01x08 - Blue Lies Matter

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Woke". Aired: September 9, 2020 - present.*
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Keef is a cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success when an unexpected event changes his life.
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01x08 - Blue Lies Matter

Post by bunniefuu »

[Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry"]

KEEF: We are not Kubby!

[crowd clamoring]

Yeah, okay.

♪ ♪

[heavy impact]

BRENDA LEE: ♪ I'm sorry ♪

♪ ♪

KEEF: Okay.

I think I need
to see somebody.

BRENDA LEE: ♪ I'm sorry ♪

- Keef Knight got knocked
the f*ck out!

- Who is this somebody
he's talking about?

- I hope he's a boxing coach,

'cause that punch
was slow as hell.

VOICE : Ooh, that's good.

- I think he's talking
about a professional.

You know...

[whispers]
A therapist.

- Hell, no.

- Who better to cure his ills
than us, baby?

[laughter]

- Now that's the kind
of therapy I could use--
a little drinky-drink.

- There you go again,
stigmatizing therapy.

- Come on, now.

You know the minute you let
somebody in your head,
they take over.

How come he can't walk it off
just like any other
self-respecting Black man?

- Because that walk never ends.

- Hell,
if it wasn't for pain,

Black people would've
never invented the blues.

- ♪ Da, dun, a da-da,
got punched in the face ♪

- [laughs]
- ♪ Da, dun, a da-da ♪

♪ By a big-ass koala ♪

- And that is why he needs
to go to therapy.

- Uh-uh, this bitch talkin'.
- I see,
so you know everything.

- What if it cures him
and he never talks to us again?

- Bam!

- Mm, look who.
Where have you been?

- Minding my own
g*dd*mn business, that's where.

- You should talk to your boy.
He's gonna do some things.

- I'll try.

But it ain't about him
talking to us.

It's about him doing
what he needs to do
to get right with this sh*t.

And if that means doing it
with others, so be it.

'Cause I got plans
for Keef Knight.

[mellow rock music]

♪ ♪

- [sighs]

MRS. CHANG:
Hello, there.

What are you doing,
Keef Knight?

- Oh, just basking
in the glow

of my own artistic
achievements, Mrs. Chang.

- No, I mean in the drawing,
what are you doing?

- Oh, being tackled
by the police.

- Well, I don't like it.

- Yeah, I didn't like
being tackled, either,

but my shrink said
I should draw about it,
you know?

It's actually been
pretty cathartic--
writing about myself.

- I meant
I don't like the drawing.

Oh, tell Gunther if he misses
one more mahjong night,

he's out of the league.

♪ ♪

[door opens]
- Yep.

Sweet.

- Oh.
Oh, sh*t.

Look at that, right?

- Yeah.
- sh*t.

[chuckling]
Oh.

Hey.

Please do not be alarmed
by any repositioning
of items in the flat.

I am practicing the ancient art
of bong shui.

KEEF:
Oh.

Well, nothing has changed.

- Yeah, it's a subtle art.

- All right, well, you do you.

I'm gonna get started
on my journal.

- Awesome.

CLOVIS:
As much as she making
off that journal,

Dr. Peggy need
to be writing that sh*t
for him, you feel me?

- Yeah, you can't put a price
on self-care, you know?

CLOVIS:
I'm not.
That's why I got a barber.

- You are absolutely right,
Clovis,

but at least I'm not taking
advice from a marker anymore.

♪ ♪

Any final remarks?

[chuckles]

GUNTHER: I love you.
- Well.

[knock at door]
Cool.

Anybody?
- I have a cell phone.

If they wanna meet,
they'll probably just
text or call.

- Yeah, I'm high,
and I just sat down,

so I won't be standing up
for a while.

[knock at door]

Oh, no, don't get up.
I got it.

- Keef Knight,
the comic Avenger.

- Do I know you?

- No.
No one ever remembers.

That's for you.

You've been served.

Again.
[chuckles]

Yeah, but hey,

way to keep it with
your comic in the Bay Arean.

That's--that's pretty dope.

CLOVIS:
Discombobulated.
Look at you.

GUNTHER:
You know, for being
a freelance cartoonist,

you sure do a lot of dealings
with the legal system.

CLOVIS:
You definitely do.

Bloom and Hill coming back
for what, round two?
[chuckles]

GUNTHER:
More like round three.
Are you--

- No,
it's the cop who tackled me.

He's suing me.

- What?
KEEF: He's suing me.

GUNTHER:
For what?

Did you hurt his hand
when he punched you
in the back of the head?

- Uh, no, for defamation.

He's claiming that he was
triggered by the comic strip.

GUNTHER:
Wow.

That is actually more absurd
than what I just said.

- Well, how is he saying
that he was triggered?

I--I was the one who was
slammed on the ground.

- Okay, when people say
that cops aren't trigger happy,

show 'em that sh*t, man.

- I think I have to get
a lawyer or something,

somebody who's not gonna
charge me an arm and a leg.

- Don't go back
to the Lawyers for the Arts.

They keep f*cking you, man.

- Okay, for the last time,
they're not f*cking me over.

I gave up the rights
to Toast & Butter.

I let 'em go.

But yes, I do have
to find a different lawyer

than these people, 'cause they--
they keep f*cking me.

CLOVIS:
Mm-hmm.

Hey, well--hey, hey, look.
I ain't worried, man.

I ain't worried.
I believe in you.

[door slams]

[whispers]
Hey.

I'm worried.

[door bell jingles]

TRINA:
You just had to go sit
at our table, huh?

- Yeah, I wanted to make things
as awkward as possible.

- Smart of you to call me.
I'm sure it wasn't easy.

- Well, you know,
we didn't necessarily
end on the greatest of terms,

but I have not had much luck
with lawyers.

- No.

My mom said
he's either really broke

or he's got zero understanding
about what he put me through.

- Ouch.

- Well, you know,
she never liked you.

- Really?

Now so many small,
innocuous incidents
make so much sense now.

[both chuckle]

- I'm happy
that you're doing well, Keef.

I--I mean that.

I--I thought I got it,
but I didn't, not fully.

But this comic, Keef,
it says it all.

It's raw and it's powerful.

People are really
paying attention.

KEEF:
Yeah.

Apparently,
Officer Wyatt agrees with you.

- Mm.
Good news on that front.

So I spoke with the reps
at the SFPD,

and the department feels
just as blindsided by Wyatt
as you do,

and they want nothing more
than to make this whole thing
go away.

- Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, thank you.

I knew you were
the right person to call.
Thank you very much.

Why did you bury the lede,
by the way?

- [chuckles]
They--they want something
from you, first, though.

KEEF:
Okay.

- So they want you to sit down
with the officer and have

a frank discussion about
police-community relations.

- [chuckling]
Like, over a beer?

[laughs]

- Actually, yeah.
They did mention beer.

Plus the press.

They also want
a social media presence
at the Brighton Sports Bar.

- Wait, hold up, hold up.
Let me just rewind
for a second.

Wanna make sure
I'm hearing you correctly.

In order to squash this,

they want me to have
a beer summit with the guy,

like, Obama with the professor
and the cop?

- So you say your piece.
He says his.
What's the harm in that?

KEEF:
I mean, it's bullshit.

They're using me
so they can make it seem like
they're doing something.

- And if you turn them down,
you spend the next three years
in court.

You're finally back on track.

You don't want this lawsuit
hanging over your head.

You're a smart guy, Keef.

Make the smart choice.

[slow bassy music]

- Yeah, you know,
I don't know, dude.

- Okay, what's the worst
that could happen?

I have a beer with the guy,
he drops the lawsuit,

and this whole thing goes away.

- You both get drunk,
he pulls his g*n,

blows your head off
all over the walls.

- That's your concern?
Really?

- Yes.
CLOVIS: Word.

- My main concern
is that you're letting SFPD

have their way with you
in a public forum.

- Man, I say do it, man.

Dude, you go in there,
you smile your smile,
you sip your beer,

drop a couple smoke pellets,
poof.

Disappear like Bruce Wayne
right into the night.

- Okay, well, first off,
it's gonna be daylight.

Secondly, where's he gonna
get smoke pellets?

They're very hard to find.
I've looked, and--

- And third, you have to give
in order to get, right?

And I think this
is the smartest give.

Well, that's what Trina thinks.

- [chuckles]
- Mm, yeah, real good.

She want him.
She want the D.

- Stop it.
She's my lawyer, okay?

She gave me advice.
Good advice.

- How good was the advice?
- You know what?

I think you should do it.

Make them think
they're using you,

and then you take that platform
and you hijack it

and you say everything
you've ever wanted to say about
community-police relations.

You make them squirm.

I'll draft up some, uh,
talking points for you.

- I'm good.
Don't need talking points.

- I've seen you talk.
You need talking points.

- Yeah, you definitely need
talking points.

If not,
you start fumfering, bro.

- Start what?
- Look, you start fumfering.

I ain't got time to explain it.
Your word of the day.

See, and what happens
when you start fumfering,

you have a slide down
a slippery slope to,
"What the f*ck is Keef on?"

- Okay, okay.

Just to clarify,
you say don't do it,

you say get in, get out,
get it done,

and you say
blow this entire thing up
using my rage and indignation.

- Yeah.
- Absolutely.

[Pher's "Murky"]

- My head hurts.

♪ ♪

SINGER: ♪ It gets so ♪

♪ Murky ♪

♪ Loving what you know ♪

♪ But I keep on swimming ♪

♪ Swimming, babe,
further up the road ♪

♪ ♪

[vocalizing]

- [sighs]

♪ ♪

[sighs]

Psst.

You mad at me?

[scoffs]
I don't care.

Bah.

Hey.

I don't care
what Dr. Peggy says.

I need you to do--okay.

Look, I know I always act like
I don't need you around.

I always throw you
in the trash.

Always make fun of you.
I get it.

That's on me.
That's my bad.

But right now,
let's just forget about that

because I need you, you see?

I need you to do that thing,
that marker thing

that--that, uh,
that--that you do.

Okay, look, I'm...
[sighs]

I'm scared, all right?
I'm very scared.

I just don't wanna
do the wrong thing again,

so I need you
to tell me what to do.

Or Trash Can, you know?

Like, where has he been?
Just--

- Yo, whoa.
- Huh?

- Who the f*ck
are you talking to?

- I'm just, uh--
I'm practicing for tomorrow,
so...

[sniffles]
You know, what I was gonna say
and, like...

- Oh, sh*t.
Um, you're gonna do it?

- Yeah.
I think it's the smart move.

GUNTHER:
Wait, who thinks
it's a smart move?

- I think it's the smart move.

- Yo, can I sway your vote?

- Nope.
- Gonna do it.
Okay.

Well, can you practice quieter?

- Okay.
- Good night.

- Yeah, good night.

- You shouldn't be
drinking soda this late.

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

[door closes]

I'm not crazy, dude.
Just f*cking...

The f*ck.

[The 's "John Browns Gat"]

[sirens wailing]

[overlapping police chatter]

♪ ♪

[camera shutters clicking]

LIEUTENANT SVOBODA:
This is your chance
to tell your side of the story.

Everything's gonna be okay.

Hey, Keef Knight.

Michael Svoboda.
- Hey.

- Lieutenant in charge
of public affairs.

This is Officer Wyatt.

- Yeah, we've met.

- [chuckles]
Right, okay.

- Look, if we could just
get this over with...

SVOBODA:
Yeah, yeah.
You know what?

It'll be great.

- [inhales]
He's just asking
for trouble, man.

- Trouble?
- Yeah.

He's behind enemy lines.

What happens if a cop
reaches out for a handshake,

Keef freaks out and just
collapses on the floor
in fetal position?

- [chuckling]

What?
I'm sorry, dude.

Keef in the fetal position,
though?

Come on.
- I don't think
you get it, man.

This is a dangerous game
he's playing.

- A'ight, well,
what's the worst thing
that can happen to him?

[Jade Stone & Luv's
"Come Home With Me"]

- Keef orders a Guinness.

Cop mistakes the can
for a p*stol.

[indistinct chatter]

They sh**t him with a g*n.

- Damn.

What's the second-worst thing
that could happen to him?

- Cop at the bar's
eating some mixed nuts.

Peanut goes down
the wrong tube.
He starts choking.

Keef pops up,
ready to administer
the Heimlich.

They sh**t him with a g*n.

♪ ♪

- [coughs]
- Hey.

- Keef gets a phone call.
He picks up his cell phone.
[cell phone trills]

They sh**t him with a g*n.

Keef gives a friendly wave
to a person
at the end of the bar.

They sh**t him with a g*n.

Keef sneezes.
- [sneezes]

GUNTHER:
They sh**t him with a g*n.

Keef quietly reads a book.

They sh**t him with a g*n.

Keef takes a bite
of his house salad.

♪ ♪

They sh**t him with a g*n.

♪ ♪

- Damn.

- He's dead.

♪ ♪

- We smoke too much weed.

- I don't even think
that's a real thing.
- Mm-hmm.

[camera shutters clicking]

[indistinct chatter]

- [takes deep breath]

So you, uh, draw comics?

- Yeah.
- My kid likes to draw.

Well, maybe not.
[chuckles]

I don't know what the hell
he likes anymore.

But you don't want
to talk about my kid.

- I--I don't, no.

Uh, look.

There's so much
that I need to say to you.

- Yeah, I know.
- So--[sighs]

- It's just--it's my kid.


I was always
this badass hero cop,

and then he saw that thing
you drew, and--and--

well, all of a sudden,
I'm the thug.

Which, I know, me complaining
about being stereotyped is,

"It's all so unfair."
[chuckles]

But--
- Yeah, okay, look.

There--there are some things
that I would like to say to you

if you'll allow me
to say those things.

- Well, sure.
- Okay.

What I wanted to say
on a card so--

- Well, that's a good idea.

"What happened
to protect and serve?"

- Which is a question
that I was gonna ask you, so--

- Yeah, hey--
- 'Cause I wrote it, so--

- Failed you on that one.

[soft dramatic music]

"I did nothing wrong,
yet found myself
tackled to the ground."

- And it was not soft.
It hurt a lot.

- I bet it did.
I'm a pretty big guy.

Oh, that's a good point.
- Which one?

- "We, the untrained civilians,
have to be calm and unflinching

with g*ns pointed
in our faces."

Huh, I never looked at it
that way before.

[note cards slap on bar]

Well, I'm thirsty as balls.

We grabbin' beers or what?

[sighs]

- Turns out, she called
on her own gardeners.
[chuckles]

- [chuckles sarcastically]
Funny cop stories.

- Oh, I got a million.

- The six you told
were just fine.

So...

Okay.

- Oh, we're done?

All right, whatever, man.
It's your show.

- It's a show, that's for sure.

It's just not my show.

[camera shutters clicking]

- Come on,
everybody's watching.

[camera shutters clicking]

That wasn't so hard.

- Everything good?

You feel heard, Keef?
We can put this to bed?

- The sooner, the better.

[overlapping crosstalk]

- Guys, guys, guys.

Uh, please remember to tag
this with SFPDDaresToCare.

Okay?

- A lot was said
behind closed doors,

but something that deserves
to be said in public
is I'm sorry.

- Yeah.

- Now it's your turn, Keef.

- My turn to what?
- Apologize to Officer Wyatt.

- Oh, I get it now.

- Oh, you hear that, folks?
Mr. Knight gets it now.

He better understands
the challenges facing the SFPD.

JOURNALIST:
Mr. Knight, Mr. Knight,
I have a question.

- That's not what I--
that's not--

I didn't say those things.
I mean, it's not that I don't--

JOURNALIST:
Mr. Knight,
we'd like to hear it from you.

- [chuckles]
Okay.

I'm so sorry to do this to you,
folks, but, um,

everybody out.

This is between me and Wyatt.
If you could just...

- Okay, okay, folks.
Thank--thank you so much.
Thanks, guys.

[indistinct chatter]

Thanks, everybody.

All right.
[sighs]

- Oh, no.
That includes you, too.

- What?

- Oh, you can go as well.
I mean, he's fine.

You're fine, right?

You're safe.
He's safe.

[camera shutters clicking]

SVOBODA:
All right, guys!
Everybody's good.

[indistinct chatter]

- Did you mean
any of those words
you said earlier?

I mean, that's all I need
to leave here with right now,

is the truth, and then--
then I can go.

- Look, my boss said
come down here.

I say sorry, you say sorry.

And I don't have
to keep riding a desk.

So just f*cking apologize
so I can get out of here.

- Nice to meet you,
Officer Wyatt.

I've been wondering
where you were hiding.

- [chuckles]
I don't hide from sh*t.

You need to apologize.

I was my kid's f*cking hero.

Now he's all confused 'cause
of that comic strip you drew.

- I'm out, man.

- Hey, cartoon man!
You don't get it.

We're under siege out there.

We've got seconds to assess
whether a thr*at is genuine.

- You're under siege?

I just--I'm so sorry.
I didn't--don't think
I heard you correctly.

You're the one under siege?

- Yep.

- I was stapling f*cking flyers
to a wall.

- Yeah, a stapler could
be a potential thr*at.

- [scoffs and laughs]

You know,
just when I thought this day

couldn't get any more
stupid and absurd,

you went and said that sh*t.

- Go ahead, make jokes.

You got off easy this time.

Next time,
we're not gonna be so nice,

so you better f*ckin'
lighten up.

[slow dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Let's talk about those
perceived threats, shall we?

Those nuts, for example.

If I were to throw those nuts
in your face,

could that be perceived
as a thr*at?

If I were to splash beer
on you,

would that be considered
a thr*at?

- If it's intentional,
then yes.

- Okay.

Well, in that case,

it's a good thing you don't
have your g*n on you because

I would be dead right now.

- [chuckles]

[indistinct chatter]

Don't push me.

- That is for giving jaywalking
tickets to poor people.

And that is for answering
Cookout Karen's calls

when Black folks are just
trying to get something to eat.

- Consider yourself warned.
- Ooh, I've been warned.

That one is for all the times
your police report

didn't match the video.

- One more flick,
and I will arrest you
for assaulting an officer.

♪ ♪

Don't do it.

♪ ♪

[The Jolly Boys' cover
of "I Fought the Law"]

♪ ♪

[door buzzes, locks]

SINGER: ♪ Breaking rocks
in the hot sun ♪

♪ I fought the law
and the law won ♪

♪ I fought the law
and the law won ♪

♪ I needed money
'cause I had none ♪

♪ I fought the law
and the law won ♪

♪ I fought the law
and the law won ♪

♪ [screams] ♪

♪ ♪

[cell phone ringing]

- Hello?

- [as Rocky]
Hey, yo, Adrienne.

[chuckles]

How you doin'?
It's me, Rocky.
[chuckles]

[normally] I'm sorry.
I know how much you hate that.

Um, got a lot
to catch up on, you know?

- Where are you, Keef?
You sound totally weird.

- Uh, figuratively, um,
I'm in a better place.

Literally, I'm in jail.

It's just me,
a couple of drunks,

and kind of
a old, white dude here.

Could be a professor.

He also could be
a domestic t*rror1st.

Anyway, that is, uh,
all just a precursor to say,

look, I know we said that
we would spare each other

the heartache
of our f*cked-up selves,

but are we really that bad?

I think we should--
I think we should
give it a sh*t.

- You sound like
a completely different person.

- Well, same Keef, but, uh,
I'm in a better place now,

so I'll let you--

- Time's up, beer flicker.

- Uh, and I have got to go.

- W-wait.
KEEF: All right?

- W-w-what were you--
KEEF: Bye.

- Okay.

[line clicks]

[mellow music]

Beer flicker?

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

KEEF:
Okay.

♪ ♪

[sighs]

Thank you.

Thank you for not helping me.

I appreciate that.
[chuckles]

All right, then.
Okay.

[door buzzes]

GUNTHER:
Oh!

- There we go, my boy.
- Okay!

- So what was it like?
Did you get some prison tats?

- I was in there for an hour
and minutes, so no.

- That was a long way to go
for some street cred.

KEEF: [chuckles]
- Street cred?

This n*gga ain't Gucci Mane.

sh*t, he ain't even
Martha Stewart.
Look at him.

- Mm, fun fact.

I snitched on all three of you.

- Are you serious?

- You'll be fine.
It's not cocaine, right?

- So was it worth it?

- I don't know.
Maybe.

Just wish I'd made
a bigger impact, you know?

- Uh, well,
kind of think you did.

[DUCKWRTH's "WAKE UP!"]

♪ ♪

JOURNALIST :
Mr. Knight, Mr. Knight.

JOURNALIST :
How does it feel to stand up
against the police department?

JOURNALIST : Mr. Knight,
are you going to use your comic
to fight racial injustice?

[indistinct chatter]
JOURNALIST :
Are you going to run for office?

JOURNALIST :
Is this the start
of a new movement?

- Yeah!
[laughs]

And so it begins.

SINGER:
♪ One, two, three, wake up ♪

♪ Whoa ♪

♪ Wake up, whoa ♪

♪ Oh, wake up ♪

♪ Whoa ♪

♪ Wake up, whoa ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

RAPPER:
♪ This is your wake up call ♪

♪ Courtesy of my fist ♪
SINGER: ♪ Yeah ♪

♪ That purposely met your jaw ♪

♪ And n*gga, no, I never miss ♪

♪ This is a courtesy warning ♪

♪ Know that the wolves
are swarming ♪

♪ And know if it rains tonight ♪

♪ You probably won't make it
till morning ♪

♪ Good damn, I'm the man with
the whole world in his hand ♪

♪ From LA up to Iran,
we just blitzing
through the land ♪

♪ Good damn, I'm the man ♪

♪ With the whole world
in his hand ♪

♪ If you're sleeping
we're the reason ♪

♪ Why you woke up once again ♪

SINGER: ♪ Wake up, whoa ♪

♪ Wake up, whoa ♪

♪ Oh, wake up ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Wake up ♪
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