04x04 - R.I.P (Rest in Pestilence) Abby Borden

[bunniefuu]

[lighter flicking]

- [flame ignites]
- [cigarette crackling]

[deep inhale]

[heavy exhale]

[man] Hey!

[man chuckles]

Hey.

- [woman] Hi.
- Where are you headed?

[woman] Uh, wherever you're going, sailor.

- That's where I'm headed.
- [man] Okay.

Well, why don't you hop in?
You know, we'll talk about it.

[woman] Alright.

[smooth music playing on stereo]

Okay.

♪ Here comes the love ♪

I'm Steve.

Hey, Steve.

I'm Lizzie.

Lizzie Borden.

[scoffs] What, uh... like the axe m*rder*r?

[chuckles softly]

I'm serious. I'm asking your name.

Aileen.

Okay.

Okay. What's your, um...

So, it's Aileen what?
What's your last name?

What the f*ck do you care
about my last name?

It's Wuornos. Why are you asking me that?

It's just, uh... nothing.

I just... I like to know
who somebody is before I--

Oh, you needed somebody's last name
before you f*ck 'em?

Well, we never said we were gonna...

Well, what the f*ck you pick me up for?

Isn't that why you f*cking picked me up?

- Well, kinda, if you wanted.
- f*ck.

Oh sh*t. Oh sh*t.

["Stumblin' In" by Suzi Quatro
and Chris Norman plays]

I f*cking love this song.

♪ Wherever you go ♪

[snapping]

♪ Whatever you do ♪

[snapping]

♪ You know these reckless thoughts of mine
Are following you ♪

♪ I'm fallin' for you ♪

Never mind.

[music stops]

You feel that, though?

- Feel what?
- The sonic pressure.

Sonic waves.

[Aileen sighs]

So, uh, what's it gonna be?

For 30 bucks, I'll suck your d*ck.


You can't come in it, though.

I got a hard and fast rule about that.
It's f*cking disgusting.

Okay, okay. Jeez.

Uh, yeah. Just, uh...

You know, yeah, that.

What? My a*s?

Yeah, I'd, uh... I'd like that.

f*ck yeah, you'd like that.

You're gonna love this a*s.

[tires squealing]

[Aileen] Hold on, hold on.

Where the f*ck are we going?

I... I thought we were going
to a motel or some sh*t.

I can't let anybody see me.

Alright, I've got a wife, kids at home.

[chuckling] Oh.

Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

Real hero.

Hey, do you want my money or not?

- [panting]
- [grunting]

[Aileen] Wait.

- Ow...
- [sighing]

No. [grunts]

Stop!

Stop it. That's hurtin'!

Goddammit. Stop. You're hurtin'--

God-- You're hurtin' me!

[shouts, gasps]

[man grunting, panting]

- [soundscape muffles]
- [somber music playing]

[moans loudly]

Ah!

[thuds]

[puffs]

Will you give me a ride?

No. [scoffs]
No, I don't pay just for the sex.

I... pay for you to leave.

Just hitchhike wherever you're going to.

[panting, huffs]

Well, I need my backpack, as*h*le.

Yeah, you left it in the car.

Ow.

[tense pulsating music builds]

- [g*nshots]
- [grunting]

[g*nshots echo in distance]

[wheezing]

[gentle music rises]

♪ Gave her mother 40 whacks ♪

♪ When she saw what she had done ♪

♪ Gave her father 41 ♪

- [shouts]
- [wet crunching]

[growling scream grows louder]

I told you not to come in my a*s, m*therf*cker.

[man wheezing]

[g*nshots firing]

[flies buzzing]

["Stumblin' In" continues playing]

♪ And so we begin ♪

♪ Foolishly layin' our hearts
On the table ♪

♪ Stumblin' in ♪

♪ Wherever you go ♪

♪ Whatever you do ♪

♪ You know these reckless thoughts of mine
Are following you ♪

♪ I'm fallin' for you ♪

♪ Whatever you do ♪

♪ 'Cause, baby, you've shown me
So many things that I never knew ♪

♪ Whatever it takes ♪

♪ Baby, I'll do for you ♪

♪ Our love is alive... ♪

Hey. Let's get the f*ck out of here, okay?

- Wait, what?
- Yeah, well, I'm bored now.

I want to get back to Lizzie.

- [woman] Couldn't you read to me for once?
- Yes, I could.

It's not like I can't read. I told you.
It's just not how my brain works.

Because if I'm reading, then...
then I... I can't absorb it.

Because I'm busy reading.

But you can read and absorb
at the same time, so you...

I feel like I keep explaining this.

No. Yeah, I get it.

Okay, so where were we?

We were right when, uh,
her stepmother kills all her doves.

Yeah, chapter four.

"Having slaughtered
Lizzie's precious doves,

Miss Borden elected to neither speak nor
dine with her until Lizzie apologized."

f*cking insane.

Apologize for what?
The b*tch k*lled her f*cking birds.

Oh yeah, that's... that's insane.

"And asked her to remove
the carcasses of the dead doves

and clean the dovecote of blood
and gore, lest it attract vermin."

Are you f*cking serious?

Come on, Lee. I didn't do anything.
I'm just reading this.

I know you're just reading,
but it's f*cking infuriating!

They'd treat Lizzie like that,

then suddenly,
she's the f*cking villain or some sh*t!

"On several occasions,
Lizzie approached her father,

who told her
he owed his loyalty to his wife."

It's not about loyalty!

- Jesus Christ!
- Lee!

- [Aileen] f*ck, damn it!
- Lee.

It's about that b*tch
murdering her f*cking birds.

I mean, I would f*cking take an axe
to that c**t right then and there,

and that one man... that one man she was
supposed to trust did nothing about it,

the one man who
should've been protecting her.

[pounding on door]

- [man] Shut the f*ck up!
- You shut the f*ck up!

Why don't you come over here?
I'll f*cking slit your throat, f*gg*t!

Aileen!

This is how women have had it
the whole time.

m*therf*ckers treat us like sh*t!

Society treats us like sh*t!

And we just... We're not allowed to react
how we should, right?

'Cause we just got to stay ladies.

And we just got to take it

and just eat sh*t sandwiches
every f*cking day

because that's what society expects.

That's what men expect.

So yeah, maybe we are going f*cking crazy.
You know what I mean?

And like those housewives.

Yeah, like, no wonder.
They're like, "f*ck this!"

"I'm gonna k*ll my husband
and munch some f*cking box."

"I'm done
with this piece of sh*t I married."

Yeah, I know.

Yeah.

And then...

[chuckles]

...here's Lizzie Borden.

She's just giving them

exactly what they had coming to 'em.

I mean, she gave the world a warning.

That women shouldn't stand
for this sh*t anymore.

I mean, the way women are treated,

still... to this day,

that's why I'm gonna do
something about it.

Oh, yeah. f*ck yeah, you are.

Oh, I'm gonna munch your box,
you're not careful.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

[panting]

- I f*cking love you.
- I f*cking love you.

[bed creaking]

[grunting]

[Abby] There are moments
in a person's life that bear recording.

[solemn orchestral music playing]

Yesterday was one of those days.

[Andrew farts]

Yesterday was the day I realized
this feeling of dissatisfaction

embedded in my soul

could not be wished away.

My life had never had any joy in it,

and it never would.

Yesterday was the day
I accepted a simple fact.

This is not enough.

If ever Andrew fulfilled my needs
of a sexual nature...

[groans, shudders]

...I don't remember the time.

In all these years with him,

not once did he locate my button.

- [woman gasping]
- [rhythmic thumping]

[clattering]

[both moan]

I had in the past
sought sexual satisfaction in others,

and did so once again.

[gasping, panting]

[both moaning]

[John moans]

[Abby exhales]

[Abby] But I always left feeling empty.

I fitted myself in the finest couture
by a Parisian master.

Needs a glove, perhaps.

Hm.

What is the occasion, may I ask?

None.

There's no occasion.

[bell jingles]

Of course,
I could have guessed that couture too,

or any worldly material pleasure
for that matter,

would fail to satisfy me.

[indistinct chattering]

[horse neighs]

I didn't know
what I was going to tell my husband.

All I knew was
I was going to tell him something.

[Lizzie] I'm trying to fortify myself
for what's to come.

I've started to read the story
of the Countess myself.

So you...

You read French now?

Un peu.

Just enough to get the gist.

The parts I don't understand,
I can fill in in my head.

I like it.

[Maggie] Hmm.

But...

What is "violée?"

It means r*ped.

Now you read to me.

I'm anxious

about what we're going to do.

And it will calm my nerves.

"She was just 13 years old...

and she caught the eye

of a peasant."

[unsettling music playing]

"It was Elizabetta's first sojourn
beyond the castle walls

without a chaperone."

"And finally, she felt free."

[bells tolling]

[music grows ominous]

[sighs]

[gasps]

[music ends]

[door creaking]

[wind whistling]

[indistinct chattering]

[mutters slur in Hungarian]

[somber orchestral music rises]

"He r*ped her three times,
and she fell pregnant."

[heavy groaning]

[shouting]

- [deep wail]
- [splashing]

[moaning continues]

- [wailing]
- [wet rippling]

[baby crying]

[huffs]

- [crying continues]
- [Elizabetta breathing deeply]

[baby settling and cooing]

{\an8}[in Hungarian]

[baby fussing]

[Elizabetta encouraging]

[baby crying]

- [crying stops]
- [water sloshing]

[bubbling]

[shouts in Hungarian]

[shouting]

[crying]

[shout echoing, fades]

[solemn music rises]

[Lizzie in English] "They drowned
her newborn before she had a chance

to name her."

"When her father's land
and title fell to her,

{\an8}she could finally seek her revenge."

[intriguing music playing]

- [sniffling]
- [girls whimpering]

{\an8}[in Hungarian]

Hm?

[crying and whimpering continues]

[knife unsheathing]

- [knife slicing]
- [sobbing]

[blood spilling]

- [blades being drawn]
- [girls screaming frantically]

- [slashing, plunging]
- [bodies thudding]

[girl screaming]

- [screaming fades]
- [blade work stops]

- [wind whistling]
- [birds chirping]

{\an8}[Lizzie in English] "But with
her r*pist dead, not by her hand,

{\an8}she was left forever unsatisfied."

[chilling tones rise]

[chilling tones fade]

[sighs]

Let's go over the plan one more time.

[tense music playing]

You have Charlotte.

I'll take Myrtle.

My axe will be
on Mrs. Borden's couch, under the pillow.

Yours is where?

[Maggie] Behind the mirror in the foyer.

Remember what happened
with Miss Manchester.

Don't aim for Mrs. Borden's gut.
Your axe will get stuck in her intestines.

You aim for her chest.

You let me go first.

I'll aim for her head.

Maggie.

- Yes?
- You can't freeze again.

I know.

I promise I'll try.
This time will be different.

- [bells ringing]
- [overlapping chatter]

Mr. Borden, I want out.

[sighs]

[choral music on radio]

[Andrew sniffs]

I'm asking for a divorce.

I wouldn't even ask for a divorce de jure,
simply a de facto one.

Oh, when you put it like that.

You were once so vivacious, Abby.

At some point you became bitter.

Your face sour,

like your mouth carried
the mildew taste of a dead womb.

[cork squeaks]

You're why I numb myself
with spirits and women.

I wish to... blot you out.

Well then, let me go.

Consider it a gift to yourself.

[sniffs]

Yes?

Yes.

[sharp sigh]

Well, of course there is the...
the question of money.

Money... is what you need, is it?

I want half.

No.

- Try again.
- Oh, you filthy old miser.

You don't spend a dime unless
it's on that inane collection of axes.

You're richer than Croesus.

You have more money
than you could spend in ten lifetimes.

[shouts] And what would you do with it?

I knew you wouldn't understand.
I wish for my life to be

utterly different, Andrew.

After a lifetime of dreary gray,

I wish to immerse myself
in... in art and... and letters

and society and... music.

- You dislike music.
- I will be a patron of the arts.

I... I will be surrounded by artists.

Strangers will become my dearest friends,

and this, this... life with you

will fade... into mist.

And that is all you need to know.

Payment has come due,

and pay me you will.

It'll be a scandal.

This divorce.

But I'm... glad of it.

I can finally be with my one true love.

Oh?

[scoffing laugh, sharp hiss]

And to which of your affairs
might you be referring?

Talking about my wife.

Every time that you and I were intimate...

I was thinking about her.

[somber music plays]

Now I'm free to be with her.

I wish you peace, Andrew.

[apprentice] Mrs. Borden.

Oh. Thank you.

Lizzie?

It's her.

[Abby] Lizzie!

- Here.
- No.

I can't. I want my wits about me.

[Abby] Lizzie, where are you?
I have something to say to you.

Coming, Mrs. Borden.

[somber music rises]

Yes?

[music fades]

What is it?

- [swallows]
- [clock ticking]

[Abby sighs]

I'm leaving.

[exhales] My bags are
sitting by the front door.

Soon I'll be on a train to New York City,
and that's the last you'll see of me.

I've taken my 50% of your father's worth.
It's here in this carpet bag.

I'd say that I wish you well,
but that would be a lie.

I wish you nothing,
because you've given me nothing.

Not one flicker of warmth,
not one moment of good feeling.

It is over, that is all.

I am leaving you,
and your father, and your sister.

I am leaving.

All... all right.

[Abby] What, is that it?

"All right"?

[scoffs]

[sighs]

[softly] I don't...

Lizzie, there's simply nothing to you!

It's as if you were half-birthed into
this world by that lucky mother of yours

who was so quickly rid
of her obligation to you.

Your sister, I didn't mind.

I never had to clean the sh*t
from her britches, but you! [huffs]

It was a... a prison sentence mothering you,

all of the back-breaking labor
and none of the love.

You are a debit I will never recoup.

You are a loss column
on the ledger of my days.

How cheaply we sell
our pearl of great worth.

How evil of me to let you steal
hour after hour of this precious life

with your empty stares and your... drivel.

A life wasted raising...

this.

I will now try to recoup.

Good day to you. [sniffs]

[footsteps approach]

Um, Mrs. Borden, wait.

What?

Mm... Might I be allowed to say something?

Of what sort?

I...

I don't know. I...

This is just very unexpected. I...

[hesitates] I mean, I know you and I
haven't had the warmest of interactions,

but still, to lose a sort of... mother

by just walking out the door,

it's...

It's not how I pictured today going.

There's... something
sort of unsatisfying about it.

[Abby] You don't say.

Get out of my way, dolt.

Mrs. Borden!

[soundscape slows and distorts]

Mrs. Borden, wait!

[distortion fades]

[sighs heavily] What?

[Lizzie] What about the fainting couch?

What about it?

It's ugly.

[tense tones resonate]

What did you just say
about my fainting couch?

I'll have you know
that is a precious heirloom.

I said it's ugly.

And it reminds me of you.

It hurts to hear you think of me
the way that you do, Mrs. Borden.

[scoffs]

As some kind of
colossal waste of your time,

from which you received no love,

no warmth,

whatsoever.

It feels very...

What?

Wrong.

Yes, well... some wrongs cannot be righted.

I don't mean wrong like that.
I mean incorrect.

You are incorrect in every way
as a person.

How dare you!

How dare you suggest
that I wasted your life!

That I deserve to be treated the way
that I was, as a two-year-old child!

Who hates a child
for soiling its own diaper?

What woman begrudges a child
because she wanted one of her own?

I was your own!

I was your child!

You were my mother!

You were the mother
I was so desperate for!

The only mother I can remember!

All my life you have made me feel like
there is something wrong with me.

There is nothing wrong with me!

It's you!

You're what's wrong!

It's a good thing you're barren,
Mrs. Borden, because you are not a mother.

Nature shriveled up your womb

to ensure nothing half as evil as you
ever entered the world.

You...

[grunts]

And you did not deserve
the love that I gave you.

I don't have to listen to this.

[Lizzie] Mrs. Borden.

[footsteps approach]

[Lizzie shrieks]

[gasping in shock]

[panicked breathing]

No, Maggie.

[footsteps clambering]

[suspenseful music rises]

She's mine.

[panting]

[suspenseful music builds steadily]

- [banging]
- [Abby] Come on!

[grunting, whimpering]

Come on!

[panting, gasping]

[doorknob rattling]

[banging on door]

[heaving breaths]

[light tense music playing]

[tense music rises steadily]

[quick gasp]

No, please don't! Please don't!
Don't! Maggie, make her stop!

[Abby yelps]

- [Lizzie exhales]
- [music stops]

- [Lizzie yelling]
- [wet crunching]

[muffled soundscape fades]

Now she's quiet.

[lavish instrumental playing]

[rain pattering]

[bird screeching]

[unsettling music playing]

[breathes deeply]

[gentle music playing]

Now Father.

["I'm On Fire" by Chromatics playing]

♪ Hey little girl, is your daddy home? ♪

♪ Will he go away
And leave you all alone? ♪

♪ I got a bad desire ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire ♪

♪ Tell me, now, baby
Is he good to you? ♪

♪ Does he do to you
The things that I do? ♪

♪ Oh no ♪

♪ I can take you higher ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire ♪

[lavish instrumental continues]

♪ Sometimes it's like someone took a knife
Baby, edgy and dull ♪

♪ And cut a six-inch valley
Through the middle of my soul ♪

♪ At night I wake up
With the sheets soaking wet ♪

♪ And a freight train running
Through the middle of my head ♪

♪ Only you ♪

♪ Can cool my desire ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire ♪