02x04 - Milkmads

[bunniefuu]

(SCREAMING)

DOCTOR: Her breathing
has become intermittent.

(LABORED BREATHING)

DOCTOR: We're approaching the end.

Isn't there something
you can give her for the pain?

I ran out of opium weeks ago.

I'm just not equipped to deal
with this much death.

EDWARD: Daddy, will she be buried in a ditch

like the others?

THOMAS: No, Edward.

Those graves are for the poor.

She'll be buried in the cemetery.

Next to your sisters.

EDWARD: Why have our
friends not come to visit this time?

Because all of our friends are dead.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

You may enter.

(DOOR OPENS)

Welcome to the House of Lazarus.

Under God's eye,

may you enter this space.

Would you like a cup of tea?

No.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(COINS JINGLE)

As you will.

My name is Celeste.

May I know your name?

I don't have time for theatrics.

Well, then.

Let's get to it.

What the hell is that?

It's what you came here for.

Are you ready for the feast?

Father who art in heaven.

(GRUNTS)

There is no want to worry.

You are a menace to society.

I'm not contagious.

My wounds have the power to heal.

That's why you're here, isn't it?

Men seek out my services

so that this plague
will pass over their homes.

They say I have been anointed

by Saint Lazarus.

One lick...

...on my pustules

will ward off

smallpox, indefinitely.

(SCOFFS)

It's warm...

...and sweet.

Every man who has tasted me

has gone on to live

a healthy life.

I promise you.

Come forth.

Close your eyes.

Open your mouth.

Now imagine heaven

on your tongue.

(COUGHING)

(RETCHING)

(PANTING)

You are an occultist.

So, you only wanted sex, then?

Shame on you,

Pastor Walter.

That is not my name.

I am not he.

I know you are the new minister. That church

- is a house of lies. (GRUNTS)
- Blasphemous witch!

(SHOUTS)

(BOTH GRUNT)

(WALTER YELPS)

If you speak a word of this to anyone,

I will see to it that you are hanged.

- (FOOTSTEPS RETREAT)
- (DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR SLAMS SHUT)

Hypocrite.

♪ ♪

Rachel Brown was a woman of God.

An obedient wife.

Devoted mother.

A follower

of Christ.

Because of Eve's original sin,

sickness and suffering is a part of life.

People of Christ.

Sin does not come without

consequences.

You're going to talk about sin?

Wretched woman.

This man is a false prophet.

Leave this church and save yourselves.

WALTER: Begone from this
holy space, idolatress.

He b*at me for trying

to heal him.

(CONGREGATION MURMURS)

WALTER: I visited her,

but only to pray for her soul.

She is a disease-spreading prost*tute.

- Wicked woman. (GRUNTS)
- (GRUNTS, GASPS)

CELESTE: Don't pretend
like you don't know who I am.

I am the Daughter

of Lazarus.

Today, God

has called upon me

to warn you that this... this man,

this preacher,

will ring in a new era of death

and destruction, if we let him.

She is no daughter of Lazarus.

She is a daughter

- of Satan himself.
- (CONGREGATION MURMURING)

She is to blame for our ruin.

She is the source

- of God's wrath.
- WALTER: We must purge

this sorceress from our community,

for our survival.

String her up

and send her to the gallows!

- Whore!
- Hang her now!

Defend us in battle,
Prince of the Heavenly Host.

Be our protection

- against the wickedness...
- (CELESTE SCREAMS)

And snares of the devil.

Enough!

Sit down.

I will not have my wife's
funeral marred with a hanging.

WALTER: We haven't known
each other for terribly long, but I

consider you a friend, Thomas.

Thank you, Pastor.

As I do you.

So, I may speak freely then,
and you won't take any offense?

(SOFT CHUCKLE) I would hope so,

and that you would grant me

- the same grace.
- Good.

Don't ever challenge
my authority like that again.

This congregation needs a strong leader,

and I won't have you weakening me.

I'm sorry, Pastor. I...

Why would you defend a prost*tute?

I had to think of my son.

It was his mother's funeral.

He's already lost two sisters.

Yes, of course.

(SIGHS) I'm sorry, Thomas.

The grief of this community
weighs so heavily on me.

At times, the losses becomes a blur.

Do you really believe that we may be cursed?

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, we must pray

God will grant us peace in our suffering.

What if prayer isn't enough?

Is there something you're withholding?

You believe that, sometimes,

God requires us
to take a leap of faith, yes?

Yes, of course.

I've learned of a new ritual,

one that possibly wards off the plague.

A ritual?

THOMAS: In a town not far from here, a

a man of faith received a message from God

compelling him to believe
that smallpox was caused

by the dead rising at night

to feast on the bodies of the living.

So, the townspeople dug up the graves

of those who had passed from the disease,

and they found that their bodies
had barely decomposed,

even months after their burials.

They removed the hearts,

to prevent the possessed bodies

from continuing their nightly
haunts, and for good measure,

they b*rned them.

Th-This sounds like a fable,

dreamt up by the desperate and lonely.

But the disease stopped spreading.

Soon, the town recovered
and life went back to normal.

Are you suggesting that
we practice this savagery?

I'm asking your permission
to exhume my wife's heart

to save my son.

I can't suffer any more loss.

We could do it tonight...

...before she's buried in the morning.

We will be

driven out of town as heretics.

THOMAS: Just this one
corpse, as an experiment.

No one has to know.

THOMAS: Uh...

Should we say a prayer?

Father, we know that Rachel

is in heaven with you,

and that her body is but an empty shell.

We ask that you

protect us from
the evil forces that would use this shell

for the devil's work, so that we may

serve you with healthy bodies
and sound minds.

- Amen.
- Amen.

I can't do it.

WALTER: This ritual...

...does it cure those
who are already infected?

THOMAS: Burning it won't.

But, apparently, eating it might.

Walter.

We're not eating my wife's heart.

- Absolutely not.
- Think of your son.

This isn't the way Mama used to make it.

THOMAS: It's Daddy's new recipe. Eat up.

It looks disgusting.

It'll keep us healthy.

You don't want to get sick like
your mother and sisters, do you?

- (SIGHS)
- We have to stay strong

and keep living, for them.

(SIGHS)

- Heavenly Father...
- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Delilah.

Sorry to bother you
at this hour, Mr. Browne.

Kammi's udders were stopped up
till half past four.

I barely finished milking her
before the sun went down.

Oh... Your wife's funeral.

I'm so sorry.

- I completely forgot.
- It's all right.

You're a busy woman.

Perhaps my absence was a good thing.

We all know how Pastor Walter
feels about me.

Is it true that you dance with
the devil under the full moon?

Edward, stop it.

(CHUCKLES)

People will always gossip
about an unmarried woman.

THOMAS: If only you would
come to church sometime.

Perhaps you could meet someone special.

DELILAH: Thomas, I love
my life just the way it is: happy,

free, and unmarried.

Besides, who needs a man when you have
the devil as your dance partner?

I'll let you get back to your evening.

My condolences again.

Good night, Edward.

Good night, Delilah.

(DOOR CLOSES)

EDWARD: Pastor Walter says
never to trust a milkmaid.

Nothing is so unclean
as a woman who lives with beasts.

Edward, be kind to those
less fortunate than us.

Now, have some more stew.

(COWS LOWING)

Hi, Kammi.

(COUGHS)

(GASPS)

(SOBBING) I'm so sorry.

I didn't mean to intrude.
I was just leaving.

(CRIES OUT IN PAIN)

- Oh, you're hurt.
- (CRYING)

It's no... it's nothing.

It's not nothing. You need a doctor.

Let me take you to town.

No, no, no. It's not safe for me there.

- Who did this to you?
- I should...

I should go while it's still dark.

No, don't be foolish.

Please.

My name is Delilah.

You're safe here with me.

Thank you, Delilah.

I'm Celeste.

My apologies for the lumpy mattress.

I lost everything when my house collapsed.

The founders of this town should have never

settled on shallow groundwater.

Kammi's a nice housemate, though.

Kammi?

(CHUCKLES) My cow.

It's short for Kamadhenu,

the Hindu bovine goddess.

Speak again?

Some cultures believe that
animals should be revered

and that to k*ll them is an act of m*rder.

How do you know these things?

Milkmaid has plenty of time to read.

I was a milkmaid once, but, uh,

- I only ever read the Bible.
- No, well,

the Bible's fine, if you like fiction.

You should try this.

This one's better.

(CHUCKLES)

Don't feign outrage on my account.

There are no men to judge us here.

(SCREAMING)

That'll fix her right up.

(CRYING)

You could've warned me.

Whoever did this to you

should be held accountable.

I can think of any number of men
who might've done it.

Shall I go door to door,
searching for the culprit?

Please, I don't want any trouble.
He's a pow-powerful man.

A man of the cloth?

Pastor Walter.

He thr*at-threatened to hang me.

If I don't... leave tonight, he'll find me

- and k*ll me.
- Nonsense.

You will stay here with me

until you are completely healed,

till there isn't a scratch left
on your beautiful face.

That old fool won't come looking
around here.

Old milkmaids terrify clergymen,
didn't you know that?

(STRAINED CHUCKLE)

Because milkmaids are strong
and don't need men.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

If you're not a milkmaid
anymore, what is it you do?

- Are you married?
- Uh...

N-No. I...

You really are quite beautiful.

I'm...

I'm quite tired.

May I sleep?

Of course.

THOMAS: It's all right if you can't cry.

You know, when Faith d*ed,

I couldn't stop crying.

It felt like the pain would never end.

Then, when Annabelle d*ed,

tears didn't come as easily,

not because I loved her any less,

because I was used to living with loss.

And then when your mother passed...

...the grief transformed
into something else entirely.

A heaviness that doesn't allow for tears.

EDWARD: But...

if we don't cry, then

how will they know that we loved them?

They know you love them.

They don't need your tears
to prove anything.

What beautiful flowers, Edward.

Did you pick them yourself?

(INHALES)

The Lord restoreth all wounds

to those who believe.

Even wounds

of the heart.

How's your health, Thomas?

Blessed. And yours?

I've never felt so alive.

It's a pleasure to see you, Walter.

We've got to be on our way.

You haven't been to church in some time.

Not since the night of Rachel's funeral.

Did he not feast on our special communion?

Edward, go home.

Yes, I fed my son his mother's heart,

and I haven't been able
to sleep at night since.

It was a horrible mistake that we made,

brought on by the hysteria of grief.

I am sorry I convinced you to commit such

- a horrendous act.
- Oh, I am not sorry at all.

Ever since that night, I have been

spared from the slightest sniffle.

Not a blemish has appeared on my body.

The sick and the suffering, they...

claw at me, desperate for my prayers,

and yet, I remain well.

The ritual worked.

There is nothing godly about cannibalism.

I've gotten quite good at the explantation.

Poor Edgar Brukner

d*ed all alone,

with no one to watch over his corpse.

The Lord has rewarded us for taking
a leap of faith,

just as you said he would.

But people are going to start questioning

why we are immune to this plague.

We have got to tell the people the truth.

That God has revealed to us the cure.

(COW MOOS)

(GRUNTS)

(SIGHS)

Oh, Celeste.

You have smallpox.

(CHUCKLES)

No, I don't.

Your corset's going to make it worse.

I need to wear it to keep my wounds alive.

God's anger is agitating them
because they've gone too long

- without being milked.
- We have to isolate you.

I'm not sick, I promise you.

In fact,

I'm a healer.

I've been anointed

by Saint Lazarus.

You must be burning up. Please,
let me get your fever down.

Please, let me explain. You have been

so kind to me, watching over me

all this time. I owe it to you

to tell you the truth about who I really am.

(SIGHS)

These boils appeared on my body
during my time as a milkmaid,

but... I never once got sick.

I hid them by wearing this corset.

No one ever knew about them

until I fell in love

with a wonderful man.

I soon became pregnant

and grew too round

to keep my secret from him.

When he finally saw the boils,

he couldn't look at me again...

(LAUGHING) ...let alone touch me.

I gave birth.

He left me

and took our child with him.

(EXHALES)

I was cast out from society.

With no other way to survive...

...I sold my sex.

(BOTH MOANING)

CELESTE: I tried to keep my wounds hidden

from my patrons,

but then I was surprised to learn

how easily men turn their fears
into a fetish.

They lined up,

one after the other to tempt their fate.

But then, something miraculous happened.

I began to notice

that the men who feasted upon me

never got sick,

even though everyone around them

seemed to fade away and die.

God had chosen me

to heal the sick and suffering.

Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead

to remind the world

that love can save us from anything,

I knew

that God had put me on this earth to heal

people with love.

But love doesn't heal, Celeste.

Only science can do that.

(CHUCKLES) But science is a gift from God,

and God is love.

These things don't matter now.

If these men were
truly protected from smallpox

because of your boils,

we have to find out what's inside them

that's preventing people from getting sick,

so we can isolate it and reproduce it.

Celeste, we can save so many people.

Divinity cannot be reproduced.

It can only be appreciated.

I admire your ability to believe,

but I have to get to the bottom of this.

(KISSES)

WALTER: Recently, I
learned of a nearby village.

Now, I hesitate to tell you
the desperate ordeal

this community went through.

It is not for the faint of heart.

Delirious with grief,

the townspeople began to believe

that smallpox was caused

by the dead

rising at night to feast on the living.

So, they exhumed the bodies and found

that the corpses had not even begun
to decompose.

To prevent the possessed bodies

from their evil plight,

the townspeople removed their hearts

and ate them.

(CONGREGATION GASPS, MURMURS)

I know.

I know it is shocking,

but the town began to recover.

Now, I was horrified
when I learned of this-this...

this barbarism.

It seems so...

un-Christian.

- And, yet...
- It worked.

- WALTER: Indeed.
- CONGREGANT: Give me a shovel,

and I'll be the first to dig.

- Anything to put an end to our suffering.
- No, no, no.

We must not let our grief
hasten our actions.

What have we got to lose?

Why are you so set on proving
that I'm not a healer?

Why can't...

why...

can't I be special to you?

You are special to me.

Just because there's a
logical answer to your healing

doesn't mean you haven't helped people.

But why is it so hard for you
to believe in God?

God is simply the unknown.

In time, scientists will uncover
the truth of everything.

Where will God be then?

Have you ever considered your faith

is just a distraction
from your wounded heart?

How dare you.

You're the one who's constantly

escaping into your books.

What are you running from?

My love for you, perhaps?

You can't deny a bond has grown between us.

Uh, I...

I I... I love you, too, Delilah,

but as I love all children of God.

If you are truly a healer,

then I want to be healed.

Let me taste the divinity for myself.

(SHAKY BREATHING)

(OVERLAPPING SHOUTING)

Have you ever been infected?

I had a mild outbreak of boils
when I was young,

but I recovered swiftly.

Your life was spared.

Why do you think that is?

(SIGHS)

I eat well.

I live in nature.

I isolate from the gravely ill.

You deliver Kammi's milk
to sick people every day.

Of course, but...

Maybe...

you've been blessed, just like me.

Hmm?

How do you explain
that some people get sick

while others don't?

Surely God has a hand in deciding our fate.

If that's true, then God is cruel.

DELILAH: Damn it. Are
Kammi's udders bleeding again?

Yes, but nothing too bad.

(SIGHS) This batch is no good.

(STAMMERS) A little blood
won't spoil the milk.

This milk could spread cowpox.

That's ridiculous.

Scientists now believe
there are small creatures,

invisible to the naked eye,

that can spread illness
through bodily fluids.

Mm...

That didn't seem to worry you
a few moments ago.

(LAUGHS) Delilah, I told you,

no one has ever gotten sick
from sleeping with me.

Scientists are wrong all the time.

But what if they're right about this?

Kammi's boils look exactly
like the ones on your body,

and the same as mine did,
all those years ago.

So?

See?

They're perfectly round.

Human smallpox doesn't look like this.

They have a more chaotic pattern,

like fungus growth.

What if you and I got cowpox
from being milkmaids?

(LAUGHS) We're not cows.

If cowpox spread through
their infected udders,

that means anyone that came
in contact with our boils

- was also infected with cowpox.
- You're not listening to me.

Every man who came to me didn't get sick.

- I healed them.
- That's exactly it.

Cowpox doesn't make humans sick

in the same way that smallpox does.

If these men were protected in
the way that you say they were,

it's quite possible that cowpox

provides an immunity to smallpox.

This contaminated milk

could be the key.

You stay here and keep milking Kammi

for as long as her udders are bleeding.

I'm going to deliver these bottles,

and then I'll come back for more.

Celeste...

...we're going to save
the world from smallpox.

Mm.

(DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

What say you of this, Lazarus?

Was I never a healer?

Were you ever healed,

or were you faking it, too?

♪

We unite here to overcome the forces of evil

that have plagued our community
for far too long.

Some may be hesitant

to uncover the bodies of their loved ones,

but I assure you,

we will bury them properly

after every last vestige of evil

has been removed.

They will know peace.

In the name of Christ,

let the healing begin!

(CROWD CHEERING)

(KNOCKING ON WINDOW)

Thomas? Edward? Open the door.

I have a very urgent delivery.

(BANGING ON DOOR)

Father's not home.

It seems like no one is home.
Where is everyone?

At the cemetery.

Pastor Walter found the cure for smallpox.

- What?
- Something about digging up the dead

- to stop them from k*lling us.
- You're playing a joke on me.

Father left here an hour ago
with a shovel in his hand.

That's the most absurd thing
I have ever heard.

Are you sure you heard right?

(SIGHS) Edward,

I need you to listen to me.

This is no ordinary milk.

This milk will save you from getting sick.

I don't care if I get sick. I'm strong.

But you will spread the disease to others

who might not be strong.

If they are weak, then they should die.

Pastor Walter says it's the natural order.

He's gonna save us all from this plague.

We don't need your milk.

Drink the g*dd*mn milk.

Everyone, stop, please.

Stop this madness.

You're going to make yourselves sick.
I have the real cure,

- and it's in this milk.
- THOMAS: Delilah.

Delilah, you shouldn't be here.

What is happening? This is insanity.

Something evil is going on.

The bodies aren't decomposing.

It's not evil. This town was
built on shallow groundwater.

The salt in the soil,

it slows the decomposition process.

WALTER: What is this hysterical
woman going on about?

Walter, she may have a point.

How many times have I told you?
Never trust a milkmaid.

The Bible teaches us that the devil

employs unclean spirits to do his bidding.

You must stop this barbarity.

The real antidote to smallpox
is in this milk.

I have enough for several families,

and Celeste is preparing more as we speak.

Soon, we'll be able
to inoculate the whole town.

Celeste?

- Is she okay?
- She's wonderful.

WALTER: Oh, there is nothing wonderful

about that filthy whore.

(GASPS)

I know what you did to her.

She's the reason you're healthy.

The cure in her boils is the same cure

that's in this milk.

Every healthy man that's alive in this town

is alive because of Celeste.

We are alive because God
spares the righteous.

Walter, you must listen to me.

You must stop this madness.

WALTER: Fine.

I will.

(BOTH GRUNT)

If only Adam had struck Eve...

...we'd still be in the Garden of Eden.

Come, Thomas.

Let's take care of...

the other one.

Celeste is harmless, Walter.

Please, leave her alone.

Why are you defending these godless women?

If we allow them to trample over us,

the world will unravel

and society itself will collapse.

Because Celeste is Edward's real mother.

I made the worst mistake
in my life when I left her.

It's because of me that
she turned to a life of sin.

Do I even know the man

that stands before me?

Your weakness is repulsive.

Now, move.

Move.

(GASPS)

(STRANGLED GASP)

♪ ♪

CELESTE: Love, are you
finished with the deliveries already?

The new batch is ready.

Love?

Where is Delilah?

What did you do?

Blessed are they that
follow my commandments,

but cursed are the sorcerers,

the whores, and the idolaters.

- They shall be put to death.
- Please.

I've only ever wanted to help
this community, as you claim to do.

(WHIMPERING)

You think I believe my own lies?

There is no such thing as selflessness.

Humility is but a mask we wear

to hide our hunger for power.

We perceive the world as we create it.

I didn't realize whores could be so...
highbrow.

Don't come any closer.

I've thought a lot about that
afternoon we spent together.

- (CRIES OUT, GRUNTING)
- I have to admit,

it wasn't so bad...

once I got over the smell
of your rotting flesh.

(SHRIEKS)

(CRYING)

Maybe we can have one more go around...

...before I do you in once and for all.

No! No!

- Let me go! (SCREAMING)
- (BELT BUCKLE JINGLES)

(CRIES OUT)

(GRUNTING)

(CRYING)

Are you all right?

Yes. Thank God you're here.

Celeste?

CELESTE: Thomas?

Thomas, you're bleeding terribly.

Don't... touch me,

you wicked woman.

Thomas, please, let me help you.

THOMAS: I trusted you

as a friend.

Everyone warned me

of your unnatural ways.

What are you saying?

Did you do this to her?

Did she corrupt you to lust

as unnaturally as she does?

She didn't do anything

but help me when I needed it most.

For all these years, I blamed myself.

I thought I condemned you to a life

of degradation and sin.

But now I see the seed of wickedness

was within you all along.

You ruin everything you touch.

You've destroyed my life,

and now you're tearing this town apart.

Thomas, your wounds
make you speak in haste.

You don't know what you're saying.

(LABORED BREATHING)

Oh, dear God.

Poor Edward.

Edward?

THOMAS: There is something
terribly wrong with that boy.

I've tried.

I've tried everything I can
to get him on the right path.

I even married a woman
who mothered him as her own son,

but deep down,

he never loved her.

He's never loved a single soul.

Because he inherited
this wickedness from you.

DELILAH: No.

If I know one thing about
Celeste, it's that she's capable

of nothing but love.

Your love is a curse that must be stopped.

No.

CELESTE (CRYING): No, no...

You monster!

(SOBBING)

No...

No.

DELILAH: Celeste...

You must take

the discovery of our inoculation

and deliver it...

No, don't talk like this.

I can't live without you, Delilah. Please...

You must tell everyone

about our cure.

(CELESTE SOBBING)

No, no, no, no...

(FIRE CRACKLING)

♪ ♪

(SIGHS)

(DOOR CREAKS OPEN)

Edward.

EDWARD: Who are you?

CELESTE: I'm your real mother.

My name is Celeste.

You're going to have to come with me.

Where is my father?

Edward...

I'm very sorry.

Your father is dead.

Everybody dies.

No.

Do you see that cow outside? (CHUCKLES)

Her name is Kammi,

and she's the key to
a healthy future for us all.

I'm going to make sure

that you don't get sick.

Please, Edward.

I need you to trust me.

(CRYING)

Everything's going to be all right, son.

Soon, we'll spread the good news

of a brighter future.

We'll save so many lives together.

There's no more need to be afraid.

Are you a milkmaid?

I suppose I am once again, aren't I?

(GRUNTS)

- (LABORED BREATHING)
- (Kn*fe CLATTERS ON FLOOR)

Nothing is so unclean as
a woman who lives with beasts.