01x01 - Who Are These Women?

[bunniefuu]

(Gentle electronic music)

♪

Female voice: BNT.

Your Network.

(Reel rattles)

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

- Let Gaion spirit

move through your bodies!

- (Cheering)

- This is a feeling--

(Screaming)

(Laughing)

- Let me go!

(Laughing)

Woo-hoo!

(g*nsh*t pops)

(Man shouts)

Grace: No one has ever gotten

our story quite right.

(Shouting)

No one's ever really

understood us.

Katherine: I mean,

that's-that's always been

part of the problem.

You know, how-

how we came to be perceived

was so far from how

we wanted to be seen.

Interviewer: And how do you

want to be seen?

Grace: Huh that depends?

Who else are gonna be talking

to for this little thing?

(Gate buzzer sounds)

(Chanting)

Sharon: The 70s were

a complicated time.

We are all looking

for the answers

to life's big questions.

Who are we?

Man: And these are the best

years of our lives.

Sharon: Why are we here?

What is this anyways?

And do I have to do it?

Amy: At first,

it felt so liberating

to be told exactly what to do

and exactly what to believe

in order to feel free.

(Reel rattles)

Max: Bull sh*t, for women

free love wasn't free.

We watched the new age

patriarchy

get more stoned

and less employed,

while we were told

to just stuff our mouths

with birth control and chill.

If that's enlightenment

then I'd rather slice out

my own uterus

and feed it into the waiting

jaws of systemic misogyny.

Amy: Our leaders taught us

that we could live together

without men, following

our own set of believes.

Sharon: The very concept

of New Eden

was enough to shock people.

Mainstream culture

had never seen women do

what we were doing.

It was conscious community

living.

It was spiritual enlightenment.

It was everything we wanted

from that era.

New Eden truly was like

a paradise for women.

Until it wasn't.

- What the f*ck are we supposed

to do now?!

- I am sick and tired

of you pathetic freaks!

(Crying)

(Chanting)

- I'm so sorry.

(Screaming)

- Hell outta here!

(g*nsh*t pops)

(Screaming)

Grace: I do this all for you!

Why can't you see that?!

- You run around like some

deranged Messiah?

(Chanting)

- You're almost there!

- (Pained grunts, baby cries)

Breathe. Breathe.

- What do we--

- I'm listening---

(Overlapping panicked yelling)

Newsreel: Hours of leaked

home video footage.

- All the leaked footage.

- an undercover journalist.

- Unlike any other case

in Canadian history.

- The life in the secretive

women's cult

have now come to light.

- What I wanna know is

Both: Who are these women?

- The question remains;

who are these women?

Interviewer: What do you think

went wrong?

- What do you mean by that?

- Did you say wrong?

Oh.

♪♪♪

- Breaking news

- The leaders of a women's only

alternative living community

have been arrested

for the alleged kidnapping

and drugging of a minor.

- According to leading officer,

Staff Sergeant Hank Neston,

quote, "if people knew what

was really going on up there.

It's enough to make your

flesh crawl".

- It was awful.

All these people

calling us criminals.

- Ladies cult takes predictable

turn towards disaster.

- And in Canada,

a self-governing women's group,

self implodes.

- Does New Eden prove that

women can be dangerous?

- It really did feel like

Gaion had abandoned us.

Interviewer: Sorry.

Did you say Gai-on?

- (Smirks) Of course?

♪♪♪

(Shouting)

- (Exhales)

- I think I'm gonna sit--

- Yeah.

That makes sense to me.

- Better side.

- Yeah.

- They tried to corrupt

my innocent baby girl.

- They are sick.

- Hello. That's nice.

- They are perverts.

- Oh!

- No, I don't need anything,

thank you.

Actually, I'll take.

(Objects crash)

- What the hell is in this?

- More. More.

- Testing one, two, three,

four

19. 19. Oh sorry.

Oh, no. Don't do that?

Don't do that.

Okay. Yeah.

Don't do that.

- Thousands of dead

and dying bees

have been discovered in

the properties ill*gal apiary

creating more questions around

this already bizarre story.

Who are these women,

and what do these dead bees

have to do with it?

- Look okay

there's always gonna be

a visceral reaction

to a salacious story.

And so the more people

started using words like;

women, cult, sex, teen.

Well, the perceived titillation

is self-perpetuating.

Interviewer: And do you think

Grace and Katherine

had anything to do

with perpetuating that?

- Well, (chuckles) God.

That's the million dollar

question.

Wyatt: See when the story

finally broke. It-it was huge.

The whole thing was overblown

and sensationalized,

just like everybody lost sight

of the truth.

Interviewer: And what truth

is that?

- (Small chuckle)

Tell me,

are you gonna sit down

with them;

Grace and Katherine?

Well, you just remember?

(In unison) AHHHHHHHH!

- They had eight whole years

to get their facts straight.

Interviewer: Okay. Um

are you ready?

- Yes.

Sorry. I won't. I

I won't do that again.

Interviewer: Why don't

you start

by introducing yourselves?

- I'm Katherine Wryfield,

and I am the founder,

uh, the co-founder of New Eden.

- And I am Grace Lee Hardware.

- No, your name is Grace Lee.

Your family owned a hardware

store called Lee Hardware.

- See, I have no memory

of that.

- You told me that.

- Well, she got a mind like

a steel trap, this one.

Interviewer: Tell me where

we are now?

- We are in Kelowna,

British Columbia

at the Red Cedar Woman's

Correctional Center.

Interviewer: Why?

- Jesus, man.

Why don't you buy us a drink

before you f*ck us, huh?

You know, what I'm saying.

- (Chuckles)

I-I-I mean, I wouldn't put it

like that

because it's rude.

I think for a lot of people

our real crime

was daring to empower women

in a male dominated space.

- Exactly. That's it. Exactly.

Not technically or legally,

but in a theoretical sense

that is our only crime.

Well, we're getting out soon.

So uh, we figured

from the mouth of babes.

here's a straight chip, baby.

- Well, I think what Grace

means by that

is that we have spent so long

listening to other people's

version of our story

and now it is time to tell

the real truth -

our truth.

- Straight from the wh*res

mouth, baby.

- Stop saying baby.

- Okay, did I say it again.

-Yep, but that kind of that.

Grace: Slips out.

Interviewer: Okay.

Well, why don't you start

with how your journey together

began?

- Oh, it's hard to imagine

that I was once

a bright eyed young thing,

knew so little of the world.

All that international media

attention

was a real eye opener,

especially after such humble

beginnings.

And of course, my childhood

was very complicated.

My mother could be very

nurturing

to my brothers.

But, you know, I always sensed

that I didn't quite fit in

with my family's values

and I, you know,

wasn't gonna just do

what everyone expected of me.

You know, be married off

to some handsome society boy.

No.

I wanted to write.

I wanted to open myself up

to new ideas.

So I went out west

to the University of Calgary,

and it was there that I had my

mind expanded.

- And then she met me.

- That I did.

Interviewer: And how did you

end up in western Canada?

- Me? Well, you know,

there is a saying

where I'm from.

"You can't get where

you're going,

if you don't have a map

because that means you

ain't been nowhere yet." So.

- G-Grace-Grace has just oh,

such a-a way with words,

doesn't she?

But-but not really a mind

for detail.

I would-I would move on.

- Ah-huh.

Interviewer: Okay, so then

where did you two actually

meet?

- Oh, boy.

Both: Valhalla ranch.

♪♪♪

- Sure there's a million guys

out there on the heist,

that'll tell you that they're

the second coming of Christ.

There's only one second coming

of Odin.

And I've got the ruins

to prove it.

(Blowing)

Katherine: In retrospect,

it wasn't the healthiest place.

- It was f*cking dumb.

Katherine: But we all had

reasons to fall

under Odin's spell.

And for me, I had just had

this ah,

very dramatic affair

with my poetry professor.

It was incredibly complicated

and erotic,

and I was heartbroken,

vulnerable.

You know, easy to prey on.

- Exactly.

And that's when you wake up one

morning buck nude,

the taste, a leader's toe

still in your mouth

and you go, oh, sh*t.

Yeah, this is definitely

a cult.

Might be I joined a cult.

- It happens all the time.

- It happens all the time.

- There were plenty of them

at the time.

Before New Eden I was with

the Aquarian People's Temple

of Third eye clairvoyance.

I thought I was getting

my masseuse certification.

- Brotherhood of yesterday's

tomorrow now.

- The Roshman's right.

Yeah. Sort of a soft doomsday

sort of thing.

- The utopian fist.

- The Father Daddy's children

of milk

and its offshoot,

the Milk Me Mother

Traveling Band.

We didn't travel

we were on foot,

but we still moved.

Interviewer: And Grace,

how did you end up

at Valhalla ranch?

- Pretty much the same

as most people, I guess.

I, too, had a heavy heart.

I'd come out west with

a girlfriend of mine

and oof, thought we were gonna

be best friends forever.

We had a lot of good times,

but you know, when we

inevitably did part ways,

I was feeling lost,

literally,

just in a field high as sin

covered in what I think

was some kind of toxic sap.

And then suddenly I'm being

told I've made it to Valhalla.

(Scoffs)

Which I was later told

was just in Canada.

But that's when I met Katherine.

And that-that was really the

moment that changed my life.

You know, it was like, wow,

this is the kind of friendship,

the kind of closeness

that I had been waiting for

for my whole life.

This was someone that could

teach a backwoods bumpkin

like me about the world,

you know.

I knew right away that

Katherine was someone

who could really care about me

and who I could really

care about, you know?

I knew then I'd follow her

just about anywhere.

- Yeah, we bonded very quickly.

I mean, Grace was one

of the first people

to ever really listen to me,

you know,

to-to my ideas

and to my dreams.

- Man, are we gonna talk

about her dreams.

They are some juicy stuff.

- No.

- She had one the other night

where she was like this famous

shampoo model, right.

But get this -

she was completely bald.

- I didn't mean

that kind of dream.

- It's crap. Where does she

come up with this stuff?

- Well, not how dreams work.

But anyway, once we had made

that, that connection,

I really felt that I had

to protect Grace

because she seemed so

- Just a complete--

not a hair on her head.

(Laughs)

- Ah well, you know.

And as it became more clear

that Odin's doctrine

was just to satisfy

his male needs,

I knew that I had to save her.

Interviewer: So, Katherine,

you didn't participate

in any of the sexual

activities?

- Uh, yeah no.

I-I really found myself

drawn to more

of the administrative tasks,

all of which were being grossly

overlooked.

Interviewer: Is that why

you decided to leave?

- Yeah, I think it was I think

was just that. So.

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

That's when Katherine

decided to give Odin

a piece of her mind.

- Well

- She came and told me

what happened.

She had taken him aside

to give him what for?

Tell him no more touchy-touchy.

Mhmm. That's when he tried

to kiss her

on the breast.

Obviously, she said no.

That's when he got aggressive,

pointed to his p*nis

and said,

bow down to my ancient thunder,

you b*tch.

Interviewer: Is that what

happened, Katherine?

- Ahm oh um, yes.

That that sounds like

what I told Grace. Yes.

- He was intimidated by her

um

(snaps fingers)

what did you call it?

- Mature sexuality.

- Mature sexuality.

That's right.

He was intimidated

by her mature sexuality.

And ah, you know,

when she told me this

well, you know me

I did saw red.

(Laughing)

Bring that over here.

Look at his--

- No, no, no.

Get that camera out of here.

(Overlapping chatter, laughing)

Katherine: Ultimately, it

really wasn't about just me.

It was a symbolic act.

It was a rallying call

to our sisters.

- (Snorts, laughs)

I forget that he also pissed

himself.

- Yeah, people-people may think

that what we did

was ah petty

or, or, or um,

or, or mildly cruel,

but there was no malice in us.

We simply wanted

to live our lives

free of oppression and fear.

So we left men like Odin

behind us.

All men, so that we could

create a space

where women could be

in control.

We wanted to create a New Eden,

one that the proverbial Adam

couldn't destroy.

Right?

- Yep.

- Yes.

- We realized all we needed

to create paradise

was to eliminate Adam

and his snake.

That was pretty good.

- p*nis.

- p*nis.

Interviewer: What did New Eden

represent to you at first?

- A "f*ck you"

to the patriarchy.

Sharon: It was the synthesis

of what we had been

collectively striving for

throughout the late 60s.

Amy: An earthly conduit

through which Gaion's message

of the true seed

could be realized.

Also, just a great group

of women.

(Cheering, wild calls)

- First New Eden

was a real oasis for me.

I mean, it definitely evolved

into a full on sh*t storm.

But at the outset,

I really believed

I'd found a home.

- Raz, I'm gonna have you on

firewood duty, okay?

Max, you can help her out.

Chop, chop.

Ah, Amber.

- It's Amy.

- Okay. You're gonna be

sweeping.

All right? Good.

Muscle-y girl and tall one.

You're on laundry so.

♪ We open our hearts

and minds ♪

♪ To the spirit of sisterhood ♪

♪ That welcome all without

judgment or shame ♪

♪ No shame ♪

♪ New Eden is our space

of learning ♪

♪ That every empowers

every woman ♪

♪ Because our time is now ♪

♪ And we should rise ♪

Really good,

that sounds great.

Interviewer: How did you first

acquire the New Eden property?

- Oh, well,

I remembered that I had this

Aunt Agnes,

and that she had a beautiful

farmhouse

right here in British Columbia.

A stunning property.

- It was a bit of a sh*t heap

when we found it,

but a it was nothing compared

to Agnes herself.

- Agnes was a different

from the other women

in my family.

I had never met her,

but she was another rebel

in our clan.

So I always felt that we had

a bond

and the connection was instant.

I mean, she welcomed us

with open arms.

- Agnes was a difficult woman,

okay?

She was, to some old ideas,

ancient ideas.

- Yes. And I will be needing

a volunteer

for Agnes bath time.

No one?

- You're a f*cking c**t.

Agnes: You're a c**t.

- I think it's very clear here

that I am not the c**t.

- She was a c**t.

- She was our first mother,

Eve,

and we all understood that

she was the sacred carrier

for all the pain the ancient

Adams had inflicted upon us.

She spat in my mouth once.

Interviewer: So what exactly

did happened to Agnes?

- Hm?

- Um, define happened to?

Newscasters: Breaking news

- a disturbing development

in the ongoing--

- A dead body discovered

on the property--

- Human remains.

- The body has been identified--

- as the leaders aunt.

Sergeant Neston: Evidence

of feathers, candle wax and

multiple samples of urine

found in the gravesite

would suggest that the body

of Agnes Wryfield

was disposed of in a manner

which was deliberately

ritualistic.

- There is a lot of factors.

- A-a, you know what?

We are not going to talk

about those charges

in this interview.

- Huh?

Hm. Hm.

I can't talk about it.

Because I--

- I hate when you mime.

- Today is day one of

the highly anticipated

New Eden trials.

Accused cult leaders,

Katherine Wryfield

and Grace Lee,

will face charges for an

extensive list of crimes.

- This fight isn't merely about

these two courageous women.

This is about justice

for all women.

And I will not rest until

we get the rights

and freedoms

that we all deserve.

- Yeah!

- The key to this case

was to always look

at the biggest picture

possible.

How were those two

causing this much chaos?

This much of a stir?

In other words, who the hell

are these women?

It was the question

everyone was asking.

And it turns out simply

answering it

was the best defense.

Society had rejected them.

So they said, I don't know.

Maybe there is some ancient

space goddess

who wants us all

to live together.

I mean, really?

Can we blame them?

- I know I wouldn't.

Would you?

(Audience applauds)

- Katherine Wryfield

and Grace Lee

are cold,

calculated criminals.

But it wasn't long until

their story was reduced

to just a bad punchline

about hysterical women

feeling generally.

Which was a lot easier

for the public to understand.

- The question remains

- Are these women K*llers,

serial K*llers?

- Or just plain stupid?

(Playing notes

on the harmonica)

♪♪♪

Woman: You shut the hell up!

Max: People fear dangerous

women,

so they try to make them seem

less threatening

by making them seem more

pathetic.

And then they turn around

and they say,

ah, stop showing me

these pathetic women.

- Mmm. Those are good beans.

Those are some of the best

beans we've ever had.

Sharon: In retrospect,

I think the hard part

about it was that

we all really thought

we believed in something.

And then you hear the details

out loud and you go "oh".

This sounds like an obvious

joke.

- This guy-he tried on

but the hat is too big

because she a cat

so it covers her-

just covers her literally.

- I mean, the way our story got

twisted doesn't surprise me.

That's just what happens

when a female narrative

is portrayed through

the phallic lens

of the toxic male gaze.

And you know what I'm doing,

right?

I'm talking about you.

Interviewer: Yeah.

I-I've picked up on it.

- Just checking.

Interviewer: Have you visited

them since the trial?

- Oh, f*ck, no.

f*ck no.

- Before they went away,

Star mother, Eve, told me

my task was to prepare

the seed redeemer

for the Gaionic ascension

that would save Eve kind

through binary transformation.

Interviewer: So?

- They told me to stop coming.

- At least we still have each

other, you know.

We always will,

ain't that right, Katherine?

- Yeah.

Interviewer: And you're getting

out soon?

- That's right.

Hard to believe.

Interviewer: Do you think

Grace and Katherine

got what they deserved?

- No.

If we were up to me,

they'd never be getting out.

(Phone rings)

- Noseworthy.

- Yeah. It's Sergeant Neston

and we uh, found another body

in the New Eden property.

- My God. Another one?

What the hell is going on

up there?

Can you have an I.D.?

Neston: Um, it's hard to tell

the way it's been disposed

of

it's clear whoever did this,

knew what they were doing.

♪♪♪

♪ I like the way

you smile at me ♪

♪ I felt the heat

that enveloped me ♪

♪ I never knew ♪

♪ Where evil grew ♪