All language subtitles for The.Lowdown.(2025).S01E04.Short.on.Cowboys.2160p.1eng

Come on, you said
you'd give me the books.

- I know. I went right
over there. I swear.
- You went right over there?

I need what is
inside the books.

I was asked by Donald
to deliver this to you.

It's $10,000.
He's taking over the property.

Donald's not loyal to you.
Mm-mmm.
He's not loyal to anyone.

What else are you doing
with the skinheads, huh?

- What do they do for you?
- Hey, hey!

We got something
that your boss is gonna love.

I heard someone
was asking after me.
In my place of work.

Next time you wanna talk,
call me direct.

Maybe I'll even take you
for a ride out
to one of our properties.

You could get lost out there.

- What's wrong with you?
- Don't look in the barrel.

Why? What's in the barrel?

It's the books.
But it's okay. Don't worry.

Who would do that?

Dad, stop. You said, "It's not
the books that I wanted.
It's what's in the books."

"A weed is
a plant out of place."

Let me repeat that.
"A weed is a plant
out of place.

I find a hollyhock
in my corn field,
it's a weed.

I find it in my yard,
it's a flower."

Wise words
from the great Jim Thompson.

And, dear reader,
in case you are at all confused
by my poetic imagery, it's me.

I, Dale Washberg, am the weed.

The Osage Hills.

My pawpaw's pawpaw acquired
this land when he first
laid foot in the territory.

Generations of Washbergs
were raised here.

Many stories were passed down,
wonderful to tell.

Like how my great grandma
kept a pet squirrel
on a leash tied to a tree,

or how Cousin Elizabeth
went screaming into the forest

the first time
she saw an automobile.

My own story began when I was
yanked from my mother's womb

at 6:00 a.m. on a Tuesday.

The deck was stacked against me
from the start.

I was born with a cone head,
a busted lip, a broken
collarbone, and a black eye.

The forceps were unkind to me,
as was my mother's canal.

My father's first words
when he saw me were

"What's wrong with him?"

But my older brother
took me under his wing.

Donald always made me feel
like I was a part
of some great adventure.

When we played Cowboys
and Indians

Come on, Dale.

we was always short
on cowboys.

I was okay being second fiddle.

Unfortunately,
that was one fiddle

too many for Mom and Pop.

Mom called me Bobo.

A truly terrible name,
also used to describe a ass.

As for Pop, well, he grazed me
in my bobo with bird shot.

I have yet to receive an
apology or to retrieve
all the pellets from my behind.

"The extraction process
was an arduous one,

which requires great dexterity
and a keen eye."

Okay, you know how
I always tell you that writing
is about personal expression

and you should never compromise
for the sake of the reader?

- Yes.
- I take it all back.

Okay, Dad, but come on, I know
it's not great,
but the guy is dead.

Yeah, so what? It doesn't mean
we should stop
being honest about his work.

I mean, that's just not
our main focus right now.

- You're right.
- Mmm.

You two pulling
an all-nighter?

Well, looks like we might be
here all week. Thank you.

Well, let me know
if you need
any pancakes, Francis.

I'll get Bobby to make 'em.

He can make 'em
in the shape of a peace sign,

anarchy symbol, middle finger.
It's pretty cool.

Well, how about a coffee?

Right on.

Hey, Dad, check it out.

I had an odd experience
this evening.

I had just retired to my study
to resume work on my opus,
The Dustbowl Kid .

I heard barking from afar.

My dog, Sally
is my first line of defense,
and her message was clear.

I can't believe
you're wearing white at night.

- Shut the fuck up.
- Stupid.

I looked out the window
and saw the assassins
come out of the tree line

like a crazed band
of Lakota Indians of old.

- Keep going.
- I'm going.

They say the 7th Cavalry's
defeat
took about as long as it takes

for a healthy man
to eat a large meal.

They certainly meant
to make a meal

of me.

I reached for my revolver
and rained down
thunder upon them.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.

Holy shit! These are
the skinheads, the ones
who locked me in the trunk.

This is the job
they fucked up in Skiatook.

- What?
- This is why they got killed.

The skinheads put you
in a trunk?

- No, no.
- Is that
why you're all beat up?

No. It was
It's not like

I mean, yes, technically,
but it wasn't a big deal.

Every trunk has a little lever.
You just hit it, it opens.

I got out. It's not a big deal.
Please don't tell your mom.

Should I be worried?

No. What would you be
worried about? No, no.

Skinheads come and go,
you know,
these ones are going.

Thanks to Allen.

Wait, the red-headed guy
that came by
the bookstore the other night?

Oh, my gosh,
and I shouldn't be worried?

Okay, okay,
the red-headed stranger has
nothing to do with us, okay?

Nothing. We're good.
We're fine. Promise.

What?
You wanna call it a night?

No.

Let's keep going.

I rushed to inform
my wife
of this bloody ambush.

I reckoned that she ought to be
the first to know.

She claimed to have
just awakened
from a deep slumber

and to have slept through
the entire mess.

When I told her
what had transpired,
she did not react,

which told me
all I needed to know.

I had as of late, detected
a deeper coldness from her,

of the kind that precludes
something dark and foreboding.

Hey, when's that letter dated?

September 15th. Why?

This is from a week before.

I sit here nursing
a bottle of Wild Turkey
and a sore right hand.

For the first time in my life,
I have struck my brother.

Goddamn it, Dale,
you are not thinking straight.

I came to him in peace
to sort this
Indian Head Hills issue.

But he would not listen.

He became angrier and angrier.

Finally, he said
the unthinkable to me,

a most vile provocation
I could not tolerate.

This is something
that's not even yours!

Betty Jo put that
terrible idea into his head,

knowing that it would come out
of his mouth.

She's not even a real Washberg,

so it's funny her trying
to say what belongs to who.

Betty Jo always
called me sensitive.

She meant it as weak,
but it really means,
"quick to perceive things."

To me, that's a strength.

All right, shit.

So a week before the murder,
the two brothers have
a big blowout?

Which gets blamed on Betty Jo.
It seems a little convenient,
but maybe--

Yeah, still, she didn't seem
to care at all

when Dale told her
that the killers came for him.

Yeah, but wouldn't she
have heard the shots?

Uh Word on the street
is she's a big drinker.

Even so,
didn't seem like news to her.

Like she knew
it was coming.

Like she knew it was coming.
Yes.

All right, one,
Indian Head Hills,
old Washberg land.

Sounds like
they've been fighting a lot
about that recently.

"Indian Head Hills."

Two, "A most vile provocation."

What the hell did Donald
say to Dale
that set him off so badly?

According to Dale,
Betty Jo would know.

We've been looking at this
from the wrong angle. I mean,

I've always thought that
this conspiracy to kill Dale
started in some boardroom,

but what if it was, you know,
a more private matter?

No, but how does that
explain Allen then? Doesn't he
work for that Akron company?

Yeah, but Donald
could have hired him
as a private contractor, right?

They meet at some fancy-pants
benefit. Donald sees him,
you know, and he says,

"Hey, that guy looks like
the kind of guy who might
kill somebody for 1000 bucks."

Kill who for what?

Mom.

How was your trip?

It was good. It was fun.
Scooch.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, what's up?

What's up?

I'm here to take her to school.
Monday to Friday.

Oh. Yes. Um, you get
your homework done?

- Uh-huh. Mmm.
- Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I went down to the store
and that Waylon guy said
you were here.

He's He's nice, right?

I think he's a Juggalo, Lee.

He's Indian Mafia.

Oh. Okay, that's better.

You look fried.
Were you up all night?

No. Early risers.

Yeah. Breakfast is the most
important meal of the day.

Right.

Okay, see you around
on the campus, kiddo.

Keep on rocking
in the free world. Boom!

Call me
text me. See you again.

- Actually--
- Love you.

I'll meet you in the car.
I'll be right there, okay?

Okay.

She's sitting back down.

This is important.

How may I help you, ma'am?

What?

What's wrong?

You pregnant?

No,
I'm not pregnant, dummy.

Johnny asked me to marry him.

Jesus, this guy.
I mean, he moves fast.

I mean, you told him
you swore off marriage, right?

I said yes.

What do you mean?

Why would you say that?

I'm happy.

I gotta get her to school.

My name is Allen. I'm an
alcoholic and a drug addict.

Hi, Allen.

Uh, I'm coming up
on my two years

which I should be proud of.

Tell you the truth,
it's been hard
staying clean lately.

There's someone I work for.

Someone that I let down.

And, uh

I haven't been honest with him.

And it's not fair to him
because I owe
this man everything.

When I got out of McAlester,

he was the only one
who threw me a lifeline.

And I-I

I was

I was at rock bottom.

Man, I mean, I probably
would have died there.

And he pulled me up,

taught me all
about structure and goals.

And, uh

I'm

I'm just praying
I can stay strong

and, uh, set all this right
again somehow.

John Garfield, Patricia Neal,
it's got Juano Hernandez in it.

It's directed
by Michael Curtiz.
He did Casablanca.

When I ask her to marry me,
she says she doesn't believe
in the patriarchy,

she doesn't believe
in church and state.

- When a dentist asked her--
- Lee, what's your favorite
Michael Curtiz?

Not now, Abel.

It's not a movie.
I would've thought you'd
say The Boy from Oklahoma .

- No, Captain Blood .
Errol Flynn.
- He's got a sandwich.

- Can I get the sandwich
off of you?
- Good morning.

- Can I help you?
- Yeah, hold up.

I got something for you.

Where'd you get that?

I drew it.

How do you know Dale?

- Why are you giving this to me?
- I'm not giving it.
I'm selling it.

It's 30 bucks.

Yeah, okay. I got you. Sure.

You're the guy who wrote
that article
about him, right?

Yeah, it's not my fault
he killed himself,
okay? It's not.

I know.

How do you know?

- This too much.
- No. Keep the change.

So how'd you know Dale?

What were you? Friends?

- Did you know him well?
- Actually,
I didn't know the dude.

- Oh, come on, man.
- Yeah, I just saw
that photo in the paper,

but thank you. Appreciate it.

Hey, yo, come

Who are you?

Abel, you know that guy?

No, he was loitering.

A loiterer.

- You seen Waylon?
- No.

Lee? You got company!

- Lee? Company!
- Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.

Coming, be right there.

Bro, Elijah's here.
He's acting weird.

- Well, he's a weird dude.
- Weirder than usual.

Hey, Elijah. How you doing?

You good?

Elijah?

You okay?

I'm on shrooms. Uh

Already, huh?
What, just to get through
the day?

- No, because I was coming
to see you.
- Really?

Also, I thought it was
a microdose. It wasn't.

All right, hit me.

Uh, Donald Washberg is
suing the Heartland Press .

Apparently, you upset him
when you cornered him
at his brother's memorial.

You know what? This is great.

- The future governor going
to war with us
- Yes.

- is great?
- Yes, you saw
Debbie Does Dallas, right?

The beaver film?

- The porno. Don't be ashamed.
It's okay.
- The skin I'm not ashamed.

1978, Debbie Does Dallas
comes out, okay?

- The "actresses" were
wearing uniforms
- Oh, no. No.

very similar to that
of the Dallas Cowboy
Cheerleaders, right?

So the Cowboys get pissed.

They sue the producers
for everything they got,
and guess what? They win.

But what happens?

Everybody's talking about
Debbie Does Dallas.

It becomes the most successful
porno in the world

because they were sued.

- He's gonna destroy Heartland .
- No.

Lee, we're a b-basic nonprofit.
We're for-profit,
but we're only funded

Our readership is about
to explode.

by one man's profit.
That make sense?

- Everyone's gonna get laid off
- No.

- and I'm gonna lose my house.
- You live at Heartland Press .

Exactly. And I'm gonna lose it.
I'll be out on the street
eating sandwiches.

You're gonna lose
your revenue stream.

You're gonna lose
your book store.

This is the greatest
day of our lives.

Lee, Donald's lawyers
are seeking
a restraining order.

If you go anywhere near
the Washberg family, they're
gonna throw you in jail.

When does that get issued?

Hello there,
Mr. Governor.

Terry, don't you dare call
me that. You know
how superstitious I am.

Clark, what are you doing here?

I thought Linda had you
on house arrest.

Look at these little onions.
Ooh.

Never trust a man
who doesn't get onions
on his Coneys.

- Hmm.
- Mmm. Mmm.

I went to see
Betty Jo yesterday.

She's not moving out
of the house.

- You gave her the money?
- She threw it back in my face.

Sounds like she's upset.

How did you think she would
take it? And how did you think
I would feel doing it?

I mean,
I didn't sign up for putting
widows out in the streets.

Don't be so
dramatic, Chubs.

We offered her new
accommodations and cash.

Can I talk to you
as a friend right now?

Well, I hope we're always
talking as friends.

I don't know what's going on
between you and Betty Jo,

but do you really
wanna piss her off
a month before the election?

She can really fuck up
your life right now.

No, she's not gonna do that.

If some motherfucker was
kicking me out of my house,
I would fuck his life up.

My wife found out.

She's livid.

She's not letting me keep
my special friend
on the property.

This is what I'm dealing with.

I got to keep Maryann happy.

She's a huge part
of this campaign. I love her
and women voters love her.

If Betty Jo starts talking,
women voters will have
an opinion about that too.

See, this is
why I need your help.

I'm in a jam, Chubs.

I mean, underneath this strong
and confident demeanor

is a man
who feels things intensely,

and I am feeling this pressure

that someone in your
position doesn't understand.

In my position?

Yes

I'm running for the highest
office in the state.

I mean, no offense, Chubs,
but you don't know
what this is like.

It's an unimaginable burden.

Just the money alone

You know, I wanna help you.

Good. Good, because
you're the only person
I can trust.

Donald, go talk to her.

No.

Mmm.

Subtle.

You hungry?

Come on.

Oh, shit.

This gravy is
fucking amazing, okay?
It's nice. It's thick.

Hmm. I thought
you'd like it here.

No, I love it.

- Really?
- Mm-hmm.

Well, because this is
the kind of food
you think people like me eat.

- People like you?
- Mm-hmm.

I know what I'm supposed to be.

Trailer trash who married up.

Yeah, I read your article, Lee.
I can read, you know.

- I never said--
- You implied. Oh, yes, you did,

which is a coward's way
of saying it.

Okay, look, people can talk
a lot of shit
about me, all right?

But coward? No. Elitist?
Fuck, no.

Cheap shots
hurt your feelings too?

If you talked to me
for the article, you know
you could've set me straight.

- Why would I talk to
a complete stranger?
- I'm not a complete stranger.

I'm a "truthstorian."
And I'm hunting for the truth.

Yeah.

You want the truth?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

Some dirtbag reporter wrote
a hit piece about my family.

Truth.

Then after my husband died,

that reporter shows up
at the estate sale
peacocking around.

- Peacocking?
- Yeah.

And then,

then he crashes the memorial,

trying to ruin it
by screaming crazy shit
at my dead husband's brother.

- Can I--
- No, this
this is a game to you.

No, it's not a game.
I had my ass kicked.
My family was threatened.

- By who?
- Well, by

Mmm.

Forget it.

- Oh. No, let me.
- I got it. I insist.

All right, well, um

- Thanks for the meal.
- My pleasure.

I've been waiting
to chew your ass.

I gotta say
you took it like a man.

Mostly.

I am sorry about your husband.

- Thank you.
- It must have been
really difficult with--

I don't want to talk
about Dale. Mm-mmm.

All right, no Dale.

You wanna get a drink?

- You buying?
- Yeah.

'Cause you look busted.

I always keep
an emergency C-note
in my boot. Check this out.

Get your feet off the table.

Well, look. You say I got
the wrong impression of you.

I think you got
the wrong impression of me.

Let's have a couple
of shots of tequila and fix it.

Little drinking,
little dancing.

All right.

But I'm only staying for one.

Allen.

- Hello, Bonnie.
- What's up, man?

Phil.

What's going on?

I was at the store.
I got you these.

- Why did you do that?
- I thought you might need it.

That's nice, thanks.

Blackie around?

No, I was hoping
you'd seen him.

No, I haven't
He wasn't at the meeting today.

You're his sponsor.
He talks to you more
than he does to me.

Ugh. You think he's back
on that shit again?

Hope not. But, uh,
you never know.

Uh, an old pal
of Blackie's came by
the other day looking for him,

said he was his old cellmate
or something.

What pal?

Dude named Johnny.

Never heard of him.

Well, he said he was
from out of town.

What'd he look like?

Older, kind of handsome.
Stars and Bars.

You talk to this guy?

No. Oh, well, ju a little.

And what did he want again?

He was just looking
for those two.
He didn't say why.

And you didn't ask?

Well, he was really just like,
in and then out.

You should have called me.

He comes around again,
you let me know.

Yeah, that's right.

That's too good.

Okay,
my turn to toast.

To Lee,

who is not quite as big
of an asshole
as he pretends to be.

Mmm. Oh.

Mmm.

You are not the first person
to give that toast.

♪ I can hang with anybody ♪

Oh, this poor thing.

♪ I can drink whiskey
And red wine
♪

Holy shit. Oof.

Well, you're a snob.

I'm not a snob. I just
I don't need another ballad.

Oh. Broken heart.

Everybody's
heart's broken.

Mm-mmm.

All right, listen to this.

- My ex, the mother of my child
- Yeah. Yeah.

uh

is marrying a dentist.

No, you can't fault the woman
for wanting stability.

I mean, what does
your kid think of him?

Francis is
a great bullshit detector.

She's on to him.

How old is she?

She's 13.

- Mine's 20. Pearl.
- Mmm.

Pearl. That's a pretty name.

Yeah, she's a pretty girl.

She's a handful.

Yeah.

I mean

Well, if I talked to my mom
the way that she talks to me.

I'd I'd be dead.

And my mom would be
on death row.

But back to your ex.

Don't put her on a pedestal.

You think people are one thing.
And then they turn out
to be another.

Hey, Lee.
Could you do me a favor?

- Anything you want.
- Okay.

Okay.

Could you

Mmm. God.

Could you just follow me home
so I know
that there's no cop on my ass?

It's fine.

Oh. [exhales sharply] Ooh.

Please stay for a nightcap.

Yeah. I thought
that's what we were doing.

Den Den's that way.

I think ice is this way, okay?
Den's that way.

I took a bunch of shit
for having
the estate sale so soon.

No one had the balls to say it
to my face,
but it got back to me.

A lot of this junk reminded me
of the night Dale did it.

I was out on the couch.

Dale?

It was a stupid thing to do.

And selfish.

I got some videos.
You wanna watch?

Look at her.
Look at her, look at her.
Yeehaw!

She's hot.

- Yeah, she is hot.
- Whoa, ma'am!

She's not as hot as you though.
You're smoking up there.

You know, seriously,
Rodeo Queens

we always get lumped in
with those
beauty pageant bitches.

- Mm-hmmm.
- And all they do is stand there

- and look pretty.
- Mm-hmmm.

We gotta ride and wrangle
- Mm-hmmm.

with a lot of hair spray.

And you were the belle
of the ball.

Yeah. Well,
that was the fun part.

But there was another side
of Avant
that I'm glad I got away from.

Yeah, there's always
another side.

Yeah. A lot of those boys,
they ended up dead
or in prison.

- You stay in touch
with any of them?
- Who?

You know, the old Avant gang.

What business would
I have with them?

What's this fucking stranger
doing in my house?

Bang.

Fucking shit.

Oh, no, I'm sorry.
But you're just your face.

- No. No.
- I almost shit
my pants just then.

That's not funny.

It was Dale's gun,
and I was gonna show it to you,

but then I just
I couldn't help it.

Come on. Dale's gun.
It was a joke, Lee.

- Fucking scared me.
- Don't be mad.

Jesus.

- Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
- What are you doing?

Hey, it's loaded!

- What? No.
- Yes. It just went off!

All right. Well,
maybe there was a round left,

- but it's empty now, see?
- Don't!

Oh, God!

- No! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
- Oh, my God!

Jesus Christ!

- I'm putting this away,
all right?
- Okay.

You are not allowed
to touch this anymore.

Fun's over. It's over.

Calm down.

Hey.

Aw.

I'm sorry. Can we just
Can we just--

No. I don't know
what the fuck is going on.

- What?
- I don't.

- What?
- Like, it's gotten weird. Yeah.

I said I was sorry.
And I wouldn't bullshit you.

You've been bullshitting me
all night.

About what?

About finding Dale's body,
for one.

That was bullshit.

Yeah.

You're going to tell me
what I saw?

We both know
that he did not commit suicide.

How would you know that?

Couple nights
before he's found dead,

two guys break in here
and try to murder him.

Oh, that's a coincidence.
What? He didn't mention that?

Yeah, well

He did.
But I didn't believe him.

You don't understand
how he was at the end.

Well, help me.
Help me understand.

He was paranoid.

He thought everyone was out
to get him
including me and his brother.

But how did you know
about those guys?

I know that you and Donald
are having an affair.

- Hmm? Oh, yeah. I do.
- Uh

Was it his idea to kill him?
Hmm? Was it?

No! D-D-Donald loves him.

- Yeah? Then what was
the big fight about?
- Big fight?

The big fight about the land.

- About Indian Head Hills.
- I'm not sure about--

- Betty Jo, I'm trying
to help you out.
- They have a bunch of property.

I really don't know
the details.

You're fucking
your husband's brother.

- You have a big fight
about land.
- Oh, God.

- And then he's found murdered?
- No.

All right?
It's not a good look.

- Goddamn it!
- What? What?

The fight wasn't really
about land.

And telling Dale
wasn't my fault.

Telling Dale what?

Pearl isn't his daughter.

She's Donald's.

What a fucking mess.

I met Donald first.
Fell in love.

Golden boy and
a small-town slut.
Never gonna happen.

I knew Dale.

And I really liked him.

He was a sensitive, odd guy.

Gay as the day is long.

And his family
was just so desperate
for him to marry a woman.

Later, when Donald
got me pregnant,

I fixed it so that Dale
thought Pearl was his.

I got him drunk one night.

Bull's-eye.

It worked out for everyone.

I was close to Donald.
Dale had his cover.

And Dale loved Pearl.

So much.

They were best friends.

It was why
I never wanted him to know.

Why did Donald
finally tell him?

Well

it was

When they had the fight,
Pearl's name came up.

Who had her best interests
in mind, and

Donald was just
at the end of his rope,
and I guess he blurted it out.

A most vile provocation.

It was the worst thing
he could say to him.

And I get why Dale
hated us at the end.

Does Pearl know?

You probably think I'm
a terrible person, don't you?

You just did
what you had to do.

Question is,
what do you do now?

Thank you for
the company this evening.

It was the most fun
I've had in years.

- Hey.
- Yeah.

Um

Listen, uh

There's something
I got to tell you.

I dumped something
in the river.

And I need
your help cleaning it up.

Can we meet?

Why don't you drive on
out this morning?

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

Oh.

Oh.

This will help.

You're welcome.

Mmm.

Wow that's nice.

Ooh.

Some guys really
came here to get Dale?

Yep, they sure did.

Who were they?

Couple of shitheads.

I thought he was making it up.

No.
Somebody killed him.

You don't still think I did?

No.

But somebody did.

Okay.

You don't think
Donald might have?

What do you think? Huh?

- Nothing.
- Come on. What?

- No, I'm stoned.
- Mm-mmm.

You're thinking something.

I don't know. Donald just

He hasn't been himself lately

and he won't see me anymore.

And he's trying to take
this house away from me.

But I think he's gonna
change his mind anyway.

A more cynical person might
think you were trying
to use me.

No, no.

- Me?
- Yeah.

No, how would I use you?

I don't know. You given me
a bunch of dirt about a
man running for governor. Huh?

No. Seriously.

It would be worse for Pearl,
and I don't want
that out there, okay?

But you know what, Lee?

Hmm? What?

If I'm gonna shake down anyone,
it ain't gonna
be the Washbergs.

- No?
- Mm-mmm.

They're what you call
a cash poor family.

But I am using you
for something.

Oh, boy.

On I-44, we have an update

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Fuck.