Sometimes I feel like I'm at odds with the whole world.
How so?
Things with Grace are strained.
You cannot control everything.
Chloe is out of control. She blames me for…
I don't know, everything, I guess.
I didn't ask to be your daughter,
and I sure as shit didn't ask for your gifts.
Brandon killed Blackstar…
…a copy or whatever, and doesn't feel like he did anything wrong.
Seventy-eight percent of the country agrees.
Seventy-eight percent of the country believes
that the Code I've lived by my whole life
is somehow meaningless.
So…
That about cover it?
So you're having a relationship with a statistic?
You listed the conflicts you're in
with the three people who are most important in your life,
and now the one you're in with a percentage point.
Any thoughts on why that number means so much to you?
Because what's the use in doing good
if nobody perceives it that way? Huh?
Do you remember when this notion of doing good
became so important in your life?
Look,
a few days after my father died,
I sat on the floor of his bedroom with a bottle of whiskey.
- This was in '29, just after the Crash? - Yeah, right after.
- Where did you get the whiskey? - What does that matter?
Well, you're a good guy.
Prohibition wasn't repealed until '33.
Go on.
I was sitting there with Dad's whiskey,
and the article that Grace had written about him…
Taking a swig after every paragraph, reading about all of the things
that my father did that I didn't know about.
I decided right then and there
that if nothing was gonna numb the disappointment and the betrayal…
That I was gonna go in a different direction.
I was gonna reverse the sins of my father
by being everything that he was not.
By being good.
So, Mother and I both agree the ballroom's perfect.
So I say, "We'll take it."
Then a door in the wall pops open,
and out walks a tiny little man in a big hat,
insisting on $500 cash right then and there,
like he's never heard the country's in a depression.
When I asked why that's necessary, he says, "'Cause of the hooch."
"You ain't planning no dry wedding, is you?"
Turns out the Fairmont is run by the mob!
Around and around…
What?
I'm sorry, Jane.
You're home now.
That's all that matters.
Was it somebody close?
Sheldon?
It's always somebody close.
So, uh… the Fairmont's off the table?
Oh, it's such a gorgeous space. Miriam was right about that.
You hear that? The ringing?
- Maybe you can talk him down. - I can't. I have a… a board meeting.
Just call in and take the day off.
- You know where to start. - Twenty-eight.
You know where to go. You know where.
- Thirty-four. - They're waiting for you.
Forty-seven.
Sheldon, time's running out!
- Sixteen. - Shel?
- Find us. - Sheldon!
We're waiting.
Waiting.
Dad's watch?
Clinical coordinator, dial extension 5465.
Clinical coordinator, extension 5465.
You took something that doesn't belong to you.
And what are you gonna do about it, asshole?
Hey. What happened? The tractor conk out again?
Hey.
No, I just wanted to get my hands dirty.
Where you been?
Volcano erupted in Nusa Tenggara.
I cleared the villagers out, diverted the lava to the ocean.
Yeah.
I got some great pictures. You wanna see?
Yeah, I'd love to see 'em. Just let me finish the back forty here.
Well, why don't I just get Brandon down to help?
He's not here.
He on patrol?
I sent him to the Union to see Blackstar's autopsy.
Oh. Did you?
He needs to see it, Grace.
Well, Sheldon, you actually don't get to make that decision by yourself.
You weren't here.
That's bullshit.
Look, he needs to see that there are consequences to his actions.
This isn't a lesson. This is a punishment.
Since when are those two things mutually exclusive?
Sheldon, he already knows that he screwed up and he let you down.
He let the Utopian down.
I just don't understand
how rubbing his nose in it is gonna make it better.
He's not a puppy, okay?
He needs to learn about responsibility and accountability.
We're not just raising a son.
Yeah, well, we're also raising a human being.
Sometimes, I… I just…
I think that, uh, you forget
that those two things aren't mutually exclusive.
Dickhead was supposed to be here an hour ago.
Yeah, he's always late.
Likes to make an entrance.
How you holding up?
I wish everyone would stop asking me that question. I'm fine.
Your tone indicates otherwise.
I keep on playing the battle…
…over and over in my head, and every time, it's getting less clear.
What would you have done, Uncle Walt?
I'm not as strong as you
or your dad. No one is.
That's not an answer.
Yeah, 'cause honestly,
I don't have one.
All I know is we're here.
You made a decision. We're here.
Nothing can change that.
Told you.
Brandon!
Haven't seen you since you were a… a wee lad.
- Mr. Wolfe. - Ah! Barnabas, please.
We're practically family.
If your mother had any sense, you'd be calling me Daddy.
Can we just skip being an asshole? Get to it, Barnabas.
Don't make me turn your clothes to steam, Walter.
Nobody needs to see your sad little Schwanz.
Hello, lovelies!
Please, don't stand up.
Fitz, get us started.
Okay. The armor's identical to the original Blackstar's.
It's fused with this underlying tissue,
making it impossible to remove without destroying...
Yes, yes. This is very difficult and far beyond your meager abilities.
Everyone, please stand back
unless you're keen on having your reproductive organs irradiated.
- You're gonna tear the tissue. - Do be quiet.
This is a tad more difficult than being a human light bulb.
Large intestine, 7,200 grams. Jesus! He's a big mother.
That's just settling in, is it?
Help me loosen the liver.
- Why don't you wait outside? - I'm good.
If you're going to be unwell, please direct it away from me.
I can only manipulate inorganic matter.
And this coat is Italian cashmere.
Wait. You're hitting something.
What the hell is that?
Barnabas?
One moment.
Ah, that's interesting.
Oh, now, that's different.
Just tell us what we're looking at.
Wait.
There's something else.
Something inside.
Mr. Sampson?
Yes.
He is waiting for you in the master suite, sir.
Oh. Well, thank you, Cuthbert.
You were right, George. The farmhouse, it's all real.
This, it was written on the family's table in the cellar.
It's longitude and latitude.
It's the Atlantic Ocean. There's something out there, George.
That's what I think all of this is about.
The farmer's family was sitting down there, sitting around an old table.
- And when I saw them... - What were they doing down there?
What?
The… the family, you said the family was in the cellar.
What were they doing down in…?
Oh, they…
The farmer had shot them long before I got there. And then…
He turned the gun on himself right in front of me.
This is real, George. I'm not crazy.
Something's…
I don't know.
…calling to me, to all of us.
- All of us? - Yes.
The farmer's dead family,
suddenly, they weren't there anymore.
And sitting around the table was… was Walt,
a… a… a… a kid from the… the mill,
the woman reporter from… from… that wrote the article about Dad.
There were a couple of other men that I didn't recognize.
One of them might've been a captain of a ship.
The other one, I don't… I don't know.
But then there was you, George. You were there.
- And we were dead? - No.
But we were sitting in the same place as the dead people.
- I know how this sounds... - I don't know if you do, Shel.
Look, the visions, the patterns, everything that I've been seeing,
I think that it's all part of some kind of a puzzle, some kind of a test.
And it's all leading to this.
What do you think is out there in the middle of the ocean?
I don't know, George, but it's something special,
something that's gonna change the world.
I can feel it.
Will you help me?
How long have we been friends?
It feels like forever.
What would you do if I came to you with a story like this?
Well, I'd wanna believe you,
because you're my friend, and you always will be.
Then there's your answer.
Tell me about your dream.
Is it always the same?
More or less, yeah.
I stumble up onto the roof…
like I'm lost and just accidentally end up there.
And I see him…
In rags,
like he… he doesn't know where his next meal's coming from.
He turns and looks at me…
And…
…there's no recognition in his eyes.
It feels like he doesn't know who I am.
And I'm like, "Dad, it's me. It's Sheldon."
But it doesn't register. "Dad, it's me. Dad, it's me. It's Sheldon."
Then he turns around, and he walks away right off the edge of the building.
No! Don't, Dad!
Do you try to stop him?
Yeah.
Every time.
But I'm never fast enough.
Parents aren't supposed to abandon their children of their own free will.
It defies the natural order. When they do,
a child's mind can only make sense of it in one way,
that the child did something bad to deserve it,
that they failed to prevent it.
However, it does help us better understand your attachment to the Code.
It's operating on several levels for you.
Yes, it has institutionalized a way to be good.
It's also quite practical,
as it staves off the amount of death or loss in your life.
But in your line of work,
there is a 100 percent certainty
that your adversaries will attempt to rob you of your life.
Well, we can agree on that, yes?
Oh, yeah, Jack.
I think you know we can.
Good.
Now, in any other similar field,
the military or… or law enforcement, for example,
one has the right to kill in self-defense or in the protection of others.
Yeah.
But for the members of your Union of Justice,
when they… …are faced with the equivalent threat,
they must remember the Code,
which is another way of remembering you.
We do not let our anger get the best of us.
So I'm just a giant narcissist? Is that what you're saying?
No, no, no. You're just hoping to stay alive
in the minds of the people you love,
the way your father couldn't.
They're exactly the same.
Identical in every way.
How is that even possible?
Well, I can read minds. You shoot fire out of your eyes.
So, there's that.
And what about this thing?
How did that get inside of him?
No idea.
But the way it's constructed, the tech, the design…
Only one man on the planet could've built it,
George.
- Skyfox. - Mm-hmm.
Why would George wanna kill us now, after all these years?
And why hide all of this stuff inside a copy of Blackstar?
None of it makes any sense.
George always liked puzzles
and a good joke at my expense.
I'm sure he loves being the only one who knows the punch line here.
Well, it's not like we can ask him.
We spent years looking for him and never got close.
Maybe there's someone who can help us.
You sure it's there?
We need to talk.
Iowa.
Home.
I said we need to talk.
It's about your father.
Okay. All I see are trousers. Where is this gal?
Ah, she's here somewhere. I don't know.
Excuse me. We're looking for Grace Kennedy. Have you seen her?
Oh, I know shit when I smell it, Larry!
Don't wave it under my nose and call it a bouquet!
- Come on, Grace. Be reasonable. - Oh, "Come on, Grace."
Shove it up your ass, Larry,
and don't stop until the shit hits your brain
if there's room for any more up there!
Oh, what are you eyeballing, chipmunk?
Great. If you're here to sue me for everything I've got, this is it.
No. No, no. We're not here for that, Miss Kennedy.
Grace. I like to drop the formalities after someone's read me the riot act.
And I'm sorry about the way I behaved the last time I was here. It's just…
I didn't know some of those things about my father, and… and…
Look, I probably would've done the same, only less politely.
Does this one talk, or is he just for show?
- Yeah, this is my... - Oh! Oh, he talks, yeah. George Hutchence.
Oh, yeah.
- I've seen you in the society pages. - Mm.
- You look better in black and white. - I like her.
Well, get a good look, fellas, 'cause she's out the door.
Wait. You quit?
That's one version.
The other is hard times aren't just for capitalists,
so they had to cut the staff by one, because I'm a dame in a skirt
and not some sap with a penis to swing around.
Debatable.
Where's my mug?
Miss Kennedy, if you could give us a moment...
Where's my mug?
If you don't mind, I have an opportunity...
Okay! Okay!
- She's… she's on the table. - Okay! Who's got my mug?
Oh, Izzy.
- Are you sure about this? - Yes, yes, yes. She was in the cellar...
That's a better place for her. Less chance she can gnaw off your leg.
You two planting roots, or you got something on your mind?
I'd like to offer you a job.
- Me? - I had the same reaction.
I'm mounting an expedition,
and I would like you to come along to chronicle everything that happens.
An expedition to where?
- Well, it's... - What does it matter?
Unemployment's heading north of 20 percent.
Even if you land soft at another paper,
they're not gonna give the best assignments to a skirt and heels.
So, you throw in with us, you get paid, and you get the scoop of a lifetime.
Why don't you let Larry choke that down?
You know, if you talk any faster, your tongue's gonna land on the floor.
Why me?
- It's complicated. - Dumb it down.
- I had a vision, and you... - Of a better future.
For you, for the country, for everyone, really.
- Right. - Yeah.
So, what's it gonna be? You gonna stand there with your trash can,
or you gonna show these men what a gal like you can really do?
Hey.
Brought you a sandwich.
Thanks. Not really hungry.
Are you sure?
I'm fine.
Why are you still here?
Been thinking about it… a lot.
What it would be like if that were Dad,
or Uncle Walt,
or you.
How would that be better, Mom?
I mean…
…it wouldn't.
Not for us, it wouldn't.
Grace!
Oh, I was hoping we might run into each other.
Hello, Barnabas.
Oh, you're looking as fetching as ever.
Though, I have to say, I have always preferred you in red.
Barnabas…
You're lucky I like red.
Well, I think we're done here. The Union thanks you for your assistance.
- I think you know your way out. - Uh…
Actually, Walter's invited me to stay.
Has he?
There's a chance I can get inside Blackstar's mind,
search his memories.
How? He's dead.
I might be able to reanimate parts of his hippocampus and cortex
if Barnabas can reconstruct the affected regions.
Translation: You need me.
Looking right past us, like we weren't even there.
How's that right?
Well, we'll find something. It's gonna take some time.
Time's not gonna change the color of the man handing out the jobs.
That should be good. Thank you.
The hell you doing here?
These are guests, boy! You treat 'em like it.
- It's okay, Mrs. Small. It... - Not in my house, it isn't.
Birdie, can we have a minute, please?
I'll put on some more tea.
Mind your manners, both of you.
Boy's right.
What the hell are you doing here?
- You found any work? - We be staring at you if we had?
Okay, let's all just take a moment, huh?
I don't know you.
So you wanna take a moment, why don't you go outside for it?
Now, whoa. This is not about me. This is about your son.
- Me? - He in trouble?
No. No, no, no, no. Not in trouble. It's an opportunity.
- I'd like you to be a part of it, Fitz. - A part of what?
An expedition. We're gonna secure a… a boat and a crew in Morocco.
- Morocco? - Just hear us out.
I don't know anything about the ocean,
and I don't need any favors, Mr. Sampson.
Listen, you would be doing me a favor. I need…
I need people that I can count on.
And where would you be going once you leave Morocco?
Well, it's...
- We can't tell you that. - Why not?
Because then everybody would be trying to beat us there.
I'm not going anywhere.
I'll pay you. Six months. Whatever you would've made at the mill.
Yeah. Plus, whatever we find where we're going,
it'll be a fair split, right down the line.
Uh, yeah, a fair split.
Is it dangerous?
- No. - Maybe. No. Yeah. Well, maybe.
A little bit.
But when we find what we're looking for,
we're gonna be able to hire everybody back from the mill, including your dad.
What do you say?
Chance of a lifetime. Come on.
Come on.
My family needs me right here. You know where the door is.
- No, no, no. Fitz, you don't understand. - I don't think... Don't.
- You heard the boy. - Okay. Shel…
- It's the chance of a lifetime. Just... - Okay. Come on, Shel.
- Just get out of here! - Come on. Let's go.
Coming in here like that after what he did to us.
Yeah. He's got some nerve,
coming in here and offering you the chance of a lifetime.
Didn't you just kick 'em out?
You don't air your dirty drawers in front of company.
And anybody who walks through that door is company,
just like your mama said.
You want me to crawl back to the same man who stole everything from us?
It was his father who did all the stealing.
And it's his son trying to make things right.
I can't believe you want me to do this.
I want you to think, son,
and not with your guts all twisted up inside.
I want you to think with your… your head, like your mama and I taught you.
There's nothing here for you, son.
- There's no work. There's no... - You said we'd find something.
What else am I gonna tell you?
It was bad enough when the country was on its feet,
but now all a Black man can hope to get
is kicked in the teeth for wanting an honest day's work.
We gotta go back in.
We gotta tell him the truth.
You think that'll help? Be fitting us both for a white coat.
We need him, George.
If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Otherwise, what's the use, huh?
I'll do it.
- But I want my pay up front. - Okay.
For my family, in case anything happens.
Uh… everything's gonna be all right, Fitz. I promise you.
Up front, all of it.
Well, what do you know, hmm?
Maybe you're not daft in the head after all.
All right.
Thank you, ma'am.
So…
I haven't seen my father since I was 12.
- You sure about that? - Yeah.
Believe me.
Believe you?
Why would I believe you? You're not exactly a model citizen.
My dad left before I could barely wipe my own ass.
So whatever it is you think I am,
it's got nothing to do with him.
You're not the only one he hurt, you know?
- He was my friend. - Hmm.
More than that. He was family.
I never thought that he would turn on us.
Way my mom tells it, you were the ones turned on him.
Yeah?
Well, we all see the world the way we want it to...
I see it the way it is.
I need to talk to him
before this thing gets any more out of control.
I already told you, I don't know where he is.
Yeah? Well, maybe that thing does.
Oh, you think I haven't thought of that?
Humor me.
Take us to my dad.
- He's not here, is he? - Told you.
- Some kind of a joke? - Yeah, a big one.
Every time I tell it to take me to my dad, it dumps me in another strip club.
He must've thought that was a real goddamn riot.
- You watch your language, son. - I'm not your son.
And I am not my damn father.
I've looked the other way with you
out of respect for who your father used to be.
He reaches out, you best let me know.
I needed you, Shel, here…
…with me to… to make them…
To make them see it my way.
What do you do? You go running off with your pal.
- You have to understand... - It's over.
You didn't show. They voted us out.
They're selling the company, pennies on the dollar.
We're lucky if we keep the house.
It doesn't matter.
- Shel... - The company, board, none of it matters.
- Can we have the room? - Yeah.
- Please. - I'll be outside.
Walt, I know you're upset with me.
But I need you to listen to me for a moment, okay?
Okay. Talk.
I… I had another episode
when I was in Kansas.
But I saw something there.
I saw…
I saw coordinates, out in the middle of the Atlantic.
- Coordinates? - Yeah.
To what?
I don't know. I don't know. But there is something out there.
There's something that is gonna change our lives.
- Our lives? - Yes.
And I want you to come with me. Please, I'm…
I need you.
How does that feel,
needing your brother?
Oh, come on. You're not listening to me.
I asked you for one thing, Shel, that you be here today.
- I needed you... - It doesn't matter!
None of it matters.
It mattered to me.
Are you sure you don't have powers?
Gonna have the bruises tomorrow to prove it.
Sorry.
Your dad dropped in on me today.
Shit.
What are you doing?
- This is how it always starts, you know? - Hey…
Friendly talk, and then, bit by bit, he will intimidate the shit out of you
until you realize it just…
Isn't worth it.
He didn't come to see me about you.
He didn't?
I don't think he even knows about, uh…
Whatever this is.
Well, what did he want?
Looking for my father.
So, what did you tell him?
The truth.
Mostly.
And just so you know,
your daddy doesn't scare me.
Sheldon told me what you said to him.
Little strong, wasn't it?
He needed to hear it…
From somebody that gives a damn.
You know I do.
It's a funny way of showing it, if I'm honest.
Honesty's the game, is it?
Okay.
You know, you can't really care about someone
that you're so jealous of it turns you inside out.
He's sick, George.
And you…
You keep feeding his delusions,
like it's a sport or something.
Sampson Steel died the moment your father stepped off the ledge.
- What? - Clinging to it is your delusion.
And what would you know about saving a business?
Everything that you have is handed to you on a platter.
You arrogant little sh...
This isn't about saving the mill, Walt. This is about saving yourself!
Sheldon's just trying to do the same in his own way.
So, you believe him?
His visions.
You really believe that there's something out there in the middle of the ocean?
I have no idea.
All I know is he needs this.
He needs this journey to heal.
Maybe he's not the only one.
Wait. Slow down. You want me to go where?
Morocco. That's where we'll find the ship, I think.
And… Walt agreed to this?
Well, Walt didn't at first. I thought the whole thing was gonna go belly-up…
…but somehow George convinced him.
I… I don't know what I would do without George.
Sheldon, stop. Stop.
You… you… you said that everything was gonna be okay.
- You… you said that you were okay. - I am.
I am. This is… this is real, all of it.
Well, did you see me…
In your visions?
- Well… - Was I there?
No, Jane.
What was your thought process after Jane left you? Your narrative?
It was a punishment
for not being good enough.
- That's not what she told you, was it? - Okay, I get it.
The Code is a symbol for being a good boy and that we can't prevent loss or tragedy.
I'm not naive.
But…?
But the world never used to be so intentionally cruel.
It used to be that if you gave your kids everything they needed, they'd be okay.
That you protect your country, they call you a hero.
The world has always been chaos and shit, my friend.
It's your beliefs that have kept you hopeful.
"If I'm good, bad things won't happen to me or the ones that I love."
It's a construct you created a long time ago
to shield yourself from reality.
But reality always wins out,
no matter how profoundly we rail against it.
So, what are you saying? That there is no difference between right and wrong?
That… that morality is some kind of an intellectual exercise?
No.
I'm suggesting that you exist in a world of your own creation,
a world of black and white, good and evil.
And it has protected you for the most part.
But…?
But it doesn't allow for the way the world really is
and how the majority of people live in it,
in shades of gray.
Well, I'm afraid we'll have to continue this next week.
Okay.
Thank you, Jack.
Sometimes it feels like you're the only one that I can talk to.
Isn't it interesting that the one person you come to for advice
is the man who tried to kill you for 20 years?
Honestly, Jack, no one else understands me.
Well, you always know where to find me.