01x01 - What the Fire Throws

[bunniefuu]

Help!

I need help!

Somebody help me!

[baby crying]

My baby needs help!

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

Help!

♪ ♪

[coughs and gasps]

♪ ♪

Stop! Don't drink that water!

Oh, God!

[sobs]

[horns honking faintly]

Please, someone help us!

[sobs]

♪ ♪

[horns honking]

[man shouting]

♪ ♪

[baby crying]

♪ ♪

Someone help us!

Shelby?

No, no!

It's going to be okay.

Ma'am, we're gonna take care of your baby.

[baby crying]

♪ ♪

What do you need?

My wife.

Your wife is missing?

Her picture. Her photo.

It's all I have left of her.

Help this man find his wife.

♪ ♪

[tires peel out]

[suspenseful music]

[child laughing]

[people chattering]

all: Thank you for the gift of this bread, to sustain these vessels, our bodies, so that we may have the energy to create a more beautiful world and break through our blocks and barriers in this life and ascend The Ladder of Enlightenment, so that someday we may be free of these earthly forms and live as Light together in The Garden.

We express deepest gratitude for this day, and every day, for the gift of this passage, and that we have found The Ladder.

There is one Spirit whose name is Truth.

Now let's eat.

Yes.

I'm so psyched Cal's gonna be with us.

Yes!

And do you know how long he's staying, Sarah?

For a while.

At least until Steve is done writing.

Who made this incredible lasagna?

He made the pasta from scratch.

It tastes much better than what you get in the store.

You have been on such a cooking jag lately, sweetie.

I find it meditative.

I find eating meditative.

[all laughing]

Of course you do.

When you get married, marry a man who can cook.

Uh, she doesn't get I am never getting married, 'cause I have aspirations to go all the way up The Ladder.

Oh, well.

I'm so jealous.

I wish I could start.

Hey, you're almost there. Be patient.

Let's not forget to send energy and Light to the people in New Hampshire suffering tonight.

To the victims of the tornado.

All: Energy and Light.

[glasses clinking]

What's going on here?

Nothing.

Come on.

You're upset about something.

Eddie.

Ever since he got back from Peru, he's been different.

Different?

Distant.

There were women on the retreat.

Yes.

Why would you even go there?

Because you were going there, sweetie, even if you don't know it, it's where you were going.

6R. I love that retreat.

It just like... [trills tongue]

Just opened me.

Open, definitely.

That's the word for it.

Made me more aware of everything.

So... how was it?

It was, uh... it was good.

It was good.

[faucet running]

Hey, did you notice that Nicole was being a little hostile tonight?

Well, I tell you what. She did not want that fifth kid.

I mean, your brother's like a freaking Hasid.

Grows ranks by birth.

I mean I don't blame her.

I'd be hostile with a... With a third kid.

[cell phone vibrates]

You know what?

I have to go finish up some work, but I'll be...

Oh, what is... what is that?

A slip.

No, I know it's...

How does it look?

I mean, I probably haven't worn it since before Summer was born, and my boobs were so much better then.

It looks great.

You... you look great.

And your boobs... are great.

[cell phone vibrating]

Do you have to get that?

Yes.

Mm.

No, no, no, no, no.

Keep it on.

Oh!

Oh.

Oh, I missed you.

I love you.

Mm.

[both breathing heavily]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

Great work today, everybody.

Now get 'em fed. Get 'em beds.

Get 'em whatever they need.

Come on. In we go.

♪ ♪

[stairs creak]

♪ ♪

How about you tell me something?

Tell me something so I know that this is real.

Okay.

My turn.

I think that I am having doubts.

[toy squeaks]

♪ ♪

[sighs]

♪ ♪

[peaceful music]

♪ ♪

Morning, Sarah.

Good morning, Isaiah.

Did everyone get in okay last night?

Great. Place is crackling today.

Great.

Have a good one.

You too.

Hey, Abby.

Hi, Sarah.

[indistinct chatter]

[laughter and chattering]

All right, I'll see ya.

Bye, Cal.

Sarah.

Cal, you're here.

I'm here.

Oh, good to see you.

Good to see you.

I somehow managed to avoid the East Coast winters for three years, and now I'm here.

You're gonna have to be my little ray of California sunshine.

Oh, God. Please don't tell me you're already flirting with me.

Of course not. I would never flirt with you.

Speaking of which, how's Eddie?

He's great.

He just got back from 6R.

Oh, nice.

God, he must be flying.

Yeah.

What?

Nothing.

You're sad, Sarah.

No, I'm not.

I just didn't sleep well last night.

All right, well...

I'm always here for you, even if you did break my heart.

Oh, God. Hey.

I'm sorry. It's reflex.

On that note, I'm gonna let you go, but later, I want to hear everything.

How Doc is doing, how the book is coming along.

That's all great.

He's in lockdown right now, writing.

I'll tell you all about it in the meeting later.

Okay.

It is really good to see you, Sarah.

You tell Eddie that I'm gonna come stalk you guys.

It's gonna be like old times.

Three of us up all night fixing the world.

Except now we're in bed by 8:30, you miserable bachelor.

All right.

[chuckles]

[engine turns off]

[sighs]

Hey, are we gonna work on the car this weekend?

Mustang's not gonna run on corn, Dad.

Sure it is.

Hey, why all the doom and gloom?

[sighs]

[chatter, laughter]

I don't know.

Look, it's just for a few more months.

Four months.

I won't be 16 for four months.

Doc asks us to wait for a reason.

But Mom's 8R.

I know Dr. Meyer will let me take my vows early.

I... I just want to get out of this place.

Just hang in there, kid.

♪ ♪

[car engine turns over]

That's right. Just release it.

The pain of last week, last year, ten years ago.

Now go out into the day, free of the past, free of pain.

Go into today with Light in your hearts.

One last breath.

[all exhale sharply]

Yeah!

[laughing]

[applause]

Whoo!

Hey. Sean, Sean Egan.

First year Novice.

Mary.

Mary, welcome.

Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?

Are you sick?

I'll let someone know.

What's her name?

Mary.

Hello. Mary, is it?

How are you feeling today?

Fine.

This'll help.

How do you know what I have?

We get a lot of people in here in your condition.

It's buprenorphine. It helps with the withdrawal.

We're gonna bring you back, Mary.

Back to the self you once were.

Before all the damage.

Hey, man, I'll come join you later.

Sit in on your testimonial.

Oh, no. You don't have to do that.

Same old story. You've heard it a million times.

Are you kidding? I love your story.

Gets me fired up every time.

♪ ♪

This way, Mary.

♪ ♪

[shower running]

It'll take a minute to warm up.

♪ ♪

all: We express deepest gratitude for this day, and every day, and that we have found The Ladder.

There... [laughter in distance]

Ugh, you'd think it would get old.

It doesn't.

Why is Ashley Fields staring at you?

She's probably plotting to do something humiliating to one of us.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

Watch your step.

All right.

♪ ♪

One more.

♪ ♪

It's a nice day.

♪ ♪

Alison.

[tense music]

Alison!

♪ ♪

[engine turns over]

Alison, we just want to talk.

Come back, and just stop the car.

We got to talk!

♪ ♪

[tires screeching]

Mary?

Mary, I don't know how much you know about us.

Who we are. What we believe.

I read one of your pamphlets.

So, what, you just sign up, and you're pain-free?

No. I... I wish.

Everyone has pain, Mary.

We just try not to carry it with us.

And how did you get into this?

I was born into it.

Was Cal born into it?

No, but he came to us as a very young boy.

And now he's in charge?

He's watching over us while our founder, The Guardian of The Light, is away.

Dr. Steven Meyer.

He's in Peru transcribing the last three rungs of The Ladder...

The instructions for our spiritual development.

He lives so deeply in Truth that Light literally surrounds him.

I was you.

I was you.

I was lost, beaten, hopeless.

I liked dr*gs.

I liked girls.

I loved my brother.

You see, that was the one thing that I did have.

My brother, John.

Johnny.

He took care of me.

He got us this little apartment.

It was just a... you know, bathroom and a kitchen, but... it was ours.

He made sure that I finished high school.

You know, I thought we were, uh... we were happy.

[voice breaks]

We, uh... we had each other.

And one day I came home, and he was hanging in the kitchen from an extension cord.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Um... I'm sorry.

Uh... [stammers]

♪ ♪

And then, um... [clears throat]

Then, uh...

I love this next part.

You're running through the streets, and, uh... you want to do yourself in, right?

You want to jump off a bridge.

Step in front of traffic.

I want to die.

I don't want to live anymore.

So you go into some... Some store.

♪ ♪

And, uh... it's a bookstore.

♪ ♪

I sit down, and there's this book...

♪ ♪

And I start thumbing through it.

And I'm reading and... it starts explaining my life to me.

"The Ladder," folks.

First book of Meyerism.

Everything... from the suffering... to the emptiness.

♪ ♪

It got me.

So, you run six miles across town to our closest center, and... what did you find?

♪ ♪

Eddie?

♪ ♪

When you got there... when you came to us... what did you find?

♪ ♪

Home.

As the doctor walked up the steep mountain...

I was home.

He thought about all the horrible things he had done to the soldiers at the hospital.

He now knew that it was all lies...

♪ ♪

What he had been asked to do. What he had done.

And he knew he couldn't live a life of lies anymore.

♪ ♪

[knock at door]

What?

Hope I'm not bothering you.

No. Not at all.

What's going on?

Mary, right? Mary...

Cox.

We taking good care of you, Mary Cox?

Mm-hmm.

What can I do for you?

You're very beautiful.

Very.

What are you doing?

You don't have to do that.

I can do it to you.

I'm not doing anything, Mary.

This isn't easy. Believe me.

You don't want me?

No, I definitely want you.

I just, um...

I just have this feeling that, uh... sex is...

It's a very complicated thing for you.

♪ ♪

My dad started selling me to his friends when I was 11.

All my life I had this fantasy.

One day, an angel would float down from the sky... and save me.

♪ ♪

I think... that this was meant to be, Mary Cox.

♪ ♪

We were meant to find each other.

♪ ♪

Once you start to know The Ladder... all the pain, all the horrible things... that were done to you... they're gonna disappear.

♪ ♪

No, they won't.

♪ ♪

[door shuts]

♪ ♪

[door shuts]

[car door shuts]

[car engine turns over]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

[man and woman speaking Spanish]

[percussive folk music]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

Hey, Eddie.

Oh, hey.

How you feeling?

♪ ♪

What is it?

Eddie, what do you see?

Ah!

It's my brother.

My brother.

Okay.

All right, all right. You're okay.

[sobbing]

Okay, let it out...

[sobbing]

He sees his brother.

Ask your brother what he wants.

What do you want, Johnny?

[sobs]

[man moaning]

[woman chattering in Spanish]

[woman laughing]

[dark music]

♪ ♪

Where are we going?

♪ ♪

What?

In there?

♪ ♪

Daddy, Daddy!

Hey, kiddo! Oh, look at you.

I'm away two weeks, and you grew five inches.

She's a beanstalk.

What's up with that?

All right, we're gonna have to plant you in the backyard.

Hey.

Was 6R awesome, Dad?

What happened? Did you see things?

Oh, man, I'll tell you all about that later.

I missed you.

Mmm.

I missed you.

♪ ♪

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[keypad tones]

♪ ♪

You know what?

I have to go finish up some work, but I'll be...

Oh, what is... What is that?

A slip.

[both moaning]

Oh, my God.

Oh, baby. I missed you.

I love you.

[both breathing heavily]

♪ ♪

[phone line trills] Hello?

No, you don't need to know my name.

How about you tell me something so I know that this is real, and that this isn't a trap?

Okay.

I guess it's my turn.

Listen, um...

I think that I am having doubts.

[toy squeaks]

♪ ♪

The future is coming.

Everything Steve predicted.

Global temperatures are rising, giving way to extreme weather events.

The Arctic shelf is melting, and fire, floods, and famine will ensue...

Exacerbating poverty, political instability, terrorism.

Everything we know will collapse, but those of us who ascend The Ladder will be safe.

As you all know, Doc is finishing transcribing the last three rungs.

He's told me there's stuff in there that is gonna make our lives in the here and now so much better...

And our lives in The Garden... spectacular.

I can't wait to be with you all in The Garden.

[chuckling]

When will they be done?

Eddie?

No, no, no. It's okay, Sarah.

Um...

Doc isn't here.

I don't care if you're not 8R. If you have questions, ask 'em.

I was just wondering when Doc might be done with the rungs.

I mean, they're important.

You know, we... we need them.

It's not up to Doc.

When the message is done, Steve is done.

♪ ♪

She was tired tonight.

She was out like that.

What happened on your retreat?

What do you mean?

You've been acting distant since you got back.

[sighs]

Yeah. Um...

My "trip," you know, it just didn't go so well.

Medicine?

Yeah, I think it just, you know, affected me badly.

I'm sorry if I've been a little weird. It's just...

Who'd you call last night?

What?

I woke up. You weren't in bed.

I went downstairs. You were on the phone.

Why didn't you say anything?

Did you transgress, Eddie?

What? Babe, hey, no, no, no.

No. Look. I was talking to a Possible.

Miranda Frank was on your retreat.

Miranda Frank?

Wait, what?

How do you even know that?

I looked it up.

We're transparent, Eddie.

We don't keep secrets.

I am really struggling here.

All right, I love you, and I chose you.

You chose me?

I chose you.

What do you mean, you chose me?

Chose me over Cal? Is that what this is?

No, no! That is not what I am saying.

No?

Look, I'm...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

All right?

I know that I have been a little off...

But you need to know that you are it.

Look at me.

You are everything to me, okay?

You're it.

I remember the day.

I never imagined a future for myself before you, but then there... there you were with that glass of water, and I didn't have to try to imagine one anymore.

I had it.

Okay?

If you've done something, we'll get through it.

Oh, babe.

We'll do the program.

My parents did it.

I'm not doing the program!

Sarah, there is a kid struggling over joining us, okay?

He called me late last night.

I was doing my job, okay?

I was doing my job.

I am intuiting something else is going on.

Well, your intuition is off!

♪ ♪

I don't know what the hell I'm doing here.

You know, I was high as a kite, so what I saw, or what I think I saw, was it real?

You know, I mean, was the vision of my brother... even real?

I mean, am I gonna blow up my life, a life that I love, because of something I don't even know if I really saw?

♪ ♪

I guess so.

Otherwise you wouldn't be here.

[knock at door]

Sorry to wake you up.

No, I was up.

I was so scared of you when we were young.

Before Eddie.

You'd sneak into my bed. Your hands were like fire.

I thought, "This guy could never really love a person.

Not for the years. He needs too much."

Then Eddie walked into my life.

And I thought, "Eddie.

Eddie can love a person."

I was so wrong.

He transgressed.

I just followed him to meet a woman at a motel.

♪ ♪

[door slams]

♪ ♪

Mary? Mary?

Let's make it better.

Good morning!

Oh, hey.

[giggles]

No!

Mommy, make him stop!

All right, let's get up. Let's go.

I don't want to be late for gathering. Come on.

Hey, did you brush your teeth?

No. Should I?

Yes. Go, go, go.

[groans]

Hey, uh...

[faucet running]

I'm sorry about our fight last night.

I shouldn't have gotten so angry.

I'm sorry too.

[ominous music]

[applause] Hello, everybody.

Welcome to our service.

It's beautiful to see you all here today.

This morning, I'm gonna tell you the story of Plato's Cave.

Plato asks you to imagine this cave that people are born into, chained, so they can only see in one direction...

At the wall in front of them.

Everybody got that?

[laughter]

On this wall in front of them, they see figures, shapes.

And they have names for the things that they see.

Their work, their jobs, their towns, their friends, their lovers, their gods.

And of course the prisoners believe everything they see is real, true.

Why wouldn't they? It's what they see every day.

It's all they know.

Now, Plato says, "Imagine one of these prisoners is able to get free."

He doesn't say how, but this prisoner gets free, and for the first time, he's able to see behind him, and he sees that there's a fire.

And between the fire and the prisoners there is a bridge, and across the bridge, figures walk.

And suddenly the free man realizes that what he and his fellow prisoners have been seeing all this time are the shadows of the real things that walk over the bridge.

All: Oh!

[laughter]

Shadows of reality.

Now, the man understands that everything he thought was real, isn't.

So now he wonders, "Well, what else don't I know?"

[laughter]

And he scrapes and he crawls his way up out of the cave, until finally he pulls himself out panting, breathless.

And that's when he sees the sky, the sun, the moon, the... the things that make the seasons.

And the free man realizes that there is a real, true world out there that his fellow prisoners, his friends, they don't know.

So now he's got to tell them.

[laughter]

So he comes back ranting and raving.

"What you think is real, isn't. You're a prisoner. Your life isn't real. You're just looking at shadows."

Then, Plato asks, "What would the prisoners do?"

Would they, if they could, stone this man?

k*ll him rather than have their reality destroyed?

What would you do?

Would you choose to remain in your shackles?

No.

Would you choose to hold on to your pain and your suffering?

All: No.

Or would you dare to break free?

Break free.

Would you dare to let me unchain you and lead you up?

All: Yes!

Up out of the cave?

All: Yes!

Hi, Daddy.

♪ ♪

Where the f*ck have you been?

That's my dad.

♪ ♪

I want you to get on your knees, and I want you to beg your daughter's forgiveness.

You will beg.

You will grovel at her feet for what you've done to this innocent soul.

♪ ♪

Ugh!

Oh!

[grunting]

[grunting]

♪ ♪

Would you dare to let me unchain you...

Yes!

And lead you up, up?

Yes!

Out of the cave?

All: Yes!

Would you let me lead you up out of the world of shadows?

All: Yes!

Will you?

Whoo!

♪ ♪

Will you let me lead you into The Light?

All: Yes!

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[grunting]

You wanted to see me?

Yeah.

You know I love you like a brother, Eddie.

Yeah.

So I'll get right to it.

You having an affair, Eddie?

No.

No, Sarah just... look.

This whole thing is just a big mix-up.

Who'd you meet at the motel last night?

♪ ♪

So what did you see, anyway, when you opened the door?

♪ ♪

There is no Light.