Maniac (2018): Season 1, Episode 3 - Having a Day - full transcript

Ten seconds until reentry, people.

Here they come.

Welcome back, subjects.
Welcome back.

What was that?

It was fucking unethical.

You waived ethics in your consent form.

Talk to me. Are we liking what
we're seeing on the neuromatrices?

Clean narrative data
from all but Subject One.

I'm not positive
he was actually down.

- What about Nine?
- I don't know what to tell you.

Brain structure tells me
she's been there many times before.



She's already got the grooves
of this narrative.

That was, overwhelming.

- Wait till you take the second one.
- Friendly reminder,

please do not discuss your experience
with any other subjects.

Post-phase evaluations
will occur in ascending order,

so please settle in
and wait comfortably in the commons

until your number is called.

Mr. One, please report
to the post-exam test room.

Thank you.

Please describe

your emotional state
upon waking from the pill.

Um...

Fragile.

Maybe sad.



Also hungry.

You need snack?

Bleeding.

Emotional state.

Emotions.

Bleeding.

Internally.

You look tired.

I'm exhausted.

And devastated.

But satisfied.

I want to know more about the second pill.

Why?

I just do.

Um...

S... I'm speechless.

Anything else?

I'm speechless.

I'll trust you too.

I won't count it.

For me, it was a hurricane.

Horrible.

1999.

It took my Herbert.

You like the complicated ones, I see.

- I'm so sorry to hear that.
- It wasn't the best of marriages.

- I don't even know her.
- Are any of them?

- Nothing to be ashamed of.
- Don't say that.

These places all end up like camp.

Everyone falls in love in two hours.
It can get silly.

- You haven't remarried?
- I would never.

I was on a Phase I
of a GI treatment in Houston,

one of the rats proposed
on the second day.

Of course, by that time
we all had the radioactive shits.

You know what was odd though?

What the pill made me see
was not like I remember it.

Was that a memory,
or was it... something else?

One, Five, Nine.

Dr. Muramoto wants to see you
in his office.

- We've been red-flagged.
- What does that mean?

I do 20, 30 of these a year
all over the country.

It's good money
if you can work the system.

When they call you in right away,
that means they caught something.

What do they usually do?

Enhanced interrogation?

Enhanced interrogation?

No.

They red flag you, they mark your file,
they ask you a bunch of questions.

They're gonna document the case
so they don't have to pay.

- Then they kick you out.
- I didn't do anything wrong.

Every time,
it doesn't matter what you say.

Mr. Five, come in.

We're fucked.

I didn't take the pill
in case you needed to activate me.

Owen...

I'm sorry...

about what I said earlier. I...

sort of...

I kind of lied to get into the study,

and it seemed like you might be a problem,

so I just said what you needed to hear.

But you knew my name.

I saw you in the ads.
You said there was a larger pattern.

Well, I knew your name because
they said it on the intercom at reception.

And the ads, I sold my face

to a stock service four years ago,
so it's...

And...

as far as I can tell, there is no plan
or pattern to the universe.

It's just chaos.

I'm sorry.

Why are you here?

Your turn.

Yo, can I get my condoms back?

You don't get those condoms back.

Really sorry for the confusion.

There are inconsistencies
with your participation in this study.

Okay.

And I'm gonna need you
to recount what happened in your mind

after taking the pill,

and verify your experience
of your core trauma.

It's supposed to be
the worst day of your life, right?

Is that what you experienced?

It was intense.

Describe intense... with details.

Well, when I took the "A" pill...

the light changed...

and I was standing

in my parents' house.

Gimlet?

What's that?

It's a gimlet.

Thanks.

It was seven months ago,

my brother's engagement party,

and I had just switched
to a new medication.

You like her, don't you?

Yeah, Adelaide's great.

I mean, you really like her.

What do you want, Jed?

Listen, I... I wanted to...
I wanted to ask you directly,

you know, because sometimes...

You're gonna help me out, right?

So long as you didn't do it.

I did... I didn't do it. God...

Nice to meet you.

It really doesn't matter
what happened, right?

You of all people would understand that.

Of course it matters.
It's the only thing that matters.

- What's real matters?
- Yes.

Okay. Hilarious. Hilarious, but okay.

Can I ask you something?

Can you imagine what Mom and Dad would do

if they found out
you had another incident?

Maybe write threatening letters
to very powerful people.

The mayor, the head of the FBI,
Secret Service.

Tell them how you see a pattern
in the universe,

and how you have to take 'em down
before it's too late.

Maybe sprinkle a little anthrax in there.

You can't do that.

I'm joking.

I'm joking. Jesus, lighten up.

Who said I'd do that, right?

But seriously...

someone could do that to you, right?

With your history,
you'll end up in the fuckin' loony bin.

It's like someone making up
whatever they want about me,

and I end up humiliated.

And it didn't even happen.

We're in the same boat.
You see that, right?

Anyway, I love you.

Yeah.

I wouldn't want that to happen
to anyone in our family.

I gotta go make a speech.

Yikes!

Wish me luck.

Dad.

There he is.

Um, listen.
Hey, everyone, thank you for...

Where are you hid...?
Don't hide. Come here.

Thank you everyone for coming.

Um, I would like to make a toast
to Adelaide, my Hempstead hamster.

- That's in the bedroom, right?
- Okay, stop.

But, um, I don't know if you guys heard,
she's engaged to be my... my bride.

I don't deserve her, that's for sure.

She doesn't deserve this,
but I'm gonna do it anyway.

- What are you gonna do?
- Dad, you're the man. Start it up.

Owen.

Owen!

Owen!

Owen!

So Sting was at this party?

No, he was singing Sting.

Did you make up that story?

No, I did not.

According to our readings,

you were conscious, Mr. One.

You did not take the pill.

No, that's... that's not possible.

Now, you are going to take that.

- I already took it.
- Don't lie.

If you don't take it,

I'll have security escort you
from this facility,

with no money,

no honor,

just shame.

No.

- Take it now.
- No.

I said take it.

No.

Drink.

Swallow!

Why were you in there so long?

What'd he say?

Could you tell Miss Nine
to come in, Mr. One?

He wants you to go in there.

I don't know how
you had access to the pill,

but analysis of the biodata indicates
that you have been using it compulsively.

I haven't.

I sympathize with you.

The "A" experience, on its own,
can be a seductive demon.

What are you talking about?

Most people wouldn't understand

why someone wants to revisit a trauma
again and again,

even take pleasure from it.

Most people, wouldn't.

But you do.

People like that
don't want to move forward.

I don't deserve to.

Don't you?

I want to move forward.

I want to know what the second pill does.

People who feel they deserve loss...

might try to move forward.

They might taste recovery...

but they always end up going back.

Why?

Be...

Dr. Muramoto?

Is...

Is this...

part of...?

Is this a test?

Or is that the test?

You wanna see if I'll answer it?

I can wait.

I'll wait forever.

Are you actually dead?

Fuck!

Owen, I need your help.

- What?
- Just get the fuck in here!

Do not let anyone come in this door.

- Did you kill him?
- No, I didn't fuckin' kill him.

He just died.

Sometimes people just die.

He made me take a pill.

What'd you see?

Olivia.

- We were studying.
- Is that your girlfriend?

No.

It's a girl I liked.

She asked me to help her
with her, history finals.

I, like, wanted to talk to her
all semester.

And I was on my way to the library,
and I saw him.

Grimsson.

That was the first time
he ever came to me.

And he told me to watch out for Olivia,

and I just realized she was a plant.

My parents had paid her
to pretend to like me.

They were listening in.

My brothers were listening in.

They were just laughing at me.

My mind kept racing.

Like, someone had given her
information on me.

How she was getting paid

for every minute she made me happy...

and that my parents
paid her to marry me...

and grow old with me...

and have a family and seven kids.

I started asking her
if her name was even... Olivia.

And... she's like, "Are you okay?"

I said, "No, I'm not okay.
None of this is real."

None of this is real.

"None of this is real."

Sounds like you were having a day.

What?

That's what my mom used to call it
when she got her wires crossed.

Doctors called it a BLIP.

Brief and limited psychosis.

I didn't know that.

I...

I just started screaming at her.

I just yelled
some fucked up things at her.

And other people started looking at me,

and I started throwing books at them
and screaming at them.

And I knew I was right.

I was so sure I was right.

Have you ever just felt unbelievably sure

that you were right
and everyone else was wrong?

All the time.

I'll do yours.

Where did you end up?

Strapped to a gurney
in a little room by myself...

screaming for my mom.

That's rough.

Let's go back out there and pretend
nothing fucked up happened.

The food cubes being distributed
during Meal Time

deliver a specific amount
of nutrients and calories to the body.

That means that your plates
at the end of Meal Time

need to be happy plates.

Does everyone know what a happy plate is?

A happy plate is a clean plate.

I can't eat.

You have to.

It's not to make me happy,
but to make science happy.

Tastes like the inside
of my cat's uterus.

Stay out of your cat's uterus.

Is this food?

Tell me why the pill
was so important to you

that you lied to get in here
and you tricked me.

I never would have messed with you
if I knew all that stuff had happened.

The BLIP.

It's okay. It's not your fault.

My sister and I were in a car crash
five years ago.

The driver passed out
behind the wheel of a semi-truck.

He had been driving for 30 hours.

He was high on NoDoze.

His name was Greg F.U.N. Nazlund.

His middle name was "fun."

It was his fucking fault
if we're talking about fault.

Every time I take that pill,

I have to live through
the worst day of my life,

just like you did.

I have to hear myself say the worst...

ugliest things I've ever said to anyone.

And it ends with the worst thing
that ever happened.

I fucking love it.

Why?

Because I get to be with her.

They found him.

I thought he was napping
when I first came in.

Poor Robert.

It's a catastrophe.

Want me to bring in a team,
get him out of here?

No.

Leave him.

I have to go up to the 77th floor.

It was a past life.

An old life.

Lies forced us apart...

and now we can't remember.

No... I remember.

We were lovers.

Now we're gonna be together forever.

High Priestess of Atlantis...

can you feel that?

My energy in your chest?

I can feel it.

Good.

- Now, put your hands on me.
- Okay.

That's excellent.

- See what she does with a ping-pong.
- She shot them...

It was cute, but I wasn't into it,
y'know?

- Why weren't you into it?
- It was weird.

Fabulous.

That's good. That's good.

That's good.

That's... excellent.

James.

- My God.
- That's excellent.

- That's excellent.
- James!

I'm sorry to...

to walk in on you like this, but...

I still have my key.

I thought we had agreed...

that you wouldn't bother me
while I was working.

I need your help.

The very fact that you braved
the outside world for me

tells me this is an emergency.

Let me guess. You're having trouble
dampening the reality test

when it drops to NREM 3.

Now Dr. Muramoto has begged you
to come and beg me

- to come help him.
- He's dead.

He was freebasing an A/C mixture.

And who's going to replace him?

You.

- Don't fuck with me, Azumi.
- I'm not, James.

We need your help to finish.

Of course I'll need several minutes
to get my affairs in order, but...

yes.

I'll be right outside.

When is this fucking horse gonna die?

I don't have my security card.

Thank you for braving
the outside world for me.

Thank you for inventing this treatment.

Does Gertie know I'm here?

I haven't had a chance to tell her yet.

Hello.

It's...

excellent to see you again.

James.

What a nice surprise!

Are you gonna show your face?

All right.

By the way, I thought you should hear it
from me first that Dr. Muramoto is dead.

And I'm once again at the helm of this...

project.

I see.

Thank you for telling me.

Did Muramoto have access
to a beta headset?

Yes.

Sometimes he used it
when they were red flags. Why?

I'll address the subjects tomorrow myself.

They can't be spooked by a death.

And sometimes the arrival
of a new authority figure

could be equally upsetting.

Either is a data taint.

Last thing we want is a data taint.

Yeah.

We need all the data we can get.

Number Five...

he just brought rubbers, so...

he can stay, right?

Azumi.

Yes.

When an addict dies,
do you think it's suicide?

I believe Robert was optimistic.

I think he just made a mistake.

I'm sorry about Robert.

How are you feeling?

I feel...

I have all the feels.

Behavioral tomorrow.

What do you think
they'll all see in themselves?

I don't know.

Get some rest.

Good night, Azumi.

Good night, James.

- What's wrong with fish sauce?
- There's nothing wrong with fish sauce.

Good morning.

Could I have everyone's attention
for a moment?

My name...
is Dr. James K. Mantleray.

Unfortunately, Dr. Muramoto
has had a family emergency,

so I will personally be assuming
oversight duties

of this iteration of the ULP.

I believe in this treatment.

And I believe in the idea
that we can all be...

fixed.

Pain...

can be destroyed.

But it can't without trials
like this, so...

I guess I want to thank you all
for being the brave explorers...

that you are.

Great adventurers
on the precipice of mankind's

last, great, hidden frontier

Mindlantis.

I'm seeing soothing
from the white.

Good. They're settling in.

And there's no reason
for any of them to be nervous.

Exposure elements stacked and loaded?

Affirmative.

Safety Net confirm.

Gertie is present and caring.

Okay, people,
let's illuminate some blind spots.

Azumi.

I'd like to administer
the behavioral pill.

It's been a while.

Be my guest, Dr. Mantleray.

Subjects, please ingest the pill.

All clear.

Going to green.

Comes down to the butter.

- Everyone will tell you to bake...
- Bruce?

With unsalted butter,

- but I tend to disagree...
- Brucie?

Because using salted butter
in the mix...

Bruce?

You fell asleep in front of the TV again.
You got to get up.

Okay, and...

Well, I know we're all worried
about our cholesterol these days,

but if you truly are...

Hey.

Hey.

Is there any coffee?

Yeah, I just made some.

Big day today.

You say that every morning.

Well, today I mean it.

Toss? Keep?

Keep.

I'm saving it.