02x04 - A House Built on Sand

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Tyrant". Aired: June 2014 to September 2016.*
Watch/Buy Amazon


Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed, the younger son of a Middle East dictator, is reluctantly compelled to return to his home country (the fictional Abbudin) along with his American wife and children.
Post Reply

02x04 - A House Built on Sand

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously, on Tyrant...

Nusrat: You r*ped me, and then you k*lled my father for defending my honor and I'll never say a word of any of it or speak against the family because of this.

My baby is your heir after Ahmed.

That's the deal, isn't it?

I am appointing you Minister of Energy Development.

I don't know anything about the oil business.

You will learn.

Uh, Sammy, this is James Timmons.

He's an attorney.

He's helping me with Dad's estate.

James: Well, the terms of the trust specify that the money passes along the male line.

Samuel has inherited $100 million.

You didn't tell us your name.

Khalil.

What if the government find out that we are harboring a fugitive?

They won't, because no one in this room will say anything.

Ahmos is my husband.

This is our son, Ghani.

I'm his second wife.

(expl*si*n thunders, villagers scream)

Ahmos: Yesterday in Ma'an, a thousand people dead.

Al Fayeed is denying it, of course,
blaming Ihab Rashid, but everyone knows the truth.

Jamal Al Fayeed did this.

Because of Ihab.

Because we were foolish enough to support you.

It's over, so pack your things and leave.

(muezzin chanting over speaker)

(chanting): Allahu Akbar.

Allahu Akbar.

Allahu Akbar.


How long will you stay with us?

I'm not sure.

You like living here?

Yeah, I do.

So maybe you should stay.

Daliyah: Ghani?

I've been waiting for you in the dairy shed.

You were supposed to help me make yogurt.

I'm helping Khalil.

Ghani, please.

Ghani, please.

I've been looking forward to it.

Go on.

(sighs heavily)

(chickens clucking)

He has been distancing himself lately from his mother, I think because she's leaving.

Daliyah's leaving?

For Germany.

She's been accepted at a program to bring solar power to our village.

We have too much sunshine and not enough electricity.

Khalil, sit with me.

Khalil...

The people coming for Daliyah, they are from the government.

You should keep your head down until they leave.

Taj: I'm sorry.

It's... it's stale.

Amazing how quickly we've learned to live like rats.

It's, uh... it's not for long.

Listen, uh...

I need you to go to the leather shop on El-Shaikh Zayed.

I want you to ask for Salim Tawfeek.

And give him this.

And say what?

"Here is a photo of the most wanted man in the whole of Abuddin"?

Salim is a forger I've been talking to.

You give this to him, and you wait for him to finish with my documents.

(coughs)

When you have... (clears throat) ...my visa and my passport in your hand, you come straight back here.

You don't stop. You don't talk to anyone.

Do you know what to do?

Easy.

Good.

(man praying in local language)

(various overlapping, indistinct conversations)

I'm so sorry about your mother.

She was a wonderful woman.

Dr. El-Hashem gave her the best care.

You were talking to her doctor?

Of course.

I tried to make it back in time, but I was a day too late.

You were a wonderful son.

You were the best son.

She was so proud of you.

Before you leave again... and I've given this a great deal of thought...

I want you to meet your father.

I've been lucky to have you in my life.

But I've been fine without him.

And he's been fine without me.

Only because he didn't know you existed.

It's time for him to learn he has another son.

Doctor: See that?

That's the baby's spine.

Those are the ribs, those tiny little things there.

And that's the baby's hand.

Is that the heart?

Normal rhythm.

Fetal heart rate:

158 beats per minute.

Can you tell us the child's sex?

If it's all right with the parents.

Of course it's all right with the parents.

It's a boy.

(laughing): We're gonna have a son.

A son.

Oh. Mother.

What a surprise.

I'm sure you understand.

It's... it's going to take me some... some time.

So you came to forgive me or to berate me?

This morning, I went to see the son of a friend.

He won the Sword of Honor when he graduated from Sandhurst and now he's a commander, on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.

Mm.

He sounds like a remarkable young man.

I was at his mother's funeral.

Okay.

I'm very sorry.

What?

She was Safaa Said.

Safaa... she d*ed?

Uh...

You were at her funeral?

I've kept in touch with her for the last 25 years.

While forbidding me from seeing her?

That was your father.

I did it to take care of her and her child.

Doesn't he have a father to look after him?

His father never knew he existed.

He walked away before the boy was born.

Not because he wanted to...

No, no, no, no.

(laughs)

You are lying.

He is lying, someone is lying here...

He's your son.

If I had known she was pregnant...

Nothing would have changed.

Your father wouldn't have allowed it.

A poor girl from Ma'an. A Rashid cousin.

It would have been my choice.

I'm sorry.

I did the only thing that was in my power to do.

I took care of him for you.

Why now?

Why are you turning my life upside down?

Because your father is dead.

Because your brother is dead.

Because our lives have suddenly become so very tenuous.

It's time you met him, Jamal.

And he met you.

Just go away.

Jamal...

Go away.

Oh, it's... it's useless.

I can't sleep.

All those faces, staring at me...

I just can't stop thinking that we're abandoning them. We fought as hard as we could.

There is nothing left for us to do.

Except run away.

(pounding at door)

Ihab, it's Taj. Open up.

Oh, come in, come here.

Okay.

Where are the documents?

Where are the documents?

What's wrong?

They threatened to k*ll my family.

No! No! Samira!

No!

Samira!

(grunts)

I'm sorry.

(grunts)

(woman wailing in distance)

Up.

Abu Omar.

I should have known it was you.

You know him?

Ihab and I are old friends from our university days in Cairo.

Friends?

No.

I think of you as my friend.

Of course, we've taken different paths.

I have all this, and you've lost everything.

You look hungry.

My wife will get you some food.

This way.

Please.

It's-it's okay, it's okay.

(birds chirping)

Sorry for the rough treatment.

I wasn't sure you'd accept a more formal invitation.

(sighs)

What do you want?

I want to help you liberate Abuddin from the apostate Al Fayeeds.

Finish the job your father started 30 years ago.

I'm done fighting.

Done?

No.

From where I'm standing, you haven't even begun.

Ahmed, the Chinese ambassador mentioned they are waiting for you to sign off on their proposal.

I'm still working through it.

They sent it to you last week.

It's nearly 300 pages.

Then wake up earlier and go to bed later.

If you want, I can go over it with you.

No.

I'll take care of it.

Good.

I also wanted to give you something.

Oh.

Yes, your mother told me.

It's wonderful news.

It's a boy.

I never knew I'd be so happy to have a son.

Congratulations.

Well...

(exhales)

Hello.

Mother.

I...

I want to see him.

Will you bring him to me?

(doorbell rings)

Hey.

Did I mess up the date?

I thought we were having dinner tomorrow night.

We are.

Can I come in?

Yeah, of course. Sorry.

We just had dinner, but I can reheat something up for you if you're hungry.

Oh, no, thank you, I ate.

Hey!

Good evening.

So, what's going on?

Did you find my Lady Al Fayeed trust?

I'm still working on that.

Excuse her, she's still mad that I'm getting that $100 million for having a Y chromosome. Sorry.

(chuckles)

So, uh, there's been a development in Sammy's case, and we need to discuss next steps.

Next steps?

Uh, I'm not sure yet who initiated this, but the legal team representing the Al Fayeed trust is contesting the will.

Uh, what does that mean?

Well, the issue lies in the question of whether the money ever passed to your father after the death of Khaled Al Fayeed.

Okay, so how do I get it?

You need to appear in court.

In Abuddin.

Their law requires a personal court appearance.

Well, the last time I checked, we weren't allowed back in that country.

We can apply for an exemption...

Sammy's not going back to Abuddin.

Um...

Look, I know you're disappointed, but there's no way you're going back there.

Okay, but this is my inheritance from my father, s...

And I'm your mother and it's my job to keep you safe.

I'm not gonna put you at risk for $100 million or $100 billion.

O... Okay, can we at least talk about it?

We just did.

You're not going back to Abuddin.

Wow.

Okay.

Since when are you the dictator of this family, Mom?

Sammy...

I'm just... I'm gonna go finish my homework in my room.

I'm sorry about that.

No, it's...

I figured it was a sensitive subject, that's why I wanted to do it in person.

I didn't realize how sensitive.

We got on a plane a year ago to go to a wedding.

We can't go back.

They're here for Daliyah.

Your father is a fool.

A beautiful wife and he's sending her away?

I think Daliyah's beauty is crowding our mother's nest.

Shut up, Kasim.

What do you think, Khalil?

It's not my place.

But you have an opinion.

Well, I think it's a good idea.

I think it'll bring jobs to the village.

Your meat won't go bad and you'll stop getting sick.

Bashir: I'd rather be sick than lose my wife.

Let a curious woman like her out into the world and she may never come back.

Once she leaves here, forget about her.

What the hell?

What's wrong with you? Are you crazy?

That's good milk.

Oh! (grunts)

Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Let go of me!

Ghani, wait. Ghani!

Kasim: That kid's a freak.

(sighs)

Mr. President.

(clears throat)

I'm sure this is awkward for you.

It is for me.

But I'm happy to meet you.

I thought you might start by... by giving Rami a tour of the palace.

Mm. Good idea.

Every one of these tiles was hand-laid.

This room, specifically, took over a year to complete.

You would think growing up in a place like this would be amazing, but... not really.

(chuckles quietly)

(sighs deeply)

Uh... you probably don't like me very much.

My mother always said nice things about you.

I never understood why she wasn't angry.

She would have had every right to be.

But she wasn't.

She loved you.

She was a Rashid and I was an Al Fayeed.

Even before it started, our relationship was impossible.

We tried to run away together, like in the movies.

To leave Abuddin for good.

I bribed a merchant marine from Mumbai to let us stow away.

We were supposed to meet him at a café, but he never showed up.

My father did, though.

He b*at me, knocked out three of my teeth.

He said it would be worse if we ever saw each other again.

I never knew about you. But you were there.

You must have been.

You look like her.

She always said I look like you.

No, you have her eyes.

She had... very kind eyes.

Do you sh**t?

Of course you do. (chuckles) You're a soldier.

Well, let's see if you inherited my skills.

(g*nf*re)

You didn't say you had perfect aim.

You didn't ask.

Where did that happen?

Um, Darfur.

Tell me.

(chuckles) I prefer not to talk about it.
Leila: Jamal, I've been looking for you.

Ahmed's been waiting for you to review the job reports.

Whew.

Hello.

Meet Rami Said.

Rami, this is my wife, Leila.

Of course.

It's a... a pleasure.

My pleasure.

Rami is originally from Abuddin.

Now he's the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Mogadishu.

Actually, Mogadishu was my last deployment.

Right now I'm recruiting member nations to form a rapid reaction force in Burundi.

Wow. Impressive.

Jamal: Yes.

He's like a superhero. (chuckles)

I doubt that.

How do you two know each other?

Well, I make it my business to know Abuddin's finest.

It must have been very difficult for you... hiding in your own homeland, being hunted like an animal.

Every day... you're afraid that someone will break through your door and sh**t you in the head or drag you off to prison.

So where will you go?

Amsterdam.

Where my father is.

Where your father ran away.

The Europeans, they all talk about tolerance and free speech, but it doesn't include us.

You're running to the very life I ran away from.

So don't fool yourself into believing that Amsterdam will ever be a home to you.

But... you don't need me to tell you that.

Ihab: Abu Omar.

You have changed.

Two years in Mubarak's prison changed me.

Still, I would never do what you do.

What, give the people a government?

One that actually works?

We give them jobs and require only that they follow God's law.

You behead photographers, journalists, teachers...

Infidels on the wrong side of history.

And it's been working.

Just like it will work in Abuddin.

Oh...

(whispers): It's barbaric.

Barbaric.

It's w*r.

Between the House of Islam and the House of the Unbeliever.

You need to pick a side.

Jamal: Did I tell you he was sh*t?

An inch further to the left and he'd be a dead man.

Yes, you told me.

Mmm.

Leila, he's the kind of man we need around.

I had an idea today.

I'm thinking maybe I should offer him a position in the Army.

Well, you told me he was a w*r hero, but you didn't tell me he was a Rashid.

Maybe you forgot.

You seemed so taken with him, I had Tariq run a background check.

Um, I'm not taken with him.

He's a Rashid.

A distant cousin by marriage.

He doesn't identify with them.

He's lived his entire life abroad.

What's going on, Jamal?

Clearly, there's something you're not telling me.

You think you know everything.

You can't just walk away from me like that.

I know you're hiding something.

I know when you're lying. I know you too well.

He's my son.

He is my son.

Your son.

Yes.

I'm sorry. Uh... (scoffs)

What does that even mean?

It was before us, before... before you and me.

So you've been lying to me all these years?

No. I didn't know about him until earlier today.

My mother kept him from me.

She is the liar.

One of... probably a... a dozen bastard children show up with your meddling mother, and you... you want to make him a member of our family.

He is an extraordinary man.

He's an extraordinary man without you, Jamal.

Without you.

I know you've been unfaithful.

But we had an agreement, an understanding.

But to bring him home and rub it in my face...

You are overreacting.

And you are being naive.

I have given you... everything.

I have given you everything, Jamal.

But all you ever do is think about yourself.

Jamal wants and Jamal needs...

He's my son.

You have one son. One.

Your bastard child is not welcome in my home.

I will make my decision.

I will make the right decision, and the world will live with it.

(sighs)

Sammy: Come on!

Emma: What are you video-ing me for? Stop it.

Sammy: "Video-ing."

That's a word, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(jabbering, playfully taunting)

All right, let's go.

How does this feel?

Emma: Look, Mom's actually doing the dishes.

(Emma chuckles)

Barry: I'm driving Grandma home.

Okay.

Daliyah: Ghani!

Ghani!

Have you seen Ghani? He's been gone all afternoon.

Munir told me what happened at the shed.

No, I haven't seen him since.

I need to find my son, so I can tell him I'm not going anywhere.

I was crazy to think this would ever work.

I don't think it was crazy. To...

Who are you to give me advice?

Ahmos: Daliyah.

He tells me to leave when his own family doesn't know he's alive, hiding in a place that isn't even his home.

Ghani!

I'm sorry.

She shouldn't have spoken to you like that.

Sammy: Hey, Emma?

Hmm?

Some dude's been creeping on my profile.

He's checked it, like, three times in the last hour.

Well, maybe it's your BF Abdul.

(chuckles)

Mm...

Is that why you want to go back to Abuddin so bad?

No, it's not him. And that's not why I want to go back.

Mm-hmm.

Okay. You actually do have a stalker from Abuddin.

Molly: Hey.

Uh, can I talk to you for a second?

Yeah. I'll give you guys a minute.

Listen, I'm sorry I got so upset before.

I know you've been through a lot, but I-I have, too.

I know that.

We're just starting to get our lives back, figuring out how to be a family again.

I know. But you're not hearing me.

They've already taken so much away from us.

I'm not letting them take this.

They can take so much more from you than that.

Anyway, it's blood money.

Yeah, but it's mine.

And I'm still an-an Al Fayeed.

Half of me, anyway.

And you may not like that, but it's true.

Anyway, I-I-I have homework.

Barry: Your mother's got the whole village looking for you.

She's worried about you.

No, she isn't.

What do you mean? Of course she is.

She loves you.

Why is she leaving me?

Because she loves you.

Because she wants you to have a future here.

You and everyone in the village.

Ghani, I promise you she's gonna come back to you.

How did you know where to find him?

We had a whole conversation about hiding places.

(grunts)

Your son asks a lot of questions.

That's because you're the only one who answers them.

You're the only one who doesn't get mad at him for asking.

He's a good kid.

You're good with him.

Your children, they were lucky to have you as a father.

I was not always there for them when they were Ghani's age.

I was a different person than I am now.

I'm sorry for what I said before.

I had no right to speak to you that way.

You were upset.

Still.

I am sorry.

Well, I am not sorry for what I said about the solar program.

You could make a real difference to people's lives here.

If you change your mind...

I'll watch over Ghani while you're gone.

I can't ask you to do that.

You're not asking me.

Six months is a long time, and life here isn't perfect.

Life isn't perfect anywhere.

But I will stay here until you come back.

My son won't replace yours.

No, of course not. That's, um...

That's way too big.

But this is... this is small.

This is something I can do.

So, they just clear out cafes for you?

(chuckles softly)

Ask all the paying customers to leave just so you can have a cup of coffee?

(laughs quietly)

We could have had coffee anywhere.

This cafe... was the last place I saw your mother.

I've been thinking, Rami, about you, your future.

Maybe you should consider staying here.

In Abuddin?

If you stay, I'll make you... a very powerful man in the army... second-in-command.

This isn't why my grandmother introduced me to you, is it?

I had no intention of asking you for a job.

You're not asking. I'm offering.

(sighs)

I'm your father.

This is your home.

My home?

I have no home.

Both sides of my family... the Al Fayeeds and the Rashids... have been fighting since before I was born, and you are asking me to choose a side.

There are no sides anymore.

The fighting is over.

Because you gassed Ma'an.

It's complicated.

I can't reconcile being two people at once.

That's why I left.

It's, uh, why I need to leave now, but thank you for the offer.

It was a pleasure to finally meet you.

You are... not the man I expected.

Can't sleep?

(inhales deeply)

(sighing): Mm-mm.

You're thinking about Abu Omar?

Hmm.

Mm.

Me, too.

What kind of... person drives people out of their homes, and... tortures... slaughters innocent people?

Oh, these-these things that he does.

What kind of person does these things?

I could.

If Abu Omar... can open the palace gates so I can slit the throat of Jamal Al Fayeed, then I will go with him.

Why wouldn't I?

After all the blood he's spilled.

Abuddin is our home.

And this... is our last chance to make a stand.

So I could do those things.

And so could you.

I'm on your side.

Molly: It sure doesn't feel like it.

It's the law that's on Sammy's side.

Can I make him stay?

Yes, you can kidnap him.

(scoffs)

He's gonna be 18, and as soon as he is, he can pretty much do whatever he wants.

(sighs)

At least for now, you got the wolf by the ear.

So there's no way I can keep my son safe?

You can go with him.

I promised Barry we would never go back there.

Sammy didn't make that promise, and from what I'm getting, sooner or later, he's going, with or without you.

If it makes a difference, I'll be there with you.

I mean, technically, Sammy's my client, but...

You would do that?

Yeah. One of the advantages of being a widowed, self-employed empty-nester.

Look, when he goes, you don't want him resenting you for not being with him.

He's already lost one parent.

(scoffs)

Ahmos: I am so proud of you, Daliyah.

You'll send me reports.

I want to know how it's going.

Yes.

Yes. Ahmos, stop.

(sniffles)

When I come back, I will be a solar engineer, and I'm going to build you a house with your own bedroom.

Will we be able to switch the lights whenever we want?

We'll have light all the time.

Lots of light.

Ahmos: Come... or you'll miss your plane.

(sniffles)

(low, indistinct conversation)

(woman speaking indistinctly with German accent)

(engine revving)

I decided you were right.

Rami should go.

It's the best thing for me, the best thing for all of us.

So, good luck to him, wherever he goes next.

Did you love her?

Rami's mother.

Did you love her?

Yes, um, I did, very much.

The world could have ended around us, and we wouldn't have noticed.

But we were young.

Children playing a fairytale romance.

Yes, I remember that feeling.

Really?

We never talk about these things.

Who was he?

No one.

You don't know him.

(door opens)

Ahmed: The numbers don't add up.

One month, the Chinese plan on employing 13,000 people.

The next month, those numbers drop by half that.

(sighs heavily)

They are construction jobs, Ahmed.

That's the month we plan to have the local housing project completed.

Those jobs were always temporary.

Oh.

It's... it's confusing.

Well, let's go through this together, me and you.

(sighs)

(phone line ringing)

Lea Exley.

Remember when you and the entire State Department assured me you'd do anything within your power to guarantee my safety?

I need you to facilitate travel.

I'm going back to Abuddin.

(engine revving)

Woman (with german accent): You will be studying with women from all over the world...

Pakistan, India, Africa, Malaysia... but you will be the first solar engineer from Abuddin.

This is Sergeant Aziz. I have the minister with me.

Please come in, base seven. This is Sergeant Aziz.

Please come in.

Who's that? What's happening?

(German woman shrieks)

Man on radio: This is base seven. Go ahead.

Man #2: Come! Come in!

I repeat, this is base seven. Come in.

This is base seven...

(men shouting in local language)

Woman (screaming): No!

(g*nf*re)

(man screaming)

(woman shrieking, men shouting)
Post Reply