Manhattan (2014–2015): Season 1, Episode 9 - Spooky Action at a Distance - full transcript

Previously on Manhattan...

- Music.
- That's right, music.

He's with her again.

We're gonna enjoy
a night to ourselves.

And my husband won't even notice I'm out.

We're WACs. Just transferred to the Hill.

I'm having fun.

El, why won't you dance with me?

The last three months,
while you've been making your name

writing school papers
and eating Cracker Jacks at Fenway,

we've been stuck in this desert shithole
working six days a week.



You just got a promotion.
It wouldn't kill you to smile.

Can I think about it?

There's a problem with Thin Man.

We're dead in the water.

We are, too.

So what are we gonna do about it?

Nearly midnight.

People don't usually keep me waiting.

I don't take an offer like yours lightly,
Dr. Akley.

Well, it sounds like you don't take it at all.

Charlie, since the day
you arrived in this desert,

you've been rejecting my canteen.

Now I brought you to a lake,
you still won't drink.

I've never taken it personally.



- I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should.
- I accept the job.

I'll pour us another.

But I have some conditions.

Three to be exact.

Otherwise, I can't be your deputy.

What are your conditions?

Security is slipshod.

I want to bolster compartmentalization,
make information strictly need-to-know.

I'll take it under consideration.

What else do I need to know?

We need to thoroughly rattle-test
all our work down to the last data point.

- Check all the math...
- We're through the design phase.

You make these boys backtrack,
they will hang you by your slide rule.

To be frank, sir,

I've seen more than a few sloppy calculations

come across my desk recently.

If Thin Man were assembled
based on faulty numbers,

it'd be a hell of a black eye.

Your funeral.

What's your third condition?

More detonators
won't change the laws of physics.

Well, we never let the laws of physics
get in our way before.

We checked the Brit's math
a hundred times.

It says that the only problem with implosion
is that it's completely impossible.

Yeah, I try to keep a positive attitude...

- Full speed ahead.
- Towards what destination?

Have a little faith in Frank. He got us this far.

It has been a group effort, tulip.

- Helen Prins.
- Yes.

Gather your personal items, ma'am.

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Hello!

Anybody home?

Hello?

She's waiting for me and I know...

Hello, there.

You're Lazar, yeah? I'm Frank Winter.

There it is.

Hell of a backyard you got here.

Must be the only place on the Hill
where you can't see a fence.

One more.

Thirty-nine, 40.

Forty, 44.

Sure hope that's one of ours.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven.

Why are they always late?

Good!

I, uh... I brought you
a bottle of vodka.

I heard you make your own sausages.
Thought you might be interested in a trade.

- Sausage?
- Yeah, my wife, she just loves them.

Uh-huh.

That's not why you're here.

- Sorry?
- I said that's not why you're here.

I know you.
I know that your group is in the dog shed.

No more explosives. No more detonators.

You probably won't even get matches
to light your cigarettes.

So you come to my armory

and you ask me for some sausage?

I hate liars. I hate vodka.

I thought this stuff
was mother's milk in Moscow.

I'm not Russian.

I'm American.

Now, get off my property!

Gentleman,
as we approach the finish line,

I will be stepping back from
day-to-day operations around this office.

However, you will not be without a leader.

As of this afternoon,

you will report to Charlie Isaacs.

This room contains
some of the finest scientific minds in, urn...

Well, in New Mexico.

As I take over,
I'm going to be asking a lot of you.

Not just your hard work and brilliance,

but also your loyalty

to me and my new deputy.

If anyone has a problem
answering to a woman,

I can arrange for transfer to another site.

All vehicles
entering the motor pool...

Frank! Where have you been?

Did you hear what Akley did,
that smug prick?

Heard he gave you a promotion.
Congratulations. Why aren't you in there?

Well, they're not even letting me
into their offices yet, or in ours.

They're making me take
another ridiculous polygraph test again.

- You'll pass it.
- I don't want to pass it.

It's for the best, Helen.

Implosion's the endgame, Frank.
I want to be a part of it.

- Tell Akley he can't have me.
- I can't do that.

- Please, Frank.
- It was my idea

to transfer you in the first place.

What?

Why?

Akley has a room full of IBM machines
he doesn't need.

You traded me for a calculator?

I did what I had to do
for the good of the project.

When everybody else was ready to pack it in,

I never wavered, Frank.

You really are a son of a bitch.

Lunch break?

I brought my own sandwich.

No, this one is better. Saucisson.

It's one thing you avoid me,
and now you refuse even to break bread?

Very rude.

I'm not avoiding you.

Well, at least have a drink.

Need to wash down
all those Yiddish consonants.

You worried I'm gonna slip you a Mickey?

Ah.

Neonatal seborrheic dermatitis
is a not uncommon condition

presenting as yellowish, crusty scales
on the infant's scalp.

If you observe this in your newborn,
ladies, do not panic.

Treatments include, but are not limited to...

Dr. Adelman, bed seven is crowning.

If you'll excuse me.

Ladies, I'm gonna leave you with Mrs. Winter.

A wonderful new addition to our team.

She'll distribute everything you need.

When in doubt, just remember,
mothers have been doing this for millennia.

If cavewomen could do it, you can, too.

So, um, compliments of the hospital.

Please help yourselves.

Oh.

Anybody home?

Hi.

Javier wanted to talk to you.

Javier? Who is he?

Paloma's cousin.

He's been waiting an hour.

He says, "It's been hard at the pueblo."

"The farm, the harvest was bad this year."

"Paloma has so many skills."

"Talents."

"And we appreciated what she had to offer."

"Paloma told him you're a generous man."

What does he want?

- "A truck."
- A... A what?

He wants a pickup truck.

A pickup truck?

I think he needs it by Friday.

Well,

I'll see what we have lying around.

Adiós.

Have you ever inflicted physical harm
on others?

No. Jesus.

Have you ever inflicted physical harm
on yourself?

Well, I drink too much.

Are you now or have you ever been
a member of the Communist Party?

Yes. Joe Stalin and I are pen pals.

No, I'm not a Communist.

Do you believe in God?

I met him. His name's Niels Bohr.

This is not a vaudeville routine.

I was asked these questions before
and my answers were the same as now.

If you'd like, I could have a smoke
and you could copy my old form.

Have you in the past or do you plan now

to pass intelligence
to the government of occupied Holland?

No.

Have you in the past or do you plan now

to pass intelligence
between divisions of this installation?

No.

Your attention, please.
Be advised.

Due to the heightened security on the Hill,

all residents
are subject to random searches.

- Next.
- What's the holdup?

You should know. Your orders.

Extra security was supposed to be internal
for our purposes.

It's internal, all right. Checking every orifice.

Please, open your briefcase.

ID's out.

Next.

All I'm saying is
the boys need direction. They're idling.

They wanna go to work for Helen?

Maybe we all have to consider options.

We have thrown everything we know at it
and a few things we don't.

Density maximization, activated charcoal.

None of it can overcome
the shock wave problem.

Oppenheimer wanted to shut us down
before the Brits.

Now it's just a matter of when.

If we have to join forces with Akley,

that's what we'll do.

Why doesn't Paloma
just come back and work for us?

We're doing just fine without a maid.

They cost too much anyway.

A pickup costs a lot more,

and yet you're considering that.

You know, this isn't your problem,
young lady.

It's not Mom's problem either?

You didn't see how upset she got
at that Indian funeral.

It was just too much like it used to be.

Let's let her enjoy the new job, okay?

Okay.

Why don't we lock our doors by the way?

What do you mean?

When I let Javier in,
he said that people should lock their doors.

Stay there.

What the hell are you doing here?

We need to talk.

Be right back.

MPs are sweeping my office,
they're frisking everyone.

- We've created a monster.
- A useful monster.

You remember, you knocked on my door.

And now, 50 of my guys
are working on your problem.

Our problem.

I'm in a henhouse full of foxes
who think they're hens.

Have you told them
you had to recheck all the Thin Man math?

- Yeah.
-Then I don't understand. What's the issue?

These are some of the smartest guys
in the world.

How long do you think it'll take for them
to realize they're working on implosion?

The shock wave calculations
are broken up into tiny parts.

If the puzzle pieces are small enough,

there is no way
one guy can see the big picture.

Not one of your guys anyway.

I want you to requisition 12 sets
of detonators and 100 pounds of TNT.

No. I get you the math, you worry
about experiments. That's the deal.

Well, there's a new deal.

Akley gave you full authority
to sign for resources.

Thin Man is finished with explosives testing.

I go asking for detonators and TNT,

the Army will be on my doorstep
an hour later.

My source won't give us any.

This was your idea. Figure it out.

I need you to leave now.
Don't you come back to this house again.

You were right, I lied.

If you know who I am,
then you know I've spent the last year

working on implosion.

I'm not ready to give up on it.

No matter what the Army or anyone else says.

I respect that.

I need detonators. I need TNT.

Explosives belongs to your army.

Yeah, but you're in charge
of doling them out.

Should I go to the Colonel and tell him
you're going behind his back, huh?

You won't do that.

You don't know me.

I know you worked
at the Navy Ordnance Bureau last year.

I made some calls this morning.

- Asked an old friend there about you.
- Who?

Albert Einstein.

He told me that you were a good scientist.

He also told me you could be trusted.

Listen, the only risk I would like to take

is to work with my explosives.

Understand?

Fair enough.

For your time.

I don't take bribes.

And Einstein was wrong.

I'm not a scientist. I'm an engineer.

All right.
Stay where Mommy can see you, Joey.

To him, this is completely normal, hmm?

Then again, who am I to say what is normal?

Howdy, ma'am?

Was it normal?

Hmm?

What happened between us that night.

You Americans.

Always looking for explanations.

Or penance.

What do you think happened?

You fell asleep.

Yes, but before I fell asleep.

You know, the first time I made love
was a day just like this.

Spring in winter.

His name was Philippe.

He had this belt, leather, all beat up.

When he moved to London for university,
I made him give the belt to me.

Still have it.

Every now and then, I take it out.

Sometimes I even

bite it and taste it.

Suddenly, I'm right back there.

What if your husband found it?

Secrets are what keep us alive, chérie.

Without them, we'd just be normal.

Well, come right in.

If I'm going to be your number two,
you better get used to it.

Are you ready to start working?

You mean keep working
on implosion for Frank?

Keep your voice down.

- He told you?
- He didn't have to. I'm a clever girl.

Thin Man has the resources, but it's flawed.

Implosion's the right model,
but we have no manpower.

What you guys can do in a day
will take us 10.

I had to keep you in the dark.

- Or I wouldn't pass the polygraph.
- Right.

Right.

So now I'm complicit in your crime.

We're all sticking our necks out here.
We don't have a choice.

I always have a choice.

You can't tell anyone about this.

By the way, I'm screwing Paul Crosley.

Terrible things
always happen in threes.

Next, they'll probably
stop printing Superman.

- Helen will find her way back somehow.
- I say good riddance.

She doesn't know anything
about shock waves anyway.

We need to have some fun, boys.

Should we assay your urine again?

Psilocybe cubensis.

Welcome to the wingding, gentlemen.

- Mushrooms?
- Psychotropic mushrooms.

Got them at the WAC dorm.
One of Jeannie's clients paid with these.

Oh, Jeannie's still seeing clients.

They're from the natives.

We scarf these down,
we will see quite a show.

Mmm.

It's better than
diddling our thumbs in the lab, isn't it?

You twiddle thumbs, you diddle yourself.

Frequently, I'm sure.

Uh...

You know, I... I tried marijuana once,

you don't even want to know
what happened.

Let me guess,
you forgot your mother's phone number?

Come on. The Indians have been eating
these for centuries. You will be fine.

Nah.

Meeks. Meeks. Meeks.

Meeks. Meeks. Meeks.

Meeks. Meeks. Meeks.

Are you satisfied?

See you in Wonderland.

Oh, no.

No, no. She's way too wholesome.

- What?
- All those high-neck blouses.

No, but she's so beautiful
and she's married to Laurence Olivier.

Oh, he can have her.

I would take the sweater girl
over Vivien Leigh every night.

Sweater girl?

Lana Turner.

Oh, she wears the most beautiful sweaters

on a pretty little figure like yours.

Mmm.

Mmm. It's getting late.

Keep your maid another hour.
It costs pennies.

I really should get back.

You think too much about "should."

Look at that, home before dinner.

Oh.

- Mrs. Isaacs, hello.
- Hello.

I was just on my way.
Charlie should be back any time now.

Well, it looked to me
like he'd be there half the night.

- Heavy's the head that wears the crown.
- Mmm.

Won't you stay for dinner?

- I really shouldn't.
- Oh, yes, stay.

Why go home and wait for your man when
you can be waited on for a change, huh?

So this is nirvana?

Yeah, your fungi weren't much fun, Fritz.

Fungi.

Funicular, funambulist,
funkiness, funnel cake.

Waste of a perfectly good evening.

I'm going to run my lines with Phyllis.

- Can you see that?
- Yes, I also see a moat and boat.

And I am sailing towards an asymptote.

I knew we were
starting to understand each other, Fritz.

Guess, it's too much drink.

Thanks.

You're in love with Helen, aren't you?

Yeah, I suppose I am.

- That's great. That's so great.
- Yeah?

That's great.

Frank.

- What's that?
- Uh, it's a radio.

But we already have a radio.

It's for Callie.

Come forward, please.

Open that briefcase.

- Stop.
- Have your ID's out.

Hey, am I acting normal?

Just make sure we all smile big at the brass.

- They won't suspect a thing.
- Okay, stop it. Stop being weird.

Meeks, you need to eat some more.

Maybe your metabolism's different.

Rate of absorption's too low.

What did you just say?

I said I think you need to eat some more.

No, "metabolism."

Rates of absorption.

Uh... Did you cross-check
the Pu-239 absorption rate

against your old tamper charts?

- What?
- Huh? Did you?

No, of course not. The model changed.

On.

It was right in front of us.

- All along.
- Yeah.

We have to... We have to go back.

Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, hey, hey. Hey.

Pull it together.

We have work to do.

Come on.

Elodie loves Josephine Baker.

- Mmm.
- Oh.

But I think, she couldn't cut it in the States,

so she hops across the pond

and kisses the frogs.

I want to taste you.

Mmm, sweetheart.

Why don't you fish out that bottle of sherry
we've been saving, hmm?

Mmm.

Mmm.

- You're burning up.
- Am I?

I'd like to know you better.

Oh.

Is that strange to say?

No.

Well, I would.

No, well,

I do know you.

Hmm.

I do know you.

I see what you are.

You can keep a secret.

- Stop it.
- I'm just being neighborly.

What are you doing? What are...

Get...

I see what Charlie is doing
and the minute he slips up,

you can be sure I'll be waiting.

Voilà!

Mmm.

Mmm.

Jesus on a cross.

Absorption rates.

- We gotta find Frank right now.
- No.

No, no. It needs to be perfect
before he sees it.

Double-check the math.

I just didn't know you had it in you.

Honestly, neither did I.

We're gonna need another board.

You are persistent.

Persistency

is an overrated quality in a man.

The answer is still no.

I didn't come for your explosives.

Well, I have enough friends, thank you.

I cheated on my wife.

Why you tell me this, huh?

Woman's cousin paid me a friendly visit.

He says he's her cousin.

He wants something.

He left a present on my doorstep.

Well, you have two roads.

One.

You go back home to your wife,

and you tell her everything.

Second road is sounding better.

Well, you visit this cousin,

make sure it's not a friendly visit.

Situation like yours,

they end in truth or violence.

That's what I'm afraid of.

What would you do?

I'm sorry.

The Army counts

its detonators.

I can't loan you any.

But that shotgun,

that's mine.

He said he asked you for a truck.

I know what he asked for.

He says that isn't a truck.

Told him to kill you.

Are we done?

First, he demands to know what
your army is building on our sacred land.

Then we will be done.

Enjoy your truck.

A little early for a nap.

What the hell is that?

Uh...

I don't understand.

There was, uh...

We were...
We were looking at absorption rates.

What do absorption rates have to do
with shock wave control?

Or anything else that matters?

I don't remember.

I don't care what the Brit said,

until you're out of my lab,

quit playing hangman on my blackboards.

You know, a cattle rancher
used to own this land.

From here all the way up to the mountains.

But his oldest son,
he liked books, not cows.

So he took off for college,
and when the old man died,

the kid sells it.

You know how much he got?

$300 for all this. Yeah.

Smart men make stupid choices.

Cattle rancher stole it
from the Indians anyway.

Well, if he hadn't,

the two of us would never have met.

You think we would be out here
trying to save the world

on some sacred Indian land?

Thank you.

So how are you gonna explain this
to your wife?

She never liked this car anyway.

Right.

Go easy on the clutch.

Last night while you were at work,

I had dinner
with Elodie and Tom Lancefield.

Tom...

He touched me.

What?

Charlie, it was horrible.

He said something about
how he knew I could keep a secret.

What do you mean?
What do you mean he touched you?

You know what I mean.

He groped me and he said something

about he sees what you're doing,
and he's waiting for you to slip up and...

Charlie?

You have to do something.

Like what?

I don't know.

Men will be men.

Best thing you can do is stay out of his way.

Mrs. Winter,

your shift ended nearly an hour ago.

Oh, I'm just getting a jump
on tomorrow's shift.

Well, that's a refreshing attitude.

You never told me
what brought you to our clinic.

I understand
you had your pick of assignments.

I suppose I wanted to help people.

Well, don't stay too late.
You'll make me look bad.

Good night, Doctor.

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