Original subtitles

[Dr. Barbour] It's quite common for an incarcerated individual

to question if he has anything to live for.

You've suffered unimaginable loss.

[clamoring]

[indistinct chattering]

[panting]

Yes?

[Big Mo] That wasn't a sanctioned hit on your son.

The shooter was a member of Desire, no?

Let's not make this into an all-out war.

[Russell] Drop it, motherfucker.

How about we go back to the Lower Ninth

with more men.

Patience is not inaction.

He was nearly killed.

Doesn't that act demand retaliation?

That act was retaliation.

[lock buzzes]

I don't need more psych evals.

[Olivia] My name is Olivia Delmont.

I'm an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Guard!

You're gonna talk to me, Michael.

Miss Lee! It's Eugene.

I-I'm in trouble. I need your help.

[whimpers]

[Little Mo] So, what you gonna do with him?

There's only one way this ends.

Look, I don't know if what Adam and I had was the real thing.

Adam was a terrible liar.

So if he told you that he loved you, then it was true.

[coos]

There's an address in there. Stay gone.

We got a problem.

Adam Desiato was my godson.

I want to be here when Rudy brings in the killer.

You think I'm gonna hand over a young Black boy to the police?

Rudy, here, finds another body, one that can't talk,

and I make for damn sure

Eugene Jones is never heard from again.

[Nancy] How did you get Kofi Jones to steal the car?

[Michael] I called Charlie.

This right here...

this is the end of his career.

This is prison time.

He helped you in your hour of need.

I am offering you a chance to help bring down

the single greatest threat to New Orleans

to atone for what you have done.

slow, dramatic music

[basketball dribbling]

[woman] This weekend you need to study.

Bud, can you help me with these?

Grab a bag or two?

One of you?

I have the oven preheating. Can one of you grab a bag?

Can someone help me?

-All right. -Thank you.

-Thank you. -So many.

[woman] I know. It's a lot.

Grab one?

[birds chirping]

[sighs]

[horn honking]

[panting]

[doorbell rings]

[sighs]

Michael.

[Django whining]

When did you get released?

This morning.

How'd you get back to New Orleans?

Took a bus.

Oh, I'm having a few people over tonight.

You're welcome to join us.

Uh...

No, I, um...

I'm just tired.

You're lucky I was home.

The legislature's in session,

but I wanted to get out of Baton Rouge for a few days.

There's toiletries in the bathroom.

Is there anything else you need?

Uh.... Uh, no.

I've got to admit, after a year of radio silence

I'm surprised to see you.

I didn't want to be a burden anymore.

[Elizabeth] Yeah.

So, I take it you're not staying very long?

No.

Good.

gentle, plaintive music

[sighs]

[breathes deeply]

deep, melancholy music

Summertime

And the living

Is easy

Fish are jumping

And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy's rich

And your ma

Is good looking

So hush, little baby

Don't

You cry

[Janelle laughs]

You could sing to me all night.

So stay awhile.

[Big Mo] No, I got to work.

[sighs]

What good is being the boss if you can't take a night off?

Well, you know my pension plan

-a little better than most. -[chuckles]

Then I guess we'll have to work out some extra PTO.

So I can keep seeing you.

Oh, you gonna be seeing me a lot more.

Oh, yeah? Why's that?

The club about to be mine.

Is that right?

[phone chimes]

Yeah.

-Yeah. -You got to go?

Don't be like that.

-How am I supposed to be? -Mm-mm.

Don't be like that.

I'll see you in a little bit.

Okay.

[sighs]

[Chris] Seven ODs in one night.

-[Little Mo] Two dead. -[Russell] It's bad product.

Oh, you think?

[Little Mo] They cut it with fentanyl.

Used a heavy hand and ain't say shit.

So?

What do you want to do?

Pull it.

What do we do with the three kilos of shit

-we can't sell? -Find that Tony motherfucker

that sold us that shit and get a refund.

If he can't make good,

start breaking shit until he do.

[Big Mo] Hey.

I ain't got shit to move.

Let me make some calls.

[Donetta] I can't walk past his old room

without thinking of him.

How late would he be sleeping in these days?

What trouble would he be getting into?

I'm the same way about Mom.

I take the long way home from work just to avoid

-her old neighborhood. -[Gina sighs loudly]

If you have something to say, Gina,

we would love for you to contribute.

I just don't see the value in collective whining.

You don't have to be here.

[Gina] But how would I fill my Thursday nights

if I'm not listening to a grown woman talk on and on

about losing her mommy?

We've all lost people that we're close to.

My son died, same as you.

Maybe you're just not ready

to admit that our pain is exactly the same.

Your son was a heroin addict

who was hell-bent on destroying his life.

My Rocco was an angel, and he was taken from me.

May I ask why you attend these meetings?

My daughter suggested I have anger issues.

[Donetta scoffs] Yeah.

-[group leader] Maybe you do. -Oh, fuck you.

[jazzy music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

-There you go. -Thanks.

You're welcome, Ms. Baxter.

[crickets chirping]

[sighing]

[grunts]

[sighing]

-What are you doing? -[gasps]

I didn't realize you were still here.

[scoffs]

It was a long night.

I was just gonna use your shower.

The steam on mine is broken. I'm sorry...

It's fine. Help yourself.

[sighs]

I'll make myself scarce.

tranquil, plaintive music

-[birds singing] -[insects trilling]

[Jimmy] How was, uh, grief counseling?

I don't want to talk about that.

Are you going to the hotel today?

Mm-hmm.

[Jimmy] Maybe you'll see Fia?

Is it a blue moon already?

I saw her last night.

What did she say?

Oh, I am so sick of her attitude.

She's punishing us right now.

[Gina] We didn't do anything to her!

Carlo, have you, have you spoken with Fia recently?

Couple days ago.

Well, your mother and I have given her

everything that she's asked for.

It's time for her to return to this family.

You talk to her, please?

Mm-hmm.

Michael Desiato is out of prison.

[trolley bell ringing]

intense music

Hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Business?

-What? -Where you going?

I'm just going to see the mayor.

He's expecting you?

I... No, he's, he's...

he's my best friend.

Your name?

Desiato.

Michael Desiato.

You've been banned from this building.

-Look, I... -Turn it around. Let's go.

You're holding up my line.

[metal detector beeps]

Alan.

Judge Desiato.

They... they won't let me in.

No. [sighs]

I imagine not.

gentle, wistful music

[sharp whistle]

So, what was your plan?

Hmm? Just walk into the mayor's office

and warn your buddy

that he might be in trouble?

[chuckles softly]

Come on, Michael.

Do you honestly think that I'd let you do that?

I can't even allow you to enter the building.

If you warn Charlie, or anyone else,

if you so much as whisper

the words "federal investigation" to yourself

in the middle of a thunderstorm, the deal's off.

That means you are back in prison.

That means your friend Charlie is right behind you.

I-I can't do this.

I'm-I'm, I'm not refusing. I am telling you.

I-I don't have the ability.

I know.

Then why are you doing this to me?

[chuckles]

I got you some clothes.

I don't need clothes.

[Olivia] Yes, you do, because I got you a job.

-Why? -Standard work release.

I got to make your exit from prison look legit.

-Thank you. -[entry bells jingle]

[Otis] There she is.

[laughs] Otis, my friend. How you doing?

-This him? -Mm-hmm.

You just got out?

Yes.

[Otis] You planning to go back?

[sighs]

I don't make plans.

You know your way around a carcass?

-Not really. -[Olivia] I'm thinking

an assignment that would get him out into the world.

Come on back.

Come on.

That one.

You remember me, Judge?

No.

I was in your courtroom. Drug possession.

Prosecutor charged me with intent to distribute.

Jury gave me 14 years.

You reduced that sentence to eight months.

You said, "Good people don't belong in prison."

Follow me.

Driver quit last week.

The job's yours, if you want it.

[rap song playing indistinctly]

I just spent that on a grand

I take that work, I make that work

I make it yoga stretch

I'm jogging, jogging...

Double latte for Maurice.

It's been a minute.

How's my auntie?

She's good.

You staying out of trouble?

[Eugene] Tryin'.

Ah, there's no try, Little Man.

Not with last chances.

[grunts]

That's the last one.

[panting]

My God, it really is you.

I tried to visit you many times.

[Michael] I know.

We never got a chance to, to talk about...

You didn't belong in prison.

But I know you. I know you protected me.

You...

You-you may still be exposed.

You need to watch yourself.

There were only three people who knew about my role in that.

Rudy's never gonna talk,

and the other two people are sitting right here.

So I got nothing to worry about.

Losing Adam was my penance, too.

I've paid for my sins.

I loved that boy like he was my own.

You can't dig graves deep enough in this city

to hide them from the storms.

Water will get to the bodies every time.

Only sure thing about the dirt beneath our feet

is that it'll wash away one day.

You asked me to bury something and now...

here we are.

Shame on us for not knowing our city better.

It was a car.

Not a body.

It was a coffin.

With a set of headlights.

[knocking at door]

[Fia] Who is it?

[Carlo] Housekeeping.

-It gets funnier every time. -[chuckles]

Don't open the door if you can't see who's on the other side.

Okay, Dad.

When was the last time you talked to our father?

Why do you care?

Making them miserable.

Stop trying to be the bad seed.

-That's my job. -Okay.

I'll stay in my lane.

-You need anything from me? -Yeah.

Um...

Grab some new towels and turn down the bed, okay?

[chuckles softly]

[whirring]

Hey, yo.

What's the family discount for an oil change?

[Trey] Oh, cuz. What's up, boy?

Hey, you know, family in-house free-99.

Now, for cousins...

-might get you ten percent off. -Oh, boy, you crazy.

Are you ready to get paid?

Now you know I got you on the finder's fee,

but I need you to make this intro.

'Cause I'm not going back to New Orleans

empty-handed and assed out, you heard me?

I've owned this club for more than 30 years,

so I'm only gonna consider selling it

when the timing's right.

Well, I happen to know you hired a real estate agent,

so... timing must be close.

Mm.

Look, I'm a bar owner myself and I'm looking to expand.

Sure you can appreciate that.

Plus, this establishment holds a special place for me.

Can we just cut the bullshit?

I am not selling my club for drug money.

[soft jazz music playing]

[playful clamoring]

[speaking Spanish]

Yo, Roderick.

What's up, fellas?

Is there somewhere we can talk?

Oh, here's good. It's my nephew.

He's gonna go pretty far as long as he stops

dropping his shoulder.

[speaking Spanish]

Hey, Roderick.

My cousin looking to move some product in the Boot.

Ain't got no connect there?

[Little Mo] No one that's up to my standards.

Yeah, my shit is five stars, huh?

But top-tier quality come top-tier price.

Well, money ain't no thing.

Let's start with two keys.

If it makes the customers happy, maybe we'll come back for more.

[speaking Spanish]

Yeah, that doesn't work for me, homie.

I-I move weight, you know?

I was thinking, like, ten times that amount.

How about we start with two?

And then see how it goes.

[sighs]

[sniffles]

How about we start with 20?

Let me talk to you for a second.

[speaking Spanish]

I got to beg a drug dealer to sell me drugs?

[Trey] Man, it is what it is.

The product is right, the price is right.

Big Mo needs it. Just make the deal.

We don't need that much product.

And I ain't got that much cash.

Well, get it.

That way we can do one deal instead of ten.

And I ain't got to play the middleman after this.

[officer] I need to see Justin.

[teacher] Justin.

Justin.

-[students laughing] -Justin. Come with me.

[student] Ooh, busted.

[quiet chatter]

gentle, intriguing music

[officer] Okay, let's go.

[Principal Young] I find these images to be very troubling.

It's just a character.

[Principal Young] This gun is in the hand of a boy that looks

exactly like you.

This house set on fire by that same boy.

He didn't set the house on fire.

He escaped.

[sighs] My top priority is protecting my students

and you are one of my students now.

So I'm worried.

I just like to draw.

I need to know if you're capable of harming someone else.

Hello, Monique.

Mr. Mayor.

Yeah, let me get a coffee, black, four sugars.

[clears throat]

When I asked for a meeting

I didn't mean you need to come to me.

Are you kidding?

Any excuse to come to the Lower Nine.

And here I thought I may not be welcome

in the mayor's office.

Everyone is welcome in the people's office.

Long as it's the "People's City."

Precisely.

-Thank you kindly. -[waitress] Mm-hmm.

So, what can I do for you?

I want to buy the Grand Rain.

You gonna run a nightclub in the Quarter?

Moving up in the world.

Well, I wish you the best of luck.

That owner, he a friend of yours?

[sighs] He's a contributor.

He's an asshole.

No doubt about that.

[Big Mo] He don't want to sell to someone like me.

What? An industrious entrepreneur?

Precisely.

[Charlie] The thing is,

I don't really have much say in the matter.

You say you want to champion for Black-owned businesses,

why not help a Black owner get her hand on a business?

Sort of hard for me to tell a man to take your money

seeing where that money comes from.

Wasn't hard for the last mayor to do that for Jimmy Baxter.

You and I have come to a successful agreement before.

One might argue it put you where you are today.

You know, in my position, every day brings a new problem.

And you know what my problem is today?

I got drug users overdosing in my city.

Your neighborhood.

I can't have that.

And I'll take care of that for you.

Good.

Then our secrets remain secrets.

So, I can count on your support, then?

As long as I can count on this

being the last time you ask for it.

slow, dramatic music

There you go.

Yeah.

Yeah, just sign.

-Thanks. -You're welcome.

[turns engine off]

pulsing, dramatic music

[quiet music playing]

Mr. Desiato.

Fia.

Hi.

You're, you're out.

And you're...

Yes, uh...

I got to work somewhere.

-Right, of course. -And you?

Got to eat somewhere.

Right.

Uh, would you want to join me?

-For, like... -No, no, I...

I-I can't. I, uh...

It's, it's...

strange, uh, seeing you in this place.

I actually live here now.

So, how's that for strange?

My friends think it's creepy.

They don't really get it.

Well, they don't know what you're going through.

You do.

[Michael sighs] No.

We all lost Adam in our own way.

You know, sometimes I think the things I miss the most

are the things I didn't get to experience.

There were so many conversations we never had.

Questions I never asked him.

What would you... ask him? If, if you could?

It's kind of fucked up to say, but, uh...

I would ask him,

"What do you think happens to us when we die?"

Did he believe in heaven and hell,

and all the things my mother is obsessed with,

that I never bought into?

It's just I, I keep thinking, you know,

what if I'm wrong?

[Michael] You would have liked having

those conversations with Adam.

He...

he enjoyed asking questions.

Mm.

Well, what do you think about all that stuff?

I don't know about God and, and all that...

[sighs]

...but I...

I do think that good people go where they deserve.

Mr. Desiato, um, there's somebody that I would really

-like for you to... -[stammers] I've got to go.

Can you please, please just promise me another time.

Y... Okay, yes.

[Fia sighs]

gentle, plaintive music

- -[thunder rumbling]

[scoffs]

Amazing.

Now that there's no more lies, you've got nothing left to say.

I devoted so much to your family.

I know you were trying to protect Adam,

but goddamn it, Michael, you should have trusted me.

Instead you just...

...lied...

manipulated and used me.

You may be free now,

but that's not gonna last forever.

And when your guardian angel vanishes,

I'm gonna be the next thing you see.

[insects trilling]

slow, tense music

[sighs]

[clock ticking quietly]

[whining]

[Django panting]

All right.

[Sheila] Everything all right?

I need a guardian signature to prove we spoke about this.

Is this about your drawings?

I'm not your legal guardian.

What is it?

My principal asked me if I was a violent person.

Do you think you're a violent person?

Whatever good is in a person,

the seed of that goodness,

it's in them for life.

And the bad can always be uprooted.

Whatever's in your past,

that does not define you, Justin.

That's not my name.

[Sheila] If you can be Justin,

I can be Justin's mom.

slow, wistful music

[exhales]

[sighs]

Hold on, hold on a sec.

Let me get this off.

There you go.

Why on Earth are you sleeping in my pantry?

The guest room is too big.

You find it cozier in there underneath my biscuit mix?

And don't you dare tell anyone I'm using a mix.

I'll... find some other place to sleep.

[Elizabeth] There's no need for that.

You're a guest.

This house has a guest room.

You'll sleep there.

-[indistinct chatter] -[jazz music playing]

[Carlo clears throat]

Talked to Fia today.

I think she just needs some space.

Space?

No, the problem with younger people

is that you don't worry about time.

You can get space anywhere, much as you want.

But time?

You never get that back.

And one of the reasons we have children

is to reset the clock.

I'm still here.

Fia's not gone.

You're a good brother, Carlo.

[birds singing]

[sighs]

Where you sneaking off to every morning?

The cemetery.

You see this?

It's a cereus.

It blooms once a year.

And whenever that happens,

I'm gonna take it to their grave.

Once a year.

There's no reason to go all the time.

They're not there.

Staring at a headstone's not gonna bring you

any closer to them.

[jazz music playing]

Hey, there, Dick.

[sighing]

Mr. Mayor.

What can I do for you?

Well, I was hoping to watch

a good old-fashioned business deal transpire.

Monique here tells me

y'all are in the middle of a heated negotiation.

Maybe we can sort it out right now.

There's really no need for you

to concern yourself with this matter.

[Charlie] Well, I'd rather not, but, um,

I'm a little worried that if this deal doesn't go through,

the Historic Landmarks Commission

might take a closer look

at some of the changes you've made.

Could hold you up for a year.

Maybe two.

This place has been my life.

Can't sell it to just anyone.

I'm not asking you to sell it to just anyone.

I'm asking you to sell it to her.

My money's just as green as anyone else's.

Look, I don't mean to be insulting, but, uh...

Maybe you do mean to be insulting.

I tell you my pawpaw used to

gig on that stage for 20 some years.

Yeah, and my daddy

watched him as a boy from that doorway right there.

Said a bartender, at the time,

gave him a tall, cold drink filled with maraschino cherries.

And the owner of the club at that time,

the man you purchased it from,

knocked that drink out of my daddy's hands.

So while I understand

this club is important to you, Richard,

it's important to me, too.

slow, dramatic music

Congratulations.

I look forward to seeing what you do with the place.

Well, there'll always be a table for the mayor inside.

[laughs]

They delivered your laundry downstairs

and I figured I'd bring it up to you.

[Fia] You don't need to check in on me.

May I come in?

I don't understand.

There are maids who clean for you.

I don't want them in here every day.

[Gina] Well, once a week would be a good start.

You know, this is why I live here.

To get away from your constant hovering.

[Gina] Yes, I know,

moving out of your parent's house

and into their hotel,

you're the model of an independent woman.

Just like Eloise at the Plaza...

if Eloise's boyfriend was murdered downstairs.

I don't like that talk.

Yeah, no shit.

You hurt your father when you ignore him.

I didn't have the energy to deal with him.

No? Well, would you dig a little deeper next time?

We are all trying very hard.

I don't understand why you insist on punishing us.

You know what?

Climb down off the fucking cross,

Jesus needs it back.

I owe you all an apology.

I've been coming here for the wrong reasons.

You told me there were five stages of grief.

Uh, denial, anger, bargaining,

depression and acceptance.

What I didn't realize is that my grieving

is out of order.

And that confused me.

That is very astute, Gina.

You're absolutely right.

We all take a different path to acceptance.

Well, that's what I've learned, I'm not seeking acceptance.

That's not where I want to end up.

You were trying to help me navigate past anger,

but anger is where I want to live.

Anger is where I flourish.

[upbeat jazz music playing]

[indistinct chattering]

Thank you for coming back.

I don't know why I'm here.

I do. To feel closer to Adam.

I won't.

You might.

I need to show you something.

Come on in.

gentle, optimistic music

[Rocco cooing]

This is Rocco Adam Baxter.

He's your grandson.

[Rocco grunts]

[cooing]