A silent movie plays of a sheriff being pursued by a man in a mask and cape. The man finally lassos Bass and pulls him from his horse. The congregation comes out from a nearby church and the preacher asks the masked man what he's done to their sheriff. The masked man says that the sheriff is a scoundrel who stole their cattle and doesn't deserve his badge. When the preacher wonders who the stranger is, the stranger removes his mask to reveal that he's Bass Reeves, the Black Marshal of Oklahoma.
Tulsa, 1921
A young black boy sits in the theater and watches the movie, and mouths along with Bass on the screen as he says that they won't resort to mob violence. A siren sounds outside and the woman playing the piano breaks into tears. The building shakes and the woman runs to her son. The father comes in, gives his gun to his wife, picks up his son, and says that they have to go.
Outside, people panic and run through the streets. A plane flies overhead, gunning down blacks. White-robed men back blacks up against a truck, and the family watches as people burn down stores. The family runs down a side street and duck into an autoshop, and the blacks inside tell them that there isn't any room for them. The father says that they should take his son, and the mother tells her son that it will be okay and they'll be right behind him. After writing a note, the father gives it to his son and puts it in his pocket as he puts the boy in the car. He tells his son to be strong and the car drives off. Bullets go through the crate the boy is hiding in, and he looks out to see more whites dragging dead blacks down the street. Behind him, the autoshop blows up as plane drops a bomb on it.
Later, the boy wakes up on grass and sits up. The car is on its side and the mechanic and his wife are shot dead. The boy checks the note, which says, "Watch over this boy", then puts it back in his pocket. The dead blacks' baby cries, and the boy picks it up, says that she's okay, and walks away as Tulsa burns behind him.
Now
A man drives down the highway, and a police car pulls him over. The driver pulls over and the police car pulls up behind them. An officer comes over and asks the driver, Carmichael, if he consents to their interaction being recorded. Carmichael agrees and says that he's hauling lettuce, and asks to look at the officers face. The masked officer takes offense and Carmichael apologizes. The officer asks for Carmichael's license and registration, and Carmichael slowly takes them out from the glove compartment and hands them over. Back in his car, the officer--Charlie Sutton--removes his mask and calls in. Panda comes on the line, and Charlie tells him that he made a traffic stop and he saw Kavalry contraband in his truck. Charlie reaches for his gun, locked in, and requests for its release.
Panda asks for details and Charlie says that he saw a Rorschach mask. The other officer asks for the probability of drugs, alcohol, and explosives in the truck, and Charlie says that the probability is high. Charlie insists that the threat level is high, and Panda hits the buzzer. The lock finally releases, and Carmichael opens fire through the windshield, wounding Charlie. Carmichael, wearing the Rorschach mask, tosses a head of lettuce from his truck through the shattered windshield and gets in his truck.
An audience watches a production of Oklahoma. All of the cast and much of the audience is black, and Judd and Jane Crawford are in the audience. A police officer comes in and tells Judd about the shooting, and Judd excuses himself. He goes to the hospital where Charlie is in a hospital bed. Judd sends the nurse to wait outside and has the watching detective, Looking Glass, confirm that he's run a background check on the hospital staff.
Later, Looking Glass tells Judd that they're searching for Carmichael but they're unlikely to find him. He figures the Kavalry was involved and asks if Judd wants him to call in Red Scare and Knight. Judd tells Looking Glass to let them sleep and wonders why the Kavalry is starting things up again. Looking Glass says that there was a head of romaine lettuce in the police car, and Judd checks his newly-donned uniform in the reflection of Looking Glass' mask.
Judd goes to the Sutton house and tells Roberta Sutton about her husband's injury. He says that they're going to move Charlie to their secure medical facility after he's out of surgery, and asks if Charlie told anyone that he's police. Roberta points out that doing so is against the rules and insists that he didn't, and he said he was going to night school for engineering. Judd says that they'll claim it was a carjacking and it keeps everyone safe, and Roberta tells him that Charlie liked him.
The next day at Career Day, Angela Abar demonstrates cooking for her son's class. The children eat the Vietnamese treats that Angela has provided, and the teacher Ms. Sweetwater asks if she was born in the U.S. before Vietnam became a state. Angela says that it was a couple of years before, and her son Topher glares at her. She tells the class that she moved to Tulsa and became a police officer for awhile and then retired. When a student asks why, Angela says that she was one of the cops who were attacked on the White Night. The criminals knew where she lived, came to her house, and shot her. As Angela describes how she was shot, Ms. Sweetwater interrupts and Angela says that cooking was better than being shot. Another student, Tommy, asks if Angela paid for her bakery with Redfordations, and Topher attacks him.
Later, Angela drives Topher home and asks her son why he hit Tommy. Topher figures that Angela wanted to hit Tommy and says that he's a racist. Sirens go off and everyone pulls over, and miniature squid rain down from the sky. Once the storm is over, Angela gets out and cleans off the windshield. She gets back in the car and drives off.
Later at home, Angela finds her husband Cal and daughter Emma spraying squid off the sidewalk. Cal gives Angela her pager and says it's been going off all morning. Angela tells Cal that she has to go to the bakery and Cal confirms that he'll pick up Rosie from school. She kisses Emma goodbye and leaves.
Angela arrives at the closed bakery and a wheelchair-bound man, Will Reeves, asks her when it's going to open. He says that he'll wait when she tells him it'll open in a few months, and asks if she thinks he could lift 200 pounds. Angela goes inside and locks the door behind her, goes to a locked vault, and dons her police costume of Sister Night. She drives a mirror-windshielded car out a back alley, kicks her way into a trailer at a trailer court, and punches the man inside. Sister Night then drives to an underground parking garage and takes the elevator up to the police station.
Sister Night arrives in a room where the other detectives are watching a video from the Kavalry boasting that soon the gutters will overflow with blood, and they will never compromise. As the spokesman and his minions chant "Tick tock", Sister Night enters the room. Judd tells his men that the Kavalry are back after three years of peace, and they know where there are. He tells his officers to roll into Nixonville and round them up, and tells Panda to buzz out the guns. Panda opens the regulations book and notes that the majority of the officers have to believe that their lives are in danger. The officers all say that they do, and Judd tells Panda to unlock the guns. Panda warns him that he's making a mistake, and Judd says that it's his funeral.
Judd goes to his office and finds Angela waiting for him. She wonders why he didn't call her, and figures he was mad that her sitter bailed so she could be at Oklahoma with him. Angela tells him that there's a guy in her trunk who is likely with the Kavalry, and asks if she should put him in the Pod. Judd tells her to do it, and Angela put on her mask and leaves.
In the Pod, Looking Glass interrogates the manacled Suspect. The Suspect demands his lawyer, and Looking Glass says they don't have to do that with terrorists. Looking Glass brings up images on the walls and questions the Suspect as images of advertisements and historical figures come up. The detective continues asking him if he's a member of the Kavalry as the images flash faster and faster. Looking Glass finally stops the images and goes outside, and tells Sister Night and the other detectives that the Suspect knows based on his reactions to the images.
Sister night and the others take the Suspect out, and she apologizes for how she treated him. She then shoves him into a room and beats him, and blood flows under the door. After a minute, Sister Night comes out alone and says they're going to the Cattle Ranch.
That night, the detectives move through a field of cattle. Judd and Pirate Jennie are monitoring the situation and reports a headcount of four, maybe five.
Inside the ranch house, the supremacists remove lithium from wristwatches. An alarm goes off and they pack everything up. Judd picks up their movement and orders his people in. Meanwhile, the Kavalry men reveal a machine gun and open fire on the detectives. The cows stampede and some of them go down, and the detectives return fire. Two of the supremacists head for a plane and prepare to take off.
When the shooters stoop to reload, Sister Night moves in and shoots one dead. The other one runs in the ranch house and when Sister Night goes in after him, he turns and attacks her. She finally grabs her gun and tells him to surrender, and he takes a cyanide pill and dies. Red Scare comes in and Sister Night confirms that the shooter is dead, and outside the plane takes off. Judd and Pirate Jennie take up the airship that they're in and hit the plane with a flamethrower, destroying it. The airship, too close to the plane, goes down into the forest beneath, and Judd and Pirate Jennie emerge. Judd and Sister Night, who has run over, both laugh in relief.
At a manor, Adrian Veidt rides a pale horse around the grounds. He goes inside and types while his housemaid, Mrs. Crookshanks, brushes him down. The butler Mr. Phillips comes in and offers to dress Adrian, and reminds him that it's his anniversary. At dinner, Crookshanks and Phillips sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" to Adrian and serve cake, and Adrian blows out the one candle on it. Mr. Phillips offers Adrian a horseshoe to cut it, and Adrian points out that it's a horseshoe rather than a knife. The butler apologizes but Adrian takes a bite of the cake with his fork and eats it. Mr. Phillips presents Adrian with a pocketwatch and wishes him a happy anniversary, saying that he did his best to make it function after Adrian discarded it. Adrian assures him that it's exquisite and says that he's writing a play, The Watchmaker's Son, and wants the two of them to play the leading roles.
The Abars and the Crawfords have dinner together, and Judd mentions that he got ditched for Oklahoma. Cal wonders what he means, and Angela admits that she didn't tell him. Angela reminds Cal that he hates musicals, and Jane and Angela tease him about being jealous because he was Curly in a high school production. Every begs Judd to sing, and he finally does, ending by kissing Jane.
Later outside, Angela tells Judd that the supremacists had the old synthetic lithium batteries that made people seek. Jane calls to them from the car, wondering what they're doing, and Judd jokingly says that they're talking about the end of the world.
Later at home, Judd makes a call to the governor and says that they got all of the Kavalry men. After he hangs up, Jane says that he noticed Judd using cocaine during supper. The hospital calls to tell Judd that Charlie woke up, and he changes into his uniform to go see him. Judd drives to the hospital, and on a stretch of country road and his tires go out. After confirming that all four tires are flat, Judd finds a tirecutter across the road. Someone shines a light on him.
Angela and Cal make love. The phone rings and Angela finally answers it. A man confirms who she is and asks if her father was Marcus. The man tells her that there's something at the oak tree on Rowland Hill that she needs to see. The caller tells her that he knows who she is so she shouldn't wear a mask. After she hangs up, Angela gets a shotgun and gives Cal a revolver, and tells him to shoot anyone that approaches the house that isn't her.
Angela drives to Rowland Hill and the old oak tree. A light shines in her face, and Angela stops her car, gets out, and yells for the caller to turn off the light or she'll shoot. The light goes off, and Will holds out his empty hands. Judd is dead, hanging from a tree branch, and Angela sees that he's holding a note saying "Watch over this boy".
Written by Gadfly on Oct 22, 2019