01x07 - The Friends You Keep

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Sugar". Aired: April 5, 2024 – present.*
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It is described as "a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles".
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01x07 - The Friends You Keep

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[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[SIGHS]

- Okay, then.
- Yes.

Don't hurt him.

What if he runs?

Try not to hurt him.

Of course.

[DOOR CLOSES]

When people are in
trouble, they need to talk.

But you know the old saying.

[CHUCKLES]

What I don't know can't hurt me?

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

- Hey.
- Hey.

How are you feeling?

[BREATHING DEEPLY]

[JOHN] How am I feeling?
Well, human, but...


[GRUNTS]

Better.

You know, Henry told
me you're supposed to be

off your feet and resting.

I don't think he meant
passed out on the floor.

I wasn't passed out. I-I
like sleeping on the floor.

Well, apparently. [CHUCKLES]

I mean, you were talking in your sleep.

- Huh.
- You were calling out to someone.

It sounded like in another language.

[SIGHS]

Do you speak some other language?

Yeah, I speak many other languages.

What time is it?

- It's after 10:00.
- Ooh.

I-I should... I should
shower and start my day.

I'll get some coffee.

- No, Melanie. [STAMMERS]
- Sugar,

do you seriously, honestly
believe that you can drag me

into whatever the f*ck this is
without having to explain it?

[SIGHS] Well, apparently not.

- I'm gonna go get coffee.
- Okay. Coffee.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

[JOHN] I'd like to tell her
everything, but I can't. Not ever.


[PEOPLE CHATTERING]

"Man is like a breath, his
days are like a passing shadow.

You sweep men away.

They are like a dream, like grass
which is renewed in the morning.

In the morning, it flourishes and grows,

but in the evening,
it fades and withers."

[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

[SIGHS]

Oh.

Carlos, give us a minute.

When your mother d*ed...
it was difficult for me.

But I took some small
comfort in knowing...

it was her time.

But this?

[SCOFFS] This is... This is different.

[SIGHS] For a parent
to outlive their child.

I'm truly sorry.

You still haven't heard
anything from Olivia?

No, I would've told you.

However irresponsible
she's been in the past,

even in her darkest days,
she would've been here.

You really think
something happened to her?

Yes, I do.

[JONATHAN] Carlos.

[OLIVIA] ♪ And they sit at the
bar Throwing bread in my jar ♪


♪ Saying "Man, what
are you doing here?" ♪


[OLIVIA STAMMERS, BREATHES SHAKILY]

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

- [CLATTERING]
- [OLIVIA BREATHING SHAKILY]

[GASPS] You m*therf*cker,
don't you f*cking touch me!

Don't you f*cking touch me.

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[JOHN] Moss's phone.

[JOHN] Someone's looking for him.

[LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS]

I mean, I have so many questions.

Who's Djen?

That's the only word I could make
out in your dream. Djen. Who's she?

She's my sister.

Your sister. Where is she?
Did something happen to...

[WHISPERS] Someone's coming.

[KNOCKING]

- It's Miller.
- Who's Miller?

He's my boss.

[MILLER] Sugar, open the
door. I'd like to talk to you.

Is that the guy who tried to s*ab you?

No. No, he's a friend.

If he's a friend, why
aren't you opening the door?

- Because I don't want to.
- [KNOCKING]

What if we grab the towel rack?

Towel rack's not gonna do it.

Out back.

[WHIMPERING]

[WHISPERS] Let's go.

[ROUGED WOMAN SCREAMS]

- [NORMAL] Hey. [GRUNTS]
- [WHIMPERS]

Sorry about that. I
just wanna talk to you.

[GASPING]

[BREATHES SHARPLY, GRUNTS, PANTS]

[PANTING] Get the car. [PANTS] Here.

[GRUNTS, BREATHING HEAVILY]

[JOHN] Why is Miller doing this?

Something must have happened.
Something must have changed.


[JOHN] Pull over.

Oh, my God. What the f*ck just happened?

- [SIGHS] Um...
- I mean, that old guy with one hand?

I cracked him. I had to cr*ck him.

- Yeah. Yeah, he'll be fine.
- He's gonna be okay, right?

Okay. How is he your friend?

Uh, I... I've known him a long time.

"I just want to talk."
I mean, what was that?

Talk about what? What did you do?

Okay, look.

Listen, I-I, uh... [SIGHS]

I-I am listening.

Yeah, but... Well...
[SIGHS]... his name is Miller.

He and some others, we,
uh... we all work together.

W-W-What do you mean?
Like private investigators?

No, not-not... I mean...
[STAMMERS] Well, that's my day job,

but each of them has their own day job.

We're members of a group.

Like a-a-an organization that no one
is allowed to know anything about.

Something I-I, uh...
Well, I-I can't tell you.

I just cracked a guy over
his head with a towel bar.

- So you're gonna tell me.
- And I appreciate it.

But the reason I can't tell
you is because it's dangerous.

Not only for you, which it would be,

but it's dangerous for me
and for many of my friends.

People I care about.

Uh, it's a secret I've
kept for a while now.

We all have.

I've never wanted to tell it to anyone

as much as I want to tell
it to you, but... I can't.

You're a spy.

- Huh?
- The languages.

Always watching, always listening.

More curious about others than you
are... than talking about yourself.

I mean, [CHUCKLES] oh,
my God. I should've known.

Even by Virgo standards, I
should've wondered at that.

The only reason I ever
asked you any questions

was because I wanted to
know the answers for myself.

You're a spy.

[STAMMERS] I mean, that's what this
is, right? You're a foreign spy.

We're just here to observe.

Holy sh*t.

That's our mission.
That's our only mission.

Oh, God. I wish I had a cigarette.

[INHALES SHARPLY, EXHALES]

- What about Thorpe?
- What about him?

He's one of you too, right?

Yeah.

- But he's not after you. He's helping you?
- Damn it.

What?

Henry. That's who they're gonna go next.

We gotta go. We gotta
go to the university.

And so, yes, some of that
Larsen chapter will be covered.

When last we met, we were
in the late Paleolithic era.

[PHONE LINE RINGING]

And just up ahead on the
horizon was the Mesolithic.

[RINGING CONTINUES]

Talking about 30,000 years
ago, Neanderthals, h*m* sapiens,

- and the divergence of species.
- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]

Come on, Henry.

He's not answering.

Complexity and contradiction.

The ability to hold a
variety of opposing feelings

- and thoughts at the exact same time.
- [BELL RINGS]

This is why you're still here and
your distant ancestors are not.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[GUARD] Can I help you?

Yeah, I'm looking for a friend.
Professor Henry Thorpe, anthropology.

He's a real popular person today.

Why would you say that?

[KNOCKING]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]

[MELANIE] Maybe we just missed him?

[JOHN] sh*t. It's gotta be Miller.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[JOHN] Someone's covering their tracks.

Rolling up everyone
connected to Stallings.


So?

[JOHN] I gotta get to Moss before
they do. Henry will have to wait.


Okay, let's go.

I gotta tell you something
that's gonna make you angry.

But just know that I'm angry too.

[MELANIE] What?

My people... Miller, and some others...

They've been trying to
stop me from finding Olivia.

Wait. Your people took Olivia?

No, no, no. No, no. No, they...

What did they do to her?

- Nothing.
- Oh, my God.

We don't hurt people. It's not
who we are. Okay? I promise.

[MELANIE SIGHS]

- I'm gonna fix this.
- Oh, God. [SIGHS]

[MELANIE] You think she's in there?

No, it's one of Stallings's crew.

Lives there and he might know
some things we need to know.

[SIGHS] I'd like you to stay here. Okay?

It's fine 'cause I
don't wanna go in there.

Okay.

Psst.

What are you doing?

I changed my mind. I'm going with you.

- Stay close.
- Okay.

Sugar.

Okay. Let's go. Come on

[JOHN] Things have gotten out of hand.

Maybe it's time we all
slowed down. Take a breath.


One of those "let cooler
heads prevail" kind of things.


[ACTOR] A lot of people tell
me I'm a very gifted man.


[CHUCKLES] But I still
can't see around corners.

[JOHN] Sure. That's one way to go.

Clinton's gonna come by and
move you to a different room,

just in case. And I'll
be back in, uh, say...

[SIGHS] I-I don't
know. But I'll be back.

- [MELANIE] Okay.
- Okay.

Hey. You all right?

I won't come back without her.

Good.

[JOHN] This is it.

Tonight's the night I get some answers.

One way or the other.

[JOHN] I meant what I said to her.

This isn't who we are.

Kidnapping. m*rder.

It doesn't matter that
Moss was a lowlife.


We're not supposed to hurt people.

Our sole reason for being here is to
preserve our peaceful way of life.


But this place is changing us.

It's changing us all.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[MURMURING]

What's going on?

[SIGHS] Mission's over.

We're being called back.

What?

- [HENRY] It's true.
- Henry.

I'm okay. I... You...
You better listen to her.

Wait, wait, wait. Wait. [STAMMERS] What?

[RUBY] We got word
from home this morning.

That's why Miller wanted to speak
with you. That's why we're here.

- We're going over the exit plans.
- The mission's not over.

[RUBY] Yes, it is.

In a day or so, you and
everyone in this room,

all of our associates,
will be off-planet.

- Says who?
- [RUBY] Says home.

Now, you'll talk with Miller
about the exit details.

No, no. Nice try. But
I'm not going without her.

Yes, you are.

I am not going without her.

Olivia Siegel.

The woman that I've been looking for.

A woman who some people
in this room mysteriously

and unmistakably don't want me to find!

And now what?

After all this time,
suddenly, without warning,

we're just supposed to
pick up and leave? No!

Olivia Siegel is not the mission, Sugar.

You've lost track of
the greater good here.

Where the f*ck is she?

- John.
- No, wait. No more evasions. No more lies.

- John.
- Wait, Henry! Please.

[BREATHES SHAKILY] Someone better
tell me right now where she is.

I know someone in this room knows.

I agree. I'll tell you.

[RUBY] No. You will do
no such thing, Henry.

You won. We're all leaving.
So what does it matter now?

- I'm telling you. Come on.
- [RUBY SIGHS]

I just found out all
this today. And I...

- And you know where she is? Tell me.
- They gave me an address. Yeah.

Okay. So let me see it.

Fine. Let me write it down.

Address. After all this,
there's an address. I...

[HENRY BREATHES DEEPLY]

[HENRY] Shall I explain as best I can?

[JOHN] Please.

[HENRY] Okay. So...

They found out about us... the humans.

Yes. Some did.

And this is who we've been protecting?

These are powerful people.

I'm sure.

So we just look the other way?

We do nothing, and we let
this kind of thing happen?

To protect our own.

They can exterminate us
at anytime if they want to.

And now the mission's over.

- Yes.
- And now I can be told.

No matter what might've
happened to Olivia.

No matter how she might have suffered.

And this... Whoever this is...

Someone's son. A politician.

This scumbag was a client of Stallings?

- Yeah.
- How did it happen?

How did we... How did
they find out about us?

I don't know that part. And at
this point, does it even matter?

Of course it matters.

More than anything. This
isn't who we are, Henry.

You know, you're not
the only one who's upset.

No one out there is happy.

Happy? You think
Olivia's happy about this?

This should never have happened, Henry!

Okay. But it did.

[GROANS]

Now, we're leaving. So try and fix it.

Because if she's alive, that's
where you're gonna find her.

Wait. [SIGHS] They told me what
happened at this Stallings's house.

They said that you k*lled three people.

- Is that true?
- I defended myself.

So you had to?

The first two, I had to k*ll.

A man and a woman. [STAMMERS]

It was self-defense.

But the third one, it...

it wasn't.

[JOHN] I kept running
through these thoughts.


"I'm in danger." "He's a bad
man." "What if he reaches for"...


"Maybe it's justice.

Or at least justified."

But then just before I-I, um...

Just before I pulled the trigger...

all those thoughts just went
away and everything became quiet.


And, uh...

I k*lled him because I felt like it.

It's madness. I know.

I think that the longer we stay
here, the more human we become.

I-I gotta go.

In your work... in all your time here...

you found, what, dozens of people,

yeah? At least. Maybe more.

You're j... You're always searching
for men or women, children.

Perhaps this Olivia
today. I hope you find her.

But without your sister, I'm
afraid you're always gonna be lost.

[JOHN] So it these humans
of power and privilege


who were behind Olivia's disappearance.

I get it now.

We were being blackmailed
with the thr*at of exposure.


"Tell Sugar to back off his case, or
we spill your secret to the world.


'Aliens walk amongst us.'
That would be the headline."


That'd be bad.

I don't like it, but I get it.

Henry's right. We've stayed
too long. It's time to go home.


[BREATHES DEEPLY, SIGHS]

[BEEPS]

- [GUARD] Freeze! Security. Hands up.
- Hands up.

Look. My hands are up.

Drop the w*apon.

- All right. Just take it...
- Put the g*n on the ground.

Okay. I'm on your side. I'm
just gonna put the g*n...

- I said "Freeze!"
- [GRUNTS]

You gotta listen to me. We can't leave.

I'm a private investigator. I've
been hired to find a missing woman.

I've heard a lot of excuses for
breaking and entering before.

Do I look like a tweaker? Listen to me.

My wallet, my PI license,
my driver's license,

my identification,
everything's in my wallet.

- Left breast pocket. There, inside. Yes.
- Left breast pocket?

- "John Sugar." Is that your real name?
- My real n... Yes, sir.

- Is that your blue car over there?
- Yes, sir.

Look, maybe I've got the wrong
address. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.

But if someday you hear
about a woman being tortured

and brutalized in this house,

and you didn't take one minute
of your day to try and help her...

You just left without checking...

You don't want that kind
of regret, man. Trust me.

Now's the time. You don't want to think,

"If I could have the moments
back. If I could turn back time."

[DOOR CLOSES]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Don't move.

I'll check the basement.

[DOOR OPENS]

Hello?

Is there anyone down there?

Is there anyone down there?

- [JOHN] Right. The senator's son.
- Hello?

[CHUCKLES] Of course.

Hey.

Hey.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

Well, what did you find?

Nothing. Well, a hammer.

[HAMMER CLATTERS]

But it's a basement, so that's
where I'd keep my hammer.

You sure you looked everywhere?

Pretty much.

Well, my mistake.

[CHUCKLES] You got that right.

So what's now?

Who told you there
was someone down there?

[SIGHS]

A friend. Um, it was bad intel.

You know, it happens.
But it's embarrassing.

What friend?

What fr... You know I
can't tell you what friend.

Confidential sources... a
prerequisite of my business.

Who told you there was
someone in my basement?

I didn't think I tripped any alarms.

- You were good.
- Yeah?

I was just coming back from work.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

[CHUCKLES] Lucky me.

Unlucky you.

Hey, it doesn't have to be like this.

I mean, no one else has to get hurt.

Including you.

Actually, I don't mind
people getting hurt.

To me, the question is, "Do
I start with the hammer?"

[BOTH PANTING, GRUNTING]

[SCREAMS]

[BOTH PANTING, GRUNTING]

[GRUNTING CONTINUES]

[GRUNTING]

- [BREATHING HEAVILY] What's your name?
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]

- Ryan. [BREATHES HEAVILY]
- Ryan.

It's over. All right? Why don't
we just call it a day, okay?

- Yeah.
- Don't. Don't!

[PANTING]

[GRUNTS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[FLASHLIGHT CLICKS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[FLASHLIGHT CLICKS]

[FLASHLIGHT CLICKS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY, GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS, BREATHING SHAKILY]

Olivia.

["ANEMONE" PLAYING]
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