Reprisal (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - The Tale of Harold Horpus - full transcript

Ah, damn it, Katherine.

What are you doing
all the way out here with that?

How could you do this?

Had to be done.

I'll tell everyone
it was you.

I'll tell them
it was all of you!

You gonna pull the trigger first?

You know, Mom always saw

her strength in you.

I always thought
that you of all people

could really see what I built.



I've seen what you built.

And you're destroying it.

There's chain in the truck.

Bash.
Bash, not you.

You shouldn't have come out here,
Katherine.

Hey, Burt.

I will see you again.

I know that.

I know.

And the mystery in the North Pole

continues today
with a controversy brewing

over leaked satellite images
that appear to depict

what many are calling
a bizarre hoax.

The matter at hand involves
what can only be described



as a celestial event
that should surely

whet the appetite
of stargazers across the...

Mrs. Quinn?

Your husband, he's awake.

Oh, thank you.

Have stepped forward

to voice their own theories

about what these leaked images
might mean.

With that, we go
to Caroline Simmons

outside Brendert's.

You're up.

Been laying here

trying to remember
what book it was

you were reading that day
at the library.

There were many days
at the library.

Many more books.

You know which day.

Was it
The Language of Legumes?

There's no such book, silly.

- Far as you know.
- Far as I know.

Guess it's a shame,
that's all.

What good's living a good life

if you ain't gonna remember
the good?

Or maybe you were
just too busy

focusing on me and not the book
I was reading.

Got me there, Doris.

I've had you here, Tommy,
for a while now.

Hmm.

Time is it?

Almost time.

And who all's coming?

Um, most of them.

Mm.

Well, don't worry.

I'm sure they'll all be
in more of a hurry to leave

than you will be
to see 'em go.

You shouldn't say that.

I enjoy their company
just fine.

I'm gonna finish up.

You rest, look your best.

They'll be arriving shortly.

Good afternoon.
Come in.

Thank you.

Oh, my, Molly.
You look lovely.

Thank you, Doris.

Colin, your father's
been looking forward

to seeing you.

Yeah, all right.

It's a nice spread
you've laid out.

You really know your way
around a charcuterie board.

- Thank you, Molly.
- Hmm.

- May I pour you more wine?
- Mm.

How are you holding up
with everything going on?

It's a process.

Hmm.

He doesn't like
not knowing things.

What's not to know?

It's more the restaurant
and you

that he's concerned with.

Can't say I blame him.

You ever feel this way too?

Like an outsider?

I'm sorry.

The wine...

Surely Colin
had his charm once.

What do you plan to do
when all of this is over?

- Molly.
- Yes, dear.

- Go start the car.
- Mm.

You're gonna be there tonight.

I can make it.

I wasn't fucking asking,
Doris.

- What took so long?
- Yeah, sorry.

How's your dad?

Well, not good.

Yeah, shit.

Some well‐earned years,
that much I can tell you.

Evening, gentlemen.

Oh.

You didn't tell me
she was pretty.

Hey, kitchen.

Time to go.

You know me?

Lander Graham.

They call you Big Graham,
but semantics.

We've met a time or two,
actually.

Is that right?

I don't recall.

You know what I do?

Come to think of it...

It was just once.

Anyway...

He wants to leave you
this restaurant

and some money to boot.

I mean, you been married
to him for, what, six years?

It'll be eight in August,
Colin,

but I'm sure you knew that.

Eight in August.
Hmm.

Hmm.

Look at this kid.

I know him since he was born.

Tommy gave me my first job

when I got out of the joint,
washing fucking dishes.

I'd like for you
to ask yourself something.

You know, all those people

that were in Tommy's corner,
you know,

all those years, you know...

What in the Mary mother of fuck

makes him think
you're entitled to this place?

Well, if I had to guess,

uh, it's because...
all of this was me.

Bull‐fucking‐shit.

Your father hired me
to start our catering branch,

and now we're Detroit's
premier catering service.

Won all sorts of awards.

I'm sure you know.

Listen to me, Darla...

Doris.

Nobody knows who the fuck
you are...

Doris.

Waltz in here ten years ago.

All of a sudden,
everybody's talking about

how you're gonna get Tommy
to marry you.

It was the other way
around, I'm afraid.

But sure.

You shook shit up.

And people don't like strangers
shaking shit up

with people that they love,

especially when they
been here before you.

And they're gonna be here
long after you.

You are gonna sign
all this over to Colin here.

Mr. Graham,

I know plenty
of what it is you do.

You two have been using
this place

to funnel your dirt money
for Lord knows how long.

I don't know why poor Tommy
ever allowed it.

But if you're asking yourself,
"Why Doris?"

rest assured
it's because he wants

to get this place cleaned up.

What's a little lady like you
gonna do

with all that big money?

Buy a new hat.

What?

Buy a new‐‐

Hat.

Come on,
don't be dumb, Doris.

Your father wants so much
for you,

and here you run
with gangsters and thugs.

"Gangsters and thugs."

The fuck you think Tom does?

You know, I could make it
so that Colin here

inherits this place.

Why can't you fucking
figure that out?

This offer,
this was a fucking courtesy.

Hey.

I think you should sign it

before this gets
really dirty.

You're a nice lady,
Doris Quinn.

Let's keep it that way.

Hello?

Ethan, you alone?

Yeah, yeah, I got dropped off
at the truck st‐‐

Okay. Fine.

Go inside.

Order two coffees
and some pie to go.

And I'll be there in 17.

How will I know it's you‐‐

Hello?

Have you had a chance to decide?

Right on, let's go.

Don't have a damn clue
where you are, huh?

Yeah, well...

sometimes I don't either.

Ow!

Who wants to buy me a drink?

Chop‐chop.

Wouldn't wanna miss your cue,
Daddy's girl.

Hey!

What the fuck did you
just say to me?

Hmm.

Oh, man!

Come over here and sit down!

There! Go!

Kick his ass!
Go!

Hey!

Oh, baby.
That was on the house.

- Hey, baby!
- Get yo' ass down!

Get yo' ass down!

What is wrong with you?

Hey, sweetheart.
Sweetheart, this is for you.

Oh, I like that.

Hey, Joel.

This is him.

Looks fragile.

What's that?

I said you look fragile.

Matty.

This is your candidate.

Take him back.
Do your thing.

Come on.

Go on, kid.

Sit down.

Let me guess.

College boy, right?

I dropped out.

Didn't like
what you were studying?

Didn't know what to study.

That there's Johnson,
my other third.

He ain't all that talkative,
but I can rely on him.

I heard your parents are dead.
How long's that been going on?

My dad, since I was 12.
My mom, not dead.

She‐‐uh, she bailed
a little after.

And what do you know
about The Banished Brawlers?

- Just that you guys‐‐
- And the Phoenixes?

The what?

The Three River Phoenixes,
the reason you're here.

I don't‐‐I don't‐‐
I don't know.

How could you wanna be
a Phoenix

if you don't know who we are?

I heard it pays.

You heard it pays?

And‐‐and that it could be
an opportunity.

May‐maybe if I knew
a little more,

I‐‐I‐‐I could explain
to you guys

wh‐why I‐‐I'd be a good‐‐

This isn't an opportunity.

This is my trust.

This is Johnson's trust.
This is privilege.

You don't walk in here
because it's something to do.

You walk in because
you wanna leave

whatever dark bullshit
you've got behind you

to be a part of something
bigger than any of us.

You walk in
because you wanna be a Phoenix.

So, Ethan...

You better start
telling me why.

'Cause I killed a guy.

And for a while,
I thought he was gonna live.

Maybe if I would have stopped
hitting him sooner,

he would've.

But I got nowhere to run
and no one to run to.

But I thought this might be
a good place to start.

Out of the car.

You know what to do with these?

Five of 'em.

You say you got nothing.

Well, this is your chance
at something.

You come in here with us,
no questions asked,

you walk out a River Phoenix,
yeah?

Hey, the five of you.

You're Ghouls, ain't ya?

Fuck you, Matty.

You know who we are.

This here's a Brawlers bar,
Gary.

This ain't no goddamn
Brawlers bar.

This here is a Brawlers bar.

Got no room
for no stool‐pigeonin'

Happiness Ghouls.

This place has been
a part of the Ghouls' turf

since before you were born.

Besides, what‐the‐fuck‐ever.
You three ain't even Brawlers.

Yeah, well, we're throwing it
back tonight,

reclaiming a little territory.

Leave, Matty.

Ethan, got those knucks?

What about Johnson?

You come back here,
we'll kill ya.

Yeah, yeah.

Johnson, rejoice.

We got a new Phoenix
in our midst.

May trumpets sound
and the heavens shine

upon this fucking moment.

Gotta get you a jacket.

I got stabbed.

What?
No shit.

You got stuck, son,
not stabbed.

Don't worry.

Ole Johnson here is a regular
wizard with the gauze.

It'll be good.

Wh‐what happened
to your face?

They have beer here.

Thomas give you that?

Of course not.

Excuse me,

could we get a lager
for the gentleman, please?

Thank you.

We have a problem
with the will.

Thomas' son
and an associate of his.

Have you heard of Big Graham?

I'm sure I don't have
to tell you,

without the inheritance,

funding this expedition
might prove difficult.

I can deal with Colin,
but this Big Graham fella,

I'm... I'm gonna need you
to find me a crew

sooner than we thought.

It's hard finding guys
without cash to front.

- I'm sure.
- Look, what you're asking, Doris‐‐

It's ambitious.
I understand.

What if you call it off?

I'm sorry?

Look, maybe you need to read

the tree leaves here‐‐

That's not how you say it.

- Well, what I'm saying is, maybe...
- No.

- That it's a sign‐‐
- No.

- Doris, you have‐‐
- No.

And how am‐‐how am I supposed
to raise a crew, Doris?

Hmm?

"Hey, fellas,
there's a really nice woman

"over on east side,
and she wants to hire you

"to drive 900 miles to take on
The Banished fucking Brawlers.

"Oh, but one more thing.

"Before you leave,

"you gotta kill
the most notorious mobster

"in all of Detroit.

Oh, also, fellas,
we ain't got no money."

What if it's just them?

I can lure them out.
We take them and go.

No bloodshed in the process.

Except maybe I wouldn't mind

shedding a little blood
in the process, Witt.

Any one of those motherfuckers
to ever put on

that idiotic shirt.

It's a suicide mission.

And if I have to do it
on my own,

if you don't think
you can help me, then...

Gonna be hard to get
a crew of guys with no money.

That's all I'm saying.

I'll see what I can do.
- That'd be nice of you.

- Yeah.
- You don't have to go.

I'd rather not stay.

Witt.

Thank you.

Let me explain
how this works.

Want you to meet
Betty the Brougham

and our dear Uncle Lug.

And us, we're not Brawlers.
- We're more than that.

We're The Three
River Phoenixes,

the lifeblood of The Brawlers.

We're quicker.
We're slicker.

We're a little less thicker.

There's 13 Bang‐A‐Rangs,

all of 'em across
the southland.

And we're here, branch 707,

the original Bang‐A‐Rang.

Burt's Bang‐A‐Rang.

Now, you can call it
our fucking homeroom

if you want.

And what we do?

We make sure 707 keeps
its satellites provided for.

Can't rely on banks,
can't rely on fucking FedEx,

so they rely on us.

Cash, booze, supply,

we handle it all.

Bang‐A‐Rangs are all off the grid.

Someone wants in,
they gotta hit a checkpoint,

pass a test to get a ticket.

We deliver. We pick up.

- And we leave.
- Every checkpoint.

Every branch.

- And then we drink.
- A lot.

- And a lot.
- And a lot.

A sensible amount.

And then we rinse, we repeat,

and go right back
where we started.

Oh, yeah, she butter‐soft, man.

Agnes, three beers,
three strychnines.

Sure thing, Prince.

Running late tonight.

How's the road?

Better now you're off it.

You shouldn't be sore
about this, you know.

You weren't ready.

You don't take your hand
off me,

I'm gonna drive this glass
through your heart.

Problem, Matty?

No.
No problem.

Jukes phoned me
the other day.

Said you
and your dandelion boys

tuned up some of his Ghouls
this week.

Little initiation
for the new guy.

Since when's breaking truces
ever been part of initiations?

Ghouls ain't gonna start
a war over a bar fight.

A truce, Matty,
with the Ghouls.

You been around long enough
to know better.

And long enough to know
they ain't gonna do shit.

They're calling a meeting...

tomorrow at the track.

We could turn all three of you
over to them.

That don't scare you, huh?

How 'bout when Burt
hears of it?

Hmm?

Think he's gonna wanna
protect you three

for running around,
digging up old fights

when we got a fucking business
to run?

Burt ain't been around
in forever.

The answer's no, he won't.

Because when we fought,
when The Brawlers fought,

not the fucking Phoenixes,
The Brawlers,

it was for a reason.

And we ain't had a fight
in a long fucking while, Matty.

Until maybe now
after you three waltzed

into a goddamn Ghouls bar.

Come on, Joel,
it was a fucking‐‐

There's no "Come on, Joel."

You're fucking errand boys.
Goddamn pledges.

And you work for The Brawlers,
which means you keep

The Brawlers' interests
your fucking priority.

Tell me you understand that.

I understand.

Good.

It was my turn, you know.

Been running that river
seven goddamn years.

Avron was a Phoenix, what,
seven months?

Before I ever came around,

I heard about
what The Brawlers did,

and I wanted to be a part of it
more than anything,

where I'd know everyone had
my back same way I had theirs.

Let me ask you, then.

How is it you got our backs
when you keep putting

your people in danger?

Hey, Johnson.

You're new.

You like scratch?

I got 22s for 15
or 2 for 22.

Uh, what is that?

What's your name?

Ethan. Yours?

Where you from, Ethan?

Michigan.

You got a lady
back in Michigan?

You got somewhere to be,
Meredith?

Here was working just fine.

Nope.

All right.

See ya around, Ethan.

Ouch.

Never seen it before,
not in all my life.

This toxic shit's
not allowed in here.

How many times I gotta tell ya?

How many times Burt
gotta tell ya?

Burt's a million miles away.

He's a phone call away.

Burt ain't never been
a phone call away, Joel.

But if you do get ahold of him,
you just tell him I said hi.

Any girl in here,
anyone you want,

but not her.

She's tethered, man.

Tethered?

Besides‐‐Johnson, how many
pinups you fall in love with

since you been a Phoenix?

Probably all of 'em.

How many of 'em
loved you back free of charge?

Probably none of 'em.

What do you, um...

what do you suppose
a china doll like you

is doing around
a group like this, huh?

I mean, look at you.

Look around you.

Look where you are.

You're just a little boy
in a man's world.

Mm.

That shirt you're wearing,

you know what it means
to wear that?

Yeah, of course you don't.

See, Avron's big Uncle Burt

put him on a fast track.

Did his time as a Phoenix
a whole few weeks or months

or whatever it was,
and now here he is.

The pride of The Brawlers,

Burt Harlow's nephew.

That's right.

Is it, though?

'Cause from what I hard,
that's hardly the case.

What was it again?

Your mother's sister's
Aunt Veronica

married Burt for a week
or something.

Am I right there?
- Hmm.

Then he gets drunk
on the road

and tells us how he lost
his virginity to her.

Ole Aunt V took his V.

But what's said on the river
stays on the river, so...

Come on, now.

What'd I just tell you?

- Joel, this guy‐‐
- Picking fights with Brawlers?

It was the new one.

That right?

Let me give you some pointers,
fragile one.

You don't touch Brawlers,

and you sure as shit stay
the fuck away from Meredith.

All these years,

you never told me where
you came from before we met.

I told you a great deal.

None of it true.

I...

I come from bad blood,
Tommy.

Bad blood and dark days.

You changed all that, though,

a good man like yourself.

I'm not that good, you know.

Perhaps that's why we've gotten on so well.

I can tell you about it

if you want,
if it'll help you...

about the bad in me.

Is that what you'd prefer?

For this to end
in full disclosure?

Or perhaps we let
the curtain fall untainted,

just carry on with ourselves.

Who did that to you?

Was it Colin?

Big Graham?

I'll give 'em
a good talking to.

Tommy, any words
you have with them

will be gone
as soon as you're...

- I'm sorry.
- Oh.

Don't trouble yourself.
Eat.

Doris.

You do what you have to do
to move on, to be safe.

You spare nothing...

And you spare no one.

No one.

Promise me that, okay?

Sammy Simpleton lives in the forest.

Lyla,
you're supposed to be asleep.

He has a cabin.

What kind of cabin?

Wood.

A wood cabin.

What does he do
in his wood cabin?

He reads
and talks to his pets.

Hmm.

What pets does he have?

A cat, a horse,
and a night giraffe.

A night giraffe?

A giraffe that's allergic to the sun.

Sammy must have a big cabin

to be able to fit a giraffe.

No, he spends all day
fixing the roof

'cause he keeps poking holes
in it.

And then there's
Beatrice Beodorff.

Beatrice Beodorff.

What's her story?

She has a broomstick
that doesn't work anymore.

It broke 'cause she was
flying too fast on it.

Hmm.

She's a witch.

No, but she knows magic.

So she's a good witch?

No, Daddy‐o,
she just knows magic.

Mm‐hmm.

And then there's...

Harold.

Harold who?

Harold Horpus.

I don't have his story yet,
though.

Well, you know the rules.

Everyone's gotta have a story
before I draw 'em.

I can brainstorm.

You really should be asleep.

Can we have
nighttime breakfast?

Should I contact the others?

Mrs. Quinn?

Harlow.

- I'm sorry?
- My maiden name is Harlow.

You can take the day.

I'll take care of the rest.

Yeah, so...
everyone's up and ready.

Um... except Bash.

Ain't answering his door.

The fuck are you doing?

You have a visitor
in the kitchen.

Bash.

Bash.

Come on, man.

Gotta go meet the Ghouls.

- Okay.
- Let's go.

Remember, no fighting.
Yeah?

Bash?

Bash.

Bash.

Joel.

You worry too much.

Your father met me at a very challenging

time in my life, Colin.

I was very confused...

Very young.

You weren't that young.

I suppose not at heart, no.

You both were right,
you and Big Graham,

about not knowing much
about me,

Tommy especially.

I guess I just always thought

it'd be best to keep it all
tight‐lipped.

So I'll tell you.

There are some men down south,
many miles from here.

Have you heard
of The Banished Brawlers?

Yeah,
you're not stupid, Doris.

Hmm?

You see him for what he is.

Just like you see me
for what I am.

So please, listen to me.

Hmm? This is the 1/8
of a fucking ounce of shit

that I might possibly give
about you,

and that's being nice.

Go away.

You don't want guys
like Big Graham up your ass.

Your father loves you.

It's one of his
biggest fears in life

that you'd inherit his flaws.

When I see
that you already have,

and that makes me sad.

Oh, yeah, well,
life's tragic, ain't it?

You can't file
until he passes.

I wish we could have learned
to understand one another.

Because then maybe
you would have seen

that the bad you have in you

pales in comparison
to the bad that I know.

The honest truth of it,

with everything
that's happening,

I feel as though something's
waking up inside of me.

It's an awful feeling, really.

This darkness
like a‐‐a sickness.

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.

You fucking‐‐

I'm not sure this
is what your father meant.

Okay, Molly,

as we discussed.

It's Ethan. Leave a message.

Hi, Ethan.

It's me.

I was just calling to see
how you were doing.

Check in on you.

Come on.
Let's get this over with.

I know this all must be a lot to process.

Big new world,
a lot of moving parts.

I know it might be scary.

But... I hope
you're making friends.

I guess...

The reason
that I called was‐‐

well, keep it quiet, but...

I might be coming
down there soon

to take care
of some business...

Tie up some loose ends.

So until I get there,

you keep your head up
and your eyes open.

And maybe I'll be
seeing you soon.