Ethan Burke quotes from Wayward Pines

Ethan Burke

So, how does everybody feel about the, uh, public executions?

Arnold Pope

You didn't make it too far, did you?

Ethan Burke

How do I get out of here?

Arnold Pope

You don't.

Arnold Pope

I hear you paid Patricia Evans a visit. Here the poor woman is grieving over her dead husband, and you go banging on her door like a drunken Bible salesman.

Ethan Burke

I didn't know Evans was married with a baby.

Arnold Pope

You think the baby did it, huh?

Nurse Pam

Maybe I can help you, hmm?

Ethan Burke

I thought you worked upstairs.

Nurse Pam

I go where I'm needed. Do you need me, Mr. Burke?

Ethan Burke

No.

Nurse Pam

Were you able to reach your wife? I know you really wanted to talk to her. Bet when you two get back together, you're gonna bang her brains out, huh?

Ethan Burke

This isn't an ordinary town. You know that.

Nurse Pam

You are very right about that. This is no ordinary town. This is an extraordinary town.

Arnold Pope

Mr. Burke, see, you have one of two choices. You can either find your place and follow the rules, or you can keep searching to find what's behind door number three. I guarantee you, you and your family will be much safer if you follow the rules.

Ethan Burke

Just stay away from my family or I'm gonna kill you.

Arnold Pope

This is my town.

Nurse Pam

All right, boys. Let's not escalate.

So what are your impressions of our little town so far?

Ethan Burke

Oh, I-I just love it here.

Yeah.

Ethan Burke

I think it's great the, uh, mountains, the pine trees, the look of fear in everyone's eyes.

Nurse Pam

Friends, neighbors, let's all raise a glass to our new Sheriff, Ethan Burke! I'm sure all our heads are spinning with how quickly he's risen in the ranks. Great power requires great responsibility. Someone who understands that those who break the law need to be punished swiftly and whenever necessary, severely to the fullest extent of our laws.

Ethan Burke

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Pam. That was very, very kind. I just want to say that, uh, it's an honor to be of service. And I want everyone here tonight to know that as long as I'm Sheriff of Wayward Pines, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the evils of this town are brought to light and that the true criminals are brought to justice.

"Before I built a wall, I'd ask to know what I was walling in or walling out." That's Robert Frost. Which is it? Is it keeping us in? Or something else out?

Ethan Burke

Why don't you tell me?

Most people want to leave when they first get here, just like you. But I didn't. It let me be someone new, you know, forget my past. Problem is, you can't forget forever. It'll catch up to you. It's caught up to me. There's only one way out. But this is the end for me.

David Pilcher

Your mind is lashing out, Ethan. It doesn't want to accept the truth, but trust your own eyes, everything you've seen today. There's nothing for you out here. The world you know is gone. And our species has evolved into something less than human. All that is left of civilization, all that remains is Wayward Pines.

Ethan Burke

What do you want from me?

David Pilcher

I want you to come with me. And I'll show you how, together, we can change things for the better. [screeching in distance] Or if you prefer, you can discover for yourself what is out here. It's your choice, Ethan.

I can understand if you're angry with me. I'm quite sure everything has been confusing. But I assure you there is a purpose to everything you find so strange.

Ethan Burke

I guess it's all been one big misunderstanding, huh?

Hmm. I suppose that's hard for you to accept, but yes.

Ethan Burke

I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Ever since you came here you've been trying to save yourself, save your wife, save your beautiful son, and that's quite commendable. Wayward Pines is bigger than you. It's bigger than them. It's bigger than any one of us.

Ethan Burke

You chose them. You abducted them.

David Pilcher

Yes.

Ethan Burke

What gave you that right?

David Pilcher

It wasn't a right. It was a burden. When your neighbors' house is in flames, do you rush in and try and save them? Or do you wait outside for fear of trespass?

Ethan Burke

This girl, her life didn't need saving.

David Pilcher

No, and neither did her children. Or her children's children. But someone in that family would need saving down the line.

Ethan Burke

What about her parents? Are they here?

David Pilcher

Everyone had to make sacrifices. I left people behind people I loved dearly. I didn't choose to do this. I did it because I had to.

Ethan Burke

You really expect people to grow and thrive in a world ruled by fear? They didn't choose to be here.

David Pilcher

Has anyone ever lived a life entirely defined by their own choices? No. Socioeconomic status, race, gender the day on which we were born, beauty, height. We are defined by millions of variables, way beyond our own choosing.

Ethan Burke

But that's different. That's fate. Those aren't choices made by others.

David Pilcher

Others have always made choices for us. Think of the millions drafted into wars decided by their leaders. The causes of which, in retrospect, seem utterly meaningless. A patch of land, someone's religious tenets, the price of a tank of gasoline. My actions were motivated by something far purer. We'd left the old world in the year 2014, and went to sleep for 2000 years. According to my algorithms, that would be enough time for the environment to reset. For the planet to thrive after all the humans had died out and stopped destroying it. We would have a second chance. All your questions today, I've asked myself thousands of times. In that moment, everything became clear. All my work, the sacrifice, was vindicated because I'd been proven right. It was 2000 years later, and we were the only humans left. When humans are united by a cause, they can achieve almost anything.

Kate Hewson

They did something to you, Ethan. You just don't know it. You'll see very soon. We will be back in Seattle, overlooking that bay.

Ethan Burke

Seattle? No, forget it, Kate. That's not gonna happen. You've got to convince these people to stop this insanity!

Kate Hewson

It's not gonna stop. It's just begun.

Ethan Burke

Why didn't you tell me about this?

David Pilcher

I didn't want to interrupt your investigation. Nothing matters more than keeping the populace calm a-a-and quiet.

Ethan Burke

I'm afraid the ship's already sailed.

Ethan Burke

I was part of a joint terrorism task force. And we got word that Narwaz was down in Mexico. So we went down, we grabbed him, secured him, put him on a plane to transport him back to D.C. Then I got a call from headquarters. They told me to let him go. The guy's dirty. I knew he was dirty. "Let him go." Well, that's exactly what I did. It was an order. And then three weeks later, 621 people are murdered by Narwaz Al-Salaam. And I had the guy and I let him go. And it was classified. [sighs] You know how bad I wanted to tell you?

That's why you went to Kate.

Ethan Burke

It was the toughest period of my life. She was there. She was my partner. There's no excuse for what happened after that. [sighs] I've been sorry about it ever since. I'm not blindly following orders anymore.