Palacios, TX

> "*So, I'm a kid. Got me a skimmer. Nothin' big. And this guy on the radio said he's on it, but I'm thinking, that's some lock up shit, right? So I go the opposite way. 'Cause I got a feeling right here. And I'm catchin' hell, too. Gulf's pourin' in. So I pull up, and then I see it. The mother lode! I'm right in the crack. Pullin' up net after net after net. Fuckin' Jesus of the sea! Whoo! Boy, I'm tellin' ya, men dream of a day like this. Fuckin' 20 grand day. Thirty grand! Me! Me! No immigrant's son. I was Sharko! King of the ocean! And all the fish and every creature in the sea shall bow before me!*"
> ― Sharko to Dana
>
>

**Palacios, TX** is the sixth episode of the first season of the Hulu original series *Monsterland* and the sixth episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

A disgruntled fisherman makes the catch of a lifetime.

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Palacio, Texas. A fisherman by the name of Sharko wants to ship a large, dead bird to Titan International following the oil spill a year ago, which still hasn’t been cleaned up properly. It was during the cleanup of the spill that Sharko suffered his injuries, leaving half his face scared and him blind in one eye. He got dizzy from a dispersant that was being pumped out a plane and fell overboard into the chemicals.

Sharko arrives at the bar. Breezy, Howler, and Dogg-O listen as Peanut tells the story of how they came across a school of mermaids. He claims that one of them even pulled him into the water. He bears the scars to prove it. They ask if Sharko is going out for the opening, but he has no plans hitting the water. Sharko insists that they’ll come up dry as the water is still washing up black. There is no clean up, only a cover-up.

Breezy asks Sharko if he can take his boat on the water for opening and is even willing to split the earnings 60-40. However, last time they went out, Breezy stood Sharko up for two hours only to discover that Breezy was in jail. Sharko has no interest in lending his boat and drives away.

Sharko heads home. That night, he hears screeching coming from the ocean. He awakens the next morning and turns on the radio to listen for the opening. He then heads down to shore, where he finds a fish covered in oil. He hears the same screeching sound from the night before. He follows it and finds a presumably dead mermaid washed up on land. He puts the creature in his truck and takes it home. Sharko fills his tub up with ice and lays the mermaid’s body inside. He then looks into the mirror, angry at what he sees — the chemical burns on his face that left him ill and unable to breathe without an oxygen tank. He then gets a call from the law offices of Ogden & Bruce. They know that he suffered injuries during the cleanup and wanted to inform him about a class action lawsuit, but he slams the phone down as he isn’t interested.

Later that night, Sharko hears rustling coming from the bathroom. He discovers that the mermaid is very much still alive as he peaks through the door. She screeches. He shuts the door and runs outside to get his gun from the truck. As soon as he opens the bathroom door, she grabs his leg and bites his arm, though she is growing weaker with each passing moment on land, allowing Sharko to trap her in the net and put her back into the ice-filled tub. He points his rifle at her but decides not to kill her.

The following day, Sharko cleans the black oil in the mermaid’s gills, allowing her to breathe. He then cuts a whole in the net where her mouth is and feeds her raw steak. He then moves the tv into the bathroom so that they can both watch. They watch *Bonanza* together, and he explains how his father loved American TV and used it to learn English. By the end of the show, Sharko has fallen asleep, but he awakens at the sound of a thud. He finds Breezy trying to steal his radio. Breezy launches the radio into the wall and expresses his anger with Sharko for not lending his boat. Breezy hears rustling coming from the bathroom and goes to investigate. He discovers the mermaid in Sharko’s tub. Breezy wants to sell her, but Sharko plans to throw her back as soon as the water is clear.

Breezy builds a tank for the mermaid as the tub isn’t suitable. He wants to celebrate but Sharko tells him that a job isn’t done until it’s well done. It’s what his father used to say to him. The only thing Breezy ever got from his father was cigarette burns, he remarks. Sharko makes Breezy promise that he won’t tell anyone about the mermaid. He explains that back on his boat when Breezy worked as his deckhand, he was trying to help him and build him into a better man. Similar to how his father treated him. Then, the two of them proceed to dump the mermaid into the tank.

That night, Sharko prepares dinner for himself as well as the mermaid. He plays Sinatra, his father’s favorite. He’d often say: “Even the fish would dance to the Ol’ Blue eyes.” His father loved all things American. He even got an American name when he came over, though Americans weren’t so receptive to him when he arrived in Texas. The whole Palacios was up in arms about foreigners stealing American jobs. One night when Sharko was a boy, the Klan came by his home and threatened his father. His father scared them off with a rifle. Admittedly, Sharko hasn’t been the same since the accident. His father fought to get him a good life, so his loss feels like his father’s loss as well.

The mermaid induces a hallucination that consists of her showing up at Sharko's door in her human form. He doesn’t initially recognize her, and she reminds him how he saved her life on the beach. He realizes she’s the mermaid. She’s come with a message from the sea — to thank him for caring about them. He’s got saltwater in his blood. He’s one of them. She removes his oxygen tubes and places her hand over his face, healing him almost instantaneously. She then kissed him.

Dana turns on Frank Sinatra’s “Ring-A-Ding Ding” and dances with Sharko. They have sex, and he shares with her past stories about his glory days as a fisherman. He was Sharko. King of the Ocean. He playfully tells her to bow before him, but she refuses. She admits that she’s been watching Sharko for the past few days, and she knows he’s unhappy. But it won’t last forever. And he’s right about Dorsey being a criminal and the cleanup actually being a coverup. Sharko reveals that he wished he drowned when he fell off the boat. He’s wished it everyday for the last year.

Someone pulls up outside Sharko’s homes. He tells her to stay inside as he goes out to investigate. It’s Breezy, Howler, Dogg-O, and Peanut. They admit that he was right about the ocean being poisonous and asks if he truly has a mermaid in his house. They’ve all got a family to feed, and the mermaid could be their ticket. Outnumbered, Sharko submits. He goes inside and comes back out with his rifle. He shoots at the ground and tells them to leave or else he’ll kill them all. They decide to retreat. Sharko returns inside, and she creates another illusion. This one consists of the two of them at the beach. He goes to dive into the ocean but actually jumps into her tank. He meets her gaze just before she kills him.

## Cast

### Starring

* Adria Arjona as Dana
* Trieu Tran as Sharko
* Tyson Ritter as Breezy
* Alfredo Narciso as Howler

### Co-Starring

* Steve Cirbus as Dogg-O
* Diego Aguirre as Peanut
* Zachary Hernandez as Youngster
* Hamilton Clancy as Postal Manager