LONDON SPY Page #4

Episode #5

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However, this time he’s nervous. In his own peculiar

speech pattern. An echo of Danny’s line.

JOE:

Otherwise, how do you know?

Danny nods, happy - he knew it.

INT/EXT. JOE’S CAR / VAUXHALL. DAWN

Joe’s driving. The car is expensive. In perfect

condition. Danny in the passenger seat.

Danny playfully admires the car. The leather trim. Not

beguiled by wealth, soaking details as character.

The car’s music library: Bach. Nothing else. Joe waits

for some comment. But Danny doesn’t remark.

INT/EXT. JOE’S CAR / MOTORWAY. MORNING

Joe and Danny in the car.

DANNY:

At some point you’re going to talk

about yourself, right? Not your

work, I understand. That’s

‘secret’. But the other stuff?

JOE:

Why?

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

DANNY:

Isn’t that what you do when you

meet someone? I tell you stuff.

You tell me stuff.

Joe ponders.

JOE:

Like facts?

DANNY:

(amused)

Facts. Sure.

Joe ponders some more. But does not offer any facts.

INT/EXT. JOE’S CAR / COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. MORNING

The countryside. The car’s parked. There’s nothing

around. Joe steps out. Danny follows.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. MORNING

Picturesque landscape. Bleak. Steel edged. Unusual.

Joe’s at the back of the car. Danny walks towards him.

INT/EXT. JOE’S CAR BOOT / COUNTRYSIDE. MORNING

An antique boarding school trunk in the boot. Cracked

leather trim. Rusted metal locks. Seventy years old.

Joe rummages through. A pair of hiking boots. There are

numerous ordinance survey maps - at least fifty.

Danny’s intrigued by this many maps.

DANNY:

You’ve walked all these?

Joe’s nervous it implies he’s weird. Danny reassures him.

DANNY:

A lot of miles.

Joe calculates the exact amount but catches himself.

Instead, he takes out the relevant map for their walk.

JOE:

This is us.

They sit side by side, map open, each holding half.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. DAY

Danny and Joe walking. Not typical English countryside.

Nothing quaint. Odd. Powerful.

Though Danny might not be expertly dressed, he’s fit

and enjoying the walk.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. DAY

Danny and Joe at the water’s edge. The mud flats. The

water’s ebb. A kind of magic here.

Danny turns, looking at Joe as he observes the view. Joe

turns to Danny. Both looking at each other, not the view.

Danny wants to thank Joe for taking him here but doesn’t

quite have the words.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. DAY

Huddled behind the remains of an old fishing boat. Joe

has a backpack. Takes out an elegant thermos. Danny

watches him fuss with the picnic apparatus.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. DAY

They’re eating a handmade sandwich. Not thin processed

bread. Wedges from a nice loaf. They sip tea.

DANNY:

(through a mouthful)

You’re so grown up. You drink tea.

Out of a thermos. You go on

country walks. I must seem young?

Compared to the people you work

with?

JOE:

You do.

There’s an autistic yet ever gentle directness about Joe.

Danny - far from being offended - seems to enjoy it.

DANNY:

Why are you so grown up?

JOE:

I skipped childhood.

DANNY:

You’re not joking, are you?

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

JOE:

A joke? No. I started university

when I was fifteen.

DANNY:

You’ve never... messed around?

JOE:

In what sense?

DANNY:

Any sense.

JOE:

I’ve been serious. For a long

time.

DANNY:

Why did you change your mind?

JOE:

About?

DANNY:

Me.

JOE:

I wondered what it would be like

to do one of these walks with

someone.

DANNY:

For a moment I was worried you

were going to say it was because I

made you laugh.

Joe considers this seriously. And literally.

JOE:

I don’t think you’ve ever made me

laugh.

Mathematically correct. Danny smiles. Joe worries.

JOE:

I’m not saying you won’t --

DANNY:

I understand.

JOE:

I’m sure you will -

DANNY:

(amused)

I understand.

Joe accepts that Danny isn’t upset. And that’s new.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE. ESTUARY. DAY

Danny and Joe returning to the car. Danny’s increasingly

excited with how the date’s going. Not fatigued by walk,

his pace and energy increasing, orbiting Joe.

DANNY:

(playful - mid-flow)

-- you show up, on my doorstep -

which is wonderful - except I

never told you where I lived - so

I’m wondering - and just to be

clear, in advance, I don’t mind -

but did you carry out some kind of

‘background check’ on me?

Joe seems unsure how to respond.

JOE:

The way we met was unusual.

DANNY:

(playful)

Right. I get it. You thought -

stranger, seduction - not that

I’m presuming you’re seduced by

me - process ongoing - and...

what was I saying...? Okay, you

thought, what? Our meeting was

part of, like, a ‘set up’?

Danny spots Joe’s anxiety.

DANNY:

It’s fine. It’s fun. I just

thought you said I was easy to

read?

Joe slowly understanding that Danny doesn’t care one bit

about the oddness. He begins to play along.

JOE:

That would’ve been the reason

you were selected. The

appearance of innocence.

DANNY:

Oh. I’m not innocent.

JOE:

You might be the only innocent

person I know.

Danny’s stumped.

DANNY:

Can you tell me what your real

name is now?

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

Joe looks at him - bewildered and impressed. Danny has no

empirical evidence, he just sensed ‘Joe’ was a lie.

JOE / ALEX

My name’s Alex.

From now on JOE is referred to by his real name ALEX.

DANNY:

Nice to meet you, Alex.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE CAR PARK. EVENING

Sitting at the back of the car, taking off their muddy

shoes. Danny has no spare set.

Alex gives Danny a fresh of pair of lush, thick hiking

socks, to replace his flimsy destroyed trainers.

DANNY:

They’re better than my shoes.

ALEX:

You can keep them.

DANNY:

That’s the second gift you’ve

given me and I’ve given you

nothing.

It’s clearly a line, Danny’s about to kiss him.

Alex fathoms this. Wants it. And panics.

He breaks the moment, standing up, his mind on the kiss

that didn’t just happen, stuttering --

ALEX:

For a gift to truly be a gift

there should be no expectation of

it being reciprocated.

Danny amused. Mostly. But he did really want to kiss him.

DANNY:

Right.

INT/EXT. ALEX’S CAR / MOTORWAY. EVENING

Danny and Alex in the car.

London ahead, lights glittering in the distance.

The energy of this journey is different to the energy of

the journey up. Danny’s excited, apprehensive too,

clearly mulling sex. He glances at Alex, unsure.

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LONDON SPY -EP 1 -SHOOTING SCRIPT

Alex catches his glance.

EXT. DANNY’S APARTMENT. NIGHT

Danny and Alex standing outside the apartment. An

awkward pause turns into a silence.

DANNY:

I’d like you to come up. If you

want. Obviously. If you don’t want

- that’s cool. I didn’t mean to

say ‘cool’. I meant to say ‘fine’.

Can I try that again? It’s fine if

you don’t want to come up.

ALEX:

I want to...

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