Out of Time
Written By: Tom Fontana
Directed By: Barbara Kopple
Original Airdate: September 1, 1999
Transcribed: September 13, 1999. Last revised November 25, 1999.

Oz is the property of Tom Fontana, Barry Levinson, Rysher Entertainment, and HBO. This page is not authorized by any of the above. Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this page.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The rats, on the other hand, is a whole different story.

(Shot of Said praying in the hole.)

Lopresti: Hey, Said. Hey, I got a little gift for you here. (A rat is thrown in the hole and jumps on Said).

(In the hospital)

Nathan: OK, what've we got?

Said: I was bitten by a rat.

Nathan: Jesus! Can you take that? Lie back.

(In Rebadow's pod.)

Rebadow: Christmas Eve.

Busmalis: I think it's snowing.

Rebadow: When I was a boy this was the best night of all. Our house was full of music, lights, food, cousins. Em City is so empty.

Busmalis: Sure it is. We're in the middle of a lockdown cause the Aryans attacked the Muslims.

Rebadow: I'm getting a premonition like I used to when God would talk to me.

Busmalis: God would talk to you?

Rebadow: He would tell me what was going to happen.

Busmalis: And is he talking to you now? (Rebadow nods.) So what's he saying?

Rebadow: He says, be afraid.

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Sister Pete: Miguel, I, uh, I talked to Eugene and Tina yesterday. And, uh, they've decided they don't want to continue with the program.

Alvarez: Oh. Too bad. You know, I had a lot of things that I wanted to say to them.

Sister Pete: Well, you could say them to me.

Alvarez: It's not the same thing.

Sister Pete: Course not. I understand. There are certain things you should only say to certain people. Like, the warden. He's expecting you to tell him who raped his daughter. Are you prepared to do that?

Alvarez: No.

Sister Pete: Miguel, do you want to go back to solitary?

Alvarez: No.

Sister Pete: Then my advice is that you take this day, pray to God, look within, and make a choice.

(In the chapel during Christmas mass.)

Mukada: May Almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The mass has ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Inmates: Thanks be to God. Hallelujah.

Mukada: Merry Christmas, everybody.

Inmates: Merry Christmas, Father.

(Ryan approaches Alvarez on the way out of mass.)

Ryan: Yo, hermano. I hear Glynn is letting Hernandez, Guerra, and Ricardo back into Emerald City.

Alvarez: Yeah.

Ryan: If I was you I'd watch my ass.

Alvarez: Why is that?

Ryan: I saw how when they got busted you walked away. That's not too cool, bro, deserting your amigos like that.

Alvarez: Why don't you leave me the fuck alone.

Ryan: Hernandez is gonna be in a nasty ass mood, looking to take it out on someone, that's all I'm saying.

(Hernandez, Ricardo, and Guerra being released from ad seg.)

Ricardo: My sister will be here to see me.

Hernandez: Yeah, you sure?

Ricardo: Yeah, she knows how much I love Christmas.

(In Alvarez' pod.)

Hernandez: Miguelito, Feliz Navidad!

Guerra: Where'd you disappear to, man?

Alvarez: What do you mean, disappear?

Ricardo: All four of us are together, only three of us are cuffed.

Hernandez: C'mon, guys. Back up, man. You gotta forgive them, Miguelito. They had a lot of time to themselves to wonder about things. But me, I don't wonder. I know. You're not one of us. You never will be.

(Murphy comes in.)

Murphy: Why is it I get nervous seeing the four of you huddled in this pod together? Huh? Whoever don't live here, c'mon, vamoos. Let's go! Hernandez, for Christ's sake, it's Christmas. Take a break from being a tough guy. (Murphy leaves.)

Hernandez: He's right. Enjoy the day. It will be your last.

(In McManus' office.)

Alvarez: I made up my mind. I'm not gonna tell the warden anything about his daughter's rape.

Sister Pete: Are you sure about this? Have you really thought it through?

Alvarez: Yeah. I wanna go back to solitary.

McManus: OK, I'll make the arrangements. Transfer you out of here first thing tomorrow.

Alvarez: No, I wanna go right now.

McManus: Transfers take time.

Alvarez: Fuck that. I wanna go right now.

Sister Pete: Miguel, are you in danger? Because if you are we can put you in protective custody.

Alvarez: What difference does it make? You know, alone is alone. It's the way I've been my whole fucking life. I just don't belong in the world. I wanna be by myself. In solitary.

(In Em City.)

Ricardo: Whoa, whoa. She coming?

Murphy: She's not on the list.

Ricardo: Well, check it again.

Murphy: Ricardo, I double checked it. Your sister didn't schedule a visit. Nobody in your family did.

Hernandez: Carlo, it's time.

(In Alvarez' pod.)

Guerra: You leaving us, Alvarez?

Ricardo: Before you go, we wanna give you something.

(Guerra and Ricardo attack, Alvarez stabs Ricardo.)

Alvarez: First day I got here, I got stuck. Remember, you fucking cocksucker?

CO: Drop it! I said drop it!

CO #2: Ricardo's dead. Lockdown! Let's go, c'mon! Move it!

(Alvarez being put in solitary.)

Claire: Seasons Greetings, fuckwad!

(In the chapel.)

Mukada: Well, Alvarez is back in solitary. I guess the circle is complete.

Sister Pete: Ray, I am so sorry.

Mukada: Sorry? Is this an official confession?

Sister Pete: I should never have excluded you. Maybe if you had attended the sessions with Alvarez and Rivera things might have ended up differently.

Mukada: I doubt it. Well, there goes the baby Jesus, back in the box for another year. And the wisemen, Larry, Curly, and Moe. (Sister Pete laughs.) Pete, have you absolutely decided to stop being a nun?

Sister Pete: Well, you know, the process of getting out is just as hard as getting in. So by the time I'm done, who knows?

Mukada: I admire your courage.

Sister Pete: Sometimes it takes just as much courage to stay as to go.

Mukada: Maybe. But if the Magi had stayed in Persia, did what they were supposed to do, followed all the rules, they never would have seen God.

Sister Pete: Thank you.

(In Alvarez' cell.)

Glynn: I got word at home that you wanted to see me. That you wanted to talk about Artis' attack.

Alvarez: So you wanna know who raped her, right?

Glynn: Yes.

Alvarez: Why?

Glynn: So they can be punished.

Alvarez: What if I told you that the one who did it has already been punished?

Glynn: The name. I want the name.

Alvarez: Carlo Ricardo. He's been here the whole time.

(In the morgue as Ricardo is zipped into a body bag.)

Nathan: I'm sorry about your brother.

Margarita: Did you know him?

Nathan: No.

Margarita: Carlo could never rest. Maybe finally now he'll get some.

(Hill singing "God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen".)

(In Bellinger's cell.)

Bellinger: I was supposed to die this Thursday, the last execution of the millenium. But the governor heard that I'm pregnant and an hour ago he issued a temporary stay.

Sister Pete: Well, knowing Devlin he's just trying to sort through the political ramifications of putting to death a woman who got pregnant while in prison. You do know who the father is?

Bellinger: Why, yes. Of course.

Sister Pete: But you won't tell.

Bellinger: No.

Sister Pete: The list is easy to pare down.

Bellinger: The father doesn't matter. I want you to go to the governor and tell him to go forward with the execution.

Sister Pete: You, you want to die?

Bellinger: I have to die.

Sister Pete: Why?

Bellinger: I did kill my firstborn. Oh, I've said it. Some things aren't real till you say 'em out loud.

Sister Pete: I know.

Bellinger: My daughter. My precious. When she was born she was a joy. But bit by bit I began to see that there was something not quite right about her. Something not quite human. Otherworldly. I'd go into her room and above the bassinet there'd be flashes of fire.

Sister Pete: Fire?

Bellinger: Or she'd speak in tongues. One day she even made a plate levitate. That's when I began to see she was possessed of the devil.

Sister Pete: Did you, um, ever talk to anyone about this?

Bellinger: Who could I tell? My mother? The child's father, that lying bastard?

Sister Pete: Uh, well, your minister? Pediatrician?

Bellinger: They would have thought I was crazy. No, I knew the only way was to kill her myself. But every time I went to strike I didn't see the devil. I only saw my daughter's sweet face. So I put her in the car and drove into the lake and let her drown, half hoping, half expecting to see her rise up out of the water on Lucifer's back.

Sister Pete: All right. I'll see what I can do.

Bellinger: God bless you.

(In Glynn's office.)

Devlin: In three hours I'm hosting a party at the mansion for close to 400 people. Now what's all this about Shirley Bellinger?

Glynn: She wants to be executed.

Devlin: Well, good. That solves all my problems. A little something extra under the tree.

Sister Pete: Excuse me, governor, but there's one hitch. She's insane.

Devlin: She drowned her daughter. We knew that.

Sister Pete: The woman does not belong on death row. She should be in the state asylum.

Devlin: But if she wants to die, who are we to stand in her way?

Sister Pete: Governor, she is not fit to make that decision. She is certifiable and she is pregnant. And if you execute her you will be committing murder. Two murders.

Devlin: Transfer Bellinger. And Warden, I want you to end this lockdown.

Glynn: We don't have the situation under control.

Devlin: It's Christmas and I'm getting heat from the clergy, including the Cardinal, who will be at my party tonight. Let the inmates out.

(In Em City. The inmates are watching TV.)

Devlin: And so in the spirit of this blessed holiday season, I commute Shirley Bellinger's sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This action in no way affects my long-standing support for the death penalty.

(Shot of Bellinger being transferred.)

Bellinger: You betrayed me.

Sister Pete: I protected you, and your baby.

Bellinger: I want an abortion and if you all won't give me one I will kill this monster inside me myself.

Sister Pete: You are being sent to the Connelly Institute where you will be on 24 hour watch.

Bellinger: You're making a mistake. Mark my word. Next year this time you won't be celebrating Christmas, you'll be bowing down before Satan. The next millenium belongs to him. Satan's the father and I'm the virgin mother!

(Shot of Keller and Khan being released from the hole.)

(Shot of Schillinger and Beecher being released from the hospital.)

Beecher: Hey.

Keller: You're back.

Beecher: Yeah. So are you.

Keller: Yeah. Feeling better?

Beecher: I'm alive. Thanks to you. (Keller turns to go.) Keller, I just asked McManus to let you be my roommate again. (Keller nods.)

(In unit B.)

Wittlesey: Oh, boy. Schillinger's home.

Lopresti: He's not such a bad guy, Diane.

Wittlesey: What drugs are you on?

Lopresti: He's a shitload better than them.

Wittlesey: Them, as in niggers?

Lopresti: Yeah.

McManus: Hey Diane, wanna go to lunch?

Wittlesey: Sure.

(In the staff break room.)

McManus: That's the thing about an accusation like sexual harrassment. There's nothing I can do. I can't prove it, I can't disprove it. It just hangs there in the air.

Wittlesey: Becomes its own reality.

(Howell enters, interrupting the conversation.)

Howell: Cream puff?

Wittlesey: Hey, Howell? (Throws a punch.)

McManus: Diane, stop! (Tries to hold her back.)

Howell: Bitch! C'mon you cock, you fucking bitch!

McManus: (To other CO.) Can you stop her?

(McManus and CO pull Wittlesey and Howell apart)

(In the hospital.)

Nathan: Tell me if this is too tight, ok?

Glynn: What the hell happened?

McManus: Howell and Diane got into a fight. Over me.

Glynn: Christ.

McManus: Look, don't. OK, Leo, I don't want to hear any of your sanctimonious bullshit.

Glynn: I don't care what you want to hear. It's time you started taking responsibility for the shitstorms you create.

McManus: What? That's all I do, all day, every day, is take responsibility, Leo. For every fucking thing in Em City. And all I've ever looked to you for is a little support.

Glynn: I supported you.

McManus: Yeah, like with the thing with Wangler? You took his side right away.

Glynn: I did not!

McManus: Yeah, you took his fucking side! Like you always do. Like you do with Hill, like you do with Said, and even Clayton Hughes. All the brothers. No matter which side of the law.

Glynn: Are you saying I do that because they're black?

McManus: Well, read the score card, pal, and add it up for yourself.

Glynn: Fuck you, McManus!

McManus: Yeah, fuck me!

Nathan: Guys, guys, everybody's listening.

(Later in the hospital.)

Nathan: OK, you've healed sufficiently for me to remove the bandages. Now, I want to remind you both that there are gonna be some changes in your pigmentation but they're only temporary. Your skin should return to its normal appearance in six months to a year. OK? (To nurse.) Go ahead.

(Nurse cuts away bandages on Poet and Pierce to reveal the white pigmentation on their faces from the burns they received.)

Pierce: Damn!

Poet: I might be able to get a cab now.

(In unit B.)

Wangler: What's up, what up? All right?

Pierce: What up, dog?

Wangler: Damn, look at y'all. Y'all fucked up.

Pierce: Yeah, can you believe this shit, yo?

Poet: So what you doing out of Em City, yo?

Pierce: What the fuck we all doing out of Em City, is what I'm talking?

Wangler: It's only temporary. Adebisi got a plan.

Pierce: Adebisi?

Poet: Yo, I'm telling you, Adebisi gonna pay for what he did, yo.

Wangler: I'm with you. He gonna pay, but later. See, right now y'all need to listen and let me tell you what's what.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: In England, the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. I'm not exactly sure why, but in Oz, every day is a boxing day of sorts.

(In Em City.)

Ryan: I just heard a rumor that Glynn's thinking about cancelling the championship boxing match.

Murphy: Not cancelling, postponing.

Ryan: For how long?

Murphy: Indefinitely.

Ryan: Oh, man, that sucks.

Murphy: Life's full if disappointments, O'Reily. Think you would've grasped that by now.

(Ryan goes to the Muslims.)

Ryan: Hey, I need to talk to your man.

(In Glynn's office.)

Glynn: You got two minutes.

Ryan: Warden, people have been looking forward to this final bout for months.

Khan: If you postpone this, there will be unrest.

Glynn: I know. But last week we had a major confrontation between the Muslims and the Aryans, which you were a part of.

Khan: Schillinger attacked Said first.

Glynn: Look, I don't wanna get into who's responsible. You're all fucking responsible.

Ryan: Schillinger attacked Beecher too, and he's white.

Glynn: You trying to tell me it had nothing to do with race?

Ryan: Nothing? No. But there were other things at play. This is just two fighters fighting. Right, Hamid?

Khan: The best man should win.

Glynn: All right. I'll let the bout take place. But, without an audience.

Ryan: What?

Glynn: Just the fighters, the sidemen, the referee, and the judges.

Khan: Mmm-mmm, no way.

Glynn: Take it or leave it, gentlemen.

(In the gym.)

Wangler: Oh, Khan. Khan! Check this. Even though you beat me down, we betting on you to win.

Pancamo: Kick his butt, yeah Cyril.

Ryan: He ain't gonna let us down. He's the king. Show 'em.

Pancamo: He better win, O'Reily. Or you're up shit's creek with no paddle.

Ryan: Hit the fucking bag, Cyril. C'mon. Harder, c'mon. Hit that fucking bag.

(In the hospital, an orderly steals some drugs and passes them to Ryan.)

(In Em City.)

Stanislofsky: Officer Murphy. I was wondering, do you know where Ryan O'Reily is?

Murphy: Uh, he's at the gym.

Stanislofsky: Ah. Funny how he always asks for permission to go to gymnasium just before a fight.

Murphy: Why's that funny?

Stanislofsky: Forgive me. We Russians, we are suspicious of everyone.

(In the gym, Ryan is drugging Khan's water. Murphy comes in and stops him.)

Murphy: O'Reily. Hey, hey, hey! What're you doing?

Ryan: Fuck!

Murphy: Chloral Hydrate. Spiking Khan's spritzer with this shit? Huh? You been doing this all along? Drugging whoever Cyril boxed?

Ryan: I had to make sure he didn't get hurt. I had to show the rest of the fucks in here that the Irish still matter.

Murphy: If the others find out about this there'll be a fucking riot.

Ryan: Who says they have to find out? Maybe you never saw me, maybe you never even came in here.

Murphy: But I did. All right. Now you can wave the flag of Ireland all you want, me brother, but that fact does not change.

Ryan: So what happens next?

Murphy: The fight goes on, fair and square. No drugs. Cyril wins or loses by his own hands. This I'm gonna keep a secret. But if I find out you fucked with Khan, you're going to solitary, you hear me?

Ryan: How the fuck is Cyril gonna beat Khan?

Murphy: That's not my problem. C'mon, let's go.

(In Ryan and Cyril's pod.)

Ryan: Hey, yo, bro.

Cyril: I feel good, Ryan. I feel good.

Ryan: All right. Look, um, those other guys you fought, they were, um, they were kinda pussies, you know.

Cyril: Pussies?

Ryan: Yeah. But this Khan kid, he's tough.

Cyril: I'm tough.

Ryan: Yeah, I know you are. But, um, you're gonna have to be extra special tough when you fight him tomorrow. Cyril, I got a surprise for you.

Cyril: A surprise?

Ryan: Yeah. Um, Dad, he's coming to visit.

(In the visiting room.)

Mr. O'Reily: Godammit, fucking piece of shit. (Kicking the vending machine.) This Goddamned thing just ate my quarters. (Ryan and Cyril come in.) Well, I'm here. What's so fucking urgent? You told your Aunt Brenda it was life or death. I don't see anyone bleeding.

Ryan: It's been a long time, Dad. Been in Oz for over three years and you've never come to see me.

Mr. O'Reily: What's to see? I've been inside, I know what it's like.

Ryan: Even so, after Cyril got thrown in you coulda come.

Mr. O'Reily: What good's me being here gonna do any of us?

Cyril: I'm boxing.

Mr. O'Reily: What? Talk English.

Ryan: Why're you laughing?

Mr. O'Reily: Who's he boxing, another 'tard?

Ryan: No, he's in the finals to be the champion.

Mr. O'Reily: Oh, Jesus. And I thought Oz had balls. If a stooge like you can be a champion, Christ...

Ryan: Why do you always gotta shit on everything that we do?

Mr. O'Reily: Maybe because everything you do is shit.

Ryan: Yeah, well, look who taught us.

Mr. O'Reily: Don't start with that. I provided a good life for you. I gave you a good home and you fucked it up. Coupla two bit wiseass punks, drinking and whoring, just like that bitch, your mother.

Cyril: Shut up!

Mr. O'Reily: Fuck you!

Cyril: Shut up, shut up, shut up! (Mr. O'Reily smacks him, he leaves.)

Ryan: Thanks, dad. Came through for me just like always.

(In the gym during the boxing match.)

Arif: That's it, stick to jab. Stick to jab!

Ryan: C'mon! (Cyril falls and gets back up.) Take a breath and let's go. C'mon, keep it up. Keep your hands up, keep your hands up. (Cyril falls again.) He's all right, he's all right. Let him fight.

(The bell rings.)

Ryan: Sit down, c'mon, sit down.

Cyril: I wanna stop.

Ryan: No, no, there's no way you're fucking stopping.

Arif: Stay to the body.

Cyril: I want to stop, Ryan.

Ryan: No, you're not stopping. Look, look, look, don't think of him as Khan, all right? Shh. Think of him as dad.

Harif: The guy's got nothing. He's got nothing.

Cyril: Dad?

Ryan: Yeah, dad. All right. Be serious, ok? You got it? Now get out there. You got it, let's go.

(Bell rings for next round.)

Ryan: Dad! Dad! Dad! (Cyril has a flashback of his dad beating his mom, Ryan, and himself.) C'mon, Cyril, dad!

Arif: C'mon, Hamid, watch him!

Ryan: Dad! Dad! (More flashbacks.)

Harif: Clinch!

Ryan: Dad! Dad, Cyril!

(Cyril knocks Khan out and wins the match and championship.)

Ryan: Yeah! You did it, you fucking did it! You fucking did it! C'mere.

Cyril: I'm the champion!

Arif: Something's wrong with his leg! He's not moving! Get somebody! (Khan is still lying there) Khan, Khan, can you hear me? C'mon, get somebody! Talk to me, Khan. Can you hear me? C'mon.

Cyril: What happened?

Murphy: Get a doctor!

(In Ryan and Cyril's pod.)

Cyril: I hurt that man.

Ryan: Nah, he'll be fine.

Cyril: No. I hurt him bad. Why, Ryan? Why'd you make me hurt him?

Ryan: Just get ready to go to bed. Please, Cyril.

Cyril: No. Tell me. Why'd I have to hurt him?

Ryan: Would you just shut up please and get ready for bed? I'm tired.

Cyril: No, you answer me now. Why'd you make me think about Dad? And Mom? Why?

Ryan: To survive. Don't you fucking get it yet? To survive in this fucking hellhole. You want the Goddamned truth? Khan's brain damaged.

Cyril: No.

Ryan: Yeah. I saw it when he went down. His eyes went all vacant and shit.

Cyril: You mean I made him just like me?

Ryan: No. Worse.

(Cyril attacks Ryan.)

Ryan: No! Cyril, no!

(Cyril punches Ryan several times, screams, and breaks down crying. Ryan comforts him.)

(In Glynn's office.)

Khan's wife: Is there any chance of my husband coming out of this?

McManus: We had a specialist from Benchton Memorial to verify Dr. Nathan's diagnosis. And he agreed Hamid is irreversibly brain dead.

Glynn: He's on life support now.

Khan's wife: My husband wouldn't want to be kept alive by machine. Please take him off life support.

Glynn: Unfortunately, we can't do that. State law requires us to maintain treatment.

Khan's wife: But I'm his wife.

McManus: Ma'am, in this particular case, because he's a prisoner, your wishes, his wishes, would not be taken into consideration.

Khan's wife: You're the one who molested a young black inmate, aren't you?

McManus: I've been accused. It's not true.

Khan's wife: I find it unseemly to talk about my husband's life with him present.

Glynn: Mrs. Khan...

McManus: It's all right. I'll go. Again, I'm very sorry about what's happened.

Khan's wife: You're gonna be more than sorry, sir. I intend to sue this prison. First to get Hamid off life support. Second, for negligence. For allowing this boxing match to happen at all.

Glynn: Mrs. Khan, your husband knew the risks. He agreed voluntarily. He pushed for the fight.

Khan's wife: So you say. We'll let a jury decide what's true.

(In the hospital. Khan's wife is at his bedside. Said comes to offer support and prayers.)

(Hill narrating, with shots of various inmates' crimes.)

Hill: Everybody's worried about this Y2K problem. Come 2000 the computers are gonna have a nervous breakdown, planes will fall from the sky, the water supply will dry up, and the Pentagon will start shooting nuclear warheads at Canada. Some predict that prison doors will automatically spring open. But I got the solution. A do over. At the stroke of midnight, it's 1900 again. We get to do the whole fucking century over, I mean, because, let's face it, we didn't do such a hot job the first time around.

(In Em City.)

Beecher: New Year's Eve.

Said: Can you smell that?

Beecher: What?

Said: Hatred. There's hatred in the air.

Beecher: It's just an ordinary day in Oz.

Said: No, my friend, this is much worse. Look. Adebisi sitting with Arif. And all those white faces. Just clumped together. I'm very afraid of what might happen.

Beecher: You gonna do something about it?

Said: I can't. Three years ago, I made the riot happen. And all those deaths, I accept my guilt in that. Now. Finally. But this. I don't want any part of this. (Shots of the inmates segregated by race.)

(In the cafeteria.)

Wangler: You fucked up Khan. We gonna fuck you up.

Ryan: Yo, Bricks, back off bitch. That was a fucking accident.

Wangler: Back the fuck up and get out of my face.

Ryan: Feeling tall, little man? Huh? Fucking cock.

Adebisi: My father was also killed in this room.

Hughes: Keep moving.

Adebisi: Last year, I found my guide. He found me. Taught me my life, my soul, my heritage. And just like your father, they cut him down like an animal. Right over there, Jara died.

Hughes: Walk away, Adebisi.

Adebisi: Yes, be angry. Be angry. Cause these things are no coincidence. The waters run deep. I know who killed your father.

Hughes: What?

Adebisi: Yeah, you send Mukada to find answers. You get what they want you to hear.

Hughes: I got my answers from Glynn.

Adebisi: I ask around. I get truth.

Hughes: Which is?

Adebisi: Whose prints were on the shank? You have to wise up, my brother. Because they want you, too. I'll watch yours, and you watch mine.

Pancamo: Adebisi, move your ass!

(In the locker room.)

Lopresti: Man, I wish I'd been there to see fucking Khan go down.

Howell: Yeah, maybe Allah was out of town.

Lopresti: I told you, the best boxers aren't always negro.

Hughes: (Walks in from a shower.) Fuck you both.

(In Pancamo's pod.)

Pancamo: I'm concerned about the agitation that's out there since Khan got flattened.

Hernandez: I'm know what you mean, man. I hear a lot of shit coming out of your mouth.

Adebisi: It's not shit.

Hernandez: Look, I ain't saying you cocoa locos haven't been fucked over in life. I have been too. But all these noises you're making will fuck things up around here.

Pancamo: You can't move tits if you're in lockdown 24/7.

Adebisi: There are some things more important than tits. More important than money.

Hernandez: More important than money? He's in his loco mode again, man.

(In the cafeteria.)

Hoyt: What do you want?

Schillinger: The niggers are up to something.

Keller: The niggers are always up to something. So are you.

Schillinger: Look, I know there's been a lot of shit between us all over the years but we gotta put that aside. At least for now. We gotta be bound by the one thing that joins us all together. The color of our skin.

Beecher: I am not gonna listen to this shit. C'mon, Chris.

Keller: Wait a sec. I wanna hear what he has to say.

Stanislofsky: I'm Russian, and I'm a Jew. But I'm also white. So Schillinger, do you accept me as a part of your group?

Schillinger: Yes.

Beecher: Aw, fuck. (He leaves.)

Wangler: Hold up, man. Hold up. Here.

Hill: Why is this, what's up with you? First you're all buddies with Adebisi and now you're being nice to me? You've been wanting to stick me since Coyle got killed.

Wangler: Coyle's history, you know what I'm saying. I'm living in the right now. And what now is telling me, is that we're gonna get together and going down partying.

(Shots of two conversations being cut back and forth, one between Adebisi and the Muslims, one between Murphy and McManus.)

Adebisi: All is going well.

Murphy: Things are bad.

Arif: So what do we do next?

McManus: So what do we do?

Adebisi: We wait.

Murphy: We act first.

Adebisi: An opportunity will arise.

Murphy: The first opportunity, we let everyone know that we're still in charge.

Arif: Are you sure?

McManus: I don't know.

Adebisi: Yes.

Murphy: Trust me.

(In the mail room.)

Hill: Schillinger, would you tell those jerk offs in the mail room not to go through my magazines?

Schillinger: Part of the job. We inspect everything that comes into Oz.

Hill: Look, inspect is one thing. Beating off is another. I paid top dollar for Hustler. I don't want my pages all stuck together.

Schillinger: Keep moving.

(In Em City.)

Murphy: Line up! It's the holiday season so I try to be nice. What do I get? Place turns into a shithole. Garbage everywhere, unmade beds, turds in the toilet. No more. No fucking more. You clowns know the rules. Emerald City is supposed to be spotless. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. And so until this place is up to my standards, I'm gonna have to clear your minds of the clutter. I'm confiscating all skin magazines. (Sounds of complaint.) Gentlemen, hey gentlemen, you got a choice, you can either clean up your act or you can kiss the girls goodbye.

(In Hill's pod.)

Adebisi: This is what I'm talking about. What they do to us.

Hill: Adebisi, what you after, man? You want another riot? All it's gonna do is get more brothers killed.

Adebisi: See, we are the majority.

Hill: Yeah, but we don't have guns.

Adebisi: Some who wear a uniform are still our brothers and may be willing to help.

Hill: I'm gonna say this now. You fucking crazy.

Adebisi: You're either one of us, or one of them. (Gives Hill one of the confiscated magazines.)

(In Em City.)

Arif: Did it work?

Adebisi: I think yes.

(Hill comes out with the magazine.)

Murphy: What you got there, Hill? You want a trip to the hole?

Hill: I want a little fucking skin. Bad enough the governor got rid of conjugals, and now this. It's shit. You are shit!

Murphy: All right, that's it, the hole!

(Hill is thrown in the hole.)

(In a classroom.)

Adebisi: Again, and again, and again. (?) and Khan and now Hill. How many more of you before you wake up?

Arif: We must not let this brutality go unchallenged. The Koran tells us so. Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged. And indeed, God is able to give them victory.

Said: Why don't you finish the quote, Arif? The Koran is a book of love, not hate. It speaks to what is good in all of us. Allah knows no color. You are using the words for your own needs.

Arif: My needs? I suppose I made up racism?

Said: Arif, I lived on the same streets you did. I know what prejudice tastes like. I know what it is to walk into a room and be the only black man. Yes, we must right the wrongs that have been done but not this way, my brother.

Arif: Then how?

Said: Try and understand them.

Adebisi: No white man can truly understand what it is to be black.

Said: Nor us, them. The Koran says...

Adebisi: I don't give a shit what your Koran says.

Said: What exactly do you give a shit about, Adebisi?

Adebisi: Justice. Just like you. Set Hill free! Set Hill free!

(The other blacks take up the chant, spreading through Oz. The whites respond with "Shut the fuck up!". Oz is put in lockdown.)

(In the chapel.)

Glynn: The SORT team is in full readiness. I've decided to keep the entire prison in lockdown for the immediate future. I ask you to be careful and be ready for any possibilites. That's all.

Wittlesey: I can't go through this shit again.

McManus: It'll be all right.

Wittlesey: I'm gonna take my vacation time. If they don't let me do that, I'm gonna quit.

McManus: Diane...

Wittlesey: No, I'm serious. I will quit.

Howell: You afraid, Murph?

Murphy: Yeah, sure.

Howell: Yeah, me too.

(In Glynn's office.)

Hughes: Leo.

Glynn: Yeah.

Hughes: We can't hide behind the badge anymore.

Glynn: What do you mean?

Hughes: All these years you've been in the system, all these years you've worked for them. Caging in your own kind, don't you ever feel sometimes that you've betrayed your own people?

Glynn: No.

Hughes: No?

Glynn: The men who are locked in here, they're not my people. My people are the ones who obey the law. Go home, Clayton. You're fired.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: There's lots of folks who think the world is gonna end come the dawn of this new millenium. They think we'll see the second coming of Christ, the apocalype, armageddon, doomsday. They tie it all through God's great plan. Ask yourself, does God know it's January 1? Does he have his watch set for midnight and if he does, which timezone is he in? Man invented hours, days, and minutes. Man invented calendars and clocks. God's got his own timetable and it's stupid of us to think that we can set it for him. All we can do is watch the clock run out and hope for the best.

(In Oz, various places.)

Murphy: Happy New Year.

McManus: Yeah.

Beecher: Happy New Year.

Keller: Happy New Year.

Stanislofsky: (Saying Happy New Year in Russian)

Wangler: Happy New Year, motherfuckers!

Schillinger: Eat me, you little prick.

(Shots of Hernandez sleeping, Alvarez tearing up his cell, Ryan tucking his brother into bed.)

Ryan: Happy New Year, little brother.

(Shots of Khan in the hospital, Beecher and Keller kissing, Said and Arif praying.)

(Shot of Adebisi getting ready for bed. He throws the covers back and discovers a loaded gun. He spots Hughes watching him.)

(Hill narrating, with shots of various inmates in their cells.)

Hill: A bunch of men sit in cells on the brink of a new year, a new century, a new millenium. A thousand years. They stare into the future and all they see is themselves in those same cells. Black or white, here we are on the precipice. We either hang on or we fall off. Together, or separately. It's our choice. It's up to us. It's up to you and me. Happy New Year!