11x11 - Rogue Element

[bunniefuu]

- [Grunts]
- Thanks, partner.

Previously on "The Walking Dead"...

- What do you want from me?
- I have a friend who's waiting for surgery

and I need you to get him
to the front of the line.

- That guy looks so familiar.
- Yeah, I kicked his ass in the train car.

Why is he serving food?

I need the name of your
town and how to get there.

This place is like a city from before.

Where people who can't
fit in get cast out.

♪

[Birds chirping]

♪

♪

What in the name of little
billy goats are you doing?

I woke up early and I
couldn't go back to sleep,

so I started reading your novel.

Hold on. I'm almost finished.

Well, I-I on the other hand
am nowhere near finished.

Um, you know, several early scenes

lack context intentionally,

which will be made
clear in the subsequent

- and as-of-now-unwritten chapters...
- Shh!

♪

I'm merely just trying to retroactively

manage your expectations is all.

♪

I love it.

And I'm really proud of you.

Oh.

Oh, I'm gonna be late for work.

[Chuckles]

♪

You know, uh, I was
thinking about you yesterday

while I was getting my
knives sharpened, and...

Should I be alarmed here?

Uh, no. The thought which sprang to mind

was decidedly not homicidal.

At any rate, this particular cutler

also happens to be a key cutter.

♪

I want to very much see more of you.

And with your job taking up so
much of your time as of late,

I just figured this might make
things a little bit easier.

In case it is not clear,
it is a key to my apartment.

♪

Stephanie,

I love you.

♪

I love you, too.

♪

♪

♪

So, things went well?

Well, to put it bluntly, [Clears throat]

I'm meeting her for ice cream at : ,

and I'm still uncertain
as to my follow-up move.

But I can recognize that what transpired

was a positive outcome.

I have so little frame of reference,

I cannot hold it
conceivable what comes next.

Do you love her?

A strong affirmative.

And she has said that she reciprocates.

Then relax.

I'm serious.

When a woman tells
you that she loves you,

believe her.

[Indistinct music playing on radio]

[Romantic music plays]

♪

♪

♪

♪

[Dramatic music plays]

♪

♪

[Doorbell rings]

♪

[Doorbell rings]

♪

♪

[Knocking on door]

Stephanie. It's Eugene.

[Knocking continues]

Are you there?

♪

Stephanie!

♪

[Knocking continues]

Stephanie!

Stephanie, it's Eugene.

Are you there?

♪

[Knocking continues]

♪

Stephanie!

It's Eugene.

[Rustling]

♪

Are you in there, Stephanie?

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

Looks good. Put it to bed.

♪

Hold on.

She says it doesn't look good.

Yeah, I got that one.

[Sighs]

"Trooper Davis has a story to tell.

He wouldn't risk getting kicked out

of Commonwealth for no reason."

That's right. He didn't.

We have a statement from his doctors

backing up his PTSD claim.

"Come on.

I don't trust the
m*llitary doctors any more

than I trust the m*llitary command.

Something happened to Tyler Davis.

Something that he blames
Governor Milton for.

Something worth confronting
her in public over.

And they clearly have a reason
for suppressing the truth."

That's one interpretation.

The other is that Tyler Davis
had a mental-health crisis.

And only one of those interpretations

has the facts to support it.

♪

"He spoke of thousands more like him.

What does that mean?

We should be..."

♪

♪

"We should be printing
what really happened

at the masquerade ball.

But, instead, you want to paraphrase

what Governor Milton said
in her press release."

No, Connie.

I want you to paraphrase

Governor Milton's press release

so that the next time, I don't have to.

♪

Well, if no one's seen her
and no one's talked to her,

how can she have called in sick?

I never said she did.

All I know is, I was told to be here

because she didn't show up.

You mind?

♪

[Conversing in American Sign Language]

♪

♪

♪

This is a private room.

♪

"Tyler Davis... does he have a lawyer?

What are the charges against him?"

♪

♪

This is C.A.

We've been asked to
perform a wellness check.

♪

Please open the door.

♪

[Keys jingle]

♪

She's not there.

Then I'd like to make
a statement immediately,

recount the details of her
last-knowns on the record now

while this is still fresh in my mind.

Sure. Come down to the station.

I'll help you fill out the paperwork.

♪

♪

[Growling]

♪

♪

How often do you take trips like this?

Not as often as I'd like.

This probably sounds
crazy, but I feel like

I'm better out here
than I am in the city.

It doesn't sound crazy at all.

A lot of my people feel that way, too.

You still see this as
your people and my people.

I want you to see how this place works,

because I want you to be a part of it.

I've done fairly well,
all things considered,

but let's just say I
didn't start out on the top.

Is that where you are now?

Hardly.

Governor Milton runs the city.

But I know how it runs.

Because you started out at the bottom.

I proved myself to the
Milton family a long time ago.

If you're in with the
right people, Carol,

the sky's the limit.

And one of the things you learn
as you're climbing your way up

is that there are two types
of people in any organization.

On the one hand, you've
got the mercenaries.

They're in it for the money
and whatever psychological itch

their position allows them to scratch.

And on the other, you have the patriots,

the true believers, the
ones who want to do good.

And whether they are or
not might be up to debate,

but in their hearts, they're there

because they believe
in the organization.

Is that why I'm here?

You want to make a
true believer out of me?

I read your file.

You're here because you're smart.

I think you'll be able to help me

deal with this assh*le.

What you get out of it is up to you.

♪

♪

♪

[Dog barking in distance]

♪

♪

What are we?

Drug dealers or smugglers?

♪

We're smugglers.

But it's not what you think.

This place is not exactly
a part of the Commonwealth,

but they need us, and we need them.

We use the poppies to make
opium for the hospital.

Things will start looking
pretty bleak there if we run out.

I make sure that doesn't happen.

But, sometimes, that means
dealing with guys like Moto.

I told you what was gonna happen.

♪

And I asked you to manage it.

I talked him into
processing this last batch.

Best I could do.

I told you they're gonna
hold the harvest hostage.

They want a raise.

They swear they'll
let it rot without one.

♪

Well, [Sighs] let's see what we can do.

♪

♪

Hey.

We're with the Tribune.

You're in number .

♪

Man: Yeah, he said wait for recon to burn.

Alright.

Man # : Alright, let's march it down.

♪

Man # : There's still some room over here.

♪

Man # : Let me know when we're ready.

♪

♪

- [Engine starts]
- Alright.

♪

- Let's roll.
- [Knock on door]

♪

Princess: Hey.

I haven't seen you around.

How are you holding up?

I'm functioning within
to-be-expected parameters.

Yeah, no, I can see that.

Uh, so can you let me in?

I brought lasagna.

[Sighs]

This is an empty dish.

Oh, yeah, sorry.

I didn't make lasagna.

People just always have to let
you in if you're carrying food.

So, what's up?

♪

When the C.A. gave up the search,

I decided to investigate

Stephanie's disappearance myself.

♪

Truth be told, as the hours tick by

with nary a bread crumb to be found,

I let my despair get the best of me.

[Urinating]

That is, until a chance
encounter put me on the trail.

♪

♪

Sir. Sir.

♪

Sir, I need to talk to you.

Please, I need to talk...

♪

Racine.

It's an apartment building
in Residential One.

Three days ago, you were seen...

At : in the p.m., you were
seen coming down the stairs.

- I don't remember this.
- Uh, wait.

Uh, sir, sir.

Sir, please.

♪

Someone near and dear
to me has gone missing,

and you may have seen something
that might help me find her.

♪

Where was this?

Residential One.

Three days ago, at
approximately : in the p.m.

Yeah.

At Residential One.

I remember that now.

I got called in to fix a clogged sink.

What... Do... Do you
remember seeing her there?

♪

Do you remember seeing her there?

Or anything suspicious

in or around the premises that night?

No.

We done?

I sincerely apologize
for having troubled you.

If there's a better time
in which we could talk...

♪

Needless to say, I greeted his story

with a great deal of skepticism.

There were no city service
carts on the street that night,

nor was he wearing any
sort of identifying uniform

or carrying any tools.

I found it very peculiar

that the one person I knew was there

the night she disappeared
happened to have

such a flimsy alibi.

♪

So I started following him.

♪

So, like, what's this plumber's deal?

♪

To start with, his
name is Roman Calhoun.

♪

And he is most definitely not a plumber.

He mostly conducts
his business at night.

His base of operations is a building

in the warehouse district,

which purports to be a
purveyor of plumbing services

and which, on the surface,
appears to be legitimate.

However, they never receive any mail.

There's lights on at odd hours,
when they're ostensibly closed.

And while people go in and out

with a fair degree of regularity,

it's usually just the same
four people over and over.

They usually arrive alone
and depart shortly thereafter

and frequently meeting in groups of two.

And on the one occasion
they were all together,

they were also met by a fifth,

who I also believe
to be the head honcho,

the mastermind of some
sort of rogue element

within the government that
Stephanie somehow ran afoul of.

♪

Rogue element?

Like, you think she was kidnapped

by the government or something?

Shortly after I began my search,

the man who later became known to me

as Co-Conspirator Number
Two, a.k.a. "Beanie Hat Man,"

showed up to Stephanie's apartment

with a team of movers,
collected all her belongings,

and took them to an unknown location.

Then, that same day, this was found

in Stephanie's file at Union Station.

It's a work-transfer
request signed by Stephanie

on the day of her disappearance.

The man who filled in
for her at the radio room

that day told me she
gave no notice whatsoever.

Such orders could not be
falsified or fabricated

without direct influence from
within the halls of power.

She knew they were coming for her.

When she eluded them,
they filed that false

work transfer to cover
up her disappearance.

They took all her belongings to recover

any evidence she may have gathered,

and now silencing her is the last step

in repairing that leak.

♪

If I'm right,

her only hope is for me to expose them

before they find her.

♪

[Birds chirping]

Good hatches this year?

Yes, sir.

We catch enough that I can
actually just do it for fun.

It's nice when your hobby
is also an apocalypse skill.

Amen to that.

So, I can't give them what they want,

but maybe we can meet halfway.

They get a raise, but they earn it.

Incentives.

Produce more,

make more.

Best I can do.

♪

♪

[Reel whirs]

[Lure splashes]

[Walkers growling]

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

[Slicing]

♪

[Man panting]

♪

[Flies buzzing]

See what you need to see?

"More than enough."

Then this is the part where you ask me

the questions they sent you.

"It's been a month since
former trooper Tyler Davis

has been in the hospital
under armed guard.

What is he being charged with?"

That's not one of the questions.

"Does it have anything
to do with the fact

that the woman he took
hostage was your sister?"

I was wondering when you
were gonna figure that out.

For the record, the answer is,

my sister don't have a
g*dd*mn thing to do with it.

"He was loyal,

recommended for early promotion...

By you.

And he wound up feeling
like the m*llitary

was being manipulated
by the politicians."

♪

"If I was you, I would
be really interested

in who I was risking my life for."

And if I were you, I might
wonder why I'm out here

digging for answers that we both know

will never see the light of day.

♪

♪

Hey, Eugene,

it's really cool, you know?

You doing so much for her.

Strike that. Reverse that.

I'm merely trying to repay what I owe.

Mm.

I made a promise to
myself in those early days,

back when we thought this would
all blow over in a few weeks,

that if I lived through this,

I'd pursue my dream of becoming
a science-fiction author.

I have jokingly related
that story to Stephanie

over the radio.

And she told me,

"You can't wait till after
you've lived through it,

'cause ready or not, right
now is all we've got."

She gave me the courage to do something

I've always wanted to do,

and when someone can
do that for you, well...

...words like love seem insufficient.

[Door opens]

♪

Mm.

♪

sh*t.

♪

Let's go.

You want to break into his apartment?

Yeah.

I don't want to get in trouble, Eugene.

I got a little job. I got a little bed.

I might get a little cat.

This is so bad.

His Tuesday -mile is ironclad.

He'll be gone for minutes.

Please.

Princess, he's the key

to cracking this whole thing wide open.

I just know it.

♪

[Sighs]

♪

Sorry we can't stay for the fish fry.

Next time, my friend.

Yeah, deal.

♪

Well, what do you think?

♪

He's robbing them.

I talked to one of the lieutenants.

He's pocketing the money
that you give them for raises

and b*ating them to keep quiet about it.

He went too far the other night,

and that's why they're on strike.

♪

They'll get their money back

and the raise I just promised them.

What about Moto?

Well, I'm not gonna go
fishing with him anymore,

that's for sure.

♪

Take him into custody now.

♪

Hey! What... What the hell?

Get your hands off of me.

Hornsby!

You mother-pussbucket!

♪

[Dogs barking]

♪

[Rattling]

[Thunder rumbles]

[Rain falling]

Hey, Eugene?

What's this guy do when it
rains on his -mile run?

Eugene: Well, given our
recent lack of precipitation,

I've not yet gathered that data.

Well, you have now. He's here.

We have to get out of here.

Count off his range.

What?

His range... , , .

I'm not good at that.

Just tell me how much time I have.

Dude, I am telling you
how much time you have,

and you have no time.

[Thunder rumbles]

♪

♪

Woman: I saw them on the ladder outside.

Couldn't have gotten that far.

Hey! There they are! That's them!

♪

[Monitors beeping]

Nurse: General Mercer,
how can I help you?

Where is the patient who was in M-

and the soldiers that were with him?

There's no one in M- .

I realize that.

I want to know what happened
to the man who was in there.

He can't be moved
without my authorization.

I'm sorry, but, apparently, he can.

♪

I'm truly sorry that I manipulated you

into accompanying me on this
lame-brained misadventure.

I fully intend to make
known that you had no role

in planning my scheme and no
witting part in its execution.

♪

Hey.

I just got back in town.

What the hell, you two?

Well, Roman Calhoun is
exactly who he says he is.

He's a plumber at Ruby's.

They've been a little
lazy with the paperwork,

but they do have a
contract with the city.

And, according to this
invoice, Mr. Calhoun was sent

to Stephanie's building on the night

you saw him there to fix
a sink in a work area.

But what about the kidnap
kit we found in his closet?

Those weapons are illegal.

For you.

He's a full citizen. He has a license.

A lot of us have go bags,

even people who have
been here for years.

[Chair scrapes floor]

[Sighs]

I told Calhoun your story,

told him about Stephanie,

explained everything
you've been through,

the mental anguish that it's caused you,

and he has agreed to not press charges.

But you have to leave him alone.

Oh, and sign that.

It states you were
emotionally distraught

and in a paranoid state

following the disappearance
of your girlfriend.

I'm sorry this didn't lead
where you thought it would.

You were wrong about Calhoun,
and you need to accept that,

because if you don't, I'm
not gonna be able to help.

♪

Eugene: I should have known.

The conspiracy goes deeper
than I initially thought.

Dude, none of this is happening!

Stephanie broke up with you.

[Scoffs]

That's utterly absurd.

Look, I've been thinking
it, but, you know,

what if you were right
about this Calhoun guy?

But the dude is a plumber, Euge.

You've got... Mira.

You've got Stephanie's
work-transfer order.

Moving guys literally came
and took her furniture.

Maybe it's not that complicated.

But the first bit of
advice you gave me was,

"When a woman tells you
she loves you, believe her."

Yeah, well, when a woman quits her job

and moves away without telling you,

maybe you should believe that, too.

♪

♪

The day my dad had enough,

my man just split.

And I thought that it was because

I smoked his cigarettes.

And I never saw him again.

So, who knows?

Maybe that was it.

♪

I mean, you can think you know someone

and then find out you
never even met them.

♪

Yeah, it sucks, man.

♪

But it happens all the time.

♪

I can appreciate how you
might reach that conclusion.

However, I'm privy to one
piece of data that you are not.

[Birds chirping]

I know how it felt.

♪

Okay.

Well, it was just a theory.

♪

♪

[Door opens, closes]

♪

♪

♪

[Conversing in American Sign Language]

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

[Indistinct conversations]

♪

[Door opens]

[Door closes]

♪

♪

Man: Hey!

[Spraying]

Aah!

[Eugene grunts]

I told you I heard something.

[Gasping]

♪

♪

I'll handle it.

♪

[Crying]

♪

♪

You played me.

♪

I knew.

You corroborated Calhoun's bogus alibi,

I was certain you were
involved with covering up

Stephanie's disappearance.

♪

But now I realize the
depths of my self-delusion,

because Occam's razor should
have led me to this conclusion

before a well-placed kick
to the belly ever did.

There was never any Stephanie.

Who is she?

Is she an undercover agent?

A con artist that owes you a favor?

Well, she was very convincing.

You used her to pull at my heartstrings

and to trick me into telling you

everything you wanted to
know about our communities.

Well, it worked.

She led me to the train yard,

where we were captured by you!

You thought I wa... You
thought I was an easy mark,

the most trusting of
the police, so you...

You split off my friends one at a time,

thinking I'd break, but I didn't break.

Then she led me to
the... The radio room,

where we were captured again.

Oh, and you certainly got
your money's worth there.

I actually fell for that one twice!

She's the one that
told me I can trust you!

♪

And I did.

She even read my book
so that she could get

any helpful autobiographical information

that might serve your needs!

♪

But now that you've gotten
everything you wanted, what?!

No need to continue the ruse?!

Is that it?!

♪

But you didn't see this twist.

I am gonna make absolutely certain

that everybody knows
exactly who and what you are.

♪

Okay.

And who or what is that, exactly?

The villain?

The boogeyman?

Or the best g*dd*mn thing
that ever happened to you?

♪

You're right, Eugene.

I did lie to you.

Just like you and your friends

lied through your teeth
to get inside these walls.

No. No.

But who's keeping score, right?

So, I did what I had
to do to get you here.

And you know what? You
should be thanking me for it.

It's not my fault you
people are too stupid to know

a good thing when it
landed in your laps.

You're just... you're just admitting it?

♪

I fell in love, and everything
I know about her is a fiction!

Look, we tried to rip the Band-Aid off

when we saw it was getting serious,

and I did everything I could to
get you to stop looking for her,

but you wouldn't.

And here we are.

♪

At least you can stop now, right?

♪

It wasn't gonna get better
for your people, Eugene.

They were about to starve.

♪

And now you're here

and your community is getting fixed

and you've got everything,

from concerts to cancer surgery.

And literally the only thing
we've ever asked of you all

in return is to be productive
members of society here

for as long as you choose to stay.

♪

So, tell them whatever you want.

The statement you
signed to get out of jail

says you were suffering from paranoia

as a result of nervous strain.

♪

Remember?

I mean, look at you, Eugene.

This has obviously taken a toll.

Am I sorry your heart got broken?

Absolutely.

And I'm sure your
friends will be very sad

to hear about it, too.

But in the balance of things,

I still think it worked
out in everyone's favor.

And they probably would, too.

♪

Oh.

By the way,

Stephanie's real name is Shira.

And she hates Iron Maiden.

But she genuinely enjoyed your book.

♪

You should stick with it.

♪

♪

♪

[Fire crackling]

♪

♪

♪

♪

Woman: Eugene?

Are you alright?

♪

Eugene, I need to talk to you.

♪

Tater Bug.

This is Blue Weevil to Tater Bug.

Please come back.

♪

♪

Who are you?

♪

It's me.

♪

I'm the one you were
talking to on the radio.

♪

I'm not convinced we need to
stretch our resources like this.

♪

Hornsby: You and I are
in the same sinking boat.

♪

So if Maggie says no,
Alexandria is cut off.

[g*nsh*t]

Why do you trust these people?

Daryl: Who says we do?

Eugene: Do you regret coming here?

- Do you?
- [Walker growls]

Mercer: Don't get too comfortable.

Remember, they're always watching.

♪

♪

What's this plumber's deal?

To start with, his
name is Roman Calhoun.

And he is most definitely not a plumber.

We were really leaning into
the idea that this episode

should feel kind of like a neo-noir,

and that there's things that are hidden

and that are out of sight,

that it's frustrating to find the truth.

The vibe of the Commonwealth is
that there's the surface story

and then there's what lies beneath.

"We should be printing
what really happened

at the masquerade ball,
but instead, you want to

paraphrase what Governor Milton
said in her press release."

No, Connie, I want you to

paraphrase Governor
Milton's press releases

so that the next time, I don't have to.

Connie is the type of
character that is like,

I can't stand not having the
things that are in the dark

being brought out to the public
so that we all have transparency

and we all know what is really going on.

What is the real story,
so that we can understand

and we can make our
decisions accordingly.

And so she is finding that
there's a sense of, like,

something is off.

People are hiding things.

See what you needed to see?

And that brings her into
conflict with Mercer.

He is frustrated, 'cause part of his job

is to toe the party line
and to make sure that

the image of the Commonwealth
is protected at all times.

If I was you, I would
be really interested

in who I was risking my life for.

He's actually taken by surprise
by Connie, but it does kind of

send his mind kind of going
in some different directions,

and I think Mercer is someone
who's deeply conflicted,

but he's a good soldier,

especially at this point in the story.

[Thud]

Stephanie...

I love you.

Eugene tends to be enmeshed in

a lot of fear or sometimes drama,

at times, lies, feels unlucky in love.

This is definitely happy, happy,
satisfied, at peace Eugene.

But of course, we can't let
anybody be happy on this show,

so that's ripped away pretty quickly.

Sir. Sir!

Sir, please.

Someone near and dear
to me has gone missing,

and you may have seen something
that might help me find her.

His state of mind is very, very bad,

'cause he just cannot
understand what has happened.

Eugene as a character
is very, very logical,

and I think he's had to kind of work on

his emotional expression.

But his head is spinning,
and he's like, well,

the only logical explanation
I can possibly come up with

is that there's a vast conspiracy,

and he's right.

That's the thing that's
the nuttiest about it all,

is that he's actually right.

There is a conspiracy.

It's just not the same conspiracy

that he thought it was.

It's really cool, you know?

You doing so much for her.

I think for Princess,

she's looking at the situation
very, very differently.

She wants to help him,
but when she walks in,

she's concerned about his state of mind.

[Exhales deeply]

So...

what's up?

She doesn't want to put
her life at risk here,

because it's good.

She got what she wanted.

You want to break into his apartment?

Yeah.

I don't want to get in trouble, Eugene.

I got a little job, I got a little bed.

I might get a little cat.

But that doesn't mean
she's blind to the fact that

there's other things going on.

It's just that for her,
it's like, "This is not bad."

Like, there's a way to make this work.

What the hell, you two?

I think what we really learn about Lance

is that there is an incredible
duality to this character.

And I think in some ways,
both sides of him are true.

I think that he believes
he is doing something good.

It's just that he wants
to be recognized for it.

Am I sorry your heart got broken?

Absolutely.

And I'm sure your friends will be

very sad to hear about it, too.

But in a balance of things,

I still think it worked
out in everyone's favor.

I think in this conversation,
you're getting the true Hornsby,

and I think the fact that
he shrugs off Eugene's pain,

that's, for us, the key to
understanding this character.

He doesn't let it get to him,

'cause he is so certain
that the path that he is on

is the right path and
that it's gonna work out.

♪

You still see this as
your people and my people.

I want you to see how this place works,

because I want you to be a part of it.

Carol and Hornsby are kind
of feeling each other out,

but really more from
Carol's side towards Hornsby.

She's trying to figure
out what make him tick.

I didn't start out on the top.

Is that where you are now?

[Scoffs] Hardly.

I think Carol, being a very,
very good judge of character,

goes into this job that
she's been offered going like,

"Well, I can probably get

something out of it for my people,"

and she's the one that made
the first overture to him,

knowing this is the guy

that actually makes the trains run here.

Incentives.

Produce more... make more.

Best I could do.

He's the one who knows how to

get the things that are hard to get,

and she's % right.

He's robbing them.

I talked to one of the lieutenants.

He's pocketing the money
that you give them for raises

and b*ating them to keep quiet about it.

All of it is about, how
do I gain any kind of

knowledge or advantage for my people,

so for her, this is a very
transactional relationship.

Take him into custody, now.

♪

Hornsby!

You mother-pussbucket!

♪