What/If (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - What Secrets - full transcript

♪ Gimme danger, little stranger ♪

♪ And I feel with you at ease ♪

♪ Gimme danger, little stranger ♪

♪ And I'll feel your disease ♪

♪ There's nothing in my dreams ♪

♪ Just some ugly memories ♪

♪ Kiss me like the ocean breeze ♪

♪ Yeah! ♪

♪ There's nothing left alive ♪

♪ But a pair of glassy eyes ♪

♪ Raise my feelings one more time ♪



Can I help you?

I need to speak with Doug Hamm
about a homicide.

Detective Hamm won't be in
for a few hours yet.

Do you have information on a case?

Are you the victim's family?

I'm the killer.

Get on the floor!

Arms spread! Do it now!

It's the fire academy.

I'm not going in.

There's a missed call from Sean,
but he didn't leave a message.

I don't wanna involve him in this.

What do you wanna do?

Jesus, all the lies you had to tell
to keep this thing a secret.



If I could undo it all... I would.

- What if the baby had been his?
- It's not.

I am 100 percent certain.

That wasn't my question.

You know what? See if you can answer this.

Were you in love with him?

Baby, you're the only man
that I have ever loved.

And I still do.

More than I have
ever even thought possible.

Then what was it?

Infatuation, I guess.

Ian is very powerful and authoritative.

- What does that make me, Ang?
- Kind.

Loyal.

Generous and loving.

Look, I just think we should let
the police handle it from here.

What do you think the police will do?

You had a consensual affair
with an authoritative asshole

who sent us a pig heart.

They'll chalk it up to a bad breakup
and a dipshit academy probie

and have a good laugh about it
at the station.

Ian's behavior,
the way that he stared me down

as he was being escorted
out of the hospital...

that was anything but funny.

Guy's a coward and a bully.

If I learned anything
from growing up my father's son,

is that you don't wait
to stand up to a guy like this.

What's his address?

Confronting Ian right now is a bad idea.

He's obviously unstable and you're...
you're very angry.

Yes, Ang, I'm really angry.

I got a kid coming,
this is about protecting my family.

You don't understand Ian.

I don't need to understand him.

I just need him to stay
the fuck away from us.

Fine.

I'll show you where he lives.

But I'm coming with you.

Hey, this is Sean. Leave a message,
and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Is something wrong?

I haven't heard from Sean since Kentucky.

It's not like him.

He must've lost his phone at the reunion.

A little space apart
certainly didn't hurt your fortitude

in front of the FDA panel.

Your presentation was outstanding.

Our trial data's outstanding.
I'm just the messenger.

Oh, the fine art of humble bragging.

I take back the concerns I shared
on the day we met.

There is indeed a great deal
of potential in you.

And the whole world's
about to watch you rise to it.

They approved us?

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Sean, are you home?

I've got some amazing news.

Oh, hey.

Hi.

Nice to see you.

Hey, Lisa.

Marcos, hey. What are you doing here?

Sean called early this morning,
asked me to be here when you got home.

Why? Where is he?

He left a letter for you.
It's in your bedroom.

A letter?

Lisa, I'm sorry.

I appreciate you stepping in
last night, Foster.

It's not lost on me
that you've grown uncomfortable

with some of your more recent service.

Sean's paying for a mistake
he should've rectified years ago.

But the girl has done nothing to deserve
the devastation she's walking into.

That girl trusted the wrong man.

I don't suspect she'll do it again.

Lisa, I wanna start by saying
that you're the most wonderful thing

that ever happened in my life.

At some point,
the past always catches up to you.

I don't expect you to forgive me any more
than I plan to forgive myself

for what I've done to you.

Don't come look for me.

It's better that way.

I'm sorry.

What did he do?

Do you know?

- You know.
- I don't.

Do you know where he is?

Marcos, if this were Lionel

and he left you a Dear John letter,
you'd already be in the car.

- He...
- He what?

He doesn't want you to see him.

I don't care what he wants!
He's not thinking clearly!

Take me to see my goddamn husband
or I'll find him myself!

Okay.

Okay, I'll drive.

Open this door, you crazy motherfucker,
or I'm busting in!

Hey!

Come on! Huh?

Ian could legally shoot us both,

and he could get away with it!

Can we please go now?

One look at this place,
you can tell how fucked up he is.

How can't you see?

What are you doing?

Being authoritative!

Where is this fucker at?

You're taking this too far.

What...? What the fu...

Holy shit.

Who the fuck is this guy?

What are all those files?

Medical records.

All women.

- Son of a bitch.
- Todd, hurry.

Throw them in here.

Bourbon?

It's always five o'clock somewhere,
as my mother used to say.

I've lost my taste for bourbon.

Word from the Hill is your little puppet

was magical this morning.

I don't know what kind of witchcraft
you employed

to transform that nervous,
little mouse I summarily rejected

into a billion-dollar disrupter.

All I did was remove the obstacles
to her success.

The rest is entirely Lisa's
innate prowess.

Well...

I'm sorry to tell you
that the real obstacles

are just getting started.

I have the heads of every major
pharmaceutical company on my phone sheet,

no doubt offering their own retainers

as an asset to what will become
an epic class action lawsuit

to stop Emigen at any cost,

to borrow a phrase.

Hm.

And here we were...

having such a pleasant time

watching you drink.

How much do you want?

A third.

You're insane.

Hm.

The maximum I'm willing to offer...

is ten percent of the proceeds.

Profits and Emigen are a long way off.

Without my connections and deep pockets,

you run the risk of losing it all
in a protracted legal battle.

How much do you think it's gonna cost

to take on the Pfizers
and the Glaxos of the world?

A hundred million?

More?

Is it really possible that you could be
missing the end game here?

I didn't say profits.

I said proceeds.

And the question isn't how much
would a legal fight cost us,

but how much will it cost them?

Hm.

Cassidy?

Hello?

Cassidy?

It's Avery Watkins.

Cassidy?

Anne Montgomery's little weasel.

To what do I owe the displeasure?

Can you open the door?

Nope.

Okay, would you at least widen it a bit
so I can look you in the eye?

Uh, I'm looking for Lisa.

She's not here.

She was supposed to meet me
at the office two hours ago, never showed.

She's not answering her phone
and there's no one home at her place.

I didn't realize stalking
was part of your job description.

Emigen just got expedited
to production by the FDA.

Duh. I don't live under a rock.

You haven't been living in
the lap of luxury either.

Bye-bye, weasel.

Wait.

Everything Lisa's been working for
her entire life

has come to fruition,
and she disappears without a word.

Doesn't it seem odd to you?

No, you being at my door
seems pretty fucking odd.

Lisa is a total turtle.

A turtle?

Yeah, something big comes up,

and she retreats
until she decides how to handle it.

Yo, girl, it's me.

Will you give me a call back
just to let me know you're okay?

Anne Montgomery's weasel's here,
feeling neglected.

All right. So, are we done here, weasel?

Just one more thing.
What the hell is that?

Great.

Are you gonna slither back
to your dark overlord

and tell her the peasants
are planning a revolt?

Cassidy, I've suspected for weeks
that you and Lisa were digging into Anne.

If I was reporting back to her,

you'd both know it by now.

So I am suddenly supposed to believe
you're one of the good guys?

No, not suddenly.

Consistently.

What'll it take for you to trust that?

Maybe a head injury.

But we don't need to rely
on the dreaded t-word.

I don't have to trust you to use you.

What do you mean?

With Emigen fast-tracked,
we're losing time

to get to the bottom
of the Anne Montgomery mystery.

So...

I'll show you mine

and you show me yours.

Sean Donovan, where is he?

Lisa, slow down.

- I wanna speak with my husband.
- Mrs. Donovan?

Detective Doug Hamm.

I'm the lead investigator
in your husband's case.

What case? What are you talking about?

Would you come with me?

So...

Sean was processed this morning for
the murder of a Stockton man back in 2012.

No, that's a mistake.

He made a full confession.

He even produced the murder weapon.

This makes no sense.

This makes no sense.

Take me to see him.

Sorry, no visitors.

- That's his request.
- I'm not a visitor. I'm his wife.

I'm sorry. I cannot take you back there.

What about his lawyer?

You want a confession from a man
who's clearly not acting

in his own self-interest.

To hold out denying him counsel
won't help your case,

whether he requests it or not.

Miller?

Would you take Mr. Ruiz here
back to see Donovan?

Yes, sir.

If it's possible...

Gage Scott just left with an even more
insufferable kick in his step

than the one he entered with.

I trust you have him where you need him.

Zugzwang.

Excuse me?

It's a chess term...

describing the obligation to make a move

despite the fact
that any move will weaken one's position.

Generally, it's an indication

that play has moved into the end game.

The condition that Sean Donovan

would recognize well.

I've lost a fair amount
of chess matches to you over the years,

endured my share of zugzwang.

You have.

And your point is?

I always recognize the moment when
you see an opponent's defeat is eminent.

A glint in your eye.

You usually relish it.

You don't seem to be relishing this.

Oh? How do I seem?

Well, if I didn't know any better,
I'd say you maybe regret

setting this particular game in motion
in the first place.

To the contrary.

There are still several big moves

left in this game, Foster,

and I simply know better than to celebrate
before the last one is played.

But thank you for reminding me

to savor the victory when it arrives.

- Ed Pearson.
- Judge Pearson, how are you?

It's Anne Montgomery.

Been a long time, Anne.

Yes, it has.

I'm sorry to trouble you,
but I have a favor to ask.

I'm afraid it's rather urgent.

If you knew Sean,
you'd understand there's no way

he'd ever hurt a person without reason.

Well, I do know him.

Well, knew.

We grew up three blocks from each other.

His brother Eric
used to date my older sister.

A hell of a guy.

Sean would never talk
about his brother with me.

All I know is that...

he blames himself
for not being able to save him.

Eric was, uh...

he was killed...

trying to break up a fight.

It was after a baseball game
up at Sacramento State.

Sean was up visiting for the weekend.

Eric died right in his arms.

Shooter was never caught.

Well, it changed him.

Wouldn't that change you?

Sure.

But that does not give me or...

anyone else a license to kill,

regardless of how righteous
he thinks he is.

Righteous how?

The guy Sean confessed to killing,

well, he has a history
of assaulting women.

Eyewitness accounts at the bar,
they indicate

that he had his sights set
on Sean's ex that night.

Maddie?

Yeah. Did you know her?

No. Not really.

Then obviously, you're not the one
who called in the tip about the connection

between her death and this cold case.

I have to take this.

Look... I know you're reeling.

But if there's good news here, it's that
Sean has voluntarily come forward

and taken responsibility for his actions.

That he's going to matter a lot
to the judge that sentences him.

Excuse me.

Detective Hamm.

Hello?

Hi, is this Carrie Blake?

Who's calling?

My name is Doctor Angela Archer.
I'm a resident at Stanton Hospital.

I don't practice medicine anymore.

I'm actually calling about a surgeon
that we both worked with...

- Dr. Ian Evans.
- No.

No. I'm hanging up. I cannot get involved.

Can you please
just tell me what I'm dealing with?

- Talk to Margaret.
- Who's Margaret?

- His mother.
- His mother's dead.

He wishes.

Margaret Dennison.

She has an address in Santa Cruz.

What did he say?

His confession is real, and he knows
he'll have to face what's coming.

Says he's been holding onto this
since before he met you,

and now he's overwhelmed
with so much guilt, he's drowning in it.

Why now?

Sean knows how close you are
to getting everything you worked for.

Wants to do this alone
so he doesn't drag you down with him.

So what, then?
To hell with "for better or for worse"?

He thinks he's doing right by you.

A lie like this can rip a person in half,
trust me, I know.

Lying about being gay
isn't even in the same universe, Marcos.

My husband just confessed
to murdering someone

in cold blood.

You've never hurt a fucking fly!

I'm sorry, I'm just...

It's okay.

When's his arraignment?

Tomorrow afternoon.

Let's go home and figure out
how we're going to post bail.

He said he'll refuse bail.

He wants us to leave him here.

I can't... I don't...

understand any of this.

Pero estoy aquí para ayudarte superarlo.

You're right.

Seems Anne's been memorializing
some dubious deal-making

in the name of this LS person.

You haven't figured out who it is?

Anne's managed
to hide all electronic traces

of her underground BFF
from public record.

Analog is the new digital.

Yeah.

Hm. Mystery solved.

Not that one, nimrod.

Lisa had some family thing
she had to take care of.

No mortal injuries.
Says she's gonna call us back tomorrow.

Logic wins out again.

Uncle Dave?

Since when does Anne Montgomery
have relatives?

Yeah, I thought she would have sprung
fully-formed from the head of Satan,

but apparently Lisa met him at a party
Anne threw at her penthouse last week.

Even if this guy is really related
to Anne Montgomery,

and that's a big if,

she'd never have invited a random
family member to that party.

You call the number?

I don't want to alert anyone
to what we're doing,

so I haven't contacted anyone directly.

Fuck it.

Hi, Uncle Dave, or whoever this is,

I have two words for you:

Anne Montgomery.

So call me back if you wanna know more.

I would say it's in your best interest.

- That was...
- Efficient? Genius? Ballsy?

- Rash.
- Well, I don't know, what do you expect?

I'm going crazy in here.

Yeah, I get it.

When's the last time you ate something
that didn't come in a plastic bag?

Well, I also eat out of boxes, too.

- Ugh. Gross.
- Yum.

I am cooking you dinner.

What, you don't think I can cook?

Ah.

- I understand the whole take out thing.
- Yeah.

I'm going to head over to my office
and call some criminal defense lawyers,

try and nail down next steps.

Are you gonna be okay?

I can't answer that question.

Why don't you try to rest a bit?

I'll be back to take you to family dinner.

No, Marcos.

I can't go.

I don't wanna tell anyone
what's happening?

We aren't anybody. Somos tu familia.

- There's nothing to be ashamed of.
- It's not about shame.

Telling Mama and Papa
would make this real,

and this isn't real.

Thank you. Thank you for being my brother.

Te quiero mucho.

I'll be back in an hour. Okay?

Okay, Sean...

who are you?

So just say it.

If I tell you the truth,

we won't come back from it.

Ian was a sweet little fella.

And curious.

And Alice just adored him.

His big sister.

- Ian never mentioned a sister.
- He wouldn't.

That was all...

before we lost him.

What do you mean, you lost him?

It was right around his third birthday.

My husband Carl had lost his job.

He started spending all his time
out in the shed.

I was never allowed out there.

He started taking Ian.

He was showing him
how to skin rabbit pelts...

gut larger animals.

And Carl was always overbearing.

It got so that, uh...

I wasn't permitted
to speak to him directly...

or to Ian.

Then one night, he overheard me talking
to my sister on the phone about divorce

and taking the kids.

And the next morning,
he and Ian were gone.

Ian was kidnapped?

Police searched for months and months.

The FBI after that, they...

they disappeared without a trace.

And then...

seven years later...

Ian walks out
of the Sierra National Forest.

Been living in there
all that time, off the grid.

And his father had gotten...

caught in one of his own bear traps,

right in front of Ian.

So...

Ian was returned to you?

Well, something was returned to me.

Not Ian.

Not the boy I know.

Oh, this kid was aggressive,

he was cruel.

He was filled with hate.

He'd been brainwashed to believe

that he'd been unwanted by his mother.

Of course his father was God,

and women the source of all evil.

He was home eight months...

when I found my daughter dead
in the bathtub.

It was ruled an accident.

You know,
she had hit her head somehow and...

slipped under the water, but...

I knew.

I saw the look in Ian's eyes

when they were taking her away.

Stone cold.

He killed her.

Of course no one believed me.

I spent the next 28 months
in and out of mandated psychiatric care.

What happened to Ian?

He was made a ward of the state.

If I'd only been...

strong enough to...

to do what needed to be done

the day Alice was murdered...

Tell us how to handle him.

I can't.

You've seen how smart he is.

The only reason I'm...

still here to tell the story

is because Ian decided...

that I was already dead.

In many ways, it's true.

So it may be if he thinks
he's ruined you, too,

maybe he'll move on.

God help you otherwise.

Camarones veracruzanos.

Your favorite.

I can't eat.
I shouldn't even be here.

Not while Sean's in there.

Fine.

I can't make you eat,
I can't make you talk about it.

But I will not leave you alone right now.

A comer.

Mira que tenemos aquí.

- ¿Qué pasa, mija?
- Nada.

Estoy bien.

Only the four of us tonight,
like back in the old days.

Yeah.

It's good to have the husbands
disappear sometimes.

No?

Uh, I have to get some air.

I can't...

sit there and lie to them.

But...

I can't tell them either.

I've been in your shoes, and I promise,
nothing you say to Mama and Papa

will ever change how much they love you.

They'll find out sometime.
Wouldn't you rather it be from you?

"Mom, Dad, guess what?
Your son-in-law's a murderer

who'd rather hide away
in a Stockton jail than face me."

Something like that?

Sean's not hiding from you.

He just doesn't want the worst thing
he's ever done to define him in your eyes.

Well, he's had plenty of opportunity
to avoid that.

I went through his computer and...

He's been searching articles
on that man's death...

for as long as I've known him.

I'm not defending what Sean did.

I'm just saying I understand
why he wasn't able to tell you.

Yeah, me too. He's a liar.

He's a liar...

and...

a coward.

Then so am I.

What are you talking about?

Marcos, what is it?

No, it's...

not the time.

I swear to fucking God,
I can't handle any more secrets.

So whatever it is...

if you love me...

then you have to tell me.

- Marcos!
- I set the fire.

- What fire?
- The fire.

The one that killed your parents.

I was playing with a magnifying glass
in your room.

I was focusing the sun into
a small dot on the bed skirt.

- You saved me from that fire.
- It was so hot inside.

- The fire sparked so fast.
- Stop talking!

- Lisa...
- No! Stop talking! Please!

It's too much!

No!

Do Mama and Papa know?

Is that why they adopted me?

I never told anyone...

until now.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

What's going on between you two?

Come back to the table, both of you.

Whatever it is, we handle it.

Como una familia. ¿Oiste?

I wouldn't even know where to start, Mama.

Well, the beginning, mijita.

I'm not sure I know where that is anymore.

I do.

I'll go first.

What?

Um, I've just never seen you
look normal before.

What's not normal about me?

Hm, that you're a mannequin
that magically came to life.

A hot mannequin, by the way.

You think I'm hot?

Hm, marginally.

For a weasel with a stick up his ass.

Then I will grudgingly admit
that you're not bad yourself.

- Oh.
- For a deeply paranoid, manic oversharer.

You forgot embezzlement habit.

Cassidy, I believe
you didn't forge that check.

You're way too smart
to do something that sloppy.

You think I'm smart?

I should have said something sooner.

Should have apologized.

Yeah, no shit.

But...

I forgive you, weasel.

You wouldn't be here
if you thought I'd stolen from Lisa.

It's obvious you wanna protect her.

It is?

You wouldn't be here
if I hadn't figured that out.

So what I hear you saying

is you were wrong about me.

Hm...

You would never hear those words
pass my lips.

But...

But I will admit

that you might be mildly useful

in the epic showdown
between righteous good

and Machiavellian evil,
that is my relentless

and inevitably victorious mission

to fire a ballistic missile
straight into the face

of Anne Montgomery.

Um, that was weird.

I'm sorry. I don't know what...

Wait a second.

Uh, yeah?

Why do you think Anne
saw so much value in Emigen

when no one else in town would touch it?

Um...

That's what you were thinking of just now?

No, only partly.

I mean...

it's not like I haven't asked myself
that question a million times.

Is it Emigen's brand seems totally off

from the rest of
Montgomery's capital holdings.

Yeah, and to the untrained eye,

small potatoes.

Well...

Big Pharma's eye is pretty trained.

They're gonna fire
every legal cannon at Emigen.

They have no choice.

Lisa's discovery...

could wind up costing them billions
and billions.

They'll definitely spend
whatever it takes to kill it.

- Billions.
- And billions.

Anne's gonna solicit Big Pharma
to buy Emigen.

- No she's not, it's not gonna happen.
- Why not?

Because Lisa...

owns half the company.

And that would never...

never ever...

never ever happen.

Yeah, good enough for me.

Donovan, you've got a visitor.

I said I didn't want visitors.

Hm.

You don't seem to be in a position
to dictate what you want anymore.

I'm told you are refusing bail.

Might I ask why?

I went to quite a bit of trouble
to secure it.

What do you care?

Oh, curious.

Indulge me.

You were right, okay?

Lisa's better off without me.

It'll be easier for her
to figure that out if I'm locked up.

Oh, really?

Thought you knew your wife
better than that.

What do you mean?

Well, the Lisa I know wouldn't let
a few cinder block walls

and rather grotesque odor

keep her from her heart's desire.

Unfortunately,
that heart still desires you.

I left her a letter, she knows it's over.

Let me guess.

"I love you more than life itself.

I'm so sorry.

I only want what's best for you.

Try to forget me."

Boo hoo.

You're still trying to pretend
you're the man she believes you to be:

noble, self-sacrificing, worthy.

As long as you allow her to believe that,

she will cling to the sorry hope
that it's true.

I confessed to murder.

I'm going to prison.
I don't know what else you want me to do.

You think you settled this
by confessing to the cops?

No.

If you really wanna set Lisa free,

you need to confess to her.

Drop this pretense of righteous nobility

and let her see the man you really are:

the violence...

the darkness...

the liar.

I'm so, so sorry.

I know you are.

Do you think that we can get past this?

I can't think about that,
not while we're right in the middle of it.

Todd, I want you to know what happened
with Ian had nothing to do with you.

Or even us.

Look, Ang, right now I've gotta
stay focused on protecting my family

from this unhinged, fuckin' maniac.

Lock the bedroom door after I leave
and keep it locked.

What are you doing?

Look, I'm standing guard.

All right, if you hear anything,
don't come out, call 911.

Baby, please, be careful. I love you.

Hello?

Mrs. Donovan?

It's Detective Hamm.

Yes?

I'm calling you out of courtesy because
I don't believe your husband is a bad guy,

and I don't think
you're a bad person either.

But I watched the security footage.

I know you took Sean's file off my desk.

I'm sorry.

I don't know what I was thinking.

Tampering with a murder investigation

is a serious crime.

If you're trying to help Sean,
this is the last way to do it.

I wasn't trying to tamper with anything.

I was just trying...

to understand.

Please.

You knew Sean before all this.

You must know how insane this feels.

I will return the file to you.

If I leave now,
I can be there in 90 minutes.

No, don't bother.

Nothing you took was an original.

It's all gonna be made available
to his lawyer in discovery anyway.

My advice...

just stay home.

Okay? Try to keep Sean calm and cool.

He's lucky to have you.

What do you mean?

Judge granted bail.

Some woman named Anne Montgomery
just signed him out.

Oh, my God.

Shit, my phone.

Where is he?

Where's my husband?

It's funny. We've been through
so much together,

and yet here we are,
right back where we started.

You called in
that anonymous tip, didn't you?

I can't believe I let myself think
you might actually be human.

I even felt sorry for you.

Yeah, I find the latter
somewhat difficult to believe myself.

Telling me you didn't have sex
with my husband,

as if that was supposed to be
some magnanimous gift,

as if what you did to him wasn't worse.

What is it that you imagined

I did to him, Lisa?

You rubbed his face in his past,

made him feel like some violent thug,
like a murderer.

Have I been misinformed?

Isn't that exactly what Sean is?

You goaded the violence out of him
that night, didn't you?

Convinced him
that he wasn't good enough for me?

And then gaslit him into admitting
to a crime you know nothing about!

All for what?

To secure one of your fucking investments?

Why don't you ask him yourself?

Tell me I'm wrong, Sean.

Tell me those bloody knuckles
you came home with that night

weren't because she threatened to destroy
us with what she knew about you.

She gave me a choice.

To leave you, right then and there

and set you free to let you become

what you've been able to become anyway,

or to defy her.

And let her prove in the end,
I would only hurt you

and lie to you and ruin you.

That I was and always will be a monster!

Well done, Sean.

Well done.

A man must have a purpose.

And you just served yours.

No.

Mm-hmm.

Sean just shared, quite accurately,

the details of what happened
between us that first night,

and as dictated by the terms
we all agreed to,

Emigen now belongs to me.

Entirely.

Foster, thank you for bearing witness.
That'll be all this evening.

"When you give someone your trust...

you give them the power to destroy you."

You were right.

I am destroyed.