Beauty and the Beast (1987) S1 E18

## Plot

The episode starts with Mouse digging and finding a new area of the tunnels. Jamie finds Cullen, a woodcarver who lives in the World Below, and tells him that Father needs to talk to him right away. He said it was urgent. She sees that he's working on a specialized World Below chess set for Father. He plans on giving it to him as a surprise at the mid-winter feast. Vincent is a queen's knight. Winslow and Pascal are bishops. Mouse will be a rook. The white king will be Father himself. He'll pretend to be angry, but secretly, he's going to love it. Jamie promises to keep it a secret, but only if she can be a pawn. Catherine is giving things to the residents of the World Below. She claims that they were just lying around her apartment, and some truly were, but Vincent points out that she forgot to remove the price tags from the ones that she bought. She also brought something for Mouse, but he's not very punctual, since he hasn't fully grasped the concept of time. Catherine gives him a toolbox with new tools, and then she leaves with Vincent. Father tells Jamie, Mouse, Winslow, and Cullen that they've been getting reports of a leak in one of the city's storm drains. They need to figure out what it is before someone is sent down to try and find the problem. However, Mouse is distracted by his new tools and leaves. Before Catherine leaves, he gives her a gift to thank her, but tells her to wait until she's at home to open it. She wonders if he stole it, but Vincent tells her that he hasn't taken anything in weeks. Wherever he found it, it came from his heart. When she gets home, she sees that it's a necklace. Winslow, Cullen, and Mouse go to his chamber, because he needs a specific tool to start working. Cullen and Winslow see that he has solid gold and silverware lying around. He didn't steal it, he found it down here. It makes good wire once it's melted down. Cullen points out that it's covered in grime, so it can't be from the World Above, because someone who owned a solid gold plate would clean it. Mouse agrees to show them where he found it, but only if they keep it a secret. He got it from a sunken ship that he discovered. It came from old New York. There could've been water here a long time ago. There's a lot more treasure still there. Mouse leaves to get his chest so they can carry more of it. Cullen yells that he can't tell anyone about this, but Winslow says he won't tell anyone except his raccoon. Cullen says he doesn't understand the value of what they found. To him, it's just a shiny metal thing. Winslow says that maybe he's the smart one then. Catherine is dressed up for a book signing at a store with Jenny Aronson, the woman from the previous episode. She's like the new Edie, except she doesn't work at the D.A.'s office, and she's not nearly as interesting or fun, at least in my opinion. She leaves to talk to the author, Alain Viso. Catherine is wearing the necklace. A man comes up to her and asks her if she's with the publishing house or if she's a collector. He introduces himself as Jonathan Thorpe. Viso couldn't have written his latest book without him. He notices her necklace. Before Jenny can introduce Catherine and Alain, Jonathan takes him away to talk to him about a new book on Egypt. Mouse returns with the chest. He only told Jamie because he needed help with it, and the kids saw and followed them. Cullen pretends to be concerned about their safety, but it's clear that he's become greedy and just wants the treasure all to himself. Winslow says the gold belongs to all of them. Catherine agrees to have lunch with Jonathan. George R. R. Martin makes a cameo as a restaurant patron, reading one of his own books. Jonathan has, officially speaking, never worked with Viso. A writer like him needs a man like him. He's interested in the necklace that Catherine was wearing last night. She refuses to sell it to him, and tells him that it was a gift. He tells her that the necklace is very old and valuable, and whoever gave it to her probably stole it. He wants to know where she got it. She claims that it was from a secret admirer and leaves. Vincent tells Father that the work on the leak isn't progressing. Mouse, Winslow, and Cullen aren't at the site. Father says they're all aware of the urgency and wonders if they're just taking a break, but their tools aren't there either. They haven't even started. None of the children are around. They learn that Catherine is here and Vincent leaves to meet her. She tells him what she learned about the necklace. She thought it was just costume jewelry, but when she took it to a jeweler, she learned that it was solid gold. It dates to the 17th century. Mouse only ever takes what he needs from the World Above, like tools and machine parts. Mary and Jamie are examining a piece with a solid gold frame. Jamie wants to hang it in her chamber, but Mary wants to give it to a Helper who would love it. They find jewelry and gold doubloons. Two kids fight over a ring. Cullen yells at them and takes it away. Jamie says they're just looking. Mary says it belongs to the whole community. They share everything down here. Cullen thinks it belongs to himself, Mouse, and Winslow because they did all the work, so they should each get a third, and if Winslow and Mouse want to share their thirds with everyone else, that's fine. Everyone starts yelling at each other. Vincent finds them and tells them to stop. Cullen says he, Mouse, and Winslow found it, but Jamie says she helped. Vincent yells at them again as everyone starts to argue. This is completely unlike them. They will discuss this, calmly and quietly, at a council meeting, like friends. Cullen puts some gold in his pockets before he leaves. It turns out that Edie still exists, but she's having a surgery this week, so she's off work. Catherine mentions needing a favor from her. Saul taught her everything she knows. Catherine asks him to run a background check on Jonathan Thorpe. Father tells everyone that they will have to decide, as a community, what to do with this extraordinary treasure, and it will be a great test of their good sense and loyalty to each other. They could buy food, medicine, and new toys for the kids. Mouse could actually buy machines and new parts. Some of their Helpers have so little, and as their title suggests, they've done so much for the World Below over the years. Vincent points out that a person buying things with antique gold would surely arouse suspicion and curiosity about where they got it. This could pose a threat to their security. Father says there's also the historical and archaeological value to consider. These things have to be catalogued and studied. Winslow thinks they should be practical though, and use this to survive and better their lives. Cullen interrupts and says that Mouse and Winslow can do what they want with their shares, but a third of the treasure is his. Mary says that everyone helped. He says that everyone came around to watch, but Jamie says she did more than watch. Winslow doesn't care who did what. Cullen says he's talking about his gold. Vincent tells Cullen that he's always had a generous soul. He says that just because he used to make wood carvings and hand them out to people doesn't give them the right to steal what's his. What's fair is fair. This is a dream come true. Vincent warns that dreams can turn into nightmares. Cullen says he knows the difference between the two. In his old life in the World Above, when he was selling door to door, he saw these big houses with nice furniture and swimming pools. He always told his wife, Betty, that one day their ship would come in, and they'd have nice things too. He'd have time to spend on his carvings, and maybe even sculpt in marble. The day she died, he looked around at what he had to show. A ten year old car with a bad transmission. He couldn't even pay the hospital bill. Okay, but that's because healthcare in the U.S. sucks. Father tells him that he's never wanted for anything since he came to them. Vincent says they all know about the hardships he's suffered, but Cullen says he doesn't know anything. He just wants what he found, but Winslow says that Mouse found it… but only because Cullen and Winslow told him to dig. Cullen yells that they wouldn't have any of this if it wasn't for him. He just wants his fair share. Father tells everyone to listen to what is happening. If they can't deal with this rationally and humanely, then the only alternative is to bury the treasure again, in a place safe from all of them. Everyone starts yelling, and Cullen calls them all thieves. Vincent tells him that they're his friends, and he should listen to Father. Cullen asks him what he'll do if he doesn't. Kill him? He leaves. Saul tells Catherine that it's bad. Bribery, theft of national antiquities, smuggling, etc. Jonathan is wanted in India, Egypt, and half of South America. You'd think he'd have been caught by now if he's dumb enough to use his real name. This is the part where you arrest him and start the extradition process. Vincent kisses Father on the head and tells him not to lose heart. Aw! The selfishness and insensitivity was shocking and sad. Vincent says they'll come to their senses. They're all good people. No one has seen Cullen since he walked out of the meeting. Jamie admitted that she took some gold back by the ship. Seven people have gone back to see if they can find more treasure. All they see is the specter of wealth. That ship sank, and hundreds of years later, it's threatening everything they are, everything they've built, and everything they've worked for down here. Cullen, in his regular World Below clothes, visits Edmonton's Antiquities to sell some of the gold. He doesn't tell him where he got them. Edmonton offers $2,000 for them, but Cullen says he's not stupid. He wants $10,000 in cash. He has a lot more of it. Edmonton says he can't move too much of this, but he can arrange a meeting with an acquaintance of his who specializes in these kinds of transactions. He gives Cullen the money and tells him that he's arranged a meeting here at 8:30 tonight. When he leaves his chamber, he takes one of his carving knives as a weapon. Catherine asks Vincent about Father. He's devastated to see his dream crumbling. She tells him about Jonathan. They decide to visit Mouse. And they're not the only ones. Cullen visits Mouse's chamber for his third. Mouse says that's stealing, and tells him that it's not worth it. He won't let him take his stuff. Cullen takes out his knife and ends up stabbing Mouse. He takes a bag of the gold and leaves. Vincent and Catherine find Mouse, who tells them that Cullen took the gold to the World Above. Cullen goes to the antiques store and meets Jonathan, who makes him nervous because he doesn't know him. Edmonton said he would be here, but he's not. Jonathan tells Cullen that he's the man with the money. He just wants $50,000. What he brought is worth a lot more than that. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website, $10,000 in February 1988, when this episode originally aired, had the same buying power as $23,961.03 in November 2021 (which is a month off from when I originally wrote this, but whatever, processing data takes time). $50,000 had the same buying power as $119,805.17. Okay, as a middle class college student with a B.A. in a field not known for its lucrativeness, that does sound like a lot of money. $60,000 in total had the same buying power as $143,766.21. Damn. Not gonna lie, there are ka-ching and cash register sound effects going off in my head right now, and if I was a cartoon, dollar signs would've replaced my pupils and irises and made me a pair of wings out of U.S. dollars already. Cullen tells Jonathan that there isn't any more, but he doesn't believe him and pulls out a gun. Cullen says he'll never hear from him again if he gives him the money, but Jonathan says he never pays for anything. He lets him live for now, but only so he can take him to the rest of it. Winslow says that he'll kill Cullen if he ever shows his face down here again. Catherine asks what that will accomplish, and Winslow says it'll make him feel better. Vincent says there's been enough bloodshed. Jamie doesn't understand how people who are friends could hurt each other. Vincent tells her that Cullen was sick. He couldn't see or hear them. It's a disease that comes from the World Above, called greed. Father tells everyone that Mouse lost a lot of blood, but he should be alright. Pascal tells everyone that he's seen Cullen and an intruder with a gun. They're heading towards the abyss, which is appropriately named. Vincent heads there as well. Cullen tells Jonathan that this is where both of them belong. He tries to throw both of them in, but Jonathan gains the upper hand. Vincent saves Cullen. Jonathan tries to shoot him, but Cullen throws the gold at him, and he falls into the abyss via dated special effects. Later on, everyone agrees that the best thing to do is to get rid of the gold. Catherine puts her necklace with the rest of it. Cullen is about to send it into the abyss, and Mouse lets him know that he forgives him for what he did. However, Vincent says that by throwing it in, they admit defeat. There may be no place for it in their world, but there are others. The World Above will go hungry and hopeless, and although they live apart from them, they can never deny that they are all a part of each other, and this city. They can't turn their backs while there is a chance to help. It's anonymously left at a homeless shelter run by nuns. I'm not gonna lie, to me that honestly feels like they're just passing the problem onto someone else so they don't have to deal with it.