Gilgamesh

"**Gilgamesh**" is the seventh episode of the Paramount+ series *Rabbit Hole*. It premiered on April 30, 2023.

## Synopsis

Weir and his team are in desperate straits. With the Shared Data Act about to pass, Weir's paranoia about Ben and anxiety over Crowley begin to get the better of him as he tries not to disappear down a rabbit hole of possibilities. Hailey watches with mounting concern while Homm's celebrity grows on Morgan Shaw's podcast. Agent Madi receives a mysterious note and Liv gets a delivery.

## Plot

### An enduring name

A news report details that the Shared Data Act has been swept to an early vote on the Senate floor in the wake of Senator Nora Evers's assassination and has been renamed the Nora Evers American Protection Act in her honor. It is expected to pass by an overwhelming margin in two days, with the President signing it that day. Crowley watches the report and how the legislation will allow U.S. sharing of data with three companies: Termina Systems, CKB Digital and Arda Analytics, which he now controls.

A flashback shows a young Miles Valence breaking up a fight between John and a boy that John says insulted his father. "John, Gilgamesh," Valence tells him, that they have to study for it. He tells him he has to focus on what matters to him. John reads about Gilgamesh and Enkidu and how they shielded each other. "And when they fall, they'll leave an enduring name," recites Valence. They continue reciting the poem. In the present day, Homm and the others go through the briefcase they had secured for Evers. He calls the contents disappointing, wondering where the pornography is. John replies that there is none, that Evers just wanted what was in the case and used them to get it. They wonder about the contents, which are just a bunch of numbers and why Evers would them in the first place.

As John sits, tapping his finger in his soothing motions, the scenario plays out in his head in a variety of ways. In one of these, Ben says that the briefcase was just a distraction while he pursued his actual goal. Hailey asks what this. "Helping my friend pass the Data Act," he replies. The scenario flashes again. As they discuss what to do with the information in the case, Ben says that there may not be enough time to figure out what the numbers mean. John shouts out him, saying that for five years he's been saying they have to stop Crowley. "Now you say you want the Data Act to pass?!" he shouts. Hailey points out that Ben never said that and John leaves the room. In the other room, John goes to his laptop and reads the message on Magic Squares, except this time it reads "He's been lying to you." "Who?" he asks.

### Like he wants to get caught

At Agent Jo Madi's place, she has an argument with her daughter, Chloe. She studies a photo of one of John's dead teammates, wondering just what he is up to. Back at the safe house, Hailey moves to leave the room, saying that one of them needs to check on John. Ben tells her to leave him alone and she asks if they taught avoidance at the psychiatrist school. Ben replies that it was psychology and it's John that's avoiding *him*. He says that right now John considers him to be the cause of what ails him, not the cure, so it's better they leave him alone. He asks Homm if he's making any sense of the papers in the briefcase and he tells him that he actually is, that they have corporate ID numbers and bank routing numbers. "He's gone!" declares Hailey from the other room. Homm shouts at the window for John and they shout at him to get away as Hailey reads the messages on John's laptop. "Ben," is the answer in response to John's "Who?" followed by "This chat is burned. Move to the encrypted app." She closes the lid on the laptop, not revealing what she saw to the others.

As news reports flash about John still being on the loose and a police camera identifies him as a 98% match, he enters a store called Bart's Electronics. He goes to a laptop and taps on it. Back at the safe house, Hailey tells Homm that John isn't answering his phone and she's going to find him. "Good luck," quips Ben and she asks if he isn't even a little bit worried about John, that he's his son. He tells her he worries about him all the time. Ben asks where she'll even look and she says that maybe he went to his ex-wife's. Hailey says she'll start with the van.

At the electronics store, John logs into a free SMS app as John83429, telling an Anon043872 that he's there. He spots a man going to a security guard and the store's camera system identifies him as John Weir. At Arda, Crowley attends a briefing about the data that will be coming in from the Shared Data Act. A woman hands him a tablet, showing the footage of John. "He's not even wearing a hat," comments Crowley and the woman comments that he's not using a VPN either, that it's almost like he wants to get caught. He tells her to oblige him, but not to underestimate him this time and let the cops go in first. At the store, the Anon responds with a set of numbers, which John writes down as a cipher. His phone buzzes and this time he takes the call from Hailey. He apologizes for having taken off without telling her, saying that he needed to do this alone. "Do what?" she asks, hitting record on her phone and he tells her that they really shouldn't be using phones right now. She pleads that they don't have a lot of time and he says that he's trying to find answers and can do it faster on his own.

Hailey asks him what answers and he tells her he's hanging up. She pleads not to, but he does. She then plays back the recording, hearing a loudspeaker announcement for "Bart's Platinum Members." As police pull up outside the store, John deciphers the message, which reads "BEN USED US." "How?" he types back and another, long cipher appears on screen. As he sets to work, he realizes that he has been made. He takes off and pretends to greet a guy, saying he thought he recognized him from high school and dropping something in his bag. He asks a clerk for an HDMI cable and the man sets off the security alarm as he tries to exit. John uses the distraction to exit the store and Hailey comes up behind him outside. He curses, asking how she found him, and she explains about the P.A. announcement. He asks if Ben knows she found him, if she's working with him. She asks what's going on with him, that he's not himself right now, paranoid.

### Not delusional

John tells Hailey that paranoid is delusional and what he's dealing with right now is not delusional. She points out that he accused Ben of saying that he wanted the Data Act to pass, but he never did. John tells her that he knows, but in his mind, there's a version that did. He tells her that it's how his mind works, that it's complicated. He continues that if he can't find a rational explanation for something, his mind starts to visualize every possible scenario until it finds the most logical one. Every now and then, he can't control it and that Valence knew how to pull him out, what to say, but he's not there and he's having difficulty knowing what's real. "Seriously?" she asks. He tells her that there's an unmarked gray SUV behind him, that he thought he kept his head down, but apparently not. He races her to a bus, telling her that they have to go all the way to the back, but as it pulls away, he hops off. She shouts that she needs to get off, but it is too late - John is already gone.

A man meets with another man. The man tells him he's late and the other man replies that he took measures to make sure he wasn't being followed. The man is Miles Valence. The other man tells him that the next time he needs to leave some space in his planning to accommodate those measures. Hailey returns to the safe house. "Who's the man?" asks Homm and Hailey, confused asked him what he's talking about. "Homm is the man," clarifies Ben. "Did you figure out the stuff in the briefcase?" asks Hailey, catching on. He tells her that the contents are a roadmap to Crowley's operation, real who's who of CEOs, journalists and more, even Supreme Court judges that Crowley owns. Homm explains that Evers wasn't worried about the case embarrassing her, she wanted it for herself, that whoever has it controls everything. Hailey asks who they bring it to and Ben tells her that they can't bring it to anyone. She asks why not, that they can end this, and Homm explains that with so many people on the list, they have no way of knowing that anyone they give it to won't just turn it back over to Crowley. Hailey asks what the whole point of any of it was, what the plan is. Ben tells her that there might still be a play, but they need to wait for John. She says they're all screwed if waiting for John is the plan and leaves. Meanwhile, the doorbell rings at the home of John's ex-wife, Liv. She goes to the door and finds a package, addressed to her from Arda Analytics.

John sits, tapping his finger. He is with the priest he was seen with at the very beginning. He tells him that he needs help, that he goes over things in his mind and gets lost. He tells him he can't tell the difference between what is real and what's not, that talking out loud helps and he hasn't slept for days. He tells him that there may have been too many possibilities and motivations, that he used to have a friend who helped him, but he died. He tells him he just needs someone to listen and keep it between them. "Just us and God," the priest agrees. John says that maybe God could tell him what's going on, that he only has about two days, tops. He says he has his only friend trying to tell him that his father's been lying to him. "Your friend?" asks the priest and John tells him that in his heart he knows his friend is dead, that he watched him jump, but it could have been a setup and not real. His phone rings and he sighs and takes the call, answering as "Midtown Television Repair." The call is from Liv, saying that a package came in the mail for him from Valence.

Morgan Shaw does his podcast, saying that it's unbelievable that they can't find John Weir when the whole deep state paramilitary apparatus has been looking for him for weeks. He says that they don't want to find him, because then they start to get answers about what really happened to Edward Homm. He continues that his source, Zaius, promised to get him proof that Ed is not dead. He continues that Edward Homm is the star, an American hero. Watching, Ed comments that it's all too much, asking Hailey if she heard any of it. He asks if it's a little much that Morgan Shaw compared him to Jesus. She says she's heard crazier things, asking how many viewers Shaw has. 2.35 million, he tells her. They cheer, him pointing out that just yesterday it was only around 300,000. She tells him she's going to go get something to eat.

### "Remember me?"

John visits a train station, buying a ticket to Yonkers. At Arda, he is identified on a monitor. Crowley shuts it off, grinning. At the FBI offices, Madi is pursued by Rasche, who asks what he's doing slumming it in Financial Crimes. He tells her it's where all the bureau's info on John Weir is, but her archivist just told him he can't locate any of it. "That must be frustrating," she quips and he starts to threaten her about what will happen if she's hiding information from him. She tells him that she won't lose any sleep if he's as effective at investigating her as he is investigating the murder of Edward Homm. She closes the door on him and discovers a note in her office. She calls over Anna, asking if she knows who sent it, but she tells her it was just some delivery guy. She asks if she wants her to call the store and find out, but Madi opens the note. It reads "MEET ME AT FOUCAULT PLAZA, IT'S ABOUT WEIR. 3 PM."

"Not just yet," Madi tells Anna and heads to Foucault Plaza, where she discovers Hailey. She asks her how she knows John Weir. "Dating app," Hailey tells her and Madi asks her to be serious, that she knows everyone who works for him. She tells her that she's someone who cares about him, like her. Madi replies that she and John are not close. Hailey tells Madi that John didn't kill anybody, that she has proof. She holds up a flash drive. At Liv's, John opens the package, some sort of stone tablet. Liv asks John how Valence can possibly be sending him stuff. He tells her he doesn't know and she asks if he's still alive, but he says he doesn't know this either. He stares at the tablet, having flashbacks of Valence and studying Gilgamesh. Liv tells him it has to mean something and he agrees that he wouldn't have risked sending it to him if it didn't. Miles Valence is shown donning gloves, preparing to examine something inside a case.

Madi goes to the office of her boss, Wilhelm Morello. He tells her that he knows she's focused on John Weir and that he's assuming she found something. "Yes and no," she tells him, handing him a tablet. He asks her what it is and she tells him to just read it, that he wouldn't believe her if she told him. Late at night, John is out walking with the box when he is accosted by Kyle. "Hey, boss, you remember me?" comments Kyle, pulling a gun. John curses him and Kyle says he's touched that he remembers him. He points the gun at him, commenting "bang bang" and saying it would be that simple, that he's just the task monkey. He tells him that "he" said he could kill him if he tries any tricks. John asks who that would be. "Let's find out," he tells him.

### Crowley's tale

Kyle brings John to the top of a staircase, saying it's where he leaves him. He tells him he wishes that he'd paid him more, that he was a pretty good boss. "You were a shit intern," John tells him, and he leaves. John steps forward and finds himself face-to-face with Crowley, sitting in a chair. Crowley asks him what's in his package and he asks him why he didn't let Kyle kill him. "Killing you wouldn't change anything, would it Mr. Weir, or should I say Mr. *Wilson*?" replies Crowley. He tells him he knows all about his father and his sophisticated games. He tells him that it was Ben who wanted the Shared Data Act passed and that arranging Evers's assassination is pure Ben. John just stares at him and he says that they should walk it back a little further, asking whose idea it was for him and Valence to spin off Arda Analytics. "It was Ben, wasn't it?" he points out, telling John that Ben manipulated them both. He tells him that his father is using him and John shouts that he's a liar, decking him in the face and then punching him to the ground. He discovers an earpiece in the man's ear, and asks if someone is telling him what to say.

John grabs the earpiece and places it in his ear. "Hello, John," comes the voice, the real Crowley. He tells him he's sorry he couldn't risk meeting him in person, that the reason why should be obvious from his colleague laying on the ground. John spots a camera nearby and Crowley tells him that he needs his help, that all he knows about him is what Ben told him. He says that everything so far has been Ben, that Valence figured it out. He tells him he almost had Ben, but that somehow he blew up the AeroDelhi flight. John asks if he really thinks he believe him over his own father. "The man who abandoned you and your mother?" asks Crowley. He tells John that he knew his mother, Claire and that it was a shame what his father did to her. He tells him that Ben always chooses his own plan, himself. He tells him he can prove he's been lying to him, that at the time of the AeroDelhi crash he was living in a brownstone just three blocks from John. "For a decade," he tells him, "as Dr. Benjamin Wolff, psychologist." John clutches his head in horror.

At the FBI office, Madi sits with Morello. She asks what they do next and he tells her the file she gave him and the case are a real game-changer. He tells her she can write her whole career with it and his only question for her is what he can offer her to make her forget it existed. She tells him she thought he'd never ask, saying that she'd like her old job back in the Criminal Division and to be the head of the task force tracking down John Weir. Pulling the flash drive from his computer, he tells her it shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile, John arrives back at the safe house. Hailey thanks God, asking where he was. He hands her a package, saying it's from Valence and that it's a piece of *Gilgamesh*, a story they obsessed over when they were kids. He asks where Ben is and Homm tells him they're not sure, that he went out and hasn't come back yet. "Of course he didn't," groans John, going to Ben's bedroom and going through the drawers, then ransacking the bed. Underneath the mattress, he discovers a gun.

### Let your courage be roused

Hailey asks John to help her understand why Valence would send him this. He explains that it's a code, that it's how the communicated. Just then, Ben arrives. John grabs him by the neck and points the gun at him, asking if he's been running an op on him. Hailey tells him to stop and Ben tells him to breathe, but he points the gun again, telling him to shut up. Ben begs him to put down the gun, but he shoots him in the head. The scenario flashes again. This time, when Ben tells him to breathe, John tells him to shut up, that he knows everything. He asks him where he was living when the AeroDelhi flight blew up. He says he was living overseas and John shouts that he's a liar, that he has proof he was living three blocks away from him. He admits he was, but only for a brief period. Ben asks how he knows. "Crowley," John tells him, releasing his neck, but still pointing the gun, saying that Crowley told him he was the real threat. Ben calls it insane and John says what's insane is what he's being doing for the last few years. He shouts that if he had actually cared about him, he could just knocked on his door. Ben tells him he never stopped caring and John points the gun at his head, shouting at him to shut up.

John tells him that he's been trying to convince him the only way to deal with a real threat is to kill it and that he thinks he may be right. Ben pleads with him to put the gun down and Homm calls John's name. He plays a recording of Valence. Valence tells him that he doesn't have any other way to contact him without exposing him, Ben and the whole plan. He continues that he doesn't have much time. He tells John that Crowley doesn't want any loose ends in the Homm operation and just ordered him to kill him. He tells him he's not going to do that and that means they'll kill them both. He curses, saying that Crowley outplayed him and that he could convince him he was on his side without actually being on his side. He continues that Crowley has infiltrated their company and that he can buy them some time, that he and Ben still have work to do. He continues that if he told him what he was going to do, he would try and stop him, that he's a dead man, but John still has a chance. He tells him he's sorry for he's going to have to go through and that he hopes he can find somebody else he can rely on. He tells him he's stronger than he thinks he is. He then laughs, saying that he knows that John's a mess, but if he's watching this, his plan worked and he's okay. "Gilgamesh, you must be okay." He tells him it's the thought he'll take with him.

A flashback shows Valence posting the Gilgamesh tablet to John, with a chip inside. He inconspicuously places it in a mailcart and enters a room to find John, their final meeting before his suicide. John recalls them as children, reading from *Gilgamesh* - "And when they fall, they'll leave an enduring name." "The trembling will leave from your hand, let your courage be roused by the battle to come," recites John, teary-eyed. "He jumped to save me," he comments to Hailey, and she and Homm realize that the messages John was receiving must have been from Crowley, that after infiltrating Arda he had access to Valence's data. "I'm so sorry," John tells Ben, sobbing into his hands. Ben tells him to not apologize anymore, to just tell him that they're going to work together to stop Crowley. Hailey notes that Ben had wanted to wait, that he had said it was too risky. He tells her that he knows Crowley better than anyone, that he helped him devise *The Algorithms of Control*. He tells her that the way things are now, the fertile state of democracy, is fertile ground for man like him, globally. He asks her to imagine what he can do when he has access to everyone's data, given what he did with just Valence's. He tells her that he'll manipulate and infect everyone and everything, that before long they'll be powerless to prevent him. He says they have to stop him now, while they still have the chance, that they're in danger of losing their free will. "Johnathan?" he asks and John stands. "Whatever it takes," he tells him.

## 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 Miles Valence
* Peter Weller as Distinguished Man
* Stephen Bogaert as Wilhelm Morello
* Alex Castillo as Olivia 'Liv' Bonen
* James Downing
* Graham Harvey as Young John Weir
* Noam Jenkins
* Matthew MacFadzean as Morgan Shaw
* Wendy Makkena as Debra
* Finlay Wojtak-Hissong as Young Miles Valence

### Co-starring

* Elisa Campanella as Chloe Madi
* Bryan Hatt as Customer
* Tyler James as Security Guard
* Blair Johannes as Hunter #2
* Josette Jorge as Anna
* Yvette McKoy as Hunter #3
* Tim Myles as Employee
* Matt Raymond as Boy
* Chai Valladares as Young Exec
* Michelle Nash as Young Mom
* Fane Tse as Benzo