02x09 - The Biggest Life

[bunniefuu]

[MAN]: State your names
for the record, please.

Hank Gillis, test pilot.

Arthur Conway. Air traffic control tower.

[MAN]: And it's your belief
that the sealant we used here

is causing adverse health effects.

Yes. That's why we're here.

[KEYBOARD CLICKS]

They were whistleblowers.

They wanted to warn people
about what Strata was doing.

You mean like us?

And I think that's why
Strata went after them.

I think that's why someone
damaged Hank's plane.

Wait,
do you guys think they k*lled Sam's dad?

It's getting hot in here.
I'm sweaty. Are you guys sweaty?

We can't prove that though.

Yeah, because it's all circumstantial.

Great word. Are you guys seeing stars?
'Cause I'm seeing stars.

But we can prove that Strata
knew about the cadmium.

So they knew it was dangerous,
and then they just decided to cover it up.

And now their workers,
people like my Pop-Pop,

are sick and suffering because of them.

That's our story.

You're right.
We're gonna blow this thing wide open.

They have no idea what's about to hit them.

[TYPING]

- [BRIDGET]: Hey. Thanks for coming.
- [TRIP]: Hey.

Girl, I know you got that e-mail too.

I did. That video is pretty damning.

Yeah.
Let's hope it damns them straight to...

- Daddy.
- All right.

- [SIGHS] Now, will it hold up in court?
- Have a seat.

[TRIP]: Do you think we could use
it to build a case against them?

Yeah, that's what we're hoping.

I mean, the guys Syl used to fish with,
they're all…

Uh, dead.

- Dead men can't tell tales.
- Yeah.

Matt's been trying to hunt down anyone
who used to work with Syl at the factory.

If enough people come forward,

then maybe we can file a
class action against Strata.

It's one thing for them to, you know,
come after our family or yours, but...

But if the whole community
stands up to them...

- They'd crumble.
- [TRIP]: Hmm.

Yeah, Terry Weaver moved out
of state a few years ago.

I can get his new address for you.

Strata made a powerful enemy
when they went after you,

- didn't they, Daddy?
- Huh.

Well, our family's been here
just as long as theirs has.

Yep.

Look, Frank and I are working on this,
too, down at the station.

- If we find anything, I will let you know.
- Thank you, Sheriff.

- [CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
- Oh, I got us, girl.

I'm gonna take this. I'll be right out.

Hey, Pop?

I, uh, got a little surprise for you.

Yeah, it's... well, it's kinda stupid,
but I think you're gonna love it.

Hey, Pop?

Yeah.

[INHALES DEEPLY] Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, it's okay. It's okay. I'm right here.

[SOBS] I'm ri... I'm right here.

[RADIO CHATTER]

- Dad.
- [AMBULANCE DOORS CLOSE]

Hey, Hilde. Come here.
Come here. Look at me.

[HILDE MURMURS]

All right, look at me.

- All right, Pop-Pop...
- Yeah.

All right, he's... he's passed away.

- Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's passed away.
- No, no, no, no.

- No, no, no, no, no!
- Okay? Hilde.

[SNIFFLES] Look at me. You know what?

He fell asleep, and, uh...
And he went peacefully, okay?

- [WHIMPERS]
- Yeah, he's gone. He's gone.

It's okay. It's okay.
I know, I know. It's okay.

[HILDE CRYING LOUDLY]

[SIGHS] It's okay. It's okay.

- [MOUTHING WORDS] It's okay.
- [CRYING CONTINUES]

[MATT]: I know. I know, I know, I know.

[HILDE SOBBING]

[SNIFFLES]

[WHISPERS] Hi.

That's it?

He's just… gone?

Come on, let's go. [SNIFFLES]

Hey. [SNIFFLES] Come here.

[BRIDGET SNIFFLES, SIGHS]

Okay. He…

[SNIFFLES] He was happy, you know.

And, uh… [SNIFFLES]

I'm sorry. [SNIFFLES]

He loved you. He loved you both.

He loved… [SNIFFLES] …you kids so much.

[SNIFFLES] You know.

He got a chance to love you.

And he wasn't in any more pain, you know.
It's the best we could've asked for.

[BRIDGET SIGHS]

But I didn't even get a
chance to say goodbye.

I know. I know, sweetie.

It's okay. He's not alone.
He's in heaven with Walter.

Remember, Hilde?

Yeah.

[BRIDGET WHISPERS] Yeah.

["WINTER SONG" PLAYING]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[SONG CONTINUES]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[SONG ENDS]

Sorry, Pop-Pop.

It's too late.

- [KNOCKS]
- [MATT]: All right, I got it.

- Hey.
- I take it you are

Matthew Lisko and Bridget Jensen?

- Hi.
- I'm looking for Hilde Lisko.

[MATT]: Uh, uh, can we ask why?

- [MAN]: She's being served.
- [BRIDGET]: Oh, my gosh.

She's been served?
You've gotta be kidding me. She's a child.

- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Here, let me see that.

[MATT]: "Strata Tech Industries is
seeking an emergency injunction"

"to halt the publication and dissemination
of Miss Hilde Lisko's article." What the...

What's going on?

I'm sorry, honey, but the, uh...
the court is stopping you from publishing.

- What?
- [MATT]: Yeah, it's a gag order.

Uh, it means that Strata doesn't want
anyone to see the whistleblower video.

[BRIDGET]: But don't worry, okay?

[STAMMERS] It's just until
I meet with their lawyers.

- We're gonna fix this.
- So, no more stories about Strata?

Uh, for right now,
no more stories about anything.

Well... well, can they do that?

- I know, sweetie.
- [BRIDGET]: Honey…

[MATT SIGHS]

Hey.

I got it.

Hilde.

Is everything okay? I didn't think you'd
wanna meet up right now, you know...

You know, because of everything
that happened with your grandpa.

I don't wanna talk about it.
Can we just work?

No.

[DONNY]: Oh, my God. Look.

[SPOON]: Whoa.

[HILDE]: Strata did this.
They ruined everything.

[SIGHS] Are you sure it was them?

[DONNY]: Yeah. We never lock the door.
We can't prove that.

Donny, I need you to take
photos of this with your phone.

We're gonna send out an e-mail
blast to all our subscribers.

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

[KEYBOARD CLICKS]

What's this? What's happening?

[SPOON]: Maybe the Wi-Fi is down.

No, it's not the Wi-Fi.
They blocked our website.

- For legal reasons.
- [HILDE]: It's all gone.

Everything that we've worked for.

Guys, don't even bother.

Look, I know I can't fix everything,
but I can fix this.

[SPOON]: Yeah, I've been wanting to
do a deep clean of this place anyways.

I'll go get some trash bags.

- They're in my...
- Work go bag. I know.

You just get me.

Hey, Matt.
You don't have to do this right now.

You know, he spent his whole...
his whole life in this town, Bridge.

Forty years in this house.

[CHUCKLES] Forty years.
[SNIFFS] Can you believe that?

- Yeah.
- You remember when, uh, he first got sick,

we tried to convince him to
come stay with us in New York?

And he just, uh... he flat refused.

Yeah, he wouldn't even consider it.

You know, he, uh... he loved this town.

[MATT INHALES DEEPLY]

This town poisoned him, Bridge.

[WHISPERS] Oh, honey.

You know, this... this town… [SIGHS]
… took away my dad when I was a kid,

and... and this town has
taken him away from me again,

you know, at years old.
How is that even fair?

It... it's not.

[MATT]: It was the poison in that spray.

That's why he was confused one
minute and then lucid the next.

God, no, he should still be here.

He should. He should still be here.

If the people of this town
just gave a damn enough

about what Strata was doing,
he would still be here.

- He'd be right here.
- [SIGHS] Honey.

- Daddy, it's okay.
- [MATT]: No, it's not okay!

It's definitely not okay.

You know,
I should've protected you from them.

Right? Yeah.
Yeah, and I should've protected him!

[EXHALES]

Come on.

Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie.
I'm... [SIGHS] I'm sorry, okay?

[STAMMERS] There's a lot going on.

[HILDE]:
I thought that maybe I had already written

the most important story of my life,

but this was bigger.

I became a reporter because of my dad.

Because he taught me to believe
in the power of stories.

["THE WIND" PLAYING]

I believe that when we share our stories,
it brings us closer together.

And if we're lucky,
they can change the world.

Stories help us see the
truth and help us remember.

They help us feel like we're not alone.

I knew a great man who worried
that his story might never be told,

that maybe it wasn't important enough.

[SONG CONTINUES]

But his story was important to me.

Sylvester Lisko was my grandfather.

He was a husband and a father and a friend,

and he cared about his community.

Apparently,
he was also a pretty good softball coach,

which none of us ever knew.

These facts tell you about what he did.

But they don't tell you about what
kind of person he chose to be.

[SONG CONTINUES]

My Pop-Pop could be stubborn.

I think I got that from him,
but he could also admit when he was wrong.

He knew when to listen and when to act

and how to be a friend to anyone in need.

He helped me see that family isn't
just the people you're born to.

It's also the people you choose…

the people you do your whole life with.

[SONG CONTINUES]

You choose those people

because you believe in the same thing,

- and you fight the same fights.
- [SONG FADES]

My Pop-Pop made me feel brave.

He made me wanna stand up
and do the right thing.

There's a lot I never
knew about my Pop-Pop.

But when we finally came home,
he acted like we'd never been gone.

And maybe it was because he
was losing his memory, but…

I hope it's because he forgave
us for staying away so long.

[SIGHS]

Yeah, I, uh... I know my dad would have
loved that we're all here together,

so thank you for that.

And, uh, yeah, I think more than anything,
this is exactly what he would've wanted.

So, you know, thanks again for that.

Your life was the biggest.

[SNIFFLES]

- [CRICKETS CHIRPING]
- [GUITAR PLAYING]

Will Strata ever pay for what they did?

You know, I, uh… I don't know,
sweetie, I really don't.

Hey, but you know what I do know?

Is that we are not gonna give
up without a fight, okay?

[HILDE]:
I know I couldn't save Pop-Pop, but…

all I wanted was for the world to know
the truth about what happened to him

and the other workers at Strata.

I want to keep going for him.

[MATT SIGHS]

Yeah. [BREATHES DEEPLY]

Look, you, uh... you still have your paper.
I mean, not right now, but…

you know no one can tell
you to stop writing, right?

Yeah, we'll figure something out.

How?

Well, like... like we always do.
You know, like... like a family.

Remember those family newsletters
I used to make for Pop-Pop

to mail to him every New Year?

Yeah, of course. Yeah.

You took ages figuring out the
margins and all that stuff.

Well, I can't use my website,
but what if I make a newsletter?

You know,
a special edition just for this story.

Well, um, the court order only
applied to The Magic Hour Chronicle,

so I think as long as
it's not under that name,

then hard copies of your article
could just sort of, you know, show up.

What? I'm, like, your
associate or whatever.

I know stuff.

Intern. But maybe I
should give you a raise.

[CHUCKLES] Yeah, well, you did say girls
undervalue themselves at work, so…

No, you know what? That's... that's good.
I mean, that... that's right.

No, really, we... we should do this, right?
Yeah, Hilde, go get your computer.

Izzy, can you grab us some paper
and get some pens and stuff?

Ginny, you wanna get your crayons?
Yeah, you wanna grab something?

Let's get the printer set up.
Let's start making this happen.

Step right up. Read all about it.

Strata's putting Erie Harbor in danger,
and your family might be at risk.

There's also horoscopes on page
if that's more your thing.

What? I'm trying to get people in the door.

- Hey, Izzy.
- Hey.

You should read this.

And please tell other
people to read it too.

Okay, wait, are you sure you
should be handing these out?

I mean, isn't Strata coming after
your family for everything they have?

Well, yeah, but, I
mean, we talked about it,

and the only thing we
ever really cared about

was losing my grandfather.

Now that he's gone, I mean,
this is what he would've wanted.

- He deserves to have his story told.
- Wait, what?

Did you say your parents sat you down

and discussed whether or not you
should fight an evil corporation?

[CHUCKLES] I mean, yeah. I guess.

Dude,
I wish my parents were more like yours.

I wish they cared enough to just do
something important in the world.

Yeah, well,

if there's anything Hilde's taught me in
her insane, backwards way, it's that…

you can't wait for the
adults to do something.

Give me the whole stack. Thank you.

[SIGHS]

[BELL RINGS]

[SOFTLY] This injunction is
nothing more than an attempt to

censor,
intimidate and silence Strata's critics.

[SOFTLY] Yeah.

This injunction is nothing
more than an attempt to

c-censor,
intimidate and silence Strata's critics.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[GRANT SIGHS]

Ms. Jensen. [SIGHS]

Always a pleasure.

[BELL RINGS]

- ["DANCING IN THE DARK" PLAYING]
- [NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]

[MAN]: And what are reflexes?

- They are defined as…
- [PHONE ALERTS CHIMING]

…involuntary actions or movements
that occur in response to a stimulus.

[TEACHER]:
So when you inhale… [INDISTINCT]

[SONG CONTINUES]

- I just hope nothing weird happens today.
- Is this true?

Yeah. Strata poisoned their workers.

And we think that my grandfather
might have d*ed from the exposure.

That's so messed up.

You're leading the walkout, right?

[WOMAN ON PA]: Izzy Lisko, please
report to Principal Collins's office.

[ALL MURMURING]

[INDISTINCT]

What was that about?

It's protected speech.
She provides her source. You.

The evidence is right there
in the deposition video.

That video was taken
completely out of context.

But that didn't stop your
daughter from using it

to try and drum up clicks
for her little blog.

I'm sorry, do you mean to tell
me you plan to sue my daughter?

For what? Defamation? Libel?

She's the one who wants to be
taken seriously as a journalist.

Look,
you can surmise why we're all really here.

We want a quick and easy end to all this.

Private settlement. Name your price.
This can all go away.

[SIGHS]: It's "effect," not "affect."

Um, is this about the school walkout?
Are we in trouble?

I did get a few concerned phone calls.

Word travels fast around here. Sit.

If students miss class,
I will have to discipline them.

It's school policy.

People only care because
it's making Strata look bad.

They're a big deal in this town.

People get very defensive.
They like things the way they are.

Okay, well, I just...
I don't understand that, okay?

They should want things to be better.
It's bull.

It's wrong.

I don't disagree with you.

But the rules are the rules.

Of course, if more students were
to walk out at the same time,

I can't suspend everyone, can I?

[CHUCKLES]

Thanks, Principal Collins.

For what?

[FEMALE TEACHER]: So,
financial crises like the panic of ,

it caused the prices of
agricultural products to t*nk.

So farmers who found themselves
in a state of economic crisis

decided that it was very necessary to
start what's called the Populist Party

to protect their collective interests.

If you'll please open
your textbooks to page ,

you'll see that many of the
social movements of this era

arose from this widespread
wealth of inequality.

And in fact, it also came to be known
as what's called the Progressive Era.

[TEACHER]: Ms. Lisko?

Is something wrong?

- [WHISPERS] You got this.
- [SIGHS]

Yeah. Something's very wrong.

[TEACHER]: Uh, hold on.

Wait. What's going on? Where are you going?

Class is not dismissed yet.
Have a seat, sir.

Really?

- You should say something.
- What? No.

- Should I?
- I mean, yeah.

This is, like, the entire school.
And they all came out because of you.

Hey. What kind of woman do you wanna be?

[CHATTERING]

[IZZY SIGHS]

Um, hi.

Uh, yeah, so, thank you all for doing this.

I know it, um…

I know it was risky for you all to just,
you know, leave class.

- Uh... uh, yeah, um…
- Are you gonna say something?

- …you know, um…
- Nah. This is Izzy's thing.

…in the middle of the day and all,
so thank you for that.

Did I already say thank you? Um, yeah, so…

Who here is tired of
being lied to by adults?

[ALL MURMURING]

Me.

Tired of being talked down to,
all because we're...

We're, what, too young to understand?

[SIGHS]

Who's tired of hearing that...

That you don't know what
you're talking about?

You know, they say... they say,

"What do you know about
climate change or injustice?"

Yeah, well, I'll tell you what we know.
We know what we see.

We're young, but we are not stupid,
and we're paying attention.

[STUDENTS CHEER]

Yes, Izzy!

- Whoo!
- Whoo!

So take this article,

written and researched by my very
annoying sister, Hilde Lisko.

[SCATTERED CHUCKLES]

[SIGHS] Strata shut down her website,

but they cannot stop her
from speaking the truth.

So just do me a favor, okay?

Take this article, take...
take a picture of it

and... and text it to your parents,
your neighbors, your friends, okay?

Because Strata made a
decision a long time ago

that profits were more
important than people.

They jeopardized the safety
of everybody in this town!

And if we don't do something,
they'll do it again.

No more lies!

- [BOY]: No more lies!
- Yes.

- [GIRL]: No more lies!
- Whoo!

[ALL CHANTING]: No more lies!
No more lies! No more lies!

No more lies! No more lies!

No more lies! No more lies!

No more lies! No more lies!

- [CHANTING CONTINUES]
- [STUDENTS CHEER, APPLAUD]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

[FRANK]: Hey.

Yeah,
I've been tailing the Strata fixer all day.

Nothing incriminating yet.

[TRIP]: Stay on him. I know in my gut
that guy has been harassing my dad.

I just don't have proof.

I need something concrete if we
want a sh*t at criminal charges.

This might be our only sh*t, 'cause once
Strata gets wind of our investigation,

they'll just stop using him.
Find somebody else to do their dirty work.

You got it, Sheriff.

It's good to have you back, Frank.

It's good to be back, Trip.

[VEHICLE APPROACHES]

[SIGHS]

[IGNITION INDICATOR BEEPS]

[EXHALES]

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

All right. Come on.

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

[CHUCKLES]

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

Rutherford, you rat.

[SHUTTER CLICKS]

[KNOCKS]

Hey, what's wrong?

So, when Strata realized what
I'd done with my mom's computer,

they told her, and, um,

she got fired.

Well, laid off, but…

[SIGHS] I never should've sent those files.

- Iz, my mom was so upset.
- But…

you said she'd agree with us.

That, I don't know,

people knowing the
truth was more important.

Oh. Hello, Izzy.

I'm so sorry about what happened to you.

They're being really nice about it.

Gonna give me a good reference.

Not that I'll ever find as
good a job around here again.

Well, okay, but they're not being nice.

I mean, Strata's the one that hurt people,
not... not you or Ethan.

You know, Izzy,
I've lived here for a long time.

It's not like being from New York City.
You know?

No one has ever heard of Erie Harbor.

We don't have any big skyscrapers to
be proud of, but we do have Strata.

And wherever you go and you say,
"That's the company I work for,"

it means something to people.
I was always so proud of that.

Mom.

I don't know.
I guess I just never thought of that.

I understand why your sister
wanted to publish her story.

But Strata built this community.

And it's hard for a lot of us

watching your family drag
their name through the mud.

[SIGHS]

Is that what you think too?

[SIGHS] I don't know, Iz. I'm just…

I'm worried about my mom.

Take care of yourself.

[INDISTINCT]

Truly a pleasure working with you.
I wish you all the best. Sheriff.

I take it you heard that
I've already filed my report.

Would you like to see it?

[SIGHS] It's unfortunate.

Maybe you should've valued
my advice a little more.

Your advice?

Right, your advice.

I've been subjected to more
scrutiny in one year at this job

than my predecessor had to deal with in .

And still, I rose to that challenge.

But from the start,
you haven't supported me.

Because a Black woman can't
be sheriff in this town.

Hold on one second.
I never said anything...

What was it you said?

That I'd be more
comfortable somewhere else,

in a more progressive town.

You didn't wanna make me feel comfortable.

You wanted to make sure everyone else
around here wasn't uncomfortable.

And instead of trying to help me
clean up the racism in this town,

you wanted me out of your way so that
you all could get back to business.

- But guess what?
- [SNIFFS]

I don't like the way you do business.

And I think your boss,
the attorney general,

will agree with me when she sees this.

[PAUL TAPS FOLDER]

[DEPUTIES APPLAUDING]

[DOOR CLOSES]

That was awesome. I've never seen
Izzy so invested in something.

- [BRIDGET CHUCKLES]
- You know, she seemed so sure of herself.

Did you see the way the
other kids responded to her?

Did you see that? I didn't even
know that was possible in this town.

I had no idea.

It was amazing. She's amazing.

Oh. What... what?

[SIGHS] I'm just... I'm worried, you know.

This suit that they're
threatening against Hilde.

S-Strata could drag this on forever.
They could bleed us dry.

Yeah. Yeah. I know, I know.

[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]

Wow, I... I don't believe it.

Hey, uh... hey, Hilde?

What is it?

Hey, you remember the, uh...

The air force guy that I
spoke to at the funeral?

- Yeah.
- Well, he knew the other man

- from the whistleblower video.
- What?

Yeah, Arthur Conway. They served together.

Yeah, apparently Arthur left town
right after Hank Gillis d*ed.

He'd been in the control
tower the day of the accident.

Look. Here, check it out.

There was no trace of him on the Internet,
but…

Arthur Conway. Air traffic control tower.

[MATT]:
He's the other voice on the black box.

You're right.

[DOOR OPENS IN DISTANCE]

Do you think he's still alive?

[SIGHS] I mean, I... I got no idea.
I don't know.

You know, my, uh... my contacts at the VA,
they just came through.

I mean, this is who this was.

Yeah. They were able to
get me a forwarding address

for his pension checks.

Now we know where the guy lives.

What's going on?

I think I might have found
our first eyewitness.

- [DRAWER OPENS]
- [RUSTLING]

What are you doing?

Well, I am looking… [GRUNTS] …yeah…

[SIGHS] …for these.

[SIGHS]

Passports. We're going to Canada.

- [AGENT]: Hello. Bonjour.
- Hey.

- Passports?
- Yeah, we got 'em.

- Where do you live?
- Uh, Washington State, Erie Harbor.

- Where you headed today?
- Uh, Vancouver.

Oh. All right, thank you.

[MATT GRUNTS]

Wait. [STAMMERS] What is that?

Copies of my article.
I thought it might help jog his memory.

Yeah, Hilde, uh,
you know I'm gonna ask you to stay here.

- But I wanna come with you.
- Yeah, well, you know the drill.

You know, I've, uh... I...
I gotta make sure it's safe first, right?

We have no idea what kind of state
of mind Arthur's gonna be in.

All right, let me just...
let me just go check it out.

Fine. [SIGHS]

But if he's just a normal old man,
I'm coming in.

All right. You got it.

[IGNITION INDICATOR BEEPS]

Hi. Hey. Uh, I'm looking for Arthur Conway.

Oh, um, he...

My grandpa d*ed last year.

Oh, I'm... I'm really sorry to hear that.

I can get my dad if you want me to.

I... Yeah, sure. Yeah. Please.

- You can wait in here.
- Okay. Thanks.

[YELLING] Dad,
there's someone here to see you.

[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING]

[DOOR CLOSES IN DISTANCE]

[MAN]: Hey, uh…

Oh, my God.

Matty… is that you?

Richie?

How'd you find me?

Dad?