"Two Sane Guys Doing Normal Things" is an episode of the series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the eighth episode and season finale of season 1.
Synopsis[]
As dark forces converge, Dirk, Todd, Farah, and Detective Estevez are forced into a final battle: save Lydia Spring, face certain death, or both.
Plot[]
Intro: A series of television screens display numerous symbols used to identify Blackwing subjects, Dirk Gently's being at the center.
In the Rowdy 3's van, Gripps is painting Amanda Brotzman's nails until Martin abruptly stops, smelling "something bad."
Gordon Rimmer flees from Estevez into the Animal Transfer Unit's temple room, telling Ed and Zed to run and inadvertently stopping them from killing Dirk and Todd Brotzman. Rimmer ducks for cover behind the time machine and Estevez shoots at him, destroying it and the plug in the process. Rimmer escapes and Farah Black approaches Estevez, the two aiming their guns at each other. She tries to reason with him and he forces her to lower her weapon, but lets her tend to Dirk and Todd, half-conscious. Farah tells them they are going to be okay, only for Estevez, still aiming his gun at her, to ask her "you sure about that?"
Bart Curlish is watching a TV program in her hotel room that repeats the phrase "everything is connected" when Ken Adams returns with new clothes for her, ready to go wherever Bart says they should. Bart, taken with television and the commercials it shows, decides they should hang around, and Ken obliges. She murmurs that they should just give up, having only two bullets left in her gun, but Ken insists that "what doesn't kill you usually makes you–" and Bart cuts him off, stating "makes you hurt real bad and makes you cry." Ken corrects her that it is "makes you stronger." Bart decides that she wants to see where her last bullets go, and they both laugh joyously.
Estevez has locked Dirk, Todd and Farah up in the Transfer Unit's holding cages while he goes to get Lydia Spring and Rapunzel. Dirk remarks that Todd risked death to save his life despite hating him, Todd telling him not to rub it in. Todd admits to Farah that he was the one behind the door the night she was kidnapped, but Farah states she already knew and that Todd saved her life regardless. Dirk points out that he did not lie to Todd any more than Todd lied to Farah, but Todd brushes him off. Estevez returns with Lydia and the dog, unable to switch them back after destroying the plug. He demands answers as to what is happening, only for Farah to take advantage of his fixation on Dirk to break out of her cage and disarm him. Defeated, he again asks for answers and Todd updates him as best he can. They explain that the left-behind Soul Exchanger and the plug in Webb Manor can be used to switch Lydia and Rapunzel back.
Rimmer visits Edmund Doyle in his office, informing him that Estevez has the Soul Exchanger. Doyle accuses him of destroying the Men of the Machine, but Rimmer has predicted where Dirk's group plans to go and tells Doyle to rally as many men as they can to take back control.
The group arrives at Webb Manor, Dirk needing to be helped along by Estevez, the bolt still in his chest and him having lost blood. They get to the cellar and Dirk warns Estevez that the Men of the Machine will be coming for them, Farah showing him a hidden cache of weapons they can use to fight them off. As they enter the secret lab, Estevez wonders if they can use the time machine to save Zimmerfield, Todd insisting that "some things can't be changed." Todd switches the machine on and Farah places Lydia's hand on one end of the machine, Todd placing Rapunzel's paw on the other. Both of them go limp after Estevez turns the crank, and Todd tells Farah and Estevez to switch Lydia's position with where Rapunzel was to complete the exchange, him moving Rapunzel to Lydia's spot. Rapunzel regains her soul but Lydia remains unconscious.
The Men of the Machine arrive on the scene, Rimmer smearing his cheeks with blue war paint. The Rowdy 3 follow and attack them, Rimmer slipping past them into the house and taking a drone with him.
Lydia awakens in Farah's arms, She embraces Farah and they share an emotional moment before she thanks Estevez, then notices Dirk and Todd and says "these guys threw me off a bridge." Gunfire sounds upstairs and Farah and Estevez arm themselves, leaving Dirk, Todd and Lydia alone. Lydia wants to destroy the Soul Exchanger after what Rimmer did to her with it, but Dirk and Todd insist that she will never be born if they do not. Dirk tells her that "your dad did all of this to save you. He died to save your life." She agrees to help, and Dirk gives her the tube that will send the machine back to 1886. Lydia plugs the machine in but Dirk realizes it is still broken. He tries to fix it as Ed and Zed enter the room, and Dirk takes another crossbow bolt to the chest to save Lydia's life. Todd attacks them and Ed easily overpowers him, starting to strangle him until Lydia grabs the machine and threatens to destroy it. Zed makes it clear they do not care and will kill her regardless, only for Bart and Ken to enter. She shoots Ed in the head and catches Zed's bolt in mid-air, throwing it back and electrocuting him. She moves towards Dirk and prepares to use her last bullet on him until Ken interrupts her, having noticed the Soul Exchanger and realizing it is what the Men of the Machine hired him to build. Lydia asks if he can fix it, and Ken murmurs "it's my destiny."
Estevez kills Rimmer's drone and he and Farah engage in a shootout with Rimmer. He flashbangs them and corners Farah in the library, who has found and is holding Rapunzel. He tells her that "I am going to shoot you in the head and take my goddamn dog!" She responds that "one of those things is going to happen" and throws Rapunzel at him, making him drop his gun and catch her out of instinct. Farah scoops up her gun from the floor and kills him.
Ken fixes the machine, excited that his journey with Bart has brought his mission full circle, and Bart remembers she still has one bullet left. She aims her gun at Dirk, only to turn around and kill a conscious Zed. Bart remarks that the situation is "weird" and tries to shoot Dirk, finding her gun empty. She shrugs and says goodbye to Dirk, telling Ken "let's get out of here, these people are nutjobs." Ken awkwardly shrugs at Todd, who shrugs back, and he leaves with Bart. Dirk finishes writing his note and he, Todd and Lydia switch on the machine and turn the crank together, sending it back to 1886 for the loop to restart. Dirk collapses and murmurs "solved it" before passing out.
Todd awakens in his apartment to Amanda pouring a drink on his head, informing him that she and the Rowdy 3 saved him, noting that "they say that's the last time, by the way." Todd learns that Estevez took Dirk to the hospital and that Farah took Lydia to a safe place and gave Amanda a meeting place to pass on to Todd. Amanda notes that Dirk mentioned Todd hating him now, and Todd insists that Dirk ruined his life, which Amanda seems indifferent to. She asks what his plan with the lottery ticket was, and Todd sigh that "I was gonna try and fix things. Fix everything." Amanda retorts that "some things you don't fix, Todd. Sometimes when you fall down, you fall all the way down. You blew it. That's just the way it is. Here's what I do believe. I think Dirk Gently came into your life for a reason. I mean, two weeks ago, you were a thirty-three year-old bellhop with no money and no friends who spent all of his time lying to me. Now look at you. You're the badass partner to a psychic detective. And you're honest. Think about why Dirk lied to you. You and Dirk, you saved that girl. You saved that girl's life. No matter what he lied about, isn't that the part that matters?" She moves to leave, and Todd asks if she is really going to go wherever with the Rowdy 3. Amanda affirms that she is, as they already gave her a leather jacket. She flips him off with her freshly painted finger as a form of goodbye and shuts the door.
Ken and Bart eat together atop a taxi, looking out over a body of water, having taken Rapunzel with them. Ken notes the irony that Bart ended up saving Dirk instead of killing him, and Bart asks Ken if he is going to leave now that his own mission is complete and he is no longer in danger from her, apologizing for kidnapping him. Ken promises that he is not going anywhere and Bart hugs him tightly, laughing.
Farah finishes Lydia's arrangements to hide out in Belize until the Men of the Machine are finished for good and helps her with her bags. She begins to apologize for letting Lydia and Spring down until Lydia interrupts, pointing out that all their actions were predetermined and that "this was the best possible ending." She praises Farah for her abilities and hugs her, then transfers four million dollars from her father's accounts and tells her to "have fun with your new friends. They seem insane."
Scott Riggins visits a sleeping Dirk in the hospital, telling him that Blackwing was formed from his desire to find "a bigger meaning" within the universe, which he claims he found when he first met Dirk. He promises Dirk that "you are what you say you are, and I am so proud of you." Dirk awakens moments later, only to find Riggins gone. He is discharged from the hospital and met by Todd, confused as to why he is there, assuming he still hates him. Todd gives him his yellow jacket that he got from his apartment and a Mexican Funeral t-shirt. Still confused, Dirk asks why he is there until Todd asserts "because I'm your friend. Besides, I don't want to miss out on when the next case starts.
They meet Farah in a diner, who preps them on their upcoming talk with the authorities following the case. They agree to leave out the time traveling and Farah declares intent to invest in the detective agency. They began to crack jokes about the naming of the agency and Todd's official title within its ranks while Amanda and Vogel dance around in a field and the rest of the Rowdy 3 watch, and Ken and Bart drive down an empty road, talking and laughing.
Estevez returns to the police department to confront Doyle, finding it mostly empty and being stripped by men in black. He storms towards Doyle's office only to be met by Doyle's dead body and Hugo Friedkin, who instinctively shoots him in the chest. He sheepishly apologizes and begins to ramble, revealing that he is in charge of Blackwing and that they know about the Men of the Machine, having burned down Webb Manor and the Animal Transfer Unit and are now tracking down and killing the last of the cultists. He confides in Estevez that he does not enjoy the more intellectual parts of his job, but regardless plans to track down and capture all the "psychics" out there. He remembers that he has to kill anyone who knows about it and again apologizes to Estevez as he raises his gun. Estevez begs for his life while discreetly grabbing for his pistol, and Friedkin shoots him dead, stating that "I'm just doing my job."
At the diner, Todd stops out to use the restroom and Dirk suddenly becomes visibly uncomfortable, excusing himself to go outside. Martin sniffs the air and realizes something is wrong, sending Vogel to run off with Amanda while he, Gripps and Cross face the field, which has smoke pouring from it. After a moment's hesitation, they charge in and fight the soldiers advancing on them. Bart and Ken are stopped when they turn a corner and are met by hundreds of soldiers and a tank. She gets out and picks up a rock to fight with. Outside, Dirk steps on a Lux Dujour "We'll Never Let You Go" memorial tour poster and looks up to see Friedkin watching him, who smiles and waves when noticed. Dirk groans "not now..." and Farah exits the restaurant to find them both gone.
Washing his hands, Todd gets a panicked call from Amanda, begging for help. He promises to help her until his phone suddenly burns him. He drops it and sees the burns spreading on his hands, falling to the floor and screaming in pain, revealing that he has Pararibulitis.
Behind the scenes[]
- The episode title is a slight variation of dialogue spoken by Todd and Dirk, saying they want to seem like "two boring, sane guys, having a normal time."
Cast[]
Starring
- Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently
- Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman
- Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman
- Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish
- Jade Eshete as Farah Black
- Mpho Koaho as Ken Adams
- Michael Eklund as Martin
- Dustin Milligan as Hugo Friedkin
Guest Starring
- Miguel Sandoval as Scott Riggins
- Neil Brown Jr. as Detective Estevez
- Aaron Douglas as Gordon Rimmer
- And Julian McMahon as Zackariah Webb
Other
- Christian Bako as Ed
- Michael Adamthwaite as Zed
- Oscric Chau as Vogel
- Viv Leacock as Gripps
- Zak Santiago as Cross
- David Lewis as Agent Joseph Weedle
- Alison Thornton as Lydia Spring
- Eric Keenleyside as Police Captain
- Ashley O'Connell as Desk Sergeant
- Jarelle Hepburn as Orderly
- Bentley the Corgi as Rapunzel the Corgi
Crew[]
Notes[]
Holistic Connections
- While watching TV, the woman in the commercial says "everything is connected"
- Detective Estevez wants to know if he can go back to save Detective Zimmerfield and try to fix everything but Todd says some things can't be changed. He knows this first hand because they tried to go back and change the past and failed.
- Ken Adams was hired by the Men of the Machine before Bart met him to build the time machine. He says it must be his destiny to fix it which explains why Bart had not killed him previously.
- When Dirk finds the Lux Dujour flyer, there is a single black wing behind Dujour.
- After faking Pararibulitis in his past, Todd finally inherits the disease.
Deaths[]
References[]
External links[]
- "Two Sane Guys Doing Normal Things" at BBC America
- "Two Sane Guys Doing Normal Things" on IMDb