Original release date: October 20, 2023
After restoring everyone’s memories, Cate experiences a seizure and unknowingly puts Marie, Jordan, and Andre in a trance where they explore her memories. Soldier Boy, who exists as Cate’s imaginary friend, warns them to find a way to escape before she enters a vegetative state that threatens them as well. The group journeys through Cate’s memories, from her first meeting with Shetty to befriending Luke in class. There, Luke exposes Andre for having cheated with Cate whilst he was alive. They flee from him and enter a memory of Jordan, who is revealed to have saved Brink from an angry Luke, earning their role as his teaching assistant. They see a memory of Luke and Sam being experimented on in the Woods, with Cate forcing Luke to forget about the events that transpired. Afterwards, they enter Marie’s memory of her parents’ deaths, in which her sister Annabeth accuses her of killing them on purpose. The trio finally confronts Cate and convinces her to take responsibility for her actions, causing all of them to awaken just as Sam and Emma appear. Sam lashes out at Cate but Emma talks him down. She reveals that Shetty had been using Sam to augment Luke’s power and that other kids are also experimented on. Meanwhile, Cardosa tests his virus on one of the kids, Betsy, causing her powers to weaken as she grows sick. Shetty orders him to concentrate the virus but it kills Betsy. Initially shocked, Shetty orders him to make it contagious.
* * *
Remember everything I made you forget.
Whoa.
Thanks.
So glad I had to relive that fucking nightmare.
I have to go get Sam. Also, you’re a cunt.
[Marie] Shetty made you do this?
You were in my fucking head.
Why?
I’m sorry.
You had no fucking right.
I thought I was…
Whoa. Hey.
…doing the right thing.
[Marie] How could she do this to us?
[Jordan] I’ll never forgive her for this.
[knocking]
[Marie] Andre?
I think she made Luke kill Brink.
And kill himself.
I don’t… I don’t think so.
I don’t… think she would do that.
No.
That is exactly what she does.
She makes you fall in love with her… and then she fucks you over.
No. This school fucks you over.
You know, getting into God U… was the best day of my life.
And it’s no different than the shithole I grew up in.
You know what’s wild? I can handle that.
I can even deal with the fact that my… my father’s a coward piece of shit.
But all of this?
After everything…
Cate?
I mean, she was fucked over just like the rest of us.
No. No. She was a part of it, Marie.
I think we should talk to her.
No.
Because then I’d just forgive her.
[Jordan] Help! I need some help in here!
Holy shit! What happened?
When she pushes too much, it fucks with her head.
Didn’t you learn CPR?
Where?
At superhero school? Jesus!
Her… her pulse is slowing.
Can you speed it up?
I don’t know. I-I, um…
What if it kills her?
Just do something.
[shaky breaths]
[slow heartbeats]
[heartbeats speeding up]
She’s breathing. She’s breathing.
Wh… When does she wake up?
[coughing]
[chains clinking]
Hello, Betsy. How are you feeling?
[grunts]
[chuckles] Interesting.
How long has she been like this?
Since I injected the virus, two days ago.
[coughing]
Is there any risk of us getting sick?
No, no.
None at all.
The virus only affects Supes.
It attaches to the Compound V in their blood.
This is payoff for all the work I’ve done with Sam.
A way to compassionately control Supes.
My report to Vought will be ready to submit today.
No. Not until we’re ready.
We are ready.
These results are exactly what they’ve been looking for.
It’s the very reason The Woods exists.
I agree with you, Dr. Cardosa, but we mustn’t get premature.
What do you mean?
Concentrate the dose.
Let’s see how sick we can make her.
[Betsy coughing]
Cate. Cate, can you hear us?
Has she ever pushed this much before?
Who cares?
This is what she gets for mind-raping her friends.
Holy shit, where’d she go?
[Dusty] Um, guys?
[rumbling]
What?
Oh, what the fuck?
[bricks clattering]
[Dusty] Oh, shit.
[Jordan] What’s happening?
Maybe Cate’s more powerful than we thought.
Whatever. I’m done with this shit.
[Marie] Andre, wait.
We don’t even know where we are.
Or what she did to us.
[thunder cracks]
[woman] Caleb!
Caleb?
[sobbing]
Who is that?
Come back! Please!
I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve been looking for three days.
Don’t. He’s only six years old.
[sniffles] Keep looking.
Caleb?
Caleb?
Yeah, that was Cate’s brother’s name.
The one she sent away.
Mommy? Mommy!
Cate, wait!
Just…
wait there.
Holy shit. This is a memory.
[Cate’s mom] I don’t feel safe with her.
[sighs] We’re in Cate’s head.
[young Cate] Mommy, it was an accident.
Why did Caleb listen to me?
He never does.
I don’t feel safe with her.
Okay.
Why don’t you come with me, Cate?
We’ll sort this out, all right?
Mommy, I didn’t mean to.
Hey, do you like dogs? We got a K9 unit over here, they’ll let you pet one.
All right? Just come with me.
[shaky breath]
Okay, just give me a little distance, would you?
[Soldier Boy] Hey!
[thunder rumbling]
What are you greasy sack of fuck nuts doing in here?
What in the fuck?
Soldier Boy?
What are you doing in here?
I’m Cate’s imaginary friend from when she was a kid.
Boyfriend, really.
I taught her how to jerk off.
Diddle that Skittle. Flick the bean.
How to find that man in the canoe.
She came like a faucet.
She’d crank up the Jonas Brothers and she’d hump a Soldier Boy pillow.
She’d raw-dog that pillow till she saw God.
Gross.
It was pretty romantic.
Hell yeah, brother.
Shut the fuck up.
Fuck you.
She…
She just didn’t like, she didn’t like Jonas Brothers, was all.
I know you.
Yeah, you’re Cate’s new fuckboy.
She really loves you.
But whatever.
Boys, they come and go.
But she always comes back to a little…
pillow talk.
[clicks tongue]
Fuck you.
You’re a Russian agent is what you are.
Andre. Bigger shit going on right now.
What the hell you talking about?
Turns out you were radicalized by the Russians.
Fuck you.
I’m no godless, dickless commie.
I’m red-blooded.
But not commie red.
Red-white-and-blue red.
I fart “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
You’re pretty fucking weird, dude.
Yeah? Knock knock. Who’s there?
Go fuck your face.
Okay. Fine. Whatever.
We need to know what’s going on.
Well, beats me.
Cate wants you in here for some reason.
You better figure it out quick, though, before you get stuck in here.
Wait, stuck in here?
Like forever?
[thunder rumbling]
[thunder cracks]
[Soldier Boy] See that?
That wasn’t lightning.
That was a burst blood vessel.
Cate’s head is unraveling in real time.
She becomes a vegetable, so do you.
All right, listen to me.
You really want to live, then the single most important thing I can tell you…
[thunder cracks]
Oh, shit. Soldier Boy’s dead.
If that’s what happens to her imaginary friend, what happens to us?
We should go.
Yeah.
That guy was a dick, right?
[thunder rumbling]
[door opens and closes]
You came back.
Heroes always come back, right?
You remembered.
Oh.
[both sigh]
I missed you.
For real?
For real-real.
Mm.
[both moan]
Should we…
You mean… You mean like sex?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes, just… I’ve, uh…
I’ve never…
Oh.
Like never?
I mean, my… hand.
And he’s competent.
[laughs]
But…
I want to.
With you.
Are you sure? I mean, there’s no pressure.
None.
Show me how.
[♪ Wolf Alice: “Don’t Delete the Kisses”]
♪ I see ♪
♪ The signs ♪
♪ Of a lifetime ♪
♪ You till I die…
Can I touch you?
[moans]
Here?
Uh-huh.
[panting]
♪ Irish goodbye ♪
Does that feel nice?
Uh-huh.
♪ What if ♪
♪ It’s not meant ♪
♪ For me? ♪
♪ Love…
What about…
…this?
Even better.
I’m gonna move your hand, okay?
Okay.
♪ What if it’s not meant for me…
[moaning]
Just…
[moaning]
[laughs]
[panting]
[moaning]
Oh, fuck.
Are you okay, Sam?
[moaning]
♪ Of a lifetime…
Oh. Oh, God.
[shouts] Oh, God.
[sighs]
What-what if, what if Cate is dying in the real world?
And what happens if she dies and we’re still in here?
[Dusty] Then kill me now.
Why am I here? I don’t even like Cate.
Can you bitches slow down, please?
[wood crackling]
[instructor]…function, derivative, and integral.
A function defines the connection between two variables, such as distance and time, temperature and volume, et cetera, in an equation.
[locks clunking]
[door creaking]
Keep your distance.
And don’t let her touch you.
[footfalls approaching]
[chuckles softly]
You can leave us.
Hello, Cate.
My name’s Indira.
[door locks]
I’m not afraid of you, Cate.
How long have they kept you here?
Nine years.
[Shetty] I am so sorry to hear that.
I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you to bear.
You don’t have to wear the gloves if you don’t want to.
I trust you.
I’m supposed to wear them whenever anyone’s here.
I’m here to help you.
What happened to your brother was a terrible tragedy.
It was an accident.
Now, I know that you think it’s your fault… but it’s not.
It was my fault.
My mother…
Your mother is afraid.
Because you are exceptionally powerful.
But keeping you in here will only fuel that fear.
What you need is help understanding your power.
Help controlling it.
I’ve tried. It doesn’t work.
Sometimes the thoughts are so loud, I feel like I’m going crazy.
What if I told you we could make the voices stop?
[voices whispering indistinctly]
If you take these every day… those voices won’t bother you anymore.
[whispering continues]
[shaky breath]
[whispering stops]
[contented sigh]
Would you like a hug? Yeah?
Come on.
Yeah.
I haven’t been to class in years.
Oh, my God.
Hey.
I’m Luke.
Cate.
You, uh… you seem pretty smart.
[chuckles]
Could I cheat off of you?
You’re gonna ride my coattails?
All the way to the top.
We-we should, we should leave, I-I can’t be here.
I miss you, man.
[chuckles softly]
I-I miss you, too, man.
So fucking much.
[both chuckling]
But you know what?
I don’t believe you.
[sighs]
You thought I didn’t know.
Know what?
Andre,
what’s he talking about?
[moaning]
Oh, we really shouldn’t do this.
Mm.
What if Luke finds out?
Yeah. Yeah, we really…
[moaning]
[screens click off]
How many times?
Are you fucking serious?
No.
Was that real?
She didn’t make you do it, did she?
You wanted to.
Behind my back.
I’m-I’m sorry.
I thought you were my best friend.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, out of my way, cunts!
Oh, Jesus.
I can’t switch.
My powers aren’t working either.
[crackling]
[Andre] Marie, Marie, Marie!
[Jordan] Run!
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
Seriously, Andre?
You’re that guy?
What, you don’t think I feel like a piece of shit?
[scoffs]
I loved her.
[Luke] Stop fucking lying to me.
[Brink] Hey, you need to calm down.
[Luke] No, I’m not gonna calm down unless you give me some answers.
[Brink] Luke, you know what I always tell you.
[Luke] No, fuck that, okay? I don’t want to hear any more of your bullshit…
Hey.
[muffled arguing]
Oh, shit.
[Marie] Do we think Cate’s in there?
She isn’t. This isn’t Cate’s memory.
[arguing continues]
It’s mine.
How?
How the fuck is it yours?
[knocking]
Professor Brink, you okay?
[Luke] What the fuck
was that, Brink?!
[Brink] I need some help in here.
What the fuck did you just do?
Where’s Sam? I want to see him right now.
What’s going on?
He’s a fucking liar.
Tell me everything.
What the hell is going on, Jordan?
[Brink] It’s all right, buddy.
It’s all right. I’ll tell you everything.
Just take it easy. Easy.
[Luke] You’re so full of shit.
Breathe.
Deep breath.
[gasps]
[phone beeps]
I need a response team in here now.
[shaky breaths]
Hmm.
Jordan.
What do I always say, huh?
Being a hero, it’s not about the glory.
It’s about… It’s about sacrifice.
I know, sir, but what the hell kind of sacrifice was that?
Well, Luke… Luke needs cutting-edge treatments, put him over the edge.
That boy could be Homelander strong.
But sometimes… sometimes he has a bad reaction.
If Luke’s getting cutting-edge treatments, I want ’em, too.
Always looking out for yourself, huh?
[thunder rumbles]
[Brink chuckles]
Kid, you got a strong head. You don’t need ’em.
Tell me, do you remember sitting in that chair, a scared-shitless freshman who never wanted to switch?
And I promised that I would always take good care of you.
Remember?
Now…
Jordan, people just don’t understand the lows it takes to reach great heights.
And so now I want you to promise me, as my new T.A., that you will always protect me.
Not a word of this to anyone.
You’re making me your T.A.?
That’s how you became Brink’s gatekeeper?
Of course. Because you’ve earned it.
Can I trust you?
Yes, sir.
I’m honored.
[both chuckling]
Good.
[Marie] So you knew.
You knew Golden Boy attacked Brink before.
I don’t know what I knew.
Looks like you knew a lot.
He said he was juicing Golden Boy!
What would any of you done?
Something, Jordan!
We could have stopped everything right here.
Saved someone.
Like we always wanted.
But instead we’re a fucking T.A. saving our own ass.
I loved Brink. He was good.
Or not.
But he was good to us.
He was nice to us.
Nice is all it takes for us to let someone get royally fucked?
You’re a coward.
And you always will be.
[sobbing]
♪ ♪
That… was… amazing.
[laughing]
I think I saw God.
Like 14 times.
[chuckles]
I think I saw… I mean…
Yeah, that was… that was good.
Just good?
You regret it, don’t you?
No.
No. The opposite.
You, and that, was amazing.
But… I don’t think I can do that 24/7.
I-I mean, maybe…
23/7.
[laughs]
I’m messed up, Emma.
You should be with someone that isn’t.
Well, maybe I want to be with you.
I mean, I’m messed up, too.
[whispering] I mean, I have really bad breath.
[chuckles]
It’s like really bad.
[laughing]
And we both smell like sweaty popcorn.
We do?
[laughing]
Is…
Is that… is that normal?
Yes.
Yes. Yes, we do.
Okay.
And no, it’s not.
[snorts]
I don’t mind.
I wish we could stay here forever.
Me, too.
Let’s run away together.
No.
♪ Probably shouldn’t be doing this right now…
No more running, Sam.
♪ Probably shouldn’t be doing this…
I know some people who can help us.
Trust me.
♪ Coming after you ♪
♪ But I’m here with you, here with you ♪
♪ Right now ♪
♪ Coming after you ♪
♪ Coming after you ♪
♪ But I’m here with you, here with you ♪
♪ Right now ♪♪
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[Marie] Oh, shit.
This is…
The Woods.
The Woods.
And the thing I don’t get is, that was my memory, not Cate’s.
It’s like her shit and our shit are bleeding together.
Yeah, let’s talk about your shit, actually.
Yeah.
I’m sorry, okay?
I bought into all of Brink’s bullshit.
He was just like Shetty, and I didn’t want to see it.
Fuck this place.
I’m gonna make it right. For Luke.
[gasps]
[monitor beeping steadily]
What the fuck are they doing?
[alarms beeping]
Wait.
What the fuck are you guys doing to me?!
Sam!
Hurry. Now.
Sam, wake up! Sam!
Cate…
Cate. Cate, help me.
Help me out of here.
I’m so sorry.
You’re gonna forget this is happening.
Cate, please.
You’re gonna forget about The Woods.
Your brother is dead.
Go to sleep.
[panting]
Forget. Forget. Forget.
Forget.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
Holy shit.
She knew everything from the fucking jump.
How many times do you think she did that to him?
A lot.
You think that’s what broke him?
Seems like it broke both of them.
[Cate] It’s not working.
I think it’s messing with his head.
He keeps remembering, like… like a dam breaking.
[Brink] Oh, he seems fine to me.
He’s burning hotter than ever.
You see? You’re helping him, Cate.
You’re doing a wonderful job.
Except…
Make them forget.
[glass cracking]
[thunder crashes]
We’re fucked.
Over there!
[thunder cracks]
Let’s go!
[all panting]
Oh, no.
I know that door.
[wood crackling]
[creaking]
[water dripping]
[Annabeth sobbing]
[Jordan] Is that you?
[sobbing]
Annabeth?
You killed them.
I… I’m not… I-I didn’t… I didn’t mean to, I…
You tell everyone you lost control, but you didn’t.
You were angry that they barged in, and-and everything that happened happened because you wanted it to.
No matter how hard you try to be a hero…
…you’ll always be a murderer to me.
I’ll never forgive you.
And you shouldn’t either.
I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry.
I-I ruined everything.
I-I didn’t understand my powers, I…
Like you, Cate!
You told me it wasn’t my fault!
None of this is our fault.
[Shetty] Your mom and dad wasn’t your fault.
[Marie] I’m not a monster.
[Cate] Your parents shot you up with a dangerous drug when you were a baby to make a buck off you.
Don’t spend a fucking minute crying over them.
[Shetty] What happened to your brother was an accident.
I know that you think it’s your fault, but it wasn’t.
[Cate] It is not your fault.
You shouldn’t be here.
Cate, we’re here now, trying to wake you up.
You can wake up right now. I won’t stop you anymore.
Come on, let’s all wake up and get the fuck out of here.
We’ve been through this. You’re fucked-up.
I’m fucked-up.
The one thing that is really apparent now is that we are all fucked-up.
I don’t want to wake up.
[Andre] No.
No, fuck that.
Doesn’t matter what the fuck you want.
Andre, I’m sorry.
No. No, sorry doesn’t cut it.
You want to forget your problems and not wake up?
No, fuck you.
Hey, hey, Andre.
No.
I didn’t want someone that I love to burrow into my fucking brain.
You manipulated us.
Me. You manipulated me.
And I know, I know that… your parents hurt you, that Shetty…
I see it. I see it.
But I wish you would’ve chose something different.
Because I love you and I don’t want to fucking love you because I’ll never trust you again.
But right now you have a choice.
You finally have a choice.
So wake the fuck up.
You don’t get to throw this all away.
Now I need you to remember.
Please.
So wake up.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[grunts]
[panting quietly]
Is this real?
Yes.
[whooshes]
[laughs]
Oh, thank God you’re here.
Holy shit. You found him.
Yeah.
You have sex hair.
No, I don’t.
Um, everyone, hi, we kind of met before, um…
This is Sam.
You.
Sam!
Sam, get off.
[whooshes]
[grunting]
[panting]
Sam.
Hey, listen.
Let her go.
She hurt you. And she hurt Luke.
But you don’t have to hurt her back.
You’re better than that. Hey.
Hey, look at me.
You trust me, right?
Let her go.
Hey.
I-I know you guys don’t trust me.
Yeah. And you’re gonna have to work really hard to get it back.
Let’s start with The Woods.
What is Shetty doing down there?
I don’t know.
They were using Sam to augment Luke’s powers, but they were doing other stuff to him, too.
And other kids.
What other stuff?
Bad stuff.
She hates us.
Shetty was directing it all.
Okay.
So she’s the answer.
We do this…
…and there’s no going back.
I-I don’t know what to do.
I didn’t mean to, I was just following orders.
We killed a Supe.
My God.
I-I mean, I thought she’d get the flu.
Some vomiting. Maybe diarrhea.
So the virus worked?
Only five millimeters more, that was all.
All right.
[breathes heavily]
Now can you make it contagious?
[♪ The Beautiful Distortion: “Hazy Shade of Winter”]
♪ Time, time, time ♪
♪ See what’s become of me ♪
♪ While I looked around for my possibilities ♪
♪ I was so hard to please ♪
♪ Look around ♪
♪ Leaves are brown ♪
♪ And the sky is a hazy shade of winter ♪
♪ Hear the Salvation Army band ♪
♪ Down by the riverside ♪
♪ It’s bound to be a better ride ♪
♪ Than what you’ve got planned ♪
♪ Carry a cup in your hand ♪
♪ Look around ♪
♪ Leaves are brown ♪
♪ And the sky is a hazy shade of winter ♪
♪ Hang on to your hopes, my friend ♪
♪ That’s an easy thing to say ♪
♪ But if your hopes should pass away ♪
♪ Simply pretend that you can build them again ♪
♪ Look around ♪
♪ Grass is high ♪
♪ Fields are ripe ♪
♪ It’s the springtime of my life ♪
♪ Seasons change with the scenery ♪
♪ Weaving time in a tapestry ♪
♪ Won’t you stop and remember me? ♪
♪ Look around, leaves are brown ♪
♪ And the sky is a hazy shade of winter ♪
♪ Look around ♪
♪ Leaves are brown ♪
♪ There’s a patch of snow on the ground ♪
♪ Look around, leaves are brown ♪
♪ There’s a patch of snow on the ground ♪♪
