Original subtitles

What do you mean our grandson is drowning?

What's happening with Martin?

The surviving attacker came back into the country.

What?

And he recently made his presence known

at Fairmont Crest.

He got a job as a busboy at the country club.

Did he approach you? Martin?

No, he watched us.

He was eavesdropping on our conversations.

We didn't recognize him because of the plastic surgery.

How is this even possible?

Someone was supposed to be keeping tabs on him.

Well, that man let us all down.

The attacker's been back in the country for more than a month.

Vernon, you've known this for a month?

And you kept it from me? How could you?

I'm sorry.

I know I should've found a way to tell you.

Well, tell me now.

Tell me everything.

How can he be dead?

I just saw him a few hours ago and he was fine.

Angry about you punching him, but...

You said you had to go out.

Do something to protect our family's safety.

Oh, God. No, Smitty. [scoffs]

It wasn't me, I swear.

I had nothing to do with it.

♪ ♪

I thought I could manage the situation

the same way we did before.

Pay the man off,

make sure he went away and stayed out of our lives.

But that didn't work this time.

Things spun out of control.

The man started trying to intimidate Martin

through his children.

That monster dared to think

he could touch Samantha and Tyrell?

They're fine.

The threat was only implied.

But it was enough to terrify Martin.

I know when I saw that bastard

in the park with Samantha, I lost it.

But that was the last straw.

I realized, to protect my family,

I had to break the hold over me.

But not by killing him.

By admitting the truth.

So, Martin scheduled a press conference.

The plan was that he would confess to everything

and take all the responsibility on himself.

But he didn't go through with it.

Well, thank God you were able to talk him out of it.

That wasn't what stopped him.

I was standing in front of reporters

on the verge of admitting a lie

that had been eating me alive for years.

And no matter what the truth would cost me,

nothing was worth putting our kids at risk.

Then I learned...

The man is dead?

Gunned down.

Supposedly in a robbery.

Vernon.

Did you make this happen?

Smitty, I swear.

I didn't know this was going to happen.

I certainly didn't want it to happen.

But someone made it happen for your sake.

To protect you.

You must know who's responsible.

Or are you gonna lie to me again and tell me that you don't?

I'm so relieved you wanted to stop by.

Perfect timing. I need somebody to talk me down.

You know I am always here for you.

I have showered.

I have done every relaxation exercise

I've learned in all of my years of psychotherapy.

And none of it is working to bring my blood pressure down

after dealing with that bitch Leslie.

Leslie? Something happened with Leslie?

[sighs]

I ran into her this morning

when I was supposed to have coffee with Ted.

We got into it.

About Ted?

No. Well, not directly.

And he-he has made his bed, and he can happily lie in it

with all of the tacky bedbugs that he apparently likes.

I confronted Leslie about almost killing Laura twice.

Not that she would ever admit it.

You wouldn't seriously expect her to, would you?

I shouldn't have expected

anything more than what I got from her.

Disgusting, crass insults

intended to bring me down to her level.

Ugh! Why didn't I just walk away?

Maybe because you're human.

Sweetie, cut yourself a break.

So, you lost control and spit a few insults.

Whatever you said, I'm sure she more than deserved it.

Actually...

it was a little bit more than trash talking.

I came pretty damn close to strangling her.

-What? [stammers] What? -I know, I know, I know.

It is completely unlike me.

I didn't even realize I had it in me to do something like that.

There's a lot of that going around.

Maybe we've all just had enough of playing by the rules.

Mm. I knew you would understand.

But, please, can we just leave my little...

foray into violence between us?

You know, with my dad being a retired senator

and my son being a congressman,

I am expected to walk around

with a certain decorum in public.

I think you're safe as far as that goes.

Nobody's talking about anything other than Martin

after that strange press conference.

What press conference?

You don't know?

And I came here to find out from you what's going on.

Oh, well, that was your first mistake.

Nobody tells me a damn thing around here.

I would...

ask what happened last night,

but I get the feeling that, if you wanted me to know,

-you would've spilled already. -[chuckles]

You're sharp as ever.

I still can't imagine Daddy being more disappointed

than he was when...

-Than when we split? -When you left me.

Okay. All right.

Don't you start, too.

One Dupree is enough.

You know, I've met my "read for filth" quota.

Don't need any extras.

Daddy really got under your skin tonight.

What did he say exactly?

Only what he knew would cut me to the core.

If I'm being real,

a part of me still needs your dad's approval.

-It's always been that way. -Come on.

You're too cold-blooded to care what anybody else thinks.

Unless we're talking about your father.

In which case,

the only reason he withheld approval

is because he knew you wanted it so bad.

Yeah, well, I buried those daddy issues a long time ago.

But respect? You know, that's different.

And I wanted that from Vernon more than anyone else.

-You really mean that. -Yeah.

Look, you're daddy's favorite, so you'll never understand.

To me, he's...

oh, he's not just my ex-father-in-law.

I mean, the man has flaws, sure, but...

I mean, he's the legendary Vernon Dupree.

The way he came at my throat.

Damned if I didn't admire how he did it.

I had nothing to do with that man's death.

I only intended to do the same thing we did two years ago.

But I wanted to stay completely an arm's length away from it.

So, I left more of the details up to Bill.

-That was my crucial mistake. -No.

You could never have imagined

Bill's response to blackmail would be murder.

I should've known to keep a tighter rein on him.

Or at least insist that he cut Joey Armstrong

from the arrangements altogether.

Oh, God, Joey Armstrong.

And this was their simple-minded solution to our problem.

They'll probably claim that this result

is what I wanted all along.

To let them do the dirty work.

You have the kind of moral fiber they can only imagine.

There are lines you would never cross.

Bill seems to feel that we should be grateful,

if you can believe that. [scoffs]

That this was the only sure way that they could protect us

from a vengeful and sadistic stalker.

No, Bill knows good and well that

this is not how you intended for them to handle things.

He's just using it as an excuse.

But that's what happens when you come under the toxic influence

of a man like Joey Armstrong.

Outcome like this is probably inevitable

from the moment you get involved with a man like that.

And we tried so hard to keep Martin

from knowing he was involved.

But I'm sure he knows now.

Oh, oh, he knows now.

That was one of the reasons

he decided he wanted to come forward,

so that he wouldn't be in Armstrong's debt.

And now, they're tied together forever.

One thing I know for sure, my grandfather wasn't behind this.

He was there, at the press conference.

I saw his face when he found out what happened.

And he was just as stunned as I was.

Even more furious.

Who does Vernon think did this?

You know what? Don't tell me.

I have a pretty good idea already.

I was really wondering whether or not

I can trust you to be honest with me.

This isn't about withholding information from you.

Not now.

My family didn't even tell me what was going on.

They insisted I was protected.

Hell, I didn't even know my father was the one

who performed plastic surgery on that racist.

My dad and I still haven't spoke about it.

And that's how out of the loop I was.

You were in the loop about some things.

Like you knew that Marcel Malone was involved.

And then you kept him involved

when you asked him for protection for our family.

Do you think he's involved in this?

I don't know. I swear.

What about Joey Armstrong?

He was there, at the press conference.

And I don't think it was a coincidence.

Smitty, I never spoke to Armstrong about any of this.

Until recently,

I didn't even know he had anything to do with it.

Martin, stop trying to spin this.

Joey Armstrong being involved is not okay.

None of this is okay.

Okay, what is not okay?

Kids, please just go back to your room.

Your papa and I need to finish talking.

You've had long enough, Dad.

Me and Samantha need to know what's going on.

You're right.

Sit down. Let me fill you in.

Vernon, we have talked every day since I left town,

and I can't believe, in all those conversations,

you never hinted at what you were dealing with here.

And even when I came home for a visit,

and you could've told me face-to-face, you didn't.

Why would you shut me out like that?

I honestly thought we had the situation under control.

Plus, I didn't want to interfere

with your reunion with your old friends,

especially since it took you so long to make it all happen.

Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that.

We managed to sabotage it all by ourselves.

Don't tell me the reunion is off.

It is.

But I don't need to go into the sordid details.

We have more important things to deal with right now.

But you know what?

Maybe that's why it fell apart.

Maybe, deep down, I sensed that my family needed me.

More than a couple of unappreciative, bickering,

former groupmates ever would.

Oh, that made you smile, huh?

I missed you so much.

Even if you're angry with me,

I'm just so glad you're back home.

We need to work out

how to handle this with the family and the public.

Did the press get any whiff of...

Martin cut the press conference short

before he revealed anything.

But it did get a fair amount of media attention.

Dani and Nicole are gonna have a lot of questions.

-Oh... Especially Nicole. -Hmm.

Do you regret we didn't include her in this?

What with Martin and Ted involved?

This is just the worst possible time.

This could blow up when she's so vulnerable.

And I just pray that

she doesn't react to what we did by pulling away.

When now is the time she needs us most.

I'm only seeing snippets about this conference.

I was there when it happened.

Or rather, didn't happen.

I happened to be at Orphey Gene's meeting with... a client.

Uh, wait. Here's something.

Why is Bill in this photo?

I was surprised he was there, too.

For some reason, Martin only had one staff member on hand.

Bill was acting like he was his spokesman.

That's strange. I thought the two of them

were barely on speaking terms after the way Bill treated Dani.

Not from what I saw. Bill was very supportive.

He talked up Martin and what a good job he does

representing his district.

Then Martin started to give your basic political speech.

How grateful and honored he feels to have been elected.

How much he wants to live up to his grandfather's legacy.

Wait. Here's something.

It says he abruptly canceled the event due to a family emergency.

Which is why I came to talk to you.

I haven't heard of any family emergency.

What is going on?

MARTIN: Around two years ago,

Granddad and I were driving back from a political event.

While on a country road, we got a flat tire.

We were changing it, and...

a man in a big truck pulled over

and tried to rob us at gunpoint.

Oh, my gosh.

Granddad and I tried to talk him down,

but he said some racial slurs and he knocked Granddad down.

He hurt great-grandpa?

Both of us were scared

we weren't gonna make it back home.

But I was able to knock the gun out of his hand

and fight him off.

I'm glad you're okay.

So is that what this is all about?

We were lucky.

Things could've been worse.

Did the police catch him?

I hope he's rotting in jail right now.

Who is this guy? I want to search him.

You guys are not gonna understand this, but...

we didn't report this to the police.

Pop. [stammers]

You always tell us to do that when we're in trouble.

Yeah, that is some serious

"do what I say and not what I do."

I know, I know, but Granddad and I...

couldn't trust that the cops in that area

would believe I was acting in self-defense.

We realized that it would be our word against his.

So, we didn't risk it.

You just let him go?

Yes. And I didn't see him again until this year.

He got a job as a busboy at the club.

And again here,

when he showed up and he was playing chess with you, Tyrell.

Kenny was the racist who tried to rob you?

I see why you were so shook, but why didn't you just say that?

Yeah, why didn't you tell us the truth from the very beginning?

You don't know how much I wish I could.

I mean, this ugly incident,

I thought it was better for you not to know.

I wanted to protect you.

Sometimes, protecting people ends up hurting them even more.

I know that now.

And I never imagined he would follow me here.

Let alone, become a threat to all of you.

So what do we do about Kenny now?

Can we, like, get a restraining order on him or something?

You don't have to worry about Kenny anymore.

He's gone.

Okay, so here's what wasn't in that article.

Bill interrupted Martin when he was speaking

and showed him something on his phone.

Whatever it was seemed to hit Martin hard.

He could barely stand.

Oh, my God. I hope it's not something

that has to do with the children.

I don't think so because Martin didn't rush right out.

He stayed for a while and got in an intense conversation

with Bill and your father.

Then after Martin left, your dad laid into Bill.

And the look on his face, Vernon was just furious.

Like I've never seen him.

I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

I didn't know whether I should bring it up to you or...

You absolutely should.

And it's more than my family's doing these days.

I have actual advanced degrees

in helping people solve problems,

but for some reason, I seem to be the last person

that my family wants to turn to for help.

Babe, from what I could see,

Martin's in some kind of trouble.

I recommend you don't wait for an invitation to get involved.

Thanks, Vanessa.

I'm gonna find him and talk to him right now.

Nicole and Dani are gonna have to understand that,

two years ago, under extreme circumstances,

we did what we thought best for Martin and this family.

I know that's not gonna satisfy Nicole.

We kept a big secret from her about her own son.

And honestly...

our good intentions aren't enough

to satisfy me anymore, either.

Thanks to our advice-- let Martin keep this secret--

he hasn't been able to confide in his mother or his husband

about all he's been through the past two years.

Because we wanted him to go on with his life

as if that night never happened,

because it never should have happened.

But Martin needed not just to forget.

Martin needed to heal.

He needed his husband's support.

Well, I assume he's told Smitty about that night by now,

since he was going to announce it at a press conference

to the whole world.

That conversation is happening as we speak.

I can only imagine how upset Smitty will be.

I hope he can find it within himself

to give Martin the support he needs.

Our grandson

needs his family now

more than he ever has.

Why did Kenny leave? Did you pay him to?

-No. -SAMANTHA: Good.

'Cause I wouldn't want you to reward him

for being a disgusting racist.

Did he leave because of the press conference?

I didn't know you knew about that.

It was all over my socials.

Were you planning to expose Kenny?

Your pop realized a little too late

that being honest was the best way

to deal with this situation.

And, Tyrell, if you're wondering why your pop

scheduled a press conference without talking to the family

about it first, you're not alone.

I guess Pop's plan worked.

Kenny probably ran because he realized how much trouble

he would be in if the truth came out.

Why didn't you go through with it?

Why did you end the press conference early?

Did you and Kenny make some kind of... deal?

No deals. He's gone.

So, this story can stay private.

And we'll keep it private.

Don't worry, Pop.

I'm just glad that that Kenny the racist is gone

and that you and Granddad are okay.

And now, things can go back to normal.

You need to give me some more time.

Wait, what?

Why are you still being so salty, Dad?

You wanted Pop to explain, and now he has.

It just turned out that his big secret

was that he saved Granddad's life.

You can't punish him for being a hero.

It's not about punishment.

Then what?

Maybe the fact that Pop has been lying to us from the beginning.

But he already said he was sorry.

What else is he supposed to do?

Hey, I don't want you fighting with your dad and your brother.

I made some huge mistakes on how I dealt with this situation.

And they have a right to be upset.

Okay... [stammers] you're trying to make it right.

I am. And I'm gonna keep trying.

It's gonna take more than apologies to undo the damage.

I understand that.

I can't make you any promises right now.

Right now or ever?

I just can't.

I won't be far. You'll always be able to reach me.

Take care of yourselves.

All of you.

-Pop, wait. -It's okay, sweetheart.

It's okay.

[door closes]

I'll... I'll talk to her.

I promise not to make a habit of stopping by unexpectedly.

No problem from my favorite mother-in-law.

I have to admit, I am relieved

that everything seems normal around here.

It is what it is.

Where's Martin?

[footsteps approaching]

Hey, Samantha.

-Hi, Grandma. -Are you okay?

Did I come at a bad time?

Uh, I thought I heard the door,

and-and I thought that it might be Pop.

Are you expecting him back soon?

Martin's not staying here right now.

Martin didn't say anything to me.

SAMANTHA: It just happened.

Oh, sweetheart.

I was worried when I heard about that strange press conference,

but that couldn't have been about him not being here.

He wouldn't go public with that before telling me

or the rest of the family.

You are right.

The press conference was about... something else.

Something that Martin should explain for himself.

Oh, I will definitely be talking to him as soon as possible.

You. Remember.

You and your brother have a family that adores you.

Whatever you need, we are here for you. Okay?

That goes for all of you.

Thank you, Nicole.

We appreciate that.

Why is it so much easier unpacking than packing?

Most people would say the opposite.

Packing is the fun part.

Not if you're happy to be coming back home.

-[both chuckle] -What is this, coffee? At this hour?

I thought no caffeine in the evenings.

I have a feeling it's gonna be a very long night.

Have you heard from Martin since the press conference?

Not yet.

I assume he's telling Smitty everything.

He will.

I'm sure he will.

Uh, there's one thing I forgot to mention.

Oh, God. There's more?

On his job, Smitty was assigned

to do a profile on Detective Marcel Malone.

Tell me you're joking.

It was just intended to be a glowing send-off

to a soon-to-be-retired veteran of the force.

But, Smitty being Smitty, he did a deep dive.

How much did he uncover?

Well, he's looking into Malone's

unsavory connections to Joey Armstrong.

And he reached out to Jacob to compare notes.

Now, the two of them have been digging

into Malone's internal affairs records.

And Smitty knows there was a strange man in town

following his children.

So, it's just a matter of time

before he puts the pieces together.

And if Martin has told him everything,

what is Smitty gonna do with that information?

We're talking about a man who has built his career

on uncovering corruption.

One of the many things that make him

a perfect partner for Martin.

And he is certainly not gonna be comfortable

-being part of a... -Conspiracy?

Oh, please. Don't use that word.

Well, call it what you may, I'm just hoping that...

Smitty will...

understand more than most

what the consequences of exposure would be.

And I'm hoping that his sense of loyalty to his husband

will outweigh every other concern.

[front door opens, closes]

Hey, Samantha.

I'm going to bed.

That's definitely different from this afternoon,

when she was eager to be a part of our conversation.

Yeah, the kids have had a long day.

I'm pretty tired, too, if you want to know the truth.

Nah, that's cool. I won't be long.

I just want to let you know

about a very interesting development.

An unidentified man was found dead

at a local park this afternoon.

Single gunshot wound. Looked like a robbery.

Wow.

That's, uh...

That's terrible, but what does that have to do with me?

Wait till you hear who discovered the body.

Marcel Malone.

So, Malone found a dead body.

I mean, it's hardly his first.

And they probably don't even know who the guy is, right?

No. But I intend to find out.

But it wouldn't surprise me if the victim somehow had beef

with Joey Armstrong. Or he got in his way.

That kind of seems like a stretch, Jacob.

I mean, yeah, Malone's on the take,

and he does the occasional favor for Armstrong,

but it's a big leap between that and what you're suggesting.

Wait, am I hearing you right?

Are you actually defending

Malone's character and integrity?

No, not at all. I mean,

the guy's as dirty as the day is long.

I'm just saying that, sometimes, when you have a theory,

all the information you see tends to support that theory,

but sometimes, the dots just don't connect.

You mean, to a hammer everything looks like a nail?

Look, I don't need a lecture on confirmation bias.

That's not what this is.

My gut is telling me this guy didn't just die

because of a robbery.

And Marcel didn't just happen to stumble across his body.

There's more to this. I can smell it.

Yeah.

You're right. Anything is possible.

I'm sorry. I just, I can't focus on this right now.

I could really use your help figuring this out.

Jacob, I want to, but... I can't.

Wait, there's something else going on here.

Something that has nothing to do with your work or mine.

I didn't want to say anything, but...

[clears throat] Martin moved out tonight.

Oh, man, I'm sorry to hear that, Smitty.

Is there anything I can do?

I know that sounds trite, but...

It does. Um... But no, thank you.

I-I just... I wanted to explain to you

why I couldn't help with the investigation right now.

Because of what's going on with Martin. I get it.

Yeah. Yeah, because of Martin.

I don't get why you and Dad are so mad at Pop.

You feel how you feel, and I'll do the same.

I bet Dad's spilling all the tea to Jacob about Pop leaving.

I think he already told Grandma,

but he didn't say anything to her about why.

If Pop wants her to know, he'll spill for himself.

How is any of this fair?

Pop's being forced to put himself on blast

so everybody won't think that he did something wrong.

Like, he cheated on Dad or whatever.

Like Grandpa cheated on Grandma

before Aunt Kat was even born,

and now, they're broken up.

What was Dad supposed to do? Smile and say, "All good,

you capped for me all these years"? Come on.

He should just forgive him.

They should just forgive each other.

That's what married folks are supposed to do.

They're not supposed to split up like Grandma and Grandpa.

I don't even think they talk to each other anymore.

Dad will forgive Pop. They love each other.

Then... Dad should've just let Pop sleep on the couch

instead of making him leave so it's everybody's business.

And Dad's just supposed to hide everything

and keep the lies rolling?

Yeah, that's real healthy.

And you keep it up, you'll be the next Pop.

I gave the kids a sanitized version of what happened.

Now that they're involved,

they deserve to know as much as I can tell them safely.

But I told Smitty everything, though.

And as you can see, what his reaction is.

Not that I blame him.

Granddad and I were just discussing how...

how much we regret pressuring you

into keeping this from him.

It was deeply unfair to both of you.

No.

This is not your fault. I'm a grown man.

And it was my call.

And the fact is,

if I would've come home two years ago that night

and told Smitty what I had done...

Mm-mm.

He wouldn't have gone along with covering it up.

He would've stood by me

and he would've insisted

that I come forward and face the repercussions.

And he would've been right.

Today's events have made me realize

I was dead wrong

to set all of this in motion.

I... I know my goal

was to protect my grandson--

and he had just saved my life--

but I was acting out of fear.

And you had every right to be afraid.

That county has a long and ugly history.

Every time I read about a Black man

being assaulted during a traffic stop,

I shudder to think would've happened to the two of you

had you admitted to killing a white man

and maiming another, even in self-defense.

I could've managed the risks

without trying to bury the story altogether.

I have decades of relationships

and connections we could've used

to ease our way through the appropriate legal channels.

There would've been serious,

perhaps career-ending repercussions,

but... but we wouldn't have the death of another man

on our conscience right now.

Martin, I...

I need to be very clear about this.

The situation we're facing tonight,

is not like the situation back then.

It's even more perilous.

There is no way that we can come forward now

without implicating Joey Armstrong.

And he will not hesitate to retaliate.

Hypocrite much, Tyrell?

I remember you being the CEO of frontin'

when you didn't want to tell our dads

that everybody at school was dragging you.

Not the same.

I just wanted our dads to stay out of my business.

They had nothing to do with it.

If I had known that there was a racist stalker

coming after them,

I would've spilled that information.

But I had no clue who I was dealing with

as I brought him into the house.

And what if Pop didn't find you at the park with him?

We don't know what he would've done to you.

Okay, so he should've just told us sooner,

but now, we have all the tea, so no harm, no foul.

You sure?

Why not?

How do you know they're not telling one part of the story

they think we can handle?

Because I was eyeing them pretty close.

The way they were "talk without talking."

And there's more going on that we don't know about.

I guess Martin took it literally when you gave him the ultimatum

and told him not to come home.

Did you at least have a chance to talk him out of it?

At this point, I'm starting to think that it was for the best.

I don't even recognize the man that Martin's become.

How are the kids taking it?

They're-they're taking it hard, of course.

I mean, they knew we had problems,

but they didn't see this coming.

Yeah, I would've never predicted it either.

Martin adores you all.

It's hard to believe he'd just walk away.

It's hard to believe a lot about what our family's

been through lately.

But I hope that you can understand why I have to focus

on Samantha and Tyrell right now.

Of course.

If there's anything Naomi and I can do, just let us know.

Will do.

-Thank you. -All right.

[door opens]

[door closes]

[sighs]

Smitty understands how precarious this situation is.

That's why he's upset.

Because he's trapped in this like the rest of us,

and he didn't have a say in any of it.

Would it help if I talked to Smitty,

explained, and apologized?

I appreciate the instinct,

but I think it's best

if we give him the time and space he asked for.

Let him come to terms with this in his own way.

You are welcome to stay here as long as you need.

And the children are welcome, too. There's plenty of space.

Thanks, Gran.

We are here for you, Martin, no matter what.

We can depend on each other.

[door slams]

Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on here.

♪ ♪

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Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org