01x08 - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Defiance...

Do these townspeople know about your many scientific achievements during the Pale Wars?

This is Connor Lang.

Can you imagine if Datak could see us right now?

[g*nf*re]

[Screams]

You k*lled him!

Sukar saved Defiance, and you k*lled him.

[Rock music]

♪ I feel a storm coming ♪
♪ black water rise ♪
♪ I wear these chains, chiming ♪
♪ I paid my price ♪
♪ sleepless nights when shadows roam ♪
♪ no such thing, just flesh and bone ♪

Thar she blows, captain.

Two points off the starboard bow.

Stop reading Moby d*ck.

It's enriching.

It's annoying.

Welcome to your first arkfall, Tommy.

Sukar saved everybody deflecting that ark fragment.

Do you think God was directing Sukar?

I do not.

Hmm.

You see, in the book, Ishmael thinks that God directed him to take that job on the whaling ship.

Mm hmm.

And, uh, he thinks that free will is a delusion.

Irisa give you that book?

Yeah.

You two been spending a lot of time together lately.

You got something you want to tell me, Tommy?

No.

You sure about that?

Yeah.

Very sure.

Tommy, you hurt my daughter, your questions about God, they're gonna get answered... personally.

Yes, sir.

There it is.

No scavengers yet. Looks like we got it all to ourselves.

[Device beeps]

Air's clean.

A lot of Earth tech in here.

That's strange.

"McClintock"?

[Rumbling, creaking]

Nolan?

Hypersleep malfunction.

These people been dead a long time.

But what are Humans doing in a Votan ship?

[Air hisses]

Is he alive?

What do we do?

[Grunts]

[Gasping]

Are you Americans?

I was, once.

[Chuckles]

Welcome home, son.

[Dramatic music]

♪ ♪

S01 Ep08

= I Just Wasn't Made for These Times =

[Overlapping chatter]

I need to call my wife.

Where are we?

St. Louis, Missouri.

We got a lot to tell you, but I can promise you, you're among friends.

What the hell?

This is not St. Louis.

No, no, no, no, no.

I'm good.

Okay, commander, come on.

Take it easy.

It's all right.

You know my rank?

Yeah.

You're Gordon McClintock, NASA.

Commander of the International Space Station Bravery.

Am I right?

Yeah.

Commander, what year is this?

2013.

And what's the last thing you remember?

We were about to shuttle down in the Soyuz module.

Did... did we crash?

'Cause I know St. Louis.

This is not St. Louis.

Tell you what.

Let's get you to the doctor, get you checked out, and I'll explain everything, okay?

I see you kept the flowers I sent you.

Little past the expiration date though.

You too busy to put them in water?

Too busy to throw them out.

What are you doing back here, Connor?

Eddie Braddock blew a hole in the transport and escaped.

I'm here for follow-up.

No, I don't believe you.

Fine.

Why don't you tell me why I'm here?

I'm not sure yet.

You hungry?

I could eat.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Well, you'd hardly know this place was hit by razor rain just two days ago.

Well, we're nothing if not resilient.

I get that.

So why are you here?

Ah, an unexpected question, but you caught me off guard.

That's very politically astute.

Well, coming from a consummate politician like yourself, I take that as...

A gigantic red flag.

Exactly.

Do you remember what it was like when we joined the E-Rep?

What we were like?

Young and stupid?

Yeah, but we thought we could change things, really change things.

Help pick the world up again, brush off the rubble, and find a way for all of us, Votan and Human, to coexist.

Look around, Connor.

I found it, only not with the Earth Republic.

You did.

Now, imagine what would happen if you brought that passion back to the E-Rep, this time, with real power behind you.

Are you offering me a job?

I am, in New York.

Central office, with me.

[Coughs] You want me to work for the evil empire?

They're hardly an empire.

No jokes.

I'm offering you territorial governorship, no joke.

E-Rep needs new blood.

I have an election coming up.

But do you even have an opponent yet, or are you just gonna run unopposed?

You could do more in New York for Defiance than you could ever do here, and for a lot of other towns just like it.

What aren't you telling me?

I miss you, Mandy.

Don't call me that.

When I saw you again for the first time last week, look, I didn't think it was gonna hit me this hard, but I've been thinking about you ever since.

Nolan needs you.

Now.

Who's Nolan?

Lawkeeper.

Oh, yeah.

[Chuckles]

Bounty hunter's friend.

Mind if I tag along?

I do, indeed.

[Beeping]

Jeez. My God, your skin is softer than I expected.

Easy, tiger.

I'm too old for you.

That's Gordon McClintock?

The Gordon McClintock of the "Bravery Nine"?

You do realize he d*ed in 2013.

We all saw the space station blow up.

Yeah, well, our astronaut didn't put himself into hypersleep on that ark.

What if the Bravery disaster was staged?

What if the Votans abducted him and then they scuttled the space station to cover their tracks?

So when the Votans were saying, "we come in peace"...

They were actually kidnapping and studying us.

Empty your pockets, please.

Your wife?

Grace.

Yeah, she was 28 when I left.

That means that she's, like, 60 now, if she's even still alive.

Well, we can figure all that out later.

Commander McClintock, mayor Amanda Rosewater.

Hi.

Welcome to Defiance.

It's a really nice town you have here.

Oh, it's an honor to have you with us.

Everything okay, Doc?

Fine.

Minor muscle atrophy, typical of hypersleep.

Eat some protein. Exercise.

You'll snap right back.

I just... I want to scan your eyes.

[Giggles]

[Speaking native language]

[Grunts]

No! No, don't touch me!

Don't touch me!

[Pants]

[Faint music and chatter]

Mmm!

Hi, favi Tarr.

Ready to have some fun?

What in the three worlds do you think you're doing?

Anything you want me to do.

I requested an appointment with Kenya Rosewater.

You are not Kenya Rosewater!

Is there a problem?

Just questions.

Why are you not sitting on this bed right now, removing my clothing?

Why is this person here in your place?

And why is my time being wasted?

I've had to cut back on my client list.

I see.

I would imagine I'd be the last client cut from that list.

Oh, Datak.

I can assure you that Tirra is very skilled in the art of lovemaking, and I've left you in very capable hands.

[Chuckles]

These hands?

These dry, callused palms?

These thick yavi knuckles?

These hands are better suited to kneading rocks than flesh.

[Whimpers in pain]

Let her go, Datak.

Now.

[Spits]

This tension has dampened my ardor.

[Door slams shut]

[Overlapping chatter]

That's him!

[Crowd cheers]

Hey.

[Overlapping chatter]

Ah. Of course. Sure.

My name's Charlie Rivers.

I'm from the bay area.

I've been recording post-arkfall America oral histories, and I'd love to get your stories.

Commander, commander!

Well, I don't really know what my story is, so...

I've been traveling with a group of Irathients from a farm in Madera, the Parraba family...

Thatta boy.

They taught me how to make genuine Irathient thezraaktu.

It's like Thai, but much spicier.

I prefer...

All right, thank you, honey.

Oh, my God, it's actually him.

So, what?

You're a groupie too?

Amanda, please.

Listen to me carefully.

Commander Gordon McClintock alive is the smoking g*n we can use against the Votanis Collective.

Defiance doesn't take sides.

Now back off.

The collective is about to ink a major strategic alliance, but if the word gets out that the Votans abducted the Bravery nine...

Like the lady said, go home.

Back off.

All of you, go.

So where are we taking him?

The closest place to home.

[Crowd chatters excitedly]

Oh, this house is great.

It's so familiar.

Well, I'm an old-fashioned guy, commander.

Well, thank you. Thank you for bringing me here.

For the first time since I woke up, I actually feel normal.

[Laughs]

Well, I can't believe Gordon McClintock is in my house.

Ooh. Well, everything fits good.

Feels good.

Thank you.

You know, they wrote a book about you.

Seriously?

Yeah.

It's called the Bravery nine.

They made it into a movie.

Okay, that's the stupidest title I ever heard.

Are you kidding me?

First time I saw that movie, I was 11.

Remember the spacewalk lasso scene?

Oh, yeah.

Oh.

My brothers and I acted that out for weeks.

We all wanted to be astronauts.

Me too. You were a hero to so many people.

So what was it really like, the spacewalk?

Well, that crazy Russian almost got us all k*lled.

You know, by the time I got my spacesuit on, borovsky had drifted out over three klicks.

Had to put on an old Russian mmu...

That's a "man maneuvering unit."

Yep.

Well, about two klicks out, the thrusters failed, and I couldn't see the station anymore.

I was just drifting in space.

It was terrifying and beautiful.

I looked out over the curve of the Earth, imagined it was my wife's face, and I finally got those thrusters working again.

Okay, so who played me in the movie?

Oh, uh...

Robert Pattinson.

Yeah.

Twilight?

Mm-hmm.

Right? Which one was he?

The vampire or the werewolf?

Hell, don't look at me.

Amanda?

Oh. Oh, 'cause I'm the girl, I would know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

He was the vampire.

Oh, you had his poster on your bedroom wall.

I plead the fifth.

You know, I miss the fifth.

As far as amendments goes, it was one of the best.

Hear, hear, to the fifth.

Hear, hear.

To the fifth.

To the fifth.

[Glasses clink]

[Sighs]

There you go.

Thank you.

Uh uh. No.

Don't be stingy.

[Laughter]

Oh, whoa.

Oh, okay, all right.

[Laughter]

Ah, you've had enough.

Okay.

Is Alabama still there?

Well, it's not a state anymore, but, yeah, it's still there.

So I can go there?

Well, it takes a bit longer to get anywhere these days.

Yeah.

You know, no more planes.

If your wife's alive, we got ways of finding her, you know.

I, uh, I got resources.

So, why don't you people fly anymore?

Radiation and debris.

Mm, trying to get more than 400 feet off the ground is pure su1c1de.

And what about, uh, space travel?

What about exploration?

[Laughter]

I think people have had more than enough of outer space at this point in time.

I guess that makes sense.

Here, look at this.

[Grunts]

We couldn't go up, so we learned how to go down.

Now, look at that vista.

That's Lake Nothing.

That's one of my favorites.

That's beautiful.

It reminds me of space.

I'll take you there tomorrow.

Okay. I'd love that.

Thank you.

Hey, Nolan, why don't you come along too, and bring your... bring your semi-conscious friend there.

Right.

I'm still awake, you old bastard.

[Chuckles]

That's it.

You're staying the night.

No arguments, okay?

And you, you can stay in my son Luke's room.

It's the best one in the house.

[Groans]

[Breathing deeply]

Stahma?

What are you doing?

Datak, I'm sorry.

I was just...

A Casti woman bathing alone?

What would the servants say?

I thought you were out for the evening...

At the needwant.

I had a rather unpleasant experience with Kenya Rosewater.

I think that woman needs an education.

What did she do?

She refused me as a client.

I can't imagine what she was thinking.

It was odd.

I felt as if she was going out of her way to disrespect me.

Why would she do that?

I have half a mind to send Skevur over there with his skinning knives to ask her.

Come. Bathe with me.

Let me put all thoughts of that... stupid woman far from your head.

[Many voices speaking alien language]

[Gasps]

[Voices continue]

[Gasps]

[Objects clatter]

[Both grunting and struggling]

[Both grunting and struggling]

What the hell are you doing, kid?

[Coughing and gasping]

Amanda, you okay?

Throat's pretty bruised.

Hopefully, your larynx isn't fractured, but I'll need to get you into the office to make sure.

Zip it.

Thank you.

Thank you for stopping me, though.

If you hadn't have stopped me...

No, you stopped yourself. You hesitated.

I saw it.

Get him to lock-up.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Nolan.

[Door closes]

[Door slams shut]

What's going on?

Our astronaut friend wigged out and tried to k*ll the mayor.

Amanda!

Easy.

Hey, I-I just want to...

You want to stand back and wait until the doctor says she can talk.

What did I just say, buddy?

Now, Amanda should be fine, all right?

Doctor's running some tests just to be sure, so why don't we give 'em a little room?

Yeah.

What happened, exactly?

Exactly?

I don't know exactly.

Gordon had an episode of some description, starting choking Amanda, and Rafe and I got there just in time.

[Laughs]

What kind of lawkeeper are you?

I mean, you're supposed to be protecting her, right?

I'm not a bodyguard.

Ah.

Anyway, you seem pretty concerned for a guy who belongs to an organization that tried to k*ll her a few weeks ago.

The Volge att*ck?

That had nothing to do with me or the E-Rep.

See, I don't know that, do I?

I care about Amanda.

Yeah?

Well, looky here, you and I just found some common ground.

[Giggling]

[Blade scraping]

Has he said anything?

He's in pain.

Well, let's hope he can work his way through it.

He doesn't belong here and he knows it.

I can relate.

I'm truly sorry about Sukar.

That's not gonna bring him back.

I know.

Do you really feel that way...

Like you don't belong anywhere?

Where have I ever belonged?

Sukar made me feel like I had a home.

Your home is with me.

I know you believe that.

Don't.

[Speaking alien language]

Calm down!

[Speaking alien language]

[Grunting]

[Thud]

Hey, hey!

No!

Calm down! Calm down!

[Speaking native language]

Calm down!

[Gasps]

Hey, Doc.

Hey.

You notice anything weird when you examined our astronaut?

Weird?

Yeah, 'cause the funniest thing just happened.

Gordon started bleeding silver, like he's an Indogene.

Nolan, calm down.

[Hoarse] Nolan.

Now, you scanned his body, so either you're the worst doctor in two systems or you knew he wasn't Human and you lied.

No, I just...

You piece of shtako!

You knew he was dangerous.

Now, he nearly k*lled Amanda.

Doc, if that had happened, do you have any idea what I'd be doing to you right now?

It's true.

We carried out reconnaissance on your people before we made contact.

When the Votan arks first arrived in Earth's orbit, there was a rogue program.

Indogene volunteers would be surgically altered to infiltrate, collect information, and if a target of opportunity presented itself, to k*ll.

An alien assassin?

Gordon McClintock, a bona fide hero astronaut, would have access to the highest level of Human leadership.

President, prime minister, defense secretary, or a mayor, apparently.

Wouldn't silver blood be a dead giveaway?

Well, he's obviously a prototype.

We never got the damn things to work right.

I'm sorry.

I don't believe you.

I mean, look at me.

I am Gordon McClintock.

I remember being a kid.

I remember crying for a week when my dog, Beckett, d*ed.

I remember spilling soda on a complete stranger in a movie theater, and a year later, asking her to marry me.

Do you remember the smell of your wife's perfume or the taste of your favorite food?

I didn't think so.

Sensory memory is the hardest to imprint.

So you're saying my memories are fake?

That they never happened?

No, they happened.

Just not to you.

So... so where is the real me, the real Human?

Extracting memories destroys the subject's brain.

I'm... I'm sorry for your situation, Gordon.

Why did you lie to us?

If the Earth Republic can prove Votans k*lled Human space heroes, they'll use it against us.

You're damn right we will.

I'm taking him back with me.

Five minutes ago, I thought I'd lost everything, but at least I was still a Human being.

Now, I don't even know what I am!

[Grunting and fighting]

Calm down, Gordon!

No, don't hurt him!

Don't hurt him!

Amanda, you okay?

Yeah, I'm okay.

Datak is very angry with you.

May I ask you why?

Why what?

Why did you refuse my husband?

For you.

For me?

I know that it hurts you when he sleeps with other women, and I can't do anything about that, but I can make sure that I'm not part of that problem.

[Laughs]

You are very sweet...

And very stupid.

Saying no to Datak has made him angry and suspicious, and for a Castithan man, wearing a cuckold's horns is a-a great shaming.

I know that you're in a bad marriage.

It isn't bad at all.

No, don't lie.

I've been there too.

I love my husband.

I hate that he orders you around.

I hate that you're not free.

I am enjoying our visits together very much.

Me too.

If they are to continue, you must learn to control your hatred.

You need to play the game better, smarter.

McCawley?

Sir, we've got something odd.

There's a breach on the north edge of Lake Nothing.

Huh, that is odd.

Here's what I want you to do.

Seal off that level, and don't talk to anybody.

I'll be right over.

Yes, sir.

Well, commander, lawkeeper's been turning the town upside down looking for you.

Want some company?

Stay back.

Are you gonna sh**t me or not?

I haven't decided yet.

Well, can I sit while you do?

I'm not getting any younger here.

[Grunts]

How did you find me?

Guard saw you.

Called me at home.

[Groaning]

So, how do you like the view?

Well, when you showed it to me, it seemed worth seeing.

Yeah.

I come here all the time.

[Distant thud echoes]

[Laughs]

Now that you've seen it, what next?

Maybe I'll just sit here for a bit, see if I've got enough courage to throw myself over the edge.

It's good to test your limits.

Helps a man make wiser choices when he understands what he is and isn't capable of.

Helps you grow.

Helps you change.

I'm a w*apon.

That's never gonna change.

It's what I am.

You know what I don't like about indogenes?

No feelings. Everything's mechanical.

They never change.

Humans change all the time.

You raged like Jonah against the fate that's handed to you.

It's the nature of what's inside you.

You're Human.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

It's... it's too hard.

Oh, I know it's hard. I lost my world.

I lost my wife.

And I lost a son.

You're wearing his clothes.

I'm sorry.

Yeah.

[Sighs]

Life's handed me reason enough to throw myself off this cliff.

Why not?

Because I'm not a coward.

Because I love life enough that I'm gonna hold on to every moment, good or bad, until my higher power sees fit to take it all away from me.

But then again, if somebody were to offer me a second chance, I'd take it in a sh*t, and I don't care what kind of vessel they put me in.

As long as I had my life, my memories, I'd still be me.

You think she'd still want me, like this, after 30 years?

If she loved you, she'd take you any way she could.

What if I'm not as strong as you?

Then jump.

Thank you for trying.

Give that back to Nolan for me.

Yeah.

You heard about Gordon, I take it?

The guy survived a space disaster over 30 years ago, only to jump off a terraformed cliff.

Go figure.

The Votan part of him was dead.

The Human part was a lie.

He didn't fit in anywhere.

He was a loaded w*apon waiting to go off.

I can't help fantasize that Gordon McClintock is knocking on some door somewhere, about to sweep a little old lady off her feet.

You're insanely romantic.

Hmm.

Not so romantic.

I'm turning down your offer.

My place is here.

Okay.

Let's talk straight.

We haven't been?

Earth Republic wants into Defiance.

No kidding.

They want to get their hands on our gulanite.

Well, it powers almost everything these days, and this town is on a mother lode.

It's recently become a top priority for the organization.

This woman is leading the charge.

You know her?

[Laughs]

Olfin Tennety, crooked E-Rep Ambassador.

She tried to rob the town and blackmail me.

She's convinced her boss that you are the problem, and that under a more pliable leader, Defiance would welcome the Earth Republic with open arms.

Well, that's not true.

Well, there's no way they can know that unless they've removed you.

By "removed," you mean...

Whatever it takes.

If you leave Defiance, you're no longer a thr*at.

I'm a big deal in New York.

In New York, I could protect you.

[Exhales]

I don't need your protection.

Can you not...

C... can you not recognize that it wasn't easy for me to come here after everything that happened?

I didn't ask you to come here.

I didn't ask you to insert yourself into my life.

Right, because you don't need anybody.

Those Human connections, they just slow you down.

They make you weak.

Come on. Don't say that.

If you had only trusted me.

If you had only talked to me first, we'd still be together.

If you'd had a little faith, we'd be a family.

Remember, Earth Republic takes what it wants and it doesn't care who it hurts.

You really would've been a good fit.

[Knocks on door]

You've got company.

Nolan.

I hear you've got something for me.

Told me to give this back to you.

That was decent of him.

Yeah, well, he was a decent kid.

I was thinking we might send somebody down the mines, try and recover the body, give him a decent burial.

Ah, the lake's too deep.

Body must've got tangled up with something down there, 'cause it didn't come back up.

Well, that'd make you the last person to see him alive and the only person who could confirm his death.

That is true.

To Gordon McClintock...

[Glasses clink]

Wherever he may be.

Mm hmm.

♪ So this is where it came to hide ♪
♪ when it ran from you ♪
♪ in a private detective's overcoat ♪
♪ and dirty dead man's shoes ♪
♪ the pretty things of knightsbridge ♪
♪ lying for a minister of state ♪
♪ is a far cry from the nod and wink ♪
♪ here at traitor's gate ♪
♪ cause the high heel he used to be ♪
♪ has been ground down ♪
♪ and he listens for the footsteps ♪
♪ that would follow him around ♪
♪ to m*rder my love is a crime ♪
♪ but will you still ♪
♪ love ♪
♪ a man out of time? ♪
♪ Will you still love ♪
♪ a man out of time? ♪

[Overlapping chatter]

[Door slams shut]

Looking for a band-aid?

Looking for the truth.

I want to know what you were doing during the Pale Wars... All of it.

It was a w*r.

You try to win those.

You should know.

You butchered enough of my people.

I could always make it one more.

You were up to your neck in the program that created Gordon McClintock.

I need to know how far you got and whether there's any more out there we need to worry about.

Excuse me.

Astronaut's not here, kid.

We're kind of in the middle of something.

I really need a doctor.

Gonna need to take a rain check on this conversation.

Looks like viral hemorrhagic fever.

Get your gloves and masks on!

We've got ourselves a plague.