01x01 - The Overlords

[bunniefuu]

My name was Milo Rodricks. Not that it matters anymore. I'm... I was an astrophysicist. I've lived more than a lifetime, and...

♪ ♪

And I can smell Pop-Tarts. I'm the last human being enjoying his last sensory pleasure.

♪ ♪

I got a favor to ask. Don't forget us. We may have many faults, but we don't deserve to be forgotten.

♪ ♪

Strike my first statement. My name is Milo Rodricks till the very last second, till the end.

[somber version of "What A Wonderful World"]

♪ ♪
♪ I see trees of green ♪

[screams]

♪ Red roses too ♪
♪ I see them bloom ♪
♪ For me and you ♪
♪ And I think to myself ♪
♪ What a wonderful world ♪
♪ ♪

Milo, don't shovel, baby.

They're hot.

I'm booking a pedicure.

Are you good for a pedicure, honey?

Had mine done last week.

That the one that exploded?

Nope.

Good.

Damn it.

Ed, you swore, man.

Diesel, come on.

[phone line trilling]

[dog barks]

Diesel!

[phone line beeps]

Ed, hey.

Hey, it's Ricky Stormgren.

[dog barks]

I got to ask you, have you been--you been drinking again?

I think you must have been drunk when you worked on that thing.

[static on phone line]

Hello?

[dog barks]

♪ ♪

[static on phone line]

Diesel!

[smooches]

Come on. Come on.

[whistles]

Come on.

[smooches]

♪ ♪

[sustained tone on TV]

♪ ♪

[static on phone lines]

Is your phone...

No, no.

You get a signal?

Hello? Hello?

It just dropped, all of a sudden.

Right there, right there.

There's no way.

Right there.

Up there.

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

[overlapping screams]

Hurry up.

Let's get out of here.

Get out of the way!

♪ ♪

[phone camera shutter clicks]

♪ ♪

[gasps]

♪ ♪

[speaks native language]

♪ ♪

All m*llitary forces are assembling.

Planes, helicopters, even model aircraft, basically anything that is in the air that is manmade is being brought down without damage to person or property.

Communications such as cell phones are being disrupted.

I'm standing on the Gianicolo Hill overlooking the chaos in the streets of downtown Rome where the m*llitary continue to assemble in droves.

It's frightening, and it's--

Communications do seem to be scrambling, but I would say that here in the United States, they've been reported over New York, Houston, and D.C.

And reports are saying that at least 40 cities around the world now have these vessels hovering over them.

London, okay, the picture is breaking up, but you can see a craft there.

They're downing all air traffic.

Aircraft are settling like--

Feathers, we'll say they're settling like feathers.

All over the world.

No casualties, everything in the sky has been grounded.

I'll tell you what they're doing.

They're containing us.

So, Dad, what's our angle?

Siobhan, do we have a headline picture?

Already up, Hugo.

[indistinct chatter on TV]

Still have no idea what they want or where they have come from, as they have made no replies to any attempts to contact them.

You see, what we're looking at here could be perceived as...

This is a national security matter now, so everyone looks to me.

No, no, no, no, listen to me.

We do not evac the President.

I want him to remain in the EOC.

[tires screeching]

What's going on?

Wagons roll, come on.

Joel?

Why can't you drive around him?

Because he's my son.

Your son?

I thought your son was dead.

Uncle Paul?

There's no need to be afraid.

Both: My name is Karellen.

I'm the supervisor for Earth.

There's no need to be afraid.

My name is Karellen.

I'm the supervisor for Earth.

I know that this is frightening and bewildering.

Please try to understand that we've come a long, long way to help you.

Annabel?

We've come to help mankind.

w*r, famine, inequality... these will be things of the past.

Suffering will end.

Injustice will end.

No tears, only happiness and safety.

Your national and local governments will still have jurisdiction.

You will run your water and power.

Your stores will be open.

Your markets will trade.

Your lives will continue as before minus one thing.

Injustice.

This won't happen overnight, but the process is already beginning.

It will herald the arrival of the golden age of man.

We're not conquerors.

We're enablers.

We're going to help you change.

I know it's frightening, but you are no longer alone.

I know that this is frightening, but you are no longer alone.

I know it's frightening, but you're no longer alone.

We're calling them The Visitors.

No, we're not.

♪ ♪

Cellular service is temporarily unavailable.

Please try your call again later.

We haven't been able to bring you this because we've been having transmission problems.

The images of Gaza are staggering.

The wall that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, all 400 miles of it, is gone.

Arab residents are mingling with Jewish residents.

They didn't actually resurrect the dead.

They appear to us as beloved deceased relatives.

Now, that is something-- [clicks off]

Ellie, you okay?

Ricky.

I just saw an Israeli soldier embracing an elderly Arab man who was weak and stumbling from the shock of it all.

I mean, this is just--it's incredible.

I mean, words cannot describe.

This is truly incredible, emotionally charged scenes between both Israelis and Palestinian residents.

I mean, people from both sides are hugging.

Some are even weeping.

Who'd you see?

I just saw an Israeli--

I saw my dad, of course, but, you know, they missed a trick because no way he would get through that many sentences without throwing in the F-b*mb.

You? Who'd you see?

Yeah, me too, I saw my dad.

But they are not moving, and they're displaying nothing that I could say--

It's like the playwright just walked on stage and stopped the play.

Remember that little old w*r in the Congo no one could stop?

Well, both sides are praying together under a flying saucer.

Hands-across-the-water moment, huh?

They're doing something similar in Sudan.

We hear there's some kind of conciliatory intervention between North and South Korea.

Look, we might be able to get something into the air.

Hmm.

"Blessed are the peacemakers," General.

Let's keep it in our pants for now, hmm?

Everyone was paid a visit by this avatar.

It calls itself the supervisor for Earth, Karellen.

How are we spelling that?

With a K?

Every major m*llitary conflict that we know about across the globe, well, they've just stopped.

There's some rioting.

Mogadishu went totally wacko, apparently.

Then they blocked out the sun.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, hold on.

They blocked out the sun?

How?

Localized eclipse?

I don't know. They're aliens.

It's world peace, all hold hands and sing "Kumbaya."

Us cynics have to swallow our pride and expect pigs to start flying any day now.

My Uncle Joey kept pigs.

Irish Grazers.

He used to hire a local choirboy to sing to them as they were loaded onto the truck, and these pigs, they loved it.

They were so peaceful all the way to the slaughterhouse.

♪ ♪

[hip-hop music plays]

[panting]

♪ ♪

What's up, man?

Okay. I want you back in the house, Milo.

Come on, Mom, it's fine.

All the planes can take off again.

We were just grounded so they could give us a message.

You're smart, baby. What do you think their weakness is?

You mean like a character flaw?

No, like in "Signs," when that little girl k*lled them with a glass of water.

You know, Janey from downstairs said the Army's everywhere now?

You think they're gonna launch, like, a--what do we call it, like, a air strike?

I don't think they want to hurt us, Mom.

Why come all this way just to blow us up?

Because they're aliens?

[soft violin music]

♪ ♪

[overlapping shouting]

Quiet down now! Let the Mayor speak!

Can we just...

[crowd silencing]

We're never gonna get anywhere if we're all hooping it up.

Well, what about food and water, Mayor?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Is there gonna be a stockpile for the town?

There will be no hoarding.

They've only settled over three cities, and as far as I can tell, nothing here in Missouri has changed.

[overlapping shouting]

[ball bouncing]

I guess they approve of basketball.

Look, we've seen what they can do.

The question to ask ourselves is what can we do about them?

As far as I can tell, not a damn thing.

Ricky, you've been a godsend to this town, the way you negotiated between the community and the limestone company last year, but this is a horse of a whole different color.

Yeah, exactly, which is why I ask, why are we even trying to guess what they're up to?

So what's your grand plan?

I say we sit tight.

I mean, they haven't zapped the head off the Statue of Liberty yet.

In fact, they've actually made an effort to make us feel comfortable, so if this is an invasion...

I gotta say, it's an awfully considerate one.

They need you all over again.

I don't know about that.

They're probably all sick of me by now.

You never understood the effect you have on people.

It's very rare.

Ready to head up to bed?

We can pretend to sleep.

When that alien, Karellen... when he spoke to you as your dad--

[static on TV]

[appliances whirring]

[dog whines]

["Let's Twist Again" by Chubby Checker plays]

♪ Yeah, let's twist again ♪
♪ Like we did last year ♪
♪ Do you remember when ♪
♪ Things were really humming ♪
♪ Yeah, let's twist again ♪

Els, you're not Annie Oakley.

You're from Greenwich Village.

[deep rumbling]

[dog barks]

Let's go. Let's go!

Come on, quick! Get in the basement!

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Diesel.

[glass shatters]

♪ ♪

[whirring hum]

[dog whimpers]

[wood creaking]

♪ ♪

Okay.

♪ ♪

You've got my attention.

♪ ♪

Ah! All right! All right, hey!

Ricky?

Ellie, stay down there.

Son of a...

♪ ♪

All right. [sighs]

If I go, leave my family alone.

This is ridiculous.

[dog barks]

Heads up!

You let no one through, you hear me?

No one.

[overlapping shouting]

Hold the line!

Stay back.

[overlapping shouting]

Get back!

[somber music]

♪ ♪

Do you like it?

It's the honeymoon suite.

The Four Seasons Hotel.

New York City.

[sighs]

Annabel and I didn't leave this room for three days, even though I had tickets to the playoffs.

Hmm.

Yankees b*at Minnesota Twins three games to one.

♪ ♪

What the hell is going on?

There's no need to be afraid.

My name is Karellen.

♪ ♪

Why are you here?

You were on the verge of discovering interstellar travel, but the stars are not for man, Ricky.

We need a messenger they can trust, a conduit between the Overlords and Earth.

Mm, Overlords.

I find that term a little bombastic, but hey-ho.

♪ ♪

Why did you make this room?

Why'd you send me Annabel?

Because she is still the most important thing in your life.

♪ ♪

No, I got a new life.

I'm getting married again.

All of this, this is-- [sighs]

This is mind games.

Look, you scare the hell out of us, and you knock my door down, and then you ask me to be your ambassador.

Buddy, you're not even in the right zip code.

I mean, you need-- you need the President, the Pope, the Dalai Lama, somebody.

Problem is,they have baggage.

You don't.

You are hardworking, brave, kind.

♪ ♪

Why did you make this room?

You're prepared to change and adapt.

Okay, take me home.

Take me ho--where's-- where's the thing?

People trust you.

You look them in the eye and--

Hey, if you want someone to push your agenda, then you go down there, and by all means, do it yourself.

When the limestone mine wanted to take over your town, you brought both sides together.

You built bridges.

You healed divides.

They called you--

They called me "The Pacifier."

It was... it was meant to be a joke.

Mm, I know.

I've studied all human languages, syntax, colloquialisms, jokes.

I get it.

7 billion people, and I chose you.

It was between you and an 82-year-old blind woman from Seoul.

♪ ♪

What are you thinking?

I'm thinking I want to see who I'm talking to.

I have to stay where I am.

There's a lot to tell people.

Look beside you.

♪ ♪

What is it?

It's a gift.

♪ ♪

What if I don't want to take it?

Well, then don't take it.

♪ ♪

I hope you can trust me.

♪ ♪

I might take it and just chuck this thing in the river.

If that's what you want to do, then of course, I respect your decision.

I believe you will make the right choice, whatever that choice may be.

I don't know about you, Paul, but these guys don't give me the warm fuzzies.

They're neutralizing the world's armies, and everybody's looking to us to make the first move.

The President wants to strike, Paul.

Yeah, what's the point?

We'd be ants f*ring wood-pulp pellets at a B-52.

The President thinks that we could--

They brought dead people back.

They stopped the world, General.

As far as I'm concerned, that puts them in the pilot's seat.

We need you here, Paul.

I just heard six hours ago they kidnapped a farmer named Richard Stormgren.

Jeez.

What do we tell the old man?

Tell him I'm going to Missouri.

[overlapping chatter]

Ran outside and approached to see what it was, and that's when we saw it.

Yeah, good on you.

The pod thing, it was over the mountains over that way.

Alien abduction.

We thought it was gonna crash right into their house.

The Overlords talk about peace, harmony, justice.

Then they smash a fella's house in and carry him away.

Well, people need to know the facts.

Then they can make up their own minds.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Still here waiting for--

[dog barks]

There it is!

Right there?

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

♪ ♪

[watch beeps]

♪ ♪

Ellie?

[dog barks]

[mechanical whirring]

Hey, babe.

Are you okay?

I talked with him... with Karellen.

What--what did he say?

What--what did he look like?

I don't know. I didn't--

I didn't see him face-to-face.

He gave me this.

What is it?

I have no idea.

[sirens wail]

♪ ♪

Mr. Stormgren.

Can I see you for a minute?

♪ ♪

[indistinct shouting]

Stay back!

[overlapping shouting]

For your own safety, move back!

♪ ♪

[baby crying]

♪ ♪

So what can I do for you?

I've been reading all about you on the flight over.

You're a smart man, Mr. Stormgren, a progressive man, humanitarian.

You better be careful, you're gonna have me blushing there, Mister--

Danlow, Paul Danlow.

I work for the U.S. Secret Service.

I can figure out who you work for, Mr. Danlow.

What you got there?

I have absolutely no idea.

They give you that?

Can I take a look-see?

You really should give that to me, and I can take it somewhere, somewhere safe.

I'm sure you could.

You're not gonna open it, are you?

It'd be one hell of a move with the Earth at stake and whatnot.

Look, I understand.

The aliens gave you something, and that makes you feel special.

Okay, no, no, don't do that.

Don't patronize me.

Oh, I'm not.

They must take you seriously, so I take you seriously.

That's why I'm asking you to hand it over of your own free will.

Uh-huh, with a g*n?

Okay, what if it's a b*mb or a virus?

You think of that?

Of course I thought about that, but don't you think that if that was their intention, they could have done it themselves at any point?

Well, think about it, Ricky.

So far these aliens have been overwhelmingly demonstrative and secretive, threatening.

They smashed open your home, forced you onto their ship.

Then they give you this thing and they tell you to open it?

Actually, Karellen told me I could do what I wanted with it.

Okay? He gave me a choice.

You're not.

[camera shutter clicking]

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?

What are you do--whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Just recording you on our property threatening us.

All right, all right, hey, look, look.

I've seen what these guys can do.

I'm pretty sure they can stop you from sh**ting us.

Yeah? Maybe they can't.

Maybe they'll just find another farmer.

Actually, the backup was an old lady in Seoul.

Hell, cards on the table, Ricky, you're a decent man, and decent men can be manipulated.

Hey, look, he said that they're here to teach us, all right?

To help us.

He said, "Hey-ho."

They're evil aliens, but their leader says, "Hey-ho"?

No.

You know what I think?

I think you want to know what's in this thing just as much as I do.

Whoa. Final warning, hand it over, or I will put you down.

♪ ♪

Okay.

[baby crying]

There's intel from hospitals as far away as China.

Same story everywhere.

We're looking at a 60% recovery in patients presenting with leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, pulmonary lung disease.

The first cure occurred the same minute that you opened the vial.

Maybe they are gonna cure everything.

You tell me. They're your friends.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

Ricky, you're the sole spokesperson for an alien race.

Have fun with it.

[clears throat]

[camera shutters clicking]

[overlapping chatter]

You got it?

Yeah.

Morning. Uh...

My name is, uh, is Richard Stormgren.

[camera shutters clicking]

Um, I have been chosen to be the... the intermediary between the Overlords and, uh, us, Earth.

And trust me, this was all one giant "Twilight Zone" to me too, so...

[somber music]

[indistinct whispers]

[clears throat]

Uh, I was taken up to meet with him... uh, Karellen, and I was not permitted to see him...

physically, uh, although I could tell that, in speaking to him, he seemed to be compassionate.

I will be taken up to meet with him at regular intervals and will be passing on... uh, passing on information.

Uh...

Karellen wants you to know that any w*r anywhere will be seen and will be firmly stopped.

Chemical pollution of the atmosphere will be, uh...

♪ ♪

Yeah, they're gon-- they're gonna deal with that.

They're going to deal with it?

Yeah, pretty sure about that.

The environment, uh, social issues, politics, I'm told that that's gonna be more of a gradual process of development--

Mr. Stormgren, just tell us, why won't Karellen show us his face?

I...don't know.

[overlapping chatter]

Can they stop death?

I-I can't--I can't--

Well, what does the inside of their ship look like?

Come on, tell us something.

What, you want to know what it looks like?

It looked like a hotel suite, Four Seasons Hotel in New York.

Well, Mr. Stormgren, hey, you must know some--

One of their pods just landed on the White House lawn.

That'll be for me.

[sighs]

Which way?

Don't worry about it.

We'll get you up to speed.

You know, it's only gonna get worse.

Half the world thinks that you're their salvation.

The other half wants to blow you out of the sky.

Well, you've had that relationship with your religions for long enough.

Mm-hmm.

Fear, disorientation, and anger is part of the first stage.

"Are."

I'm sorry?

They--they are part of the first stage.

Second person singular present active imperative.

My bad.

♪ ♪

You've cleaned up.

We are not as demonstrative as you might think.

We want to help you help yourselves.

Yeah, but a lot of people are gonna find that awfully condescending.

Tell me,is it condescending to send your children to school?

That's a good point, but here's the thing.

If you walk around calling us all children, you're gonna piss a lot of people off.

My bad.

[chuckles]

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

If you, um... if you'd have come here five years ago...

Annabel still be alive?

We weren't here five years ago, and she d*ed.

Mm-hmm.

If you'd like, I will dismantle this room.

No, no, we'll... let's keep the room for now.

Of course.

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

Ricky! Ricky!

Ricky! Ricky!

Ricky! Ricky!

[overlapping chatter]

Diesel.

[smooches]

Come on.

Come on, up.

[groans] Come here.

♪ ♪

This is gonna change everything for us, Ricky.

Look, I'm sorry, Els, all right?

Just give me... give me a couple weeks so I can wrap my head around what happens next.

It was Annabel.

They sent you Annabel, didn't they?

♪ ♪

Four Seasons honeymoon suite?

♪ ♪

And every time you go back to that ship, it's to that hotel room.

♪ ♪

I'm here.

Whatever you go through... just know I love you.

♪ ♪

A stonewashed hick from a flyover state.

Why do you think they picked this guy?

Because he doesn't ask the right questions, that's why.

What if they're playing the long game?

They can live for thousands of years, so they can wait, you know?

Make us healthy, make us sleepy, make us fat.

They want to buy the world a Coke.

[sighs] All lovey-dovey.

Oh, you can dress this up in as much hippie-dippie crap as you like.

This is an invasion.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

No disrespect, sir, but what the hell can you do about it?

♪ ♪

On my daddy's farm, the animals have all the food they want.

I feed the pigs red apples. [giggles]

And daddy gives them medicine so they never get sick, and they're happy when daddy and the other men take them away.

I don't know where they go, but I know they're really happy.

Paid for by the Freedom League.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

Their reaction is understandable.

It means we're making an impression.

Now, there is plenty of food and shelter on this world.

It's a question of distribution.

Put the right people together.

They will come because you ask them to.

And then what?

I don't even own a suit.

I don't know what you think I'm gonna accomplish that generations of diplomacy hasn't.

The politicians have failed.

Be yourself, Ricky.

Don't think like them.

Look, Karellen.

Hmm.

I think it would go a hell of a long way with people if you would just, you know, show yourself.

You wouldn't accept my appearance.

So, hiding out here, you plan to stop centuries of people hurting one another?

But you are already feeling each other's pain.

You share the same fears and confusions about us and about your future.

It's a healthy beginning.

So the Overlords have actually sealed up the Saudi oil reserves.

Uh, why?

Well, I think that we're hoping it'll be taken as an invitation to come talk with us.

Mr. Stormgren?

Mm-hmm?

I can show you a petition sponsored by the Freedom League, 22,400,000 people who want the Overlords to get the hell off our property.

Next time you cozy up to your pal in the sky, you tell him that.

Let's look at what's happening.

I never thought that I would see world peace.

Did you?

No?

We've ended w*r, and now it's time to end starvation.

Every day, millions of people are starving while the rest of us just throw away unwanted food, so we need to find a way to get that surplus into the hands of the poorest people.

There we go.

So we don't need a Navy anymore, right?

It just so happens we happen to have a lot of big ships just sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing, so we're gonna refrigerate the U.S. Fleet and use that to transport the food supplies across the Atlantic to West Africa.

We're just gonna empty them out and then fill them up with dinner.

Impressive.

No, it really is.

I mean, it leaves our nation completely open to att*ck, but I'm glad Africa will get her meals on wheels.

The Overlords have imprisoned our oil reserves.

Actually, they freed your supply lines.

These pipes pumped your oil.

Now we're gonna use them to pump desalinated water into the Sub-Sahara.

You cannot just commandeer the property of the Saudi Kingdom.

These people are dying of starvation and thirst.

Now, we need to irrigate half a continent, sir, and our think t*nk says that's the best way.

[clears throat] Oh, I am so sorry.

You guys got to be dying of thirst too.

Can I get you something to drink?

Hey, can we get these guys something to drink, please?

Yes, why has there been no water on the table?

♪ ♪

Gentlemen, cheers.

Dirty Texan muck, hmm?

Very well, but understand that this is not the wish of our kingdom.

We have always been in this together.

Now it's time to start acting like it.

Gentlemen, welcome to the Golden Age of Man.

["The Lark Ascending" by Vaughan Williams]

♪ ♪

[bird chirps]

♪ ♪

[ominous music]

Yes, of course, when they first arrived, I was scared.

Everybody was scared.

We watched them like we were shop mannequins, but after the shock, we realized that we had been living in so much uncertainty.

They had come to rule us, and you can argue the morality, of course, but they brought certainty and stability.

At least that's how it seemed to us at first.

I look back now and shudder.

We were all under a spell.

♪ ♪

Paid for by the Freedom League.

That's some fancy schooling.

He gets a scholarship.

He wrote this essay about the Overlords and sent it to some fancy college in Massachusetts.

Oh, yeah? Like what? What's in it?

My son has theories.

Never known the neighborhood to look so nice.

They still can't take away the U.S. of A.

Got to have independence.

Fourth of July, yo.

Hi, honey. How was school?

[somber music]

♪ ♪

There was a cocaine plant in Ecuador.

The Overlords split it up into its component parts, about 4 million pieces.

What they do is like magic, huh?

They've learned how to manipulate solids at a molecular level, probably using a controlled magnetic field.

It's not magic, Mom.

It's just a 30,000-year head start.

Your mind, honey.

It just blossomed when they arrived, didn't it?

What you gonna do with all that know-how, huh?

I don't know.

I can't do much with it.

♪ ♪

Keep dreaming.

Supper's on the table.

[crowd cheering]

The Freedom League's gaining momentum, funded by people like Hugo Wainwright.

Doesn't that bother you?

I had hoped the world had had enough of angry mobs.

The Saudis are pushing back on this whole thing, and I can't blame 'em.

People get angry when they feel impotent.

But I've enabled you all to help yourselves.

But, see, this is what I'm talking about.

While you're standing back there hiding your face...

I mean, look at this. Have you seen these?

I don't mind the centipede.

I'm not wild about being portrayed as a blue robot, though.

You know what they're most afraid of... is that you don't look any different at all.

I'm telling you, to have gone through all this just to be ruled over by humans--

We don't look like humans.

♪ ♪

That's new.

♪ ♪

As surely as it rises, the sun has to set.

♪ ♪

[indistinct shouting]

[sirens wail in distance]

[muffled hip-hop music plays]

♪ ♪

You cut this up with roach powder.

I'm not taking it from you no more, Fence.

You're damn lucky I get any.

And you pull your neck in, girl.

Get out of there!

♪ ♪

Oh, great, here comes Dr. X.

You're selling my mom dr*gs again?

Go back in, Milo.

I can handle this boy.

Boy?

Does this look like some boy toy to you?

Just give me my money.

Ah!

Aah!

Around here I'm the Overlord, and that's the truth!

Next to them, you're nothing!

Just a boy with his water p*stol.

[dramatic music]

Milo?

♪ ♪

Bro, what you thinking?

Milo! No!

Oh, God!

[cries]

Not you!

Milo!

♪ ♪

Not you!

Ah! What?

No, not you! [gasps]

Honey? What?

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

Honey?

Look it's not just our science that's been hobbled.

They control our justice system.

My news sites are reporting they just ex*cuted a young kid from the inner-city projects.

Well, we're getting eyewitness reports that say it was an accident.

Do the Overlords allow accidents?

Sure, the kid had a g*n, but they took him out right there and then, no trial.

You break the rules, bang, you're dead.

They are watching us all the time, and they are dealing in swift moral absolutes.

It's exactly the kind of thing that makes the Freedom League rise up.

They think they're God.

I'm glad you mentioned the big, silent guy.

Let's bring Miss Peretta Jones into the discussion.

Peretta, you're part of the Junior Faith Initiative, which aims to remind young people of the importance of remembering God in these unique times.

Oh, yes, I guess we have to.

The Overlords have destroyed God.

My mother was a devout Christian.

We lived in the poorest part of Brazil.

When the Overlords came, she lost her faith.

My mother decided that she couldn't live in a world without God, so she k*lled herself.

My fear is that the next generation won't remember there was ever talk of God.

It's clear they control our political process, our law enforcement, and though I'm not a religious man, Miss Peretta makes a very good point.

They're controlling the way we think.

[indistinct chatter]

[cheers and applause]

This is nice.

Just you, me, and the 5,000 by the gate.

Maybe I'll go take them some loaves and fishes later.

They'll like that.

[soft jazz music]

♪ ♪

So, uh, what with world peace and all that stuff, do you even need to go back up there anymore?

Babe, I guess that's up to Karellen.

♪ ♪

It's up to you.

♪ ♪

All right.

I'll tell you what.

Why don't we get this wedding back on track?

Do you want to?

I love you, Els.

Hey... I love you.

But you never would have if things had been different, if Annabel was still... and I can't help thinking things are different for you up there.

Karellen is not letting you move on.

He's built this dollhouse of the past to control you somehow.

Okay, just give--just give me a little bit of credit here.

You're distant from me.

Because I have responsibility.

I'm sorry.

As much as you may want, this is not about us.

This is--this is about the whole damn world.

You're my whole damn world.

♪ ♪

What's up there isn't real.

♪ ♪

[dog barks]

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

All right, guys, hey, come on.

Back on the other side of the fence.

[car engine revs]

Ricky.

[dog continues barking]

Ricky?

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Know what they call you?

The Blue Collar Prophet.

Cool, huh?

♪ ♪

Where are you from?

Mexico City.

How's the air in Mexico City these days?

It's clean.

♪ ♪

Listen, if you don't have him, you need to help him.

You can do anything, right?

So you find him, and you bring him back to me.

Bring him home.

What's she doing?

[lock jingling]

♪ ♪
♪ ♪

Coffee?

Want to tell me what part of your journalistic experience gives you the chops to play general?

I'm not playing general.

I'm a pacifist.

We are 120 miles from the nearest town, 150 feet underground, lead-shielded, self-sufficient, and off-grid, I believe they like to call it.

So what are you trying to do here, Wainwright?

You want to--you want to start a w*r?

Come on, you're smarter than that.

You know you can't win.

You're right.

We can't win a w*r against them, but organized resistance?

Now, that's different.

You see, Karellen likes to see himself as the benign overlord.

What if we stopped working with him?

What if we destroy our clean power plants, pollute our irrigation systems?

But listen to yourself.

Defiance.

If we stop following them, they've failed.

So you destroy every good gift they've given us.

Then what?

They leave.

What choice do they have?

So we can just screw the world up all over again.

I'd rather the world went down the toilet under our control than flourished under theirs.

Oh, okay, I get it.

So then--so this is about who's holding the power, right?

'Cause you used to hold the reins to public opinion.

Now you don't like that they've taken that from you.

You've got--you got to wrap your head around the fact that working with them is not the same as working for them.

Semantics, Ricky.

So what the hell do you want from me?

I want you to join the Freedom League and speak for us.

No.

Then the Overlords have their first martyr.

♪ ♪

[grunting]

[crowd gasps]

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

Did he plan that for the camera?

[static]

[crowd groans]

[door opens]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

Are you hurt?

No.

Time has changed.

Our time.

A second is an hour to us.

[watch ticking]

Remember how we used to talk about that?

How we wished that a night would last a whole year?

♪ ♪

Don't come to me like this, Karellen.

I'm not Karellen, Ricky.

♪ ♪

Then what are you?

A memory.

A ripple in a pond.

I'm not a part of them.

I'm a part of you.

Why would Karellen send you?

He could have sent anything.

No, he couldn't.

He's led by what's in your heart.

That's why he built this room, our room.

♪ ♪

No.

♪ ♪

[somber music]

♪ ♪

I buried you.

Did you?

One day you'll understand why I came back and why he built the room.

Ricky?

♪ ♪

What's happening to us?

Oh, come here. Come here.

♪ ♪

Look at you.

They shouldn't do this to us.

They're playing with your mind.

♪ ♪

You need to see who this Karellen really is.

Be safe.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

Don't think about it.

Just do it.

♪ ♪

You guys see everything, right?

Mm-hmm.

So then you could have stopped them from taking me.

We could have neutralized his armies, but we needed the world to see what human resistance is capable of, that they would m*rder someone so beloved for their cause.

Their spirit is broken now.

The Freedom League is disbanding.

We are doing this for your own good.

Let me tell you a little something about trust, Karellen.

It works both ways.

The World Federation is being founded.

Your nations will now unite as one.

The first stage is complete.

He's exactly right.

I'm just talking to myself.

You told me that you needed my advice just as much as we needed yours.

Well, here it is.

As long as you stay hidden back here, there's always gonna be people that don't trust you.

Human beings don't trust what they can't see.

They trust in a God they can't see.

Man needs a lot more psychological preparation before we can show ourselves.

So when?

Not for many years, but when the time is right...

I know you're disappointed with my answer, but we've seen the effect our appearance can have.

So then you have been seen by people.

Your world isn't the only planet we've supervised.

Now, your work is done here, I think.

♪ ♪

What?

So that's it?

I've so enjoyed our chats.

Oh--okay, just hold on.

You'll live to see that day.

It will be wonderful for both of us, but it will still be very hard when we finally appear.

I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I'm going to miss you, my friend.

Hmm.

Uh, Karellen...

- Good-bye.

Karellen!

♪ ♪

[camera shutter clicks]

Karellen was right.

We can't let anyone see this.

Just delete it.

Get rid of 'em.

[sighs]

I'm done.

I'm home.

Ellie Ryberg, will you marry me?

Evil can disguise itself as truth.

Whatever faith or belief you have, know that we're in this battle together, all of us.

We can never give up the fight.

No matter how mighty the Overlords may seem, we should never give up.

♪ ♪

Remember, there is an ultimate truth in this universe.

♪ ♪

I will never, ever stop believing that.

[indistinct radio chatter]

♪ ♪

Media magnate Hugo Wainwright, Jr. has been found hanged in his D.C. office.

The newspaper proprietor left no note, and there are believed to be no suspicious circumstances.

[radio clicks off]

♪ ♪

You seem pretty low for a walking miracle.

I never used to feel this different or this scared when I was in the chair.

That's 'cause your chair was a barrier protecting you from the world, but the barrier's down now.

You've got to stop hiding and work out who you are.

Is that what they did when they cured me?

Oh, maybe.

Maybe they think you got potential.

On the TV, they say that science is dying.

I don't want it to die.

♪ ♪

So what are you gonna do about that?

Well, I want to be the first person to visit their planet.

♪ ♪

Then that is what you'll do.

♪ ♪

Who knows why they chose 15 years, but things had got a whole lot better.

I got a place at MIT, graduated, and got a job in astrophysics.

Mom got clean and looked younger than ever before.

In fact, everyone did.

"Youth of Utopia," they called it.

The Earth was being reborn, so to speak, and right now was waiting to meet their guardian angels.

♪ ♪

Kenny?

♪ ♪

Milo.

Oh, my God, Milo. [laughs]

Welcome home.

It's good to be back.

You still playing scientist?

I am in the dwindling dodo profession that is astrophysics, yes, sir.

Man, I mean, wow.

Look at this.

Everything-- everything's changed.

Yeah, most of these are empty.

When folk found out they didn't have to earn money, they just cleared on out into them wide-open spaces.

It's pretty much all mine now.

Yeah?

Mm.

I mean, you looked after?

People leave this for me every few days.

I have music.

I have peace.

They did it, Milo. They did it.

They showed us how to make heaven on Earth.

Mm!

It's a big day.

Yes, it is.

Thought maybe you'd want to come to a bar and share it with me.

I don't need to see them, Milo.

What are you talking about?

I've seen enough.

You know me. I could never see enough.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

Hey, buddy.

Come on, Dad, it's started.

What's started?

Jake!

What's that?

Come on!

All right.

What are you doing?

Ahh. No hello?

Right there. Okay.

It's hard to believe that our wait is over, but it is, and it seems that the supervisor for Earth, Karellen, deems us ready to look him in the eye.

And here we are at the designated monument site--

I can't believe it's arrived. We're ready, huh?

Guess we are, Amy. Guess we are.

[dramatic music]

[overlapping chatter]

♪ ♪

[applause]

It's a beautiful, balmy evening as the sun starts to set on the 200,000 excited spectators.

Delegates from the World Federation are taking to the main podium.

It's fair to say that everybody's breath is truly bated as we wait to meet our guardian angels.

♪ ♪

There's--there's some disturbance in the sky.

♪ ♪

[cheering]

And it's here.

It's above us right now.

♪ ♪

People are on their feet.

We haven't seen an Overlord ship this close since they first arrived over a decade and a half ago.

Now, it does appear to be docking with the arrival ramp.

♪ ♪

And it's docked. The ship is docked.

♪ ♪

This is Karellen.

Let the children come forward.

The child greeters that Karellen asked for are now entering the arrival ramp.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

[gasps]

My God.

♪ ♪

[overlapping chatter]

♪ ♪

Karellen was right to hide himself from us.

Still, I think, uh...

I think it may be too soon.

This world will be okay, won't it?

Yeah.

Yeah, I think so.

♪ ♪

Hello.

There is no need to be afraid.

♪ ♪