Previously on Washington Black,,,
Why you stuck in this chair? Thinking, huh?
More like lost in one of them dreams again,
I met this girl, She's too fancy for me,
You are a child of England
and that is the skin that you must inhabit,
- Mr, William McGee, I presume, - We've decided that you shall marry,
I heard something earlier today,
Big fella come in on the ferry lookin' for a Black man,
George Washington Black,
- What do ya go by, boy? - Jack,
Jack Crawford, sir,
Christopher Wilde, I cannot wait
to hear the real reason that you're here,
Can't a man simply miss his dear brother?
I will also require certain physical elements,
The abolitionist requires a slave?
- You, tell me your name, - George Washington Black, sir,
Please, call me Titch,
You're going to be working with me from here on out,
I'm a scientist, you see?
How did you do that?
Brother! Do you recall Father's Cloud Cutter?
I don't recall ever being invited to participate
in one of your experiments,
My memory is perfectly intact,
Titch!
Wash?
What happened? What--
- Where are you hurt? - Not me,
What?
Master Philip,
Master Philip? What? Did--
Did he hurt you?
Where is he?
Gone,
Gone? You mean dead?
Yes,
God!
Did-- did anyone see you? Did-- did he say anything, Wash?
What will Master Erasmus do?
My brother is vengeful and most cruel,
He will hurt you in the most heinous ways he can imagine
just to make an example of you,
and he'll hold me responsible for all of it,
Please, will you help us leave?
Me and Kit?
Yes, we must leave,
But we lack the time and the room, and,,,
I do not say this to be unkind,
The ship would be anchored by adding another,
Do you understand the choice?
I can't stay,
Then it is time to fly, George Washington Black,
Where are my idiot brothers?
Fetch them for dinner,
- He isn't here, - Let's check the woods,
Come on!
The girl said Master Philip and the boy went up the north path,
Bags!
Dear God,
- Is that,,, - Master Philip,
They're onto us, Wash, Cut the ropes!
Do you hear it? They must be at the peak,
Split up, We'll find them,
She's going, Wash! She's going!
You can make it! Come on!
Come on!
Yeah!
Take my hand, Wash! Wash, take my hand!
Wash!
There!
You'll pay for this!
You're not getting away!
Well, good morning!
This worked out rather well, didn't it?
You warm enough? Huh?
Here, Put this on,
There we go,
Now, we're a proper aeronaut,
Now, see here,
Steering, altitude,
balloon volume, and barometric pressure,
Would be most unpleasant to find out
she's not fit for inclemencies after the fact,
Stormy weather,
She flies true, Wash,
We've done it, We've made magic,
Will I see her again?
Kit?
I'd say we've been up for about 12 hours,
Eight knots west at 270 degrees,
Now, the Cutter flies, indeed, but she requires our diligence to do so,
So come, time to work,
Now, let's take her down to the water, shall we?
On my command, I want you to close those blast valves,
Ready? Now, Wash!
-
Hold on tight!
- Now, we're flying!
Wash, look! Look!
I've seen those before, Titch, In the book you gave me!
"Delphinidae Tursiops,"
That's right, Dolphins!
Look at them jump!
-
Dolphins,
Whoo!
Okay,
Mr, McGee will be here shortly to discuss the wedding arrangements,
It is but a fortnight away,
Perhaps it's wise to wait until we've furthered our explorations,
The spawning season is nearly upon us,
We'll have our hands full with specimens,
He has set up an appointment for us
with a seamstress this coming Tuesday, Your dress fitting,
Watch your head comin' down,
So, your name is not Jack Crawford?
It's Washington Black?
And you sat your behind down in my home a good seven years,
and you never felt you could trust me?
Ain't about that,
When I'm ready for you, Medwin Nehemiah Harris,
I will call your name,
The man's story his to tell when he choose to tell it,
Easy for you to say, You knew this entire time,
Well, let me leave you men down here
to sort your men's business!
- Miss Angie! - Ah, ah, no!
She'll be alright, Just,,,
,,,give her a moment,
How do you know about this place?
Man I used to know, spent his life hiding runaways
till the people looking for 'em weren't looking no more,
Uh, you got a raised pallet over there for sleepin',
Got lanterns all around,
and you can keep the door open long as church isn't in service,
Yeah, You'll be safe,
Safe, while locked in a cage,
Mm,
Sorry, Medwin,
- Mm, - I am grateful,
Why look out for me like you do?
Only way Black folk gon' climb this mountain
is if we pull each other along,
You do that for everybody?
You kinfolk, island boy,
And that man who used to help people, I wish I coulda helped him better,
I will not let that happen again,
Hunters, fugitives, I've been through it before,
Time I go find this hunter, put a scare in him,
You take care,
Small calculation to set the course,
And we can settle in for the night,
Where are we going, Titch?
The grand adventure that awaits us!
I, the scientist, and you, the young apprentice,
traversing the atlas,
What do you say? Eh, Wash?
Now, this needs adjusting,
Titch, perhaps it's best to get away from the inclemencies,
Oh, my God!
Ah!
Hold on, Wash, Hold on!
Ah! We've got to get out of this storm!
Look! A light! A light! A light!
- Titch, look! - Huh?
Hold on to me! We're gonna take her down!
Ah!
- Get ready to jump! - Incoming!
Jump!
Secure the foresheet before we lose the mast!
See for the barrels and salvage what you can,
Save that molasses!
You! What is that thing?
You attack our ship?
No! No! My name is Christopher Wilde,
and this craft that you see docked here
is not--
- For the love of Christ! - Take cover!
Explain this!
Ah!
Ah, my good fellow,
Clearly, you must be in command,
As I was saying to your lady here,
we were aboard my Cloud Cutter conducting very important weather experiments,
Captain, I think this man is a spy,
- Toss him over! - What? No, no!
Now, see here! I am a scientist under the auspices
and with the full authority of His Majesty's Royal Science League,
Royal Science League, he says?
Yes! Now please, Captain,
if you could instruct your man here to collect our belongings,
Take this one below!
- Move it! - No! What? No, unhand me!
Unhand me, I say! Wash! Wash!
Titch! Titch!
You come with me, boy,
How long you up in that thing before it come down?
Who you frighten? Me?
Or that white man?
You,
Our people don't need to fear me,
Let's try the easy ones again,
State your name,
George Washington Black,
Mm-hmm,
They call me Wash, sir,
I look like a "sir" to you? Call me Barrington,
So, the white man, you belong to him?
What's his name?
His name is Titch,
This Titch, that why you trying to sound like a little Englishman?
I hear the islands in there, boy,
If I make a guess,,,
I say,,, Barbados,
Mm!
- Where are you from, Barrington? - I from Guyana,
Why you hit Titch?
Mm, you mean, why nobody kill me
for putting one good cuff on that white man?
We don't live by them rules,
We make we own,
First, man give respect to get respect,
That man, disrespectful,
I am no man's property,
Not since I choke a man with the chain he put on me,
But your skin,,,
like mine,
No matter how strong the bondage,,,
we never stop pushing back!
We fight!
Names like Cuffy, Bussa!
Ah, Him, you know,
He nearly burned the white man from Barbados,
But say his name, they take your tongue,
That is their fear holding the knife,
Fear turn man vicious,
- Barrington? - Hm?
- Is Titch alright? - Don't trouble your mind with that one,
Worry 'bout you,
Worry about who you'll be,
- White man do this, eh? - No,
I do it,
Eh,
Boy can draw,
Proper queue, gentlemen, and payment at the ready,
We accept all coin, spirit, sugar,
No deferments,
Second rule of this boat,
Man don't get what he deserve,
Man gets what he negotiates!
Halt! Theodora next!
Boy, do no such thing,
A toast then, to young Master Washington Black,
capturer of lost souls,
And to the Ave Maria, a boat that be full of 'em!
To the Captain, who saved us all, wherever he may be,
Captain Alvarez!
Is in his quarters, Where else would he be?
Uh, meant nothing by it, Barrington,
Just that the skipper hasn't been the same
- since he lost, uh,,, - Hm?
Maybe,,,
Maybe I set eyes on Titch soon?
Oh! Ah!
Mm!
Stupid piece of--
- Titch, - What?
Oh, heavens, you're a sight!
I brought you some food,
You are a godsend,
Mm, Look at us,
Grounded aeronauts,
You dressed for the Jolly Roger, apparently,
and I, now the one with liberty constrained,
Ah, the irony,
Quite the pickle, as my father would say,
Wonder what the old bastard would think if he could see me now,
Oh, Wash, I am so sorry,
- I thought I was saving you, - But it's safe here, Titch,
Look, they pay me to draw!
Do not trust them, They're pirates, Wash!
Pay no mind to their words and their kind-seeming gestures,
Man's true nature will reveal itself,
What's this you work on?
This ship has an engine driven by a perpetual motor,
which I'd love to know how they acquired,
And this piece,,,
,,,is its malfunctioning brain,
The engine has a brain?
If I can get it working again, they won't throw me overboard,
Might even let me up on deck for some blasted air,
I can help,
Ah, no, no, no, I'll get there eventually,
I do have a better use of your energy, though,
I've spent my nights in here dreaming about the Cloud Cutter,
I'm anxious to rebuild and sail the skies anew,
How, Titch? Huh?
Go topside, Washington,
You fix the motor yet?
It would appear not,
How did the lot of you come by a ship like this anyway?
- I mean, it's simply-- - Too advanced for our stupidity?
- No, I-- I didn't mean-- - Of course, you did,
In any case, we acquired it the same way you English do,
We stole it, It is new from the West India Concern,
- Prototype, I believe, - My God,
- The Royal Navy-- - They'll be after us,
But not soon enough to help you,
Cloud Man, you ever want to see the sky again?
Say what I say, maybe you get out the cage,
You play games with me, sir,
How much you pay the boy to draw your dream?
Get used to the chains, white man,
You see that up in the Cutter?
Dolphin swim like he want to fly, so I put him in the sky,
Black boy in the sky, What a thing,
That eye of yours, Captain have need for it,
You see him later,
Hey, Barrington?
- Hm? - Can Titch come up for some air?
We'll see,
Where those from?
Dahomey,
A friend gave them to me when I was little,
What you know about Dahomey, boy?
When I die, I wake up at home in Dahomey,
and I live on,
Hmm? Mm,
Heavy words for little youth, How you know of these things?
A friend,
Mm,
Been a long time I see one of those,
- In Guyana? - Mm!
How long you left?
Can-- Can I ask what you remember?
Water,
Everywhere,
Sea, river,
Blue water, brown,
Black,
Water no get enemy,
Only friend,
Wise words, From your friend?
Wise friend,
We take a swim one day, hmm? Me and you,,,
to celebrate wise friends,
Island boy can fly, but can't swim?
Come,
You see the water there?
Hm?
Oh, no, no! Whoa!
Somebody need to teach you how to swim, Washington Black,
- Who's there? - Relax, boy,
- Oh, - It's only me,
I brought you some goods,
Um,,,
Miss Angie,
Um,,,
You have to know that not-not telling you wasn't about not trusting you,
It was my own fear, I'm sorry,
We one family,
So, you can tell me the truth, Huh?
Any truth!
None of us can carry it all alone,
- I will, - Mm,
Wait, I know this girl,
You do?
She has a taste for some spices you only find in my shop,
I brought some by the house,
- Mm, it's Tanna, - That's her?
- Hey, this is your fancy girl? - Yes, but-- but she's not white,
And this is news how?
Maybe she can fool these other people,
but Black folks know their own,
There's something you might need to know,
I hear she's being courted by Mr, McGee,
that rich white man who owns the docks,
No,
No, I-- I don't believe that, That,,,
You barely know this child,
These sort of things don't always work, even if you want it,
I don't care if she's rich and fancy,
I see her and-- and she sees me,
Young and foolish,
Maybe she can walk between two worlds, but you can't,
Well, then, we'll create a world of our own,
No, I know that look, and the answer is no!
- Please, Miss Angie! - Are you out your mind?
If you go out there, those hunters will find you by sunrise!
And that's not if Medwin gets to you first!
He has you down here for a reason!
To protect you!
She breathes life into me,
I have to know what this is,
Maybe you don't understand,
Believe me, boy,
I, out of all people,,,
understand,
So, if you do,,,
can you ask her to meet me somewhere tonight?
You do know what you're risking?
Danger follows you now, and it will cling to her, too,
I've been taking risks my entire life,
This is no different,
Where?
Tell her Preston's Cove,,,
and she will see magic on the shore,
Come on!
You fix the motor?
For the love of God, man,
I will fix it, but just let me up on deck for a spell,
It's been days!
- You demanding? - I'm asking,
Please,
Know this, I let you free because of Washington,
I can walk on my own, thank you very much,
Where do you expect me to run to?
You have me!
Might I have a word?
Ill tides, indeed, if you be my company, Fancy Mouth,
Surely, I can't be all that bad,
I suppose I did cause quite the mess,
You cost us money, Fancy Mouth!
Then perhaps I might be of service,
You're carrying molasses, from what I see,
You see too much,
- Your eye them too big, - Yes,
Well, the thing is, I know where we might go,
We?
My fate is tied to yours now,
Royal Navy already hunting us,
Well, yes, they will do that if you steal ships on their maiden voyage,
Your mouth just can't help itself, can it?
And the word is "commandeered,"
We go to America,
Virginia, to be precise,
My family has an associate there,
And you can unload your goods, make a profit in a place
where the British won't venture,
So, will you talk to the Captain?
Perfect match,
Well done, boy,
We'll need one for each remaining barrel,
This means we negotiate,
Yes?
You one of us now?
We should make for Virginia,
Fancy Mouth has a contact for us to sell the molasses,
We sneak back to Brazil after,
or get a contract in the States,
Just let things die down a little bit,
Different plan, Somewhere else,
Cuba!
We duck the Royal Navy for weeks,
Now, you want to provoke the Spanish?
They crash into us,
We lose a third of our goods, gone,
Few places to sell the rest in these seas
where the British won't find and hang us,
But then, there's Cuba,
Conditions there be what we've heard,
The goods will fetch a markup,
Make us whole,
We said we would never go back there!
Situations change,
Cuba, it is,
Do you miss it, boy?
Your home?
Yes,
Do you miss your home, Mr, Captain?
Even now, what I would give for a touch of home,
A home filled with her,
When it happens, it takes up the smallest space inside you
till it is vast and all-consuming,
I'm sorry, I don't understand, When what happens?
A woman happens,
That doesn't sound good,
Then I don't explain it right,
Leave me be!
Cuba on the horizon, Captain,
We ha--
Havana Rosa?
This was never about the crew,
You lied to me, To all of us!
Cuba was not supposed to be about her!
You have us running from the British and the Spanish,
risk death for this?!
You agreed,
I'll follow you anywhere,,,
but not on a lie,
Crew of the Ave Maria!
Whoa! Halt!
Is mad, you gone mad?
I see clear as day, and I bring charges against our captain,
What charges you speak of?
Negligence, Wanton recklessness!
Do not listen to this madness!
Theodora! Stand down, woman!
Sweet Barrington, loyalty blind you,
Up to Captain, we'd be in a prison in Havana,
or at the bottom of the ocean in Haiti!
This man was willing to get us killed,
not for profit, but for chasing the cure to his ailment,
A woman,
A woman break him, and now the bottle is finishing the job,
You free yourself from what bound you,
All we have are our rules,
our trust!
Without them,,,
loyalty to him will end us all,
I'm sorry, my friend, but I am not ready to die,
You make charges and hold gun on the man?
Stand on your words,
If I am wrong, then I dead,
But if I am right, what say you, crew?!
Alvarez, as Captain,
I hereby exile you from the ship,
I'm sorry, Barrington,
You have no fault here,
Why do you have to go with him?
He's the one teach me to swim,
Choose the right one to teach you,
Keep me alive in here,
With your wise friend,
Come here,
Bring them down now,
On my mark, Lower away!
You came,
Thank you for meeting me here,
Angie told me where you'd be,
She has it on good authority that magic can be found here,
How are you?
You're the first person who's asked me that in some time,
I'm well, thank you,
So I can get a good look,
I might have a better idea,
You'll have to trust me,
It's beautiful,
Befits current company,
You have a way with words, Jack Crawford,
A lady might find her heart in jeopardy,
Your heart is as safe with me as though it were floating in water,
Tell me, where will you fly when your machine is done?
I'm going to fly across the ocean,,,
to the World Science Expo in London, and win,
- The World Science Expo? - Yes,
Extraordinary indeed,
And you? What is your dream?
One of the only things I remember
from when I lived with my mother,,,
was listening to her play the piano,
When I close my eyes, I can see it,
In my dream, I'm a composer,,,
of world-renown,
A woman captivating the world with her melodies and harmonies,,,
The flying man and the musician,
Some pair we are,
Um, I heard that,,,
Is this your surprise?
- Is this the magic? - Oh, I,,,
Yes, The bioluminescence,
- Do you like it? - I love it!
Oh!
We've only just met,
But, you're the first person who's really seen me,
I've never felt so free,
Thank you for this night, Jack Crawford,
What did you mean by, "you never felt so free"?
You are free,
I feel powerless too often,
Not in control of my own destiny,
That isn't what I see when I look at you,
How do you mean?
Your power,
It shines from you,
Jack, there's something I must share,
I'm,,,
Stop!
Move away from that lady!
Move away, boy,
Explain what you're doing here with him!
Well, I hired Mr, Crawford to take me out on the water for science!
That true? You a boatman?
Yes,
She wanted to see the bioluminescent jellyfish, sir,
I-I've studied them,
If you don't release Mr, Crawford this instance,
I will file a very unflattering complaint,
My benefactor, Mr, William McGee, will accompany me,
You do know who he is?
Keep your studying to daylight,
It'll be safer for both of you!
- Are you alright? - Uh, this,,,
This can't happen,
It's not the world we live in,
Jack!
We're both dreamers,
Can't we dream up a different world?
I wouldn't expect your kind to be welcome in a place like this,
No, No, not usually,
But most of the boys in here still need me and mine
to make life easier for 'em down on the docks,
So, we agree to disagree, You know what I mean?
These settlements are full of surprises,
Well, maybe you should figure out the lay of the land
before you put your feet up in a strange town,
Point taken,
Mister, uh,,, What was it again?
Ah, that's right,
Medwin Harris,
champion of beaten, broken Black bastards,
- How am I doing? - That's not bad,
Mr, John Willard?
At least that's the name you gave down at the stables
when you collected that wagon of yours, huh?
How am I doing?
I may almost like you, Mr, Harris,
And I don't much care for your kind,
The feeling's mutual, Mr, Willard,
I'm guessing you just see coin and opportunity when you look at us, huh?
A man has to make a livin',
Why don't you do it somewhere else?
I've been at my job a while, Mr, Harris,
It may be time to retire, enjoy the fruits of my labors,
But it's hard to close a book when a chapter remains incomplete,
The only one to get away,
Trail went cold eight years ago near Virginia,
It's been difficult to abide by that failure,
Then, I get word of a boy here conducting flyin' experiments
like a certain Christopher Wilde once did,
It's an unlikely coincidence,
Mm!
There ain't nobody up here that fit that description,
In fact, I reckon you and your hunters made so much noise,,,
he fled off,
See, what I would suggest is that you continue on up north,
Unlikely,
I've been granted a second chance, and I will make good,
Well, you done your research, so you already know,
I protect my people,
Funny, I do the same,
Hey, you know, there's just one thing I can't quite wrap my head around,
Why all that coin for a runaway?
That's what happens when you kill a white man,