All language subtitles for Rob.Peace.2024.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-FLUX

[vehicles passing]

[chattering in distance]

[horns honking]

[siren wailing in distance]

["The Message" playing]

♪ It’s like A jungle sometimes ♪

♪ It makes me wonder
How I keep from goin’ under ♪

♪ It’s like A jungle sometimes ♪

♪ It makes me wonder
How I keep from goin’ under ♪

♪ A child is born
With no state of mind ♪

♪ Blind to the ways Of mankind ♪

♪ God is smilin’ on you
But he’s frownin’ too ♪

♪ ’Cause only God knows
What you’ll go through ♪

♪ You’ll grow in the
ghetto Livin’ second-rate ♪

♪ And your eyes Will
sing a song Of deep hate ♪

♪ The places you play
And where you stay ♪

♪ Looks like one
Great big alleyway ♪

♪ You’ll admire All the
number-book takers ♪

♪ Thugs, pimps and pushers
And the big moneymakers ♪

♪ Drivin’ big cars
Spendin’ 20s and tens ♪

♪ And you’ll wanna grow
up To be just like them, huh ♪

♪ Smugglers, scramblers
Burglars and gamblers ♪

♪ Pickpocket peddlers
Even panhandlers ♪

♪ You say, "I’m
cool, huh I’m no fool"♪

♪ But then you wind up
Droppin’ outta high school...♪

[person] Robert DeShaun Peace.

Graduate school application.

Statement of purpose.

To whom it may concern,

Science is my passion...

♪ It’s like A jungle sometimes ♪

♪ It makes me wonder
How I keep from goin’ under ♪

...a passion that perhaps began the
day my father’s house burned down.

At only five years
old, I was unaware

how important this event
would become in my own life...

that I would learn
about cause and effect

and the sequencing of things.

I would learn about
the choices we make,

the dangers we face

for the people we love.

♪ It’s like a jungle Sometimes ♪

♪ It makes me wonder
How I keep from goin’ under ♪

♪ It’s like a jungle Sometimes ♪

♪ It makes me wonder
How I keep from goin’ under ♪

[song ends]

[vehicle approaching]

[engine backfires]

[tires screech][engine
switches off]

Mom, Dad’s here.

- Dad!
- Shaun!

What’s up, little man?

How you doing? You good? Yeah?

You looking good, boy.
Looking strong.[Shaun chuckles]

[father] Yeah. Good to see you.

What’s up, Jackie?

Skeet.

Shaun, go get your coat.

Appreciate you
getting here on time.

Yeah, no problem.

You’re looking good, Jackie.

Don’t worry. I’m not gonna
ask you to marry me again.

[chuckles] So, where
you guys headed?

He’s always talking
about going to the beach.

So, uh, I figured we could
ride out to Coney Island,

- listen to the game there.
- Uh-huh.

But this piece of shit
ain’t gonna get us there.

- Can I use Horace’s car?
- Nah.

Daddy’s taking us to church.

Uh-huh.

Boy should be
coming to church too.

- Mornin’, Frances.
- Skeet.

Okay. I guess I’ll take
him down to the park then.

With all the dealers?

Well, you know, they’re not really
dealers on a Sunday, Frances.

Day of rest?

Not in front of the boy, okay?

What time y’all getting back?

Won’t even be dark.

Come on, boy. Get in.

[car door closes][engine starts]

[engine rattling]

If I’m Lou Piniella, right? And I’m
sending out Rickey Henderson, batting .300.

- Not this season.
- Okay, but let’s say he’s down 25%.

Nah. - He’s not doing that bad.
- Okay, but let’s say he is.

What’s his average
gonna be?.225.

Okay. So, what would
that be on, like, 250 at-bats?

Count me down.

- You really think you can do it?
- Yeah.

Okay. Five, four... On
100 at-bats, it’s 22.5.

So that’s 22.5 times two...

Three......which is 45.

Then you have half
of 22.5, which is 11.25.

Uh-huh. Two...

Okay, so 45 plus 11.25
is 56.25, or 56 hits.

Goddamn! Can’t be seven years
old smarter than your old man.

Let’s do another one.

[engine backfires]

Hang on.

Shit!

Aw, shit. This car is dead.

[engine sputtering][groans]

[engine switches
off][Skeet sighs] All right.

[hand brake engages]

[sighs]

All right.

We can walk to
my place from here.

- What about the car?
- I’ll get someone to look at it tomorrow.

It’s not going anywhere.

[sniffs]

[sniffs] What?

[sniffs]

- You mess up the air?
- No.

You fart in my car? I
know it’s a dump, Shaun,

but that don’t mean you got
the right to take a shit in it.

- Get out.
- I didn’t fart.

Yes, you did. Go on.

[door closes] Stand over there.

Go on!

[glove compartment opens]

[baseball game playing on radio]

[Skeet] What’s going on, Irving?

[chuckling] Hey, look who it is!

The cavalry!

How’s the game, Mr. Gaskins?

Uh, Ward and Winfield showed up.

You gonna listen with me?

- What you doing out here?
- It’s my asthma.

Couldn’t breathe
too well upstairs.

Carl!

It’s the cavalry that’s gonna
turn this neighborhood around.

Young people like you.

Carl!

- What’s up?
- Bring some beers down, will ya?

Some lemonade for Shaun.[Carl]
I thought we was heading out.

Car gave out. Gonna
listen to the game with Irving.

- Call Mickey.
- Sure.

- Yo, what’s up, Shaun?
- Hey, Uncle Carl.

I’ma be there.

[baseball announcer continues]

[Skeet] That’s just
the way the game go.

That’s bad. That’s bad.

Skeet, he’s here.

[Skeet] Yo, Mickey.[Mickey]
What’s up, Skeet?

Yeah, good, man. Good.

[whispers] Car died. That’s
why I still got all this shit on me.

- I’ll take care of it.
- Okay. Thank you.

You want a beer - or something?
- I’m good. Thank you.

- Thanks, man.
- All right.

Thanks.

You look out for people,
Shaun, and they look out for you.

You can patent that. [laughs]

What the hell are
y’all doing out here?

I wasn’t gonna let Irving
listen to the game by himself.

This your son?

Yeah. Yeah, this is Shaun.

- He’s good-looking.
- You’re supposed to say, "Like his daddy."

I know what I’m supposed to say.

[all laugh] Whoo!

[friend] Stella!

Stella! Stella!

[Stella] You been
drinking already, Georgie?

- We’ve been waiting on you.
- I’m here now, ain’t I?

- So where you ladies goin’?
- Few drinks. You comin’?

Nah. Well, maybe later. I
gotta take him home, so...

[sighs]

Your loss.

[chattering, laughing]

You know I told you
not to fart in the car?

Don’t shit where you eat either.

Okay? [laughs][all laugh]

- He ain’t lyin’.
- You can patent that too.

[Carl] He ain’t lyin’.

[coughing]

You okay, Irving?

Yeah, I’m all right. [coughs]

Get some water for
him. Get some water.

You okay?

[siren wailing in distance]

[Rob] And that was the last day

I remember being a child.

[gunshots][women screaming]

[screaming, gunshots continue]

[person panting]

[phone ringing]

[reporter] The East Orange
community is still reeling

from the murders of two sisters,
Charlene and Estella Moore,

at their apartment in the
early hours of Sunday morning.

[ringing continues] Shaun!

DeShaun, get the phone!

I got it.

Daddy, your bathwater is ready.

Be polite.

Hello. Peace residence.

You know I didn’t
do this, right?

You know I didn’t
kill those girls?

Say it.[Shaun]
You didn’t kill them.

- Kill who?
- You didn’t kill those girls.

That’s right, and
it’s gonna be okay.

Okay?

All right, put your mom back on.

[sighs] So, what’s gonna
happen next? What’s the process?

I don’t even know. I don’t know
what’s going on. Just some...

[sighs] They searched
my apartment, took my gun.

They’re not even getting
me a lawyer right now.

They’re saying this whole
thing could take years.

[official] I have been informed
that the jury has reached a verdict

in the matter of the State
v. Robert E. Douglas.

If it pleases the court,

the verdict should be
read into the record.

The jury finds the defendant,
Robert E. Douglas, guilty...

[cheering]

...on two counts of
murder in the first degree.

[judge] Mr. Douglas,

do you have anything to say
at this time before sentencing?

I did not commit this crime.

I don’t even know
why I’m accused of this.

[sighs] I didn’t know
Miss Broadway.

I don’t know how she
could identify my voice

from an argument
happening down the hall.

First time I ever laid eyes
on her was the day before.

She was so drunk, she couldn’t have told
you whether it was Hanukkah or Halloween.

Mr. Douglas, I know that
you’ve maintained your innocence

throughout this trial.

And I have to tell
you that I’m struggling.

I mean, I’m sitting here
with this verdict, and I...

just don’t know.

Your Honor, I got
a ten-year-old son...

who’s been coming to the
jail with his... with his mother

every week for years now.

My son’s a beautiful child.

He’s a brilliant child.

A brilliant child.

I thank God every day.

[Rob] And from then on, I knew

I would need to
control the chaos of life.

[waves crashing]

[waves lapping]

[Jackie’s father] He just
never stood a chance.

Once them police
get the lock on you...

At least they gave him life,

not the death penalty.

[Jackie] I’m gonna put
Shaun in private school.

He’ll be okay in elementary,

but after that, he’s
going to private.

- How?
- I got three years to figure it out.

He ain’t staying in these
schools around here.

If they only see him
as the son of a convict,

that’s the only way
he will see himself.

He didn’t do it. How are
we gonna get him out?

The best thing you could do for
Skeet is to keep being brilliant.

It’s the best thing you
could do for me too.

Come here, baby.

[grunts] Getting big.

You know, in this neighborhood,
everybody knows you as "Shaun."

But everybody who knows
Shaun knows about those women

and about your daddy
and what they say he done.

So out there in the world,
you use your first name, Robert.

It’ll keep your
daddy in your heart,

if you want him there.

And at the same time,
as far as anybody knows,

Rob Peace ain’t got nothing
to do with Skeet Douglas.

You understand?

[person] I wanna
ask you a question.

I ask it of all my freshmen
at the beginning of the year.

What do you think is
the most important thing

that you can learn here?

What’s the most important
idea, virtue or philosophy

that St. Benedict’s
can encourage?

Anyone?

Tavarus?

Uh, kindness?

[all chuckle]

[priest] Kindness.

I like that.

Certainly part of it.

Anyone else?

I wanna be fearless.

Fearlessness.

Fearless? Okay.

Anyone else?

Brotherhood?

Thank you, Rob.

Brotherhood.

"Whatever hurts
my brother hurts me."

In your time at St. Benedict’s,

you will come to understand
these words deeply.

They will carry you
through the rest of your lives,

just as they have for me.

[clamoring]

[cheering][whistle blows]

Decades ago, when I first
came to this school as a student,

it was for rich white kids.

Years later, when we
reopened for this community,

we purposely left it, in many
ways, the same as it was.

Educationally, of course,

but also sports as
well as sciences.

Fencing, water polo,

trips along the
Appalachian Trail.

Why?

To support the
bonds of brotherhood.

"Whatever hurts my brother

hurts me."

[bell rings]

[friend] Wow, Rob!
You are a genius.

- I knew it.
- You did pretty good too.

Shit!

We’ll keep studying
together, Tav.

Whatever.

We’ll get your grade
up, no problem.

["Time’s Up" playing]

♪ Speakin’ in tongues ♪

♪ About what you did
But you never done it ♪

♪ Admit it, you bit it... ♪

[door opens]

- [Jackie] You okay?
- Uh-huh.

I got some math for
you. You got the ledger?

Yeah.

How much to change your
tuition from yearly to monthly?

Uh, an extra $97 a month,
or just over $1,100 a year.

$1,164.

Why? You lost a job?

Administration
cuts at the hospital.

But I’ll get something else.

So, if we get all the
money back now,

then with two weeks’ severance and
875 bucks a month from the insurance,

how we lookin’?

[Rob] Uh...

We’ll be fine for a while.

Just need to bring down the
living costs by, like, $40 a week.

I could help with that.

Plus, we don’t need
all that fresh produce.

Not for me, anyway.
I’ll eat whatever.

You’ll eat horse meat if I
put ketchup on it. [chuckles]

What’s all of this?

It’s Dad’s friend,
Irving Gaskins.

Said Dad was innocent.
Died before he could testify.

I’m not killing myself
working three jobs

if you’re not even gonna
concentrate on your schoolwork.

I just wanna know what happened.

And anyways, as of right
now, you only got two jobs.

Don’t sass me. I’m serious.

I better get to these kitchens
before they fire me too.

Ma?

The school’s great.

When I get through it,

I’m gonna take care
of everything, I promise.

When we get through
it, you’re going to college.

And after that, be my guest.

Take care of everything.

[chuckles]

[Rob] Science helped me
navigate the challenges I faced.

[camera shutter clicks]

Science is organized.

[camera shutter clicks]

Results come from the collection

and analysis of data.

Completing tasks,

interpreting results

and reaching conclusions.

[door opens]

[young Rob] After your house on Pierson
Street burned down, you didn’t have any money.

The public defender should’ve
seen that you were indigent

and joined your
case straightaway.

"Indigent"?[Rob] Yeah.

If they’d seen that
you were indigent,

your trial would’ve
started three years earlier,

Mr. Gaskins would’ve
still been alive

and able to testify that the
murder weapon wasn’t yours.

Of course it wasn’t mine.

So, what does that all mean now?

I can file this for you.

It means you’re entitled
to post-conviction relief

because they violated
your right to a speedy trial.

It means they could let you out.

That’s the Sixth Amendment.

[chuckles]

Just like Irving used to say.

You’re the goddamned cavalry.

["Thuggish Ruggish
Bone" playing]

[knocks on door]

♪ It’s the Thuggish
Ruggish Bone...♪

There’s a lot of leaves
out here. Want some help?

- How much do you want for it?
- Uh, $20.

Great. - Knock when you’re done.
- All right.

Thank you.

♪ You’re feelin’ the strength
Of the rump, step up ♪

♪ Hear the funk of the
jump That the thugstas feel ♪

♪ Just be thuggin’, buggin’ ♪

♪ Lovin’ yo peoples
’Cause we so real ♪

♪ Chill Better bring yo
weapon When steppin’♪

♪ Bring on that ammunition
Trip and don’t slip ♪

♪ Not to mention Never
knew no competition ♪

♪ But I gotta get mine
So scream out, mo’♪

♪ And let me hear ya holla ♪

♪ Not about That mighty dollar ♪

♪ Roll with the bone
Mo’ thugs will follow ♪

♪ Chain gang
Remainin’ the same ♪

♪ Flamin’ my dank
And drinkin’ brew ♪

♪ Thinkin’ about that
hangin’ Clockin’ my bank ♪

♪ And thuggin’
with trues Foo’s ♪

♪ It’s the Thuggish
Ruggish Bone ♪

♪ It’s the Thuggish
Ruggish Bone ♪

♪ It’s the Thuggish
Ruggish Bone ♪

[judge] The Sixth Amendment
guarantees the right to a speedy trial.

And while I accept the
public defender’s position

that three years is not
uncommon for a capital crime,

it is my belief that the death of
Mr. Gaskins in the interim period

was of significant
negative impact in this case.

And as a consequence thereof,

the indictment which
charged Robert E. Douglas

with murder and other
offenses is dismissed.

[whoops][shouts]

[gasps, exclaims]

[both laughing]

Shaun! You did
it, Son! You did it!

This decision is stayed for 30
days should the State wish to appeal.

We will, Your Honor.

In the interim, Mr. Douglas,
you are free to go.

[music playing][people laughing]

[Skeet] I’m telling you, that
was over in Crown Heights.

[Carl] You don’t know
Brooklyn from Queens.

[laughing, chattering]

[Skeet] He’s talking about
me?[Rob] You? What?

[Carl] So you weren’t in Harlem?

[all laughing]

[Skeet] It’s just
good times, man.

Skeet?

- You looking good, Jackie.
- How long you out?

It’ll be a few weeks
before the appeal.

You putting the
band back together?

He said it was cool
if I came through.

Oh, so he’s in charge now?

- Jackie, let’s go talk.
- I don’t wanna talk, Skeet.

Congratulations on getting out.

On him getting you out.

He’s working three
jobs on top of school.

- What, you his fourth now?
- Ma!

Shaun!

Shaun!

Shaun!

Shaun! Shaun!

You got in!

- Shaun!
- What?

You got into Yale, baby!

- What?
- You got in!

You opened my letter?

You got in!

You got into
Yale![laughing] What?

- Yes!
- My baby got into Yale.

- [Rob laughing] Yes!
- Yes, baby! Yes!

[sniffling]

- Stop crying, Ma.
- I can’t stop.

[sniffles] In what universe
are we sitting at this table

working out colleges for you
to go to, including Ivy League?

"Universe" is right.

I mean, this one don’t even
look like it’s on the planet Earth.

- [Jackie] Because it’s not.
- Look, I don’t even gotta do all that.

Montclair a good school too. I’d be
around here. I wouldn’t have to leave home.

Montclair?

When you could be a science major
for Penn, Johns Hopkins or Yale?

- With a handout.
- It’s not a handout.

St. Benedict’s is gonna pay his way
because he makin’ them look good.

[phone ringing]

I don’t need you around here.

I need you with a future that
people around here can’t get.

Hello?

It’s for you.

Now, look, I gotta get to work.

- I’m so proud of you. Mmm.
- Mmm.

Skeet Douglas.

[person on phone
speaking indistinctly]

Uh-huh.

Okay.

Yeah.

[handset settles in cradle]

They appealed already.

I’m going back next week.

Fuck!

[Skeet] It’s all
for nothin’. Just...

Just...

Nah. Nah, nah, nah.

We did it once. We do it again.

This is temporary. I
promise you. Just...

I promise you.

[sighs]

Okay.

Knowing about what I’ve
been experiencing, you know?

Just all these minds literally
being damaged on a daily basis.

The boy was brilliant. From,
like, this big, he was brilliant.

[friend] This one?[Skeet] Yeah.

[friend] Is that right, Shaun?
You were always brilliant?

Aw, no, look, now
you’re calling me a nerd.

That’s like calling me a nerd.

You gotta ask one question.
Where’d he get it from?

[all laughing]

It ain’t from him. It ain’t him.

- It ain’t his genes.
- He said, "Yeah."

[all laughing, chattering]

Call me later. All
right.[friend] All right.

You look out for your daddy now.

I’ll try my best.

[friend] Skeet raised him
good.[friend 2] Yeah. Good boy.

Can hardly recognize it now.

Last time I saw it, it
was still all burned out,

before they fixed it up.

I’m gonna go and talk to him.

[Skeet] I remember my
father talking all the time

about the racist
bullshit he went through

to buy that house after the war.

It was a white
neighborhood back then.

When he died, I
wanted us all to live in it.

Like a family.

Your mother said no ’cause
I was shifting a little weed.

So I took that apartment
on Chestnut with Carl.

Rented the house out to them
fools that never paid me a dime.

Ended up setting
the place on fire.

In the end, Michael
Tucker was the only one

who’d pay all the back
taxes and buy it off me.

For a dollar.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m
not blaming your mother.

I just don’t believe you can
ever be facing the wrong direction

if you’re standing
by your people.

Ever.

I’ll patent that.

[chuckles]

[chuckles]

Yeah, patent that shit.

Patent that shit.

[sighs]

[sighs] I’ll bring the car
back in a few weeks, all right?

- Take your time.
- Yes, sir.

Make sure you enjoy
yourself up there.

Thank you.

[Frances, Rob chuckle]

[Rob] All right, y’all.

Now, you know you don’t
have to change, Shaun.

We love you just
the way you are.

If you come back
here a white man,

I ain’t letting you in
the house.[all laugh]

Take care of yourself, Son.

Mm-hmm. Yes, ma’am.

- I love you.
- I love you.

All right.

[engine starts]

[Rob] My passion began
to carry me away from home

with a worry that I was
leaving a part of myself behind.

At Yale, I would learn
how any organism,

finding itself in
unfamiliar surroundings,

relies on one key biological
mechanism to thrive:

evolution.

Chloroplasts from the
second endosymbiosis

have their own
genome and ribosomes,

and, as a result, we have
double-membrane organelles.

Ultimately, what we’re
looking at on this board

are probably the most important
events in all of evolutionary history.

Okay, let’s turn to page 177.

Let’s dig into this.

Wow. That was intense.

[both chuckle]

Why are you taking Intro Biology

if you really wanna be
an English major, man?

Uh, to keep my parents
off my back, mostly.

They’re not that excited
about me being a writer.

But, you know,

writing is a
holistic experience.

You gotta know all of it.

I wanna write about
the human heart.

How do you do that if
you don’t take biology?

You sound like you gonna
be all right, man.[chuckles]

What are you thinking
about as a major?

I’m looking at MB&B.

Molecular biophysics
and biochemistry?

Isn’t that, like, the
hardest course here?

Like, literally the
hardest course at Yale?

Maybe the physical
chemistry part, but...

Uh-huh.

- And that doesn’t worry you?
- Nah. I mean, it’s science.

Most of the time, things work
out the way they supposed to.

Make it easier than
anything else. Think about it.

[chuckles]

[ringing]

[Rob] Jeff! Hang on, Jeff.
Hold on. No, it’s all right.

- No, it’s okay.
- I got it. I got it. I got it.

Yeah. It’s for me.[person on
phone] ...correctional facility?

[door closes]

Hey, hey, Dad.

[Skeet] Hey, Son.

You settling in okay?

Yeah. You know, it’s, uh,
classes, water polo practice.

I’m working in the
kitchen like Ma.

[chuckles]

Sounds good.

[chuckles]

Get that court date yet?

Nah. I’ve been talking to somebody
over there almost every day though.

We’ll find out soon enough.

Uh-huh.

You know, you, uh--

You ain’t gotta
call me here. I, uh--

I can-- I can reach out to you
when I hear something from ’em,

or I can just come
see you, you know?

- Why’s that?
- There’s another guy in the dorm.

I don’t want everybody
in my business. That’s all.

No problem.

You can call me anytime,
Shaun. You know where I am.

[buzzer sounds]

[handset settles in cradle]

[indistinct
shouting][whistle blows]

[beeps]

[whistle blows]

[whistle blows]

Hey.

Nice work, man.

[beeps][gate unlocks]

Yo! Yo! You mind
holding the door for me?

Uh, you got a pass?

Yeah. It’s in my bag.

No, he’s okay. He’s okay.

You must be - the brother from Newark.
- Yeah, Rob. What the fuck?

Sherman. I was the brother
from Newark last year.

This is Oswaldo.

You gonna walk
around Yale being Black,

you gotta keep that ID handy.

Damn! It’s like that?

[Sherman] Don’t worry.
You’ll, uh-- You’ll get used to it.

- You smoke?
- Don’t everybody?

[Oswaldo] Right?

Are you serious?

Well, I’m just saying

incremental change isn’t
necessarily a bad thing.

It’s how most things get done.

Why not apply that to race
relations at Ivy Leagues?

Amen. It isn’t always about
revolution. It’s about education.

Isn’t that why we’re here?

Problem is, most white
people are addicted to status.

It’s their drug of choice.

So a lot of these racist
motherfuckers are just...

high.

[all laugh]

[Sherman] I hear that,
Naya. What about you, Rob?

You’re fresh off the boat. You think we
need to rise up against the man over here?

You wanna know the truth?
You want me to be honest?

Yeah.

I-- Look, I honestly
don’t give a fuck.

I don’t give a fuck.

About racism?

Here? Mm-mmm.

Well, that’s crazy. [laughs]

Nah. Look. No, look, if some
white boy took the wrong turn

and ended up in my neighborhood,

I promise you his
only thought gonna be

how the fuck is he gonna get
back amongst his own people

before something happens
to him.[Oswaldo] Okay.

But, look, we all took the wrong
turn, and we ended up at Yale. Word?

[all chuckle]

For real, it’s
some bullshit. It is.

But I’m not here to
educate. I’m trying to learn.

I’m trying to figure out the best way to
help my community when the time comes.

The fuck else is there?

I’m not about to keep my
guard up if nobody’s swinging.

[all chuckle]

You could patent that, Naya.

[Jackie] For my baby.

["Free" playing]

[chattering]

You did. I taught
you very well. [laughs]

So, you were saying
about the course?

Yeah. You know, with molecular
biophysics and biochemistry,

you got all these
other sciences rolled in.

Like, uh, geology, engineering, even
a-- astrophysics. You can learn about--

- Like space?
- Yeah.

We learn how everything
work, everything.

It’s incredible.

So what are you gonna
do when you finish?

Then I’m gonna go into research.

New cancer
treatments, immunology.

When I graduate, I’ll take a
PhD, become a professor myself.

[Frances gasps]

Open my own lab one day.

Curing cancer?

Maybe.

"Professor Peace cures cancer."

[Frances laughs]
That’s a headline.

[Frances] Our
grandbaby.[grandfather laughing]

We got a court date - in five months.
- Five months?

That’s what they sayin’.
That’s the soonest they can do.

With a whole new setup?

That’s right, a new judge.

I only got out ’cause
of that judge, Shaun.

That judge knew I didn’t
do shit from the start.

I know, but there’s still
no case there, though, Pop.

Well, they sure as fuck
thought there was a case.

How much can you put
together for a lawyer?

- I mean a good one.
- There’s nothing, Pop.

What about the people that
raised your money for school?

That’s just tuition. I’m working
in the kitchen for everything else.

What about your friends up
there? They’re all rich people, right?

- I can’t ask them.
- Why not?

’Cause you don’t wanna
tell ’em I’m in here?

Didn’t you promise me
you’ll get me out of this place?

- I am.
- Then stop screening my calls and fucking do it!

They’re trying to send
me back to Trenton

and fucking bury
me there, Shaun!

You’re the only
one I fucking got!

[buzzer sounds]

[door slams]

[Curtis] Here we
go.[person whimpering]

We got you. We
got you. We got you.

- There we go.
- It’s okay, Dad.

[Curtis] You
okay?[father shouts]

[father groaning]

[sighs] Thanks, Ma.

[door closes]

Um...

Tav’s coming over.
You wanna smoke?

Huh. [sniffs]

One day, we’re
gonna have to find out

what God has against the
fathers of the sons of East Orange.

[Tav] I know, right?

[Curtis] I never really know
what’s going on with my dad.

He’s going back to the
hospital in a few weeks.

I think I’m gonna
drop out of Morehouse.

Come back for a bit.

You for real?

Yeah.

My mom’s nervous as shit
to be in the house by herself.

Only white lady in
a three-mile radius.

Man, I told you I could help her
sell this place if it comes down to that.

How the real estate
business coming?

For me, it’s dog shit mostly.

They still got me
doing title research.

But there’s money
in flipping houses.

Or just getting all these vacant
homes back in circulation.

Yo, that’s actually what I
wanted to talk to you about.

Look, if we still had my
dad’s place on Pierson,

we wouldn’t be
in any of this shit.

I’d flip it in a heartbeat, get
my dad the lawyer he wants

and still have enough
money for grad school.

That’s what Yale got
me thinking about, man.

Wealth.[friend chuckles]

Legacy.

When you start
with it, what it means.

I mean, look at that school.

It took 200 years for
Yale to be what it is. More.

That’s what we
gotta do out here--

change the microenvironment.

[chuckles] The what?
The microenvironment?

[Rob] In cancer research,
you improve immune response

in a microenvironment.

Healthy cells flourish.
Tumor cells can’t.

Sometimes I forget how
much of a fucking nerd you are.

[laughing]

[Rob] My father believed
in standing by your people

to fight uncertainty and chaos.

And I wanted to do the same.

So, inspired by him

and the biological
world I was studying,

I would try and pull all the
divergent areas of my life together

and create balance.

Be sure the glassware
is all put away.

You can keep the hoods
on for the next class.

Thank you, everybody.

Professor Durham, you mind
if I have a quick word with you?

Of course.

I enjoyed your paper, Mr. Peace.

Your knowledge of mitochondrial
diseases is very advanced for a freshman.

Why is that?

I did a couple extra courses

at Essex Community
College my senior year.

[chuckles] Come on. That’s it?

No, I, uh-- I actually
got a bit obsessed with it.

Metabolic disorders,
gene therapy treatments,

that kind of thing.

Some students can find
the increase in workload here

overwhelming early on.

Doesn’t seem to be
bothering you though.

Uh, yeah. I think I’m
doing all right. I, uh...

That’s what I wanted to
talk to you about actually,

if there’s anything else
I could be looking at.

Yes, always. What
are you bad at?

What are your gaps?

I guess right now it’s lab work.

I haven’t had that much
exposure to it at this level.

I think that’s why I’m
favoring the theoretical

over the practical
side of things.

Well, how about assisting
grad students in the lab?

We don’t normally offer
that until the sophomore year,

but if you’re committed, I’m
prepared to make an exception.

Of course.
- That’d be great. - Yes?

- Thank you.
- Okay. I’ll set it up.

Thank you.

[whistle blows][people
shouting, cheering]

[cheering]

["Respect Yourself" playing]

♪ Just get out the way ♪

♪ And let the
gentleman Do his thing ♪

♪ You the kind of gentleman ♪

♪ That want
everything Your way...♪

Let’s go! Let’s go, baby!

♪ It’s a brand-new day... ♪

Rob!

[laughing]

Hey, uh, don’t take
this the wrong way,

but my regular guy didn’t show.

You know where we
can get some weed?

Yeah. As a matter of fact,
yeah, I do. Yeah, come on.

- You ready right now?
- Yeah, I’m ready right now.

My man! Eric, come on. Come
on. Come on. We’re out. We’re out.

Are you coming or what? Come on.

Y’all good? [laughs] I’m great.

♪ Respect yourself♪
Na, na, na, na, na ♪

♪ Respect yourself♪
Di, di, di, di ♪

["Ring The Alarm"
playing on speakers]

You’ve gotta be
fucking kidding me.

- Hey.
- This is not cool, man.

It’s a sacred space.[Rob]
No, man. It’s, uh--

It’s time to integrate
the neighborhood.

’Sup?

What is happening?

[Rob] All right, okay.

Let’s-- Let’s all
play nice. [chuckles]

God forbid we actually learn
something about each other here.

Rich folk, meet some
slightly less rich folk.

[scoffs]

[Rob] Hey, no pro
bono work, man.

You better pull some
money out your toga.

No problem, man.[chuckles]

Over there.

["One Life to Live"
playing on speakers]

♪ And I got dreams
How to make it big ♪

♪ I got the vibe ♪

♪ I risk every chance I take...♪

You know, you might actually
be onto something here.

- How so?
- It’s a hard market to break into if you’re not one of ’em.

For the most part, people sell
weed to their own groups, right?

Gives the white guys
an advantage overall.

- You do okay though, right?
- Yeah, but I don’t need much.

Still do some accounting for my dad’s
contracting business in New Jersey,

and I got that work-study
thing at the library here, so...

- Contractor?
- Yeah, he does well.

But I don’t wanna live
off him, so I move a little.

Off-campus, make sure ends meet.

Wait. On the street?
In New Haven?

Yeah. Small-time though.

[laughing] What? Aight, shit!

- White boys sell it on campus?
- Mostly.

Even if they got caught,
which they never do,

they got the strings to pull.

But the school couldn’t care less
about throwing my ass to the curb,

or yours for sure.

It’s the bullshit we’re in now.

Uh, not "we." [chuckles]

Equal rights to sell drugs is not
the hill I’m about to die on, bro.

[laughs] Fuck that.

[Naya] Hey, guys.

Not sure how much more of
your privileged shit I can take.

One of your people out there has a
tattoo that says, "Dominate or drown."

[Rob chuckles]

[mouths] What the fuck?

Hey, it’s not my people,
but it’s true. [chuckles]

See ya, fellas.

See ya.

- [Oswaldo] You good, man?
- Hmm?

[laughs]

I’m fine.

[Naya] So, what’s
your greatest fear?

I fear failure, I guess,
like everybody else.

What about you?

Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m
scared of everything.[both chuckle]

So it’d probably be easier for me
to tell you what I’m not scared of.

Okay, what are
you not scared of?

Honestly, I guess I’m not
scared of failure. [laughing]

[laughing] What?

Like, I’d rather not fail.

But most of the times, isn’t
that the best way to learn?

No, not for me,
if I can avoid it.

And how do you avoid it?

Try to keep things simple.

Harmonize complexities
until a solution presents itself.

So you’re an idealist
is what this means?

No, I’m a scientist.

["Closer" playing on speakers]

♪ I’m moving upward And onward ♪

♪ And beyond
All that I can see ♪

♪ Stretching out my
arms And I can reach ♪

♪ Oh, so close
It’s right there ♪

[song fades]

[Durham] Okay, for
the ELISA experiment,

choose your primary
antibody and your enzyme label

and then proceed once you’re
satisfied with the calibration curve.

[door opens][person
speaking indistinctly]

[person] Excuse me.

What are you
doing at this station?

Aren’t you the lab assistant?

Yeah. Professor Durham asked me
to come and check the crystal screens.

Really? Why?

[chuckles] You gotta
ask her that, man.

[scoffs]

Is-- Oh, is that
yours right there?

Yeah.

I had a question about
the protein preparation.

I’m sorry?

You’re using a phosphate buffer.

That’s gonna bind, right?

No. Its dialyzed,

so any binding at this
scale will be negligible.

Yeah, it’ll be small, but I
don’t think it’ll be negligible.

- You don’t think?
- No.

I think it’s fine.

Okay.

You know, I actually don’t
even trust what you think, man.

Excuse me?

You came in here thinking
I was in the wrong place.

I’m not.

[scoffs]

I spoke with them about
questioning you. It won’t happen again.

I really don’t need you to
fight my battles for me, okay?

Okay.

But it wasn’t entirely
for you, to be honest.

Bias, any bias,

racial or gendered, it’s a...
serious challenge for us here.

Science is almost defined by
its paternalism and conservatism.

It’s a problem, not
just for individuals

but for the
discipline as a whole.

You, for example,

have a brilliant mind and
a unique life experience.

Certainly unique
from most of us here.

And that combination might
make you just a little more likely

to think of an alternative
solution to a problem, right?

Rather than just the incremental
evolution of an existing solution.

To think radically.

And radical thinking
changes the world.

So I’m an experiment too?

Well, we all are when it
comes down to it, yeah?

It’s the reason why we
should never lose sight

of fundamental
scientific reasoning.

If complications arise...

try making changes.

You can choose hours when
it’s quiet around here if you want.

[sighs]

Can I ask you something?

Yeah.

What’s going on?

I just got a lot on my mind.

I’m just trying
to talk. That’s all.

Okay.

[clears throat]

- I got a friend back at home.
- Mm-hmm.

And he’s doing time.

And he has an appeal
coming up, and he’s probably...

gonna lose.

And it’s just been
stressing me out.

I could raise
money for a lawyer,

but that’s just gonna fuck up
everything I got going over here.

So, you feel like you’re pulled
between this place and home.

Yeah.

It’s hard to know
what’s more important.

Yeah.

I am deeply
unsettled by this case.

And I unequivocally side
with the State’s counter appeal.

I see no reason for the
post-conviction relief to stand.

I can honestly not see why it
was instituted in the first place.

It is hereby overturned,

and you are to be sent back to
Trenton Correctional Institution

to serve out the
remainder of your sentence.

[sighs]

[lawyer] This latest
judgment is absurd.

For a retainer of a few thousand
dollars, I can take this on,

and I think we will win.

But I warn you,
it’ll get expensive.

And the basis from which
we would now be working

is that your father was
treated unfairly by the system,

even though he was guilty.

I understand that as a strategy.

It’s not a strategy.

Of course, it’s possible that
Irving Gaskins was telling the truth

and the police planted a
murder weapon on your father.

But it’s also possible,
and if you ask me, likely,

he was simply
protecting his friend.

It’s not just
Mr. Gaskins though.

There was a lot of questions
about the murder weapon.

I believe the police destroyed
my father’s gun and switched it out.

There’s absolutely no
evidence to support that.

And why did your father
have a gun on him at all?

Probably for protection. He
was selling weed back then.

You never asked him.

I don’t need to.

Look, I’m sure that I would
wanna believe my father too.

But in this case,

the objective facts
are just not on his side.

[Rob] I spoke to a lawyer.

You can afford a lawyer?

[Rob] Just wanted
to see what he’d say.

And what’d he say?

He didn’t think
Dad was innocent.

Well, what do you think?

I think it’s the system.

I think they cover themselves.

They cover their own.

Shaun, it’s been over 13 years.
You don’t think you should stop?

It don’t matter if it’s been 13
years or 30 years if he didn’t do it.

There’s no motive.

The murder weapon
is inconsistent.

No history of violence.

"No history of violence."

You tell me then,
was he violent?

Was he?

With you.

It didn’t happen a
lot, but it happened.

And when it did, I made sure we
all weren’t living in the same house.

I didn’t think there was much
wrong with trying to preserve a little bit

of the image you
had of your father.

[sighs] Maybe even
that was too much.

[door closes]

[sighs]

[person panting]

Fuck!

Shit!

[breathing shakily]

[crying]

I should’ve told you it
was my dad in prison, baby.

I’m sorry.

It’s okay.

It’s okay. I get it.

Rob, you just have to know

that none of this is your fault.

It’s not.

So why is it on you?

I just don’t believe
he’s a murderer.

You shouldn’t have
to carry all of this.

[sighs]

God, you deserve
to live your life.

You deserve to have
a shot at being happy.

[sighs]

[kisses]

[kisses]

When I was a kid, I used to sit
in front of my house after the rain.

You ever notice how the tires
hit the blacktop after the rain?

[waves crash]

[Rob] It sounds like the ocean.

Used to close my eyes

and pretend I was on some
beautiful beach somewhere.

Switch off.

I gotta find that spot.

Maybe I can help.

I mean, my mom’s from
Rio. My dad’s from San Juan.

I do know something
about beaches.

[phone ringing]

[exhales][ringing continues]

[ringing continues]

[ringing continues]

[beeps] Hello?

[beeps]

This is a call from the
Trenton Correctional Facility.

Will you accept the charges?

Um...

Sure.

I’ve been getting these
headaches for a while now.

Just...

Just brushed it off.

You never think it’s
gonna be something bad.

And I just, uh--

I blacked out.

Keeled over in the dayroom.

They took me down to
the infirmary for tests, and...

And it came back
with brain cancer.

[Skeet breathes shakily]

[crying]

That’s when I
called you. I’m sorry.

It’s okay. It’s okay.

It’s okay. I’m sorry I
haven’t been here as much.

I’m gonna take care of you.

I’m gonna get you out of here.

It’s too late for that.

It’s only gonna be a few months
now anyway. They said, uh--

[sighs]

They said six.

[exhales]

You let me take care of you,
it’ll be a lot longer than that.

I study cancer.

I study cancer.

I know all about the new
medications and what they do.

I can buy ’em for you.

You’ll see me
graduate, for a start.

And way beyond that.

You’re not gonna
fight this alone. Okay?

I will get you out of here, Dad.

I love you.

[sighs]

I love you too, Son.

[Rob] The need for
my father’s medication

tested everything I
thought I believed.

Tested my
commitment to family...

community...

all of it.

Was I prepared
to risk everything...

that I had achieved

for him?

Watch your head
when you’re coming in.

[Rob] I want this
application to be truthful.

And the truth is, I’m not
proud of all the choices I made.

A lot of my dad’s shit is still down
here, but you can use the place.

- This is perfect, man.
- Yeah.

Working in the lab

means I can bring the
equipment back out here.

You bring the bulk weed
from Florida, all right?

And I’ll treat the buds,

make ’em more potent.

Everything on campus
is pretty much dog shit,

so it’s a huge market
for good product.

There’s plenty of
white boys selling.

The school kinda let it slide.

You gonna pack it all from here?

If that’s all
right.[Curtis] Sure.

My mom’s not coming back.

Not since my dad passed.

[canister hissing]

It’s good.

How good? Articulate it.

"Articulate it"?

It’s like I don’t
feel all fucked up,

but I’m still getting
high as a motherfucker.

You feel like you
could still do shit?

Like what?

I don’t know. Like
read a book, drive a car.

- [Curtis] Right now?
- Hypothetically, bro.

[inhales sharply]

Maybe.

So what, you mixing different
strains together or something?

Nah, man. If we had some planters,
I could do some hybridization.

Mmm.

But for now, I’m just
extracting the cannabis oil

and dropping it
right on the buds.

But mostly butane.

Patent this shit,
bro. Patent it.

You guys wanna open a window?

[Tav] Shit.[partner] Or
maybe grab me a gas mask?

Sorry, babe.

[clears throat]

[kisses]

[partner] You coming up anytime
soon?[Tav] I’m coming now.

[clears throat]

You’re sitting on a
gold mine, man, for real.

[Rob] Look, we do
this the right way, man,

we can get to that
other thing too.

Abandoned homes, bro.

Getting a legacy.

I don’t want your boy
growing up the way we did.

It’s cool. It’s cool. It’s cool.

[inhales deeply]

[laughs]

Come on!

[laughing] Come on! Yo!

[buyer] Rob Peace!
How’d you know?

In and out of the pool.

[Rob] Gotta stay sedated.

What’s that right
there? Let me see.

This is 40? Yeah, that’s a 40.

[guard] Douglas,
medication for you.

It seems plausible
to infer the information

from the differences
in electron densities.

Yes. It’s excellent.

Look, I think it’ll make a
pretty good subject for a PhD.

I wanna stick to biochemistry and
therapeutic application postgrad.

Yes! That’s great news.

I think you should start applying
for programs as soon as possible.

You’ll have my full
recommendation to a topflight school,

and now in your final year,

we’ll just continue to support
you in any way we can.

[person] Yo, what’s up, bro?

[chattering]

- [lawyer] Mr. Douglas.
- Hey. How you doing?

- Hello.
- Hey.

Tom Rivers.
Pleasure to meet you.

Even if somebody opened it,

they still wouldn’t
know what’s inside.

How much is enough?

Lawyer gonna need
30K for the next review.

Same thing for another
six months of medication.

You okay?

I just feel like I
came a long way

just to end up with the
biggest dealer on campus.

But you know - what I’m doing this for.
- Yeah. I do.

- So why you giving me shit?
- Because it feels like you like this.

I don’t like it. But
what the fuck?

Am I supposed to walk
around mad all day?

Ain’t this what you asked me
to do? Live my life, be happy?

Yeah. That’s
right. That’s right.

But you want me to
watch you not give a fuck

that you could be doing this for
somebody who killed two women.

- He didn’t kill anybody!
- You’re sure about that, now?

Then why is it such
a big secret, huh?

Why don’t you go tell everybody?

Do a fucking charity event.
Raise money that way.

You know why you don’t?

Because you don’t
fucking know, Rob.

What does that say about you?

What the fuck does
it say about me?

This is why I didn’t
wanna fucking tell anybody.

Because they’d ask questions.

Fuck.

Remember when you were
the smart guy from New Jersey?

Nobody knew what to make of you.

Now you’re just a drug dealer
from East Orange, doing stupid shit.

And guess what.

Everybody’s cool.

[grunts]

[trunk rattles]

[softly] Fuck.

[metal clatters]

[Durham] I noticed the
bioreactor was missing.

It’s $3,000.

I’ve been bringing back
everything as soon as I could.

Why would you do this?

What are you using
this equipment for?

[Rob sighs] You know
what? I don’t wanna know.

It’s done.

It’s...

I didn’t wanna let you down. I’m--
I’m-- I’m the person you think I am.

I am. I promise you.
It’s who I’ve always been.

[exhales slowly]

["Southern Hospitality"
playing on speakers]

[people chattering]

♪ Cadillac grills
Cadillac mill’s ♪

♪ Check out the oil
My Cadillac spills ♪

♪ Matter of fact Candy
paint Cadillacs kill ♪

♪ So check out the
hos My Cadillac fills ♪

♪ Pretty-ass clothes... ♪

[chattering, laughing]

♪ Pretty ass, high
class Anything goes...♪

[song distorts]

[music fades]

[Jeff] Hey, man.

You good?

I just need some fresh
air. I’m just a bit fucked up.

You think Naya’s gonna show?

I can’t believe we’re
almost finished here.

Yeah.

I gotta tell you, man. Um...

If I hadn’t been living
with you, there’s...

a lot that I wouldn’t
have seen or--

Please don’t - do this to me now.
- No. I’m serious.

For real. Like...

I’d have been another
fucking dumbass.

I mean, it’s like... this party.

You’ve got frat boys and polo
players dancing to Ludacris...

[laughing]...with
dining hall ladies

and fucking militant
members of the AfAm Society.

You bring people
together. You do.

I’m never gonna know
how you got through all this,

with everything you got
going on with your dad.

I hope he knows
what you risk for him.

It’s all over now.

I’ve almost raised
all the money I need.

It’s all done.

Anybody else would’ve
done the same.

Uh-huh.

You’re telling me you wouldn’t
have done it for your dad?

My dad? [chuckles]

Even with all the shit I got
going on with my dad, he’d...

He’d never ask
me to risk anything.

[groans]

Oh, my God!

[people speaking indistinctly]

[radio chatter in distance]

[gate unlocks]

[person] Let’s move!
Right up here on the right.

What the fuck?

Fuck! Fuck.

Hey, yo, Tav!

[groans]

[Rob] Tav, wake up, man.

Hey, come on, man!
Tav, wake up, man!

Tav, man, come on! Get
up, man! What is wrong--

Tav! Tav! Wake up! Wake
up![banging doorframe]

I need you to help me with
something, man. Come on!

Fuck, man. Shit.

Come on, Tav, man. Get up, man.

Tav!

All right, look, all this
right here, it’s gotta go.

It’s gotta go.

Hey, yo, Jeff! Hey, yo, Jeff!

- What’s going on?
- Man, security on their way. Go stall them for me.

- I’ll try.
- Go, go, go!

Shit, man!

All right.

We good. It’s outta here.

Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.

- [Jeff] Master Clark.
- Go back.

I’m glad I caught you.
I wanted to talk about...

Open the window.
Open the window. Yeah.

...a couple questions about
my course load this semester.

I was really thinking...

Hold on. Let me lock it.

...if it’s okay, maybe
a master’s program.

If you’ll just take a sec.

You want me to hold on to it?

Nah, it’s drug money,
man. It’s not safe.

...talk to you about a class
that I would like to add.

Take it to Uncle Carl.
Tell him it’s clothes.

...give me a
second of your time?

Please can we
just take a second?

[breathing heavily]

[objects clattering]

[door closes]

Hey.

Jeff told me what was going on.

What happened?

They didn’t find anything.

So Professor Durham convinced
them to let me graduate, but...

she’s, uh, rescinding
her recommendation,

so I won’t be getting into any
postgrad programs anytime soon.

Damn.

That’s Yale, right?

Yeah.

Just before they decided
to name the school after him.

We made it though.

Mm-hmm.

Everything else
we can figure out.

I miss you, Naya.

I’m sorry about
the way I’ve been.

Let’s spend more
time after graduation.

No pressure. I just
wanna see where we are.

I’m leaving, Rob.

What do you mean,
you’re leaving?

After graduation,
I’m going back to Rio.

My mom got a job at an NGO,
and she asked me to come help.

So... Well, for how long?

See how it goes, I guess.

Well, I could come see you.

I mean, look, all that
other shit is behind me.

It’s not behind you.

You just hit your target.

It’ll never be behind you
unless you really change things.

I can’t be with
you if you won’t.

You’ve got a good heart, Rob.

You don’t have
to live like this.

Not for anybody.

[sighs]

[Skeet] Doesn’t
feel like sleeping.

Just... [sighs]

...coming in and
out of darkness.

It’s the medication.

I wake up surprised
I’m not already dead.

Don’t say that.

So you’ll graduate?

Yeah.

I really didn’t think
I’d be around for that.

I told you.

I’m proud of you, Son.

After they nearly kicked me
out, I’ve been thinking about you.

A lot.

Yeah?

My whole life been...
dealing with you in here.

- One way or another.
- I know.

I know. I’m sorry I can’t
give that back to you.

[Rob] No. I don’t want you to.

But I need you
to tell me the truth.

"The truth"?

Did you kill those women?

[Skeet breathing shakily]

You didn’t...

You didn’t believe
me all this time?

No. It’s not that. It’s just
we never talked about it.

Whether Irving was
just trying to protect you.

Why you had the gun - in the first place.
- I’m--

We never talked
about what happened.

[gasping] I’m dying, Shaun.

What difference
does it make now?

I need to know.

You need to know?

Come on! Get out! Come on!

The last thing I
wanna--Get out of here!

The last thing I wanna do - is let go of you, Dad.
- What are you talking about?

But if you can’t tell me
the truth, I got to. I got to.

Get out of here! What the
hell are you talking about?

[sobbing] I’m gonna fucking die.

What’s that...

[sobbing]

[priest] God, accept our
prayers on behalf of your servant,

Skeet Douglas.

Do not count his
deeds against him,

for in his heart, he
desired to do your will.

May your mercy join him
to the angels in heaven.

We ask this through
Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

[Rob] There’s no
reason East Orange

can’t be more like South
Orange or Montclair.

[scoffs][Rob] I’m serious.

And we do it without
moving people out

or raising the rent.

It’s just gonna take time.

First, we concentrate
between South Orange Ave.

and Central.

And when the banks
come in, we can expand.

Right now, we’re
the primary investors.

It’s gonna take about 20K
each for us to get started.

We can put that on top of
what I got saved from Yale.

And how are we getting
the money, selling?

Nah. We’re past that. This
is legit. I’m getting a job.

I could get 20 from the
refinance on this place.

Tav, how much you got saved?

- Around there.
- Mm-mmm.

We’ll figure it
out. It’s all good.

I’m in.

[chuckles]

[grunts]

[Rob] I still believed in
changing the world around me.

[whistle blows]

Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!

[Rob] I believed that all
evolutions could affect the future.

[whistle blows]

And maybe...

Hands up!

...correct the past.

So, what are we looking at?

It’s my dad’s old house.

It burned down years ago.

It was vacant for a while.

How much you
think it’s worth now?

[exhales]

Hard to say from out here.

But, um, if they’ve done
a reasonable job inside,

I’d say... 200,000, 250,000.

200,000, 250,000?

There’s 172 abandoned
homes in East Orange.

Right now, they’re just
havens for gangs and violence.

With your company’s large-scale contracting
work and my knowledge on the ground,

we can buy up enough of them and
turn this whole neighborhood around.

And what are you asking for
exactly? Reduced labor costs?

Yeah, for a significant share
of my company, Peace Realty.

Look... [chuckles]
...even with reduced costs,

you’ll need the banks to loan
you a lot of money up front.

- I know.
- To get that,

you’d have to show
clear and consistent profit

for at least a year, maybe two.

Are you sure that’s what
you wanna be doing?

Right now? Yeah. Yeah, it is.

Okay.

Well...

Yeah, if you can get the
houses to a decent level,

show the numbers working
and guarantee the spend,

yeah, it’s possible
we could come in.

[weed trimmer whirring]

All right, so, uh,
can anyone tell me

what determines the activity
of ions in an aqueous solution?

- Go ahead.
- How they’re charged.

Good. Good! Good!
And? What else we got?

Their density?

Okay. Um--

Their concentration,

or magnitude,

and their sign.

And what’s the Yale
version of all that?

Trust me. Y’all don’t
wanna know that, man.

Come on, sir. Bring
back that knowledge.

[all] Yeah! [clamoring]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! You don’t
wanna know that. It’s the Yale version!

[students clamoring]
For real? All right, look.

[Rob] You asked for it.

I want us all to bear in
mind the Nernst equation.

Yeah. Calculating the
ionic equilibrium potential.

So Ecell, the
instantaneous cell potential...

Y’all don’t wanna know
now.[students laugh]

[Rob] The instantaneous
cell potential...

[hammers
pounding][machinery whirring]

Y’all working hard. [chuckles]

The neighborhood was pretty
good when you were a child.

No reason why it couldn’t
be again.[Rob] Uh-huh.

That was a long time ago, Mama.

The five places in
Oakwood... [chuckles]

...you won’t even recognize them
by the time we’re done with them.

It’s like you got an umbilical
cord stuck in East Orange,

and no one can shake it off you.

Get some rest, Mama.

She’s right. What
we’re doing is important.

We’re changing
things around here.

You already changed
things, Shaun.

You’re the son of a convict,
and you’ve never been to jail.

You changed things.

You’re the son of a convict,
and you went to Yale.

Baby, go to grad school.

The neighborhood’s not on you.

I know you lost your
father, and I lost mine,

and any day now, we’re
gonna lose Mama too.

But at least for right
now, for once in your life,

you can just breathe.

Find your dream.

[Rob] Go ahead. [chuckles]

All right, now.

[Rob, homeowner chuckle]

I’ll get the sign out
of here soon, okay?

All right.

[chuckles]

All right. Let’s do it.

[Oswaldo] Look, I know you think
Peace Realty could basically run itself,

but there are, like, 15 other
Realtors popping up now.

You were right.

You were first, but now
everybody sees the potential.

Even some of the guys who were
working with you started a company.

I trained my competition.
There’s no better compliment.

[Oswaldo] Yeah, but if
you wanna stay on top,

you gotta keep the
business growing.

We can help you do that.

And we’re prepared to
take on a larger commitment.

It was never about
staying on top.

It was about changing
the neighborhood.

It doesn’t matter if that’s with
Peace Realty or with someone else.

Well, it matters to us.

What’s going on, man?

You know, we wanna keep
growing this investment.

And I don’t mean
for developments

like they got going up in
Jersey City and Newark.

I’m talking about a-- a
community trajectory.

You sound like you
sellin’ this to me now.

[laughing] I’m
trying to.[Rob laughs]

Yeah, man, don’t let
Peace Realty fall away.

You’re right. It’s not
just about money.

But it’s that attitude that’s
making this successful.

People know it’s about heart.

[Rob] I’m thinking about
trying something else.

Even getting
inspiration overseas.

Maybe.

I just wanted to talk to you about
it before I made any decisions.

What about continuing
with your studies?

Getting your PhD like
you always wanted?

Running your own lab somewhere?

I like that. I still don’t know
if I can get into any programs

with everything that
happened at Yale.

You might not need those
recommendations anymore.

You graduated with honors, and
you may have been here long enough

to get into a program with
a teaching requirement.

Let me look into it.

But you shouldn’t
leave it any longer.

I’ve seen people get stuck.

I felt so good being here.

These kids, they’re
teaching me a lot too.

That’s how it goes sometimes.

It’s been wonderful
having you here.

But the kids should be
seeing pictures of you on a wall,

not your face in a classroom.

It’s time for you to fly,

so they see they can.

Okay.

[line ringing]

[phone ringing]

[speaking indistinctly]

[beeps][person
answers in Portuguese]

[speaking Portuguese]

[person speaking Portuguese]

[Naya, Rob speaking Portuguese]

[Rob in English] I wanna
ask you something.

Okay.

I started applying to
grad schools again, and...

I can get a place in a program with
an enhanced teaching requirement.

That’s great, Rob.
That sounds perfect.

How would you feel
about coming to see me?

To grad school?

Yeah. You could study, or
you can work. We’ll figure it out.

So you want me to just drop
everything and follow you?

No. What I’m saying is how about
you tell me a place you’d like to visit?

I can see if there’s a school
I can get into around there.

Okay, well, I’ll tell you this.

If it came down
to Stanford or MIT,

I’d definitely visit California
over Massachusetts.

California, it is.

[chuckles]

[handset settles in cradle]

Whoo!

It’s gonna be in
the back over there.

I just put it in the back. It’s
in the back porch, all right?

Just go handle that for
me. I appreciate you, bro.

I spoke to him already.
He said it’s done.

It’s in the back
porch. Go get it.

Thank you.

That’s it right there? Okay.

Let’s see.

They’re gonna need one of
those boards around the corner.

- Rob?
- Yeah?

[speaking indistinctly]

[Rob] Yeah, let’s
do it. Let’s go.

[Oswaldo] Yeah?

Good. Let’s do it.[Rob]
Thank you, man.

[announcer] The Dow
is down a record amount.

Last week it gave up a
devastating 1,874 points.

The people that have the
most to worry about in this drop

are people that were
way overexposed to stocks

or overextended in real estate.

[Rob] No! No! No! Don’t
put me on hold again.

Fuck! Fuck!

Hey, what they sayin’, man?

They’re sayin’ we owe over $200,000,
and they’re not fucking around.

So what? Everything’s gone?
This place is worthless now?

But hey, look, look, look,

all the properties are
gonna be going down now.

So we should buy more
properties and dig ourselves out.

How? They froze the loans, man.

Because of what?
Because of subprime?

Fuck!

[Tav breathing heavily]

I put everything into
this, Rob! Everything!

Now, I have nothing
left for my son. [crying]

We’ll-- We’ll
figure it out. We...

[announcer] ...a financial storm
that seems to darken every day.

[crying]

[Rob] The financial
collapse in ’08

devastated the
neighborhood all over again.

It felt, like, no matter how many
variables were controlled for,

chaos was always waiting.

[door opens]

Hey. I’m sorry to
bother you, Mr. Tucker.

Shaun Peace. You knew
my dad, Skeet Douglas.

Yeah. I remember you, Shaun.

I saw the sign
out there, and I...

This house was in my
family for a long time.

I, uh-- I just wanna know
what’s gonna happen to it.

[Tucker] Once we paid all
the back taxes on the place

and done some renovating,

we refinanced for the first time
and sent Skeet some money.

Not much, but we did
our best to help him out.

Thank you.

He thought we’d
abandoned him at the trial.

I guess everybody
did in the end.

It’s crazy what they can
do to an innocent man.

We were really proud of
you finding that loophole,

getting him out that first time.

Wh-- What makes you so sure...

that he was... innocent?

[Tucker] I mean, it’s not
exculpatory evidence or whatever,

just photographs, but
that was your father’s gun.

I knew it pretty well.

After the fire, Skeet kept it
inside the basement door here.

There was rust all over it. I
don’t think it could even shoot.

The gun the police
came up with was bullshit.

They wanted to close the case.

And after Irving
died, they could.

We couldn’t say
anything in court.

I’d been doing stupid shit.

Police were on me all
the time, making threats,

even death threats.

Finally, we stepped back.
Only thing we could do.

Your mother never knew whether
to tell you about it back then.

I guess we all decided it’d
do more harm than good.

[door opens]

You okay?

I spoke to Michael
and Sheila Tucker.

Why didn’t you tell me?

- Why did you hate him so much?
- I didn’t hate him at all.

You let me think he was guilty.

That’s not true. I never
said that, not once.

He died thinking I
walked away from him.

I couldn’t get him out, Shaun!

No matter what I did, the
Tuckers were never gonna testify.

But why didn’t you tell me?

Because the little bit of doubt
you always had about your father

was the only reason you
pushed back against him.

- Ma!
- It was.

God help me, I loved that man.

But he would watch you burn to
the ground trying to get him out.

Now, maybe he was
innocent. I still don’t know.

But I had a choice to
believe in you or him.

And I chose.

It wasn’t your choice to make.

Yes, it was.

Don’t do this.

I’m begging you.

I’m not letting
anybody else down.

You need to loan us $10,000
to make some real moves.

[scoffs] And we’re in the clear.

We buy 50 pounds of bulk
weed from the connect in Florida,

convert it downstairs,

serve it in the streets.

That’s a 2,000% return.

400K at least.

We pay everybody back, split
the rest, and we out of the hood.

Or you could just walk away.

I tried that already,
Oswaldo. It doesn’t work.

Six weeks, and I pay you back.

Six weeks.

Then it’s grad
school, normal life.

How you gonna do all this, Rob?

We just gonna sell under the
noses of all the gangs in New Jersey?

[sighs] We hire in. Mules.

They serve it real quick.

Tell them we’re working for the
Killer Bloods or some other gang.

We operate out of here,
but we don’t sleep in here.

Every deal we
make is in the streets.

We don’t tell ’em anything,

not even our real names.

That’s the only way.

[scoffs]

I’ll lend you the money.

But I can’t be around this.

It’s crazy.

[sighs][door opens]

[door closes]

- [Curtis] All right.
- Keep going back.

[Curtis] This way? Straight?

[Rob] Yeah, very, very straight.

[Curtis] I’ll just take it back
this way. All right. I got you.

Just make sure it can’t
be seen from the street.

It’s all good.

Here you go.[mule] Word up.

Why’s there so much, huh?

It’s a lot.

I thought you can handle a lot.

I can, but where’s
it coming from?

I don’t know.

So why’s it gotta move so fast?

That’s just the way it is, okay?

Okay.

[money rustling]

[engine revs][tires squeal]

Mules got you spooked, huh?

It’s that Kamar. Questions
every fucking night.

Ain’t no trial period.

Only way you get rid of him is with
what you got in your hand right there.

Just make sure you
don’t get followed.

All right.

Let’s head out.

Can’t stay here.

[train passing]

[Rob] Graduate
school application.

Statement of purpose.

To whom it may concern,

Science is my passion.

I believe science has
helped me navigate

the complex systems
that have surrounded me,

the pressures that I’ve
encountered in my life.

My interests have
centered on immunology...

[vehicle
approaches][tires screech]

[Rob] ...and the states and
functions of nucleic acids.

This area focuses on
origins and environments

to help treat incurable cancers

like the one that took
the life of my father.

Fuck.

[Rob] I believe these
therapeutic applications

will aid our
understanding of disease

and eventually prevent all
manner of catastrophic instances...

before they occur.

[faint chattering]

Hey, yo, Tav.[gate opens]

Yo. What’s up, man? [chuckles]

It’s everything we made so far.

Except a little bit
I gave to my mom.

It’s about 25K.

I’ll pay you the rest of your
cut in a few weeks, all right?

I want you out of this now.

It’s enough for you to get
started on something legit, man.

Money mean you got choices.

Mean your boy got choices too.

All right.

[Rob] The knowledge I
gain by earning a PhD

will help me achieve
my career objectives...

which include educating
future scientists as a professor

and continuing
scientific research...

to better understand
the pathways of life.

- What’s going on?
- Kamar’s outside.

Shit! He tail you?

I don’t know. Maybe.

You want it?

[sighs] - He just want a cut.
- All right.

Shit.

[exhales]

- What the fuck is going on?
- What the fuck are you doing?

You ain’t no gangsta. The
fuck’s the matter with you?

[vehicle
approaching][tires squeal]

[gun cocks]

Whoa!

[gun cocks]

[door slams shut]

They’re coming.

[door opens]

Get out! Get out!

Whoa!

[shouts]

[gunshot]

[gunshots]

[Father Leahy] What do you think is the most
important thing that you can learn here?

What’s the most important idea
that St. Benedict’s can teach you?

The pursuit of excellence?

What is excellence?

Why do we pursue it with the
knowledge that we are all flawed?

There is no excellence.

There is no flawlessness.

It’s not excellence
that we should seek.

It is grace.

And grace is reserved solely

for those who have struggled
to move this world forward.

They will succeed.

Eventually, they will.

And through their endeavors,

all of the walls around us
will come crashing down.

That is grace.

And grace...

[waves lapping]

...is peace.

[Rob] I am forever grateful...

for the love I’ve received...

the love I’ve
been able to give...

the places I’ve found myself

and the knowledge that these
places were always here and now.

Thank you for
considering this application.

Robert DeShaun Peace.

I wish I could’ve seen the
world you’d make, Shaun.

The one you’d make
would be beautiful.

["Smile" playing]

♪ If I tell the truth ♪

♪ I would say That
I’ve been hurt ♪

♪ Many times before ♪

♪ So it’s hard for me ♪

♪ To ever wanna give
Anybody, anybody else love ♪

♪ I was bitter and
broken Until you ♪

♪ Jumped inside my heart ♪

♪ I guess God needs
you Where you are ♪

♪ ’Cause the
pain I felt before ♪

♪ Don’t exist anymore ♪

♪ You light up my dark, oh ♪

♪ I been broken
For a long time ♪

♪ Now I’m standing
In the sunshine ♪

♪ It’s kinda crazy How
you made me smile ♪

♪ ’Cause the winds in
my life Been blowing ♪

♪ But you made me smile ♪

♪ And I wanna know how ♪

♪ ’Cause I never
thought I had enough ♪

♪ I been holding
back A lot of love ♪

♪ But you make me smile ♪

♪ And I wanna know how ♪

♪ ’Cause it’s
scaring me Darling ♪

♪ I’m falling and falling Just
make sure you catch me ♪

♪ I’m only thinking ’Bout now ♪

♪ How you make me
Smile, smile, smile ♪

♪ I feel strong ♪

♪ I feel well ♪

♪ I feel confident
Better about myself ♪

♪ Life was dust Turned to gold ♪

♪ In just a short time ♪

♪ You found A
diamond in my soul ♪

♪ You brighten up my dark, oh ♪

♪ I been broken
For a long time ♪

♪ Now I’m standing
In the sunshine ♪

♪ It’s kinda crazy How
you make me smile ♪

♪ ’Cause the winds in
my life Been blowing ♪

♪ But you make me smile ♪

♪ And I wanna know how ♪

♪ ’Cause I never
thought I had enough ♪

♪ I been holding
back A lot of love ♪

♪ But you make me smile ♪

♪ I just wanna know how ♪

♪ ’Cause it’s
scaring me Darling ♪

♪ I’m falling and falling Just
make sure you catch me ♪

♪ I been searching
All around for you ♪

♪ I been looking
All around for you ♪

♪ And I finally see the light ♪

♪ Took me a long time ♪

♪ But I’m glad I
finally know the truth ♪

♪ I forgot about
The hurt I knew ♪

♪ I just wanna give
My love to you ♪

♪ ’Cause the mirror
Don’t scare me now ♪

♪ I feel strong ♪

♪ I feel well ♪

♪ I feel confident
Better about myself ♪

♪ You really make me smile ♪

♪ And I wanna know how ♪

♪ ’Cause it’s
scaring me Darling ♪

♪ I’m falling and falling Just
make sure you catch me ♪

♪ I’m only thinking ’Bout now ♪

♪ How you make me smile ♪

♪ Oh, smile, smile, smile ♪

♪ How you do it ♪

[song ends]