♪ Lightning never strikes anymore ♪
♪ But I can't make it rain ♪
♪ Because it would only ♪
♪ Lightning ♪
Ah, damn it, Katherine.
What are you doing all the way out here with that?
- How could you do this?
Had to be done.
- I'll tell everyone it was you.
I'll tell them it was all of you!
You gonna pull the trigger first?
You know, Mom always saw
her strength in you.
I always thought that you of all people
could really see what I built.
- I've seen what you built.
And you're destroying it.
- There's chain in the truck.
- Bash. Bash, not you.
You shouldn't have come out here, Katherine.
- Hey, Burt.
I will see you again.
- I know that.
I know.
And the mystery in the North Pole
continues today with a controversy brewing
over leaked satellite images that appear to depict
what many are calling a bizarre hoax.
The matter at hand involves what can only be described
as a celestial event that should surely
whet the appetite of stargazers across the...
Mrs. Quinn?
Your husband, he's awake.
- Oh, thank you.
Have stepped forward
to voice their own theories
about what these leaked images might mean.
With that, we go to Caroline Simmons
outside Brendert's.
You're up.
- Been laying here
trying to remember what book it was
you were reading that day at the library.
- There were many days at the library.
Many more books.
- You know which day.
Was it The Language of Legumes?
- There's no such book, silly.
- Far as you know. - Far as I know.
- Guess it's a shame, that's all.
What good's living a good life
if you ain't gonna remember the good?
- Or maybe you were just too busy
focusing on me and not the book I was reading.
- Got me there, Doris.
I've had you here, Tommy, for a while now.
- Hmm.
Time is it?
Almost time.
- And who all's coming?
- Um, most of them.
- Mm.
Well, don't worry.
I'm sure they'll all be in more of a hurry to leave
than you will be to see 'em go.
- You shouldn't say that.
I enjoy their company just fine.
I'm gonna finish up.
You rest, look your best.
They'll be arriving shortly.
Good afternoon. Come in.
Thank you.
- Oh, my, Molly. You look lovely.
- Thank you, Doris.
Colin, your father's been looking forward
to seeing you.
- Yeah, all right.
- It's a nice spread you've laid out.
You really know your way around a charcuterie board.
- Thank you, Molly. - Hmm.
- May I pour you more wine? - Mm.
How are you holding up with everything going on?
- It's a process.
- Hmm.
He doesn't like not knowing things.
- What's not to know?
- It's more the restaurant and you
that he's concerned with.
- Can't say I blame him.
- You ever feel this way too?
Like an outsider?
I'm sorry.
The wine...
- Surely Colin had his charm once.
- What do you plan to do when all of this is over?
Molly. - Yes, dear.
- Go start the car. Mm.
You're gonna be there tonight.
- I can make it.
- I wasn't fucking asking, Doris.
What took so long? Yeah, sorry.
How's your dad?
- Well, not good.
- Yeah, shit.
Some well-earned years, that much I can tell you.
- Evening, gentlemen.
- Oh.
You didn't tell me she was pretty.
Hey, kitchen.
Time to go.
You know me?
Lander Graham.
They call you Big Graham, but semantics.
We've met a time or two, actually.
Is that right?
I don't recall.
You know what I do?
- Come to think of it...
It was just once.
- Anyway...
He wants to leave you this restaurant
and some money to boot.
- I mean, you been married to him for, what, six years?
- It'll be eight in August, Colin,
but I'm sure you knew that.
- Eight in August. Hmm.
- Look at this kid.
I know him since he was born.
Tommy gave me my first job
when I got out of the joint, washing fucking dishes.
I'd like for you to ask yourself something.
You know, all those people
that were in Tommy's corner, you know,
all those years, you know...
What in the Mary mother of fuck
makes him think you're entitled to this place?
- Well, if I had to guess,
uh, it's because... all of this was me.
- Bull-fucking-shit.
- Your father hired me to start our catering branch,
and now we're Detroit's premier catering service.
Won all sorts of awards.
I'm sure you know.
Listen to me, Darla...
- Doris.
- Nobody knows who the fuck you are...
Doris.
Waltz in here ten years ago.
All of a sudden, everybody's talking about
how you're gonna get Tommy to marry you.
It was the other way around, I'm afraid.
But sure.
- You shook shit up.
And people don't like strangers shaking shit up
with people that they love,
especially when they been here before you.
And they're gonna be here long after you.
You are gonna sign all this over to Colin here.
- Mr. Graham,
I know plenty of what it is you do.
You two have been using this place
to funnel your dirt money for Lord knows how long.
I don't know why poor Tommy ever allowed it.
But if you're asking yourself, "Why Doris?"
rest assured it's because he wants
to get this place cleaned up.
- What's a little lady like you gonna do
with all that big money?
- Buy a new hat.
- What?
- Buy a new--
Hat.
- Come on, don't be dumb, Doris.
- Your father wants so much for you,
and here you run with gangsters and thugs.
"Gangsters and thugs."
The fuck you think Tom does?
You know, I could make it so that Colin here
inherits this place.
Why can't you fucking figure that out?
This offer, this was a fucking courtesy.
Hey.
I think you should sign it
before this gets really dirty.
- You're a nice lady, Doris Quinn.
Let's keep it that way.
- Hello?
Ethan, you alone?
- Yeah, yeah, I got dropped off at the truck st--
Okay. Fine.
Go inside.
Order two coffees and some pie to go.
And I'll be there in 17.
- How will I know it's you--
Hello?
Have you had a chance to decide?
♪ Unwritten love ♪
♪ Is a most important rule ♪
♪ Although you can't find it ♪
♪ In books you read in school ♪
♪ It's known by the few ♪
Right on, let's go.
Don't have a damn clue where you are, huh?
Yeah, well...
sometimes I don't either.
Ow!
Who wants to buy me a drink?
- Chop-chop.
Wouldn't wanna miss your cue, Daddy's girl.
Hey!
What the fuck did you just say to me?
Hmm.
Oh, man!
Come over here and sit down!
- ♪ One day, and it won't be long ♪
♪ You're gonna have to sing that song ♪
♪ From midnight until the break of dawn ♪
♪ You're gonna be dead and gone ♪
There! Go!
Kick his ass! Go!
Hey!
Oh, baby. That was on the house.
Hey, baby! Get yo' ass down!
What is wrong with you?
Hey, sweetheart. Sweetheart, this is for you.
Oh, I like that.
♪ Midnight until the break of dawn ♪
♪ You're gonna have to sing that song ♪
♪ One day, and it won't be long ♪
♪ You're gonna be dead and gone ♪
- Hey, Joel.
This is him.
- Looks fragile.
- What's that?
- I said you look fragile.
Matty.
This is your candidate.
Take him back. Do your thing.
- Come on.
- Go on, kid.
♪ Midnight until the break of dawn ♪
♪ You're gonna ♪
Sit down.
Let me guess.
College boy, right?
- I dropped out.
- Didn't like what you were studying?
- Didn't know what to study.
That there's Johnson, my other third.
He ain't all that talkative, but I can rely on him.
I heard your parents are dead. How long's that been going on?
- My dad, since I was 12. My mom, not dead.
She--uh, she bailed a little after.
- And what do you know about The Banished Brawlers?
- Just that you guys-- - And the Phoenixes?
- The what?
- The Three River Phoenixes, the reason you're here.
- I don't--I don't-- I don't know.
- How could you wanna be a Phoenix
if you don't know who we are?
- I heard it pays.
- You heard it pays?
- And--and that it could be an opportunity.
May-maybe if I knew a little more,
I--I--I could explain to you guys
wh-why I--I'd be a good--
This isn't an opportunity.
This is my trust.
This is Johnson's trust. This is privilege.
You don't walk in here because it's something to do.
You walk in because you wanna leave
whatever dark bullshit you've got behind you
to be a part of something bigger than any of us.
You walk in because you wanna be a Phoenix.
So, Ethan...
You better start telling me why.
- 'Cause I killed a guy.
And for a while, I thought he was gonna live.
Maybe if I would have stopped hitting him sooner,
he would've.
But I got nowhere to run and no one to run to.
But I thought this might be a good place to start.
Out of the car.
You know what to do with these?
Five of 'em.
- You say you got nothing.
Well, this is your chance at something.
You come in here with us, no questions asked,
you walk out a River Phoenix, yeah?
♪ If you want ♪
♪ Something to play with ♪
♪ Go and find yourself a toy ♪
Hey, the five of you.
You're Ghouls, ain't ya?
Fuck you, Matty.
You know who we are.
- This here's a Brawlers bar, Gary.
- This ain't no goddamn Brawlers bar.
- This here is a Brawlers bar.
Got no room for no stool-pigeonin'
Happiness Ghouls.
♪ If you are serious ♪
- This place has been a part of the Ghouls' turf
since before you were born.
Besides, what-the-fuck-ever. You three ain't even Brawlers.
- Yeah, well, we're throwing it back tonight,
reclaiming a little territory.
- Leave, Matty.
- Ethan, got those knucks?
♪ Tell it like it is ♪
♪ Don't be ashamed ♪
♪ Let your conscience be your guide ♪
♪ But I know ♪
♪ Deep down inside of me ♪
♪ I believe you love me ♪
♪ Forget your foolish pride ♪
♪ Mm-hmm ♪
What about Johnson?
You come back here, we'll kill ya.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Johnson, rejoice.
We got a new Phoenix in our midst.
May trumpets sound and the heavens shine
upon this fucking moment.
Gotta get you a jacket. -
I got stabbed.
- What? No shit.
You got stuck, son, not stabbed.
Don't worry.
Ole Johnson here is a regular wizard with the gauze.
It'll be good.
- Wh-what happened to your face?
- They have beer here.
- Thomas give you that? -
Of course not.
Excuse me,
could we get a lager for the gentleman, please?
Thank you.
We have a problem with the will.
Thomas' son and an associate of his.
Have you heard of Big Graham?
I'm sure I don't have to tell you,
without the inheritance,
funding this expedition might prove difficult.
I can deal with Colin, but this Big Graham fella,
I'm... I'm gonna need you to find me a crew
sooner than we thought.
- It's hard finding guys without cash to front.
- I'm sure. - Look, what you're asking, Doris--
- It's ambitious. I understand.
- What if you call it off?
- I'm sorry?
- Look, maybe you need to read
the tree leaves here--
- That's not how you say it.
- Well, what I'm saying is, maybe... - No.
- That it's a sign-- - No.
- Doris, you have-- - No.
- And how am--how am I supposed to raise a crew, Doris?
Hmm?
"Hey, fellas, there's a really nice woman
"over on east side, and she wants to hire you
"to drive 900 miles to take on The Banished fucking Brawlers.
"Oh, but one more thing.
"Before you leave,
"you gotta kill the most notorious mobster
"in all of Detroit.
Oh, also, fellas, we ain't got no money."
What if it's just them?
I can lure them out. We take them and go.
No bloodshed in the process.
- Except maybe I wouldn't mind
shedding a little blood in the process, Witt.
Any one of those motherfuckers to ever put on
that idiotic shirt.
It's a suicide mission.
- And if I have to do it on my own,
if you don't think you can help me, then...
- Gonna be hard to get a crew of guys with no money.
That's all I'm saying.
I'll see what I can do. - That'd be nice of you.
- Yeah. - You don't have to go.
- I'd rather not stay.
- Witt.
Thank you.
- Let me explain how this works.
Want you to meet Betty the Brougham
and our dear Uncle Lug.
And us, we're not Brawlers. - We're more than that.
- We're The Three River Phoenixes,
the lifeblood of The Brawlers.
We're quicker. We're slicker.
We're a little less thicker.
There's 13 Bang-A-Rangs,
all of 'em across the southland.
And we're here, branch 707,
the original Bang-A-Rang.
Burt's Bang-A-Rang.
Now, you can call it our fucking homeroom
if you want.
And what we do?
We make sure 707 keeps its satellites provided for.
Can't rely on banks, can't rely on fucking FedEx,
so they rely on us.
Cash, booze, supply,
we handle it all.
Bang-A-Rangs are all off the grid.
Someone wants in, they gotta hit a checkpoint,
pass a test to get a ticket.
We deliver. We pick up.
And we leave. Every checkpoint.
Every branch.
And then we drink. A lot.
And a lot. And a lot.
- A sensible amount.
♪ It leaves us all wondering ♪
♪ And it should ♪
And then we rinse, we repeat,
and go right back where we started.
Oh, yeah, she butter-soft, man.
♪ Came from nowhere ♪
♪ To San Fran street, uh-huh ♪
♪ Ju-bop, baby, playin' a beat, uh-huh ♪
♪ Cadillac King, watch for the heat, uh-huh ♪
♪ Ju-bop, baby, ju-bop, baby ♪
- Agnes, three beers, three strychnines.
Sure thing, Prince.
Running late tonight.
How's the road?
- Better now you're off it.
- You shouldn't be sore about this, you know.
You weren't ready.
- You don't take your hand off me,
I'm gonna drive this glass through your heart.
- Problem, Matty?
- No. No problem.
- Jukes phoned me the other day.
Said you and your dandelion boys
tuned up some of his Ghouls this week.
- Little initiation for the new guy.
- Since when's breaking truces ever been part of initiations?
- Ghouls ain't gonna start a war over a bar fight.
A truce, Matty, with the Ghouls.
You been around long enough to know better.
- And long enough to know they ain't gonna do shit.
- They're calling a meeting...
tomorrow at the track.
We could turn all three of you over to them.
- That don't scare you, huh?
How 'bout when Burt hears of it?
Hmm?
Think he's gonna wanna protect you three
for running around, digging up old fights
when we got a fucking business to run?
- Burt ain't been around in forever.
- The answer's no, he won't.
Because when we fought, when The Brawlers fought,
not the fucking Phoenixes, The Brawlers,
it was for a reason.
And we ain't had a fight in a long fucking while, Matty.
Until maybe now after you three waltzed
into a goddamn Ghouls bar.
Come on, Joel, it was a fucking--
- There's no "Come on, Joel."
You're fucking errand boys. Goddamn pledges.
And you work for The Brawlers, which means you keep
The Brawlers' interests your fucking priority.
Tell me you understand that.
- I understand.
- Good.
- It was my turn, you know.
Been running that river seven goddamn years.
Avron was a Phoenix, what, seven months?
Before I ever came around,
I heard about what The Brawlers did,
and I wanted to be a part of it more than anything,
where I'd know everyone had my back same way I had theirs.
- Let me ask you, then.
How is it you got our backs when you keep putting
your people in danger?
♪ Oh, when the sun goes down and the moon comes up ♪
- Hey, Johnson.
You're new.
You like scratch?
I got 22s for 15 or 2 for 22.
- Uh, what is that?
- What's your name?
Ethan. Yours?
- Where you from, Ethan?
Michigan.
- You got a lady back in Michigan?
You got somewhere to be, Meredith?
♪ Looking for some head ♪
- Here was working just fine.
- Nope.
- All right.
See ya around, Ethan.
♪ Yeah, I'll get you, baby ♪
♪ With a little luck ♪
- Ouch.
Never seen it before, not in all my life.
- This toxic shit's not allowed in here.
How many times I gotta tell ya?
How many times Burt gotta tell ya?
- Burt's a million miles away.
- He's a phone call away.
- Burt ain't never been a phone call away, Joel.
But if you do get ahold of him, you just tell him I said hi.
Any girl in here, anyone you want,
but not her.
She's tethered, man.
- Tethered?
- Besides--Johnson, how many pinups you fall in love with
since you been a Phoenix?
- Probably all of 'em.
- How many of 'em loved you back free of charge?
- Probably none of 'em.
♪ Yeah, I want the most ♪
♪ But I'll take the least ♪
What do you, um...
what do you suppose a china doll like you
is doing around a group like this, huh?
♪ The goo goo muck ♪
- I mean, look at you.
Look around you.
Look where you are.
You're just a little boy in a man's world.
- Mm.
That shirt you're wearing,
you know what it means to wear that?
Yeah, of course you don't.
See, Avron's big Uncle Burt
put him on a fast track.
Did his time as a Phoenix a whole few weeks or months
or whatever it was, and now here he is.
The pride of The Brawlers,
Burt Harlow's nephew.
- That's right.
Is it, though?
'Cause from what I hard, that's hardly the case.
What was it again?
Your mother's sister's Aunt Veronica
married Burt for a week or something.
Am I right there? - Hmm.
- Then he gets drunk on the road
and tells us how he lost his virginity to her.
Ole Aunt V took his V.
But what's said on the river stays on the river, so...
Come on, now.
- What'd I just tell you?
- Joel, this guy-- - Picking fights with Brawlers?
It was the new one.
♪ The goo goo muck ♪
- That right?
Let me give you some pointers, fragile one.
You don't touch Brawlers,
and you sure as shit stay the fuck away from Meredith.
All these years,
you never told me where you came from before we met.
I told you a great deal.
- None of it true.
- I...
I come from bad blood, Tommy.
Bad blood and dark days.
You changed all that, though,
a good man like yourself.
- I'm not that good, you know.
Perhaps that's why we've gotten on so well.
- I can tell you about it
if you want, if it'll help you...
about the bad in me.
- Is that what you'd prefer?
For this to end in full disclosure?
Or perhaps we let the curtain fall untainted,
just carry on with ourselves.
- Who did that to you?
Was it Colin?
Big Graham?
I'll give 'em a good talking to.
- Tommy, any words you have with them
will be gone as soon as you're...
- I'm sorry. - Oh.
Don't trouble yourself. Eat.
- Doris.
You do what you have to do to move on, to be safe.
You spare nothing...
And you spare no one.
No one.
Promise me that, okay?
Sammy Simpleton lives in the forest.
Lyla, you're supposed to be asleep.
- He has a cabin.
- What kind of cabin?
- Wood.
- A wood cabin.
What does he do in his wood cabin?
- He reads and talks to his pets.
- Hmm.
What pets does he have?
- A cat, a horse, and a night giraffe.
A night giraffe?
A giraffe that's allergic to the sun.
Sammy must have a big cabin
to be able to fit a giraffe.
- No, he spends all day fixing the roof
'cause he keeps poking holes in it.
And then there's Beatrice Beodorff.
- Beatrice Beodorff.
What's her story?
- She has a broomstick that doesn't work anymore.
It broke 'cause she was flying too fast on it.
Hmm.
She's a witch.
No, but she knows magic.
- So she's a good witch?
No, Daddy-o, she just knows magic.
- Mm-hmm.
And then there's...
Harold.
Harold who?
- Harold Horpus.
I don't have his story yet, though.
- Well, you know the rules.
Everyone's gotta have a story before I draw 'em.
- I can brainstorm.
- You really should be asleep.
- Can we have nighttime breakfast?
Should I contact the others?
Mrs. Quinn?
- Harlow.
I'm sorry? - My maiden name is Harlow.
You can take the day.
I'll take care of the rest.
- Yeah, so... everyone's up and ready.
Um... except Bash.
Ain't answering his door.
- The fuck are you doing?
- You have a visitor in the kitchen.
Bash.
Come on, man.
Gotta go meet the Ghouls.
- Okay. - Let's go.
Remember, no fighting. Yeah?
Bash?
Bash.
Joel.
You worry too much.
Your father met me at a very challenging
time in my life, Colin.
I was very confused...
Very young.
- You weren't that young.
I suppose not at heart, no.
You both were right, you and Big Graham,
about not knowing much about me,
Tommy especially.
I guess I just always thought
it'd be best to keep it all tight-lipped.
So I'll tell you.
There are some men down south, many miles from here.
Have you heard of The Banished Brawlers?
Yeah, you're not stupid, Doris.
Hmm?
- You see him for what he is.
Just like you see me for what I am.
So please, listen to me.
Hmm? This is the 1/8 of a fucking ounce of shit
that I might possibly give about you,
and that's being nice.
Go away.
You don't want guys like Big Graham up your ass.
- Your father loves you.
It's one of his biggest fears in life
that you'd inherit his flaws.
When I see that you already have,
and that makes me sad.
- Oh, yeah, well, life's tragic, ain't it?
- You can't file until he passes.
I wish we could have learned to understand one another.
Because then maybe you would have seen
that the bad you have in you
pales in comparison to the bad that I know.
The honest truth of it,
with everything that's happening,
I feel as though something's waking up inside of me.
It's an awful feeling, really.
This darkness like a--a sickness.
Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.
You fucking--
- I'm not sure this is what your father meant.
Okay, Molly,
as we discussed.
It's Ethan. Leave a message.
- Hi, Ethan.
It's me.
I was just calling to see how you were doing.
Check in on you.
Come on. Let's get this over with.
I know this all must be a lot to process.
Big new world, a lot of moving parts.
I know it might be scary.
But... I hope you're making friends.
I guess...
The reason that I called was--
Well, keep it quiet, but...
I might be coming down there soon
to take care of some business...
Tie up some loose ends.
So until I get there,
you keep your head up and your eyes open.
And maybe I'll be seeing you soon.