ROSE: Previously on Kings...
SILAS: Port Prosperity.
Issue peace. Real, Iasting. Six months hence.
(CRASHING) DAVID: Hey.
KING'S OWN: David Shepherd, you're under arrest.
On what charge? Treason.
SILAS: The bloody King of Carmel, Vesper Abadon.
I'm the only one who ever tells you the truth.
I'm pregnant.
Your father, he has eyes for David's blood.
If he knew, he would never Iet that child Iive.
King Silas framed this entire case.
Coerced witnesses, faked evidence, convinced me to Iie against David.
You're a traitor. You're both traitors. You're all traitors!
After seeing what Silas really is,
they'II be begging for his replacement.
We act now.
And the country will have its new King.
Yes.
I think you may have made a mistake.
What's this? Incentive.
To see if the tongue relied upon retains all its facility.
(EXCLAIMS)
Chocolate.
Cassis.
Vines grown in clay, roots at the surface.
(INHALES) Mmm. Mmm.
Oak there. Two years to mellow.
Ivano '61?
(GASPS)
So, you wanna stay King?
Gath to arrive at 1 0:00. Good.
The ceremony for the handover of Port Prosperity
is scheduled for 1 1 :00.
No, delay till noon.
David's gone.
No prison, no records.
He's made it Iike David never existed.
Politics is the priority now, hmm?
Soon we give Iand back to Gath
and your grandchildren, someday, will tug on your sleeve
and ask you what it was Iike when your father made peace.
A peace David brokered.
How can you sit here and cater his parties
after what he did to David, to Jack?
You have more to Iive for now than David.
If he knew what you carried, he'd say the same.
I already betrayed him once, I can't Iet him down again.
You want to have any chance of saving him,
you give the King a reason to say yes when you beg.
ABADON: You got yourself here,
and it's time to change or die.
You have to Iearn to Iive without air.
And for you, air is adoration.
Oh, is it wrong to seek the opinion of the people?
Of course, it is.
You're the best thing for them and they don't know it.
That's right. What would they have without Silas?
You. You see.
They owe you. Stop trying to win their approval.
It is better to be feared than Ioved,
necessary.
Maybe you once brought your country into a new day,
but that day is done.
Now, you rule by night.
(SIGHS)
Cutting out pictures?
I have to do something to pass the time,
and you've taken up all the pacing.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
WILLIAM: Captain...
JACK: Call this a safe house? I'm suffocating.
You have to get me out of here.
My father is the one that should be in prison, not me.
You said we would act now.
We are, Iisten.
He Iost their trust when the Treasury crashed,
their security when the city went dark.
Thanks to you, they all know he's a petty murderer.
Now he's giving away their Iand?
The people will beg you to take his place.
No one will remember the names your father called you.
Then it happens at Port Prosperity.
Your Iast hours as a prince. Savor them.
SILAS: My son...
Hang him.
My peace? You want to give Gath the Iand? Do it.
Those for, plant in front of the cameras.
Those against, plant in the dirt.
That simple?
Don't hide it.
Let the sun dapple the whole damn mess,
and anyone still plotting against you will do it
slipping in a blood puddle.
I'm trying to win my people back, not get them to hate me more.
They already think me a tyrant.
I know you, Silas, better than anyone.
(SCOFFS)
My worst enemy, now my only friend.
You're no tyrant.
But you could be, if you tried.
Things could get complicated after Port Prosperity.
I'II have the jet ready to take you first thing.
You don't want me around?
Well, I just want you safe.
What you're doing is so important.
I don't want to be safe, I want to be a part of it.
I can be useful, you'II see.
And Shepherd?
You need to kill him.
And soon.
He's watched over.
How do you kill someone whom God protects?
ABADON: Easy.
(CLICKING TONGUE)
With a bullet.
What the hell is that?
You've a Iot of catching up to do.
Feed him.
It'II be your Iast meal. When we give the Iand back to Gath, you die.
And I'II truly have peace.
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 1: And tomorrow, six months after King Silas announced
the return of these lands to Gath as part of the...
MALE ANNOUNCER 1 : Controversy surrounds the King's message,
and many think the handover of Port Prosperity is yet another misguided...
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 2: The country remains divided on the issue of the land return.
MALE ANNOUNCER 2: King Silas' judgment has been called into serious question
since his shocking outburst during the Shepherd trial.
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 3: He and the Gath Premier
will meet at Port Prosperity at noon tomorrow.
Some consider the price of peace too dear.
We open the gate, we close the gate.
I guess they' re still giving the Iand back, big day coming.
Yeah, we got to stay here.
The entire house staff has something to do with the ceremony,
and we got to stay at the gate.
This is our job, it's important.
How?
It just is.
The King approaches.
Tomorrow has come.
Some of you meet it with reproach and with the unkind thought
that the return of any Iand to an enemy is weakness.
Lose that thought, friends.
The handover of Port Prosperity will take place,
and Gath will be our unfiring chum.
In the name of peace,
I will crush any in the blessed event's way.
There are some still in their homes, sir, refusing to Ieave.
Any who have not vacated by the deadline will be arrested.
Any who resist arrest will be shot twice.
(MEN MURMURING)
Oh, say you have some dissent, please.
None at all, sir.
Shall I order a media blackout
to keep anyone from thinking you unsympathetic?
But I am unsympathetic to all those who oppose my will.
Send more cameras.
Let them remember it was my will
that built from the ashes this nation
and put in their mouth the right to complain,
but there are Iimits, now reached.
Go, do your jobs.
Sir.
What is the official statement on the fate of David Shepherd?
Who?
(ROSE CLAPPING)
You call to mind a much younger Silas.
Oh, I know this one.
He Iives off two hours' sleep in the fear of Iesser men.
He takes what he wants
and gets thanked for it.
Hmm? It's the old days come again.
They never Ieft.
(MOANS)
Here, now.
(CHUCKLES)
Yes.
Jack. Oh, forget Jack.
No, he's in hiding from you.
So he should be.
He's your son. Hmm?
Who once you held in the palm of your hand.
Whose Iaughter was God's greatest gift.
Not anymore.
Jack is assuredly under this family's Iegacy, hmm?
He Iives, or the crown dies with you.
Lucky I don't die.
I built this country with you.
I bound it to our family and name. Hmm?
You may have a will,
but I maximize your effect.
Tomorrow will be your greatest hour,
and you need at Ieast one smile by your side
that isn't trying to hold back the tears.
So Jack will stand beside you.
He will not be arrested and he will not be harmed.
You will acknowledge him,
and you will do this for me.
And if I don't?
You'II find yourself standing alone.
If he behaves, I won't cut his throat.
Interesting turn.
I got an unexpected call.
Your mother just begged you a pardon from Silas.
He should be begging for mine.
Good. Be angry.
But a king must also Iearn the value of humility.
This offers us an opportunity.
For what?
For you to be next to him, ready, when they hate him the most.
And then, just as he starts to bark his disgrace...
I come forward.
The world will see one king fall and another rise.
AII it will take is a Iittle pain.
Where is David?
Held temporarily underground
until we can find a more permanent place for him there.
Noon tomorrow,
David Shepherd ceases to exist.
Time to find a new boyfriend.
What if I already did?
What if I found someone and was seen with him?
Let the cameras and the country see that
the princess found someone she Iikes more than David Shepherd.
How he doesn't mean anything to her, and he shouldn't to them either.
What a mature young Iady you have become.
I want to say goodbye.
Better hurry.
MICHELLE: David.
(SIGHS)
There's no way to say sorry well enough.
You needed me and I Ieft you.
Did you think I was guilty?
No, but there was a reason.
I would have bet my Iife you'd be there for me.
(SIGHS) I did.
You didn't come.
I couldn't.
PIease, just Iet me explain.
I can't trust you, Michelle.
Nothing you say could matter to me.
Just keep your reasons.
Goodbye, David.
(DOG BARKING)
(WHIMPERING)
SOLDIER: Move! Let's go! Let's go! Everybody out!
Let's go!
(SCREAMING)
(SOLDIERS CLAMORING)
(GUNSHOT)
This is such an important day.
I'm so glad you asked me to come.
Me, too.
Are you sure you wouldn't rather be here with someone else?
I can't think of anyone as kind.
(CROWD CHANTING)
MAN: Silas, you're a murderer.
I'm proud of you.
For bringing Paul Lash?
Paul Lash is just a choice.
Most men are.
You understand the role you have to play now.
For the most part, it won't be enjoyable.
Oh, I know how to play pretty princess.
I've had the role since birth.
I mean your new role.
As mother, hmm? It changes everything.
Makes choices much easier.
When it starts to happen, you stay close.
Don't worry, no one ever sees me.
That's a good thing.
Look what happens to the ones who need to be seen.
He thinks it's all selfish.
CrossGen, our thick pocket Iining,
or our pockets swell for war.
There's a Ianguage to civilization
and a small group of scholars who can read it.
I was born fluent.
General Benjamin could barely make out the glyphs.
As King, he's Iost his glasses.
He can't see that war is just the fuel of progress.
Nothing gets made in peace, except art.
He changed.
I remember when we first met.
I really Iiked him.
He used to be so funny.
ABADON: Are you really not gonna eat any of that?
I can smell the meat from here.
Oh, shame to waste steak.
(CLANKING)
(CHUCKLES)
(EXCLAIMS)
Thank you.
(ABADON EXCLAIMS)
The girl?
The King's daughter.
(EXCLAIMS) Not bad.
It doesn't matter.
The King, in all his wisdom, set me up to die any minute.
That was my idea.
Sorry about that, David.
You know who I am?
Oh, I know Iots about you.
You gave me back my mind.
I was asleep for a Iong time.
(GRUNTS)
I talked to weevils in my mash,
filled books with garbage.
And then you came, rose Iike the sun,
and outshone the world's brightest star.
(CORK POPPING)
And then he came to me.
And I told him...
(LAUGHS)
I told him to block you out.
(SIGHS)
Bring back the night to turn into me.
And he Iistened.
And in helping him, I got my mind back.
At some point, he'II realize that I was up to no good,
and, boy, will he be mad.
Who are you?
I am the King.
You're a prisoner.
Don't suppose they tell in school of Vesper Abadon?
Only about his atrocities.
Hmm.
Interesting fellow, with his faults.
If he were alive, he'd probably tell you
that there is nothing to be afraid of in death.
Were you Ioved, David?
I'm not sure.
You were.
I saw that someone
whose heart will die when you do.
It's Iucky.
Even if it was just sky-fire fast.
Since I owe you double,
Iet me give you a parting gift,
your obol coin in the mouth.
It is always better to be Ioved than feared.
Some of us made the mistake the other way,
and it does not go well.
Die Ioved, you die happy.
I'd rather Iive miserable.
I Iike you.
(CHUCKLES)
It's time.
How?
Firing squad.
Gath has arrived, sir.
And they said it couldn't be done.
No, they didn't.
And the audience that awaits us?
Handpicked on both sides.
I come to beg forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a form of Iove, and I do not Iove you.
Silas... JACK: Yes, you do.
Kneel.
Now, kiss the ground I walk on.
Silas!
Your mouth's been in dirtier places.
That's the second time your mother's given you Iife.
It'II be the Iast.
(PLAYING FANFARE)
(CROWD CHEERING)
Last time we met, we weren't sure who should shake hands first.
Well, you've taken the Iiberty twice.
Now, Iet me then be the one to offer my hand.
What is it Iike, governing when the people have hope?
Unusual. And how has it been, governing when they are afraid?
Easier.
The men are in position.
As soon as Jack makes his move.
The people are ready for a new king,
so Iet's give them one.
SOLDIER: Captain David Shepherd, by order of the King,
you've been condemned to death.
What you have to say, we are ready to hear.
Peace is not a Iamb, but a Iion,
and it requires force and discipline.
Otherwise, it will go wild and feed on you.
I make no meek apology.
History will thank me. You will, too.
AII right, Jack, do it.
The sun says noon.
It is time to hand over this territory to Gath.
I have only ever Iived for peace.
I Iift my eyes to you,
and I know I'II find it.
Our cause is peace.
We've been on a Iong drift from God and it is the duty of the Ieader
to sense the tide and turn the salt-blind swimmer
towards where we can see the shore.
The natives are friendly.
MAN: (SHOUTING) Murderer!
(CROWD GASPING)
(GRUNTING)
Well, not all of them, hmm?
Ready.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
SILAS: Our people have been at odds for too Iong,
but that battle ends today. AII battles end today.
Aim.
(EXHALES)
And our Iand be your Iand.
Peace at any price.
Do it, Jack.
(CAMERAS CLICKING)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(SCREAMING)
Fire!
(CROWD CLAMORING)
(GUN FIRING)
(AMBULANCE SIRENS BLARING)
Oh, dear!
The King is shot. The King is shot.
(GASPS)
MALE ANNOUNCER 1: The King is dead.
We have unconfirmed reports that the King was fatally shot...
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 1 : These killings are believed to be the work of the Gath military,
who shot and killed 10 civilians during the ceremony.
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 2: King Silas' body is currently being taken
to an undisclosed location...
FEMALE ANNOUNCER 3: It is believed that the Prince
threw himself in front of the assassin 's bullet.
MALE ANNOUNCER 2: The handover of Port Prosperity has been canceled
and the future of peace is in question.
(DOOR OPENING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(SNIFFLES) You've come to tell me...
You've come to tell me he's dead.
Ma'am.
No, he can't be.
I know him.
He's harder than Iead.
He once Iooked at a man, and he fell dead of fright.
And you would have known this.
You see things of this size.
Did you see some sign?
No!
Silas does not die Iike this. He does not die.
Rose... Rose, he was just a man
after all,
more so today than ever.
Now your son and daughter, the country,
they are all going to Iook to you for how to mourn.
Shall we go and see the body?
Silas is not a body!
He is not dead!
Any moment, the King will walk through the door.
(TRUMPETS SOUND)
(SNIFFLING) Ah, the King, the King.
(SIGHS)
I didn't want it to be this way,
but we're here now.
I take my place. His place.
(SIGHS)
As you've always said, Mother, many times,
the people must see us be us, even when we're not.
We must be a family now.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
It's true then.
He's dead.
Mourn if you must.
I was worried you wouldn't make this.
It was you.
You saved my Iife. Why?
We're rid of the poison. My father's gone.
It's my turn to rule, and I want to do it well.
I need someone good around here.
I'II try to do right by your example.
I swear to you, from this moment on,
I am your friend.
(GASPING)
They took from us our best,
but we cannot Iet the work of rogues impede my father's best ambition,
peace.
To that end, Iet it be said, Iet it be known, Iet it be remembered,
that I, on the day of my melancholy ascension, saw through that goal.
But we need not give up our Iand to achieve that peace.
We can reach out to Gath...
Enough! We suffered enough peacock speeches under him.
If there's to be change, Iet's start there.
I don't speak the backwards Ianguage of kings,
so I'II talk plain. Silas is dead.
Killed by Gath assassins.
The media will confirm the story today. Jack will be King.
His first order will be to avenge his father's murder.
Gath has never wanted peace with us.
They want war, and we will give it to them.
Ready our planes to strike.
JACK: No.
Perhaps we should wait, mourn our Ioss,
not Iet grief cloud our good judgment.
The country doesn't want this.
WILLIAM: They will when we're attacked!
And Gath will strike, right here in Shiloh.
You can count on it. No. War is not the answer, as King.
Sit down, Jack.
The Reverend was right. Grief clouds judgment.
Our heir apparent has had a traumatic day, so until he has recovered properly
and mourned his Ioss, I'II help make his essential decisions.
You did this.
I've allied the media, the military, now our new King, all to this purpose.
And you used my son!
Neither you, nor he, nor any vagrant opinion will interrupt what...
And now you've got me doing it!
We attack! Today!
Father...
(WHISPERS) What?
They found his ambulance. There's no sign of him.
(AMBULANCE HORN HONKING) WILLIAM: Who?
Silas. He's gone.
Where is he?
If he's alive, he went somewhere to Iick his wounds.
Someone here knows something.
You?
I don't know, sir.
Hmm. He...
(GROANING)
WILLIAM: What about his pilgrimage?
Where'd he go?
Mmm...
Tell me.
(SHOUTS) Tell me! Stop this!
No one knows. Not even me.
Shot twice. Couldn't have gotten far.
Check every bush and cave.
No one Ieaves this building till I see a body!
You were at pilgrimage with him. You know where he is.
(WHISPERS) I can get you out of here.
My father had a secure passage built to AItar Mansion,
but he only ever showed the family.
Go.
David!
Be safe.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(CAR HONKING)
(SIREN BLARING)
David Shepherd!
(SIGHS) I need your help.
Anything you need. KLOTZ: What can we do?
I need to get out. Can you open that gate?
(CAR TIRES SCREECHING)
(GLASS SHATTERING)
(PEOPLE EXCLAIMING)
Mother.
Just tell me you didn't know.
Even if it's not true.
(DOOR OPENING)
Come. Time to greet your country.
Don't do this, Jack.
You don't owe him.
He's alive. I know it. He's alive, he'II come back
and he will kill us all.
Cameras are ready.
Where's David Shepherd?
Andrew, see if you can find anyone who knows anything about where he went.
If you do, bring them to me.
Of course.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
Have you come to finish me off?
(GUN COCKING)
I'm not here for that.
Or maybe plant a garden?
(SIGHS)
Jack has named himself King,
but only as a puppet. Cross is the real power.
He wants a war with Gath that will never end.
(SIGHS)
Someone had to win.
(SILAS GROANS)
Don't you understand?
Everything you ever built will be destroyed unless you go back!
I'm done, boy, read the signs.
(SILAS SIGHING)
What about your country?
Hmm?
No, you don't deserve to die Ioved.
You don't deserve it, you son of a bitch!
Get up!
After all the wrong you've done to them, to me!
I fought for you. I believed in you. We all did!
(WHISPERS) You told us you were chosen to Iead.
Was that a Iie?
Or did God just make a mistake?
SETH: Daddy...
Come here, puppy.
Are you Ieaving again?
Remember what I said about working for the King?
I am the King.