Original subtitles

[ON SCREEN] Escape.

What a word. What a concept.

The dictionary says "escape" means "to break loose, to bust free."

Yeah.

There are all kind of ways to get the fuck out of Oz.

For example, you can dig your way out.

[BELL RINGING]

REBADOW: Hurry up, I'll put the tiles back.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

McMANUS: Okay, everybody, listen up.

As you probably know,

Officer Whittlesey has transferred to Unit B.

Replacing her as Em City supervisor is Karl Metzger.

Officer Metzger. PRISONER: Oh, no.

PRISONER 2: This guy? -Some of you know me from ADSEG.

My rep is that I'm tough, but I'm fair.

I won't take any shit from anybody, but I don't intend to give any either.

All right, that's all.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

OFFICER: Count.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

It's gotta be in here somewhere.

What's going on?

-Where is it? -Where's what?

Hey, don't play games with me, asshole. Where's the tunnel?

What tunnel?

-We been watching you. REBADOW: Leave him alone.

Here it is.

Holy shit.

[LAUGHING]

How far along are you?

We figure by tomorrow, we're on the other side of the prison wall.

When you go, we're going with you.

How? We're gonna leave at night. You'll be locked into your own pod.

Then we'll switch pods. BUSMALIS: What?

You two will switch pods with us.

Otherwise, we tell the hacks about what's going on.

All right.

If you can arrange the exchange, the tunnel's yours.

-Rebadow. -Shut up, Busmalis.

Yeah, shut up, bushman.

I can't let the Nazis go through Lizzie. It would be like they were raping her.

In my years at Oz, I've learned one rule:

Accept the hand you're dealt. We'll lose the tunnel either way.

Better to let it go and start a new one in the next pod.

Oh, fuck.

MACK: Metzger? -Yes?

I need an ask.

Hey, Tim.

I wanna move Rebadow and Busmalis out of their pod.

-Fine. -Don't you wanna know why?

I trust you.

-Take care of her. -Fuck you.

Stupid fucks.

[BELL RINGING]

There they go.

-How can you be so calm? -What would you have me do?

[WHISPERS] All right.

Let's go, pussy.

-They should almost be there. -Yes.

We should have told them.

No. BUSMALIS: Yes.

We should've warned them that we weakened all the support beams.

We should've warned them that the tunnel will collapse on top of them.

Oh, shit.

[GRUNTING]

Oh, shit.

[RUMBLING ABOVE]

-You all right? -Yeah.

Yeah!

-What the hell are you doing here? HILL: Prisoner number 96M542.

Mark Mack. Convicted June 1st, '96.

Murder in the second degree, vandalism, hate crimes.

Sentence: 70 years. Up for parole in 40.

Yo, back up. Back up, man. Back up.

Back up, it's falling down. It's collapsing, man.

Shit, man, back up. Go, man, go.

[SCREAMING]

I've been here five minutes, I got two bodies on my floor.

This is not the way shit's gonna happen with me here.

We find one more hole, who's going in it?

I'm putting one of you goddamn cocksuckers

in the next fucking hole we find.

Who wants a shovel? Dig me the goddamn hole.

You gonna dig me a hole? Go ahead.

Goddamn it.

The tunnel was found in what used to be your pod.

Yes, he dug it.

-Rebadow. -Under orders from Mark Mack.

Mack forced you to dig?

He threatened to kill Busmalis, didn't he?

Yes. The Nazi bastard.

If that's true, you should've come to us.

That's easy to say. The poor man was terrified.

Terrified.

Busmalis warned him of the dangers, but they were so anxious to go.

They wouldn't listen to a word.

Even so, these two should be punished.

Well, neither one is much of a discipline problem.

You can go.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

Poet, what's up?

It's my new work assignment,

here in the morgue.

McManus' revenge on me for screwing up outside, man.

Yeah, what happened, man? You was free.

Yeah, and still a fiend.

I spent all the money I got for that book on crack.

And when the cash ran out,

them fucking dealers came after me, man.

POET: I was defending myself.

[GUNSHOTS]

You shot a guy six times.

I had to make sure the nigga was dead.

True that.

So, what do we do here?

You know, wait for the mortician to get back from lunch.

Undertaker school in town sends a student up

to work on our corpses for the practice.

And we help them out?

Yeah, you know, hand them shit. Embalming fluid, cosmetics.

Cosmetics?

You mean like lipstick and shit?

Sure, you gotta look pretty before they plant you.

POET: Shit, I ain't no girl.

They ain't putting none of that shit on my face, yo.

When you're dead, you don't have much of a choice.

Death is a lot like life in Oz, man.

-It'll work. I'm telling you, it'll work. -Yo, Po.

-What you talking about? What'll work? -Yo, check this out.

Money got a plan to escape out of Oz, yo.

KENNY: What's up? What's up?

-Yo, we working stiff patrol, right? -Right.

So just now, we loaded those two Aryan fucks into boxes, right,

which get sent to funeral home for burial.

So my idea is, next time somebody dies,

I get in the box instead.

Hill, coffins are airtight.

-You'd die of asphyxiation. -Thank you.

Not if I drill some subtle little holes in the right places.

But the casket's gonna be sealed. You'll be trapped inside.

Not if I get a couple of friends of mine to come to the funeral home

and break me out.

Yeah, but what you gonna do with the real motherfuckers that died?

How hard is it to hide a couple of bodies up in Oz, son?

Temporarily, at least.

-It's a good plan. -Shit might work.

HILL: That's what I'm saying.

KENNY: That's better than having a motherfucker mail you out.

-I wouldn't be telling everybody. HILL: I was bullshitting.

I know-But I was bullshitting. You thought I wanted to-?

Express mail, all right?

Every inmate wants out of prison, by hook or by crook.

Of course, there are some who find that once they're free,

life on the other side ain't all it's cracked up to be.

[THUNDER CRASHING]

I'm here to see Sister Peter Marie.

Robert Sippel's out front asking for you.

So, Father, meet any cute boys on the outside?

Any boys with the first name Dick?

[CHUCKLES]

SISTER PETER: You look exhausted.

Well, the last few days have been very difficult.

Registering as a convicted pervert was more difficult than I thought.

I had to go down to the courthouse and stand in line with ordinary people

wanting fishing licenses and learner's permits.

I stepped up to the counter and softly explained to the clerk

why I was there.

She boomed, "Perverts fill out these."

SISTER PETE: Oh, boy.

So how's the job search going?

Seek and ye shall find, right?

Hard enough getting employment as an ex-con,

but once they discover that I've fondled a young boy...

Well, have you found a place to live?

After ten years of imprisonment,

my first two nights of freedom were spent sleeping on the subway.

Well, you know I'll do anything I can to help.

Well, that's why I'm here.

Would you please speak with Warden Glynn?

About what?

Letting me sleep here in Oz.

You want me to let Robert Sippel move into a cell?

Just until he finds a landlord who will rent him a room.

I need to see the shift log.

He'll have to stay in Gen Pop.

-He'll be at risk. -Yeah, he's aware of that.

He's not gonna get an apartment unless he has a job.

Well, that's my next mission.

I gotta find somebody who will hire a defrocked priest.

-I will. -You?

Yeah, as my assistant.

I've got a discretionary fund from the diocese.

Guess it's time I used my discretion.

Well, there's not much room here, but...

-I appreciate this, Father. -Oh, yeah, well, I needed a...

As you can see, I'm not very organized.

You're still uncomfortable around me.

[PHONE RINGING]

Chaplain's office.

Yes.

Okay. Okay, I'll tell him.

A patient in the hospital is dying. He's asked for the anointing.

If I'm really here to help you, Father,

then let me help you.

He pardons all your inequities, he heals all your ills.

MUKADA: He redeems your life from destruction.

He crowns you with his kindness and compassion.

Father in heaven, through this holy anointing,

grant Joseph comfort in his suffering.

Through Christ, our Lord, amen.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

Mr. Hanssel? Hi, I'm Father Mukada.

-Thanks for seeing me. -Sure.

This past few weeks, there's been plenty of stuff in the press.

What with the legislature passing that law requiring sex offenders to register,

and with Father Sippel getting out.

It stirred up a lot of things in me, feelings I thought I'd put down.

I told him that you were coming.

Is he willing to talk with me?

Yes.

He feels that he owes you that much, at least.

I've never been in a prison before.

Don't worry.

There'll be a correctional officer with you the whole time.

Yeah, to protect me or him?

I'm sorry, Father. Look, I have no intention of harming the man.

I don't really know what my intentions are except...

I haven't seen him since that day.

Ten years is a long time to carry this shit inside.

Sorry to say "shit" in front of a priest.

Sometimes "shit" is the only word that fits.

Yes?

-How do you live with yourself? -How do you?

SCHILLINGER: Whatever I've done, I've done for righteous reasons.

Any laws I've broken don't deserve to be laws.

But you...

You, you fucking baby-raper.

-You should be dead. -Back in your cage, Schillinger.

Don't make me use this.

You wouldn't want me to enjoy myself, now, would you?

PRISONER: Way to go, Vern.

Thank you, officer.

I'm just doing my job, pal.

For once, I agree with that Nazi fuck.

What do you need?

-Some rec time. -With who?

Sippel.

No! No!

No! No!

[SCREAMING]

-No! -Keep moving.

No! No!

No!

[SCREAMING]

No!

Don't be nervous.

-I'm not nervous. SHIRLEY: Well, you seem nervous.

Which I can understand,

you and me being locked in this cell together.

NATHAN: Breathe.

You don't touch many women, do you?

-Nope. -I can tell.

You're twisting and turning my body like I'm a man.

I'm treating you like a patient, any patient.

SHIRLEY: That's right.

Doctors can't feel emotion toward their caseload.

That's not true. We're compassionate. Look up.

Yeah, compassion.

That marvelous thing which allows you to be human

and still be above the rest of us.

NATHAN: You're fine. We're done.

Am I well enough to die?

Healthy enough to execute?

Look, if I'm nervous it's because I don't understand how a woman,

a mother, could do that to her own child.

-Her own flesh and blood. -It was an accident.

NATHAN: Officer.

The next time I see you, Shirley,

I'll be standing over a gurney about to poke you with a lethal injection.

[BELL RINGING]

Thank you, darling.

[ON SCREEN] What's the opposite of "escape"?

I don't mean "arriving." I mean, being in a place

and getting sucked deeper and deeper inside.

So far down that you almost burst through to another side.

Please, more Quaaludes from the hospital.

Hey, Hernandez, get your feet off the table.

Do you hear me, or do I gotta have to translate?

METZGER: What's the problem?

Hernandez here, he's got attitude.

Raoul,

I'm gonna ask you nicely, once.

Will you please take your feet off the table?

Will you do that for me, huh?

Thank you. Let's go, Eugene.

Let's go, let's go.

Alvarez, Rivera's still got his eyes.

You gonna do the job, man? Or are you a fag?

I'm just waiting for the right moment.

[IMITATES CHICKEN CLUCKING]

Will you shut the fuck up? I'll take your fucking eyes.

Come and try.

HERNANDEZ: Yo, drop it now, all right?

Today, white boy. Do it today, Michael.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

-I got tickets to the Knights game. -Who they playing?

Chicago. Wanna go?

-I can't. I got a date. -Ray?

I gotta go see Sippel at Benchley Memorial.

At least now, he's got a place to sleep, right?

Tim.

Leo, do you have any idea who crucified Sippel?

-No, not yet. -I bet a CO was involved.

[RIVERA SCREAMING]

What is that?

Oh, my God.

RIVERA: My eyes!

My eyes!

[SCREAMING]

-I need a CO in here! GLYNN: Get some help!

[ALARM BUZZING]

Lock-down. Lock-down!

[RIVERA SCREAMING]

[NATHAN CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

He's not in Emerald City.

Search the whole prison. Search every fucking inch.

Lock-down. Lock-down.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Let's go, man.

How's he doing? NATHAN: He's sedated,

but, Leo, his eyes are gone.

He's lost a lot of blood. He's gonna need a transfusion.

-Then do it. -He's AB negative.

I called the blood bank. They're out.

Then find somebody in Oz with that blood type.

We're cross-checking staff medical records right now

but it's gonna take some time.

Christ.

Shut up. You shut the fuck up.

Miguel.

Miguel.

-All right. -Shh!

SORT team's going through every unit cell by cell.

-So far, no sign of Alvarez. -Shit.

NATHAN: Oh, God. -What?

No one on the staff was AB negative

so I started checking the inmates' records.

I found a prisoner with the same blood type.

-So let's get him down here. -Who is it?

Ryan O'Reily.

-Fuck you. McMANUS: A man's life is in danger.

A hack's life. Fuck you.

Goddamn it, O'Reily.

I'm sick of your fucking bullshit. Now, you need to do this now!

There's only one of two ways you're gonna get my blood out of me.

You either tie me down and you take it...

Or?

Or you let my brother Cyril out of the hole

and you put him in Em City with me.

Miguel, you gotta think this through.

-I'm trying, I'm trying. -There's no way out.

Eventually, the SORT team is gonna find us here

and then what you gonna do? How are you gonna fight them off?

They got rifles. You got shot during the riot.

You wanna get shot again?

If they fucking catch me, they're gonna fucking beat the shit out of me.

Miguel, I promise you, I won't let them.

That's fucking bullshit, man. What the fuck are you gonna do?

You gonna fucking hold up a crucifix?

Lie down.

I remember stories about my grandfather.

How he killed the guy who cut out my father's tongue.

Ended up in solitary, right?

You know what he was like. MUKADA: Yeah.

He spent 20 years, 20 years in solitary.

Then he goes fucking crazy because of the Alzheimer's, right?

The thought of that, man, the thought of that,

of spending the rest of my fucking life in a little fucking room.

No-fucking-one around except a few fucking hacks.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I tell you, man, I couldn't handle that. I couldn't handle that.

No, no way.

I mean, I got a problem as it is being in small places.

But to be in a little fucking room...

I'll fucking go bugs in a day.

No, no, no.

They put me in solitary, they might as well beat me to death.

Miguel.

We've been through a lot together, you and me.

And you gotta believe me when I tell you,

there's no alternative.

Yeah, there is.

You see that?

When I did that, I was fucking nuts.

See, I know that now.

You know what I should've done instead?

I should've cut my fucking throat.

Miguel, no.

You don't know what you're talking about. Just look at me.

-Say a prayer for me, Father. -Miguel, please don't. Miguel.

Miguel, no!

ALVAREZ: Get the fuck back. MUKADA: No!

-Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him. ALVAREZ: No!

No, please stop. MUKADA: Don't hurt him.

No, don't hurt him. I promised him you wouldn't.

ALVAREZ: No! MUKADA: Don't.

No! No!

No. Fuck.

OFFICER 1: Get him moving. -Get the fuck off me.

-Get the fuck off me. Get off me. OFFICER 2: Get in there.

Don't leave me here, please.

No.

[CRYING]

Let me out. Let me out.

Let me out!

[SCREAMING]

Help!

Somebody.

Let me out!

[BELL RINGING]

OFFICER: End of lock-down. -They must've found Alvarez.

GUERRA: Yeah.

They'll charge him, attempted murder.

-Let his ass die in solitary. -Yeah.

I feel bad, man, you know?

I was wrong about him, you know? He did have balls.

Hey, Gloria, I have to talk to you.

What?

What would you possibly have to say to me?

I'm sorry?

McMANUS: How's Rivera? -We'll know more in a few hours.

All right, Cyril's been moved to Em City.

McManus.

I fucked up a lot of people's lives.

Yeah.

My brother Cyril got slow because of me.

We were at this funeral.

And there was this chick there that I used to date.

She was there with her new boyfriend, some wiseguy.

But she and me, we were still hot for each other.

You fuck. Get off her.

Get the fuck out of here.

[GRUNTING]

O'REILY: Cyril.

O'REILY: Cyril got brain-damaged defending me.

When the doctors told me

that Cyril would never be the same again,

that he would have the mind of a 5-year-old-

Fuck.

It crushed me.

So I got wasted.

I lost control.

Yes!

[MAN GRUNTING]

[SIREN WAILING]

Everything I have done since I've gotten here

was to protect my ass so that I could make parole.

But...

What I feel for Gloria...

It blinded me.

So I lost control again.

And now Cyril's in Oz

and he's gonna be here for the next 60 years.

And he got raped by Schillinger

and he's afraid.

So...

I gotta stay here with Cyril.

I gotta protect my brother.

I mean, for once in my fucking life,

I'm gonna be his big brother.

You had Cyril kill Gloria's husband.

Yes.

You'll be brought up on charges.

It's what I deserve.

Hey, fuck off.

Hey, Ryan. O'REILY: Hey.

McMANUS: Hey.

-Hey. -How are you?

This morning I cleaned out Preston's closet.

Boxed up his things from his chest of drawers.

The man had seven mismatched cuff links.

Who saves one cuff link?

You lose one, you throw the other one away.

Who even wears cuff links these days?

Preston had style.

Yeah.

You hungry? You wanna have dinner or something?

-No, thanks. -Not like a date or anything.

No.

I gotta ask you something.

About O'Reily.

Do you think he really loves you?

Yeah.

No one will ever love me as much as Ryan O'Reily.

And I have to live with that fact every day for the rest of my life.

[ON SCREEN] You can escape from Oz in subtle ways.

Heroin, alcohol.

You shellac your brain with chemicals

and it's almost as good as being free.

Problem is, you do too many drugs

and you become a prisoner of a different sort.

And it's even harder to escape the emptiness that follows.

I love you.

I love you, Toby.

[MAN SCREAMING IN DISTANCE]

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

Chris, at last.

Give me a kiss.

-You're drunk. -You bet your ass I am.

Did you miss me?

Christ, I missed you. Come on, let's fuck.

I don't wanna fuck you, Beecher.

I don't wanna be in the same room with you.

-Where you going? Chris. -Hey, don't fucking touch me.

-Chris. -Go away.

Are you mad at me about something?

-Forget it. -No, if-

I said, forget it.

No, if I did something, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-

KELLER: Why don't you keep your voice down, huh?

Look.

I had a lot of time to think in the hole.

One of the things I've decided is you and me are through.

Jesus, what did I do?

Look, we'll talk about this when you're sober.

Chris, what did I do?

Leave me alone.

If it's the drinking, I can stop. I can stop the drinking. I can.

KELLER: Don't fucking touch me.

[PRISONERS LAUGHING]

PRISONER 1: Hey, looks like a little quarrel there.

Chris.

Chris.

PRISONER 2: Lick your shoes for him.

PRISONER 3: Pussy.

[BELL RINGING]

Ah!

So?

I've been out of the hole two days,

I haven't spoken more than ten words to Beecher.

Yeah, I seen him.

He's a fucking mess.

-He's on the ledge. -Yeah.

I say it's about time we pushed him off.

You look like warmed-over shit, Beecher.

BEECHER: It's been a rough couple days.

Workout will do you good.

Hey, Beech.

[LAUGHS]

No! You-

METZGER: All right.

You fucking-

METZGER: Behave.

-You and him? -Say what?

Oh, yeah. We've known each other a long time.

I've known Vern since we were both doing time up in Lardner.

I was 17 and...

Well, he saved my life from some big, dumb nigger

who wanted me to be his prag. No, I don't think so.

[BEECHER GRUNTING]

I've owed him ever since.

[WHISPERS] I don't love you.

I've never loved you, not for a second.

Let him go. METZGER: No, Chris.

KELLER: No, let him go.

Let's see what you got there, Toby. This time, for real.

[KELLER LAUGHING]

[BEECHER GRUNTING IN PAIN]

[BONE POPPING]

[SCREAMS]

SCHILLINGER: My turn now.

Sieg heil, baby. Sieg-fucking-heil.

[BONE POPPING AND BEECHER SCREAMING]

They broke both his arms and his legs?

Hey, what's he do if he gets an itch?

He looked like a fucking pretzel.

That's because he was in love with Keller.

Love hurts.

-Schillinger did this. -Fucking Schillinger did this, man.

-Yo, son, I wanna move in here. -Why?

It's a better view.

How'd this happen? Who took Beecher to the gym?

I don't know, but I'll find out.

Hey, Leo, what do you know about Karl Metzger?

I only know what's in the file. Why?

I don't know. I just got a bad feeling about this guy.

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

[ON SCREEN] Yeah, there are all kind of ways to escape from Oz.

You can dig a tunnel, you can die, or you can exit through your soul.

Oh.

Yo.

Nappa got a hold of our tits. That bitch stole them from us.

He got my tits. KENNY: Yeah, look.

I don't know how, but he got the package before we did.

And I don't know how the fuck he found out,

but we're fucked.

-Okay. -We got to burn that wop, Adebisi.

-We will. -When, man? Damn.

All you been doing is laying in the bed these past couple of days.

And we've been covering for you in the kitchen.

And frankly, we getting tired of this shit.

Are you giving me orders, Kenny?

I know why you have come.

JARA: You are a fetisher.

You can see the future in those shells.

They've already told me we will meet.

Well, if you're so smart,

what are you doing in prison?

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

[SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[ON SCREEN] Prisoner number 98J604, Kipkemei Jara.

Convicted August 1st, '98, criminally negligent homicide.

Sentence: 20 years.

Up for parole in eight.

I believe I was sent here for you.

If you don't change your ways,

stop the drugs, the violence,

you will die.

Everyone will die. That's everybody's future.

How long have you been in America?

Fifteen years.

You see?

You have lost the sense of:

[SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

-Home? -Yes, home.

Where you come from.

You've been here for too long.

You don't know who you are.

You disgrace our people.

Our people?

Our people who have let oyinbo come in and use us?

Our people who don't protect what we have got?

Even so,

when we die,

our souls return to the place of birth.

You have abandoned yours.

You must embrace it

if you want peace.

Well, Simon, your urine test came in negative.

-You see? I'm drug-free. -Yeah, that's great.

So how are you feeling physically, detox?

I have the heart of a lion, Sister.

SISTER PETE: Whoo!

Well, I'll be. You actually look happy.

You were right.

In snorting all that shit, I was avoiding something.

Myself.

But you know,

since the first time I came to Oz,

I found:

[SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

Family.

Nappa's saying he's the man in charge now.

He's got the tits and he's got Adebisi by the balls.

Let him talk all the shit he wants, okay? Fuck Nappa.

Yeah, well, I don't know how you can trust Adebisi now.

I mean, just fucking look at the guy.

I remember the peace.

I remember.

You see what I'm saying?

That was bad, what you said.

Yeah, well, in Oz, bad is good.

Adebisi and his crew, they're starting to crack.

I'd give it a couple of days before approaching them.

NAPPA: Good.

I need you to find out something else for me.

O'REILY: Yeah? What's that?

Adebisi isn't just detoxing.

Something or someone is screwing with his head.

You mean that guy Jara?

Man, they got some strange shit going on.

O'Reily, you a user?

Not anymore.

Tits are purely for profit.

-Pleasure doing business with you. -Likewise.

-That old man Jara. -Yeah?

I want him dead.

Yo. Yo.

-Anybody smell garlic? -Hey, fuck you.

Easy, everybody. We didn't come here to fight.

Your man, Adebisi, he's lost his edge.

No, he just a little sick, that's all. He'll be all right.

Really? I got control of all the tits in Oz.

You guys got shit.

Now, rather than us taking shots at each other,

I say we call a truce and work together.

We have our own operation. We don't need you.

Think about that for a moment.

Who's gonna get every pair of tits that comes in this place, huh?

Make the smart decision here.

We ain't gonna be your bitches.

Hey, we work together, we share.

We in business?

Now, as a sign of good faith, there's a little job I need done.

Adebisi.

Why you letting that old motherfucker work in the kitchen with us, huh?

He's slowing us down.

Shut up, Kenny.

I need more corn.

-Die, old man. -Aah!

Jara.

Jara.

What happened? What happened?

No, don't speak. Don't speak. Don't speak.

-I can't breathe. -Don't talk, I'll get some help.

Get me some help!

Help me. Don't talk.

I'm going home.

-No, don't leave me. -I'm going home.

ADEBISI: Jara, Jara, don't. Jara.

JARA: See you, brother.

See you.

ADEBISI: Jara?

Don't leave me.

[DRUMS BEATING]

Can you hear the drums? Can you hear them?

OFFICER: Okay, Adebisi, settle down.

It's okay, settle down. Johnson, grab him.

JOHNSON: Okay. We're just gonna bring you somewhere

where they talk to you and write everything down.

OFFICER: Back to your cells, come on.

McMANUS: How can you not know what happened?

I don't know what happened.

Adebisi's been going through detox and acting all crazy lately.

And then he goes and stabs that sweet old man.

I don't know.

I just don't know.

[PRISONERS SHOUTING]

[SHOUTING]

[ON SCREEN] There are legal ways to escape from Oz.

Parole hearings, court appeals, and then there's clemency.

Clemency.

It sounds so benign, doesn't it? So purifying.

The phone's ready for you.

Thank you, my brother.

SAID: His radio show has thousands of listeners.

If we don't ask, we'll never know.

Yes, this is Kareem Said.

I have an interview scheduled for 10:30.

Yes.

Wa ʿalaykumu s-salam, my brother.

Oh, yes, I am he.

Let me first say,

I'm really sorry, I didn't know much about your radio show.

Inside Oswald, we are restricted in what we see,

hear, and are exposed to.

That is another reason why I wrote my new book.

-I say we institute a "no swearing" rule. -Fuck you.

Suck my dick.

-Asswipe. -Cocksucker.

-You stupid cunt. -Putz.

If nobody has anything more intelligent to say,

this meeting is adjourned.

-Said. -Yes?

I'll take him back to Em City.

It's about Poet.

I've tried talking to him several times,

but he's completely closed himself off to me.

Have you talked to him?

What's the point?

Well, to try to reach him.

To start over.

I've done everything I could to help that boy.

So have you.

I'm done with him.

Hey, wait a second. What's this?

Where's your every-soul-is-redeemable, never-give-up attitude?

Yeah, where is it, McManus?

You know, when I was arrested,

I thought to myself, "Hey, this is the will of Allah.

I can go to Oz and I can help my brothers."

McMANUS: And you haven't.

I feel the same way sometimes.

I know you do, McManus. I see you.

The difference is, you can go home every night.

You're free to quit, get yourself another job.

I'm gonna be here for another 17 years.

I've been thinking a lot

about what else I could have done with that time.

You mean like have a family?

Oh, yes.

You still can when you get out. You're not too old.

After two decades in maximum security,

what the hell would I have to offer a wife?

What could I offer a child?

Your faith.

I thought your faith sustained you.

It does.

Most of the time.

METZGER: Attention.

The following prisoners are to report to the warden's office:

97F444, Kareem Said.

97A622, Zahir Arif.

89B267, Nasim Bismilla.

85A245, Sanjay Afsana.

Said.

Have a seat.

Said, every year, the governor grants clemency

for a number of prisoners.

Just around Christmastime.

This year, he's decided to do two special releases:

-One for Passover, one for Ramadan. -I know all about this.

I've been working with other Islamic leaders

trying to get the government to initiate it.

Right. Devlin's asked us to go over the case files

of our Muslim prisoners and recommend a candidate.

But he specifically wanted us to consider you.

This is a trick, right?

There has to be strings attached.

Exactly what do I have to give up to gain my freedom?

Nothing.

The big question is:

If the governor offers clemency, will you take it?

Yes.

[BELL RINGS]

I tell you this. We must be happy for whichever one of us is chosen.

Yeah, especially if it's you.

-Arif? -I'm sorry.

It's just that I have children.

I know they're being cared for, but it's not the same thing.

They miss me.

I miss them.

I know.

Do you?

-It's all about Said. -It's the will of Allah.

Come on, now-

[PRISONERS SHOUTING]

SAID: Stop it.

McMANUS: Hey, hey, hey. What's going on? Step away.

Madness.

Come on. Come here.

You're the one.

The one Devlin's chosen.

Ramadan starts Thursday.

He's doing a press conference.

I...

I feel like I should congratulate you, but...

But what?

Don't tell me you're gonna miss me.

No, not at all.

It's just...

None of this sits right with me.

[SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

The celebration of Ramadan is at the center of Islamic worship.

Therefore, I'm pleased, in the grand tradition of this holy time,

to bestow clemency on a prisoner.

Kareem Said has been an outspoken critic

of our administration, but political differences aside,

he has been an outstanding member of the prison population.

Even after suffering a heart attack last year,

he's continued to work with prisoners of every race and color,

especially the young, to instruct them, and guide them to better lives.

So I hereby grant Kareem Said

a full pardon

and I wish him well in his new life.

[PEOPLE APPLAUDING]

MAN: Congratulations, Said.

Finally, we meet, face to face.

Mr. Said, how do you feel?

How do I feel?

I feel joyless.

My brothers remain behind.

Imprisoned, suppressed.

I don't just mean my Muslim brothers, I mean

every single man that will sleep in here tonight,

that was cut off from everything that he loves.

Cut off from his own self.

You know, as the word went around

that the governor was gonna give somebody clemency,

I saw a rift develop

as each inmate wished himself to be the chosen one.

The longing to be free became as palpable as the food that we eat.

But it is a meal that I am being served right now.

And I am Muslim.

And Allah does not allow me to swallow certain things.

Allah does not allow me to take scraps

from the hands of a man such as this.

A man who is corrupt

and immoral.

A man who denigrates the gift of clemency

just as he violates the principles of justice.

A man that gave the order that caused the death of eight people.

And so, Governor Devlin,

because even the cost of freedom can be too high,

I refuse your pardon.

[PRISONERS SHOUTING]

Officer, take him back inside.

Cocksucker.

PRISONER 1: Take him back inside. PRISONER 2: Stupid.

[REPORTERS SHOUTING]

WOMAN: How do you respond to this, governor?

[BUZZER SOUNDS]

[PRISONERS CHEERING]

PRISONER: Said.

PRISONERS [CHANTING] Said, Said, Said...

[ON SCREEN] Yeah.

Everybody wants to escape from Oz.

Of course, the truth is, there is no escape.

I mean, let's say you manage to sneak out.

Then you gotta run and keep running.

And a life of running away ain't no life at all.

Better to stay put, face reality,

deal with what you got and make the best of it.

Yeah.

The measure of a man is not where he lives, but how.

How he makes the best of it.

Make the best of it.

Later.