- The Black Dahlia, the Zodiac
k*ller, the Balance Murders--
[suspenseful music ]
Infamous unsolved
crimes that have fueled
the tabloids for decades.
- 30 years ago,
this very night,
best-selling horror author
Bernard Balance was found
brutally m*rder*d,
stabbed 87 times
with an unidentified weapon.
- The dude wrote dozens of
bestselling books filled with
blood and m*rder, and he's
found stabbed to death,
like, 1,000 times
in his giant mansion?
- In a long-anticipated
live special,
entering the home of famous
horror author Bernard Balance--
- Hosts Roberta Muffin
and Frasier Ralph
are taking a fresh approach to
the infamous Balance cold case.
- Put an end to the speculation
once and for all tonight
on live TV.
- There's just so many
insane details here.
- The Balance Murders have
fascinated me for as long
as I can remember.
- His kid's dead.
His wife was always
shady and a magician.
You just can't
trust these people.
- By focusing their special
on the personal stories
behind the famous bodies
found that night--
- Frasier and I will sift
through those stories
of Bernard and Sydney Balance
in a way that only we can.
- Roberta and Frasier
are reinventing true
crime and re-enacting the lives
of the Balances for all to see.
- They themselves are
playing the doomed couple,
and the hosts are
also a couple?
How's that for couples
counseling.
- Tell us what it
was like living
in the shoes
of the famous widow
Sydney Balance
in your carefully
scripted reenactments.
- They hope to uncover new
clues and maybe break the case.
- I've been waiting decades
to find out who done it.
- After 30 years,
will anyone ever
finally step out of the shadows
and take responsibility
for these crimes?
- Now tell me who done it!
- Tonight we seek
to solve these previously
unsolvable mystery.
[thunder rumbling]
[mysterious tune ]
Sunday letter number 218.
I'm handcuffed to you.
You closed the cuffs the second
the curtain opened on us.
Do you remember it
feeling that way?
For me, it was the opening
of a story so unfamiliar and
so unknowable that,
to file it under horror
would be ironically fitting.
My hand goes cold
as my circulation is cut off,
but I don't want a hidden
key to unlock us.
I'm going to die
chained to you.
- Wow.
People actually read
this guy's books,
like, all the way through.
- Well, he did write
about murderers
and monsters so gotta allow
him some poetic license.
- It's all so dramatic.
- Have you been practicing.
- Well, no, not
so much because I
remember saying to you
that it was ridiculous
that I was wearing this
contraption on my finger
and trying to do these
stupid magic tricks
for the whole show,
and you said, OK.
- I thought we decided
that, I don't know,
considering the story,
a bit of magic
added to the campy, fun vibe.
- Yeah, a campy
fun vibe of m*rder.
Sure.
- Splashy.
- It quite literally isn't.
And when you say we decided--
- They already made all
the fire paper, Fries.
- Fire paper made
very, very dangerously
by our art department.
Also it's called flash paper.
- Oh, even flashier.
And, yeah, it's a tabloid
driven m*rder mystery, Frasier.
It's supposed to be
salacious and melodramatic
and what is this.
Have you been weird the past
few weeks, or am I--
you're not nervous about
the show, a scared widdle baby,
are you?
- I'm not a scared widdle baby.
- Then you are gonna be
a flippin' superstar.
Hey, you're great
in the reenactments
and you're a charming host
and you, my sweet, baby love,
are gonna be in the world's
brightest spotlight tonight.
You deserve it.
[eerie music ]
- What do you deserve?
- You with your magic
hands and fire paper.
- It's called flash paper.
And it doesn't work.
- Practice.
It'll work.
And you're mixing up
the cue cards again.
- Yeah, whatever.
I'm off book.
Oh, oh, OK.
We gotta go.
- You said the whole
point of doing this live
was the spontaneity of it.
- Life's not giving us warnings
about time but Frasier--
- Roberta--
[distant yelling]
- I can't believe we're finally
here walking into this house
with you for the first time.
Quoting Bernard
was a second ago.
It was a lifetime ago.
- Stop quoting m*rder*d people
in the context of our lives.
- OK.
- Well, it is the job, but--
OK, no, sorry.
This is gonna
keep following me.
I told Jess to leave
this chest of letters
in a more dramatic place
that lends to the reveal
and not somewhere randomly on
the floor because she's insane,
and she's probably over--
- You're doing
your intense Roberta thing.
- And you're doing
your weird Frasier thing.
- Just be careful with
these letters, OK.
They're very delicate.
- I'm OK.
You don't want me
reading the letters
and inferring that
Bernard loves Sydney
because you love
the idea of Sydney
as a witch being burned at the
stake by Bernard, the monster.
30 years of speculation
and rumors and witch
hunts, I just--
I just-- I wanna go where
the evidence takes us.
- And the evidence
is clear that they
loved each other for years
and years before the murders.
- I give up.
I give up.
[intriguing music ]
- Whatever happens,
we're gonna do great.
- No, no.
No, you're gonna do
great because you're--
you're unstoppable.
- I've got you
as my secret weapon.
[creaking]
- Aah!
- Oh, sh*t.
OK?
- Someone is going
to die tonight.
Jess, those steps
are still a problem
like the letters on that--
[overlapping speech]
- All right, people,
we are on an 8.
Let's get ready to create
a live TV special.
- Not your best, Lex.
- Well, I--
I'll try to keep it light and
fun in the creepy m*rder house.
- Why is everybody
trying to keep it
light and fun if it's serious?
- Right.
I was supposed to tell you,
but I got lost and forgot.
Lightning's inbound.
- Lightning?
- Yeah, yeah.
Well, how did I get down here?
- How inbound?
- 40 minutes.
- Wait, 40 minutes from
when you were supposed
to tell us 20 minutes ago?
- Yeah.
40 minutes from 20 minutes ago.
Yeah.
- Great.
We're great.
[flame sparks]
[groaning]
When is this all over tonight?
- Oh my God, after all
these years of planning--
- No, just could you--
if you could just listen.
Please.
I have something I want to say.
- I think it's really
cute how worried
you are about all these little
details and the apparent subpar
quality of the fire paper.
It's very sweet.
- Flash paper.
And it's not cute and sweet.
It's called nitrocellulose.
It's made of sulfuric
and nitric acids,
and it's actually
very dangerous and
extremely delicate even
when made properly.
And if you could just stop
interrupting me for a moment,
I just--
- Oh, Detective Bates, did
anyone show you where you're
sitting for the interview.
Because you're sitting over
here for the interview.
- Well, sitting
doesn't agree with me.
- I'm-- I'm a little nervous.
- Join the club.
- Clubs don't let me join.
- Well, let's get sitting.
We are live in 5.
- Live in 5!
- Ms. Muffin, ma'am.
- Hmm.
- Do you think people will
be watching this thing?
- Well, that's
the plan, Detective.
A lot of people are
really excited to see
what we dig up tonight.
There is no need to be nervous.
Just think of it like one
of your live press conferences
30 years ago.
- That's exactly what
I'm nervous about.
I mean, we were-- were
a sweaty disaster.
I was demoted.
My wife--
- Let's not think of it
anything like those live press
conferences.
- It's cool.
That's totally--
- Oh, dear.
- Look, we know your story.
We've read all the interviews.
Frasier has done
so much research
on every little detail.
All that's gonna
happen tonight is
we'll have a little live chat.
I'll ask you some questions.
We'll get your perspective
on the case and what you saw--
- We are on in 3.
- You know what makes true
crime so unsatisfying?
We know they won't
solve it at the end.
Otherwise, we would have heard.
Tonight, being live, that's
what gives this thing an edge.
Lives could change tonight.
- Come on, babe.
We gotta go.
[mysterious music ]
- Hey, look, before
we start, I--
I have some doubts--
- Hey, seriously please.
We've gone through the case.
We've gone through the script.
It's all working great.
- No, no, you're not.
It's-- it's not
all working great.
So if I-- if I needed
to tinkle during this,
who would I-- who'd
I see about that.
- What do you mean?
- Where do you piss?
[eerie tune ]
- I'm listening.
I wanna hear I'm here.
- And I'm telling
you, I need to piss.
- You always say that
you're here, but--
- 5, 4, 3, 2--
[bell ringing]
[mysterious music ]
- We're here live with
Detective Cornelius Bates, Sr.
- So where do we land
on the whole pissing?
- We landed on.
We're live right now.
- What, right now right now?
[thunder rumbling]
- At just 28 with only four
years' experience on the force,
you were promoted to lead
detective of the whole shebang.
- There's my title,
leader of the shebang.
No, it was detective--
detective--
Detective Bates,
Lead Detective Bates.
- You were put in charge
of one of the most
infamous m*rder cases
the country has ever seen.
You were everywhere.
- No, it's a job,
ma'am is to be
everywhere, protect everyone.
- But you couldn't
protect the Balances
or bring their m*rder*r
to justice, could you?
- That's a real
d*ck thing to say.
- Detective, why do
you think that you
were promoted to lead
this investigation
at such a young age?
- It was a real rat f*ck, see.
[moaning]
Yeah, brass knew this
was a media circus.
It was gonna make 'em look bad.
Yeah, there's too
many gory details,
too many conflicting clues.
And then there's the famous
author and all of his little,
you know, the--
the things he wrote--
oh, you know, the--
- Books?
- Well, I mean-- but he
wrote books, you know,
them horror books, murderers
and bloody ghosts and--
and then he goes gets stabbed
87 times up the wazoo,
just like in one of his--
- Books.
- It's not the word.
Look, no one would touch
it because-- because they
knew they ain't gonna solve it,
especially little rural police
department like ours.
It took them three months to
find Gordon LaRue's snowmobile,
and the tracks led right
up to Gord Shaw's shed.
And here we had-- we had
footprints leading nowhere,
you know, personal effects
found in the woods,
kids, fires, magic.
I was thinking, this is
my big break, but they--
nah, they just wanted
to make me look like a fool.
So they threw me to the--
- Books?
- The Balance case
changed my life.
Changed me.
I changed.
I used to be smitten with
life's little treasures,
you know.
But--
Mind if I smoke in here?
- You can't smoke in here.
- I'm gonna smoke in here.
[distant thunder]
- So your working theory--
- May still the official theory
of the Simko PD, Ms.
Muffin, ma'am.
- Well then let's break
that theory over the coals
and fan the flames on Cornelius
Bates, Sr.'s story.
- Anyone got any matches
to light this thing?
Also can I piss?
- Still live on air.
- Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
[mysterious piano ]
OK, so the wife did it, right?
- You're on fire.
- Thought I'd try a classic
Italian breakfast.
- No, no, no, you're on fire.
[gasping]
- Oh.
[yelping]
- I have nothing
against Sydney Balance.
- Hey, you should
give that to Noah.
He'll-- he'll love it.
- Except for the murders
of her husband and son.
- Pancakes for you.
- Whoa!
Noah, where'd you
come from, Mr. Magic.
- Dad, please.
I can't reveal my secrets.
And it's Noah the Notable Now.
- Noah the Notable Now.
OK.
Got it.
I don't need any
pancakes, but are you
not going to offer me
some of that black slop
that you're making
for yourself.
- Ooh, I want some black slop.
- No, no, that's not
for kids or adults.
- Mmm.
It's a good one today,
ginger, ginseng, patchouli,
eye of newt, which, did you
know they sell down at the IGA
right next to whatever
cream of tartar is.
- Which I don't think it's
going to agree with me.
So I'm just going to get
some wet bacon and dip.
Mmm.
Come here.
Over here.
[giggling]
- Wet bacon and dip.
Title of your next book?
- No, that's not
nearly scary enough.
[giggling]
Love.
- Whenever I spoke
to her, she seemed,
you know, sad, not sad enough.
Couldn't quite put
my finger on it
then but, thinking
about her now
watching your little
reenactment sitting here--
[Aaron Esposito and Katie
Chastain, "Beautiful Dreamer" ]
She was acting.
- So that's Mr. Dad
writing for 12 hours
and still not fixing
that turntable so that it
plays literally anything else.
So why would he?
How should we spend our time?
- I wanna do Moretti box.
- I told you, no, no.
You're not climbing
into a box of swords.
Too dangerous at your age.
If the man upstairs found out--
- Come on.
No one's ever died in the box.
Will it catch?
Sure, not 'til I'm
12 but the box?
- Show me what you
worked on last night.
- And a ricka boo ba dilly!
- Wow.
OK, we have our own magic word.
[distant yelling]
[clangs]
So your timing with the pant
leg and the shoe shake
needs a little tightening.
Nothing some
practice can't solve.
Let's see.
- Thing about Sydney,
well, she just
thought she was destined for
greatness or some silly thing.
And every time I spoke to her,
it was like she was off
somewhere else daydreaming.
- Daydreaming?
- Maybe both.
- You're getting so tall now.
I'm gonna have to alter
your pants again soon.
Everything OK?
- Yeah.
Yeah, coffee spilled
all over everything
just as I was finally getting
the description right.
Armand's throat getting slit.
It opened like a--
well, I lost it.
Hey, can you either teach
him to tie his shoes
like a normal person
or get him to take
his shoes off in the house?
Thanks.
- When she met Bernard, she
thought she fell in love.
But before she knew it...
[clap]
rick a boo ba dilly.
- Well, Bernard seemed
like a decent enough man.
- Particular.
Needed everything done his way.
- Yeah.
He's used to being
in control, writing
stories where he was the puppet
master of the universe.
- Literally the job
of any writer.
- So Sydney ends up here,
sharing a life with a man whose
life is shared with everyone.
A few years later,
there's a kid,
and he's got her trapped like
she's in the chamber of one
of her old magic dealies.
- And there lays a trick
she can't escape.
- People are
probably wondering,
if she felt so trapped
and unfulfilled,
why would she not
tell her husband?
Why, in your theory, does
Sydney, seemingly out
of nowhere, snap and bring
it all to a bloody end?
- If we could answer that,
there'd be no heartbreak,
no betrayal, no crime.
- Tell us about the letters.
- Early
on in their relationship,
they promised to write
each other every Sunday.
I read every letter,
hoping there'd be a clue.
- Here's a clue
for you, Bernard.
- Ultimately, they were mostly
just hokey love letters.
- I love you, and you don't
have to be Agatha Christie
to figure that out.
But sincere, Bernard
Balance and the obvious
seems to escape you.
The answers are all right here.
- Her letters were
always so sweet, loving.
It's like she was--
like she was trying
to convince herself.
We'll call it whatever,
but, by the end,
he wrote a Sunday letter every
single week, 321 letters.
And she wrote 206 at least
that we could find.
So what does that tell you?
- But surely
an imbalance in love
letters doesn't
make a m*rder*r.
- No.
Ask my ex-wife, it does.
No, despite what she
said in her letters,
Sydney was not a happy woman.
[clacking]
[ding]
Sydney wanted to break
out of her chamber.
She was tired of simply being
the wife of Bernard Balance.
[rustling]
- You get in the way of me
throwing a tantrum the way
I like.
- She told me she
tried to tell him this,
and he wouldn't listen.
But who knows what lies
she wrapped herself
up in to sleep at night.
- Bernard, we
shouldn't be getting
in the way of each other.
This isn't how
this should work.
I shouldn't be the one to stop
you from throwing a tantrum.
You're right.
No, you're right.
So I'm going to throw
one right now.
[screaming]
Aargh!
Grrr!
[growling]
Oh, sh*t.
I got you a gift.
[thud]
- Please let me be heard.
Just sit down and--
- I'm sitting.
I'm sitting.
Come on, open it.
- I've asked you not to--
- Open sesame.
Come on, get your little
magic fingers here.
Come on.
Open, open, open.
[mysterious music ]
First advance
proof copy for you.
- To my sweet Sydney,
the only person
I'd ever let see my first
drafts forever and ever.
This is a proof,
not a first draft.
- Well, yes, because I frankly
pulled a ton from the last year
of our lives as inspiration.
I didn't want you to get
upset, so it's published
but it's a metaphor anyway.
So--
- Detective Bates, in cases
of domestic homicide
you've seen or studied,
how often is it
that one or maybe
both partners are
truly, madly, deeply in love?
- I'm truly, madly,
deeply in love with you.
- They don't call them crimes
of passion for nothing.
It's gotta be passion
in there somewhere.
'Cause I saw it with
my own two peeps.
[eerie melody ]
- Carl said crime of passion.
Nobody warned me it
looked like a God
dang Valentine's Day card.
At least it doesn't look like
Valentine's Day chocolates.
They say that
happens sometimes.
Other than the blood
contained to the chair
indicating the body
wasn't moved,
the room's clean but not quiet.
- Bernard Balance
likely died as he
watched the woman
he loved and trusted
more than anyone else
in the world stab him 87 times.
[soft piano ]
- Victim's right hand shows
signs of the blood either being
wiped clean or looks
like some kind of residue
under the fingernails.
Could be chemical, preventing
the blood from sticking.
We'll get forensics on it.
Do we even have a forensics?
- We discovered a highly
flammable chemical compound
in trace amounts on his hands.
Same chemical was found
all over the attic
where Sydney's stage
illusions were kept.
And it's a common element in
a lot of professional
magician's
bag of tricks.
- Well, was this
chemical found on Sydney?
You must have taken
samples from her--
her clothes, her skin?
- Well, yes, but, I mean--
well, no, nothing was
found on her that night.
- Well, maybe you
should stop saying
that she did it since
the evidence doesn't agree.
- That's what her lawyer said.
- And then there was
the bonfire and Noah.
Surely the discovery of a
highly flammable chemical and
DNA plus remains
found in a bonfire
isn't just a coincidence.
- Well, Sydney was
the only one who would know
how to handle that chemical.
And given the nature
of the remains found
in the fire, it was
burning incredibly hot,
hotter than any wood
burning fire I've ever seen.
The neighbors ended up calling
911 because they saw smoke
and smelled fire.
They said it didn't smell
like a regular fire.
- The chemical?
- Could be flesh.
- Flammable chemical
or no, what could we prove?
Fire could be linked to anyone
but Noah, but that's fire.
Burns everything away.
- So fire burns
everything away.
Except Bernard's last story.
- It was unreadable.
We know Bernard constantly
used their relationship
for his stories.
Who else would care
to make a point burning
his last story if not her?
- My point exactly.
- That isn't the real
point, Detective,
that despite your attempts,
nothing stuck to Sydney.
- Not like the blood
or the call
made to an untraceable
number an hour
before the police showed
up, when Sydney was
supposedly still at her show.
- But after 30 years, you
still think it was her?
Why?
- It was simple.
It's always the spouse.
And if it wasn't, then I'd--
I've have slept every night
for 30 years believing a lie.
I missed the real k*ller.
- Why k*ll her son
if what she wanted
was to be free of Bernard?
- When you're out
on the lake, midnight joyride
just bombing around,
your snowmobile
flips lands on both your legs.
So do you pull out the old
penknife and cut those limbs
and escape or do
you freeze to death?
I'm sure he liked his legs,
but his legs got in the way.
Now, Gord Shaw's got two
stumps and a nice warm house
to show you.
Now I'm gonna piss.
- OK, yeah.
Go to commercial.
- And we're clear.
Back in 8.
Next block stays right
here, so don't go far.
Got it?
Does anybody have eyes
on the groundskeeper?
Let's find him and get him.
Mike, please.
[somber tune ]
- Hey, friend.
Want to maybe cool
it on the weed.
Nate said something about the
burn story in the study and--
- Creative genius.
Look at you.
You're Sydney f*cking Balance
right there in that scene.
You're acting just
like you want her to.
Really, you're not her.
[eerie tune ]
You-- you knew all along it was
going to play out like this,
didn't you?
- Well, yeah, we did
our research so--
- Well, I did most
of the research.
- And I used
the research to write
the reenactments like that.
So you were there.
We're telling
a great story so far.
A story that you edited in a
very, very specific way, right.
Your way, your way.
You-- you-- this is
a different version
than what you
showed me last and
you cut out the whole
ending where Bernard
freaks out and yells at her.
- OK, yeah, yeah.
I cut to a different
shot of Sydney's reaction
to Bernard leaving
in the kitchen scene,
and I left out some stuff
in the study in 13 Bravo
to leave some ambiguity going
into the next interview.
It's just one theory, Frasier.
You don't have
to agree with it.
There's others.
But I feel like that's not the
reason you're getting high and
telling me that this,
whatever that means,
isn't working great.
Fries, we're making the show
we've been waiting years
to make, and you're
kind of ruining it,
which isn't exactly new.
This is not the show that we've
been waiting years to make.
This is not how it should work.
We should not be getting
in the way of each other.
- Well, we should be
getting to the study
because Bates's story
about the burned story
just doesn't add up.
Why would she k*ll her
husband and her son
and not burn the story that
is supposedly so upsetting and
led to this chain of events?
Let's go.
- Berta, Roberta.
He handcuffed himself to her,
and she searched for a key.
That's-- that's all
this is just a key.
And-- and keys open doors.
- And the key to this
mystery is in this room.
I can feel it.
- I think we know
their ending, and that
doesn't have to be our ending.
Neither of us deserve that.
So we'll finish
the show together,
and then we'll get
to the big finale.
I will finish what I started,
and then we're finished.
[thunder striking]
- No.
No, you're--
- Do you think this is working.
- You don't know
what you're asking.
OK, this is a stressful
culmination of years of work,
and you shouldn't be saying
things like this right now.
- I've been saying these things
for a long time, Roberta.
You will thank me one day.
- Frasier, you do this.
OK, you freak out,
and you spiral.
And I truly, madly,
deeply, adverbly love you.
- Some people just aren't
meant to be together.
- So we weren't meant to be
together the past four years?
Prepping this show?
When I took you
on that surprise trip
to Bruges at Axel's
birthday party last weekend?
Yesterday on the couch,
we were laughing
and eating dinner and going
over our interview questions.
Where was all this sh*t then?
- You deserve
someone who doesn't
care when you interrupt them!
Look, Sydney and Bernard, they
weren't meant to be together.
I mean, maybe some
people weren't
meant to be with anyone.
- Like me?
- Like me.
- I need you, Frasier.
You came into my life, and--
and everything made sense.
Every show I make, every
story I tell, it's for you.
You're my audience.
I just want to make you happy.
- I'm not your audience.
The world is your audience.
The world was his
audience, too.
Your stories, his stories,
and the rest of us,
we get a dedication,
if we're lucky.
- So what is it, Frasier.
You want to be in charge
of the story now?
OK, OK.
So-- so-- so do that.
Take charge.
Write. Direct.
I don't care, OK.
I love you.
I love you, and love is--
- A curse.
- We will finish the show,
and then you'll be free.
[sobbing]
[intense music ]
[screaming]
[thunk]
[Aaron Esposito and Katie
Chastain, "Beautiful Dreamer" ]
- I can't--
I can't do this without
you, Frasier, any of it.
I--
- Get up, Muffin.
We're live soon.
[thunder rumbling]
Roberta.
- Did you see that?
- No one stayed
where I told them to.
Live in 3.
Everyone downstairs.
[distant singing]
[soft thuds]
- Come and look at this after.
Hey, if we wanna finish
the show, we got to go now.
[squeaking]
- Frasier.
- Roberta, what are you--
- We can come back after.
[shushing]
Roberta.
- Let go of me.
- I'm trying to.
- There's something
hiding back here, OK.
We just need-- the answer
is right back here, OK.
- You're not listening to--
- You're not listening
to me, Frasier!
- You never f*cking
listen to me!
Please leave it.
- Roberta, Frasier,
2 minutes, and we're
still missing our host
and our groundskeeper.
Is anyone--
- OK.
You're right.
You're right.
I can listen to you.
I'll listen.
[Aaron Esposito and Katie
Chastain, "Beautiful Dreamer" ]
Beautiful dreamer
[thunder cracking]
[thunder clapping]
[screaming]
- Where the f*ck
did you come from?
- I'm the groundskeeper.
I know all the little
secrets of the house.
Close the door.
[mysterious piano ]
[ringing]
- Magic, that's what's kept
this case alive in the public's
imagination for 30 years.
- The best illusions
happen in the shadows
by people you'd never suspect,
using methods that you
couldn't possibly imagine.
But one man might know
more than he's letting on.
He might know who the real
Sydney Balance was,
loving wife and mother,
or something else entirely,
something that she kept
secret from everyone,
except for maybe him.
- Webster Fizz,
tell us your deal.
- In 30 years, you've
never given an interview.
You were the only official
suspect in this case,
and yet you've never
gone on the public record
with your side of the story.
- You guys made the only
offer I've been interested in.
- A $200 per diem for one diem?
- They say you can
never go home, but--
[thunder rumbling]
I spent my youth taking
care of this property.
You gave me the chance
to come back.
[suspenseful music ]
Did you attend
some co-collegiate?
I was a janitor there
for a while after.
You look like one of the kids
that set my chair on fire.
- Another criminal
still at large
but not me and not the crime
we're here to talk about.
- This house ruined you.
You were accused of m*rder,
publicly scorned.
And considering that, why
would you want to return here?
- My story's simple.
Sometimes bad things
happen to good people.
If you'll allow this
old idiot another idiom,
I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
[Lukas Clay,
"m*rder in the First Degree" ]
I met you a stranger
A beautiful danger
Your silence allured me
[indistinct chatter]
[laughing]
Equal parts caution
Unrequited hate
I fell for you
- I'll make pancakes.
- Yeah, you know what I write
better when I'm starving.
-I'm only thinking
of the lie you said
I dream of it
- I'll take some pancakes.
-And I dream you're dead
- Sydney wasn't
just a magician.
She was a witch.
She brewed potions,
trying to get
what she wanted out
of life through a cauldron
of exotic elements.
[tense music ]
- Not going so well?
- Let's just say
bring me some bourbon
and more and that coffee.
- Which bourbon?
- The alcoholic one.
Title of your next book.
- Oh, almost forgot.
I got you a gift.
- You got me my own book.
- Got it from
the publisher this morning.
First proof copy.
- She loved a man who only
loved the idea of her.
Near the end, whatever magic
they had together was gone.
- Thank you for rubbing
my failures in my face.
That'll be all.
- She did everything she
could to try to fix it.
Everything.
[Lukas Clay,
"m*rder in the First Degree" ]
Please, darling
I'm just stopping
m*rder in the first degree
- King of hearts?
- No.
- You were close with Sydney.
When did his music stop?
Obviously, you
always maintained
your innocence, which leaves
her as the prime suspect.
- Not exactly.
- Do you think she
could have done it?
- I knew every
inch of the house
and every inch
of Bernard's temper
and what he might
have done if he saw.
- Daydrinking or daydreaming?
- Saw what, Webster?
- Just getting your 5:00
PM glass ready.
- Look, Sydney
and I were friends.
- So Bernard was complicated.
But the question was,
how do you know Sydney
wasn't hiding something.
- This house hides things.
I knew all the little
hiding places.
I would have known.
- What if you were
both hiding something?
- Hmph.
- What if she was hiding you?
[eerie tune ]
- The night
of the murders, the police
tore the house apart
or did the best they could.
They should have
asked me to help.
But then they cordoned
it off and never
allowed me back inside,
never allowed even
a kiss goodbye
to the place that was
a home for my entire youth.
- You wanted to kiss
the house goodbye?
- You do so much for people,
or a house in this case,
that eventually you
feel responsible.
Your job as a caretaker
doesn't fade
even if the place or people
you're taking care of vanish.
He developed tremors, relied
on me to lift boxes of papers,
organize bookshelves,
clean up after him.
When I left the night of the
murders for the last time,
I heard his music playing
and thought all would be fine.
His writing was going well.
He was in a good mood.
I worried about Sydney
and Noah but not that night.
She had her first
performance in seven years.
She seemed fine, so I left.
I left.
I should have-- really I--
I should have turned back
to the house, and I--
I should have screamed.
I should-- I should have yelled
don't go to the magic show.
Stay at home with
your son, Sydney.
Protect him from
what's coming tonight.
Protect yourself from a life
of pain and emptiness.
Protect me.
But how was I to know?
- If you didn't know anything,
you--
[clears throat]
I'm sure people are wondering
as it was
the key reason why you were the
only suspect those first few
months, why were
your footprints
found leading down to the
bonfire where Noah was burned?
- My shoe prints were found.
Every night, I put
my boots by the house,
and I walked home in my sneaks.
I have no clue how
those prints got there.
- Well, we're all here
for the truth, aren't we?
Webster, you had an affair
with Sydney Balance, correct?
- We were close,
yes, like I said.
- We know you had an affair
with Sydney Balance
while her husband and young
son were in this house.
- You can't prove that.
- And you continued to have
an affair with Sydney
after her young son and her
husband were brutally m*rder*d.
- I refuse to be interrogated.
- Well, you're currently
being interrogated, bud.
It's OK.
Nobody's blaming you
because you loved Sydney,
and she loved you.
It's OK because it's the truth.
- You're one to talk about
loyalty and infidelity and
the truth, aren't you?
- Infidelity?
It's really interesting.
Not true but interesting.
- Huh.
- OK, right.
Right, OK.
I'm the bad guy here.
Yeah, I'm the bad guy
because I did all the research
and found out what you--
- All right, when
we come back--
- Before and after the brutal
m*rder of her family--
- We'll get an exclusive
look at Sydney Balance's--
- It's OK because it proves
that she was worthy of love
and that Bernard was
an unloving monster who never
saw Sydney for who she was.
- I'm leaving.
- But you saw her,
didn't you, Webster?
You saw her.
You saw her as she was.
You loved her.
And you had a child with her.
[thunderstorm]
[clears throat]
Live TV, folks.
Quite a roller coaster.
- Oh, sh*t.
- More after this.
- Were they supposed to--
- And we're clear.
That-- that's-- that's
a commercial break.
OK, our next segment is
in 6, so let's take a break.
Go 10-1, grab a snack, keep
your blood sugar up, and OK.
[eerie tune ]
Just keep the train
rolling, guys.
- Look, we'll finish
a great show together--
- I can't change your mind?
- I don't want my mind
changed, Muffin.
This is broken.
- Roberta, Frasier,
stop wandering off.
We need you on set now please.
- OK.
Well, then, goodbye
and good luck.
And, hey, now you don't have to
get me anything for my birthday
next week, and you can't
say I didn't say anything
funny before you left.
- Oh, you need me
to finish the show.
- What I need you
to do is leave.
Pack your sh*t up tonight
before I get home,
and never speak to me again.
- This is my show,
too, Roberta.
- We are in it to win
it in a minute.
Oh, Roberta, Webster,
he totally just, like--
- Out of my shot.
- You're being shortsighted.
OK, it's a breakup.
You'll get over it.
Right now, you need me.
You need to finish
telling my story.
- Your story?
- I-- we literally can't finish
this show without me, right.
- I need you to know
you will always
be the villain of this story.
- You don't mean that.
You're upset.
- Oh, you're m*therf*cking
right I'm f*cking upset.
I just found out that I gave my
life to a crazy m*therf*cker.
- Come on.
We have to sh**t--
or not.
[heavy sigh]
- Since this will
be the last time,
let me just say this
is not your show.
We worked together because I
loved you and supported you.
You're here because of me,
because I was making the show,
and you found me and begged
me to be a part of it,
because you tricked
me into loving you.
And I did.
I really did.
And when you realize that,
and how truly f*cking
good I have been to you
over the past few years
when you're just--
[derisive laugh]--
this
and no one will work with you,
and none of our friends
will talk to you,
and you come back
asking for forgiveness
because your life is
f*cking awful, just know
that you f*cking did this.
Now get the f*ck
out of my life!
- OK.
- Get out!
- Hey!
Oh, f*ck.
- Sorry, but we're uh--
we're back in 5, 4, 3, 2--
[bell ringing]
- What do we know
about Noah Balance?
So far, we've uncovered details
focusing on Noah's parents.
What was
their relationship like?
Bad probably, like most.
Time turned
their relationship sour.
It curdled, went rotten.
It's easy to focus on the
creamy details of a scandal,
but we often forget about
Noah, little Noah Balance.
Yeah, left behind no answers.
Just a grieving mother
and his face on a milk carton.
[distant grumbling]
Sandy, if you're
in the truck and can hear me,
cut to 36 delta now.
[soft piano ]
Webster, Lex was
supposed to show you out.
How did you--
- I already told you.
I can get around the house.
All those years.
- Yeah, none of them
while I was here.
- Sweetie, that's
not how it happened.
- Whatever you want
to tell yourself.
I-- I don't-- I don't
know what I'm doing.
I didn't mean for you guys to--
- No, I think we did.
I mean, the prime suspect
and the secret love child
he had with the famous
widow live on TV face
to face, now that's
a good story.
- Maybe there's more important
things than a good story.
- She said in the house
that stories built,
to another writer nonetheless.
I heard that you were
publishing a book
about your mother that's--
I can't wait to read it.
- Oh, no, don't worry,
you're not mentioned.
- Ashley--
- It's Ash.
- You know your mother.
She wouldn't let
me come around.
I tried to be a part of your
life, but she was so stubborn.
Tried.
- Well, you could
have tried harder,
but you gave up on me
just like she did.
So now you're both dead.
- Hey, Roberta,
30-60 is ending.
We need to what to throw to.
- Well, I'm ready
for my interview.
- Ash, please--
- No, please--
- Let me just explain.
- 10 seconds.
- Could you go now!
I'm about to be interviewed.
- Ash--
- Her to us.
Let's go.
- OK, copy.
Sir, you're gonna have
to watch behind the monitors.
[whimsical tune ]
We are live in 5, 4, 3, 2--
- Ash Castle, the author of the
upcoming book Finding Balance--
My Life with Sydney,
it comes out in June.
Her book is on sale in June.
- Where's the-- the guy,
the old co-host guy?
- He had a death in the family.
- Oh.
Samesies.
- Yes, Sydney Balance.
- It's true.
She was unfortunately
my mother,
and she died of cancer
four years ago.
- And you're ready
to go on the record
after a lifetime of rumors,
born to
an unknown man
in the years after
it fell apart for Sydney.
You were here to watch
as she was forced to live out
the rest of her
days with the guilt
and trauma as her company.
- Because she certainly
did not want my company.
- How did you survive
all the emptiness?
[somber piano ]
- Emptiness runs in my blood.
That's all my mother had
by the time I came around.
So that's all I
inherited from her.
Bernard, some people
just aren't meant to--
just sit down, and let me--
- I'm sitting.
Come on, open it, would you.
Come on now.
- You're not listening
to me, Bernard.
- Our lives are contained
within this gift.
- Oh, I can't talk to you
when you're like this.
- What?
Like what?
- Like this manic man.
- Manic-- manic man.
Manic Man, title
of my next book.
A-ha.
- Do I blame her? Yes.
But I blame him, too.
She was young.
They were in love for a time.
But I think she was too
selfish for love, and he was--
can I swear?
Dude was, like, f*cked.
- It's us.
It's our love story.
I mean, everything
I write is us,
but this one I can't wait
for you to read this one.
I mean, the m*rder
obviously is fiction,
but everything else in here
is-- is lifted from our lives
and gifted to the people.
- Yeah, I'm sure
the people reading
The Good Behavior
k*ller are dying
to know every intimate
detail of our relationship.
- You should be
so g*dd*mn honored.
- This isn't working.
I'm leaving.
- Oh, God, no, Sydney.
What you're doing
is you're always
saying that you're leaving, but
you're never actually leaving.
[rhythmic tune ]
[slam]
[clearing throat]
- We've seen many different
versions of Bernard
Balance tonight--
the complicated
creative genius,
the loving husband, the tyrant
who always gets his way--
but your mother--
- Was wrecked by him.
You couldn't talk
to my mom about anything.
She would just disappear.
She'd never fix a problem.
She'd burn it down
and live in the ashes.
[creaking]
[mysterious tune ]
She said to me once I don't
know who I am anymore.
- I don't know
who I am anymore.
- You're Sydney.
You're my wife.
I love you.
- I'm losing everything but me.
- Dear, Bernie.
Happy Sunday, baby.
Just wanted to remind
you how much I love you
and how you always
make me smile.
You have a kind heart,
a smart little head,
a silly sense of humor, and
more talent than Stephen King.
- I wrote those--
- You work hard,
and you deserve
all of the wonderful things
that are coming your way.
- She wrote those
Sunday letters
as a simulation of the love
she knew she wasn't capable of,
like pretending
she could levitate
or put herself back together
after being sawed in half.
The letters were
another illusion
for her to make herself
feel like something
more than nothing.
[chuckling]
- Do you know how
truly good to you
I've been for over a decade?
Do you?
Because here's the proof!
If you try to leave, who
knows what'll become of you.
f*ck, who else is gonna
love you if not me?
[ominous music ]
- You're a good actor,
but you're-- you're playing
her too confident.
- That's because I'm not her.
- No, obviously.
- Remember who I
am to you, baby.
- I'm him.
- Excuse me.
- You detail in your book--
- On sale in June
for a low price.
It's actually Heather's pick.
[chuckling nervously]
- You give us your theory
about what happened
that night eight years ago.
- It's not a theory.
It's-- it's the truth
that she told it to me.
- You said she never
talked about that.
- Well, you'll have
to read it in the book.
- Give us a preview.
[ominous tune ]
- OK, just a taste.
She performed at her first
show in seven years that night.
- Lori's gonna drive me home.
I should be back tonight.
- Will you now?
- Still just
an assistant, she thought
it was a stepping stone
to finally getting the career
she deserved.
- Good luck.
- Wait.
Arisa a boo ba dilly!
Break a leg, mommy.
- She wanted an out
for years, and with this show,
she found one.
All that time spent trying
to make a family work,
not being able to,
she finally did something.
[music playing ]
- Would you say it was
brave
for her to leave?
- Maybe it would have been
if she did.
If she just left
right then and there,
then maybe everyone
would have lived,
and maybe I never would have.
You see, she was-- she
was selfish, a showman.
That's all that
mattered to her.
All that she wanted to know was
that the show would do well,
that she would
follow her dreams,
and that she would have an out.
She was going to come back
for her bag that night
and leave while
they were asleep.
But he found the bag first.
[thud]
And that's-- that's when
the truth was finally revealed.
- What?
What?
What's when the truth
was finally revealed?
- The truth will be
revealed in June when
my book, Finding Balance--
My Life with Sydney,
comes out.
- But we've already filmed
all the reenactments
based on the info from the
advanced copy that you gave us.
- Oh, OK.
Good for you.
- You're not gonna tell us?
- It's in the book, girlie.
[thunder clapping]
- Hey, Sandy, roll
clips 70 through 84.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[thunder rumbling]
[Lukas Clay, "Seasons" ]
[clacking]
-It was the season
of breaking up
It was the season
of falling in love
With you
I was the reason
It f*cked me up
So good
It was the season--
[screaming]
Of breaking hearts
It was the season
of falling apart
- You love magic, Noah?
Yeah?
You love me and your mom?
Great.
That story has all three.
Let me know when you're done.
-I was gone
When you caught me
Falling for you
I was gone
When you caught me
I was running
from the truth
I was gone
When you caught me
Falling for you
[screaming]
[heavy thud]
You were the reason
that the seasons changed
That was the season
I rearranged it
It was disease running
through my veins
I turned blue
I was caught with a man
much older than you
I was caught running west.
I was running
from the truth
I was written in the past
The stories were cruel
I stole a car and some
cash off highway 82
Cigarettes on the dash
And a picture of you
Nothing behind me
Memories
Nowhere to drive to
I pulled over and stopped
I didn't know what to do
Nothing to my name
Just memories of you
Bricks in my lungs
The floor fell through
[breathing heavily]
You were the reason
the seasons changed
Now was the season
I rearranged it, too
There was disease
running through my veins
I turned blue
- OK, that was messed up.
- It's your story.
- And you didn't even f*cking
buy the rights, b*tch.
- You really think he committed
suicide by cutting himself
with a letter opener 87 times?
- You will find out in June.
- If your version's true,
then he got what he wanted.
He silenced her.
He handcuffed
himself to her just
like he said in his letter.
He trapped her, a witch
within the walls.
[thunder roaring]
- I mean--
- Oh, sh*t.
No one panic.
We lost the feed.
Storm knocked out the power.
Roberta, what do
you want to do?
[door shutting]
Roberta?
[clack]
[chatter]
[eerie music ]
I can't do this.
We're going to bring
this ring back.
[indistinct chatter]
We can find it.
Come on, people.
I need you to hustle.
Let's go.
Do we have eyes on Roberta?
[distant shouting]
[clack]
[clack]
- I kicked you out.
- There are other ways in.
[chuckling]
I need to finish
the show, Roberta.
You'll get through this.
Really, people get
through a lot worse.
Sydney said goodbye to her
son forever right here.
And she-- she wasn't you.
[suspenseful music ]
You're unstoppable.
- You made me believe that
there was a world where I could
be loved
and happy,
and you're taking it all away
and telling me
it was all a lie.
- It wasn't all a lie.
- Even if just
the ending was a lie,
bad ending is enough
to ruin a whole story.
- So then let's make
a good ending, my ending.
Please, Muffin.
- Bruno, we got power again.
Back to 1.
We got the--
[indistinct chatter]
[soft piano ]
- This was not supposed
to be our story.
You left it unfinished,
and I hate you for that.
But I don't want
you to disappear.
- I won't disappear again.
Come on.
We have a story to finish.
[melodic piano ]
- Some magician you are.
Someone get hair and makeup.
- Get both cameras on me
at all times, A and B.
- Hey, Roberta.
This is your show.
Just say the word and we can--
- It's our show, and we
have a story to finish.
Frist, where do you want me?
- Wow.
OK.
We are live in 30
seconds, people.
- You're not the Frasier
I fell in love with.
- Oh.
I never yelled
at you or cheated.
- I know who you are.
[eerie music ]
I'm gonna destroy you.
I'm gonna tell the world.
- 15 seconds.
- I never doubted
that you would.
- 10 seconds.
- We don't have to do
this on live TV.
[derisive chuckle]
- Live TV is what makes it fun.
- 5, 4, 3, 2--
[bell ringing]
- Well, I'm back.
Did you miss me?
Over the commercial
break, Berta and I--
- The best illusions are
carried out in the shadows
by the people you'd
least suspect.
Who said that, Frasier?
[sinister chuckling]
What a special this
has turned out to be.
During the breaks,
Frasier and I--
- Dear God, no, you gonna--
you're gonna speak for me?
Still after-- OK, you're
the creative genius so say it.
- You're Noah Balance.
- Rick a boo ba dilly!
Ladies and gentlemen,
finally after 30
years of lies, the truth.
[fire roaring]
My mother was hounded
by you people
her entire life
asking, wondering
how was it done.
What happened that night?
What do you know?
She swore the answer
was a secret
that she would take to her
grave, the magician's oath.
We all know about
the Sunday letters.
By the end, she wasn't writing
them to convince him or her.
She was writing them
to put that silly,
childish, dangerous
love for him
somewhere other than herself.
The irony is that,
in trying to protect herself
from her love for him, it
k*lled her, prolonged exposure
to nitrocellulose.
What does that have to do
with the letters, you ask.
- She burned them.
- No-- what?
You-- yeah, how'd--
how'd you get that?
- You told me you used
nitrocellulose to make
flash paper.
Before we started
filming today,
I was handling one of the
letters by the fireplace,
and you grabbed my arm
and told me to be careful.
- Nice one, Muffin.
It was the reason
why there were
so many more of his
Sunday letters than hers.
[flame crackles]
She burned hundreds
of them, trying
to get rid of that childish,
silly, dangerous love
that she put down
on flash paper.
The day that it
happened, I watched
as they argued like always.
I watched as he
drank like always.
And I watched as he wrote
those...
horrible lies about us,
lies that made him famous
while he made her hide.
I asked her, I said, Mommy, why
aren't you famous like daddy.
She said because I love him,
and love is...
a curse.
That night she told
me that she was
going to perform one
of her magic shows,
and I couldn't come.
The details are hazy.
I was a kid.
I waited for my father to go
down to get another bottle.
I snuck up into his study.
I saw the paper
in the typewriter.
I read the story that he
wrote about the witch.
That's when I heard his--
his footsteps on the stairs.
I-- I-- I-- I grabbed
the story and his letter opener
over the fireplace
for protection.
I didn't want people reading
what he wrote about my mother
as that awful witch.
And so I threw
the story in the fire.
And I tried to run,
but he grabbed me.
He grabbed me, and he was
trying to get to the letter
opener out of my hand.
Well, luckily all that practice
with sleight of hand--
ha--
87 cuts
and a whole lot of blood later.
My mommy came home.
I said we're finally free.
She saw the blood and the body.
She was-- she was
scared of me I think.
Yeah, like her husband's son.
So Noah Balance lives.
[ominous music ]
To realize after
his mother died
that the only real horrific
crime committed that night--
- Was that Sydney didn't love
you enough to keep you around.
- I tried to love you, Roberta.
I tried and I
tried and I tried,
but we're incompatible
just like my parents.
I didn't want us to end up like
them, so I had to let you go.
- I agree.
Really.
So if you'll allow me this
one last time, Frasier,
I'm interrupting
you to tell everyone
you are still the villain.
I spent every minute
putting this show together.
You say you did the research.
I tripled checked it.
- But, like, I
didn't do anything?
- Oh, no.
You wrote a few
lines that I kept in.
- Oh.
- You gave some
information that turns out
wasn't just intuition.
I read every Sunday
letter, every novel
pulled apart every lie
and detail from every guest
including you.
And you think you can come on
my show and lie to the world.
You think you can lie to me,
and I wouldn't notice.
- I--
- I didn't know
your real name,
but I know you
enough to know
that your entire story
is bullshit.
[whimsical tune ]
Two magicians that didn't
know how to love but
loved to make a dramatic
point through magic.
That's why you did this show
and tried to make a fool of me
on live TV.
- No, I didn't.
- You just couldn't resist
that dramatic reveal.
- No.
- Sydney didn't write her
letters on flash paper.
It's too delicate, volatile.
You said so yourself.
To say that she died
from handling it?
No.
She died from making
her own constantly.
- Hey, what are you doing?
- Oh, oh, here's
where it gets good.
Hey, Sandy, why don't
you roll clip 12 echo,
Cornelius finding the body.
- The show is over.
Roberta, it's over.
- Roll it.
- Your mommy taught
you every trick
she knew including how
to make a dramatic point
with nitrocellulose.
Residue was found
on Bernard's hands
and would have been found on
yours, too, if you were found.
Come on, Fries.
Let's go for a walk.
- Hey, hey.
- It'll be much more dramatic.
Sandy, roll clip
88 lima, Bernard
sitting Noah down at the desk.
You say you waited
until he left the room,
and you read his story.
No, you weren't
interested in his story.
You wanted to hurt him
for hurting the only person
you ever loved.
So you dramatically,
of course, set out to destroy
what he loved, his writing.
- Roll 57 indigo, Sandy.
They're secret passageways
throughout the house.
Webster used them to sneak
around all the time as did you.
So you went to the cellar
where Sydney kept the acid.
You doused
the manuscript, and you
ran back to hide in the walls.
So where's
the hidden staircase?
So he's there.
The back staircase is there.
- I tried to help you solve
it on live TV, but you didn't.
But you won't let
things go, so now you're
making a fool of yourself.
[rattling panel]
Listen to me when I tell
you for once, leave it.
- You really think this
story you're telling is true.
[ghostly tune]
Are you actually
this delusional?
Prove it's all
smoke and mirrors.
[scoffing]
[clacking]
So with a highly flammable
manuscript
in your hands,
you run up
the secret passage.
Let's go.
You waited in the walls,
waited for him to come back
drunk, unaware.
- Hope you're
getting some really
great footage of the,
like, bricks and nothing.
- You say you heard
footsteps on the stairs.
You heard him coming, so you
grab the letter opener, and--
- He was trying to k*ll me.
- --he caught you in here.
You didn't hear anything
because the music
was playing, as always.
[plucky tune ]
Sandy, roll golf 11.
He didn't catch
you by surprise.
It wasn't self-defense.
You waited here for him.
- You're wrong.
I know what happened.
You just can't accept anything
that isn't your version.
- You know,
the weapon is the one
thing that never made sense.
The letter opener?
Knife?
All those theories-- too
boring for this family.
There was no struggle
with the letter opener.
Cuts were too clean
like they were guided.
46 alpha, Sandy.
We knew about his physical
condition, his tremors.
Then there's the lack of blood
anywhere but the chair.
So you either k*lled
him in the chair
or somewhere else contained.
- I k*lled him with the letter
opener in self-defense.
Every night, that's what I
see because that is the truth.
- I wondered why
the k*ller wouldn't
just burn the pages entirely.
But you used them as bait.
You had them in your hand,
ready to go up in flames.
And as soon as he
came in the room,
you had your final
trick waiting
right behind the bookcase.
You told me
the truth many times.
Those few lines you
wrote, how could I--
it was all there.
38 delta, Sandy.
- I want to do the Moretti box.
- I told you no.
No.
- Roberta--
- 88 lima again.
Close on the title.
You know, I thought you came up
with a nice title for a story
that no one knew
the title to but--
- It's enough.
Please.
- There might not have been
a witch within the walls,
but there was a magician.
You gave me all the clues.
I decided not to see them.
- You're wrong.
- I can see it now.
I can see you.
[mysterious music ]
You throw the flaming
manuscript in here.
Bernard chases after it.
And waiting behind
the bookshelf
is, well,
magic.
It's your trick, Fries.
You sure you don't
want to be the one
to reveal it for the first
time after 30 years?
- Oh, you just can't
help yourself, can you?
OK.
[light piano ]
- Moretti's sword box.
[slicing]
That explains the lack
of blood anywhere else.
[slicing]
[thud]
Bernard chase is
after the manuscript.
[slicing]
Box is here waiting for him.
[slicing]
The door is open.
[squeaking]
Right, I can't help myself.
So your one last chance
in the spotlight.
[thunder rumbling softly]
[somber music ]
- I was a kid, I know what I--
- It wasn't self-defense.
[somber piano ]
87 times.
- He was gonna k*ll her.
- No.
She was going to leave.
- I saved her from him.
- And she left you anyways.
She didn't try
to fix what you did.
She hid the truth,
misdirected, moved the body,
planted evidence,
and then got rid of you
because she was selfish.
- She was innocent.
- Frasier, no one's innocent.
You k*lled your dad.
Your mom k*lled you.
You k*lled the man I loved.
- What did you do?
[sirens]
[Aaron Esposito and Katie
Chastain, "Beautiful Dreamer" ]
Beautiful dreamer
Out on the sea
[echoing music ]
Heard in the day
Was by the moonlight
- Frasier.
- I'll be in the car.
Beatiful dreamer
- I just--
I need to know.
- You wouldn't be
you if you didn't.
- If I'm that bad.
- You got one thing
wrong in your big finale.
You said that I couldn't
resist a dramatic reveal.
I thought I did
this whole thing
with you just for the ending.
No, Roberta, no.
I mean, yes, that's
why we met, but
then we fell in love, Muffin.
I tried to get out of it.
I-- you know I did.
I tried to get you to scrap
the show, but you--
you pushed because you're
unstoppable.
- And you're a f*cking monster.
Beautiful dreamer
Out on the sea
- Come on.
Buddy's got a date with
a prison cell in and good--
by the-- f*ck.
- Roberta, we're
back in 30 seconds.
[thunder cracking]
20 seconds.
[Kwncy, "Hope to Die" ]
Really tried
to get it right
Now we're bleeding
out of sight
You stabbed my heart
A thousand times
So tell me where
you get the knife
[slicing]
Cross my heart and
Hope to die
Tell me the truth
Just one f*cking time
Everything I did
Did I do it all for you
[knives slashing]
[knives slashing]
Blood on the floor
Now I'm covered
in blood, too
I'm guilty
I'm guilty, too
Cross my heart and
Hope to die
Cross my heart and
Hope to die
Tell me the truth
Just one f*cking time
The truth
Just for the last time
We're all out of time
We're all out of time
- Almost done
loading everything.
- Do you-- do you
have somewhere to go?
[thunder cracking]
- On to the next story.
[melodic piano ]
[thunder rumbling softly]
[Lukas Clay,
"m*rder in the First Degree" ]
I met you a stranger
A beautiful danger
Your siren song lured me
Into learned behavior
With equal parts caution
And unrequited hate
I fell for you
My fall from grace
I'm overthinking
every lie you said
I dream of vindication
And I dream your death
Bye
You k*lled the boy
I used to love
You k*lled the man
I could become
Premeditated first degree
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
You k*lled the boy
I used to know
You k*lled the man
That I call home
Premeditated first degree
Darling, how f*cked up are
Are we
Oh, why?
I lost you in August
You fight like
you're honest
When you kissed me goodbye
It hurt more
than you promised
And we change
with the seasons
And my body is healing
But your side of my life
remains untreated
The memories just
a consolation prize
I dream of vindication
And of your demise
You k*lled the boy
I used to love
You k*lled the man
I could become
Premeditated first degree
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
You k*lled the boy
I used to know
You k*lled the man
That I call home
Premeditated first degree
Darling, how f*cked up are
Are we
You k*lled the boy
You k*lled the boy
You k*lled the boy
I used to love
k*lled the man
You k*lled the man
You k*lled the man
I could become
Premeditated, medicated,
meditated first degree
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
k*lled the boy
You k*lled the boy
k*lled the boy
I used to love
k*lled the man
You k*lled the man
You k*lled the man
I could become
Premeditated, isolated,
orchestrated first degree
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
Darling, how
f*cked up are we
k*lled the boy
I used to know
I used to hold you
Twist the knife
You k*lled the man
And I'll remember that
For the rest of my life
You sat and waited
for the day
To demonstrate
the way you bleed
When my execution came
I didn't get
the chance to speak.
I still imagine
what would happen
If I didn't plant the knife
If things were different
We were kids
Then didn't need
to take our life
It's my confession
It's my death
And I submit my guilty plea
Darling, I f*cked up
It's m*rder
in the first degree
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A Thousand Cuts (2024)
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