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01x01 - Hydra

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "So Long, Marianne". Aired: September 22, 2024.*
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Series is a dramatization of the 1960s romance between Canadian writer and musician Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, the Norwegian woman who inspired Cohen's song "So Long, Marianne".

01x01 - Hydra

Post by bunniefuu »

You're throwing that jersey

on for the first time,

it's just so

many emotions.

MAN: I think we're

gonna be pretty good.

Everything we can

do to play our games,

bring it to the

finish line.

I didn't take

the job to survive.

I took it to kind of

accomplish something.

We have to have a

winning mindset,

otherwise we'll be in a build

for many, many, many years.

(Cheering)



ANNOUNCER: The Rebuild:

Inside the Montreal Canadiens.

Stream now on Crave,

presented by Bell.

(Male Announcer

reads text on screen)

(Musical jingle)

(gentle instrumental music)

(gentle music continues)

Ah ah ah ♪

Ah ah ah ♪

Ah ah ah ♪

Ah ah ah ♪

(gentle music continues)

(crowd cheering)

Hallelujah ♪

Hallelujah ♪

(camera snaps)

Hallelujah ♪

(camera snaps)

Hallelujah ♪

[Leonard Cohen] I know

you've heard that song before.

I wrote that.

I just wanted to

get your attention.

I was 33 when I

released my first song,

and at that point I

used so much Quaalude

that people called

me Captain Mandrax.

That's a pretty splendid

superhero name if you ask me.

Captain Mandrax.

They used to call me a

womaniser but I never was.

It was just easier to get

someone else to love me

than it was to love myself.

(head bangs)

(Leonard moans)

(glass smashes)

And what is love anyway?

(gentle instrumental music)

(waves whoosh)

It's the one that comes and

goes without leaving a mark,

but then there's

that other kind,

the one that stays with

you your whole life.

(gentle music continues)

Somewhere, even though life

goes on, it lives inside of you.

It's in love that we are made

and in love that we disappear,

(gentle music continues)

and you're always there.

I knew you before

I even met you.

(paper rustles)

(gentle music continues)

(bird squawks)

(gentle music continues)

(bird squawking continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(lighter clicks)

(people chattering)

(horse hooves pattering)

(bell dinging)

(people chattering)

(donkey braying)

(people chattering)

You look a little lost.

Is it that obvious? (giggles)

No, I know most

of the foreigners on

the island, and uh,

a lot of the Greeks, and

I've not seen you before.

I'd remember.

I'm Leonard.

Leonard Cohen.

Charmian.

You can call me Charm.

- Charm?

- Mm.

Please join me.

I'm not disturbing any-

Not at all.

So what brings you

to Hydra, Leonard?

Oh, escaping from London.

Ah, so did we.

You don't sound, you

don't sound English.

No, neither do

you, I'm Australian.

Australian family

mix. I'm Canadian.

So, we're the outsiders.

(Charmian laughs)

Have have you been here long?

Ages.

(clears throat) You're a writer?

All the foreigners here are

either painters or writers.

Which one are you, are you

a painter or a writer, or?

I'm a novelist.

I was a cannoneer in

the army during the w*r.

Anyway, after that, I

got a job at the Argus,

which is in

Australian newspaper,

which is where I met

my husband, George.

It was quite a scandal because

he was married at the time,

and I was 23 and he was 35.

How old are you, Leonard?

I'm 26, but don't

hold it against me.

Oh, that's a great, great age.

Anyway, I got fired.

George resigned in

protest, bless him.

And he got a job in London,

at the London Times,

as an editor, and we endured

many years of bad weather,

and then we decided that

we both wanted to write,

which was of course,

financially disastrous,

so we found the

cheapest place we could.

We packed up our

children and here we are.

Life.

Under two minutes.

I heard there were

some rooms available

in a guest house or a

guest house in a room.

Oh, you're looking

for something a

little more long term

and less expensive?

Oh darling, you don't

have to be ashamed

about lack of funds here.

Nearly everybody on the island

is broke on a regular basis.

Come.

Where are we going?

Well (clears throat),

we have a guest room,

if you don't mind the children.

It's got its own

private entrance.

Okay, how much is it?

- Oh no.

- I really am strapped

right now.

- No, no, no.

You pay what you want,

you pay what you feel.

Welcome to Hydra.

(gentle instrumental music)

(suitcase thuds)

(suitcase shuffles)

I mean, are you really

accusing me of being drunk?

Your son found you passed out

on the f*cking couch last night,

next to two bottles of wine!

Gimme a break, I was

working like a dog.

I fell asleep. (sighs)

Anyway, where were

you last night?

Oh, don't pretend that

you bloody care, George?

If I didn't care, I

would've left here years ago!

You know what?

You know, maybe you are

the reason that I drink?

Just to endure your

self-righteous bullshit!

(footsteps pattering)

If I didn't drink then I

would've left you years ago.

(dramatic music)

(hangers clanging)

(door knocking)

(door creaks)

Hey, Leonard?

Yes, Leonard, sorry.

How are you? George.

Nice to meet you, mate.

Nice to meet you, sorry.

So, what's going on?

You're not leaving, are you?

I was just packing,

packing up my stuff.

I'm sorry about

all the ruckus.

It's um, it's got nothing

to do with you, honestly.

- All right.

- Look,

why don't you hang your things

back up and come upstairs

and have a glass

of wine with me?

You like wine?

Oh, love wine.

(hands thudding)

- Well, you'll fit right in.

- Okay.

- I'll see you up there.

All right.

(door creaking)

(door banging)

(door clanking)

(door clicking)

(birds chirping)

(gentle music)

(cat meows)

(door thuds)

(birds chirping)

(people speaking Greek)

(gentle music continues)

(birds chirping)

You all right?

I'm okay, thank you.

Okay.

Oh, I'm fine. Thank you.

Okay.

(gentle music continues)

You're a writer as well?

Yeah, you know,

Charmian and I, we,

(birds chirping)

(lighter clicks)

we write together, live

together, have three kids,

so it can get a little

claustrophobic at times.

It's complex, isn't it?

Marriage, or humanity,

more generally.

Well, genetically speaking, we

were designed to live amongst

a non-monogamous herd,

and now we're all put

into these little pairs

and it's our morals, you see?

Battling our genes, it's, um-

Exhausting.

It can be.

Well, I suppose I should

go and check on her really.

(birds chirping)

You don't know where she is?

Oh, I know where

she is (snickers).

Too right, I do.

You wanna come?

Come on.

Uh, Martin, just gonna

pop out for a hit, mate.

Will you look after the others?

Good man.

(gentle music)

Just got paid a residual on

our latest book, you see,

so that's why I was

over in the mainland,

'cause they don't

have a bank over here.

Anyway, Charm's in there,

paying off our tab,

which is good, but, you know,

means she can start a new one.

(door clicks)

(upbeat music)

[Charmian] (whistles) Leonard!

[George] (speaks

in Greek) Nikos!

(door smacking)

Darling, mwah!

- I'm Leonard.

- You all right?

Good, exactly what

I was looking for.

Leonard. Leonard

Goran from Sweden.

This is Leonard. He's Canadian.

- From Montreal.

- This is Axel.

Axel from New York.

- Hi Leonard.

- And Leonard.

- Axel.

Axel?

[Axel] So you arrived today?

Yeah, I arrived

a few hours ago.

A few hours ago.

Wow. Welcome to Hydra.

- Thank you man.

- Yamas.

(glasses clinking)

- Yamas.

(upbeat music)

(people chattering)ú

I was just telling George

about your original thoughts

on God, so refreshing.

You don't strike me as

the religious type frankly.

The fact that we

constructed this idea of a God

is a blasphemy against humanity.

Leonard, Leonard,

do you believe in God?

Oh, of course, He's

an old friend of mine.

Do you believe in the devil?

Oh yeah, the devil's

just God when He's drunk.

God, when he is

drunk, see that?

- That's very good.

- That bloody good line mate.

- Yamas.

- Yamas.

Yamas.

(upbeat music)

(people clapping)

Axel your wife is here and

she looks beautiful tonight.

(upbeat music)

(people clapping)

(upbeat music)

(people clapping)

Hi.

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music continues)

(door handle clicking)

(upbeat music continues)

(wind susurrating)

(door banging)

(door banging)

(footsteps clunking)

(birds chirping)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(engine revving)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(gear lever scratching)

(engine revving)

(Marianne grunting)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(wheels screeching)

(engine revving)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(wheels screeching)

(engine revving)

(suspenseful music)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

Hospital?

(people speaking in

foreign language)

English, please.

Okay, okay. Thank you.

(suspenseful music)

(Marianne grunting)

(man speaking in

foreign language)

(door handle clicking)

(sister speaking in

foreign language)

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

English. Can you walk?

No, no. (grunts)

(wheels clattering)

(sister talking in

foreign language)

(doctor talking in

foreign language)

(suspenseful music)

(doctor talking in

foreign language)

(Marianne screaming

and grunting)

(suspenseful music continues)

(curtain scraping)

[Doctor] Your appendix has

burst, this needs to come out.

If not, you die.

Do you understand?

(suspenseful music continues)

(screaming) No,

it doesn't work.

(suspenseful music continues)

(soothing music)

(curtain scraping)

They told me you were awake.

Yes, I am.

How do you feel?

- I'm okay.

- Okay.

And Axel, the man I was with?

He's here.

We gave him an empty office

down the hall so he can work.

Thank you.

(doors squeaking)

(footsteps clunking)

(door squeaking)

(sister speaking in

foreign language)

(footsteps clunking)

(footsteps clunking)

- Hey.

- Hi.

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(typewriter clicking)

(basket thumping)

Wow!

Harvest, this is great.

Thank you.

What are you writing?

It's about the human paradox.

- How?

- How? Please sit down.

Sit down. You can.

I don't know, I see myself as

someone that doesn't belong.

So I travel and search for

something to fill this void

for want of a better word

that most of us feel.

We're tempted by the unknown

'cause we've seen

through the conventions

that the structures

of society are lies.

(upbeat music)

(birds chirping)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(upbeat music continues)

(table clattering)

- Say something.

[Axel] You're beautiful.

No. Like before.

Like you write.

We could all die tomorrow.

And in two weeks.

- Yeah.

No one would care.

(passionate groaning)

(church bell chiming)

(birds chirping)

(footsteps clunking)

(door clicking)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(door clicking)

(door banging)

(birds chirping)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(engine revving)

(train clattering)

[Leonard] I heard of a man

who says words so beautifully

that if he only

speaks their name,

women give themselves to him.

If I am dumb beside your body

while silence blossoms

like tumours on our lips,

it is because I hear a

man climb the stairs,

and clear his throat

outside our door.

(soothing music)

(soothing music continues)

(door clicking)

(Leonard speaking

in foreign language)

Mama.

(door banging)

(soothing music continues)

(footsteps clunking)

(drawer clanking)

Well, ignoring me

is not the answer.

Are you hungry?

You look, you look skinny.

You need to eat more

and stop fasting.

(utensils clinking)

(footsteps clunking)

So,

what was her name?

Hers?

The one who made

you quit university.

I don't know if

she made me quit.

I'm really not sure I

ever liked Columbia.

(footsteps clunking)

How are you feeling?

You seem better.

And when we spoke on the phone?

I'd been in my

room for two weeks.

You remember what

I told you, mm?

Whenever you get depressed,

when things get very

bad in your head,

you stop what you're doing

and you have a shave,

you'll feel better.

I was smooth as a porcelain

doll for the whole semester.

Imagine what would've

happened if you hadn't shaved.

And now I have a moustache.

I think you look, you look

ugly with that moustache.

I kept something for you.

(paper rustling)

(footsteps clunking)

I've never seen my

name in the paper.

I look terrible.

Look really ugly.

You can have your old

room on one condition.

You take a real job.

I'm not saying you stop writing,

just get a proper job.

I talked to your uncle and

you can start tomorrow.

Irving Layton called.

I said, you call him

back once you've eaten.

(shaver scraping)

(soothing music)

Ugly f*ck.

[Reporter] Two spans of

Vancouver's new Narrows Bridge

collapsed, becoming the world's

worst industrial disaster.

The six-lane bridge has been

two years in the building,

meant for completion

next spring,

has now been set

back by six months.

Three million dollars

has been added

to the original cost

figure of sixteen million.

(soothing music continues)

When the upper span

collapsed, the others

(talking indistinctly)

(door clicking)

(door banging)

You got me worried.

You know, when the phone

sounded more depressed

than your mother.

I'm very accustomed

to melancholy, you know,

but this was, this is different.

- What?

- It was like a mental

violence, like just goes and

goes and makes it impossible

for me to get from one

moment to the next.

I don't want you

to do anything bad.

You sounded really depressive.

I'm not going to

k*ll myself in America.

It'd be very unbecoming of me.

Don't say that, please.

You know, I went there to

reach for something more.

You know, I really

thought I could,

but I couldn't get with their

ideas of good and bad writing.

I just felt like writing

"c**t" every other word.

Wow, it's not a

bad word, is it?

Next time, maybe try

"vag*na." (giggles)

Something exotic like

"snatch" or "porky bank."

You know those people down there

you shouldn't listen to them.

They're all, you know,

self-proclaimed gatekeepers

of some reactionary

system built on morals.

f*ck them.

What?

It doesn't change the

fact that I'm going to work

in my uncle's garment

factory tomorrow.

Lenny, Lenny, listen to me.

You are a poet and

a f*cking good poet.

Your primary obligation is

to enlighten us human beings

about the dark abyss that

lies deep inside of us.

You have to make us feel

less alone in our depravity.

It's not good, you're

doing a good job.

Don't you ever forget you

are a f*cking good poet,

depressed or not depressed.

Hey,

- You okay Lenny?

he's allowed to f*cking cry.

f*cking drink a beer or

drink whatever you have.

(machinery clattering)

(soothing music)

I like this one.

It's my favourite.

It's very ordinary

in a very unique way.

(time card snapping)

(engine purring)

(birds squawking)

(soothing music)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Goran and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne, Goran and Axel

speaking in foreign language)

(Marianne, Goran and Axel

speaking in foreign language)

(Marianne, Goran and Axel

speaking in foreign language)

(Goran speaking in

foreign language)

(donkey braying)

(Marianne, Goran and Axel

speaking in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(soothing music)

Smile the while you

kiss me sad adieu ♪

When the clouds roll

by I'll come to you ♪

Then the sky will

seem more blue ♪

Down in Lover's

Lane with you ♪

Wedding bells ring merrily ♪

Every tear, a memory ♪

Thank you

So wait and pray

each night for me ♪

Till we meet again ♪

(people clapping)

Hi, that was my

husband. (laughs)

Oh, he's amazing.

I haven't seen you before.

We came Tuesday, so it's

first time seeing all this.

I'm Charmian Clift.

Hi, I am Marianne Ihlen.

Nice to meet you.

And you said we, we came here?

Yes, he.

[Axel] Yeah, but

it gets very hot

here in the summer, right?

You know, you can't let

your happiness depend on men

or you will live in a

world of pain, come.

Oh.

We are gonna dance.

- Oh, I-

- Yeah, I'll show you.

We're gonna dance.

(upbeat music)

(Charm and Marianne laughing)

(upbeat music continues)

(upbeat music continues)

(people cheering)

(upbeat music continues)

(in-clock machine buzzing)

(train clattering)

(machine rattling)

Good job.

(machine rattling)

(clock-in machine buzzing)

(machine rattling)

(clock-in machine buzzing)

(machines rattling)

(suspenseful music)

Is it possible to hang

yourself from a clothes hanger

I wondered over lunch?

If I did it in the closet.

Maybe someday you

would take me out

and wear me as a spring coat.

What's that you're wearing?

Oh, this old thing.

This is a vintage Cohen.

A little tight

over the shoulders,

but I like the way it

screams for attention.

(audience laughing and clapping)

You just have to tell them

you can't work there anymore.

Huh?

I can't.

[Irving] Why?

You think I'm low, you

should see my mother.

My stepfather just left

and went to Florida,

and now we're trying to find

a room in a nursing home

for my grandfather

with his Alzheimer's.

But we're waiting and

waiting and waiting.

And I'm a misery magnet.

A misery magnet?

Look at this.

What's that?

These are application

papers for every provincial

and federal ground

there is in Canada.

You see, we're launching

a rescue operation

to get you outta here,

what do you say about it?

Well, there's no

harm in doing it.

That's what grants are for.

You fill them out and

they get approved.

I'm gonna co-sign.

Excuse me.

I just wanted to say I

really liked your reading.

Oh, thank you.

What's your name?

Bridget.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

Hi. (giggles)

- Hi, Irv.

I appreciate it, I

have to go now though.

Yeah.

Hey, you have to

take all of them.

- Okay.

- Fill them out.

It's pretty easy.

I'm saving his a*s.

I'm sure you are. (laughs)

[Leonard] The last

refuge of the insomniac

is a sense of superiority

to the sleeping world.

I'll call when I get there.

Your troubled child, Leonard.

(soothing music)

(door banging)

(thunder roaring)

Dear Irving, I just

finished my novel.

It needs a rewrite

but being in London

crunching out three pages

a day without looking back

is a wholesome way to work.

I can feel the depression

lurking in the back

of my head still, sometimes

like a grey blanket,

other times like a barking dog

chewing on cords to my brain.

The rain was brutal through

six months straight,

and the fog was so heavy

that it sucks the colour

out from your skin

turning everyone into a grey

mass of ill fitted suits.

I really couldn't

f*cking stand anymore.

Can I be yours ♪

Can you be mine ♪

[Leonard] So I've

decided to reinvent myself

as a man of the world.

I'll create a version of

me that travels the world

as a closet optimist.

I met the only happy man in

London and he was from Greece.

(upbeat music)

(engine purring)

(upbeat music continues)

(footsteps clunking)

(Marianne and lady speaking

in foreign language)

(upbeat music continues)

You need help?

No, it's fine. Thank you.

You got all the

jugs in all the town.

Water is important.

Water is very important.

(upbeat music continues)

(footsteps clunking)

(typewriter clicking)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel and Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Marianne screaming

in foreign language)

(glass shattering)

(Axel sighing)

(footsteps clunking)

(Marianne sighing)

(crickets chirping)

(glass thumping)

(papers rustling)

(church bell chiming)

(dramatic music)

These eyes are

tired of lying ♪

It's time to tell the truth ♪

You're tired of denying ♪

A darker side of you ♪

It's time to turn it around ♪

There's just no

stopping me now ♪

You wanna play with fire ♪

I'll burn your

whole world down ♪

(upbeat music)

It's when the sun is dying ♪

It's when it all comes out ♪

The grasps of souls escaping ♪

Is such a lovely sound ♪

It's time to turn it around ♪

There's just no

stopping me now ♪

My heart is tired of trying ♪

To give you what you want ♪

I'm tired of

all the fighting ♪

And always being wrong ♪

Axel, your wife is here and

she looks beautiful tonight.

You are a lucky, lucky man.

You wanna play with fire ♪

Oh!

His wife?

Yeah.

(suspenseful music)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

[Charmian] Marianne, you

look beautiful tonight.

I always look beautiful.

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(suspenseful music)

(door banging)

I find it so funny that

people get so outraged

the minute a woman

decides to act like a man.

Her name is Marianne, Leonard.

(upbeat music)

(bodies thumping)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(face slapping)

(Axel screaming)

(Marianne shouting

in foreign language)

(Axel screaming)

(wind susurrating)

(door knocking)

(door clicking)

- Hey.

- Hey.

You still awake?

No, I'm sleeping.

Do you want some more wine?

Yeah, yeah. Always.

(glasses clinking)

(door squeaking)

(door banging)

(footsteps clunking)

[Charmian] What

are you writing?

Just something silly.

(wine trickling)

[Charmian] Read it to me.

It's very mediocre. You sure?

Yeah.

Come on, read it to me.

Okay.

(glass thumping)

Beneath my hands your small

breasts are the upturned bellies

of breathing fallen sparrows.

Wherever you move, I hear

the sounds of closing wings

or falling wings.

I am speechless because

you've fallen beside me.

Because your eyelashes

are the spines of tiny,

fragile animals.

I dread the time and your

mouth begins to call me Hunter.

(clothes rustling)

(kisses smacking)

(upbeat music)

(upbeat music continues)

(upbeat music continues)

(upbeat music continues)