08x07 - Down & Out

[bunniefuu]

Family's so important to me

because I don't
have anything else.

I don't have
anything else at all.

What makes a family

is if they stick together
through thick and thin.

If everything
goes bad in the end

and they pull together,

that's what makes them a family.

They need to trust me
just a little bit more.

I'm gonna make this work.

Please, god,
let me find gold today.

Check out that rainbow, man.
That's a good sign.

You know, I wanna hang
onto it for myself.

It's gettin' pretty
rough up here, jordan.

these are the actions
of a desperate man.

In the merciless
mining community

of nome, alaska,

the only thing you can
ever truly rely on is family.

But for these miners,

gold fever can test
even the strongest bonds.

But as the old saying goes,

blood is even thicker
than the salty waters

of the bering sea.

I gotta get in the water
and dive,

so I can make my goal.
But I can't just sh...

Close the doors on my company
because dave's not here.

Rookie captain george young

is gearing up for another day
on the bering sea.

And for the first time,

he won't have his brother
watching over his shoulder.

Dave don't want me to get
in the water until he's here.

But, um, if that has to happen,
it's gonna happen.

I gotta make money.

You know, if I owned a frickin'
grocery store and he said,

"don't open till I come,"

too bad, man.

I already put it
in the newspapers.

I'm opening my doors. You know?

Well, here's
my newspaper article.

If the seas are good,
I'm diving.

It's another beautiful day
on the bering sea!

Now, let's get some gold.

George came to nome riding
his brother's coattails.

But when his brother left town,
he had one last request.

Well, I'm on my own.

Now, george has a choice...

Defy big brother,

or risk his 100-ounce goal
for the season.

Before I even came up here,

my brother was very concerned
with me diving

and how dangerous it can me.

He tells me, you know,
"you don't need to dive.

Just... that's why you have divers.
Let them dive."

and that's just not me.
I'm... I'm gonna dive.

My plan for today
is we're gonna head on down

to the mound east of town.

I owe my brother a ton of money.

Haven't even paid him
back anything yet.

But I'm doing the best I can

with what I got.

Today, george hopes
to change his luck

by heading to a new claim

that holds unique possibilities.

I have authorization
to go on claim nine.

And it's over on the other side
of the nome river.

It's normally
a little deeper water.

But I noticed on the gps
that there was a mound on it

that came up to, like,


So I thought, you know, "hey."

"That seems like
a logical place to find gold,

is, it might be
settling right there."

you gotta take risks.

You ain't gonna get
no rewards if you can't...

Unless you take risks.

For the first time
in his mining career,

george is stepping out
of his brother's shadow...

fire in the hole!

To make a name for himself
on the bering sea.

I'm gonna be minin'
'cause I love minin'.

Being a miner pretty much,
um, means freedom to me.

And, um, I love
the freedom of diving.

So it means a lot to me.

Can you hear me, george?
I can hear you.

This don't look like bad ground.

Pretty decent looking.

Let me know when you're ready.

Go ahead and power up.

Powering up.

I just wanna dig this hole
and see what I got.

What do you see, george?

And, bunch of red clay.

But I'm not seeing
a dang bit of gold,

I can tell you that.

I got a nice rock that seems
to be ledged right here.

Maybe there's
something under it.

Come on, baby. Have some gold.

Show me the money.

I'm seeing gold!

- You got it, george.
- There we go.

God, it looks so good.

Damn it, I just seen
a bunch of gold go up.

This is a pretty damn good spot.

Show me the money!

Yeah.

I've actually never
seen anything like this,

I'm telling you.

Yeah, damn, that...

That's probably the best
I've seen right there.

Well, that really
pulled me back up there.

Seemed to have gotten

a little, turbulent
down here, maybe.

What's the seas looking like?

Looks like it's
starting to pick up.

George may have
finally hit a pay streak,

but the bering sea isn't giving
up the gold without a fight.

Come on.

Getting pretty wavy, boys?

Yeah, it's getting pretty rough.

Come on, you damn hose.

All right, got it.

George, you may have
to come up.

With the seas getting
rougher by the minute...

Give me 5! Give me 5!

- We don't have 5.
- We don't have 5.

George's day
could be over already.

It'll be hard
to get me off of this.

Everywhere!

But the rookie is determined
to weather the storm.

It's george's call.

But I think dave would be
freaking out, man.

He would've called it.

Five miles to the west,

back in nome harbor...

Shawn pomrenke's mining
operation

is geared up for another day
on the bering sea.

But there's just one problem.

Trying to get my back back in.

It slipped out again.

Now I'm in horrible pain.

I have a...
A fractured vertebrae

and a ruptured disk
in the lower back.

When I was younger,

there was
a three-wheeler accident.

And the rack hit me in the back

and took that vertebrae in,

smashed it in.

Usually I can work through it,

but this time
I broke it for good.

For years...

Yeah!

The physical challenges
of mining on the bering sea

have taken their toll
on mr. Gold.

The boss is dying, man.

And now that the chronic injury

has reared its ugly head,

the entire pomrenke empire
could be at risk.

I'm in constant pain.
There's no relief at all.

So I'm looking for
somebody to fix me up.

In nome's small-boat harbor.

Okay, we're ready to go.

Staring down the back
half of the season...

I hope to god
there's a lot of gold.

It's do or die for kris kelly.

We'll see what happens.
I don't know.

Only god knows
what's gonna happen, right?

So they're putting
their noses to the cobblestone.

- I got a good feeling!
- God.

- Don't tell me that.
- Come on, man.

Today's the last day
of this cobblestone place.

You know, we're not
going back there

if we don't find
anything good today.

Nope.

The season...

You know, we can't take
the chance on losing our gold

and not getting
paid our royalties.

The family's bad
reputation in town

has made access
to claims a challenge.

And even when
they've landed one...

I got too many bills to pay.
You can't do this.

In typical kelly fashion,
it's always falling apart.

Now...
Let's concentrate on the gold

that we're gonna get today.

So you can... yeah, we are
gonna get gold then.

The family may be down
to their final chance.

Everything's
gonna work out great.

Yeah.

You know this is
a really good chance...

So can pigs fly.
You could win the lottery, too.

Forty miles east of nome,

the owner of
the untapped cobblestone claim

has given the kellys


there's gold on the site

in return for the opportunity

to mine the claim
for the rest of the summer.

Here you go.

There's gonna be big gold
at the cobblestone claim.

Yeah, it's gonna be
something in a little bit.

So after many failed attempts

to get big gold, I want success.

I don't want mediocrity,
you know?

I don't want little bits.

I want something big.
I mean vegas jackpot big.

Okay, let's get going. Idle up.

Okay.

- Money's wastin'.
- Let's do this.

We need to go over here,
prove ourselves

that we can find gold.

And if we can't find gold
for them, we're gonna be...

We're... we'll be screwed.

Hey, am I in front of the boat?

No. You're right on the
right-hand side of the boat

where you jumped in. Really?

Yeah, really. About a foot
away from it, actually.

The riverbed.

Nice.

Okay. Nozzle.

Andy, I'm telling you.
The whole bottom

of the ocean right here
is one solid rock.

That's awesome.

So you just gotta
punch some holes.

Hopefully I find it real soon.

Okay.

Why, what do you
think you've found?

I mean, there's little
bits of gold right here

in the black.

But I'm just not finding enough

of a concentration
to get excited.

Yeah, really, it's a joke.

I'm really only finding,
like, grams an hour.

Maybe less.

Three grams an hour

is less than $40 each
for the kelly boys.

You idiot, kris.

Not exactly the jackpot
kris was looking for.

I gotta find something better.

Yes, please do.

Find me something more than
a gram and a half an hour.

Really, I'm finding...
I'm... okay.

Well, I'm finding gold

just clearing the bottom
of this thing.

And I'm telling you...

I'm telling you, this is
gonna be a good spot.

We just need some real time
to make it here.

Just calm down.
Don't be a b*tch whiner.

I am not a for failing
or using excuses or...

I really just need to turn
this into some money.

These are the actions
of a desperate man.



- I'm seeing gold.
- Copy that.

Despite rough waters...

We got tons of possibilities
in this spot.

George young is


without his brother topside.

Right where the anchor is.

This is cheesy as.

This frickin' rock is awesome.

And the rookie has tapped
into a flush patch of gold.

I found us a little bit
of christmas, boys.

Now, if the waves would
let me suck it up...

But incoming wind gusts could

potentially overwhelm

the newcomer's
dogged determination.

Hold on.

Holy.

Suck it up quick, it's getting
rough as crap up here.

I feel that, man.

Tossed around a little bit.

I just wanted to stick right
there and just keep sucking.

The boat must've just hit
a big one?

Sucked me back real good.

That's much better.
There we go.

What the?

We just took one
all the way up to the cab.

Son of a b*tch.

Well, we gotta get off the...

We gotta get off the ocean.

The waves is just...

I mean, you can see it
just rocking up there, man.

I'm coming up. All right.

I'm going out to the ladder.

After 6 hours underwater...

- Whoo!
- Good job, george.

It's time for captain george

to check the fruits
of his labor.

Look at this.

Holy crap.

That's ridiculous.

I've never seen a mat
with that much gold in it.

I think I found the best
gold I've seen yet.

And the rookie's optimism
is sky high.

Yeah, I mean, my brother...

He had his thoughts
that, you know,

I might not be able to make it.

But I proved that
I could be a good diver.

Definitely proved that.

Check out that rainbow, man.
That's just awesome.

Boom!

Right there, baby.

If that's a sign on
how our year's gonna go,

I would say that's a good sign.

Forty miles east of nome...

What would you say, you're on
gram an hour or something?

Grams an hour.

Grams an hour. Okay.

Captain kris kelly's
last-ditch effort

at the cobblestone claim
is not panning out.

Keep going.
Yeah, 'cause in 31 hours

you'll get an ounce of gold.

Hey, shut the up.

Okay, honestly.

It seems like all the way up,

I'm seeing a consistent stream
of little bits of gold.

So it might actually
turn into something.

Gold is typically
found in concentrated areas

where cobble filters
the gold down

onto an underlying layer
of clay.

Kris hopes that following
a trail of gold crumbs

will lead him to a pool of gold.

This could be it, andy.
We're just waiting to hear.

This could be it right here,

the day we make history.

This is what I'm finding.
I'm finding, like,

a bunch of little flakes
all over the place.

If I can process enough
of this material...

There it just went soft.

And it went under. Watch this.

A soft spot could mean
a break in the cobble,

forming a funnel that's been
trapping heavy materials,

like gold, for centuries.

- That's what I'm looking for.
- Something just like that.

Something soft
and punches through.

Okay, I'm gonna suck it away.

Could be a good day after all.

No, I wanna see it too.

Bam, it's right there.

This looks like over
an ounce an hour.

Well, that's good news.

Wow.

Nice, light overburden.

And the gold is just
flying up the nozzle.

I told you guys, yeah,
we're coming back here now.

I told you guys this spot
was gonna pay off.

Now, we're gonna run with it.

Okay.

Hey, will you stop
saying, "okay"?

Will you try to something
inspiring or at least

put dad on the radio
for a couple seconds.

You're the man, kris.

You're the one that
led us to victory.

Captain kris, yay! Whoo!

Man, what we're easily gonna
make like 5,000,


that I'm going.

Kris said he found
the mother lode.

We're really excited.

This could really be
our year for a change.

This is really
what I'm looking for.

Kris may be seeing
gold on the bottom...

Coming up.

But to know if he's been
moving pay dirt,

he needs to see gold in the box.

Kris as captain
is turning out all right.

If this spot produces,

we're gonna have
a great year this year,

the best year we've ever had.

- We landed on something good.
- Well, good job.

We got a pocket
full of gold today.

I'm.

I know. It was a a long dive.

Let's have some peanut butter
and jelly and water

for celebration!

I think it's the best day
of the season so far.

This is the turning point.

We found huge gold.

It was just by luck, at the end,
that we hit something huge.

But that's... that's mining.

All you need is a little bit
of luck and hard work.

And you're probably
gonna hit it big.

Right now, we have
something established.

We can run with this and maybe
have a 200-ounce-plus season.

The way I saw it down there,
it was...

It was looking good, man.

We're gonna be
millionaires, boys!

We actually have
a plan for the future.



in anchorage, alaska...

hoping I just have
a slipped disk or something,

pop it back in.

With the weight
of the pomrenke empire

on his shoulders,

the pain in shawn's
back has driven him

to the chiropractor,

looking for enough relief
to finish the season strong.

- I'm going to see todd curzie.
- He's helped me out before.

Got me back on my feet,
got me moving.

Hopefully, he can do it again.

You can make a million
gold mining really fast.

But you can also lose it
in a heartbeat.

One little hiccup
will hurt us now.

You... your empire could
fall apart really fast.

So you see shawn's
lower back from the side.

We can see the old
compression fractures up here.

That is the area
where he has the pain,

where he has the problem.

And where we're going to get
that corrected biomechanically,

and you're going to get better.

Yeah.

Here we go, buddy.

Nice.

That was beautiful.

That was gorgeous.
Drop that down for me.

Hands on your lap.

Yeah. That was beautiful.

That was gorgeous.

We're gonna do one more, shawn.

Beautiful, baby, beautiful.

Chiropractor got me adjusted,

but...

still hurting.

Trying to get my back
to relax and...

Get enough...

Enough relief so I can,
get to where I'm going.

I gotta... my guys need me.
I need to get back to nome.

I need to... need to get back.

I mean, I'm supposed
to be leading the team, and...

I ain't leading nobody
through laying on my back.

I'm used to doing everything.

Being right there, hands-on.
Getting it done.

But now with this,
you could lose it all.

It's stressful.
You start thinking

about how many people
you gotta take care of,

and how much gold you
have to find

to take care
of all those people.

Sometimes
it's a little mind-boggling.

Faced with
season-ending back pain,

shawn faces a difficult choice.

Really pisses me off.

A choice that could
end his mining career forever.

I think I'm gonna have
to get surgery.

In the heart of nome...

- Will you try not to slap...
- Yeah, I got it, kris.

Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm just saying, you know,

like, every little bit counts.

After a successful
prospecting mission

on the remote
cobblestone claim...

Here, let me do this.
Like, you're...

You, you don't have the...

The temperament to do this.

Temperament? Finesse, you mean.

Look, it's really important

this gold cleanup
goes really well.

You know, like...
What do you think I'm doing?

Captain kris kelly
needs a big payday

to show the claim owner
he's got a nose for gold.

Just care a little bit more.

Okay, here.

Loving spoonful.

Hey, you're the captain
on the boat.

Here you're just kris,
so chill out over here, okay?

We pushed it hard.
We made it work.

We made gold.
I think this the...

The start that the kellys need.

Risk versus reward
finally worked today.

The reward is here.
I knew this was gonna work.

We just hit the tip
of something.

This is gonna turn into
something enormous.

Now we just need to put
some real time in,

and we'll...
Everything will work out.

Whoa, this is a big moment
right here for the kellys.

Okay. Okay.

I need you to pay
attention for this.

Done with that, so...
When you said you were

guys, this is
serious business here.

You're handling
more money than...

Than you're worth.
Than we're both probably worth.

Here you go.

There's one, there's two.

And three. And four.

And five, and six.

And seven. And eight.

And watch out, nine, 10, 11.

Come on, 12, 12, 12.

Eleven and three quarter ounces.

Eleven and three quarter ounces.

That's pretty good.
That's big money.


is worth over $15,000.

That's pretty good.
That's really good.

For the amount of time
we put in there

and what we actually did...

Yeah, no, you guys
did a really good job.

I'm really happy.
We did a great job.

This is a team effort.

And if we put
a little bit more in...

Into the operation,
we're gonna k*ll it.

That's enough to get
kris' season back on track

and prove to the claim owner

that the kellys
have what it takes.

I was beginning to feel like
my captaincy was going down.

And today this guy's gonna see
that he made the right decision,

trusting the kellys
to go there and work for him.

He's gonna be happy.
He's gonna see that gold,

he's gonna feel warmness
in his heart

and we're gonna move
together as a team.

With a chance to escape
their shady reputation...

- Here he comes.
- Hey, how's it going?

Going good.

Yeah, we're on
a little something.

Yeah, let me see it.

The kellys meet
with claim owner ed gilroy

to show off
their impressive haul.

- That's pretty nice?
- Yeah.

We haven't weighed up
your percentage yet, you know,

but this is just the tip
of the iceberg right here.

You know, if we get down there,
we put in a couple weeks,

you're gonna get rich over this.

And you're gonna be happy.
Everybody's gonna be happy.

Well, you know,
I don't wanna... I don't...

I want you guys
to stop out there right now.

What do you mean? The kellys...

I wanna... I wanna hang
onto it for myself.

Yeah, no, you said go down
there and prospect the area,

and get you some markers.
That's what we agreed on.

And, you know, like...
You prospected.

We did a good job that we could
stay there all season.

And we're still prospecting.
No, that's what you said.

I said I wanted
to keep it for myself.

Look, why the
would we go 11 miles

to prospect a spot
for 3 days and...

To find me some gold.

That's bull.

You know, there's...
Well, I... I appreciate

you bringing the gold
and being upfront

and all that, you know,
but I'm just being upfront too.

You know, I told you
in the beginning...

We're trying to do
the right thing right now,

and trying to be honest
and working together.

I appreciate it.
But, you know, like...

Like I said, right now,
you know,

I just want you guys
off the claim, okay?

Okay, well, I wanna tell you
before you go,

you're really screwing
my family by doing this.

Well, I hope you understand.

I just, right now,
I just want you to stop.

You know,
stop dredging there, okay?

- See you.
- Thanks. Thanks...

Well, this is screwed.

Well...


you know what, if that guy was

I would have kicked his head in.

You know, like,
a realization is setting in.

A realization of failure.

I just can't seem to make it
to that next step

where we're, like, successful.

And I'm kind of
a little stressed out.

You know what it means?

We gotta go find us
another claim right now.

My god. I'm so sick of it.

Across town,

in nome's small boat harbor...

We got pushed off the water.

I mean, the rollers
were coming up on...

Up into the slough spots.

We had to call it.

George young's dive
may have been cut short...

k*ll it, george!

But the rough sea isn't
the only surprise of the day.

I didn't know you were coming.
Now you know.

Yeah, we know!

- Did you get any gold?
- Yeah.

It's full.

George's brother,
dave, is back in town,

and he's got one
question on his mind.

- Hey, buckwheat!
- What?

'Sup, buckwheat?

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's a good thing, man.
It's cool.

Just not good.

Yes, sir.

I come from a family of 10 kids,

and every single one of us
care the same for each other,

you know?

My brother, dave, you know, if
something was to happen to me

he would feel like...
Like he did it.

You know, he put me
in that position.

And he didn't. I'm an adult.

I can make my own decisions.

In nome, the solution
for any family squabble...

Let's go clean this out, george.

Must be the money!

Is gold.

I'm hoping there's 15.

I'm gonna go with an even 10.

Ten ounces would definitely be
a step in the right direction.

I'm excited, but I don't
wanna have the letdown

like I did on the last one.

With the last dismal cleanup

in the back of his mind...

Success is not a guarantee
until they've weighed it up.

Finding anything in there, dave?

I don't know yet.

But it's not just prove-it
money for the new captain.

I don't wanna look.

As he needs a solid cleanup

to begin paying back
his $70,000 debt.

I don't know any more, george.

Six ounces?

Why is the number going down?

Yeah, I'm feeling the pressure
really bad right now.

I really will not be
super excited

if it's anything under 10.

- Ready?
- Yeah, come on, george.

A great businessman
and a con man...

What separates them, really?

It's one guy's calling
the guy a con man,

the other guy's saying,

"he does great business,
you know?"

there's nothin' wrong
with this hose.

You know, it's just
the way you look at it.

If you're in
the business yourself,

you'll say, "man, that guy."

It was a great hustle."
you know what I mean?

Why, I admire him.
You know what I mean?

But if you're not
in the business, you'll go,

"what a thief."

man, those are the hustlers.

Thieves.

You know?
I gotta get to that level.

You know me, I'm trying
to get to that level fast.

It might seem shady
to the average man.

But that's how we
do business in nome.

In nome, alaska...

I really will not be
super excited

if it's anything under 10.

After a disappointing
start to the season,

rookie captain george young

is in desperate need
of a big payday.

- Ready?
- Yeah, come on, george.

- One, two...
- One... Two...

Four...

- Five...
- Five...

Six...

Seven...

Eight...

Nine...

Come on, come on, 10! Ten!

- Whoo!
- Whoo!

Got it!

Right on the money! 10.38.

Yeah! 10.38!

Now them are the highs
and the lows in nome, you know?

You got people in your ear
giving you some lows.

But when I seen that scale
go over 10 ounces,

it... it was pretty awesome.



is worth over $13,000,

enough to put a dent
in george's debt

as well as earn the confidence

and respect of his brother.

It wasn't no five or six.

I lost my 20. Thank god.

- Who had the highest bet?
- Guys...

- Could be good or bad.
- Look at this, though.

- That's a good start.
- We just did a 10-ounce week.

And with one golden pour,

george takes his first step out
from his brother's shadow.

Dave. This was my third.

But thank you.

- Thanks.
- Thanks.

Get me going on
this business, man.

Give me more.

That's my first payment.

- Here's 3,000.
- Keep going.

Thirty-five hundred bucks.
Thanks.

- Good job, buddy.
- Gonna keep it up.

We worked hard for that, man.



I feel like somebody's
got a knife in my back.

And is twisting
it back and forth

and shoving it in and out.

Still down and out in anchorage,

shawn pomrenke has reached out
to his brother, eric,

to help him get the medical
attention he needs.

Gonna have to get
something done,

so we'll get that taken care of,

and anything you need,
far as helping with the guys

in nome or whatever,
just let me know

and I'll take care
of that for you,

so you can just relax your back

and figure out what the plan is,
where we're gonna go from here

and how we're gonna
get you back home here.

Well, let's see what
this doctor says.

I went in, got oral steroids

to try to get
the inflammation down.

Doesn't seem to be working.

So the next thing is a epidural,

where they sh**t
the steroids into my spine.

The next step is surgery

and fuse
the ruptured disk together

with rods and clamps.

But that's 4 months of recovery.

And, I mean,


I don't even know if I'll be
able to make it back to nome.

All right.

I love gold mining.
It's a great job.

- To anchorage we go.
- Let's go.

It just took its toll
on my body.

I just wanna get out there
and find some more gold.

I can't go on like this.

I don't think you have
any other choices, dude.

So...

Time to get it done,
so let's see

if we can make
something happen in here.

Sure is nice having
you around, brother.

Any time, man.

That's what brothers do.

You got everything?

- Yeah.
- The bucket of pills?

Yep, yep.

Give me a second.

It might go away.

It's... it's over.

Cut.

While shawn
is out of commission,

the inland mine manages

to keep the pomrenke empire
marching

toward their $3 million goal.

Desperate times
call for desperate measures.

- Hey, son!
- Hey, man!

That's the sound of money!

Finally things are going my way!

- Aah!
- You all right?

I can't see a damn thing
down here.

I can't see 2 inches
in front of me!

What the...

This is your last chance.