Pilot

"**Pilot**" is the premiere episode of the Paramount+ series *Rabbit Hole*. It premiered on March 26, 2023 alongside the second episode, "At Any Given Moment."

## Synopsis

John Weir navigates the twisting, turning universe of deception as both a victim and master. But after what appears to be another successful day on the job, his world is blown to pieces.

## Plot

### A chance meeting?

A man, John Weir, sits tapping his fingers. A window opens and Weir thanks the man, whom he addresses as "Father," for seeing him. He tells him he needs to talk, that he goes over things in his mind and can't tell the difference between what's real and what's not. He tells him that talking out loud helps. He tells him he hasn't slept for a few days and that there may have been too many possibilities and motivations. He tells him he had a friend who helped him, but he died. The priest asks him if there's anyone else he's close to and he says in his line of work, it's best not to get close to anyone. He says he didn't come for counsel or salvation, that he just needs someone to listen. He asks the priest if he can listen and keep things between them. "Just us... and God," the priest agrees. "God, right," comments John, saying that maybe he can tell him what's going on.

John Weir now sits at a bar, listening in a pair's conversation about adultery. An ad plays on TV for a website offering people the chance to do exactly that and John presents some money, asking the bartender to change the channel. The bartender agrees. He changes the channel to a soccer game and John sits, enjoying his drink. Another man, Barry Merrill, comes up, asking the bartender to change it to a business channel. The bartender ignores him and he curses at him, but the bartender tells him that John is watching the game. John tells him it's his team and the man offers him $5,000. "Keep it," he tells him, allowing the bartender to change the channel. A report comes on about a high cancer rates associated with an erectile dysfunction drug, Esper. The businessman gets on the phone, telling the person on the other end to close and lock on Esper. He leaves the bar.

A woman comes up behind John. "Wow, he really doesn't like soccer," she quips. John jokes back that he makes up for it with charm. The woman introduces herself as Hailey. He asks where she's been hiding, saying he hasn't seen her there before. He quips that he's there all the time before admitting it's his first time as well. He asks why she's there and she says she's trolling the dating apps for fun and she sees him. She tells him her hotel is across the street. "Just this once," he tells her. They head back to the hotel and have an overnight stand. In the morning, however, John makes to leave. He tells Hailey that she's going to have to tell Madi to work harder if she wants leverage. The woman seems utterly confused and he tells her that the job is over. He shows a camera, telling her that his marriage was over years ago. She says she has no idea what he's talking about, that she's not into any weird fantasy cosplayer stuff. She tells him to leave, saying she knows how to break his neck. He tells he *is* leaving. She asks why he slept with her if he thought she was blackmailing him. "You're kidding, right?" he asks.

### The agent

John drives away. Some ways along, he sees a car behind him and wonders how long it has been following. He takes a taxi, then gets out, meeting with Agent Jo Madi. She tells him she needs a word. He spots a girl in her a car and asks mockingly if it's her new partner. She tells him not to start, that her daughter got kicked out of school and she's stuck with her until her wife can find someplace else to put her. "Thanks for the present," he tells her. She seems confused and he says she should have just planted drugs, that sex with a beautiful woman will just get him a date. He calls her tail "mall cop level bad" and she says he's even more paranoid than usual. He asks how she and the folks at the FBI Financial Crimes Unit are doing. She says they're busy thinks to him. He asks what this means and she tells him that Barry Merrill got wind of a rumor of Esper stock tanking. She tells him that there was, in fact, no sell-off, that he was the first to sell and KOT Capital swooped in and got it at a discount. He asks if she's accusing him of something and she says KOT Capital is his client.

Madi explains the chain of events, that Merrill saw a woman talking with Alan Strapstetter and that a report was about to come out. A few minutes later, he got a text from his people about an emergency, telling him to turn on the news. He did, as John knows, since he's the guy who came over demanding that the channel be changed. The only thing is, there was no report, not on any of the major networks. Whatever he saw was not an actual broadcast. John calls it a fascinating story, but says he has no idea what she's talking about. They get out of the elevator and he greets his people, telling them to be in the conference room in five minutes. Agent Jo Madi comments that corporate espionage is a dirty way to get rich, but he tells her he's not a spy. He asks what he calls what he's doing and he says it's consulting, which is not illegal, and whatever people lose on Wall Street, they make right back. She asks him who "Tom" is and he tells her that he has no idea what she's talking about. An intern, Walt, comes over, asking if he can get her coffee. Cursing, she tells him to shut up.

Larter asks what will happen if Madi talks with the bartender. John says he told the bartender he had a video of him stealing from the till. Larter asks how he knew that, and he says that he didn't, but all bartenders do. They all share some friendly jibes, Cara Spader toasting to the next job until Tom comes along. Walt asks who Tom is and John says he's going to love him. Outside that night, John takes another taxi, once again being tailed. He attends a performance, "Talent Under the Stars," with a boy playing guitar and singing "Wild Thing." As everyone applauds, he stands, and a woman behind him shouts "Way to go, Sammy!" Outside, the woman, Liv, calls it "quite the performance," and he says it doesn't hurt to look like successful co-parents once in a while. She thanks him for coming and he tells her he has a meeting with Valence tomorrow. She says it's about time. He asks if he should to talk to Sam, and she tells him not while he's with his friends. He asks if he really hates him so much and she says he's 14, that he hates everything, but he blames her for most of it. She says to not take it personally, that it's just the job. He admits to being tired and stressed and she asks if he wants to talk, but he tells her he's good. She says she'll get going and to say hi to everyone at the office.

### Data drives everything

A news broadcast talks about protests against something called the Shared Data Act. John pops some pills and alcohol, staring at some photos, one depicting himself and his father in 1986. In a flashback, he returns from a hunting trip with his father. He next visits his father's office, where he is meeting with an associate, but is told to get out. He pulls up a game on a table with a built in messaging app and asks the person on the other end "You there?" but gets no response. That morning, he goes to a meeting at a company, Arda Analytics. After some chit-chat about past jobs, the guy leading meeting, Valence, gets down to business. He says that data drives everything, that all of the big guys are drowning in it. He says it's where they come in, that they just make sense of it. He tells John that he saw that long before any of them and he should be there working with them.

John tells Valence that he likes his "little pond" and Valence continues that with the right data they can predict things that one would not believe. "Why am I here, Miles?" he asks him. Valence tells him that he needs him for an old-school job. John says he has a full-team, asking why he needs him. He tells him that his people aren't hands-on, that he sticks to his pond too. He says he can trust John and John points out he's the one who taught him not to trust anyone. Valence says that the client wants an extra layer of distance. John asks how dirty and he tells him it's nothing he hasn't done before. He gives him the details, someone monitoring them on a camera above.

John heads outside, trying to hail another taxi. "Uh, shift change. Maybe get an Uber instead," suggests an approaching Agent Jo Madi. She continues that he can't because he has no credit cards, only burner phones. "Not suspicious at all." He says to call him old-fashioned, that he prefers cash. She tells him that he's not Robin Hood and that messing with Valence isn't the risk. "Way to look out," he says, telling her to tell the guys she has following him that he's heading back to the office. She tells him the paranoia will one day trip him up.

### A simple job

Back at his company, John tells his people that they're doing a simple job, a variation on an odd couple routine. One of them asks about Tom, but he says they're doing this first. He outlines the mission: that Luxbrant is a major player in the luxury goods market, but recently there have been loud rumors of them using child labor, triggering an investigation into their finances by the Treasury Department. Luxbrant claims that the allegations are coming from a major competitor, the Banomar Group, in an effort to tank their stocks so they can swoop in and take their stock on their cheap. While not true, Luxbrant needs it to be true to make the investigation go away. Their job is to make it seem as if Banomar and the Treasury Department are in bed together, a few photographs, and they 3% of the buy price to split with Arda. He says it will be like buying ten Versaces. He introduces photos of Dana Heinrich, Banomar Group CEO and Edward Hoom, the Treasury Department investigator, saying that they most likely don't know each other and never would, but they need to get them together on camera. He explains their typical daily routines, saying that they are from opposite sides of town, so the question is how to get them together. Cara says that it's a trick question, that he already knows.

He explains that thanks to information from Arda, he has some exploitable facts about their routines. He outlines just a couple, saying it's cut and dry. They just need someone with a valid class A driver's license. Thus, the plan goes down. They engineer a truck blocking a road, forcing Dana to reroute. She decides to abandon her driver and take a cab, valuing punctuality, just as John predicted. She approaches a cab driver, who tells another guy passing by him that he's not on the clock. When Dana arrives and asks the same question, he agrees to take her, he, of course, being one of John's men. The cab driver executes a purposeful delay, as Walt the intern informs John that Edward Homm is exiting his hotel. Larter, posing as being with the traffic division gets rid of Homm's chauffeur. As Heinrich berates John's man for being the dumbest cab driver he's ever met, he pulls up in front of the hotel, shouting at her to get out. She crosses the street, telling an attendant she needs a cab and now standing within feet of Homm. John tells Cara that Heinrich isn't close enough and they're going to lose her. Cara arrives with a group of dogs, corralling Heinrich right up against Homm. Larter drops an envelope by Homm. He asks him if he dropped something and Homm bends to pick it up. He asks Heinrich if it's hers. As he hands it over, someone rapidly snaps photos and she says that it is. John says that this is it, telling everyone to melt away.

Sleeping in bed, John has a nightmare of himself as a child. He runs through a dark forest and arrives at his home, only to hear a woman screaming. He is then woken by his alarm. He silences it and gets up, groaning. He drives through a forested road arriving at a small home in the woods with a paper bag. In the flashback of the past, the young John Weir hears a gunshot. In the present day, he passes by a wall which still has the same bullet holes. In the past, he is now at a graveyard, a woman telling him that it is his turn. She hands him a shovel, telling him to just take it, but he sobs and runs away. In the present day, he stands at the same tombstone, then walks away.

### Job gone wrong

Valence reviews the photos on a tablet provided by John, calling it a clever cover. John tells him the last photo is the coup de grace and, looking, Valence agrees "problem solved." He tells him it's buttoned-up tight and Valence agrees to have Xander wire the money immediately. John thanks him, and he tells him to not be a stranger. John says he knows where he is. John heads out, only, to his irritation, to see Hailey boarding a cab across the street. Back at his company, his people tell him they got a hit, but she is either apparently either nobody, or a very well-cultivated nobody. Cara tells him she's a lawyer working a for a non-profit, the Homeless Aid Network, but she has expensive tastes that don't line up with her job, but she could have a trust fund or something. She asks why they're looking her up and he says he's testing his bullshit-meter. Hafiz tells him that she works in Times Square and he wonders what she was doing near Valence. He says he has a bad feeling.

John confronts Hailey as she exits the offices of the Homeless Aid Network. "How do I always pick the weird stalker guys?" she asks. He tells her it's not what she's doing, asking what she was doing near Valence. She says she hates dating apps and is going to smash her phone. She tells him she's walking away and he asks what she's talking about with dating apps. She says that she swiped on him at the bar, that it's how she found him. He says it isn't, and she asks what this is, showing him a profile of himself in a dating app. Suddenly, she looks up and goes silent. On the giant monitor above is his face and a headline - "CBS News - Police Search for Murder Suspect." With his picture is that of Edward Homm. He curses and she punches him in the neck, shouting for help. A cop on a horse comes after him, but he runs off and manages to elude pursuit.

The news reports call Homm and advocate and a hero of consumer watchdog groups. John takes a cab, putting in a call and asking what happened. He is told they got burned, that Valence screwed them. He tells them that it doesn't change a thing. He pulls up in front of his offices and there is a massive explosion on the top floors. He jacks a car and puts in a call to Valence as news reports talk about him being near the explosion. He is put on hold, then hung up on. Disguised as a deliveryperson bringing something to the 30th floor, he enters the offices of Arda Analytics. He tells the person at the door that the package is a bomb rigged with motion sensors and that if he moves, the bomb detonates. If he hears any alarms, then he detonates the bomb. He goes to Valence's office and asks him what the hell is going on.

Valence tells him that he shouldn't be there. John tells him that everything is messed up. Valence tells him he has nothing to do with any of it. John tells him to stop lying, that it wasn't the plan. Valence tells him that nothing has changed. John asks if next is him is showing up dead. He gets a call and steps away. John sees a message on his computer - "Do it now." Valence climbs a stairway, drops his phone and falls over backwards to his death. John clutches his head and a security alarm blares. He flees the premises, but reaching the first floor, he sees a group gathered. He triggers the bomb, which is a harmless smoke bomb, but one which succeeds in covering him. Meanwhile, at her office, Jo Madi watches a report on John, now wanted for both Homm and Valence's deaths. John arrives at the wooded home from before, having flashbacks of everything that has happened. He enters the house. He enters the basement of the house, grabs an apple and tosses it to man in handcuffs, strapped to a chair. He bites into an apple of his own, placing a blindfold over the man's eyes. The man is Edward Homm.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir
* Meta Golding as Hailey Winton
* Enid Graham as Josephine "Jo" Madi
* Rob Yang as Edward Homm
* Walt Klink as Kyle ("The Intern")

and

* Charles Dance as Dr. Ben Wilson

### Guest starring

* Jason Butler Harner as Valence
* Dean Armstrong as Barry Merrill
* Phil Burke as Ben Weir
* Joria Cadence as Cara Spader
* Alex Castillo as Olivia 'Liv' Bonen
* Jonas Chernick as Xander Arnaz
* Ishan Davé as Hafiz
* Graham Harvey as Young John Weir
* Erin Karpluk as Claire Weir
* Jed Rees as Manfred Larter
* Wendy Makkena as Debra

### Co-starring

* Tricia Black as Data Protestor
* Elisa Campanella as Chloe Madi
* Carson Durven as Driver
* Jamaal Grant as Bearded Finance Type
* Shauntel Harry as Shannon
* Carin Moffat as Dana Heinrich
* Derek Moran as G-Man
* Matthew Olver as Bald Commuter
* Robert Skanes as Alan Strapstetter
* JD Smith as Bartender
* Douglas Walker as Chauffer
* Wyatt White as Sam Weir
* Houston Wong as Security Guard

## Trivia

* A preview screening of this episode was held on March 22, 2023 at 8 P.M. at The 92nd Street Y, New York, NY. Present at the screening were show stars Kiefer Sutherland, Meta Golding and Enid Graham, along with creator/executive producer John Requa, who participated in a conversation following regarding the inspiration for the series, how they ratcheted up the suspense, behind-the-scenes stories and more.

## References

1. ↑ Paramount+’s Rabbit Hole: Advance Screening With Kiefer Sutherland, Meta Golding, Enid Graham. Patch. Retrieved on March 20, 2023.