crazy people deserve friends too

Maxbass, North Dakota. Where it all began, at least for some. Natalie and Shoshanna enter the festival site in search of what was hidden.

Written by Naomi Alderman.

Scenes

Scene summaries may contain spoilers
1
Maxbass, North Dakota, is 20 miles south of the Canadian border. Natalie and Shoshanna have travelled for four days, riding with the Amtrak Infantry as far as possible. Natalie says her mother won tickets for the Maxbass festival from the radio. Now they can see the site of the festival, sealed off by the authorities with concrete and wire.
2
There are images painted on the perimeter wall that show the connectedness of all things. Shoshanna worries that it is some pagan ritual, but Natalie says that they aren't here to worship images, but to find out what the CIA did when she was here as a child. The painting is just what that thing feels like.
3
You can hear zombies inside, but Natalie knows exactly where you're going. She worries that Shoshanna thinks she's crazy, but Shoshanna says that crazy people deserve friends too. She deploys a zip cord and suction grips to climb the wall and helps Natalie up. Inside the walls are the remains of a 20-year-old festival... and zombies. You're heading towards the red building on the left. Shoshanna's carabiners fall with a clatter. Get running!
4
The way is impeded by sculptures similar to the mural outside. Natalie and Shoshanna pick off the zombies with headshots. Natalie spots a particular zombie and realises she knows her. Her name was Li-Yan and she lived in Seattle. She had a baby. Natalie has seen her in her dreams. Lots of them returned to the festival site. But the zombies are still coming. Run!
5
Natalie keeps getting flashes of memory from the zombies. Shoshanna asks if it would help to say Kaddish for them, but Natalie is reluctant. Shoshanna says that it's okay to to not believe in it. Lots of people have had their faith shaken by the zombies. Natalie is moved by this, and Shoshanna finds a clear space where they can say Kaddish, even if Natalie is the only one who remembers them.
6
Shoshanna speaks her prayer, and the world feels a little lighter for Natalie. She asks how Shoshanna goes on believing. Shoshanna says that if there are zombies and if Natalie can hear a tree talking in her mind, it makes even more sense that God exists. Natalie says some of the people they said prayers for came looking for the same thing she has. Something happened here. She gets a flash of memory and sees James swearing to get rid of people like them. You have to keep moving!
7
You enter a trailer, and Natalie sees it through James's eyes. She peels away the linoleum and finds a door set into the concrete base. You need to make Natalie's mind match Marigold's, just for a moment. Ready? The door clicks open. Natalie looks through the door, and the hole goes down a long way. It's a city.

Credits

Cast listings may contain spoilers
Crew
Writer
Naomi Alderman, Ishmael Hope & Rebecca Levene
Director
Ella Watts
Sound Designer
Matt Part
Series Created By
Naomi Alderman