[birds chirping]
[Victor LaValle speaking Swahili]
[in English] Whomsoever is not taught by the mother...
will be taught with the world.
[upbeat Brazilian music playing on radio]
Mmm. [speaks Portuguese]
[in Portuguese] Hey.
- I saw an old woman at the waterfall. - The waterfall?
[Emma] Yes.
You must never go back to the lagoon.
What?
It's haunted.
Badly haunted.
The washer woman - she is a witch.
A witch...
Whatever you do...
You must not go back there.
And never... ever...
let that woman touch you!
[LaValle, in English] It's mythical, what women are capable of.
Too terrifying a mystery, too layered and complex.
Powerful beasts...
They cannot comprehend what women do,
so they try to take their power, snuff out their unique light.
Always have, always will.
Scared of the magic inside.
Can't see it? Look harder.
Look harder. Look harder.
[people chattering]
[civilian speaks Portuguese]
[children chattering, speak Portuguese]
[sighs]
Oh.
Ow.
You did not ask for the tree's permission.
Mmm.
Sorry.
[speaks Portuguese]
[birds chirping]
I may?
[chuckles] Okay.
Okay. I make pee.
Okay.
[ticking]
[ticking continues]
[timer dings]
[Michelle] She was looking into that camera lens
like a fucking sorceress, Apollo.
[breathing shakily]
[Emma] They bathe it at dusk. They hide it with guile.
At home in the forest, forever lost in the wild.
[Cal] Apollo?
[William] Good morning, Pearl.
Pearl Walker,
raised off the coast of Maine, in trouble for habitual shoplifting.
Heavy drinker. Mother of one.
[speaks Spanish, chuckles]
Now, do you remember the name of your high school mascot?
'Cause, you know, if you forgot, I'd be happy to tell you--
I was gonna douse you with gasoline last night and light you on fire.
And then I stopped myself and I thought, "No. Gretta will wanna do that."
So I sent a boat to fetch her.
And what about my daughter?
- You mean, the one you killed? - [William sighs]
- Wait, wait. - You won't even see her in the afterlife!
- Hold on. Hold on, hold on, hold on. - Sorceress. Enchantress.
Every word you speak is a lie.
Hold on. You said that he killed his daughter.
That's not right. He actually came here to get them.
- Right, William? - She's lying, you nitwit.
She's casting a spell. [chuckles] That's what witches do.
I've decided to give you one more chance.
- Why? - [William speaks Spanish]
You don't want it?
How do I know if I go out there,
you're not gonna put two bullets in my head?
You don't. Even so, what could you do about it?
[sighs]
Emma told me about you, Apollo.
She said you'd come,
and I told her no one short of a god could find us on our island.
And here you are, just as she said...
She didn't mention you'd be bringing anyone with you.
I will give you a second chance. You won't get a third. Come on.
[grunts, speaks Norwegian]
[chuckles, speaking Norwegian]
Don't forget me, Apollo.
Don't forget me, brother!
[inhales sharply, speaks Norwegian]
[speaks Norwegian]
[speaks Norwegian, echoing]
- Mind your head. - Damn.
It's almost like that guy is not the same person I met.
He was just sweet.
[scoffs]
What in the actual fuck is going on?
Are you gonna kill me? 'Cause if you are, I really don't care. I do not care.
Just-- I wanna know, before I die, what happened to Emma?
Things will become clear in due course,
but without haste so there are no misconceptions.
- Is she here? - No.
Well, can you send a boat to fetch her like you did Gretta?
There is no boat that can bring Emma back from where she is.
There's no boat, there's no car, there's no plane, there's no train.
What does that even mean?
[sighs] She is out there, Apollo.
But there are things that must be understood before you go out there too.
[sighs] This cloak-and-dagger bullshit. Where is she?
[Brian cooing]
[Emma] It doesn't feel the way I thought it would...
I-- didn't think it would hurt so much.
You know, just this deep pit of sorrow,
and...
[Brian cooing]
Look, I know I'm supposed to love you unconditionally...
but I feel panic...
and it's suffocating the love.
I'm trying to tell you, baby...
that I wish I was a better mom for you.
[Brian coos]
I'm scared for us.
What happens if we don't make it?
[mariachi music playing]
[people laughing, chattering]
- Best night ever. - Mmm. The best.
Yo!
Sorry, babe.
- Yo! Okay, bouquet time. Get in. Get in. - [guests cheer]
Okay. I am looking for some real competition here.
I want Olympic-level shit.
- I know you got this, sis. - [crowd laughs]
Okay. And if you catch this, I love you the most...
[crowd laughs, cheers]
- Ready? Okay. - [guests] Yes! Yes, let's do this!
Okay. Here we go.
- [crowd cheering, screaming] - [Apollo] Oh.
Oh. Oh!
- [gasps] - [laughs]
- I love you, New York City! - [Apollo cheers]
[all shouting, laughing]
Somebody got it.
I wish you could have known me back then.
I wish you knew a different Mommy.
I wish she was here.
[people chattering]
- [clicks mouse] - [computer chimes]
[gasps, breathing heavily]
[computer chimes]
What?
- [cell phone buzzes] - [gasps]
Fuck you.
Fuck! [breathing heavily]
[Yurina] Emma?
I'm good.
- Hey, are you okay-- [gasps] - [groans]
[Cal] We're not going to kill you, Apollo.
Not unless you make us.
That's a relief and also not a relief at all.
[stammers]
This is for you.
No way.
Emma and I spent many late nights up talking.
[sighs] Emma Valentine, alive and well, on a random island.
Hmm. Not so well. Alive though.
She talked to me about your father, about this book, how much it meant to you.
Mmm. Betraying my innermost secrets to a perfect stranger. It checks.
It's interesting you find this story so captivating.
- Why? - Because of where you have found yourself.
Estrogen Island, New York City? I mean... [chuckles]
Sorry.
[Brian fussing, crying]
[changeling snarling]
- [changeling screams] - [Emma gasps]
[changeling snarling]
I will not let you gaslight me.
I will not let you make me feel crazy. Okay?
- [Brian grunts] - [Emma gasps]
[changeling cackles]
[breathing heavily]
[grunts]
[changeling cackling]
[Brian crying]
[grunts]
[Brian crying]
You're not gonna make me think I'm crazy.
[typing]
[Brian continues crying]
[Brian cooing]
[cooing]
I don't want to. [breathes shakily]
I don't.
Baby, I really. I really-- [breathes shakily]
[Brian coos]
God.
Help me. [sobs]
[Brian cooing]
[Brian fusses]
[Emma sobbing]
I love my baby, more than you can ever know.
I'll give up anything for him.
I'll give my life for him.
My husband's...
and yours.
[changeling snarls, chomps]
- [Emma yelps, whimpers] - [Brian cries]
[whimpering]
[changeling snarling]
I'm sorry. I am.
[Cal] You were in New York when you got on Wheeler's boat.
And for a while you stayed in the East River, you passed Rikers Island.
Maybe you went under the Throgs Neck Bridge.
But as you approached our island, you crossed into different waters.
You beached that boat on a different shore.
Has anyone ever told you that you speak in riddles?
[laughs] You know, the Amazons were said to live on the island of Themiscyra
and the-- the Yolngu had an island for the dead.
These were magical places,
where the rules of your world are not the same.
And you have crossed into such a place.
Right, but this is North Brother Island. It's a place, it's on maps.
It was North Brother Island, until we remade it.
[people chattering]
[baby crying]
A schoolhouse?
[Cal] Yes. A library too, we're proud of it.
Wow, very cool.
Are you hungry?
Yeah. Yeah.
You know, I used to daydream about when Brian would finally go to school.
I'd be that crazy dad spying on him, making everyone nervous
and they'd wanna call the police 'cause some strange guy's staring at kids
through the window.
We spy on children all the time now, nobody calls the police.
- [grunts] - Social media. Poisonous trap.
People happily hand over their-- their babies,
their private, most precious moments every day for the world to see.
Yeah.
Leaving the door open to the creatures of the night.
We take our meals here.
[Father Hagen distorted] What brings you to this choice?
[distorted] Emma?
[Emma] Sorry?
What brings you to this choice?
So, where are we baptizing him?
Uh, we actually weren't--
Unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot be saved.
Um, saved from?
The dark creatures of the world.
[sighs]
And do you believe that?
I don't know what I believe,
but I know that I want to try everything
to make sure that the road is easier.
You say you describe yourself as spiritual but not religious?
- Right. - Yeah. And your husband?
Atheist.
And how does your husband feel about the idea of your son being baptized?
[clicks tongue]
Um, he's not yet awake. [chuckles]
All right. Well, there's nothing like a beautiful ceremony
to awaken one's soul and perhaps hear the call.
I remember so clearly the moment I heard God's voice calling me. I just--
Do you have any openings immediately?
I-I just wanna get this done and dusted, ASAP. [chuckles]
[chuckles] Okay, right. Yeah. Sure.
Uh, let's, uh, take a little look at the diary, shall we?
[people chattering]
[Cal] Good morning, ladies.
[sighs]
Hey. Um, how long was Emma here?
On and off for a couple of months.
She used to go back into New York once a week.
She saw how depleted our library was and she restocked it.
To her, a life without books wasn't worth living.
It's not.
She couldn't stop being a librarian.
That's for you. [stammers] Hang on.
Mmm. This is good on a cold morning.
[Emma sneezes, sniffles]
- Here we go. - [Emma clears throat]
- [imitates airplane sound] - [chuckles]
Mmm. There we go. How's that?
You'd make a great dad. [chuckles]
[echoing] You know that?
Um, how did she get back and forth?
We have our own Navy. [chuckles]
- That's an exaggeration. [chuckles] - [chuckles]
We have a trawler and a single-person creek boat with a paddle.
Wait a minute. What? No, she did not know how to use a creek boat.
[chuckles] Yeah. She had some spills along the way.
[breathes heavily]
But she never gives up. Your wife has quite a will.
Yeah, I know that.
So, all these women, they, uh--
they like-- [stammers] Like what Emma did?
Yes. All of us.
Well, what about the kids I saw out earlier?
Mmm, some of them have more than one child.
So, when they run to me, they bring their other children.
Women come here bereft and confused,
and I offered them a place where they will be believed.
[scoffs] Do you know how few women ever get that simple gift?
Works miracles.
[stammers] Do you understand her enormous strength, Apollo?
What that took?
Used to be advice was passed from woman to woman.
Drawn from the well of her knowledge. How we do this hard, hard thing.
I reach back to my mother and she holds my hand
and she reaches back to her mother before that.
- [Brian gurgles] - One continuous chain of information.
Back and back and back and back.
[Cal sighs]
[sighs]
"Babies are dreams made real.
And dreams are fairies' favorite meal."
[Apollo in British accent] "There at the window they watch while it sleeps.
A child so beautiful, the fairies all weep.
[in deep voice] We want it, we need it. It's ours for the taking.
[normal voice] Tap at the latch and the window is shaking."
- This book is so fucked up. - Mmm. It's good.
"Mother and father asleep in their bed.
Fit for the grave, they rest like the dead.
Fairies will hold it close to their breast.
They won't give it back.
- They love it the best." - "Love it the best."
[sighs] I don't know why your father read this book to you when you were little.
I don't know.
But it tells the truth.
Emma willed you here, Apollo.
To the truth, if you dare to see it.
You and she have ended up in one ugly fairy tale.
And it won't do to shut your eyes or-- or to pretend otherwise.
You've crossed the waters. You can't go back.
[sighs] William was right about at least one thing. We are witches.
But I'll tell you something else he was right about.
The man in that cage consorts with monsters.
[Emma] "Got him."
That's what the text said. Right under his picture in caps.
- "Got him." - You know what? Show me.
- Show me. - They're gone.
- Show me one text that says-- - You already know they're--
- That's because it was never there. - Let's just get ready.
We're not going to church with you, Emma.
You probably wanna get him an exorcism rather than a baptism.
The message board said we can try therapy or church, and we can't afford therapy.
It's all about the message board.
I'm delighted you think a bunch of old women can tell us
how to live our lives and raise our kid.
But you know what the problem is, Emma?
It's you. You're the fucking problem, all right?
Why don't you go take another pill or something?
[Brian crying]
You don't see, but you will.
I didn't believe her. [stammers] I thought she was sick.
- [stammers] - And now?
I don't know. [clicks tongue]
I don't know but-- but I want to.
I want to.
[children chattering, chuckling]
- [child 1] Oh, I got it. I got it. - [child 2] Over here.
You're okay.
[sighs] Yeah.
You know that's what my wife used to say to me when I would have nightmares.
- Oh. - Oh, my gosh. [chuckles]
Scooters can be tricky, huh? Hey. You all right?
Here. You need some help?
My name's Apollo.
[Cal] This is Gayl.
Hi. Do you want me to help you find a Band-Aid or-- I mean, I could go--
- [chuckles] Yeah. - They don't see men ever here.
- Oh. Whoa, whoa, whoa. - Oh. Not again.
- Here you go. - Yeah.
[Apollo] Hey. You okay?
There you go. Wow. You're tough.
- [laughs] - She's tough.
- Looks like you made a friend. - Yeah. Whoa, okay.
[laughing]
[laughs] Don't know where we're going, but--
[Cal laughs]
Hey. I, um-- I have to talk to you about Gretta.
What for?
Well, you know how William killed his daughter?
- He did. - Yeah, well-- [sighs]
[sighs] Honey, why don't you go inside, find a book?
[sighs] Okay.
Well, all of these women, they did something similar, okay? So--
No. No, not similar. That's wrong.
All right. All right. All right. I-I just wanna hear it from her, okay?
Oh. [chuckles] You do, do you?
What? You give a man breakfast and suddenly he tells you
- all about what he wants? - Okay. It was a request.
All right, Cal? Please.
[sighs]
Okay. We don't travel the river during the day,
but Gretta will be here tonight.
Puppet show's after dinner and if she wants to talk to you,
that'll be the time.
[Apollo] Thank you.
Hmm.
Hey. What you reading?
Looks like a good book. Do you mind if I read with you?
Okay. All right.
"We want it. We need it. It's ours for the taking.
A tap at the latch and the window was shaking.
Mother and father asleep in their bed.
Fit for the grave, they rest like the dead.
The young one is gone, but they'll never know,
in its place a thing without life, hard and cold."
"Now for the fun.
In the woods, there's a party in the dark past the horses,
the guests are dressed smartly."
[children chuckling]
"The music is playing, the dancers move quick.
A child in their arms will never grow sick."
♪ I had a rooster The rooster pleased me ♪
♪ I held the rooster By the old apple tree ♪
[vocalizes off-key]
- [laughs] - [laughs]
What you laughing for? You remind me of my wife.
My wife.
[Emma coughing]
- [Apollo] You okay? - [Emma groans]
[Apollo] There you go.
[Emma] ♪ I had a rooster My rooster pleased me ♪
[Apollo] ♪ I set my rooster Underneath the apple tree ♪
[laughs, snorts]
What?
Sorry, I just, um--
I didn't realize my husband was such an atrocious singer, that's all.
What?
- Oh, okay. - [chuckles]
I-I'll sing again.
Mm-mmm.
- ♪ I had a-- ♪ - No.
- Uh-uh. [laughs] - [laughs]
[Emma] You're so bad.
- But I love you. [kisses] - Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm.
- [Emma] Just don't sing again. - That's not how that works.
- [Emma] Don't sing. - Mmm.
Everybody, come on for the puppet show, it's time.
- [children clamoring] - Come on, kids. Go get a good seat.
Come on, puppet show. Rocco. Joey. Zachary. Ivy.
Let's go. Let's go. Front seats are gonna be taken fast.
- [Apollo] Right. Puppet show. Hey. - Come on, everybody. Hi.
Gretta.
[Cal] Mmm.
[sighs] How's Grace?
She's with my parents.
- William's here? - Yeah.
He's shown up, just like that?
Well, he came with me.
- You're with him? - No--
Well, I-- I'm-- I'm Emma's--
I'm Emma's husband. [clears throat]
It's okay.
I'm Emma's.
I just keep thinking I'll be rid of him.
He keeps finding his way back into my life.
- [Cal] I know. - [Gretta] He won't give up.
We're his, that's what he thinks.
Did he, um-- Did he, uh--
Kill my daughter?
- [stammers] Uh, he said-- - Oh, yes. Please, tell me what he said.
I came all the way here just to have you explain his point of view to me.
Okay.
He got my new address. He mailed me a book.
- Book? - To Kill a Mockingbird. He ruined it.
Wha-Wha-- What?
Wrote the same thing on every page.
He, uh-- He cleared me out.
- Every last penny right out of my account. - Wait, wait, wait, wait. Um, how much--
What did he take?
Seventy-thousand.
- What? - That bastard stole $70,000 from me.
What did he write?
Her name.
[William distorted] Agnes! Agnes! Agnes!
Agnes. On every page.
[sniffles]
William! Hey.
[grunts]
William! William, come talk to me now!
[William] That's not my name, so stop fucking using it.
Yes! Yes, it is. I just talked to your wife.
[William] And will my family be whole again?
She said, "William stole $70,000 from me." She said, you defaced that book.
[William] You know, I didn't know my real name either.
Didn't know who I really was.
What?
And then I found a place where I belonged.
I found people who understood me.
I could talk to them like I never talked to anyone else.
And when I found my people, I took off William Wheeler's face.
[cries]
And I found my true face beneath.
And when my friends saw my authentic identity...
they gave me my true name.
In fact, Apollo, you know it already.
How do I know?
Dinner plans tonight,
a meal inspired by baby Brian...
[roaring] ...boiled vegetables.
[breathes shakily] Kinder Garten!