HULU PRESENTS
What brings you home?
Kidnapping. ‐ Oh, fuck!
Nothing else to call what they did to that kid.
Do you think that's why you came back?
'Cause it reminded you?
Henry? ‐
No frostbite. You been inside somewhere?
I've had a beautiful experience.
‐ And I heard it. ‐ What?
You're saying my dad believed he could hear God?
Other heres. Other nows.
All possible pasts, all possible presents‐‐
the schisma is the sound of the universe
trying to reconcile them.
"Never again let him see the light of day."
That's what God told me.
You know me.
I don't know anything about you.
You do. And I know you.
Out there in the woods.
That's where you died.
Do you hear it?
We have to go to the woods.
Why did you ask for me?
Young man...
who are you?
Henry Deaver.
God turned His back on this place.
‐ ‐
Abandoned us‐‐ that's what people say.
Or they say He's punishing us for our sins,
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
You remember the helicopter crash.
‐ ‐ How about the school bus?
People say, "It wasn't me!"
"It was this place."
And the thing is...
they're right.
When I was a boy my mother told me a story...
‐ ‐ about resurrection.
She was young...
alone...
and convinced the Devil had a hold of me.
‐ ‐ And maybe he did.
Or maybe he had a hold of my mother.
But then...
a miracle happened.
The Lord, He saved both of us that day.
He brought me back from the dead,
like His only son.
I dedicated the rest of my life to His grace,
to fighting this great battle,
to hearing His voice.
"Let me stand athwart the door," I told Him.
But God,
He doesn't take requests.
So I waited... for years...
...for instructions.
And then one day...
...one terrible day...
God answered.
‐ ‐
Continuity. It's hard work.
We don't notice we're doing it,
but we are placing events in sequence
so that our lives make sense.
When continuity is interrupted,
everything starts to slide.
Higher‐order functions become challenging.
Reason and judgment erode.
Can't manage finances, drive a car,
planning and problem‐solving gone.
And ultimately, confusion with time and space.
That is the story of Alzheimer's disease.
Or rather, it has been... until now.
This here is Puck.
Now, Puck was born with a strong genetic predisposition
for FCD‐‐ Feline Cognitive Dysfunction.
Very similar to Alzheimer's pathologically.
Apathy, confusion, spatial disorientation.
That was before we put our hippocampal implant
in his brain.
But now, Puck here is a miracle.
He remembers where his food bowl is,
what time the sexy tabby next door is basking on the patio.
Puck is finally in command of his arch‐narrative again.
You see, Alzheimer's jumbles your story.
‐ ‐ And, um...
well, it turns off the lights.
We turn the lights back on.
You actually said that
with a straight face?
Yeah, I mean,
we could be profitable in three years.
That is why people like me
do not let people like you handle the money.
Hey, it's the 20th today, isn't it?
‐ Aren't you supposed to... ‐ Yes, tomorrow.
‐ Tomorrow? OK. ‐ Patience is a...
‐ It's not my strong suit. ‐
Hold on.
Hey. Is‐‐ Is everything OK?
Not exactly.
I've got some bad news.
Is it Mom?
Ruth is fine.
It's about your dad.
You know, uh, I'll just walk from here, thank you.
What do we say...
...to heartbreak?
The Book says,
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
Hi.
Sorry to disturb you.
‐ Are you... ‐ Brigid.
Market must be crazy if guys like you
are looking at a dump like that.
Two other speculators were in from Portland
just yesterday.
You guys scan the obits, right?
‐ Uh... ‐ 'Cause I heard that
he actually did it out on the lake.
Like...
Ya know. Not in the house, if that makes a difference.
‐ I'm not a speculator. ‐ Oh.
You probably don't remember me, but, um...
Bridge! ‐ Yeah, I'm out here!
Hey.
Molly.
Henry Deaver?
There you go. ‐ Thank you.
Hey, Molly. ‐ Hi.
Here we go.
‐ Look at you. ‐ What?
‐ You're like the mayor. ‐ Please. Council Chair.
It's real power.
You used to be so shy when we were kids.
People change, ya know?
Your sister seems about the same.
Yeah, I guess the lucky ones change.
The unlucky ones cheat on their husbands
at a middle school math conference
and end up couch surfing at their sister's house
‐ for a year. ‐ Ouch.
Hmm. How's your mom?
‐ Um, Sarasota. ‐ Oh.
You know who she lives with? Alan Pangborn.
‐ The old sheriff? ‐ Yeah.
They had a kinda... star‐crossed thing back in the day.
He was the one who convinced her to leave my dad.
A few days after we ran off to Boston,
Alan shows up at the door.
And he, um... takes good care of her now.
Um, she has Alzheimer's.
Oh, no. Henry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know.
She got it pretty young.
Started forgetting her Norse demigods,
then the rest went.
But she's the reason why I got into the field, of course.
Of course.
One more thing I owe her.
She did the right thing getting you out of here.
Can I ask you something?
Yeah.
My dad was nuts for who knows how long‐‐
so why'd he blow his head off now?
Did you ever talk to him?
Oh...
after he left the church,
I don't think he talked to anyone.
D‐Do you remember the flashlights?
Of course I do.
You always knew when I was up.
But even when my light was off,
you always knew.
Y‐You knew a lot of things.
Yeah, I was a... real busybody. I always have been.
‐ It's really good seeing you. ‐ Yeah.
‐ Good night. ‐ Good night.
So you really OK? ‐ I'm fine.
Yeah. Everything's fine.
Look at the bright side. We're new homeowners.
Stop.
Aw, shit. ‐ What?
Lights just blew a fuse.
I don't even know where the box is.
Hold on.
I found a flashlight.
I hope you don't have to stay there too long.
Hey, it's‐‐it's tomorrow.
Today is tomorrow, the 21st, so, uh...
‐ No. It hasn't come yet. ‐ Then you're late.
‐ By one day. ‐ Yeah, but, uh, I mean,
you're usually on time.
Just take a pregnancy test.
Ha! Did I mention it's been one day?
The first month of trying, yeah, I know,
but, um, I'm just...
I have a feeling.
Hey, I can't imagine
what it's like being in that house
after all those years.
Yeah.
Just call me in the morning, OK?
I love you, Marren.
I love you.
Let's see...
No!
When was the last time you talked to your father?
I don't know.
When I was about his age.
What is he saying?
Not saying anything yet.
I mean, besides your name.
Henry Deaver?
That's you, right?
‐ ‐
Did your dad ever touch you?
What?
No. Look, my dad was fucked up,
but not like that.
How was he fucked up?
He, uh, thought he heard the voice of God in the woods.
He used to drag me out there in the dead of night,
middle of winter.
March me around...
hoping I'd hear it too.
Did you?
Hey, stop! Come back here!
Hey! Hey!
It's OK. It's OK there.
Where was he trying to go?
...forest fires took near 1,000 acres.
The drunk helicopter pilot who killed‐‐
...and in the town plaza.
The school bus and all those sweet children
died on the track.
This has been a curse since the beginning,
since those original French settlers
froze and starved 200 years ago.
The only survivor, a young girl,
reduced to cutting up and eating
the corpses of her own family.
Is that when it began?
God turned His back on this place.
Abandoned us.
That's what people say.
Or they say He's punishing us‐‐
What if it's not just one voice, but a choir?
Toward the end of the worst of it...
the bad patch
that we had that spring.
Oh, sweet Lord in heaven...
Spent hours out there every night
in those damn woods praying...
tryin' to hear it.
Thought if I could hear Him again just once
He'd tell me how to end this...
end the bad patch.
But... He didn't.
Or I couldn't hear Him,
I just wasn't listening hard enough.
But then I did hear something.
I heard something at the back door,
this scritch‐scratching, somethin' trying to get in.
This being a bad patch,
I pull my Louisville Slugger out of the closet,
throw open that back door,
and there he was.
He looks at me.
He looks at the bat, just as scared as can be.
Looks caught. Can you blame him?
He's between a man with a bat
and those woods he just came from.
Well, I'll tell ya, he wasn't the only one scared.
I promise you, I reached for the phone,
I was gonna call the police, Child Service, the cavalry,
and then he starts saying, "I heard it, Dad.
It was so loud, Dad. It was all around us,
in my head, and it was too much.
And then you were gone, and then I was gone,
and I woke up in the forest,
but suddenly there was no more snow,
and then I walked into town and it looked... different.
Castle Rock, but different.
And not one person in town knew me."
That's what he said, not making a lick of sense,
and then he tells me a story.
He says he's my son. Henry.
Adopted.
He tells me a story that the two of us
went to pray in Castle Woods,
that we were out there, he says, to listen...
for Him.
And he heard it.
He said he'd really heard it.
No foolin' this time.
None of his mother's trickery and deceit.
And there, right here, he caught me,
because who would know that?
Who could possibly know that that woman tried to trick me?
Did I test him more? Of course I did.
I asked him how
I like my eggs cooked over the propane stove.
The name we gave to the bend and the view‐‐
he knew it.
He knew it... all.
And it‐‐
it felt like redemption.
Like he'd been returned to me.
Changed, but the same.
Restored.
My sweet Henry back to me at last.
And it was then...
I realized what I'd done.
I'd wished‐‐ not prayed, wished.
Desired for this. Yes, this.
And here it was
like I'd ordered it off the damn TV.
Well, we know just who that is, don't we?
Who gives you what you wish
when you need it most,
with just a string or three attached.
I'd been bought‐‐ bought cheap.
This was no son of mine.
In the blindness of desire and my naked want
I'd invited in the Deceiver.
I was just down the hill from him this whole time.
I knew what he was like.
That's why I just... tuned him out.
The stuff he said the kid told him about my mom.
How she would tell me to lie about hearing God in the woods
to get him off my back.
That happened.
What are you saying?
I don't know.
Ohh. But Henry...
listen to me.
Those things that he talked about...
the helicopter going down, the school bus crash...
they happened decades ago.
They go up to the 1400s.
So he recorded this one‐‐
No, but that kid can't be more than 12.
There he stayed for years,
so many years,
and I grew old and even lonelier.
There were moments when I was weak.
We shared Christmases in that basement,
Red Sox victories,
I taught him to carve perfect figurines from soap
as I once did with my own boy.
And yes, of course, I almost let him out.
Many times. Almost surrendered to his story, his charms.
I suppose if someone is listening to this,
maybe even Henry‐‐ my Henry‐‐
then you know I finally did surrender.
But you listen to me, son.
As long as that devil walks the streets of Castle Rock,
tragedy after tragedy will pile up
and men will turn on their own.
Blood will run in the streets until he is back in a cage.
I can find out where they took him.
What's goin' on?
‐ ‐
I know these guys.
We think he did it.
Seven people dead.
‐ Ten still missing. ‐ Oh, my God.
Has anyone seen the kid?
They took him away.
They think he did this.
‐ ‐ MOLLY: Thanks.
Boy in the bed next to his
says he found the lighter,
saw him set his mattress on fire.
How old is this kid? Your witness.
‐ Your boy's not denying it. ‐ Just let us talk to him, Jim.
Henry's a doctor.
This boy is obviously traumatized.
Henry just wants to help however he can.
I'm Molly.
And this is Henry.
Do you know... your name?
Henry... Matthew...
Deaver.
Can you tell us how old you are?
Here. These might help.
OK. It's OK. Oh, sorry.
Can we ask you one more question?
Did you start the fire in the hospital?
Why?
I...
couldn't stop him.
The boy... in the bed...
next to mine. He was‐‐
He was too close.
Too close to what?
Oh, no...
We have to go. To the woods.
There's not much time left.
Do you hear it... ...twinkling of an eye...
...trumpet will sound and the dead will...
‐ Do you hear it now? ‐ ...twinkling of an eye...
Together, together...
Your time's up.
Gotta take him upstairs.
‐ ‐
He's been in a cage for God knows how long.
You can't just toss him into another one!
As the chairperson of the city council,
I will take full responsibility.
What's goin' on?
He's coming with us.
CPS will be over tomorrow morning to pick him up.
The boy doesn't leave your residence.
Dennis will sweep your house for weapons and incendiaries.
- ‐ You understand? - Yes.
‐ And he'll be right outside, all night long.
Kid's already tried to run once.
We have to help him.
What are you talking about?
We have to take him...
where he wants to go.
Towards the sound.
To the woods?
For what?
I don't know.
‐ ‐
Fuck! Fuck.
Hey, hold on!
Got eyes on the car. They're on foot
half‐mile off the eastern side of Castle Lake.
Copy that.
Police! Stay where you are!
Officer, everything is fine, OK?
‐ Calm down. ‐ Get on the ground right now!
Listen to me. Listen to me.
Molly!
‐ Listen to me. ‐ Molly!
- ‐ Goddamnit, Molly, stop! - ‐
Goddamnit, Molly, stop!
‐ ‐
‐ What the fuck? ‐ What the hell did you do?!
‐ Molly. Molly! ‐
I shot in the air. It was... a fuckin' warning shot.
It's OK. It's OK.
Everything's gonna be OK.
Call an ambulance!
It's OK. It's OK.
Help him.
Help him. Help him. Help him...
Molly? Molly?
Molly?
Henry!
I wandered around... for days.
I was trying to get back...
and I couldn't.
Then Lacy found me.
Took me to Shawshank.
Said he heard the call.
Said I was the devil.
You believe me, don't you?
Bad Robot!