Only the Lonely

"Only the Lonely"  is the second episode of Season 1 of AMC's The Green Mile. It originally aired on AMC at 9/8c on May 26, 2018.

Synopsis
Paul asks Jan to stay at his mother's house for a few days, so he can handle his quarrels with Arnold. Brutus learns that Larry is a difficult prisoner. Alex confesses to Harry that he is in love with the much older wife of the warden.

Plot
Arnold hangs up the phone. Paul is shocked by the words of Arnold. Jan asks him what the caller wanted, on which Paul doesn't answer. He demands her to stay at his mother's house for a few days so he can settle some things with a friend. Jan and Mary are curious, but do as Paul told them and leave the house after Jan grabbed some clothes. Paul, now alone in the house, sits down at the table. He falls asleep.

The next morning, Larry wakes up in his cell. He yells at the guards for breakfast. Brutus comes to his cell and tells him to be quiet. Larry grabs the drawing of how he murdered his wife and brother from underneath his pillow and shows it to Brutus. He promises to kill him just like that, if he doesn't give him some food. Brutus laughs and walks off. In the cell across him, Larry sees a man sitting in the shadow.

Paul wakes up at the dinner table and realises that he has to talk with Arnold before making problems even bigger then they are.

Brutus, Harry and Alex are on guard duty in the death row. They discuss why Larry killed his wife and brother. Brutus is sure that they were having an affair and Larry killed them for it, but Alex thinks that he just did it because he is crazy. Paul enters the cellblock. He asks them if anything had happened, on which they reply that it has been calm for the past hours. Paul goes to his office.

Brutus follows Paul to his office and asks him if he had heard it about Arnold his transfer. Paul tells him about the phone call from yesterday. Brutus thinks he should go with that to Hal before it get's worse.

Hal visits the infirmary of the prison, where dr. Simmons patched up Samuel. He assures Hal that Samuel is going to be fine and he will be able to return to his cell the next day. A guard enters the infirmary and tells Hal that Paul is waiting in his office.

Hal greets Paul in his office and asks him what the problem is. Paul tells him about the phone call from Arnold. Hal is shocked to hear the news. He promises Paul to talk with Arnold later on the day.

Arnold is sweeping the floor in cellblock A. He is mocked by officer Carnes, who is the commander of this cellblock. Arnold get's angry at him, but soon realises he can better calm down before he get's fired for good. He goes on sweeping the floor.

Larry is looking at the man in the cell across him, but he can't see his face. Paul returns to his office and sits down in his chair.

Meanwhile, Hal enters cellblock A and talks with Arnold about the phone call to Paul. Arnold denies everything, but Hal warns him to stop lying and never do it again or he will be fired for good. Carnes can be seen chuckling from a distance.

Harry receives a letter from Derek, the postman. He opens it. He reads it out loud to Brutus and Alex. Harry is invited to a dinner at Hal's house. Alex asks his colleagues if they have ever met the warden's wife. He admits them that he is in love with her. Harry remarks that that is impossible because he only saw her in a picture. Alex says he once saw her on a party. Brutus and Harry start laughing.

In cellblock A, Arnold notices that Carnes is sleeping in his office and the other guards aren't paying attention. He get's a plan.

Jan sits on a chair at Mary's house and starts crying while looking to a picture of Paul. She is afraid he is in big trouble. Mary comforts her. Paul sits in his office, knowing that Arnold will do whatever it takes to take revenge on him and Brutus. The man in the cell his face is revealed when he is sitting on his bed, while reading a book.

Carnes is sleeping in his office. Arnold sneaks into his office and seaches for something. When he opens a drawer, he finds what he was looking for: a gun.

Co-Stars

 * Robert Walker Branchaud as Ernest
 * Hayes Mercure as Derek
 * Jonathan Sawdon as Prison Guard
 * Hans Raith as Prisoner

Uncredited

 * Jenko Childs as Theo
 * Tom Waits as Vernon Ethelred

Deaths
none

Trivia

 * First appearance of Walter Simmons.
 * First appearance of Carnes.
 * First appearance of Vernon Ethelred.
 * First appearance of Derek.
 * It was confirmed by Tom Waits himself that he would portray a character in the show, but he wasn't credited for this episode to keep his arrival a surprise.
 * The song that is played at the end of the episode is "These Days" by Bon Jovi.