A NETFLIX SERIES
Karolina?
Hello.
Can you hear me?
Excellent.
My name is Andrzej Januszewski.
I'm a neurologist at the university hospital in Katowice.
For the last few weeks I've had the pleasure of taking care of you.
Can you remember what happened?
Water…
I drowned.
No.
You were in a very serious car accident.
Do you know how long you were in a coma?
For over four weeks.
Do you remember your name?
Karolina.
Or…
Julia.
"Or"?
Doctor Morulska called me that.
Nobody with this name works in neurology.
Do you recognize her? Your mom had more luck than you did.
-May I? -Ten minutes.
I'm so happy, Karolina.
My darling.
I thought you were dead.
You came back to us.
And… Adam?
Who?
Adam. Where is he?
Adam?
I didn't know you had a boyfriend.
If I knew, I would have let him know. I'm sorry. I just didn't know.
Can you see her?
Patrycja? Yes.
Yes, that's your sister.
She was by your side this whole time.
I tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work.
She kept skipping school. She'll probably have to repeat the grade.
You are real.
No. I'm your sister's ghost from your worst nightmares.
Doctor!
Should we be worried?
The tests we ran today show that everything is all right.
And that Morulska? Karolina mentioned her again.
Does she really not work here? She's a psychologist treating amnesia.
I asked on every ward and among nurses.
There is no Morulska working in our hospital.
She mentioned some Adam.
I called all of her school friends, but nobody remembers anyone like that.
We probably know too little about our teenagers.
Is it possible that she dreamt all of this?
I can't rule that out. Often,
people who wake up from a coma remember their dreams
and talk about them.
Now, the most important thing for Karolina is to rest a lot,
and feel safe.
Then all those dream memories will quickly fade.
Sorry, I'm needed elsewhere.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
Pati.
Mom.
Karolina!
Karolina.
Adam?
Karolina!
See? You stop taking your meds, and the delusions get more intense.
Karolina! Wake up.
Are you all right?
Can you hear me?
Janek.
You remember my name?
I don't know from where, but…
I was in the ambulance that took you to the hospital.
I resuscitated you.
Let's get up.
Give me your hand.
Okay.
Did this ever happen before the accident?
No.
I don't think so.
I had such a nightmare.
That must've been because of the meds.
But is it possible to have such realistic dreams?
When I woke up from the coma, I had no idea where I was.
My dreams felt more real
than actual reality.
And what did you dream about?
If I tell you, tomorrow they'll move me to the psych ward.
No, stop that.
I'm a doctor.
I haven't been one for long, but I've heard my share.
I was dreaming that I was in an amnesia clinic.
It was run by Doctor Zofia Morulska.
And, apart from me, there were many other patients.
I had friends there.
I remember their names.
Iza, Szymon,
Paweł, Milena.
Adam.
You know, it all felt so…
tangible.
-You think I'm going crazy? -No.
You see, the brain is a great mystery.
Okay.
Drink up, or it will get cold.
Patrycja brought everything here.
Head.
Okay.
Give me your hand.
She found out that a person in a coma can feel the presence of loved ones,
hear their voices, or even perceive the items surrounding them.
So she read you your favorite books,
played your favorite songs.
Dad died a few months after that vacation.
How could I have forgotten?
Let's get her to sleep.
There. Come here, sunshine.
There you go.
Okay.
Do you remember the accident?
No.
Not really.
It was dark.
It was pouring rain. We were getting on the freeway.
We were arguing.
I didn't react in time.
I'm really sorry for that, Karolina. I saw the guy in the mirror at the last moment.
I tried to do something, but he was driving so fast.
He hit us from your side.
It's all good.
Really.
I can't remember a thing from it.
And…
where were we going?
-Mom was taking you-- -Let's not revisit this nightmare, okay?
-I want to take Ignacy's things. -Sorry for your loss.
Here they are.
Please check if everything is there.
That's all of it.
Please sign here.
-Here? -Yes.
Karolina.
I'm sorry. Do we know each other?
Well, yes, you were in the same room as my son Ignacy.
We were often there with your sister, to keep you both company,
and we argued whether to play you classical or electronic music.
He was such a wonderful boy, my son.
See you later.
Karolina?
-Hello, sir. -Hello.
Are we getting started?
He was wonderful.
Excuse me.
Do you know what happened to that man's son?
Ignacy?
He didn't wake up from his coma.
-But was he in an accident or…? -No, a serious case of encephalitis.
He lost the strength to fight it. Then he developed an edema.
He had no chance.
I'm turning it on.
Everything all right?
-You do have some change. -I have some change.
Should be here somewhere.
Come.
Hey!
-Hi! -I thought you left already.
-Want some gum? -No, thanks.
Your loss. Great for making bubbles, but they lose their flavor pretty quickly.
Listen, if you'd like to talk…
Well, you've been through a lot.
-A pickup line or a healthcare offer? -Whichever you prefer.
And now I need to go.
Come on, stop it.
How do you do it? You're in a coma, and guys still hit on you.
I don't know.
Want some bubble gum?
No, thanks.
Turandot.
Mm-hmm.
Janina Hass.
Remember? Three years ago, we were at Madame Butterfly in Warsaw.
And did you know she just woke up from a coma, too?
She had a terrible skiing accident.
JANINA HASS IS MAKING A GRAND COMEBACK
FROM APRIL 16 KATOWICE OPERA HOUSE
-Thank you. -Thanks. Bye.
There. Everything's all right.
Yes, I know.
The girls really wanted to visit you, but the doctors wouldn't let them.
Hi, Memory.
Hi.
-I kept feeding him while you were away. -I can see that.
He's really fat.
If you don't want to, you don't have to play at all.
What are you talking about?
I mean, I know how to play, don't I?
Or was that part of the dream as well?
You know how to play. Your talent's one-in-a-million.
Maybe you need some time for everything to fall into place.
To remember.
I was mad at you for not wanting to play with such a talent.
For always causing problems for Mom, who went through so much already.
And invested so much in you.
So, I'm surprised for saying this, but…
let it go.
Give yourself some time, it will get better.
What will get better? Pati.
I don't know how to play.
What will I tell the girls?
How will I go back to school?
Apart from the piano, I have nothing.
You don't know if you can't play.
You can feel it.
Playing doesn't come naturally to me. It's mechanical.
You heard it yourself.
Something bad must have happened to me during that coma.
-Januszewski said everything was okay. -Nothing's okay.
I don't know who I am.
What are you talking about?
You are my beloved sister.
Whether you have any talent or not.
I dreamt that they did something to me in Second Chance.
You still think about that?
I can't forget it.
I don't want to.
I know how that will sound.
But…
I fell in love there.
Madly.
No.
No!
No…
Karolina!
Karolina, help me!
Everything I do is for your own good.
Karolina!
JANINA HASS WILL PLAY THE PRINCESS IN THE NEW TURANDOT
-Hello. -Hello.
I would like to talk to Ms. Janina Hass.
-Who am I speaking with? -I'm her friend.
Ms. Hass is in rehearsal. Did you have an appointment?
Yes. I have something for her.
Then, please, you can leave it here.
But I promised her that I would deliver it personally.
That won't be possible. Ms. Hass doesn't like being interrupted.
All right, then. I'll try again later.
Yes?
Yes, of course.
What's going on? You're off-key.
I know.
Don't worry.
You need some time.
We've known for a long time that getting your form back is not that easy.
Yes, right. I know, right.
Wait. It's too hot in here. You're playing too fast.
Hold on a moment.
Sorry.
I'm the one that's sorry.
-Let's try one more time. -All right.
Magda?
Ms. Hass.
I know why you can't sing.
Who are you?
I was also in a coma.
And now I can't play the piano, even though I could before.
-Please, don't disturb us. -Get her out.
You really don't remember me?
Please, get her out.
-Please leave. -We were in Second Chance together.
-Please leave. -Magda.
Please. Leave. You see that…
Magda.
Please leave.
I'm sorry.
Everything all right?
Hold on.
Wait!
SECOND CHANCE BY ZYGMUNT TANATOWSKI
It's our last session.
-Good luck. -Thanks.
Hello?
Do you have a car?
-Hi. -Hi.
You have to help me.
I'm glad you called.
But promise me you'll take me seriously?
I need to get there.
That's what Second Chance looked like. That's where they kept me.
Kept you?
Yeah, when I was in a coma.
But when you were in a coma, you were in the hospital, Karolina.
Janek, I asked you for something.
"The residence of Professor Tanatowski, where he treated patients."
"Zygmunt Tanatowski,
renowned specialist and pioneer in treating aphasia and amnesia,
psychiatrist, neurologist, psychic…"
Will you take me there?
Now?
Now.
What's up? You need a chaperone?
Get in.
This better be important. If Mom finds out I'm skipping school again, she'll be mad.
I'll just get some gas and come back.
-Hello. -Hello.
Nine-five, full tank, please.
I saw this place in my dream.
I can't believe what's happening. This is absurd.
He's a doctor, and he's letting you do this?
He must be horny for you.
Pati, trust me.
Today, I met a woman who was in Second Chance with me
and also lost her talent.
-She gave me this book. -Kill me now.
You must've really hit your head hard, huh?
My friends might be there.
-Maybe Adam's there. -Karo.
You're looking for a guy you dreamt about, who nobody apart from you ever saw,
with another real and cool guy, who is crazy about you.
This isn't normal.
You called out to me when I was in a coma.
I followed your voice.
Why did you suddenly become so painfully rational?
I'm worried about you.
The fact you heard my voice during a coma
does not mean there is some parallel world.
"Clair de Lune" by Debussy.
-Is that the piece you played me? -Yes, that one.
But that's not hard to figure out. Your favorite piece. You know it by heart.
I wonder if you remember which of my school readings I read to you.
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Come on, ladies.
Yes?
Hello.
We are art history students, and we really wanted to see the palace.
We've heard a lot about it.
It's private property. There are no tours.
I know, but we came all the way from Katowice.
Please let us in.
Hello, ma'am.
-Hello. -Hi.
Hello.
Edyta Tanatowska.
Karolina Winiarek.
-Patrycja Winiarek. -And Janek Brzozowski.
Edyta Tanatowska.
Welcome.
I'm sorry for being so brusque,
but as you can see, we are renovating the place.
I have a lot on my plate.
The palace was built in the first half of the 19th century.
We want to restore it back to its former glory.
It hasn't been renovated in 80 years.
We're planning to open a bed-and-breakfast here soon.
We want the palace to start paying for itself.
This kind of residence for just me and my little daughter is much too big.
This way, please.
Since the beginning of the 20th century,
the residence belonged to my ex-husband's family,
Professor Tanatowski.
During the divorce, he signed it over to me.
-Is it true there's a grave in the park? -Yes.
That's the grave of an heiress.
-Aniela Tanatowska. -Don't you mean Ariela?
Aniela.
Hence the name of the palace, Anielin.
Me and my husband decided to give that name to our daughter.
In her honor.
Was there ever a hospital here?
No, there was never a hospital here.
My husband brought patients here for a couple of days at a time,
patients suffering from memory loss.
-So there were patients living here. -From time to time.
But that was a long time ago.
Tea?
You're having guests over?
We're renting out that part of the building to a private nursery.
-We do have to make a living somehow. -Sure.
And what's more, this is a great place.
The idea is to discover a talent in the child at an early age
and nurture it.
Parents come here from far away. My daughter also goes there.
But she's not an easy case.
Oh.
Here she is.
Hi there, beautiful.
She's been very closed off since birth.
Plus, I think she takes after her father. She's an anarchist by nature.
-That earpiece, is she hard of hearing? -No.
Sometimes during nap time, they play them something.
Modern methods of brain stimulation.
Using the Tomatis method?
No. It's something different.
Tanatowski's daughter was also in my dream.
I thought I'd be able to sigh with relief.
But now I have to recommend one of my professors to you.
-He's a great psychiatrist. -Your medical voice of reason came back.
And here I thought you were cool.
I have a soft spot for you.
I came here out of concern, to prove to you that you're wrong.
But the way you're just digging in deeper, it looks like paranoid schizophrenia.
But don't you find it weird?
I wake up from a coma, lose my talent, and the same thing happens to Janina Hass?
And here we have a forge of young talents paid up by their rich parents.
You didn't say that you had a talent.
I play…
Actually, I used to play the piano.
She can improvise by ear, compose.
I used to hate her for it.
It's fine.
Now I can barely read sheet music.
I'm sorry.
I had no idea.
But that can happen after injuries, you know?
After trauma, the brain can erase neural connections
that it considers related to the accident, so as to avoid a repeat.
Sometimes athletes, although physically fit,
can't recover from their injury.
Was your accident somehow related to your talent?
How do you mean?
It's not like I fell from a piano.
I know, but do you remember where you were going when it happened?
Mom was taking you to an audition for a talent show.
You didn't want to go. You were arguing.
Actually, before the accident, you stopped practicing.
You argued with Mom about everything.
There's your answer.
If you'd like to get together with a madwoman again…
but without the whole Fellowship of the Ring,
I'd be up for it.
Then so would I.
So,
I will call you.
Okay.
Welcome, welcome, we're welcoming you back
Welcome, welcome We're welcoming you back!
-Are you high? -No, just happy.
We wanted to visit you at home, but your mom said you weren't up for it.
I even started looking for a new piano player.
I hope that whole coma thing didn't screw you up.
It did.
Let's go.
-Did you put that on TikTok? -Well, duh.
Karolina's big comeback.
Vocal lessons are in room four.
I'm gonna go listen.
Don't wait up.
-She's acting weird. -Yeah.
Okay, let's go.
Adam?
Hi!
I thought I would never see you again.
Christ, I was worried they did something to you.
My name isn't Adam.
Adam, but, I mean…
It's me.
Julia.
Karolina.
Ksawery.
You mixed me up with someone.
See you.
He really doesn't remember you.
And you'd better forget him, too.
Fuck!
-Karolina, we have a visitor. -Not now, Mom.
Sweetie.
I wanted to introduce you to someone. She's a psychologist.
I visited her while you were in a coma.
I don't need help.
-What's done is done. -Honey.
She could help you get back your confidence in playing.
Hello, Karolina.
I'll leave you two alone.
Sweetie, it's better if you talk in private. I'll be in the kitchen.
Thank you.
I told you we had a lot in common.
And now we even have enemies in common, very powerful ones at that.
Adam didn't recognize me.
Why didn't Adam recognize me?
They made sure he wouldn't remember.
He doesn't know he was at Second Chance. His real name is Ksawery,
and he's Piotr's son.
Why did you choose me in particular?
Because you're special.
But not the only one.
There are other programs like that in the world… a few dozen.
Programs?
What programs? Why?
For the sake of the future. Everything's done for a better tomorrow.
For the sake of the future, you took my talent away?
That's not the highest price.
Right.
Szymon paid a higher one.
No experience, even the worst one, is wasted.
I can help you get your talent back.
-You are a monster. -No.
I'm just as ambitious as you are.
Iza, Paweł, Milena. They are all still there, aren't they?
I suppose so, but I don't work there anymore.
And they will end up just like Szymon?
You and Magda managed to escape because you fought until the end.
We have to go back there.
We have to get them out of there.
I need to get back there. Do you understand?
And you have to help me.
You owe me that much.
Of course.
I can help you free your friends,
but…
you need to trust me.
Will you trust me?