Original subtitles

[electronic beat tapping]

Now hear this.

[Winston Churchill] Now hear this.

[echoing, distorted] Now hear this.

Here we are together.

"There was no way of telling when the ship would come back for us.

Until it did, we were alone upon the island.

Ramo, therefore, would have to become a man

sooner than if we were not alone, since I would need his help in many ways."

Should I keep going?

Um, I think that's actually all the time we have.

But that was really great reading. Thank you, Mandy.

Um… [sighs]

All right, well, congratulations.

You all made it through your first week of school from home.

I know it's really weird.

So, uh, just wanna say thank you for, you know, showing up and paying attention.

You guys are killing it, and, uh…

I miss you.

Um…

Yeah. Stay safe. Have a great weekend.

Um, or great as it can be.

And I'll see you Monday.

Bye, Mr. Corman.

Bye, Ramon.

[sighs deeply]

[sniffs]

[keys jingle, door opens]

Hey.

[Victor] Yo.

Sorry. D... Do you mind just taking off your shoes?

I'm about to hop into the shower.

- Yeah. [stammers] - My shoes...

- It's just the soles of shoes. It, um... - Oh.

- 'Cause the virus falls to the ground, so… - Yep. Yeah, it's fine.

- I just read this whole thing. - [sighs] No problem.

Thanks for getting dinner.

Yeah, yeah. No worries.

[sighs]

[sighs]

[beeping]

[sighs]

[sighs]

[beeps]

Ow!

- [Victor sniffs] Yo. - Hey.

You've put the Carl's on a plate?

- [chuckles] - Uh, yeah. [sighs] I was, uh,

- reading this article about take-out and… - Right.

- Oh! Oh, God. Dude, what the fu... - [stammers] Uh, sorry, I...

- Did you... What, did you microwave these? - Yeah.

There's lettuce and tomato in there, man. You can't microwave lettuce and tomato!

No, I... I know. I know.

No, you gotta take out the veggies and then you toast the bread

- and then you put the meat in a pan. - You m-microwave everything…

so that you kill anything that might be on it.

- Wow. Shit. - Yeah.

Sorry, this is just my exact nightmare, so…

[chuckles] Yeah, I know. Ah, it's... Yeah, it's cool.

Ju... Just gonna put these in the freezer for a second.

So are you just gonna, like, keep going to work?

It's UPS, man.

We move 6% of the country's entire GDP every day.

I mean, if you really wanna bone the economy, you shut down UPS.

Yeah, I guess, I was just, you know…

The schools are shut down, the NBA shut down...

Yeah, they were never gonna shut down UPS. [scoffs] Told you that, like, a week ago.

Should be good.

[Josh] How did you know that, like, a week ago?

How did you not know that?

People need their shit. Who's gonna take it?

- Thanks. - Yep.

Wow.

That is really bad.

Sorry.

So, um, are they, like, taking any measures or…

Like what?

Giving you masks or…

They say masks don't really do anything.

It just makes people feel safer by wearing something,

- but that they don't really do anything. - Who says that?

The government, right? You didn't hear that?

- Yeah, I did hear that. - Yeah.

But are people standing further apart or...

- I'm not gonna live in fear, dude, okay? - I'm not saying

- you should live in fear. - I'm not gonna live in fear.

Just, you know, acknowledge the reality.

[scoffs] The reality. Okay, what's the reality then?

What is it? No, let's go through it. What's the reality? Hmm?

I'm just saying I... I'm not sure it's safe

for you to be going to work every day right now.

Safe for me or safe for you?

Either one.

Right. Got it. Okay.

So what do you suggest I do about it?

- What do you think I should do? - I don't know.

Well, I'm sorry I can't just stay at home and collect a paycheck.

That didn't work out as well for me as it did for you, buddy.

Dude, I'm just...

Do you know what happens if I stop going to work? Do you?

- [sighs] - For Gabi...

But do you know what happens if you get this virus?

- Yeah, I do. - No, you don't.

- Yeah, I do. - You don't!

Yeah, I'll get sick and then I'll probably get better.

- You don't know that. - Yeah, I do.

- No, you... you don't know anything. - I don't know anything?

- That's not what I meant, dude. I'm... - Do you hear yourself?

I'm saying it's so new.

If there's an ignorant person here, it's not me, it's you.

Nobody knows anything right now, is what I'm saying.

Right. You just have no fucking idea how the world works. You don't.

Hey, hey, just chill at home, don't work for a couple of months.

But do me a favor, take your shoes off at the door,

and microwave the fuck out of this cheeseburger,

'cause that's gonna keep us alive, right?

I'm not fucking eating that.

[door closes]

[dialing tone]

- [Ruth] Hello? - Hi, Mom. [sighs]

What's wrong?

I mean, a lot, right?

Well, yeah. I mean, but besides that, are you okay?

What, is it that obvious?

- Josh, are you okay? - No, no, no, I'm fine. It's okay.

I'm just worried about Victor.

Why? Is he okay?

Yeah, no, he's not sick or anything. He's... Or... I don't know.

He doesn't have any symptoms. I just mean he... [inhales deeply]

He has to keep going to work… [sighs] …so he can't stay home.

- Right, because he's a... a... [sighs] - Yeah, he's... Right.

So, yeah, he's, uh… I'm just worried about him.

Are you worried about him or you're worried about yourself?

I mean, both. It can be both, right?

Oh, sure. No, sure, of course.

[sighs] Anyway, I was thinking that, um,

I should maybe just come back and stay at the house for a little while.

Oh.

I mean, if that's okay.

No, of course, you're more than welcome always.

I just think it... it's probably… [sighs] …you know, the smart thing...

Sweetheart, you don't have to explain yourself.

Just come over whenever you want.

Okay. Thanks.

Of course.

Actually, I, um... I was thinking...

Sorry, this might sound weird, but I was thinking

I should probably just stay in my room for 14 days.

Well, what do you mean?

I mean, you know, I've been around Victor

and Victor's been around all these people at work,

and, last thing I want to do is get you sick.

So, the recommended thing is that I isolate for 14 days.

Okay, well, if that's what you wanna do.

It's not what I want to do. I... But I think…

- it's probably the smarter thing... - You know what I mean.

Okay. Um...

[stammers] But also, uh,

and let me know if this is too much of a burden, but I was, um...

Josh, just tell me what you want me to do.

Okay, um…

I think that you should probably bring food to me and leave it outside my door.

Hello?

[tires screeching]

[Ruth] Josh, is that you?

Yeah. Don't come in!

[Ruth] Uh, okay, I won't.

[Ruth] Hi!

Hi.

[Ruth] Well, I'm... I'm going to bed now.

Okay. Good night.

[kitchen appliance whirring]

[birds chirping]

[sniffs]

[Ruth] Are you up?

Yeah!

Were you serious last night about...

What? Sorry, I just can't hear you.

[Ruth] Well... [sighs]

Don't come in!

I'm not.

Were you serious last night about, you know, leaving food by the door?

Uh, yeah.

Is that okay?

[water running]

[phone alarm rings]

[sniffs]

[Paul] "The storm lasted two days,

and the third day, we buried our dead on the south headland."

- [alarm rings] - [sniffs]

[Paul] "The Aleuts who had fallen on the beach, we burned."

[breathing deeply]

[Paul] "For many days after that, the village was quiet."

[sniffs]

[Paul] "People went out only to gather food.

And came back to eat in silence."

[knocks]

- [Ruth squeals] - [footsteps]

[door opens]

- [Ruth] Ah, hi! Hi. - [man] Hi, babe. Hi, hi.

[Ruth] Whoa, you got a lot!

[man] Well, I got... Not really.

- [Ruth] What is that? - What?

- [Ruth] What is that? - It's a surprise.

[Ruth] Okay. [chuckles]

- [Ruth] Oh, hi. - Hi. Mmm.

- [landline phone ringing] - [Ruth chuckles]

Oh, just a minute, I'll get that.

- [Ruth] Hello? - Hi, Mom.

Oh! Hi. Why are you calling? Are you still here?

Yep. I just wanted us to be able to hear each other.

- Oh, okay. Well, I'm kinda... - Is that, um... Who is that?

[Ruth scoffs]

Mom, someone just came in the door. Who is it?

- Can I call you back? - No, this is serious.

You can't just call me back.

- Okay. Thank you. - Mom. Mo...

- [beeps] - [Ruth speaking indistinctly]

[sighs]

[man] We're, uh, recalling a few... A few things…

[both speaking indistinctly]

- [landline phone ringing] - [sighs]

- [Ruth] Hello. - Hi, Mom.

- I'm very busy. I'm sorry. I'll call back. - No, don't... Don't...

- I can't talk right now. Goodbye. - Don't do that! Mom! Mom!

- [beeps] - [sighs]

- Do you need to take care of something? - [Ruth] No, no. It's not...

[both speaking indistinctly]

[Ruth] No, really. Let's get comfortable, all right?

- [Ruth and man speaking indistinctly] - [landline phone ringing]

[sighs]

[answering machine beeps]

[Ruth on speakers] Hello. This is Ruth. You know what to do.

Hi, Mom. It's me. You know it's me. I'm here in the house. You know I'm here.

Whoever just walked in the door, they know I'm here.

And if they don't know, then they should know. Because...

- [Ruth] What is your problem? - It's not safe what you're doing!

- [Ruth] It is safe. - No, it's not!

Why do you think I've been sitting here for the last week?

If someone new is coming in the house, then they have to isolate.

- It's two weeks. That's the... - You are in isolation

because you were living with Victor, and he was going to work.

- Larry has been staying at... - So it's Larry?

Yes.

And he has been staying at home for three weeks.

Longer than anyone else I know.

He saw this coming, you know.

He's very intelligent about this kind of thing.

And we're lucky that he offered to shelter in place with us.

We're lucky?

- Josh... - How do you know he's staying at home?

Just 'cause he told you?

Yes.

- And that's good enough for you? - Yes.

[inhales deeply] Okay.

Well, I look forward to hanging out with him,

and you, in about six days.

Great.

Are you done making calls now?

Yep. I'll talk to you la...

[beeps]

[chuckles]

[lo-fi music playing]

[boy singing] ♪ And the world just stays the same ♪

♪ People never change ♪

- ♪ The record keeps replaying ♪ - [alarm ringing]

[sighs]

[ringing continues]

♪ A needle in the groove ♪

- A never-ending loop ♪ - [sniffs]

- ♪ The things we can't undo ♪ - [Josh sighs]

[Josh sighs]

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ If you know what you're doing ♪

♪ How come you keep doing It over and over again? ♪

Commas.

A comma's basically just when you wanna take a pause.

But there are a whole bunch of rules, and people will say,

"Oh, that's the right place to put a comma.

That's the wrong place to put a comma."

But those people have never read Blindness.

[exhales]

[Josh] It just goes on and on and on with no periods and tons of commas.

And you know what? It's wrong, but it's great.

That's one way to go with commas.

Unfortunately, you're gonna be tested on knowing certain rules

about, kind of, the old-fashioned way to use commas.

So I'm gonna teach you those rules.

But just know, when you're writing in real life,

those rules don't really matter that much.

[alarm ringing]

[boy] ♪ Nothing's gonna change ♪

- ♪ The record keeps replaying ♪ - [alarm ringing]

♪ Round and round again ♪

That is right and it's wrong.

And, um, I think it's really a matter of opinion.

I'm curious to get some other opinions. I've been talking a lot.

Anybody else wanna give their opinion?

Anybody else think that that's right or wrong?

- Or somewhere in-between? - [boy] ♪ Ooh ♪

- ♪ If you know what you're doing ♪ - [boy] Hey.

- ♪ How come you keep doing ♪ - You awake?

- ♪ It over and over again? ♪ - Hey! Wake up!

- [boy] ♪ If you know what you're doing ♪ - [sighs]

[song continues]

[boy] Dude, what are you doing in my room? Are you, like, gonna die?

I mean, at some point.

[young Josh] Great. So I die young, but not that young?

I don't know.

[young Josh chuckles]

What were you listening to?

- You. - Really?

What song?

I thought you said they weren't songs.

[chuckles] You know what I mean.

Track 12.

Uh, that one kinda sucks.

I thought it was pretty good.

Nah, it's just trippy for you 'cause you haven't heard it in a long time.

[chuckles]

I mean, other people liked it too. So…

- Wait. Other people heard it? - Yeah.

Did you put it out? Like... Like an early home recordings kinda thing?

Uh, no. I just meant, like,

you know, um, other people I played it for.

Oh, okay.

Who'd you play it for?

Mmm, my girlfriend.

Okay.

She wasn't just my girlfriend though. We were collaborators.

So it was like, um, uh… [sighs]

[young Josh] Uh-huh.

- Yeah. - Did you guys put anything out?

Yep. Kind of.

Can I hear it?

- What, right now? - I guess, yeah.

Yeah, I'd rather not, if that's cool.

Okay.

- Can I ask you a question though? - What?

What were you thinking about when you recorded that?

You don't remember?

Really?

Yeah, no.

That's fucked up. You should.

I'm sorry.

Can I ask you a question?

Yeah.

What are you doing here?

Just… staying safe.

[sighs]

[sighs]

[plays "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"]

[plays original song]

[tapping foot]

[electronic beat tapping]

- [song playing] - [sniffs]

- [grunts] - [sniffs]

Yes!

[song ends]

[alarm ringing]

[sighs]

[sniffs]

[sighs]

- [Ruth chuckling] No. - [chattering on TV]

- [Larry chuckles] Yeah. - [Ruth speaks indistinctly]

[Larry] Oh, there he is.

Congratulations. You made it through.

Oh, thank you.

How are you feeling?

Well, I still have my sense of smell.

Oh, that's great. You know, I think it's great what you did.

Not everyone would have such, uh, stick-to-it-iveness.

- Thanks. - Sit down.

Thank you.

[Josh] Is that? Um…

[Larry] Oh, it's just a little something I worked up. Idle hands, right?

- Right. - [grunts]

Well, it, um…

It really makes a difference.

Thank you. You want some eggs?

Sure. Thank you.

Great, aren't they?

Yeah.

[sniffs] Your mom's great at a lot of things.

- Mmm. - She certainly is.

Mmm.

Really good.

Hi, Mom.

Hi.

So, crazy times we're living in, right?

[inhales deeply] Guess so. [sighs]

You follow the news much, Josh?

Yeah, probably a little too much.

You look at the real stuff

or do you buy into the mainstream circus like some people I know?

- [Ruth] Stop. - [Larry chuckles] No. No.

[Larry] I love it, babe. I've told you this.

It's relaxing being with you during this time

because you don't think about the big things.

You're just content in your own little world.

And in the end, that's really the enlightened path.

Being present.

Josh, Larry and I go for walks every day.

Mmm.

Would you like to join us?

You know, I, um, I have to get on with my students in just a little bit. So…

Hmm.

Okay.

Schools are closed, but we're still teaching.

[Larry] Well, what time is that? I'm sure we could work around your schedule.

I'll have to double-check.

[Larry] How old are the kids you teach again?

They're ten and eleven.

How are they doing with all of this?

Um, you know, they're... They're mostly just…

content in their own little worlds, sort of like some people I know.

[bangs table] Josh, goddamn it.

[alarm ringing]

[sniffs]

It's okay. It's really... It's okay.

- [Josh] It's okay. - [alarm ringing]

- [Josh] It's really... - Light gray squares.

- [Josh] It's okay. - [drill whirs]

- This is fantastic… - [Josh] It's okay.

- [Josh] It's really... It's okay. - …to, like, instinctively know things.

- [drill whirring] - [Josh] It's okay.

- [sniffs] - [Josh] It's really... It's okay.

- [Josh] It's okay. It's really... - [alarm ringing]

[Josh] It's okay. It's really... It's okay.

[alarm ringing]

- [Larry] Come on. - [Ruth] I'm glad you're enjoying it.

- Take a little bit. - [Ruth] Okay. All right.

- [Ruth] Oh, ugh, too bitter. - [Larry] Oh.

- I don't like it. It's too bitter for me. - That's what real chocolate tastes like.

[Ruth] I'll just stick with the good stuff, thanks.

[Larry] You only think it's good because it's full of sugar.

No, I think it's good because I like it.

Milk chocolate is objectively a less rich and nuanced flavor than real cacao.

- Not to me. I'm fine. - I don't think you know

- what the word "objectively" means. - [Ruth chuckles]

- I think I know what I like... - [Larry chuckles] You know what though?

That's what I love about you. It's so cute.

So much to learn. You'll get there. You'll get there.

[door slams]

- Hey. - [Ruth] Hi.

Where's Larry?

He's on a call.

Oh. That's nice.

- Why do you have to... - I didn't mean it like that.

- He's been nothing but... - Sorry. I just meant that

it's nice that you and I get to sit. Just you and I.

I mean, we've barely done that at all this whole time.

[Ruth sighs]

I interrupted you though. He's been nothing but what?

He's been nothing but kind and courteous to you.

Yeah.

To me, not to you.

- [Ruth scoffs] Can we just drop it? - Okay, sorry.

- Let's talk about something else. - [Ruth] Great.

[typing]

- He's passive-aggressive. - Oh, Jesus.

He belittles you, and then he pretends like he's not doing it.

- He acts like he's so loving, but really... - He is loving.

That's not what love is.

Oh, you know so much about what love is?

I know as much as you do. What, you're some kind of expert?

- [clicks tongue] - I'm sorry,

but this is exactly the kind of thing

I would have said to you about Dad a long time ago…

- He is nothing like your father. - …and you would have completely dis...

- He's a lot like him. - He is not.

He manipulates you, and he makes you feel bad about yourself.

And then you want him to love you even more

because for some reason that's what you're attracted to.

Okay. Will you just listen for a second?

- Yeah. - [sighs]

[stammers, sighs] I'm not gonna tell you that Larry is perfect.

That's... that's not what I'm doing.

I mean, what do... [sighs] What do you think this is?

What do I think what is?

This. Nothing is perfect, you know.

I don't know why that's so hard for you to see.

You're not entitled to the perfect partner or the perfect life.

You take what you get.

And you're lucky just to be alive.

You have it better than a lot of other people.

We weren't talking about me.

Yeah, we were.

Well, then you're deflecting.

We were talking about you and Larry. This isn't about me.

It is about you.

This is what you do. You... you find fault.

You know? You look for the worst possible version

so everything's a complete disaster.

- That's what I do? - Yeah, that's what you do.

[scoffs] I mean, everything is a complete disaster. Right?

Is it?

Yeah. Look around.

Okay. What am I looking at?

Are you sick?

Hmm? What?

Oh, they had to close Disneyland.

- That's it? - [scoffs]

You didn't get to be a rock star?

I didn't say...

Yeah. Well, you know who else wanted to be a rock star, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

This is where we are.

The question is, what do we do now?

[sighs]

[sniffs]

[Ramon on computer] "I held my breath, waiting.

Then I walked across the deck

and, though many hands tried to hold me back,

flung myself into the sea."

[phone vibrates]

[Ramon] "A wave passed over my head and I went down and down,

until I thought I would never behold the day again.

The ship was far away when I rose. Only the sails showed through the spray.

I was still clutching the basket that held all of my things,

but it was very heavy and I realized that I could not swim with it in my arms.

Letting it sink I started off towards the shore."

[sighs]