,

so it just seemed par
for the course that somewhere,

someone was courting Oskar
the whole time...

the kind of someone
that would stick

a hummingbird sticker
on something

and call it
"Operation Thunderclap"

or what have you.

The question is:
did Oskar cave?

Did he give up all our secrets
in return for untold riches?

You think he didn't?
You think he died a martyr.

I think he did
and they killed him anyway.

Follow me.
I want to show you something.

Now, when I first got here,

I didn't know the difference
between sharps and flats.

My mother used to play,

but I always thought
it was a waste of time.

But once I had nothing
but time,

I realized how wrong I was.

I liked Oskar.
I did.

I liked working with someone
who had vision.

But I don't mourn Oskar.

I hate what happened to him,

but you can't deny
that he made his bed.

That's rather harsh.

Better?

I've had a lot of time
to ruminate on it, Lia.

A lot of people died
because of him.

A lot of people.

A lot of people suffered
and then died because of him.

Who killed Oskar Totem?

I don't know.

I don't believe you.

People were wearing masks.

Buildings were being destroyed.

There were people
beaten senseless.

It was chaos, pandemonium,
people running everywhere,

all at the same time.
You weren't there.

You know that I heard
his every thought

as if whispered in my own ear?

Every bumbling apology,
every terror-stricken Hail Mary

that his mind could conjure,
I heard.

At the risk of sounding crass,

the whole thing was actually
quite illuminating.

The mind holds out hope.

It MacGyvers
everything that it can,

desperately seeking some sort
of external salvation.

"Why couldn't my hands be free?

"Why didn't we leave
when we had the chance?

Perhaps we could reason
with them."

Then, when the physical world

no longer
has anything to offer,

the mind turns inward,
upward, spiritual.

Oskar was a devout atheist,

but at that point,

what was the harm in asking?

I think Oskar would be pleased
to know

that even in his final moments,
he was contributing good data.

Like I said, as a scientist,
it was illuminating.

Hey.
What are you doing out here?

Hey, what do you think
these are for?

I don't know.

But you practically begged me
to bring you out here

to meet the Dr. Max Finlayson,
and what do you do?

You bail and take a call.

Lia, I had Mike at the office

listen
to the raw Villard interview.

Okay.
I see where this is going.

No, no, no, no.
You edited tape.

Mark, this is a strategy.

This is what got us
to the next place.

Now, that may sound
questionable to you,

but what would you have done?

- I would have...
- You would have... what?

You would have let
the story just die?

I wouldn't have lied
to get to the truth.

Everything okay here?

Well, I'm gonna take that
as a no.

It'll make for one hell
of a ride home.

Sorry. We are... we're ready
to start again.

I'm not.
I've said everything

that I wanted to.

We're done here.
It's time for you to go home.

Yeah. I'll get the car.

Thank you.

Max, what are
those speakers for?

They emit a very loud tone.

I've done some studies
on myself that show

at the right decibel levels,

that tone could really mess
with the implant,

the theory being that
if I ever get cornered,

I can just flip
those suckers on

and slip into the night.

Are you gonna be okay?

Haddock, I hate
asking favors,

but would you hold on
to that for me, just in case?

- Of course.
- Thank you.

Maybe someday,
it'll find its way home.

It was a pleasure meeting you.
Safe travels.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Haddock.

Have you got something
you want to say?

Well, between this
and blackmailing our boss

with your affair,

what is there to say, Lia?

Well, I'm sorry

your sensibilities
are so delicate.

Oh, no, no, no, no.
Don't make this about me.

You manufactured tape,

and if people ever found out

that this is how you got
your story, you'd be done.

Yeah, you don't think
I know what I'm doing.

I think you know exactly
what you're doing,

and that's what scares
the shit out of me.

Now, you got away
with it...

just this one time, though...

but if this ever comes back
to bite you in the ass,

I'm not gonna have your back.

It's Max.

Max?

What is that?

Max?

Good-bye, Dorothy.

Max, is someone
there with you?

They're all here, Lia.

They want you
to know something.

I was wrong.

Wrong about what?

Don't try to run!

Only some kind
of wonderful.

Oh, yeah.

Wonderful, wonderful.

We sacrificed
Warren Chambers.

We sacrificed Max Finlayson.

That's who we sacrificed.

You have to stop.

I need this, Mark.