Weird Al is Dead

### Writer

Christopher Cantwell, Christopher C. Rogers, Stephany Folsom (created for television by)

### Director

Georgi Banks-Davies

***Weird Al is Dead*** is the second episode in the first season of the of the T.V. adaptation of *Paper Girls*. It was released on July 29, 2022.

## Synopsis

Erin convinces her older self to try to help her and the Girls find a way home to 1988…right as they are stalked by Prioress, one of the evil Old Watch soldiers determined to erase them from history.

## Episode Summary

Adult Erin, in 2019, freaks out and wonders how it’s possible younger her is in her house. She thinks she’s having a psychotic episode. Preteen Erin and her friends freak out too.

Tiffany holds up the device Naldo gave her and believes it means something. Teen Erin sees a photo of her mom next to a candle and realizes she died. She talks to adult Erin and asks if her kids are asleep- to which adult Erin seems confused. Adult Erin explains what happened to their mom and that she and Missy aren’t close. Adult Erin tells her that she’s still single and is a paralegal.

Prioress finds Marcus, who is lying in the dirt, dead. A woman asks what update for Grand Father they have and Prioress tells her none. She picks up the hockey stick, with KJ’s name on it.

Adult Erin gives the girls blankets and pillows to sleep. The preteen girls wonder if their families are alive or dead. They all go to sleep, but Mac sneaks out and rides around on her bike. She checks out the downtown in 2019, surprised by all of the technological advances. She sits on a bench outside of a bar and KJ asks her what she’s doing. She tells her she lived here. KJ admits she’s been bullied for being Jewish and that her life isn’t as easy as it seems to Mac.

Prioress releases the mechanic bugs to heal Heck’s wounds and revive him from the dead. She asks him who’s hockey stick it is and who KJ Brandman is, and more importantly is she Underground. Heck tells her Lou is the leader, Andy Warhol is in the group, and keeps lying until she realizes and calls him out. He tries to limp away but she shoots him down again.

Preteen Erin wakes up Adult Erin and asks her to drive them to where the time capsule was. They don’t see anyone else still there- including Marcus. They can’t find KJ’s hockey stick nor any blood from the scene. Adult Erin records the scene and the girls are in awe of Erin’s mobile phone. Tiff brings out the device Naldo gave her and asks Erin where she might go to get it fixed. Erin brings them to a TechDoctors store.

Mac apologizes to Erin about shooting her. Erin admits she expected more for her future- to be best friends and neighbors with her sister, Missy.

Koko, at TechDoctors, helps Erin out. He seems really happy to see her and talks about their date at Buca di Beppo. Koko tries to help revive their device but accidentally fries it and sets a small fire. Tiff freaks out that they’re never going to get home. They decide to contact adult Tiff.

Adult Erin talks to KJ about what happens in the woods and if someone got hurt. Tiff looks herself up on the internet and finds out that she has an institute- the Tiffany Quilkin Institute, in Cleveland. They want to drive there but adult Erin thinks they need to take a pause. Erin fights with her adult self - “you’re literally the worst version of how my life could’ve gone!” She tells Erin that she quit the paper route after 1 day. Preteen Erin insists she will never be like her adult self. They storm off to find adult Tiffany.

En route to Cleveland, the girls realize they forgot the device. Adult Erin manages to turn on the device. A virtual screen pops up and asks if she wants to activate the system. Erin says yes and then tries to change it. It says “system armed”. Adult Erin gets in the car and tries to find the kids, who are now in an empty mall.

The girls reminisce about the good old days. Mac snaps at the other girls because her life was harder than theirs. Mac tells them she isn't going back and that they don't have to stay together. Mac looked up her brother, who is now an ER doctor, and she plans to track him down. The girls insist they have to stick together. Mac walks off.

Nora Brandman asks her husband Ozzie if they want to host the homeowner's dinner again. He tells her probably not. They answer the door and Prioress, pretending to be a new neighbor named Karen, walks in. She asks them about KJ's hockey stick and when they recognize it she does something to them. A pink light shines from the house. Prioress walks off with a framed photo of KJ.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Riley Lai Nelet as Erin Tieng
	+ Ali Wong as adult Erin
* Camryn Jones as Tiffany Quilkin
* Sofia Rosinsky as Mac Coyle
* Fina Strazza as KJ Brandman
* Nate Corddry as Larry

### Recurring Cast

* Adina Porter as Prioress
* Daniel Rashid as Heck
* Quetta Carpenter as Nora Brandman
* Christopher Shyer as Ozzie Brandman
* Joshua L. Green as Marcus
* Saurabh Pande as Koko

## Quotes

> Erin, what are you gonna tell them? That the..the 12 year old version of yourself broke into your house with her punk friends you never had?
>
> Adult Erin

> You know, I knew I got the f\*ck out of Dodge.
>
> Mac

> What’s the internet?
>
> Tiff