The Mosquito Coast (2021–…): Season 2, Episode 8 - Dead Totems - full transcript

Hey, come on.

What's the rush?

I mean, you don't wanna get caught,
do you?

- By who?
- Isela, for starters.

All of her rules about staying
within the boundaries.

Okay, what now?

Not a problem.

Good plan.

Stop dicking me around, okay?

I understand he's eluded you in the past,

and you need me to catch him
red-handed in the middle of the act.



I'm searching his house today,

but you're not giving me clear information
on my immunity.

Hey, listen to me.

Full immunity is a big fucking ask,
Margot.

Are you speaking
for the entire NSA or just yourself?

Other people need to sign off on this.

Well, are they?

Are you gonna be straight with me,
or do I need to get someone else involved?

Did you speak to Charlie about the gun?

I will.

Allie, this is serious.

- I got it.
- He needs to know he's going back.

- I have to go to work.
- What's going on?

I just gotta go, all right? I'm late.



Even if you get Sandpiper up and running,
is it what they want?

No. Not in a million years.
It was never designed to do that.

I'm stalling for time.

What's happening?

Guillermo is dangerous. All right?

I tracked his smuggling routes.

I found predictable activity
and an anomaly.

Of what?

Something he wants kept secret.
Off the grid.

I need to find out what it is.

- I have to go.
- I'm starving.

- Hey, sweetie.
- Hey.

You better be quick.
The kitchen closes soon.

Wait, where's Dina? Where'd she go?

Hunting for mushrooms with Adolfo.

Wait, are you guys coming? Dad?

No. I'm good.

See you all later.

You're the only one who likes my soup.

Your food is good, guera.

It's good.

Gracias.

I come in peace.

You know, you could just turn it off.
Or get a burner.

I need the video function.

You have a kid?

A son. Otto. He's six.

He lives with his mother in Bristol.

He's beautiful.

Do you see him much?

His mother wanted me
to be a constant presence, or not at all.

And I tried staying put.
I even got a job at Amnesty.

In fact,
I did everything she wanted me to do,

- but it felt...
- Performative.

Fashionable.

Self-congratulatory.

But you have a son.

I mean, didn't that change things?
What if something happened to you?

I made a choice.

And now he has a stepdad,
and I'm relegated to video chats.

You were able to quiet the militant voice
and raise your children.

You're lucky.

You know, I listened to the words
that you said to me yesterday.

They really affected me.

I've been thinking a lot of things lately,
even turning myself in.

But yesterday,
you reminded me that I used to care.

I wanna help you.

That's a mighty quick U-turn
from "stay the hell away."

And a very convincing "fuck off."

Well, you could have tucked yourself into
a lot of other nearby staging areas

as well, but here you are.

This is not one of those operations

for the idealistic academics
we once were, Margot.

I'm not gonna ruin your life. Not again.

Well, I reached the end of that road.
So there's that.

Do you remember the first time you came
over to my house?

You were so shy. Intimidated.

But I knew, we both knew,
there was something there.

There still is.

Yeah.

But I'm sorry, I can't help you this time.

See it like I'm protecting you.

You have a car?

Well, not exactly.

But it's got wheels and an engine.

And it runs.

Sorry.

It's Ridley's. I use it for work,

- but sometimes he lets me borrow it.
- Nice.

Watch out.

So, tell me, where are we going?

No. You'll find out.

- Just wait.
- Oh, my God.

That's where I play football.

I'd say I'm pretty good.

Never got to do stuff like that.
Just be a kid. You know?

Yeah, I know.

Sucks.

Okay, what if you could trade lives
with someone?

Who would you be?

Sixteen-year-old girl who lives
in a nice neighborhood with both parents,

who have normal fucking jobs.
And they have a dog.

So no one specific?

Nope.

Just a normal girl.

I don't buy it.

Fine. The fucking queen of England.

Okay, so that's our church.

Whole town's there on Sunday.

I prayed for us.

What?

I don't know. It's just weird to me.

I'm not really religious. I'm…

The opposite, actually.

So you don't believe?

Doesn't it get… lonely?

What's going on?

Stop asking questions.

Everyone looks so happy.

You dance?

- No. I don't know how.
- It's band a. It doesn't matter.

I'll teach you. Come on.

- No.
- Get up. Come on.

- No.
- Let's go.

Oh, my God.

Come on. Let's go.

It's all right, I promise.
All right, come on.

Jesus Christ.

- Dad, it's me.
- Charlie, what are you doing here?

I followed you.

And why the hell did you do that?

Well, I heard you tell Mom you were
in danger and wanted to help.

You shouldn't have come.

Did you see those men back there?

Guillermo's guys run a looting sideline.
This place is so rotten.

Yeah, I've seen them before, though.

Wait, sorry.
You've come this far on your own before?

Charlie.

Yeah, a few times.

Dad, it's okay, though.
I know how to be careful, all right?

I know about those guys.
They're huaqueros.

They're looters.
They look for artifacts and stuff.

Look, I can help you. Let me help.

The guy who owns Casa Roja,
he wants me to use Sandpiper to help him.

I'll explain later.

Hey.

If you're coming, let's go.

And then one more and turn.

Okay.

Great.

- And then...
- Again?

Allie wasn't at the jetty.
And he's not at Casa Roja.

I waited, and I waited.

He stood me up.

So, you gonna tell me about Sandpiper?

It's an algorithm. It's a program.

It finds order
in what most people think is chaos.

Like what?

Anything.

People, the weather, wind, animals.

Rooster crows every morning, right?
That's a pattern.

Here, look.

Even this.

Order and chaos,
all in the palm of your hand.

I don't get it.

All right. One leaf, that's order. Right?

Tree, it gets a little more complicated.

But all this, that's chaos, right?

Okay.

Except it's not. It's a pattern.

You just have to unlock what it is.
Why it's arranged the way it is.

And for that, you need data, lots of it.

So, why is this even important?

You understand the pattern,
then you can control it.

Like, predict the future?

Yeah, kinda.
I mean, it's not perfect, but it can.

Yeah, but some things just happen, right?

Randomly. Like an accident.

Yeah, politicians.

Dad, I'm serious. Come on.

Like, there are some things
that you can't predict.

That don't have a pattern. Right?

Right.

Look, you see that bird?

Now, if it were possible to
give me every piece of data on that bird,

mating patterns, life span, weather,
absolutely everything,

then I could tell you exactly where
that bird's gonna fly next.

Even how it might die,
or what's gonna kill it.

That's kinda depressing.

Uh-huh.

But I might also be able
to tell you how to save it.

I don't know.

I mean, didn't you tell me that, like...

That if someone has an answer
that they can apply to everything,

then it isn't a real answer.
It's like a cult. Right?

And what do you believe?

I believe that the bird
just flies wherever the fuck it wants to.

Well, you've always been a little chaotic.

That's your pattern. Like your mom.

Gracias.

Gracias.

- Here. I'll go get us something to drink.
- Okay.

Where are we?

El zocalo.

Yeah. But, what town?

San Pasqual…

Is there an airport nearby?

- Who are these guys?
- I don't fucking know. Guillermo's men.

Where's your team?

He turned them away.
He insists I use his people.

His people are traffickers.

They're voracious,
and they know no bounds.

You'll keep their visit short.

What's wrong with that guy?

He's so fucking weird.

He wasn't always like this.

He had a car accident driving drunk.

His mom was with him, and she died.

Family has never forgiven him.

So, is Margot part of your plan,

- or any of your plans?
- No.

What's been going on with her and Allie?

Well, I can tell you that he sank a boat
to keep her from running away.

Really?

That should tell you how she feels
about Allie.

That, however, doesn't answer
her sincerity or motives toward you.

- See you later.
- Yeah.

Okay.

Jesus Christ.

Hi.

Oh.

Take a look at this.

Damn, this must have been amazing.

Exactly. Must've. Once.

Before some asshole sawed off all
the glyphs and hauled them out of here.

How would you even do that?

I mean, it would've been nice
to just leave it here.

Let someone come actually see it for real.

What good are they gonna do here,
losing money in the jungle?

Put 'em in a museum.
You know, charge 20 bucks for a T-shirt.

- Right.
- You hack 'em up.

Send 'em to a whole bunch of museums.
Quadruple your money.

Right.

'Cause car parts are worth more
than an actually good car, right?

Turns out you do listen to things I say.

People won't respect anything
they can't monetize.

They have to steal it and then sell it.

Bingo.

Even worse,
when people get their history stolen,

their soul goes right along with it,
Colonialism 101.

Kind of like with us.

- What does that mean?
- No, no, not, like...

Not, like, in a bad way. I just mean,
like, we don't really have a history.

Or not one that we talk about, at least.

But that's probably a good thing, right?
I mean…

It just means, like, we're free, right?

We can do whatever the fuck we want.

No one can tell us otherwise, right?

Sit down for a second.

Have a seat.

I found some wine and opened it.

I found your bag and opened it too.

Do I really seem like a "Judi" to you?

Were you gonna kidnap me?

First off…

Screw you for invading my space
and rummaging through my things.

We're way, way past that, Richard.

I've spent the last ten years
looking at four walls around me.

When the self-pity starts,

I remind myself they aren't
four walls of an actual prison cell.

And that's why
I don't want you involved with this one.

Let me finish, please.

I have no choices available to me

and no position or situation better
than the one that I am in right now.

And then you show up.

You come here wanting me
to go away with you?

I didn't know how you'd react.

Turns out, not so good.

I want a partner, Richard.

I've been missing that
ever since you drove away and abandoned me

- all those fucking years ago.
- Look, here's the thing.

You've asked a couple of times,
gently but persistently.

Don't ask.

Don't pry.

I do not want you involved with this one.
Do you understand?

I don't want you to get hurt.

This is my first mission, not on my own,
being paid by someone else,

and it's turning out
to be quite complicated.

Guillermo.

It's too dangerous.

I'm doing this on my own.

Here's a passport.

Come and meet me.

I don't know who I am anymore.

I'm lost.

So, either I'm all in, as a partner,
or I'm out.

I'm tired of paying
for a mistake I made years ago

and how I've spent my life since.

The judgment. The condescension.

So, this is it.

Either you trust me, or you don't.
You include me, or I'm out.

Don't forget
I protected you all those years.

I found these detonators
with the passports.

Partners?

I'll take you to the target
in the morning.

Okay.

So, you think that's what we do?

We just do whatever the fuck we want?

No, I…

I mean, kinda. Yeah.

No. We don't.

We do whatever is right.

And sometimes, what's right in the moment
isn't even what we want.

But we have to do it anyway.

Is that why you pulled the gun
on that guy?

'Cause you just think
we can do whatever the fuck we want?

No. I did that because I don't like him.

And why is that?

Because he's fucking with us.

Hey, I'm not a fan either.
But I'm never gonna hurt the guy.

- I didn't hurt him. I wasn't...
- Ever.

Ever. Do you understand?

Yeah.

And why?

Why wouldn't I hurt him?

I don't know.

I mean, he fucked up our lives.

So, if you ask me,
I think you have every right.

Wrong.

I wouldn't hurt him
because that would fuck up my life,

my plan.

My plan for you, my plan for Dina.

So, why did you do it?

Just sometimes I…

I just get so angry and so scared.

Like...

Like, I feel like
every part of me is screaming, and…

I can't stop.

So, is that about him,
or is that about you?

I killed that guy.

And you never said anything.

Not once. None of this.

Why?

Because…

Because you did that for us.

You had to.

Right?

So, I did the right thing?

That wasn't Colonialism 101?

It's like I said.

Sometimes, what's right in the moment
isn't what we want.

But we have to do it anyway.

- Okay.
- Come on.

Let's walk.

Has anyone, I don't know,
taken you on a date like this ever before?

Hardly.

There was this guy back home named Josh.

I used to think
it was such a big deal but…

I look at it now, and it was nothing.

Nothing happened.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

- I'm fine.
- Um…

Would you like to go to my place?

Yeah.

Okay.

I know where it is.
I just don't know what it is.

It's in the general area, at least.

Couldn't it be, like,
underground or something?

Yeah but why bother when the jungle
lets you hide in plain sight?

Is that what they're hiding? Cows?

I don't know. Stay low.

Dad.

Looks like some kind of hand off.

What do you think?

That we've come to the right place.

Wait here. You got it?

Why? There's nobody here.

Because I said so, okay?

Dad, if it's not safe for me,
then it's not safe for you.

Charlie, I mean it. Stay right here.

I thought I told you to stay.

Hold that.

Okay.

It just looks like farm stuff.

Nope.

It's not farm stuff.

Hurry. They might be back soon.

Dad, come here.

We should go, right?

I mean, if they're hiding this here,
we're probably on camera or something.

No.

It's the last place they want cameras.

Too much evidence.

Move your hands.

Here, help me out.

Yeah.

He's skimming off the top.

He's cutting it with caffeine.

He's stealing drugs from the cartels
in transit and reselling it.

No cameras, no evidence.

Our landlord is not quite as invulnerable
as he'd like to think.

I'd say we're in a position
to make an ask or two.

Gotcha.

It's not much.

It's all I can afford right now.

You know, fuck that.
Neither of us had many choices.

I'm working on it.

Would you like some water, or some...

- I have a kitchen, so…
- Okay.

Okay, I'll be right back.

Christ.

Okay.

Dina!

Dina, hey, stop!

You're gonna have to take me out
if you want to leave.

What the hell?

So that's what this has all been about?

- No, I had no choice, okay?
- What?

I'm leaving. This was my only chance.

Did you even think what would happen
to me if you stole my boss's truck?

Did you?

- No!
- Jesus Christ, Dina!

Jes... I'd go to jail.

I'll spend the rest of my fucking life
working to replace it.

I'm sorry, okay?

It's not what you think.

I'm not some fricking normal person, okay?

I mean, am I honestly just supposed
to think you were gonna help me?

Will you?

Where were you going?

Where's Mom?

I don't know.

Hungry?

Yeah, actually.

We could go to the mess hall. Get...
Do you want soup or something?

Yeah, soup sounds good.

Okay. Today was fun.

Yeah.

Hey.

- Where have you been?
- Been with me.

Oh, yeah? Guillermo's?

No, I'll fill you in later.

Where are you going?

I was gonna go check if Dina's back
and then go to the mess hall.

Okay, well, be careful.
Silvia's got an eye out for you.

Did you talk to him?

Yeah. Talked a lot.

Good. Is he happy to go back?

We didn't get to that.

What?

Fuck, Allie, we have one window.
They need to be ready to go.

I'm this close to Richard. I can feel it.

Dear Mom, Dad, and Charlie.

From the time I was little,

we'd pick up and move suddenly
without explanation.

I didn't complain
because I was just a kid.

And where would I have gone instead?

Well, now I'm leaving.

I don't trust either of you anymore.

You never really cared
if I was happy or not.

Frankly, I don't know what to write

that I haven't said
a hundred times before.

I do love you.

Don't worry. The one thing you taught me,
Dad, is how to take care of myself.

Charlie, I love you so much.

I'm so sorry.