What's that line from that movie you love
with, bill Holden?
"If they move, kill 'em."
Did I tell you we got robot cop-dogs now?
Steel dobermans, razor-sharp teeth
with rocket launchers and-and flame throwers.
They're no match for my guy.
And I'm not.
Marsh...
Lately, the only thing that's holding me together
is uppers and vodka.
Used to be you.
Long ago.
Grotesquerie is, is taunting me.
I'm as doomed... As you are.
You know you're doomed, right?
Your great enemy nitzsche was right:
God is dead.
Are we recording this? I need evidence.
I don't have a lead on this.
Not a goddamned one.
I got to, I got to steady myself.
I got to concentrate until I can catch this sicko.
I guess what I'm saying is, marsh,
I'm not gonna be able to be here to see you every day.
Abandonment!
This man needs care and familiarity.
If he gets me before I get him, which is...
Which is probably the case
this is goodbye.
For our sins, we both deserve death.
Maybe we'll be kinder to each other then.
Kind ghosts.
In the land of the dead.
"Kind ghosts"? Her brain is pickled in vodka.
But if I solve this and I live,
I'm giving away all your books,
with the notes in the margins... for what?
What good did they do?
Baby, this is the end of time, and that,
that is what Mr. Grotesquerie is saying.
"This is the end."
Christ, she's barking mad.
We will have power of attorney. We will.
It starts right here, baby.
The future of the catholic church
is in this cycle class.
We're gonna take it up a notch.
I want everyone to increase their resistance
another five to ten.
Five to ten, baby, let's go.
All right.
You are saving your souls from sinning while spinning.
Come on.
You got it in you, I know you do.
Okay. All right.
Here we go. Get ready and deep breath.
We're gonna go in five seconds.
All. Out.
This is it. And sprint.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Douse yourself.
Inhale the holy spirit.
Amen.
Oopsies.
Sorry, father.
I just wanted to
I just wanted to review my recent reporting.
No.
No, this is not approved.
- This is where we are. - We can't run a story that says
that the police are stymied and that they have no new leads.
It's...
It's boring.
Lackluster.
Right, i-i-I'm sorry, I know that you know
that I think that you're a talented writer.
It's just that it...
Seems like low-hanging fruit to me.
Maybe.
I think we can expect more
out of your journalistic efforts than that.
Because, I'm sorry... Where is the bloodlust?
Where is the fear?
It's not in that story.
Don't worry.
It's all part of the process.
The waiting.
Excuse me.
You're an observer.
It's what makes you such a good journalist.
You like to watch.
Maybe I'm stuck.
Maybe I need to push myself harder.
You are right, because there's always something worth seeing.
If-if you look close enough.
You were watching me.
Earlier, in the rec room.
Anything worth seeing?
It was
an exaltation of god's glory through physical prowess.
It's kind of become my side hustle.
The pedaling priest.
I could become a coach.
Start my own show.
Some of the older bishops,
they deride all excessive exercise as vanity.
They see it as worshipping oneself.
A sin of the flesh, but... To that I just say
"do you not know that your bodies are temples
"of the holy spirit, which is in you?
Therefore honor god with your bodies."
Yes.
Exactly.
This is exactly what they're...
Talking about right now at the Vatican.
An ecumenical council
has congregated so that they can discuss a radical change,
and this would completely disrupt
all of the archaic interpretations
of the scripture,
and this is regarding sex and lifestyle.
And even, possibly, potentially
celibacy for those in the cloth.
That's difficult to imagine.
Is it so difficult?
Parishioners are losing faith,
and the youth are not being called to serve
quite in the same way as they used to.
The church is dying.
And the bishops and the pope, they-they know this.
They know that change must come.
It is still a sin.
We are,
and we always will be...
Sinners.
So fuck it.
Hey, detective sassy-pants.
How you doing? Rough day?
Hell yeah. You can tell?
I know the look.
How's Marshall?
He's circling the drain, and I...
Listen, babe, I owe you
a countless number of apologies
for my less than perfect comportment.
"Comportment?"
That a fancy word for being human, right?
You're fine. We're good.
- We're good? - Yeah.
I appreciate that.
You've always been this gentlemanly?
What can I say?
You know what? Let me bake you something.
What's your favorite cake?
You know what I like? Pop-tarts without the frosting.
What?
That's not even cake.
Let's do something.
You mean like a date?
Sure, we can call it that.
I was listening to this one preacher,
says over the am radio,
from the middle of the desert,
"hell is actually"
"right here on earth."
So when you die, you don't go to hell.
So, I think, "well, why not die, then?"
So I set out to do it with Tequila.
I quit the job.
I quit everything, man, except the Tequila.
It's not an easy way to kill yourself.
You get very sick and you find yourself in a hospital,
your loved ones crying, begging you to live.
And that's hell.
Hurting your loved ones.
And I have slipped... Three times,
and every single time,
it's people like you that hold me up.
So, if this is hell,
then how come there's folks like y'all?
Can we please go get something to eat now?
You get it, right?
You gotta slow down the sauce.
How'd you get off it?
So, I was your typical ski bum. I love the slopes.
Until I tore all my ligaments.
And then, I hightailed up to Juneau, Alaska.
Alaska?
What'd you do there?
Tell me.
I worked at a male strip joint.
Jiggling it for horny mamas
coming off of cruise ships.
Tell me more.
I rocked a banana hammock
with the name "big Peter and his banana splitter."
I know you made that up.
Thought it was classy.
No.
No?
Well, it worked for all those ladies off those cruise ships,
'cause I would get drunk with them,
take one back to my cabin, and
if I got a tip, well,
I told myself it was for dancing,
and not all the other stuff.
Ended up on the streets.
Was that your rock bottom?
I had ways to go, lady lo.
But that's pretty much the gist.
I don't know, long story short,
I was just missing
my dignity, you know?
Indeed I do.
Listen, lo.
I had to find stuff to live for. You?
You haven't lost your dignity, so don't.
All right?
I would invite you in,
but it's a little complicated right now.
Yeah. You have a kid, right?
A daughter.
- She fine like you? - Stop.
I don't want to talk about her right now.
She's a wonderful girl, I just
I don't know if I'm the right mother for her.
Here, let me get that for you.
Thank you.
You're a real one, you know that?
Right back at you, lady lo.
Sister.
Hey, it's not too late, is it?
Father Charlie is so happy to do this.
He is glad he can do something for you
in this time of need.
Did you want to talk to me before he sees you?
Yeah? Exchange some recent theories
about our killer, maybe?
You okay?
You seem nervous.
I'm fine. Just frustrated
that, in terms of our case,
we seem to be at an impasse.
We're working hard.
Cases get solved and... Sick people get better.
Most murders go unsolved.
And the majority of people in hospitals usually die there,
alone.
Don't be naive.
I thought you were smarter than that.
He's right inside.
In the booth.
So... How does this shit work?
"Stuff" work.
I take it that this is your first confession?
What goes on in the booth, stays in the booth.
Does that sufficiently answer your question?
I am sick of my own bullshit.
I have let so many people down.
Mostly myself.
I... I need to be stronger
and-and sharper as a cop, and better
as a wife and a mother, but
instead, I climbed into the bottle.
You'll stop.
You're getting ready to. I can tell.
And while my husband is dying, I'm starting an affair.
Of course you are.
But god forgives us our weaknesses so long as we,
so long as we what?
I haven't seen a sign of god lately.
I mean, is he even listening?
Well, maybe his silence is essential to our free will.
I think that there has been a change
in the basics of human nature.
Something old, brutal and hellish is here.
I don't think that you're crazy to think that.
You sense it.
Nobody can do anything about it.
It's like... the darkness
that hangs in the air even when it's sunny and light.
It's like god just... Just locked up and left.
- Adios. - And so what if he did, Lois?
What if he's gone?
What if that's exactly what he's done?
Big daddy's left and gone on a business trip, so...
We have the codes,
we know the rules that goodness is governed by.
And maybe this is his way of telling us that it's time
that we figure this shit out on our own.
He didn't just leave, father.
He left the keys to the candy store to the devil.
Let's keep things easy.
Just a few basic ingredients.
Garlic butter,
a little white wine, fresh parsley.
And start with our...
Miss merritt, you and that couch are gonna fuse together.
You been watching TV all night?
While you're talking, I got it open.
At first, I thought it was like a karakuri puzzle box.
You know, opens in a few steps, but they can be
kind of tricky.
But then I was like, "no, maybe it's like a rubik's."
You know, it-it's gonna be an algorithm.
But, no, this thing has its own logic.
It teaches you as you go. I've never seen anything like it.
You know what? I don't care. What was in the box?
This.
Sister, I got something.
It's coordinates.
Fast Eddie, I need a fast favor.
I know it's the crack of dawn, but can you come by my house?
I got good coffee.
What is this?
Are you trying to play matchmaker or something, mom?
Would that be so funny?
Merritt, I am trying to keep you safe, okay?
Something is after me, or us, okay?
Get your ass in there.
Your mother doesn't want you sleeping by yourself overnight.
Thank you.
Is that so bad?
I don't know you.
Something's going on now.
I'm not stupid, mom.
Are you two having relations?
You here to spy on me and report back?
Jesus!
Merritt,
he works at the hospital, taking care of your father.
Are you sure you're not having an affair?
I'm glad you find this so entertaining.
I'm very single.
- You? Why? You gay? - No, not yet, at least.
We'll see what the future holds, though.
Well, do you like to watch old movies all night?
When I can't sleep, my mom comes in,
and we watch old movies.
I like westerns.
And cooking shows.
Cooking shows?
What can you make?
Ooh. Chicken tenders
with a lemon caper sauce and a panko crust.
And can't forget my mom's famous tuna wiggle.
What the fuck is tuna wiggle?
Like a casserole.
What house rules does she have?
Do I need to enforce anything?
You, enforce me?
Just try me, baby, I'll run straight through you.
Hey. Keep this pepper spray on you at all times.
It is powerful, but... Not exactly legal, okay?
Cool.
I might just use it on you.
Hey, nobody is leaving this house at night
while I'm gone, okay?
Ed agreed to take off work for a couple of days to protect you.
Just like he protects me.
So, have you ever heard of this show called good times?
It's about this black family that lived in the ghetto.
Florida was the mother, James,
Thelma, j.J. And Michael.
Them, like you,
they always prayed to a white Jesus.
I never understood that part.
Like, don't you think your god should look like you?
You're listening to light 100.9,
the desert breeze.
Jesus Christ superstar.
Hot patootie, bless my soul.
That show made me
either want to be a nun or a Broadway star.
I love this song.
I auditioned with this song.
It's about a whore, Mary magdalene.
She's confused.
She's in love with a man she can never truly have.
Been there, done that.
See, she doesn't know how to love Jesus.
He's not like other men.
He's... one of a kind.
And... and frightening.
Never mind.
Okay, stop.
I can't.
Wait... wait.
You auditioned for what?
Julliard.
I got in, but the church just called me more.
You remind me of a cat.
I have to say, this trip feels like a fool's errand.
The devil's trick.
What do you mean?
You know what I mean.
A trap, a set-up.
It's like a horror movie
people are sitting in the dark watching.
And the stupid heroine is creeping down
into the dark cellar, and everyone
in the audience is screaming,
"don't go into the cellar, Jamie Lee!"
Because everyone knows
the killer is in there, ready to attack.
It's a set-up, and here we are,
heading down into the cellar.
Aren't we smarter than this?
Don't we know how this movie ends?
Do you smell the smoke?
Fire season.
We're close.
Is he trying to tell us something?
Yes. Psalms 88:6-7.
"You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
"Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves."
English, please.
He-he's in the darkest place imaginable,
cut off from god and god's love in the darkness.
And the part about the waves is the relentlessness
of his punishment.
How does this even happen?
A massive fire pit in the middle of nowhere?
Lois, we have company.
Hey! Hey.
Hey, you need to leave!
Hands! Let me see your hands!
Yeah, fine. Hands are visible.
I don't know what the fuck you're doing here,
but that thing's getting bigger by the day.
You got ID?
Can you not point that thing at me, please?
Look, I'm not armed.
Look, you ladies don't want to hang around here.
There's been earthquakes averaging 3.4 to 4.2
almost consistently over the past two weeks.
I'm Joe ritter.
Dr. Joseph ritter, U.S. geological survey.
I was... I was camped out here, when we got word.
- I've seen it widen. - What the hell is it?!
It's a sinkhole over a natural gas deposit.
There's a fault line you're on.
What are doing out here?
Well, trying to keep people like you away,
until someone decides whether the national guard,
or the U.S. army or some other outfit takes over.
What are you doing out here anyhow?
Nobody knows about this yet.
You seen anybody else out here?
Car. And a pickup.
But they-they... They just took off
before I could see the driver.
I didn't know there were natural gas fields out here.
It was just detected.
It's worth billions.
Or, I don't know...
Maybe hell finally opened up,
and it's not science at all.
Holiness without god.
If you could go into the presence of god unsaved,
he would literally annihilate you.
You'd rather be in hell in a heartbeat
than to come before a holy god.
Crying "holy, holy, holy, holy."
Dare walk into the presence of god
without the blood covering your soul.
You'd scream for him, you'd beg for him.
I hate those people.
You don't say.
Grotesquerie is trying to scare us.
He's doing a pretty good job of it, don't you think?
Shit.
What do we do now?
There was a motel back in the valley.
We're gonna have to spend the night.
Hi!
I'm venturing a guess that you have dogs.
I had 'em.
Wh-why do you say that?
She likes you.
Doesn't like girls, usually.
But the girls that she does like tend
to be girls who also have dogs.
Digging for buried treasure?
Making a fire line.
It's like this thing just
sprang up out of nowhere, right?
No, nothing comes from nowhere.
We did it.
Burned fossil fuels,
increasing the greenhouse gasses,
depleting the ozone layer.
Just nobody... cared.
You know if there's a way around the fire?
Too late for that.
You think we should go back?
Definitely too late to turn back.
Do you know what the tipping point is?
The global temperature is up three degrees centigrade.
Threshold is four.
The only thing to do now is...
Improvise, adapt and overcome.
You got to go through it.
Through the fire?
Heat rises, so you want to get to lowland.
Safest place to be is on the road.
You're lucky.
You got a car.
You'll survive... probably.
But not everybody, though.
Never everybody.
Well, what about you?
I mean, didn't somebody come through here
to evacuate this place?
You mean, run away?
There isn't anywhere left to run away to.
Here.
You take this.
Got to be prepared for the worst.
You're feeling a little hot,
feel free to douse yourself off, and just baptize...
Time to hit it.
It's time to get the hell out of here.
How are you getting reception, anyway?
I can barely see a thing.
Hey.
I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, okay?
We're gonna be fine.
The safest place for us to be is right here on this road.
And we got this baked potato thing.
We can hunker in it together.
It's my fault.
Well, according to al Gore back there,
it's all our fault.
So beat yourself with a feather, not a bat.
No, i-I've done something.
I've sinned.
You mean, drooling over father Charlie?
Have an impure thought?
Not thought.
Shit.
What, you and him?
I swore fidelity. To god.
It's-it's adultery of the highest order.
Hey, hey, hey.
Because a man who's your boss,
in position of authority over you,
pulled you in some coat closet and got handsy,
you blaming yourself?
Listen, I work a ton of sexual assault cases, and
no, I wanted this. Badly.
I made this happen.
- Okay. Okay. Okay. - It's my fault. Everything.
Forget about him for a second, okay?
You think all of this is happening
because a nun had a thought, acted on it,
and now all hell is opening up
- and coming just for you? - No.
Not just for me.
It's larger than that.
It's coming for all of us.
What I've done, it's part of it.
Lois, have you ever committed this sin?
Adultery?
Lois.
Stop!
Come! Get inside!
- Come in, you're safe. - He's coming!
- He's coming, he's coming... - What? Who?
Him.
Go!
Captioned by media access group at wgbh access.Wgbh.Org