Previously on Underground...
I ain't been more than two steps
off this plantation in my life.
I found it, the way to the promised land.
- Tell me what this say. - This is my birthday.
Not some campaign rally for daddy to be mayor.
Senator, sweetie pie.
This money goes to the slave catcher who brought her in.
Who's that exactly?
That'd be me, Jim.
I swear I heard her call him "Saint."
She called me an angel.
A man came to see me at the capital.
The one that aids the runaway slaves?
We can make a real difference.
It's gonna be the slaves left behind that gonna pay the price.
That's why I don't mean to be left behind.
I been a slave all my life.
25 years.
That's 300 months.
9,000 odd days of waitin'...
...to die, to live, or for a miracle.
But I'm done waitin'.
It's time to act, but I can't do it alone.
Now, them words I found, tell me they what I think they are.
Tell me they the map to freedom.
In its own way.
It's... it's a song.
The map may be hidden in the words.
Each verse be a code for a signpost that lead north.
- Hot damn, you was right. - Oh, hold up now.
What you... what you mean by "code?" It speaks of...
...followin' "the drinkin' gourd"
to ascend into the... The blue haze
where you'll meet a wolf who will, uh,
pull you and drag you into the underworld.
Now, the only part I can make sense of is...
...is that last verse where it speaks of
crossin' the river Jordan.
I done heard some call the Ohio river by that name.
Yeah. You go in a slave,
but you come out the other side a free man.
All right, so we figure out the rest of these verses,
we one step closer to the promised land.
Just 'cause we might know the way
don't mean that we gonna get there.
I done heard the Massa say it's over 600 miles.
We gonna have to fight for every step.
But I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think we could do it.
You talkin' real big, but I ain't heard no plan yet.
The plan is simple.
We figure a way off of Massa's land.
We protect each other on the run.
Then we make it so once we get north,
ain't no one has no cause to bring us back.
Mmm. I ain't gettin' no stripes on my back for this.
Psst! Hey. What?
We can't do this without you.
Without any of you.
Now you know we got to do this, or you wouldn't have come down.
Now I need to know now
who's in and who's out.
I'm in.
Well, God ain't never said we was gonna be free in heaven.
Okay.
Mr. Cato, I was just...
Oh, let me guess.
Talkin' about runnin'.
Hey, it's okay.
He ain't gonna say nothin'.
He comin' with us.
All right, what couldn't wait?
Well, Massa, we just wanted to tell you we found your wagon.
It was right where this one told us it would be.
Well, I find it hard to believe a man who would whip his own,
now he wants to run with 'em!
I find it hard to believe that there's a white man in the sky
with a plan for all of us, but to each his own.
He had a chance to turn me in, and he didn't.
That's right, 'cause I had my mind set on runnin'.
What you talking about, "had?"
Looking at this sorry group,
I might have to reconsider.
♪ I've seen death
♪ but the moss stays the same
♪ the drinking gourd
♪ runs through the blue haze
♪ and one day Jesus' hand
♪ will lead us to the promised land
♪ one day we will stand
♪ rejoice in victory
♪ we fall down ♪ ooh-ooh-ooh
♪ to look up ♪ ooh-ooh-ooh
♪ waiting to see
♪ heaven's door
I don't know when it begun,
but ever since I can remember,
all the boys courtin' wear flowers,
and all the girls wear ribbons.
This one's real pretty.
You ought to let me borrow it.
Well, I would, but Solomon loves blue.
Ooh.
I bet you he asks me to dance at Miss Shaw's tonight.
Morning.
She don't ever go to them dances.
Think she too good for all that.
When I first set foot on this plantation,
I swear I'd died and gone to heaven.
Of course, Suzanna's old man, he made sure I knew who God was.
Old Earl...
God rest his soul...
...he could scare the moss off a rock.
You ain't tellin' a lie.
When Suzanna brought me home, he near disowned her.
I mean, what business did a northerner have to all of this?
He was right. So I learned what I could about three things.
Growing cotton, managing slaves,
and how to be an honorable man of the south.
The end result of the first two is this plantation.
I'm still working on the third.
Now, I imagine when y'all heard I was considering a senate run,
you had some of the same thoughts Earl Macon did.
Today, if you'll allow me,
I want to start earning your trust.
Well, I heard D.C. is a shit-hole, Tom.
I mean, you got a nice piece of land here.
Why in God's name would anybody want to leave it?
How the hell we gonna get off Macon land?
Over the mountains?
Oh, yeah, it's too steep to climb.
The swamp is too slow moving.
Them rollers'll find us stuck in the mud before we find a way out.
That just leaves the river.
That bridge is guarded day and night by them rollers.
Six of us. Why don't we just overpower 'em?
No, we can't risk a fight while we still on Macon land.
All right, we got to slip away without no one knowin'.
Get us a lead on them dogs.
Hey, can you swim?
No, neither can I.
What about those longboats from Miss Mary's party?
Oh, no, they was chopped up for this morning's firewood.
You think the blue haze talkin' about that lake
on the other side of the city?
No, the thing dried up two summers ago.
Could you build us a boat?
What about the swamps on the other side
of the Callaway plantation?
No, no, no, no, no. They much more green in there.
Forget about the song. Can you build us a boat?
Fit for five without nobody noticing?
Shoot, even if I could, it don't matter much,
'cause we don't know where we runnin' to.
"Wolf," "underworld," "angel."
Don't none of that sound like freedom to me.
Sound like death.
Hey, you let me worry about the song.
You worry about getting us over that river.
The bridge. Yes, sir.
Already thought on that with Zeke.
Ain't no way over it.
No, there ain't.
But I think I might be able to fashion a way under it.
♪ Word around town and the whispers loud
♪ the lights all show, nobody makes a sound
♪ from the rooftops
♪ hear them calling out my name
- that's good. - I don't even know.
♪ Sideways talking, never to my face ♪
I'm not sure we're in the right place.
We have an appointment with Mr. Still?
This is my wife... close the door behind you.
Still isn't here yet.
Find a seat. I'm sure he'll arrive soon.
We're gonna have to have something to eat.
He's not even here.
He must be held up with something important.
Get back.
John!
Oh.
Help me.
You been out here a mighty long time.
Your son's up there at that cabin
thinking you upset with him.
Why would he think that?
He supposes he left the gate open last night.
How that wolf got in,
killed all those chickens.
What are these tracks here?
One's the wolf, the other's human.
You keep reminding me how Ben's growing up,
but his feet ain't nearly that big.
Someone else was in here.
Someone who wasn't wearing shoes.
May I speak frankly?
No sense in asking. You've been doing it all my life.
Boy's of an age onto becoming a man.
Now would be a good time for his father to be here,
teach him a few things.
I'm here right now.
No, you ain't.
You already going after them bare feet.
You could use a spell of time with your boy.
That sort of solitude,
manner of work...
...it can change a man.
How many bank notices we get while I was gone?
Four.
Some of that money you brought back
for catching that runaway is gonna help.
If we could find something of value to sell, that would be better.
Ain't nothing of value around here.
There is somethin'. You ain't gonna like it.
Miss Charlotte's ring.
She can't wear it in the hospital.
She's gonna wear it when she comes back here to this house.
And none of this talk is useful. You want to be some help to me?
You check that chicken Coop again.
You're heading back out so soon?
Looks like I might have to.
All the eggs are gone.
Ben. Yes, sir.
Get your rifle. We're going hunting.
Them slave catchers, they're a relentless bunch.
They only focused on one thing...
...us.
Once Sam gets us off this plantation,
we got to protect ourselves.
That's where you come in. I thought that was Zeke's job.
I'm talkin' real protection.
The kind that would put the fear of God
in any white folk that cross us.
We gonna steal us a gun.
How you feel about going to that plantation dance tonight?
See, Miss Shaw's late husband, he was a collector of all manner of things.
War weapons in particular.
All that music, that dancin',
it's gonna be the perfect distraction. But it's a two-man job.
I can do it. I can get in and out without anyone noticin'.
I don't doubt it.
Every spot of white I see in this field is a spot of failure!
Workday's half done now!
We'll be tippin' the scale soon!
I want to see ya pickin' that cotton like you own it!
Bill, come on over here.
Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my overseer, Bill Meekes.
He keeps productivity high.
How many pounds you pulling per?
Just north of 400.
Shoot, I can't get mine to pick half that much.
You'll have to share your secrets with me sometime.
Well, how 'bout after dinner tonight?
You'll join us for cigars and Brandy, won't you, Bill?
Sure thing, boss. All right.
Gentlemen.
Once we get north, we're gonna need some freedom papers to stay free.
That is, if you can write as well as you can read.
Papers ain't gonna matter without the Massa's seal.
And ain't none of us allowed within 20 feet of the big house.
I got an eye to that.
But first things first. We need to get paper and ink.
How you lookin' to manage that?
Frog Jack.
Oh, so now we gettin' white folks involved in this mess, too?
Only one color frog Jack care about.
You got your Bible from him, didn't you?
You taking too many risks with this plan of yours.
We already got the devil in our midst. Move, Seraphina!
I want to see your hands bleed!
Either your hands or your back!
Ain't worth givin' someone else a chance to turn on us.
Hey. We in it now.
It's all or nothin'.
And now that we done made the choice, it's high time we see it through.
Mr. Still.
Mr. Hawkes, hello.
And you must be Elizabeth.
I apologize for the unexpected welcome you received.
Some time ago, a young man named Henry Brown
shipped himself from bondage.
I remember.
The story's infamous.
Perhaps too much so.
The woman in the box...
I know you must have questions and I'm excited you're here to help the cause,
but first I must tend to this cargo.
If you'd excuse me.
...travelin' for weeks.
First by wagon, then a steamboat,
last bit by rail.
Three days ago, Marley, she caught a fit.
I thought the box would be bigger.
And it just kept getting smaller.
I could feel Marley's hot breath on me every second.
I remember wishin' not to feel it...
...crawlin' over my skin.
I ain't felt the heat no more.
I just kept holdin' her.
Wasn't no room to let her go.
That crate was right over here. Search it all.
Where you hiding him?
I know a runaway was brought here.
Turn him over now, and I might not drag you
and your pretty wife down to the jailhouse
with the rest of the nigger lovers.
Look, look, look, this... This is an illegal search.
All right? The letter of the law states... move.
Gentlemen, is there a problem?
We're about to find out.
Seeing as no laws have been broken here,
I kindly ask that you and your men leave.
Not before I see the papers for every nigger in here.
You got my tobacco in here, too?
You ask me that every time, and every time I tell you it is.
Hey, you happen to hear if they need anything else up at the big house?
I look like a house girl to you?
Mr. Jack.
I need a ribbon for the plantation dance.
Go on. Take your pick.
But be quick. I got two more stops to do today.
You see? Simple.
Now you give it a try.
Neigh.
Can I see him? What's his name?
Don't have one.
He has to have one.
I like that.
Concentrate.
That does not mean assault the keys.
Trapped in this house all day, mama.
Even the slaves get to dance and meet boys, and I don't.
How on earth is that fair?
Male attention is fleeting.
And as women, we have only our beauty and our talents
in which to keep it.
How 'bout we work on the latter?
I swear, I'm worse off than a slave.
We'll both get real horses soon.
Just like my daddy's.
He says I could start riding next year.
T.R., honey,
James will be out working the fields soon.
He certainly won't need a horse.
Why don't we go see if we can spy daddy and his friends from the porch?
Come on.
Mama?
You ever think about another life?
What you mean?
Just...
...these hallways, the cookhouse,
the flower beds, the... quarters.
They been the four corners of my entire world.
Is there more?
You know, I do.
I think about all kinds of lives.
Like picking my fingers bloody out in them cotton fields.
Or being put up on that block,
sold away from my chillun.
Maybe deep south to a breeding farm
where they force me to have a dozen babies I never get to hold.
Not like I held you.
Oh, yes,
I've imagined thousands of different lives.
Which is why I work as hard as I do,
make sure this one here is as easy as it can be.
Whoa.
What you doin', boy?
I see your cart pass through here month after month.
That axle pin's probably been bent for a while.
I can fix that for you.
Out of what, human kindness?
Out of need for a trade.
Heard you were the man to come see if I needed somethin'.
What you want?
Sheets of paper and a pen.
You must be joking.
They catch you with that and you gonna be tarred and feathered.
And I'll be right behind you, when they find out where you got it from.
I know how to keep my mouth shut.
Get out of here, boy.
You probably got a few more miles left on that wheel before it give out.
Then you'll be in for a new one, and you still got a bent axle.
That is, if the accident hadn't cracked your head open.
What's got your eyes stuck on that road?
Ain't nothin', Mr. Cato. Seems like a whole lot of nothin'
going on today just outside my earshot.
You're thick as thieves with that Noah, ain't you?
He look out for me sometimes.
And you look out for him?
Sometimes.
See, I figure...
...you know what he know. And I'd like to know it, too.
Ain't nothin' to tell.
If there was, I... I'd tell you.
'Cause you with us, right?
Saddle up my horse!
Goddamn frog Jack done forgot my tobacco again!
Yes, sir.
Go on, boy! Get a move on!
Got a problem with your ears? You heard the boss. Hurry up!
Noah's down there with frog Jack, ain't he?
Hmm?
Aww, hell, I'll walk down!
Hold up a minute, boss!
I think I'm gonna go on down there with you.
Almost done it.
Boy, you best get up from under there.
What the hell you doing down here?
I came down for some hooch
for the plantation dance tonight.
I was fixin' his wagon in trade.
That don't seem right.
You could've got whiskey up at the house like everyone else.
The only reason to come all the way down here is
if you was gettin' somethin' you weren't supposed to have.
Now, Bill, you know I don't sell no contraband.
I'd check him, boss, just to be sure.
Strip, boy!
Ain't nothin' here.
Uh, with your permission, boss, I... I'll take this one back,
while you finish up your business with Mr. Jack.
Get to steppin'.
Go on!
Sorry for the confusion, boss. Let me make it up to you.
Never mind that.
Bring me my tobacco.
That sure was a close one, huh?
How many times you gonna make me sweat?
As many times as I please.
Ever since you stepped out of the Massa's office,
you only doing what I'm allowing you to do.
And what is it exactly you want me to do next?
I want to know the whole plan.
You'll know what you need to know, just like everyone else.
Now, see, the thing is I ain't like everyone else.
I'm the man with bird in hand.
Hell, five of 'em.
Seems to me that make me the Massa now.
You swallow that, and all this becomes a whole lot easier.
You want a seat at the table?
Fine. Tonight.
Plantation dance at the Shaw place.
We gonna steal us a gun.
And how you plan on gettin' into the big house?
You ever hear how the mistress got her nickname, "bareback Shaw"?
Some in our circle took issue when Mr. Brown began touring,
telling his story to the world.
The biggest weapon the Underground has is secrecy.
I'm sure you've heard rumors of quilts, codes, organized runs.
That scene you witnessed today is closer to reality.
That slave catcher, he knew to look for hideaways.
They're getting wiser to our tricks. We've had to adapt.
Last month, they forced us out of our proper offices.
So that's how you ended up here, among the addicts and the criminals.
Make no mistake,
in the eyes of the law, we are the criminals.
Only thing hated more than a runaway slave
is those that would dare aid him.
Do you have any children?
Not yet.
This is not a job for everyone.
And while I would love for you and your wife to join our cause...
We can't.
Move the runaway.
Excuse me?
Those slave catchers are out there.
Look to the reflection in the shop window on the left.
They're lying in wait in the side alley.
And that man across the street, he's passed by three times.
He's wearing a coat and a hat, but I'm almost certain that's that delivery man.
The reward for capture can't be worth all this.
This isn't about him. It's about arresting us for slave stealing.
I's just gonna make a run for it on my own.
Hold on now.
There's six of them...
And if they see you run, even if you get away,
they'll have probable cause to arrest us all.
I may have an idea.
He's lost, tired, and hungry.
He's been going a long way.
That don't make him less dangerous. It makes him more so.
So now you got to be silent.
Invisible.
Weightless.
All right, now go on. Sight him. Go.
He's big.
Don't matter how big they are, you're in control.
I need you to take a deep breath...
...and exhale slowly.
And when you exhale,
squeeze gently.
What are we gonna do with him?
Well, first, we...
You're gonna drag him home.
By myself?
It's your first kill. Your responsibility.
Jay will show you how to honor the kill once you get home.
First time I laid eyes on you
was at one of these dances.
You remember?
I didn't have a pass to go,
but, Lord, it was worth that paddlin' I got just to talk to you.
I's finished.
No, you ain't.
You got to make two more,
for you and Boo.
I ain't runnin' without you.
It's gonna be a long, hard journey.
Boo won't be able to keep up with her little legs.
That's what this for.
Boo.
Boo, come here, baby.
Come over here to papa.
I want you to put your arms straight up.
There you go. Hold 'em up there.
All right, put your arm around papa's neck.
I'll carry her all the way to freedom if I have to.
As long as we together.
You, me, and her.
A nigger baby's worth $300 with his first breath.
That is economic security right there.
So long as we keep 'em breeding, we don't need to fear tariffs
and sanctions from the north.
What we need to worry about is Egypt and India.
They're increasing output to Great Britain.
They don't have the terrain or the labor advantages we have.
Egypt near invented slavery.
You sound like a Yankee.
Easy now, Schafer.
Oh, you know as well as I do, Tom.
It isn't slavery that makes cotton king.
It's management.
- That's right. - Hear, hear.
What are your thoughts, Bill?
About what?
Would the cotton industry still thrive without slaves?
I sure as hell ain't working my hands to the bone for it.
Are you?
You'll have to excuse Bill.
We're all defined by the company we keep,
and he spends all day outside with the niggers.
Well, all joking aside,
there's someone here whose company I wouldn't mind sharing.
She does cut a fine frame.
I wouldn't know about that.
Aww, come on. You're among friends.
Now, we all know the best blood in Georgia
can be found on the slave blocks.
What's your name, girlie?
Rosalee.
You know...
...it's the hips that get me.
I could watch my negra girls swishing up and down my hallways
day and night.
Massa, you said you wanted your guests to try the '22 reserve
before the end of the night.
Should I get it from the wine cellar?
I think that's a good idea.
Thank you, Ernestine.
I think there be somethin' in the punch bowl.
♪ Walking in
♪ the light
♪ I find you there
♪ a stranger to my eyes
♪ nothing compares...
We don't want to waste something this fine
on your rude guests, now, do we?
♪ Why can't you go...
Mmm.
Oh!
I didn't say you could touch me yet.
Oh, yeah.
I don't want James out in the field.
Miss Suzanna keep pressin'.
You tell her he been showing some skill with woodwork.
He can go work with Sam.
He'll be wherever you want him.
He ain't going out in the fields.
Say it.
He will not be out in the fields.
Let's move out!
- Yeah! - Hut! Hut!
Yeah!
Come here, girl.
Yeah, there you go.
Come on, Sally.
We're good to go. And where exactly are we going?
You see up there?
That's bareback Shaw.
Now, she claims to put together these dances
out of the goodness of her Christian heart,
but, uh, she's driven by other body parts.
Around this time, she always picks her stallion for the night,
have one of them bodyguards come down and tap him on the shoulder.
She pick me every time I come.
Now, I'm gonna be lead into the big house
by two of them bodyguards.
The late captain George Shaw,
he was the, uh, youngest man
to do something or the other in the war against the British.
He keeps an antique revolver on display
and some ammunition in his old war chest.
That's what you go for while I keep the lady distracted.
How am I gonna slip past the guards?
Oh, don't worry about that.
Bareback Shaw likes herself an audience.
Don't worry about them house girls, either,
'cause they like to listen in.
How long I got to make the grab?
You gonna have plenty of time.
Bareback Shaw has her appetites.
I got to admire your commitment to the cause.
I wouldn't touch that old hag with a ten foot pole.
Mistress Shaw would like a moment.
Uh... no,
I... I think you got the wrong person.
Now that I think on it,
Miss Shaw is known to prefer men of the lighter hue.
No! I ain't going back!
Two weeks in that box.
Now I feel more trapped than ever.
I don't know how much longer he can keep it together.
We better do this now.
I've seen my share of schemes, Mr. Hawkes. This one is unique.
Well, I see no reason why the law can't aide us while we break it.
You know what you have to do.
Careful.
Leave it for the morning.
He's running out the back door! Get him!
Stop! He's not resisting!
Stop! You don't have to hurt him!
Stop! No! No!
Break it up! I said, break it up!
What's this ruckus all about?
This man was helping a runaway, and I want 'em both arrested.
You're the one going to jail tonight.
You never heard of the fugitive slave act?
Of course, but I'm not sure how it applies to assaulting free men.
Sheriff, we were attacked unprovoked.
These are his papers.
I want these men charged immediately.
Cuff 'em.
What? Wait.
Charged with what?
You can't handcuff me?
- Welcome to the Underground. - Just doing my job!
I got a right...
So glad you insisted on being a part of the plan.
Couldn't have pulled it off without your talent.
Get your ass up.
Get up!
You ain't gonna do it.
They'd string you up by the neck, and we both dead.
Lots of loud noise and confusion.
Ain't nobody gonna hear.
And they find a bullet in you 10 yards from where you took it to that white women?
Oh, yeah, there's gonna be tons of stories about how you died.
Ain't none of 'em gonna include me.
Now you're gonna stop testin' me.
Fall in line.
I ain't about to let you mess this up for the rest of 'em.
Shit, boy,
you've been sellin' lies so long, even you believing 'em now.
You got everybody runnin' behind you like you a Saint.
Noah gonna get everybody their freedom. Nah, nah.
You're just using every one of them to get what you want.
I see you.
I'm gonna ask you what I done asked the others.
Is you in?
Or is you out?
Someone had a good night.
You are looking at a man with a fully-funded campaign.
Mmm-hmm.
You hear that, little one?
Your daddy's going to be a senator.
Mmm-hmm. Oh, yeah.
Did you feel that?
Looks like you already got one vote.
Mmm. Mmm.
It's good chicken, isn't it?
It's good.
Do it again.
Mmm.
♪ Ah-ah, ah-ah
♪ ah-ah, ah
♪ yeah
♪ bring your love, baby, I could bring my shame
♪ bring the drugs, baby, I could bring my pain
♪ I got my heart right here
♪ I got my scars right here
♪ bring the cups, baby
♪ I could bring the drink
♪ bring your body, baby, I could bring you fame
♪ that's my... words, too
♪ just let me... love you
♪ listen, ma, I'll give you all I got
♪ give me all of this
♪ I mean confidence in myself... ♪
I like it.
Brings out the color in your eyes.
Um...
I say something wrong?
Naw. You said something right.
The other day, when I was fixin' your back,
I seen your tattoos.
I wondered why would you do that,
put pain on top of pain.
But I get it now.
It's about not letting the white folks define your story.
Right?
It's about making it your own.
Run with me.
♪ Heaven
♪ what's up? What's up?
♪ What's up? What's up? Take off the handcuffs
♪ we gonna be somebody ♪ heaven
♪ we gonna be somebody
♪ heaven
♪ we gonna be somebody
♪ what's up? What's up? Take off the handcuffs
♪ what's up? What's up? ♪ I got wings
♪ got wings
♪ we gonna be somebody, yeah ♪ we got wings
♪ heaven