01x06 - Episode 6

Episode transcripts for this TV show, "Banished". Aired March - April 2015.*
Watch/Buy Amazon


Set in the first penal colony founded by the British in New South Wales, Australia, in the year 1788. As the convicts try to live their new lives, they have to live with the new rules. The soldiers also have to adjust.
Post Reply

01x06 - Episode 6

Post by bunniefuu »

What are you doing?

I am in fear of my life, Sarge. A convict is going to k*ll me.

Why?

Because I went with his wife.

Tommy Barrett?

Yes.

Is it true?

No.

He does not leave. If he leaves, he does Buckley.

If he does Buckley, he hangs, so he does not leave.

Yes?

Yes.

It is true?

Whatever it takes, we keep him here. We keep him here. Yes?

IT IS TRUE, WOMAN!

It is not!

Then how does he know about the birthmark?

I do not know!

You are lying.

I am not!

You let him have you. A soldier.

You let a soldier have you.

I had to!

No, you are not leaving.

Get out of my way!

I had to make sure that you did not stop the flogging.

And that meant talking to James and to do that, yes, I had to go with that soldier.

Get out of the way.

I did it for you.

Get out of my way...

No. What, would you shove me out the way? Manhandle me? A woman carrying your child?

My child?

Yes.

How can you even know that?

I know!

Let me go.

No.

How does he know?

I told him, Sarge.

You told Barrett you'd been with his wife?

Yes, Sarge.

Why? Because he won at cards?

He cheated, Sarge.

You told him out of spite?

Yes.

You deserve everything you get, Private Buckley.

Let me have the g*n, Sarge, please!

If he hits you once, he hangs.

If he rips you to bits, he hangs.

So which do you think is likely?

Please, Sarge.

Buckley!

That is not Barrett. Come through!

Let him through!

Run.

The bush? The sea?

Then hide.

Till when?

If he finds you, he will k*ll you.

I am touched by your concern.

I don't give a damn about you dying, but I care about Tommy hanging, and I care too about the poor bastard who will have to hang him.

So run, you shite, or hide or both.

And have scum like you laugh at me?

No-one will laugh at you.

I'm sure.

Please, Sarge!

Buckley is armed. They all are. Go anywhere near him and they will sh**t you dead.

You knew?

And if by any chance...

Don't try and stop me!

..you manage to strike a blow, they will hang you for it...

You knew...

I will not let them hang you for this...

Tommy!

You were trying to stop this, yeah?

You were trying to stop him saying it, weren't you?

You were trying to stop him...

She did it, she did it for you, Tommy!

Did it for me!

If it had been you, if it had been your wife and I knew about it, I would have ripped that soldier's heart out!

Tommy!

I would have torn him apart.

What? And paid for it, you bloody fool?

Yes!

Tommy, stay here! Do not move!

I will get past you. If I have to barge past, fine.

If I have to manhandle you, fine.

And you, you, you gobshite, if I have to flatten you, I will.

You have been warned. Yes?

This is selfishness.

Selfishness!

Yes. You are putting revenge above your own child.

You take revenge, they hang you and this child grows up with no father.

What else can that be BUT selfishness?

I have had enough of this.

No! You are not getting past me.

The only way you'll get past me is if you hurt me, hurt the woman you claim to love, so do it...

I am running out of patience, Elizabeth.

So do it. Hurt me.

Hurt your pregnant wife, because that is...

Buckley! Buckley!

Box him.

Do you think Barrett's going to play by the rules?

Buckley, you bastard!

If you hit him, Barrett, you will hang.

Sarge?

He has it coming.

Enough!

That is enough.

I will hang for this, so one more, please.

(Trumpet plays a reveille)

Get out!

No.

Do not come near me.

Do not come near me, Elizabeth, I warn you.

They will hang you, you bloody fool...

Just turn around...

That means we must throw ourselves onto his mercy...

I do not want to look... onto the governor's mercy, so you will...

Get your hands off me...

Let me do the talking, please.

Get your hands off me!

You will not rant and rave and use your fists!

You, you will nod, and listen, and use your head.

For once in your bloody life, you will use your head!

Get your hands off me.

I will not see you hang!

(Garbled speech)

Why did he do it?

(Garbled response)

Did you land one or two yourself?

What?

Yes?

Yes, sir.

Good.

They said Buckley is just lying there like a cabbage.

I said, "He cannot be that bad, then, if he is doing impressions."

Sir.

Present... arms!

He is half dead.

Only half?

Why did you do it?

Why not?

Private Buckley f*cked me, Boss.

I will not bore you with the details, but I let him do it to save my Tommy's life.

Buckley knew if Tommy ever found out, he would hammer him so he kept it quiet.

But last night Tommy cleaned him out at cards.

So, out of spite, out of sheer vindictiveness, he told Tommy he had f*cked me and Tommy battered him for it.

Never has a man deserved battering more than Private Buckley and I will not let you hang Tommy for it.

Will you apologise to him?

Yes!

No, Boss.

It might help your case.

You put me anywhere near that soldier again and I will att*ck him again.

Who else was gambling?

Two soldiers and another convict.

Their names, please.

Governor, I have nothing but respect for you and the office that you hold but it is my duty to remind you of the words that you used when you addressed us all - officers, soldiers and convicts - only days ago. "In England," you said, "the law is soiled, tarnished, corrupted. Here, in New South Wales, it is bright and shiny. I will do my utmost to keep it so." Governor, you do not keep the law bright and shiny by hanging a man who does not deserve to be hanged and by doing it only because soldiers expect you to.

How dare you!

I MUST.

Why are the convicts here, Governor?

Are they here AS punishment or FOR punishment?

As punishment.

Simply being here is punishment enough?

That is correct.

It follows then, that all men here are equal, for to be unequal would be punishment.

Yes?

Yes.

They are in a penal colony, let us not forget.

Yes, but away from the regime of the penal colony?

Is a convict at leisure any different from a soldier at leisure?

No.

If soldier Smith said to soldier Jones that he had had sex with Jones's wife, and he said it out of sheer vindictiveness, we would not be surprised if Jones att*cked him, and we would certainly not be talking about hanging him for it.

A flogging for both perhaps. Yes?

Yes.

So why are we talking about hanging Thomas Barrett?

Major?

I am not prepared to debate this matter.

If a convict strikes a soldier, it is death.

If a convict strikes a soldier for no good reason, yes.

But when the convict has every reason, when the soldier deserved to be struck, that is different, surely.

It is not.

It can never be right for a convict to strike a soldier?

Never.

If the soldier is buggering the convict?

Unlikely to happen.

If the soldier is stabbing the convict with his bayonet?

That, too, is unlikely to happen.

But if it did?

If it did, then, yes, the convict would be justified because it would be self-defence.

Thank you.

But that is not what happened here.

He struck because of something in the past.

His life was not in any danger.

True. He did it for something he valued more than his life.

His wife, Elizabeth, Governor, you will recall, he was prepared to hang for that woman and we found a way to save him.

Nothing has changed. He is still prepared to hang for her.

Let us find another way to save him.

If he is prepared to hang for her, let us not disappoint him.

(He clears his throat)

Anything else, Reverend?

No.

Major?

Er, no.

I would like a bit of time to think it over.

If you could give me...

No!

..just a few hours.

I am sorry, Governor, we need to hear it now.

We need to hear you say, "Hang him".

To delay a decision is to give credence to these arguments and these arguments are dangerous.

A convict strikes a soldier, the convict hangs.

Immediately. No ifs or buts.

In fact, the more he tries to justify it, the bigger the drop.

He hangs.

I may well hang him, but I will think it over first.

We'll finish this meeting and meet again in three hours.

Three hours! My men will be outraged that it has taken you three minutes.

You will be cutting rations again soon, Governor?

That means even greater hunger, even deeper despair, even more talk, among the convicts, of rebellion.

You will need my men more than ever. Do not alienate them in this way.

Tell me right now that you will hang Tommy Barrett.

No. Anything else?

Yes.

I would prefer this not to be minuted.

As you wish.

There are 28 people in the hospital?

Yes.

How many are likely to recover?

None.

Fall ill and you cannot recover because your ration of food is so small. Yes?

Yes.

Then why feed them at all?

You are suggesting we stop feeding the sick?

The dying. We stop wasting food on the dying.

Reverend?

Yes.

What do you say to that?

Nothing.

Can we, as Christians, stop feeding the dying?

I will treat that question with the contempt it deserves.

If you wish to debate it, do so in my absence.

No. We must decide together. Can we stop feeding the dying?

Just as Major Ross did not wish to debate pros and cons of hanging Tommy Barrett, I will not...

Must we feed the dying when feeding the dying endangers the living?

No.

We can stop feeding them?

In these circumstances, yes.

Can we eat the dead?

What!

Can we eat the dead?

No! Cannibalism is a sin.

Not when you do not know what you are doing.

I am not suggesting for one moment that WE eat the dead.

I am suggesting we feed the dead to the convicts.

We tell them it is meat, it is wallaby.

They have never tasted human flesh, they have never tasted wallaby so they will not know, thus there is no sin - you cannot sin unless you know you are sinning.

WE will know.

WE will be sinning.

So be it.

No.

Sin all you like, but do not ask it of me.

I am on this earth only to gain the kingdom of Heaven for my immortal soul.

I cannot do that by watching people eat each other.

You should think a bit less about your immortal soul and a bit more about the people in your care.

How dare you!

If we feed human flesh to the convicts, we free up other food for my men and that has to be done.

I will not watch my soldiers die.

We are not at that stage yet.

No? Then what k*lled Private Mulrooney?

We will stop feeding the sick immediately.

I will decide Thomas Barrett's fate in three hours.

We will discuss the other matter at next week's meeting.

You may go.

Your wife asked me if I thought you might need a g*n.

Did she?

Yes.

She said she had spoken to you, but you thought it unnecessary.

Yes.

I agree.

You can rely on my men to protect you.

Thank you.

Let us hope that is always the case.

He is to hang?

Buckley says he landed one or two.

On me?

Yes.

Well, if he did, I did not notice.

You have smashed his face into pulp.

Well, he always was an ugly bastard.

The noose is a work of genius.

The tighter it gets, the more you struggle.

But the more you struggle, the tighter it gets.

Genius.

The Governor has decided, then?

Not just yet.

Sergeant.

He may not hang Barrett. What do you think of that?

I would be pleased for Barrett, but...

I think it's a huge mistake, sir.

How is morale?

Low.

Private Buckley will carry his scars for months.

The convicts will see them.

And they will see the man who inflicted them strutting round like a peacock.

Where will morale be then?

Even lower.

To whom do you owe more allegiance me or the Governor?

You, sir. You are my commanding officer.

If he does not hang Barrett, I want you to arrest the Governor.

Sir?

Put him behind bars. I will assume control.

Is that not mutiny, sir?

No. It is common sense.

You think it another "misjudgment"?

No, sir.

Then you must do it.

They will take me back to England and hang me.

Then we will hang together.

You are a rich Englishman. I am a common Scot.

I will hang. You, you'll go free.

I order you to arrest the Governor if the Governor does not hang Tommy Barrett.

Sir.

You will do it?

Yes, sir.

And then we WILL hang Tommy Barrett from a tree - not the scaffold, a tree - we will leave him hanging there for all to see until every one of Private Buckley's scars have healed.

Yes?

Yes, sir.

Man: Stand for the Major.

At ease.

Have you stopped hiding?

Yes.

Show me your hands.

Show me.

Where is he?

North Section.

Corporal.

Sir?

What should we do with Barrett?

Hang him, sir.

Would YOU hang him?

Yes, sir.

You may have to.

Fine, sir.

You'd have the stomach for that?

Yes, sir.

Will that be all, sir?

No.

I will entertain Katherine tonight.

Sir.

I will not give her food.

To give her food is to treat her like a whore and I know for certain she is no whore.

And you, Corporal, may have acted like a pimp, but that woman of yours is no whore.

I would remind you, sir, that you gave me this... before you mentioned Katherine McVitie.

Had you brought it up after, I would have refused it.

I am no pimp. Sir.

Dismissed.

Sir.

.. look at these words, thinking of the idea of the magic "e", and the fact it creates a long vowel sound...

Beg?

If you take the magic "e" away from these words, you have a short vowel sound. Let's start here... Without the e?

Yes. B-E-G. Beg.

Anyone?

Beg.

Yes. B-E-G, beg.

May I come to you tonight?

Of course.

Mrs Johnson?

Yes?

Would you write something for me?

Of course.

Could you write, "I will always wait for you, my darling."?

Yes, of course. Would you excuse me, Anne?

Yes.

Pipe.

Pipe, good, pipe.

I will always wait for you...

My darling.

My...

Darling.

Darling.

Second word on the list.

Rip.

Rip, good.

Thank you.

With the e?

Ripe.

Ripe.

Shall we try words ending in "n"?

Yes. What time?

Erm, eight o'clock?

Good. Pip and pipe. Rip and ripe.

With the "e".

Tripe.

Tell your children how you felt when you gave birth to them.

M-E-N. Men.

And one more.

Something you write with?

Mrs Johnson?

Yes?

And with the "e".

Would you like to write it, Anne?

What is it?

Could you, er, show me where these words are in my letter?

Yes, of course.

Stripe.

Stripe, good, stripe.

Who told you that these words were in here -

"I will always wait for you, my darling"?

Letters Molloy.

That will be all for today, thank you.

Then I think you should take this to Mr Molloy and ask him to show you where they are.

Has he lied to me?

I think the Governor is about to pronounce sentence.

Would you like to come?

He has lied to me.

See Mr Molloy.

I am sorry.

(That poor man.)

All right, Tommy!

Go on, Tommy.
(Shouts of encouragement)

'What stakes were you playing for?'

Elizabeth.

You were gambling with your wife's body?

Yes.

This woman you were prepared to die for?

There was no way I could lose - it was my deal.

And the soldiers?

Rum.

They were gambling their rum?

Yes.

If a convict att*cks a soldier, the convict must hang.

You knew that?

Yes.

And yet you still att*cked him?

Yes.

Sergeant Timmins, you were there and you did not stop this att*ck.

I did eventually, sir.

Eventually.

You did not prevent it because you knew the soldier had it coming.

Yes?

Yes, sir.

Thomas Barrett... tonight you may invite some friends to your cell to mark your last night on earth.

Every soldier will donate his rum ration to you.

Get drunk, Thomas, for at noon tomorrow you will hang.

Thank you, Boss.

I think.

Take him away.

Go with him, please.

Go! Please.

The Major wants you tonight.

Oh?

Will you talk with him again?

Yes.

Is it not better for you that we just talk?

No.

I love you.

I know.

I would do anything for you.

I know.

Do you love me?

Yes.

Would you do anything for me?

Yes.

f*ck him. Do not talk to him.

What?

I would sooner you f*ck him than talk to him.

And I would sooner talk to him and make love to you, the man I love.

What was the story he told?

I told you, he tried to help a boy, but it all went wrong.

Tell me the story!

There was a fight in the playground.

One boy was really hurting the other boy, so Major Ross got a teacher to stop the fight and it was the teacher who said to everyone that Major Ross grassed the two boys up.

Why is that a good story?

It says something about the Major.

That he is a grass?

No.

What, then?

Let us talk about something else.

What does it say about the Major?

It says, he was kind once, but he suffered for it, so he is wary of ever being kind again.

What?

(He groans)

Tell me something about you. Something I do not know.

Something you do not know?

Yes.

Yet?

Yes.

I am losing you.

(Fiddle plays)

Woman: ♪ There was a gentleman soldier ♪
♪ As a sentry he did stand ♪
♪ He saluted a fair maid ♪
♪ By waving of his hand ♪
♪ So boldly then he kissed her ♪
♪ And he passed it off as a joke ♪
♪ He drilled her up in the sentry box ♪
♪ Bound up in a soldier's coat ♪

All: ♪ And the drums are going a rat a tat tat ♪
♪ The pipes they loudly play... ♪

(Singing continues in distance)

Oh, yes.

We are going to swear an oath.

And I want to hear you talking and not the rum, when we swear it.

Understand?

So no-one touches a drop until business is out the way.

No-one except for Tommy.

I will wait for you all.

We will not watch Tommy swing.

We will treat this injustice with the contempt it deserves.

We will turn our backs on it.

Agreed?

Yeah.

Yeah.

We need someone to shout "Turn."

There will be armed soldiers all around you. It will take guts.

Do not agree to it if you think your courage might fail you.

Is that also understood?

Yeah.

Letters?

I cannot be sure.

That's fine.

No man will think any less of you for that.

Nor I.

I will do it.

No.

I will do it, then. But all must turn.

Every convict must know about this before we assemble. Yes?

Yes.

I swear not to watch Tommy swing.

I will not watch Tommy swing.

I will not watch Tommy Barrett swing.

I swear not to watch Tommy swing.

I will not simply stand by and watch Tommy swing.

To Tommy Barrett.

All: To Tommy Barrett.

(Footsteps approach)

You want me tonight, Major?

Yes.

Perhaps we can talk for a while.

That would be acceptable, yes.

You are writing?

Yes.

To whom?

Can you read?

No.

My mother.

My fiancee.

What is her name?

Emily.

Is she pretty?

Yes.

Educated?

Yes.

Sophisticated?

Yes.

Rich?

Yes.

But apart from that.

Shall we?

Yes.

'When you, Peter, were born, and you were dead, your father hugged me so tight.'

And your father's parents, your grandparents, hugged me so tight.

And only then did they hug your father.

When you, Martha, were born... and you were dead... your father hugged me again, but your grandparents hugged your father first and only then did they hug me.

When you... Thomas, were born, and you were dead... your father... sat in a chair and stared at the floor and your grandfather put his hand... on your father's shoulder.

But he could not look at me and your grandmother stood in the corner of the room, facing that corner... unable to look at me.

And it seemed like hours until your father got out of that chair and hugged me.

And when you, Joan... were born... and you were dead... nobody hugged me.

Nobody even looked at me.

But thank you for coming.

Thank you for listening to me.

Thank you.

Do they have a hangman?

So they say.

A soldier?

A convict.

I do not believe it.

Believe it.

If a convict, we k*ll him, as soon as possible after the hanging we cut the bastard's throat.

He will have an armed guard.

We bribe them.

What with?

Elizabeth.

Would you do that, Elizabeth? Would you shag some soldiers?

To cut a hangman's throat? Yes.

Tommy?

No.

You will be gone. He will have hanged you and I will do what it takes to cut the bastard's throat.

She will be James's woman when I am gone.

(He murmurs)

James? Can we use Elizabeth in that way?

(He sobs)

Yes.

We know how hard this is for you, James.

We know how close you and Tommy are.

(Piano plays softly)

When you asked the teacher to stop the fight, did you not realise they would call you a grass?

No. No, no, I was just thinking about the boy being battered.

I wanted it to stop.

Did you tell them that?

I would sooner they call me a grass than call me soft.

You've been thinking about this?

Yes.

So you have been thinking about me.

If the story, so too me?

Yes.

May I ask about your story?

Yes.

You, you might think I am doubting it, I am not.

I am just curious.

Yes?

Did you tell the priest that the statue wobbled?

No.

Why not?

If the statue wobbled for everyone, someone else would tell him.

If it wobbled only for me, it was my miracle, my secret.

It could have been an optical illusion?

Yes. But an optical illusion still needs to be created.

It would still be God's work. Or the Virgin Mary's.

You too have been thinking about a story.

Yes.

And therefore thinking about me?

Yes.

♪ Ah, that stuff it so pleased me ♪
♪ That quickly I sat down... ♪

(Drunken singing continues)

Present arms!

Sergeant.

Sir. Sir.

You had five soldiers there when the Governor pronounced sentence.

Yes, sir.

Why so many?

We thought the prisoner might panic, sir, and lash out.

Tommy Barrett panic?

Sir.

And he was chained. How could he lash out when chained?

Perhaps just one or two of us would have done, sir, yes.

There were five because you planned to arrest the Governor if he spared Tommy Barrett's life.

No, sir.

On Major Ross' orders, I assume.

Major Ross gave no such order, sir.

Sergeant.

Sir?

Parliament have put me in charge of the soldiers here.

And if I cease to be in charge, they will no longer be soldiers, they will be a rabble.

Sir.

♪ And with fingers long and crooked nails ♪
♪ My eyes and face she torn ♪
♪ Oh, she rolled me in the gutter too ♪
♪ Oh, she rolled me off and all ♪
♪ Oh, McGrath, McGree... ♪

(He garbles the words)

♪ 'Tis whisky bring... ♪

Why do you keep looking at me?

I'm trying to muster the courage to k*ll you.

Why?

Read that.

Who wrote this?

Mrs Johnson. Read it.

"I will always wait for you, my darling."

You told me that those words were contained in the letter from my wife.

Yes.

Show me.

Did Mrs Johnson read this?

Yes.

Aloud?

To herself.

And what did she say when she'd read it?

She told me to see you.

Oh.

"I will always wait for you, my darling."

Show me those words in Agnes's letter.

They're not there.

You lied to me.

Yes.

Why?

Can we speak when we're alone?

No. Why did you lie to me?

I do not know.

Read it.

You will find it painful.

Read it!

"Dear Stubby. Not withstanding what I wrote previous... I hereby tell you of a man... I hereby tell you of a man that I met and intend to spend the rest of my natural life with."

No, no, no, no, no...

"I..."

No, no...

No, no, no, no.

"I..."

No, no, no!

"I, I am sorry if this offends. I, er, I hope this finds you well. Yours faithfully... Agnes."

You bastard.

I'm sorry.

Who knew?

Just me. A few days ago, I told Captain Collins.

Did you laugh at me behind my back?

No.

I will shout "Turn".

You have had rum.

I have absolutely nothing to live for, so I promise you I will shout "Turn".

Promise me in the morning when you're sober.

I will.

You bastard.

Let me out, please! Let me out, please!

You lying bastard!

(Door shuts)

He got it the day before we sailed.

He's... he's never going to see her again anyway.

It's...

How was I to know he would one day learn to read?

Will you hang Tommy Barrett?

Yes. Are you looking forward to it?

No. No-one wants to see a man like that hang.

Quite a few soldiers do.

Some, yes.

Your corporal?

No.

Are you sure of that?

Yes.

He has too much feeling, too much compassion, to enjoy the death of any man.

He is a soldier.

Trained to k*ll.

And to enjoy it.

No. Otherwise you would be dead.

He could not k*ll me because of compassion?

Yes.

Oh?

Not... fear?

No.

I think it was fear.

Or perhaps it was being a marine.

I am his commanding officer and a marine would never k*ll his commanding officer.

He would put that - being a marine - above everything.

Even his love for you.

No.

I think you should go now.

Have I offended you?

No.

He did not want me to talk to you.

Your corporal?

Yes.

He would sooner you make love to me than talk to me.

Really?

Yes.

So making love now would be a tiny betrayal, insignificant now that I have talked to you.

For him, perhaps.

For me, it would be huge.

Did he say that to you - he would sooner us make love than talk?

Yes.

So has he not betrayed you?

In a way. Perhaps.

Would it be... unpleasant, making love?

As unpleasant as it once was for you?

No.

Should we not try it, then?

You gave your word to the vicar.

I said I would not make love to you unless you asked me to make love to you.

Ask me.

I cannot do that.

Do you have food for me?

No.

No?

You promised me food.

Each time I came to you, you said you would send me away with some food.

I have changed my mind.

You have reneged on a promise.

Yes.

Goodnight, Major.

Must you wait there?

Does it annoy you?

Yes.

I am sorry.

People see you waiting there and they know I am in the Major's tent and I do not like that.

I do not like people knowing what the Major is doing to me and knowing when he is doing it.

I am sorry.

You will not do it in future?

I will not.

Thank you.

Did you talk?

No.

Did you say hello?

Yes.

And goodbye?

Yes.

Then you talked?

Hello and goodbye, yes.

And nothing in the middle?

No.

Did he talk?

No.

Why not?

I made it clear I did not want to talk.

How?

I just did.

He gave me no food.

I know.

You know?

Yes.

He said to give you food was to treat you as a whore and he knows for certain you are no whore.

He said that?

Yes.

How did you make it clear you did not want to talk?

Enough of your questions.

Please make love to me.

I love this man.

Come on, now!

If they could not find a man to hang an ugly bastard like you, how will they find one to hang a dashing feller like me?

How will they do that?

Promise me, yeah, eh? You promise me?

Come on!

If there is a hangman, you will do what needs to be done...

I am staying.

You are his wife. You are entitled to, but the rest of you, move. Now.

.. make sure it is you who does what needs to be done.

James?

I promise.

Oh, there is some rum left.

You have to go, Tommy.

It's all very well for you, Tommy, some of us have work in the morning.

(All laugh)

(Hum of conversation and laughter)


Where is she?

Where is Katherine?

Oh, for God's sake, man, where do you think she is?

(Moaning)

(She gasps)

(She moans)

(They moan and sigh)

(Katherine laughs)

(Rope creaks)

(He gulps)
Post Reply