"SILAS:" "Previously on Kings..." "I Iooked up and saw a great swarm of butterflies, upon my head like a crown." "God's signal to begin." "SAVOY:" "Did you guys hear?" "The squad got pinched." "The bastards ambushed them." "They took hostages." "That's Jack Benjamin." "You saved the King's son." "You're going to get shown off." "You're going to take a pretty picture with my father, and then get sent back to wherever you came from." "I'm a man with position offering you a thank you." "Even if you ask for half my kingdom, as the saying goes." "He'II be trouble, you watch." "The only way to deal with him is a bullet." "Everyone thinks I'm brave, but I'm not." "Be brave now." "DAVID : (SHOUTING) You want blood?" "I surrender!" "Shoot me and call that enough!" "It's a peace treaty." "They're offering us a truce." "This truce might not be the best thing for the country right now." "Shepherd's stunt was too grand a gesture." "My hands are tied." "Call the Treasury." "Pull the gold." "But I was thinking I might stay." "It feels like the braver thing." "(THUNDER RUMBLING)" "Don't go!" "Don't go." "Don't go." "(SIGHS)" "ROSE:" "There are days when things must be right." "Today, things must be perfect." "They come as we speak." "Our enemy." "And we must treat them as friends." "Processional, signing, reception." "Every detail has been carefully chosen, and details count." "Seating charts can alter the course of delicate history." "Battles lost for want of a dessert spoon." "We can change the world today." "So long as we provide perfection." "The day is beginning, sir." "And a good day it will be." "I'm feeling Iuckier already." "Two inches from the King's coffee." "Mind the eaves." "(SIRENS WAILING)" "They've reached Shiloh." "That one's fine." "Fine is for every other day." "If today goes as it should..." "As it will." "Some photographer is going to snap the picture to keep the memory of the day you made peace with the implacable." "And I'II be damned if in it, your tie is just fine." "They're going to sign." "You did it." "Without any Reverend." "That's right." "AII by yourself." "Mmm." "You were right about Shepherd." "He's a bad omen." "We have a chance at peace, finally." "Anything goes wrong, we could be plunged back into the black of war." "Take him out." "Today might not be the best time." "As soon as the treaty is signed." "Use your best." "Order given." "Radio silent." "Nervous people challenging my assumptions." "Hanson, you look two steps off awful." "Treaty looks good, though." "Thank you, sir." "Pencils, Perry?" "Sharp, sir." "FEMALE REPORTER ON TV:" "Relations between Gath and Gilboa are historically contentious, going back to the previous century." "But since the end of hostilities at the front, we have... (SOFTLY) sleep well?" "How was breakfast?" "Shh!" "Pay attention." "Forward march!" "Detail, halt!" "So, do we shake hands?" "Or shall we wait till there's something to shake over?" "Good thought." "Join hands over things accomplished, not intended." "Two pens, one paper." "We are close, gentlemen." "We sign our names." "We shake hands." "And future ghosts know us for our contributions, not our wars." "Who's in?" "FEMALE REPORTER:" "Never before has so much hope pinned on one crucial moment." "Mom, you made it." "Hey." "Come on in." "They're about to sign." "Let's just get down to Veterans' Affairs and get EIi's check so I can get back home." "Yeah, Mom, we will." "You just got here." "You should see this." "This is what EIi died for." "FEMALE REPORTER:" "We have every indication that this treaty will be treated not only as a permanent truce between the countries, but as an opportunity to open up the borders to trade." "We need to review the treaty first." "I assure you the treaty is as we last left it." "Every word consistent." "Just a moment." "Before all that..." "Where's your Captain, David Shepherd?" "I'd Iike to meet the man who offered the peace we accepted." "He's not here?" "I'm afraid not." "We were of a mind to security." "Entry limited to only the essential." "FEMALE REPORTER:" "Given the scope of the agreement..." "They're not signing." "It was your brother's sacrifice that got them there." "Now, we get to watch them squander it." "You don't have to do this, David." "Staying in Shiloh." "I'm not coming home, Mom." "Not yet." "You have your family, your press." "If we are to sign, he should be here as well." "Don't you think?" "We'II gladly wait." "FEMALE REPORTER:" "Not certain what's going on..." "DAVID:" "Why aren't they signing?" "You're just one boy." "What good can you do here against all that?" "(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)" "Some conversation that we'll try to pick up between our King and Gath Premier Shaw." "Okay." "It looks..." "It's the peace talks." "They're asking for me." "I'II be back as soon as I can." "David." "It's the King." "David, wait." "Don't go." "I have to." "Go away." "Shoo!" "Yeah." "They're not shooing." "Thomasina is going to be mad." "I hate it when she gets mad." "Five days." "No break, no sleep." "But he gets to lunch with the Premier." "You're going to table." "Five-course meal, napkin in lap, bread on your left." "White wine, red wine, water goblet." "The King always grabs the wrong glass." "So, if you're sitting on his right, expect not to have one." "Silverware." "Start from the outside." "Move in." "Understand." "We are far from finished." "Do nothing to screw this up." "These are volatile people." "We can give them no excuse to take offense." "You just keep getting into trouble." "I'm trying to memorize goblet order and all I can think about is my mom." "She's in Shiloh today." "My brother..." "I know some people in Veterans' Affairs." "Maybe I can get someone to help her." "Walk her through it." "Don't worry." "You think you're ready for this?" "SILAS:" "He's ready enough." "Sir, what you've done today, getting Gath here to sign for peace..." "If there's anything I can do..." "Being King means never sleeping through the night." "An old enemy said that before I had him executed." "People ask how I cope with all the responsibilities, millions of souls relying on all the good air in my lungs." "It's an easy secret." "Every day, I Iook for signs in my Iife and try to read into them God's intentions." "Take a good look at your life right now, Captain." "And think hard." "What does God want you to do today?" "To shut the hell up." "So be it." "Premier Shaw." "Captain Shepherd." "The hero of Gilboa, slayer of tanks." "I imagined a giant." "Sir." "AII I've seen in my Iife, I'm not often moved." "You did a rare thing." "I'm sorry, sir." "You have no seat." "That's not possible." "I'm sorry, sir." "It's the case." "It's the seating chart." "Then, change it." "Go ask the Queen." "The Queen spoke plain." "No more changes." "Not invited to table?" "The Crown Prince?" "Just offering my regrets." "State Iuncheons." "I have better things to do." "Mrs. Shepherd." "David told me you were here." "He wanted to be here, himself, but he was called away." "I'm a friend of his." "He told me why you've come." "I'm so sorry about your son." "I know the red tape can be sticky here." "I just wanted to see if I could make anything easier for you." "I can see why he likes you." "If you really want to help me, help me get David back home." "I know you think he doesn't belong here." "(LAUGHS) Oh, no, I..." "I don't want him to leave because he doesn't belong." "I'm scared he does." "He's my son." "I knew before anyone he was born different." "And to call seven sons, a mother knows." "Now, this one, you protect from what wants to happen." "He has a destiny in him." "People with destinies, things don't go well for them." "They die old and unhappy or young and unfinished." "No." "Not for him." "(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)" "He looks to be enjoying himself." "Maybe a partner after all." "Not so sure about him." "I don't think General Malek much wants to be here." "And what about you, Captain?" "What do you think about our treaty?" "Do you believe your people are willing to accept sacrificing to their hated enemy?" "I want to hear a simple soldier's opinion." "Is your country ready for peace?" "To be honest, I was instructed not to speak, for fear of saying something stupid and jeopardizing the treaty." "It's that important to everyone here, and it's that important to me." "My brother died." "And this treaty is the only thing that can give that any meaning." "So, if it's not too rude, I'm going to follow my orders for once." "Keep my mouth shut and just try to use the right glass." "(LAUGHING)" "He's proving useful after all." "Stay the order?" "When we leave, wherever he stands, he dies." "ABNER:" "But, sir..." "That's not going to work." "It will." "Don't bother." "You give up." "I don't." "That's what's different about us." "No, you're scared of Thomasina." "That's the difference." "Yes!" "Master of the birds!" "Sometimes, you should maybe listen to me." "(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)" "We've traveled far, haven't we?" "Pretty damn, sir." "You're a hell of a commander." "Well, my father doesn't think I represent." "The old man doesn't know fig from fart." "We'II be at war forever with him as King." "I know it's been hard." "You've given your bones." "Stopped the clock on your lives." "I don't have the power to change all that, as much as I'd do well with it." "But, I do wield an ample slice of the Treasury." "Who wants to weigh some money?" "JACK:" "Private." "Hey." "Don't worry about it." "Heads up." "For your mom." "Oh, no." "This is all wrong." "Miss." "Mmm-hmm." "This soldier has been valiantly defending your country." "Maybe you should take him into the dressing room and make sure that fits." "Soldier, you do as the nice lady says." "You sell cars here?" "And where does the great hero of Gilboa hail from?" "I grew up on a farm near Port Prosperity." "You mean the Port of Sorrow." "We have a different name for it." "My father died defending that land." "I try to call it by the name he did." "Excuse me." "(BREATHES DEEPLY)" "(CHUCKLES)" "old habits." "Stealing desserts." "You went there to help my mom." "She called me." "Oh, I just wanted to help, or say hello." "Not my best idea." "Everyone else in your family always sends someone." "In a sea of fish, you're the mermaid." "She..." "She doesn't think you're safe in Shiloh." "Yeah, she might have a point." "You're the only person in the city I can trust, and I only ever see you in the hallway." "Well, as far as I know, life happens in hallways." "Not the time for that, young man." "Maybe later, if we make it through the day..." "Maybe we could..." "I don't have an actual idea." "None needed." "I'd Iike that." "Go." "I see you're still nose to nose in private corners." "Obviously, not too private." "You know, it was nice that you took an interest in him when he was the press' darling." "But that card's been played." "I'm not playing a card." "Well, you should be." "A boy like that, he's..." "He's innocent now." "But he'II get a taste of manor life soon enough and then..." "You know, he'II start enjoying things." "Desire for comfort replaces desire proper all too quickly." "And the chairs here are very soft." "I picked them myself." "Give him the nod." "Enough, Iet's have at it." "(BELL CHIMES)" "(FOOTSTEPS MARCHING)" "My wife commands an army." "Ours wouldn't want to face allies." "(SIGHS)" "(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)" "There's an inconsistency in the treaty." "Water rights in the west are in your favor." "This is not what we agreed." "No, I assure you that's correct." "Amended by the percentages you requested." "Your King built your country on lies like this." "He won't have us anymore." "If there's an issue, we can fix it later." "You've come all this way." "It's just two words on a page." "Yes, it's words that you twist to your advantage." "We will not sign this." "Fix it and we'II be back." "Wait." "You can't." "You can't do this." "please." "please." "please." "Get off of him." "Our great hero's just a jog, and a stupid one at that." "Cry for your brother again." "See what answer you get this time." "Lay a hand on me now." "I beg you, give me the reason." "This is an insult." "There will be no treaty." "Congratulations, Shepherd." "We're going back to war." "(PEOPLE MURMURING)" "MAN:" "The Queen was already unhappy, you and the Prince didn't attend at table." "And now, she doesn't know what to do about anything." "Being foul to everyone." "And the King?" "He hasn't said a word since Gath left." "Just scary quiet, the way he gets." "They say it's the worst day the King has ever had." "Treasury." "Have them announce it now." "Let's see if we can't make a bad day worse." "(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)" "You look tired, David." "I keep having bad dreams." "Disturbing?" "No more than when I'm awake." "You'II be fine." "I really screwed up." "Yeah." "I saw that." "Not your finest hour." "I always have bad dreams in the city." "Something about Shiloh." "They say that dreams are a 60th part prophesy." "Here, maybe even more." "The key..." "Read the signs." "Find out what it is that they are trying to tell you." ""Don't go." I shouldn't have come today." "Maybe." "Where are you going?" "Where I should have been all along." "We have the response from Gath." "They said they'd reconsider leaving." "They've agreed to hold for three hours so we can weigh a new demand." "They want an additional 10 kilometers into the north, and all the water rights to compensate for bad faith and personal insult." "There's nothing to be done." "They never intended to sign." "It's not Shepherd's fault." "They were just looking for an excuse." "If it hadn't been one thing, it would have been another." "The pattern in the rug." "AII to lead us on." "And maybe break our hearts in the offing." "Sir?" "This house is on fire!" "Whatever it is can wait!" "It's the Treasury." "They're saying it's empty." "Bankrupt." "But I don't understand how." "SILAS:" "He didn't." "It's treason, what you've done." "You cut your strings." "You think I'd just let you stand?" "What we've built, over decades?" "AII the country, gone in days?" "AII gone because of your grudge?" "AII gone on the day that we could have had peace?" "We'II all be stronger for it, in time with real leadership." "This country is at its best when its King Iistens to me." "Do you hate the idea of peace, or just the lost opportunity of more profit?" "Or maybe you just can't stand that someone had a thought to defy you." "It doesn't matter why I want the war to continue." "Only that I do." "Was it that sad in here, William?" "Were you that lonely?" "I could have had any number of women sent over." "And look where we are now?" "Go ahead." "Killing me won't change a thing." "Your country dies with me." "Oh, no." "Things will change." "I'II stand, and you will watch me do it." "I don't die in a corner." "I plow through or break a wall." "How do you think I got to be King?" "By begging me." "We'II see." "Car." "Small detail." "Countryside, sir?" "No, Gehenna." "We're going to hell." "Excuse me." "I'm sorry, but there seems to be a problem with your card." "It's been declined." "My card's linked to the Royal Treasury." "Run it again." "I did." "(SCOFFS) My card's been declined?" "My card's been declined." "(ALL LAUGH)" "Uh-oh!" "I hope there's no problem at the Treasury." "MAN ON TV:" "No reason whatsoever for alarm." "There's still some time before the clock runs out, and we still remain hopeful that a settlement can be reached." "I assure you that the King is personally engaged." "There's no hope, is there?" "My boy." "... round the clock conference with negotiators from both sides." "It's all my fault." "I'm sure they'd let you think that." "They only use people like us." "Look what they do." "Make me wait all day just to get paid because my son died!" "To hell with them, their death benefit." "Remember, Gath is not our enemy..." "Why did he die unless something good happens today?" "(CHUCKLES)" "There's no meaning in his death, David." "No benefit." "This is just pain." "(CHATTERING CONTINUES)" "Come home." "Let's have no more of it." "... on both sides, eager for the coming peace." "Open it." "Abadon." "Vesper." "Huh!" "He is awake also." "Bad dreams, I'II wager." "I warned you." "Being King means never sleeping through the night again." "It's day." "(SIGHS)" "You got the Schiller?" "Working on my translation." "The verse is fighting me tonight." "Today." "So the bad days outweigh the good." "Long time takes its toll." "You start to see things, you're not quite sure are there." "(CHUCKLES)" "I used to fight it." "Force the distinction." "Is, isn't." "After a while it got boring, so I just gave in." "And being mad means you'II never be lonely again." "(LAUGHS)" "I don't have that good fortune." "No, you saw too clearly." "That can't be fun." "There's a black weight on you." "Looks like a squid over your head." "AII goes well in my Kingdom." "Your Kingdom?" "Oh." "It used to be half mine, until Silas came and took it and built his monstrosity and told them all I was dead." "(CHUCKLES)" "Your people celebrated when I said so." "The bloody King of Carmel, Vesper Abadon, finally falls." "They melted your statue into a brick and sunk it into the sea." "Shouldn't have killed so many, maybe." "(LAUGHS) I see it now." "You didn't come here today to taunt me." "You want something." "When I marched onto Carmel, your reserves were already empty." "The money never found." "Is that it?" "My gold again?" "You hid a nation's material wealth in a hole or in a bank." "I want it today." "Where is it?" "Thirty years, a king in a box." "I haven't told you yet." "Why today?" "I could kill you." "You won't kill me." "I'm the only one who ever tells you the truth." "Waste of a day this turned out to be." "Getting nothing done." "She's alive?" "You spared her?" "She's a grown woman now." "She lives well." "You waited all these years until you needed something to show me this." "And you think you had patience?" "She's not alone in the picture." "There are others?" "alive?" "Who else?" "please." "please." "The gold." "No truth whatsoever to the rumors of problems with our Treasury." "You are all welcome to go to your banks and check." "Just a move." "The gold being taken to a new location, prompting a system error." "I' m no system error." "I' m his damn benefactor." "Where did he get that much gold?" "Is all that really necessary?" "This isn't your concern." "Well, it is, when it spoils my plans." "I want you to stop this stupid game." "Game?" "Your husband..." "My husband is a brat." "But no more so than my brother." "Mmm." "I can't have you two spoiling the holidays." "(ROSE CHUCKLES)" "This thing between you." "Let's just call it done." "He's gone too far this time." "And I'm sure you went too far right on back." "Then him again, your serve." "The match has to end." "No more retaliations, huh?" "You take his last play on the chin." "Why would I do that?" "When we banished Andrew from court, we had good reason." "But he could find himself invited back." "Your life is too empty, William." "It'd be nice to have your son around again." "Wouldn't you say?" "MICHELLE:" "Two minutes to the hour." "Then they're gone." "Don't blame David for what happened." "He was only trying to help, see through your goals." "People like him only make you a stronger king." "Maybe you defend him too well." "Oh!" "Don't you start lecturing me on class distinction and social hierarchy." "You, yourself, were scandalously poor once." "I don't care about that." "I wonder how he'd react if he knew about you." "The story that I'd wager good money you haven't shared with him." "I think he might surprise you." "Oh, you're going to make me come out and say it?" "Have you forgotten your vow?" "I Iove you so much it embarrasses us both." "So you know I take no joy." "You once asked me to bear witness so that it ever appeared that you forget," "I should be there to remind you." "I didn't want the job, but I'm doing it because you asked." "And so I have." "(CLOCK CHIMING)" "So close." "(NEWSCAST)" "I just wish there was something I could tell them." "Something I could do." "There's nothing you can do." "WOMAN ON TV:" "...is yet to be explained." "It's uncertain at this time, but there might be some connection between this abrupt departure and the news that the Treasury was bankrupt earlier today." "(INAUDIBLE)" "Stop the car, stop the car." "JESSIE:" "What?" "Stop the car!" "I need you to get out." "JESSIE:" "Why, honey?" "I'II explain later, okay?" "What are you doing?" "Sorry, man." "I need the car." "What's going on, man?" "It's an emergency." "It's an emergency." "Come on." "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "David!" "Hey!" "Come on man, that's my cab!" "Hey, that's my cab!" "Hey!" "(TIRES SCREECHING)" "SOLDIER 1 :" "Out of the car!" "SOLDIER 2:" "Put your hands up!" "SOLDIER 3:" "Out of the car!" "SOLDIER 1 :" "Don't move!" "SOLDIER 2:" "Show me your hands." "Don't go!" "SOLDIER 3:" "Stop or I'II shoot!" "SOLDIER 2:" "Keep your hands up!" "please!" "Hands up!" "You have to finish this!" "That's your message?" "please!" "You think you can make peace?" "There is no peace!" "There never will be 'til every one of you is dead!" "Everyone you love is dead!" "SOLDIER 3:" "Back away from him." "Back away!" "SOLDIER 2:" "Hold your position!" "Get down!" "Stand down now!" "Drop your weapons now!" "Stand down!" "Put your weapons down." "I said back!" "(ALL CLAMORING)" "Get back!" "Drop your weapon!" "Stand down!" "Stand down!" "Why don't we take a walk?" "You want it over, too." "I believe that." "But your generals, they won't let you." "Gath is its military." "And a boy destroyed one of our tanks." "They've been shamed." "What will it take to make them stop?" "Not some petty tariffs or a stretch of rock." "What do you need to bring to them?" "What's the real cost of real peace?" "My people have no hope for better." "They see how you live, and they want it." "They want this." "Industry, games, cranes, Shiloh." "The dream you gave them." "They want my city?" "I'II do you one better." "I'II give you the means to make your own." "Port Prosperity." "A world center of trade." "I took it from you, and with it, built Shiloh." "Take it back." "You build something with it for your people." "Not your generals." "Prosperity or the opportunity for it." "Get your generals in line." "Issue peace." "Real, lasting." "Six months hence, under Gath control." "Your people won't accept it." "They'II learn to if they know the reason." "If you will accept." "(CAMERAS CLICKING)" "I made an offer and Gath accepted." "We will, in six months' time, give over Port Prosperity in exchange for lasting peace." "(SCATTERED MURMURING)" "It will be difficult." "But it's a sacrifice we'II be glad for, in time." "Michelle." "THOMASINA:" "Sir." "You've had a busy day." "Sir." "That's not a very detailed account of your actions." "Sir, I just knew I couldn't let them leave." "There's an upper limit to tolerance." "Are you trying to get sent home, Captain?" "No." "I need to be here, sir." "What you did today, saving the treaty, making peace." "They don't understand what you've done for us, what you do." "But I've seen it, and I'm in awe." "You were chosen to be King for a reason." "When I read the signs, in my Iife," "they say that I was sent here to help you." "What I can do for you, I will." "Then do that." "Another matter." "My daughter." "Doesn't seem very interested." "Then no matter at all then." "You believe him, that he's loyal?" "We have nothing to fear from him." "He acts in our favor." "And fortune clearly favors him." "Some people make me a stronger king." "Abort the operation." "What?" "Then get word through, now." "Our man went radio silent after your order." "It may be too late to stop him." "(CLANGING)" "What are we going to do?" "Get it done." "No bird's telling me what to do." "Is that a grenade?" "Wait!" "(EXCLAIMS)" "Check fire!" "Birds are gone, ma'am." "(WINGS FLUTTERING)"