- "Don't fuck with the yellow snake.
It has four noses."
- If you cross the yellow snake,
it sniff you out and poison you, huh?
- I know you're a Frías.
- Because of this horrible incident
caused by this terrible detective novel
called "El Espejo,"
I realized I could no longer be a Frías.
- Hey, who's Illán Iberra?
- This book is about me. - No, it isn't.
- What is this?
- It's just the directions to the author's house.
- I gotta go see that guy.
- I'm starting to understand everything.
And I think there's still time that I can help.
Do not go to Pasaje.
- Emma and I actually lost a kid.
And I never got to meet her.
That seems cruel.
- Things are crumbling fast.
- [grunts]
- I don't know when I am...
- I found that phone in the jungle yesterday,
and it doesn't even work.
- When you are...
- I took out the SIM card, and I put it in this one.
- "They went to find Illán Iberra--
Pasaje."
[romantic Latin music]
[Juan Gabriel's "Mi Fracaso"]
- [speaking Spanish]
- [singing in Spanish]
* *
- [speaking Spanish]
* *
- [speaking Spanish]
- [laughing]
- [speaking Spanish]
* *
- Baltasar, the memory detective.
"They went to find Illán Iberra--
Pasaje."
- I found the author Illán Iberra.
He has, uh, books on Amazon for, like, 10¢ used.
"Pasaje"...
"Passage," right? Passage to what?
- Yeah, I can't watch any more of this video.
- Okay.
All right, what if-- and I'm not--
I'm not saying that I believe this.
But what if
he put the phones there on purpose
because he knew that we would be there, maybe,
to, like, find them? - What?
- I don't know.
- Guys, uh, I am afraid
this is getting more unusual than I was ever imagining.
- Uh-huh.
- If Sam and Violet were looking for Illán Iberra,
I think we should do the same.
- Okay, but I can't find anything on this guy.
I mean, he's a full-on recluse.
Just off the grid. No phone number.
No address. Nothing. - Oh, no, he has an address.
And I think I know how to find him.
- Oh, no shit? - Yes.
I think we need to go to my house.
We need to go to El Caracol. - Yes, we do.
[speaks Spanish]. Yeah. - Oh, no, no, no, no way.
You guys are all bananas,
and this is a bunch of crazy nonsense,
and I have to get back to work.
I'm calling an Uber.
- Hey, Luna.
[indistinct conversation]
- Okay, so
what's up?
This is, like, our biggest break yet,
and you haven't said a word since we left the jungle.
- Yeah, no, it's big.
Yeah, I think, um--
I'm just trying to wrap my brain around all of it.
- [speaking Spanish]
- Ah! - [indistinct speech]
[upbeat music]
- That's when I finally understood
why everyone said that
you shouldn't fuck with the yellow snake.
- Okay, so your family does murder people?
- No, no, no, no.
My mother just had Iberra removed from the university.
And ruined his reputation.
You don't need to kill people
when you have influence, you know?
- You know, I just gotta say, man,
it kind of sounds like you were a real prick as a little kid.
- Oh, yes, I was. For sure. [chuckles]
- You didn't have to, like, write this dude
and tell him that you hated his book.
- Why not?
My intention was not to enrage him.
My intention was to help him to write something better,
to become a better writer.
But he just took it like a big baby.
- Was his next book any better?
- I don't know, I never read anything else from him.
[upbeat music playing]
- [sighs]
* *
- Things have taken a very unexpected turn, no?
- Hmm.
Kind of an understatement.
- Luna told me you had an interesting conversation
with her.
* *
Oh, Luna sucks at keeping secrets.
You should be aware of that.
And I have to say I'm truly sorry you had to experience
a loss like that.
- Yeah, thanks.
Um, I guess I just hadn't
talked about it in a long time,
and I guess I just wanted to forget it.
- Our past, our memory, that's all we have.
That's how you found the phone.
- W--what?
- Yeah.
You allowed yourself to be there, living the memory,
and then you found the phone.
- Yeah, dude, that doesn't make any sense.
- Oh, really?
Do you have a better theory than that?
Why do you think you found the phone?
That second phone, Violet's phone,
that's a huge coincidence, don't you think?
- I don't know, there's--
there is a lot of shit that I don't understand right now.
- Yeah. - So...
- Me neither.
Do you mind taking--
- Oh, yeah.
* *
- Listen, I--
I have noticed that when you allow yourself to open up
and to remember, to recognize
the darker corners of your subconscious,
seemingly random pieces fall into place, no?
Like the "Tetris."
- [chuckles] - Yep.
- "Tetris"? - Yeah.
* *
[dramatic music]
* *
- You might have noticed the Caracol is one of
the only buildings in all of Izamal
that is not painted yellow.
It's been in the Frías family for 100 years.
Some of the marble tile was stolen from the Parthenon.
I would invite you in, but I guess my brother is home,
and he doesn't really like tourists,
or anyone, really.
He's been trying to kill me since he discovered
that I'm better than him
at everything in life.
Okay.
Stay in the van.
I mean it.
- You want to go look around?
[soft pensive music]
* *
- [speaking Spanish]
- Are we being stupid by being here?
- What do you mean?
- Well, everyone told us not to fuck with the yellow snake,
and now we're sort of inside of the yellow snake.
- Yeah, but as guests.
- [inhales sharply] Yeah, I know,
but why does he still need us around, though?
- Because we were in the painting.
- Well, we were in a painting that he showed us.
Think about it.
And now he's...
poking around inside of our personal lives,
and I don't--
- Did something happen in the jungle?
- I just think he talks a lot,
and he is full of shit.
[shouting]
- What--oh, my God! - [shrieks]
- [shouting in Spanish]
- Holy shit! Holy shit! - What the fuck?
What the fuck? - Holy shit!
- The keys!
- Get the keys!
- Start the fucking car! - Okay, all right!
All right! - Start the car!
We got to get-- gah--
[dramatic music]
* *
[lock chirps]
- I think he wants us to take that one.
- [panting] What?
Whose car is this? - I don't know!
- Oh, my God. - Okay.
- That's the guy from the Frías shop?
- I know, I know! - Is that his brother?
Is that his brother? - Yeah, I guess so!
- Start the car!
- Start--start the car! - Okay! All right!
All right, yeah. Yeah. All right.
- Open the window!
[both screaming]
[glass shatters]
- Oh, my God! - Oh, my God!
- Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
- Go.
[engine revving, tires squealing]
- [shouting in Spanish]
- Whoo! Yeah!
- Oh, my God.
- What a fucking rush, man!
- Oh, my brother.
He's a fucking asshole.
But I love him.
[laughter] - Is he gonna follow us?
- No, he cannot drive anything but this piece of shit.
- Okay. - And he's very stupid.
But if he sees you again, he's gonna kill you.
- Why did we steal his car then?
- We cannot show up in a Frías van.
If Iberra knows it's me, we're gonna be in great danger.
Here, this is the address.
Nice driving. - Thanks, man.
Ugh!
[suspenseful music]
* *
- I mean, do we really think they came all the way out here?
- Oh, my God.
His house is as horrible as his book.
- So, uh,
we don't think he actually
did something to the kids, right?
- Well...
- He marked his letters in blood.
- Yeah.
I don't know if I feel
scared or nervous or guilty now.
- You know what? Maybe you should hang back.
- What-- absolutely not.
This is mine to finish, okay?
And in this car, I-- I am the person
who has done the most work trying to solve this thing.
- Well, okay, but we found the phones.
- Yeah, and I am the detective,
and you're just fucking tourists, okay?
- Eh, aren't you a tailor?
- [grunting] - Stop!
Hey! Stop!
- Oh, I wish upon a star. - Just calm down!
- I wish upon a star.
- Everyone, just fucking stop freaking out!
- Jesus fucking-- take that back.
- No, I'm not taking anything back.
- You stop! - Your mother is a tailor.
- They're gonna hear you! - You're a seamstress, bro.
- Buenas noches.
- [speaking Spanish]
- Hmm. Um...
- No.
- [scoffs] No.
[both laugh]
[insects chirping]
- I don't think she's coming back, guys.
- All right, that's 20. That is 20 fucking bites.
- You know, in--
in some cultures, the mosquito symbolizes
discovery and persistence.
- That's real sweet. - Mm-hmm.
- Well, that's 21.
[suspenseful music]
* *
[person coughing]
- Emma?
Emma?
* *
- Emma? Emma?
Emma? - [gasps] Baltasar!
[both speaking Spanish]
[Emma screaming]
- Emma! - Emma!
- Ah, sorry! [screaming]
- [shouting in Spanish]
[all shouting]
- Sorry!
I was just trying to ask you some questions!
- What?
- You speak English.
- I know six languages.
One I created myself.
- Were they here?
- You think I did something to them?
- Did you?
- Maybe I did.
[doorbell buzzing]
- [speaking Spanish]
- Qué, qué, qué, qué, qué? What? What?
- [speaking Spanish]
- What? - You speak English?
- Oh, not do I only speak English,
I speak six different languages,
two of which scholars claim are extinct,
and one I created myself. [rumbling]
Shoes take off.
Shoes! Socks! Off! Now!
Now! Now! - Take off--
- Do you want us to come in? - Should we wait out here?
- Are you--
- There's a built-in cycle that holds balance.
Down there holds the key.
Balance.
Oh, hey, you want to make yourselves useful?
Come on, help. Grab that. - Yeah, yeah, okay, okay.
- Grab there. Okay, all right.
You won't see the horizon from the center.
- Uh-huh.
- So once you're in the whirlpool,
you're stuck going around.
Okay, don't let it go! Whoa, whoa, don't let it go!
- Maybe we can talk about this a little bit later.
- Yes! Oh, yes, yes! - Hey, maybe you guys could
do this a little bit later? - I have the book, I have it.
[gurgling] - Oh! What the fuck is that?
- That, my young friend, is the filth of time.
Jarritos? - Yeah.
- Okay, gypsies, here you go.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- So what can I do for you?
- [speaking Spanish]
- Por favor, please, stop speaking to me
in that awful, masticated Spanish.
Talk to me in the language of your President Jimmy Carter.
He still is the president?
- No, no, he's-- he's long dead.
- No, he's actually still alive.
- A great man. Crisis of Confidence.
What's your crisis?
- Well, señoro, um--
gosh, it's been such a long journey.
I don't even know where to start.
Fuck, okay, I've been waiting for this moment for months.
Here, just--
[suspenseful music]
- These pages only hold
the most painful years of a man's life.
It was my comeback, my masterpiece.
My name and career was sunk by a family of fucking parasites.
But that's a story for another time.
So what, you guys came all the way out here
to ask me for an autograph?
- No. Um, I came to find Pasaje.
- Bring.
* *
- Who sent you here?
* *
- [muttering indistinctly]
This is a sacrilege!
Desecrating a book like this.
Who does such a thing?
- My mom. - Does she thinks she could
write better stories than me?
She knows nothing! Nada!
- Okay, you know what?
We've come so far and had a long, weird-ass day,
all just to see you.
- If she has so many opinions,
why doesn't she write her own damn book?
- Violet, you want to--
- Because she died reading your book.
- Are you implying that my book killed your mother?
Oh, no, no, no, no.
- No, she believed that you hid the location
of Pasaje in this book.
- What do you believe?
- I need to find it.
- Because you want to see her again?
- I'm only missing one piece.
- What piece is that?
[mysterious music]
* *
- I--I don't know what that means.
- Say it.
- What?
- Louder.
- [chuckles]
I mean, that can't be right.
- Show me what you know.
- So my mom figured out that all these places
that Alejandro investigates in the book
are actually real places in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Intemperie is actually Akumal.
Abismos, Okap.
Laguna Mental is Peto.
And that makes Lluvia Atrasada Espita.
So all of these places in your book
are real places in the peninsula,
and they're all leading to Pasaje,
except I found all the spots but the one
for the entrance to the jungle.
"With a backpack and a bottle of water,
"Alejandro walked through...
In search of Pasaje."
So what the fuck is that?
Those aren't words.
- [whispering] It's my language.
- Yeah, right.
- It's different for everyone.
You see, Pasaje baits you by promising to transcend time.
But that's a dangerous thing.
We went to Pasaje in 1982,
Alejandro and I.
I got out.
But him...
I don't know.
I never saw my best friend again.
- Where is it?
- What if I told you
that I wrote the book as a warning,
not as an invitation?
- I would still ask, where is it?
- If it's all real, what did you see in there?
[eerie music]
- It was such a long time ago, it's all a dream now.
- Yeah, but what did you see?
- Read the book.
- I--I don't have time.
- You don't have time, or you don't know how to read?
- I know how to read. - No, I read the book.
- Then you know.
- Yeah, but you didn't actually describe it.
- You never actually went in, did you?
* *
- You calling me a liar?
- Yeah.
I am.
- Mm.
I told them not to go.
They wouldn't listen to me.
So I dropped them off at the jungle myself.
I didn't know there was a hurricane.
They told me it would be downgraded
to a tropical depression.
- Well, why the hell didn't you tell anybody?
- I forgot!
- Jesus Christ.
- This is bullshit.
- [speaking Spanish]
- So how do you get there?
- Were you not listening to me?
- Pasaje is the villain in the story.
- Well, two kids are missing, and their parents need answers.
- Do you want to find the kids, or do you want to find Pasaje?
* *
- What difference does it make?
Translate it.
- You're all fools.
[foreboding music]
Fuck it.
Fine. - No, no, no.
[speaks Spanish]
[grunting]
* *
- My new novel, it's about time, right?
I know how it ends now, yes.
Okay, so now...
I dropped the kids at the center of the spiral.
Huncb fo Llub Seeth--
four words.
"Hunch", H, hach,
the thread, the fence,
the most divisive letter in the English language.
That's why it's the first letter of my alphabet.
[chuckles]
Then there's umlaut.
Who was the first to say umlaut?
- Germans.
- No. - Mm-hmm.
- Phoenicians.
- No.
- Uh... - Excuse me?
- Sorry.
- That's right.
"Huncb" translates to "park."
- Okay, so which park?
- Now,
"fo," say it like "wa."
- Wa. - Wa.
- Can you just give us the word, please?
Because I really-- we really can't.
We don't have time.
- "Fo" translates to "de,"
which translates to "of."
- Oh, it's "of?"
You just swapped the letters? That's all you did?
- This is why I can't teach fools like you.
Everybody thinks they're a scholar.
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay, so now...
Okay.
[humming]
No bueno, no bueno.
A pen. Pen, please.
I need a pen.
[speaking Spanish]
This can't be--
no bueno, no bueno, no bueno.
Okay, can I please have one pen that writes?
[speaks Spanish] You want to know the answer?
I need a pen.
Can I get a pen, please?
Find a pen! Let's go! - Okay!
- There's got to be one pen in this forsaken house.
That's my private drawer.
One pen! - All right, here we go.
Here we go. - Oh. Okay.
That's not a pen. I need a pen!
All my life, and I can't find a pen.
I need a pen that can write!
[speaks Spanish] - That's crazy.
- Pen! Pen, please! - This is--
- I'd like to finish this, explaining this to you.
[speaks Spanish] - This is getting dumb.
No, aye.
Pen! Pen! Pen, pen, pen, pen! - Here, here, here, sir.
- Pen! - Try this.
- Pen.
[tense music]
Nice pen.
Ooh, I like that. I like that. Okay.
[speaking Spanish]
This is a Frías pen.
* *
Who gave you this pen?
- Baltasar
Frías.
You fucking snake.
- [screaming]
- Oh, my God!
[all shouting]
- [grunting]
[all shouting]
- No, no, no, no! No, no, no, Papa!
No, Papa!
- How disappointing.
[exhales]
- [screaming]
[all screaming]
- Mmm.
- This is all my fault.
- It's nobody's fault, man.
- No, it is, because I wrote a letter
to the man that started a series of events
that ended up in death.
- Come on, you give yourself too much credit.
What happened happened.
And now, you have to do the right thing.
- Yes.
Yes, I will.
I will.
- [speaks Spanish]
Hey!
- To prepare to die.
- [sighs]
- We have to go find it.
- Find what?
- The Pasaje. - The--wait, what?
- Well, I mean, that's where they were going,
so we gotta go there too. - Whoa, whoa, Emma.
A guy died in front of us.
Baltasar got stabbed in the hand.
I'm sorry, this is over.
I mean, yeah, look.
I got wrapped up into this, too,
but this shit is done.
Sam and Violet met on vacation.
They thought it would be cool to explore some
make-believe underground room,
and then they got lost in the jungle,
and they died because they got caught in a hurricane.
And that's all assuming this Iberra guy
even took them out there in the first place.
Okay? That is it.
All right? You gotta move on.
Where you going? - Back to the room.
Don't follow me.
[inquisitive music]
* *