01x08 - TV is the Shepherd

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "Graves"...

There is a line, sir, that you cannot expect me to cross.

Peyote.

What?!

This is false imprisonment of a member of the cabinet.

Richard: Trust me.

What is this?

You make that so hard, sir.

(moans)

You are what I want.

So you'd vote for me?

I'd bet my fortune on you.

Okay. Oh, I can't.

This guy's a monster. His mother shouldn't die thinking that what he did was in any way her fault.

I can never be with you. Someone like you.

f*ck you.

Have Lawrence call Martin Bashir to do a profile piece for "America 360."

This train has got to leave the station and I'm driving.

Announcer: Tonight, on "America 360"...

In what should be his twilight, a former president, arguably one of history's most polarizing leaders, is doing anything but going gently into that good night.

It was me who gutted cancer research.

Take my g*dd*mn name off this road.

How would Washington feel?

He'd blow his (bleep) brains out.

It's been decades since Richard, Margaret, Olivia, and Jeremy Graves were residents at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Over the next 30 minutes, with the family as our guide, we'll journey back to relive it all.

The ranch hand from New Mexico who became commander-in-chief.

His ever devoted wife Margaret as rumors swirl that the former first lady will make her own political mark.

A daughter, the poster-perfect icon that American girls aspired to be just as her fairy tale unravels.

And the precocious daredevil little boy, once witness to his father's attempted assassination, now a recently returned w*r hero.

I got to do what I got to do, you know?

Bashir: First Family Graves then and now.

I'm Martin Bashir and this is "America 360."

(theme music playing)

(chatter)

(line ringing)

(strumming)

(phone chiming)

Samantha: I'm somewhere. Leave it here.

(tone beeps)

Hey, Sammy, it's me.

Look, you can't keep avoiding me.

I know I screwed up and I won't blame the peyote, but it was the peyote.

So please, please, please call me back.

Let me explain, okay?

Hey, Isaiah.

Oh, good morning, Jeremy.

Good to see you, man. Really good.

It is?

Come on, always, buddy.

Where have you been the past couple of days?

Oh, I went to Martin Treadwell's furlough hearing.

You did what?

What? Why... why would you do that?

Why not? That guy sent me a letter.

He wanted to talk to me. Honestly, it was a no-brainer.

That guy's been living under my bed for way too long.

So I agreed to meet with him.

I mean, at first I was gonna tell him to shove that weekend furlough up his jail violated ass, but, you know, I felt bad for the guy.

Me, something bordering on compassion.

What did your father say about it?

I haven't told him.

What?

Don't you think that you should?

I mean, you kind of have to, Jeremy.

For once I didn't do something for Richard Graves.

I did it for me and it felt great.

You can tell him if you want. I don't give a sh*t.

Oh, sidebar, come here.

I met this amazing girl.

I mean, yeah, she's the daughter of a serial k*ller, but whatever, I'm the son of a president.

You know, tomato, tomah-to.

Serial k*ller?

What?

Richard: Isaiah!

Yes, sir.

Office now.

Yes, sir.

Jesus.

Uh, so, big guy, we have an hour before Martin Bashir lands.

He's a good friend.

We take hot yoga together. He's remarkably flexible.

Anyway, he bent over backwards, literally, to do this for me today, so you be nice, okay?

All right, first, regarding your recent let's just call it adventures.

I crafted a list of appropriate responses that I think should cover anything that Martin throws at you.

It's big, bold fonts and cute, pretty, little tabs the way you like it, boss.

Just remember, this is really for Margaret.

Reintroducing you and her to the public in a positive, stable light.

Yeah, got it. I get it. I know this game.

I made up the rules. You remember?

(laughs) Yeah.

You did.

Now get the hell out of here.

Oh. Oh.

Okay. Good talk.

Yeah.

Yeah.

(chuckles)

Oh, man.

Sir?

I can't do this.

I can't do this prime-time puppet show.

I can't be that...

anymore.

I know. I know, sir, but it's just one day.

It's a few hours.

It'll be easy to be that folksy icon that we all remember, that I remember.

And besides, you sort of have to do this, sir, for Mrs. Graves.

(sighs)

You little sh*t.

Who do you work for?

Oh, you. Of course, you.

Why are you telling me what Mrs. Graves needs?

What about what I need, Isaiah?

That's all I care about, sir.

No, I was just saying that today's just a little different.

You know, Isaiah, I have tested you, tested you, and tested you and you've shown me that I can trust you.

So please don't push me anymore today.

You can trust me, sir.

Don't bother me.

What the hell was... that?

It's important this "360" piece go off without a hitch.

It's a reset. Lord knows this family could use a reset.

I'm gonna need it.

We also have to talk money, Maggie.

Not today.

Yes, Maggie, today.

You know the Bashir exposé is, among other things, designed to whet donors' appetites to loosen up some wallets.

Please don't say it like that. I hate this part.

It's like one murky tick above prostitution.

(door slams)

Olivia: Excuse me.

Margaret: Olivia.

Your hair, it's back.

It looks wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you.

Yep, six hours in a salon just for you, Mother, and your little dog and pony show.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Mrs. Graves, we need you.

Martin Treadwell, the would-be assassin of former President Richard Graves, has been granted a weekend furlough in order to visit his dying mother.

I know you hate this, but he'll be back inside before you even know he was out.

It's just a weekend furlough.

It was also just an assassination attempt on the president.

Okay, enough of that.

I never thought that I'd live to see the day he'd get out.

It's just for a weekend. It's not a big deal.

No big deal? The guy just tried to k*ll me, that's all.

He's going to visit his dying mother, right, Isaiah?

What? I don't know anything about that.

Okay, everyone just calm down.

Take a deep breath. It's all in the past.

We're not gonna let this derail us. Not today, understood?

Mm-hmm.

Margaret: Okay.

On a typical day at his vast compound in Santa Fe, known as the New Mexico White House, this is what the still active Richard Graves considers cardio.

The only child born to a poor ranch family, Richard Graves always had a style all his own.

After cancer claimed his mother before his sixth birthday, the future president was raised by his father and the ranch hands he considered family.

He was self-made from day one.

His political rise, meteoric.

You've been making a bit of noise lately.

You've been called reckless, dangerous even.

(laughs) Well, noise is life for me, Martin.

It keeps you engaged, and at my age you have to stay engaged.

You have to move. You have to keep active.

So I feel good. Happier than a gopher in soft dirt.

(laughs)

That was one of my father's sayings.

And we're out.

Thanks, Mr. President.

Thank you.

So how was that?

Was that folksy enough? Iconic enough?

Felt like waterboarding.

Huh?

Huh?

Um, yes, sir. It was... you know, actually, I didn't catch it at all.

Just what the hell is wrong with you?

Nothing, sir. It's just...

Sammy's mad at me.

(laughs) You and Sammy?

Yeah, we're kind of a thing.

I mean, not anymore in a way.

I don't... it's complicated.

Oh, Sammy would never. You're too straight.

She's way out of your league.

It would never work. (laughing)

Isaiah, right?

Yeah.

The family segment is up next.

We need Olivia in hair and makeup.

Okay.

(knocks on door)

Olivia?

(crying)

Oh, sorry.

Hey. Hey.

Are you okay?

Do I look okay?

Well, no. I was just...

No, don't come any closer.

Just sit down. Sit.

Yes.

Sit. Sit faster.

Fine, I'm sitting. I'm sitting.

I just don't feel very approachable right now, okay?

Okay.

(sobbing)

Can I at least ask what's wrong?

Oh!

Oh, boy.

Are you sure?

You are sure.

And very thorough.

God.

Don't you f*cking dare tell my mother, my father, anyone.

This is between you and me, do you understand?

Because my baby's daddy will k*ll you.

What?

Bashir: Growing up Graves.

You two grew up under something of a microscope that really wasn't of your choosing.

You know, Martin, it didn't feel like that, really.

Yeah, my brother and I, we were lucky.

We didn't grow up in a reality where paparazzi chased us.

And we didn't have to deal with one of these faceless monsters behind a computer writing nasty things.

Which, of course, brings us to the recent dissolution of your marriage.

Now, by all accounts, you had the fairy tale, so what happened?

Well, the truth is, Martin, I didn't have the fairy tale.

William and I, we were young and very much in love once, but I grew up seeing what a marriage can be, you know, what it should be.

And I'm not gonna rest until I find it.

That was really weird. I mean, it was hard.

There I am telling people that I'm not gonna stop until I find it.

I already have it.

We're not talking about that right now, Olivia.

His name, Mother, is Arturo.

Arturo?

I said not now, please. Not today.

Oh, I see. You're in that Southern pretend it's not happening, f*ck it place.

Ladies, ladies, what are we talking about here?

Daddy.

Yeah?

You love me no matter what, right?

Oh, of course, sweetheart. Who's Arturo?

Okay, he's this really nice guy...

He's a Mexican drug dealer our daughter is f*cking. There, happy?

He's a drug dealer, but not in a bad way.

She met him on our property when you took your stand against deportation.

And as fate would have it, he got to stay here in this country because you made sure he had temporary legal status.

So everybody wins. She thinks she's in love.

Mags, why wasn't I told about this?

I'm sorry, did I miss our scheduled debriefing, Mr. President?

I asked for one thing... that our family be normal and happy for one day.

One f*cking day.

(sighs) Yeah, yeah.

(phone chiming)

I can't talk now, Jonathan.

No, it'll only take a second.

It's important.

(whispers) I can't talk now.

Bashir: Margaret Lynn Davis married Richard August Graves in a small ceremony on his ranch in Gallup.

He was a rising star running for governor, she a secretary answering phones at his campaign office.

So was it some kind of office romance?

Don't get your honey where you get your money, my mama always taught me.

No.

Oh, she wouldn't give me the time of day.

And then one week later, she came in and she quit.

She quit? Why?

To get my money somewhere else.

(laughs) Don't worry.

He came and found me just like I knew he would.

(laughs)

Bashir: She's been at his side ever since.

Ow! What?

Okay, new plan, all right?

You're gonna keep your mouth shut about Treadwell.

I know I told you I didn't give a sh*t if you told my dad, but, I mean, you saw his reaction, that fear in his face.

He can't ever know, okay? So it needs to stay between us, you got it?

Gonna be our little secret, okay? Understand?

Okay.

There we go. Give me one second, okay?

(phone chimes)

No, wait there.

Okay, I got to go. Family stuff, okay?

But I'm glad we talked. Don't tell my father or I'm gonna f*cking rip out your spleen, okay?

Good seeing you, buddy. Good talk.

Thank you.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.

We haven't been in here since you roofied Meghan McCain on her sweet 16.

She was no fun at all.

Man, today sucks.

Mm-hmm.

Faking happy is exhausting.

Mmm.

No.

So you're knocked up?

How'd you know that?

I look fat.

You don't look fat, you just... you haven't turned down a smoke since you got your first period.

The drug dealer?

Oh.

Does he know?

No.

Mom and Dad?

(chuckles)

Why do we give a sh*t what they think?

(sighs)

You know what?

Whatever you want, that's what I want, okay?

I'm not emotionally equipped to deal with literally anything.

Yeah.

Bashir: Maggie Lynn Davis was the only child of a single mother from Galveston, Texas.

Perhaps it was her humble beginnings that made Margaret Graves the most beloved first lady since Jackie Kennedy.

She was a young mother in the White House.

Relatable, real.

You've always had strong personal opinions and yet you stood behind the former president even on decisions that were not popular.

A patriot is someone whose ruling passion is the love for his country.

That's who Richard Graves was and continues to be.

And it is who I will continue to be.

Well, let's cut to the rumors.

Are you running for Senate?

I'm talking to people, Martin, asking questions.

There's always more you can do for your country.

(knocks on door)

Olivia. My God, mi amor.

No, no, no, no, no.

No mi amor. Not yet.

Here's the deal if we're gonna be together, which is what I want.

I need you to tell me the truth.

So let me have it. All of it.

(siren wailing in distance)

(knocks)

(music playing)

This is my cousin Chuy. My father's sister's son.

I was going to introduce you the other day.

Hi, Chuy.

Ahem.

Oh.

Hi there. It's nice.

Hi. I'm Olivia.

Nice to meet you. Hi.

Great job. Really nice.

Really solid stacks... stacking.

(clears throat)

You all right?

Mm-hmm, I just need a minute to, you know, process.

I love you.

That's not helpful.

Okay, great. Seen what I need to see.

Just... I respect the hustle.

So I think I really need to tell you that I've really fallen for you.

I mean, you're sweet and you're kind and all you do is smile when I'm simultaneously eating and ranting about some bullshit that you couldn't possibly care about.

I mean, we barely know each other and yet you make me feel more like me than I've ever felt in my entire life ever.

And guess what. I like her.

That's new.

This...

I want this to work... but this isn't how I do family.

Uh, family?

I'm pregnant.

(chuckles)

Chuy.

(speaking Spanish) Pack everything and call Juarez.

(speaking Spanish) Tell them I'm out.

I'm out.

I didn't think old Banshee would remember me, but when I got back, it was like I never left.

There was something about this kid and animals.

Tender souls.

Bashir: This father-son bond was cemented over a would-be tragedy that haunts Richard Graves to this very day.

No man looks down the barrel of a g*n and doesn't feel fear.

But I chose to run for public office.

And no five-year-old boy chooses to watch his dad...

Yeah, ahem, it's all right, Jeremy.

My son was there.

(Jeremy clears throat)

You know, you've never spoken about that day before, like, ever.

You think maybe we could get together and talk about it or something?

Oh, I can't, son.

I mean, I don't want to talk about what was or what happened.

I just can't do it anymore, son.

Your father tends to compartmentalize his pain.

(phone chiming)

f*ck you, man, okay?

Yeah, what's up, Emery?

Emery: The best f*cking agent that ever lived got you a sit-down with Doug Johnson at The Storm Network.

What did I tell you? This thing you're doing, this f*ck who my father was, f*ck everybody thing, this super amazing hate you're channeling, they're offering you a contract.

Your own show.

What?

You're booked on the 7:00 to LA. Can you get there?

Uh, yeah, yeah, of course.

Just consider me out the f*cking door. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you, Emery.

Hey, Dad!

What?

Nothing.

Look at the two of you.

It's like peas in a f*cking pod, you know?

f*ck it, I'm out. Yep.

f*ck it, I'm out.

Everybody's out.

(snorts, neighs)

Chuy, don't forget your scale.

Big, big mistake, esé.

Okay. Rosa.

Maria. Just some car snacks.

For the road. Good luck with the dr*gs.

(sighs)

Bashir: Your wife's been a bit cagey, dancing around a Senate campaign that may or may not be happening.

Are you the reason?

Margaret has 100% of my support on all fronts, no matter what she does.

But you've recently taken to making some very un-Gravesian moves.

You've appeared hell-bent on what some would say is reversing policies that you yourself put into motion.

I mean, for example, publically denouncing your own economic strategy on monies allocated for cancer research.

Times change, needs change.

But much of what this country believes about modern American conservatism flows from the very river that you set in motion while you were in office.

What do you say to people that have followed you all these years?

I guess we call them the army of Gravesanites, the young and old, the generation of politicians who've based their political philosophies on your tenure as president.

I'd tell them to get a life.

Get a life?

Yes.

To get their own life.

Look, viewing the world through the narrow perspective of my presidency is a dead end.

You got this army, you say, spouting ideology that they pretend to understand.

I've got one of those true believers right here in this house working for me.

But who said I was right?

Who said that? Not me.

You know, Martin, conservative or liberal, it doesn't matter.

If all you are is a sum total of what somebody else believes, then you're no one.

So I guess in the end, I'd tell them all to get a life.

Man: And we're out.

Get a life.

Mr. President, thank you.

Thank you, Martin.

Thanks. Thanks, guys. Thank you.

Margaret: Martin, thank you so much.

Bashir: Thank you.

You see, kid? That's right. That felt right.

That's what it's about.

Now that we owe ourselves a treat, get me a whiskey, neat, kid, and pour yourself one, okay?

Get it yourself.

Excuse me?

You heard me.

Yeah.

You know, I just... I have to ask.

Is it just me?

Do you just resent me, sir?

Or should everyone who's ever believed in you just get a life?

What?

Am I just a true believer in the army of Graves?

Just a faceless person to you, sir?

What's going on here?

You know, I came here because I admired you, sir, and I wanted to learn from someone that I admired.

But the truth is I don't even recognize myself anymore.

I'm not this person.

The risks that I've taken for you, the people that I've hurt, the lies that I've told, I'm just... I'm not this person, sir.

You know, I believe what I believe in because it makes sense to me.

It's who I am.

And all this time I was just hoping that the president I knew was still in there somewhere because I believed in that man.

I believed in you.

Well, that was your own choice, Isaiah.

You know, I've tried to teach you, but you just do not learn.

You're locked up in fear.

You're a lost f*ckin' cause.

No, you're the one who's lost the cause, sir.

Oh.

Okay, I don't know who you think you are, young man.

What did I tell you? I warned you not to romanticize.

This is not your father. You are not a member of this family.

You are an employee and you don't get to be disappointed.

Disappointed?

Yeah, that's a word.

Here's a few more... dishonest, disingenuous, disillusioned, like disillusioned with a family who does nothing but lie to each other over and over all the time. You want to know the truth?

You want to know what's happening right in front of your faces?

Isaiah.

Jeremy went to Colorado and testified on Martin Treadwell's behalf. That's why he's getting out.

And he didn't even give a sh*t enough to tell either of you about it.

Oh, and by the way, Olivia's pregnant.

She hid in her room, took, like, a dozen pregnancy tests and all of them are positive.

So congrats, Grandma and Grandpa.

Now you can pass on your dysfunctional genes to the next generation of Graves.

f*ck it, I quit.

(music playing)

♪ Maybe we can wake the dogs tonight ♪
♪ Maybe we can see the morning light ♪
♪ Maybe everyone can go to hell ♪
♪ Maybe I don't need your calls for help ♪
♪ Again ♪
♪ I'm your friend... ♪

There's such a lot of history in this room.

Yeah. Yes.

Well, that's where it all started.

♪ Oh, well, I'm just waiting on the wild sun ♪
♪ Oh, well, I'm just waiting on the wild sun ♪
♪ Oh, well, I'm just waiting on the wild sun ♪
♪ Oh, well, I'm just waiting on the wild sun. ♪