The Cellar

The Cellar is the pilot episode of Season 1 of Amazing Stories. In the plot, construction worker Sam Taylor is whisked from 2019 to 1919 via a mysterious time portal while restoring an old farmhouse in Iowa. He meets with a socialite named Evelyn Porter, and he falls for her while attempting to return to 2019.

Upon its release, the episode received acclaim for its performances, atmosphere, musical score, emotional depth, and the chemistry set between Dylan O'Brien and Victoria Pedretti.

Synopsis
While restoring an old Iowa farmhouse, Sam discovers a time portal in the storm cellar that transports him to 1919.

Plot
The Taylor brothers arrive at an old Iowa farmhouse they are being paid to restore to its original glory. Upon entering, Jake is optimistic about the space's potential, while Sam is skeptical. He swipes through a dating app as he walks through the house with Jake. The brothers discover the house doesn't have power, deciding to check the breaker in the cellar. While Sam swipes on his phone, Jake discovers a barometer on the wall. He notes that it probably came out in the turn of the century. As Jake taps on it, Sam matches with a girl who wants to make plans for that night.

Sam meets with Francesca at the bar, though he's late for their date. He blames his brother for making him late, as Jake has adopted a baby recently so he's been a tyrant at work. He shows Francesca a picture of his niece, Alice, who is in a photo with Jake and his husband Roger. He claims to be a good "Uncle Sam."

Francesca drops Sam off at the Iowa farmhouse the next morning. Jake points out Sam's inside out shirt. He then asks if Sam has considered his idea of changing their company name from "Taylor Construction" to "Taylor Brothers Construction", since they could make a lot more money in the future. Sam isn't thrilled as that is his brother's dream, not his. Jake brings up an eight year old Sam dragging him to yard sales to look for a rare baseball card. He notes that Sam is always searching, which isn't a bad thing, but if the life isn't for him than Sam needs to stop wasting both their times and go find what is for him.

The brothers get to work tearing down cabinets, ripping out carpets, and moving beams. Sam moves a pillar and finds a secret compartment in the fireplace. He removes the lid to find a box of Fig Newtons hidden inside. In the box is a box of matches that has "cabbage" written on the inner flap. There is also a photograph of a woman in a wedding dress. Sam is taken with her but doesn't know why. Suddenly, they hear storm alarms and rush outside to bring their gear in from the rain. They work to hang blankets over the windows when the breaker trips.

Sam heads to the cellar and to the breaker. Suddenly, he is crippled by high pitched ringing and vibrating. The barometer trembles. He falls to the ground. When he regains his balance, his surroundings are different. He runs upstairs to find the house in pristine old condition as if he's been transported to another time. He hears music playing coupled with beautiful singing. In one room is a woman, wearing 20th century garb, singing while playing the piano. The woman is the same one from the photograph - Evelyn Porter. She sees him in the reflection of a vase and whirls around. She warns him to stay back. He tries to explain who he is but she believes he's from the bank. He assures her that he isn't from the bank and won't hurt her, but he also doesn't know what is going on.

He runs upstairs searching for Jake but all the rooms are similar in their condition, with no sign of his brother ever having been there. The woman cocks a rifle as she threatens to shoot him if he doesn't state his business in five seconds. Panicked, he says that isn't necessary, trying to get her to listen. When she doesn't, he runs downstairs as the woman threatens that her mother is coming and is meaner than a snake. She threatens him to leave so he runs out the back door quickly. Paula Porter enters, greeting her daughter with an engagement gift from William.

Sam walks out front to see a horse drawn carriage, a field of farm where the busy road used to be, and a quaint farmers market in place of the bustling small town streets. He sees cars from 1919 puttering down the street. He examines a sign that say a bar has been closed for breaking prohibition laws.

Evelyn is in her family home when she plays the phonograph. She lip-synchs to the sultry song when her mother comes down, scolding her for listening. She demands that phonographs as they have to maintain a certain image as ladies. Evelyn cites it was Emmett's favorite, but Paula reminds her that Emmett is dead and buried. She won't allow Evelyn to ruin her engagement to William with the perverse music. Evelyn reluctantly hands the music over. Sam, from the basement stairs, claims they were his as he lent them to Emmett. Paula asks if the pair practiced together, but Evelyn quickly states they were classmates from medical school - Sam is a doctor. Paula is happy to meet a friend of Emmett's and gives Sam the records. She invites him to join the engagement party that evening. He claims he's only passing through and she's sure he can find his way out.

When Paula leaves, Sam hands the records back to Evelyn, who is grateful for his kind act. He tells her not to mention it as he searches for a trap door or some way to get back to his home. She is deeply confused as to what he is doing. He knows she won't believe him but she asks him to give her the chance. He caves and admits he's from the future - the year 2019, which makes her laugh. She calls him her very own time traveler. He wants to show her his phone as proof but must have dropped it at some point. Instead, he shows her the photograph he found in the house in 2019. She claims it's impossible as she's never had her photo taken. He scoffs that he knew she wouldn't believe him. He wonders if there's a trick to the house or anything special about it. Her grandfather built it forty years ago, so Sam asks to talk with him, but she states it's not a good time as everyone's busy with the engagement party. Sam realizes he just got invited to it and, despite some back and forth of her say no and him saying yes, he reminds her that she has a debt of gratitude to pay. He's not asking her to believe him just to help him. She may have something he can wear since his current clothes aren't suitable.

That night, Sam dons a fancy white suit as she takes him to meet her grandfather. She introduces Sam to Grandfather Warren who built the farmhouse. Sam launches into a series of questions that Warren struggles to answer. The man next to him, Henry Barrett, explains the ringing in Sam's ears was caused by the storm, as the pressure in the air drops during those times. Before he can elaborate, the party is called to a silence by William. His wife died last year of influenza, but they are fortunate to have found someone wonderful in Evelyn Porter.

Evelyn joins William by the stairs as the ragtime music plays. William reveals that he's planned a surprise photograph of Evelyn in her wedding dress for their announcement. This surprises her as she looks to Sam, which prompts William to ask about the young doctor. William's youngest daughter tells Sam she needs someone to dance with, but he doesn't know the turkey trot. She offers to teach him and leads him to the dance floor. As Sam attempts to dance, he dips the little girl, Mildred, at the end of the song. William thanks Sam for entertaining his daughter, who has to go to bed now. When William walks away, Evelyn tells Sam he was right about the photograph. He wants to speak with the man, Henry Barrett more, but he just left. She invites him for a walk instead.

As they walk the streets, she asks what the future is like. He admits it can be anything she wants. He reveals she can get food delivered to the house instead of cooking - any type of food, Italian, Chinese, Indian. He tells her about music and how she can have music everywhere all the time through speakers. She wants all of that. The arrive at a place called The Compound which allegedly has a speakeasy below it. She would shoot off her left pinkie to get in there. They decide to try it out.

Sam asks for a drink, something with a little cabbage, and the man behind the counter recognizes the word. He leads them to a fake wall which opens to reveal a staircase. The staircase leads to an underground area that holds a speakeasy with jazz music, filled with people and music. Evelyn orders liquor from the bartender, while Sam asks for a gin and tonic with two squeezes of lime. The total is two bits, so Sam gives the man a ten dollar bill. The bartender is confused by the cash so Evelyn quickly says she'll cover it, exchanging the ten for a few coins. Sam sees a bowl full of match sticks and takes one. They toast to the future as she sways to the music, watching a man sing. Sam invites her to dance which she happily agrees too. They dance together until the song ends. He tells Evelyn to sing but she tells him to eat a cup of dirt. They decide to flip a coin for it - heads, he'll go outside to eat a literal cup of dirt or tails, she sings a song. The coin lands on tails.

She asks the man to play "After You're Gone". Sam nods vigorously to her as she begins to sing. He then gives her a thumbs up as she sings. The partygoers being to dance together as Sam watcher her, mesmerized by her talent.

They leave the place as she gushes over her nervous thrill that she had. He states she was born to sing on that stage, as the crowd was smitten by her. She admits she wasn't looking at the crowd, standing only inches from him. She hears Paula's voice calling her and the two separate. Sam tries to take the blame by pretending he needed something from the pharmacy, but Paula knows what the place is. Evelyn justifies her presence at this being somewhere would go. However, Paula states Emmett was a doctor while she is a young lady who is engaged. Sam tries to interject but Paula cuts him of. The women start to leave, when Sam calls after them, as she doesn't have to go with her mother. Evelyn states he knows nothing. They walk away as he looks after her.

The next morning, Sam visits Henry to ask about the air pressure. He shows Sam a barometer as the needle drops when the storm is nearing. Sam states the one he saw, the needle dropped off the dial. Henry knows that would be a derecho - a really bad storm that lasts a week or two. Henry wagers it would drop the pressure again. Sam asks to borrow the barometer, but Henry isn't in the business of giving things away. Sam offers a trade - the barometer in exchange for Sam fixing his barn doors.

Evelyn is packing her things in a rush when Sam enters her room. She plans to go anywhere but where she is. He thinks he knows how they can get back to 2019, which surprises her as she's included in the sentiment. He thinks she deserves to be free and happy - to be who she wants to be and choose who she wants to be with. It doesn't have to be him, but she can have all of those things if she comes with him. He knows she doesn't belong here. He shows her the barometer which is the same one he found in the farmhouse in 2019, which means this might have always happened. Maybe she was meant to come back with him. He knows it sounds crazy. She interrupts him with a kiss. The wedding is in ten days so they have until then to leave. The storm is already there, they just have to wait for it to get worse. Now happy, the pair kiss once again.

Sam hangs the barometer in the cellar as Evelyn works to pack things they might need. They head upstairs together. Evelyn tries to act normal by having dinner with William, while Sam works on repairing the barn doors. The storm clouds seem to darken overtime. By nightfall one day, they run out of the farmhouse together as Sam happily says the day will be soon. They kiss before he leaves in a hurry. William pulls up and sees Sam running out. Later, Evelyn tries on her wedding dress. She listens to music and the pair meet in the cellar with a kiss.

William works on the barn doors as Henry compliments his work. He invites Sam to stay for dinner. Evelyn poses for her portrait as William encourages her to smile so she'll be remembered as young and beautiful. The photograph is taken just as thunder being to rumble in. She excuses herself under the guise being lightheaded. She runs happily in the rain to meet Sam at the farmhouse. The rush to the cellar as they happily wait for the moment to arrive. William and his men arrive angrily, as he found out about their affair. He calls Evelyn a common whore while she scolds back that their marriage is about money and nothing else. Sam holds her back as she shouts. The men attack as they tear Evelyn from Sam, punching him repeatedly. Evelyn is taken away by the men. Now alone, Sam begins to have the ringing sensation in his ears again. The room vibrates as he is taken back to 2019. He rushes upstairs in a panic but finds Jake instead of the men who took Evelyn.

Once outside, Sam tries to convince Jake that he traveled back in time, but his brother doesn't believe him. Sam insists it was real. Jake thinks Evelyn was a piece of history that was lodged in his brain, but whoever she was, she's long gone now. He wants to pack up and get home before Alice goes to bed. Sam stands at the porch but can't go. He has to find a way back to her. Jake wants to go eat empanadas, smoke a bowl, and maybe eat some more. However, Sam needs Jake's phone, a lightning rod, and the blanket from the back of the truck. He needs to stay and figure it out.

Sam looks up the 1919 derecho that was a disastrous event. Those pronounced dead or missing included Evelyn Porter. He cries over the revelation. Sam sits on the porch, depressed, while Jake brings equipment inside. Same listens to a podcast about the derecho's. The derecho they are in right now is called a super derecho, and is extremely destructive but also rare. The last one was around a hundred years ago. The next one, due to global warming, will be in ten or fifteen years. Sam can't wait that long.

He paces the house as he searches the pressures, tracking the storms. He looks out at the rain when Jake joins him. Jake invites him to dinner as Alice misses him. Sam can't leave as he has to stay. The siren wails and Sam rushes downstairs to find the barometer.

Sure enough, he is taken somewhere in time. But this time, the house is slightly different and a cake celebrating a fifth birthday is there. He runs up the stairs as he hears a woman singing. On a portrait is Evelyn Porter, with the year 2034 written below her, as she is an esteemed singer. He follows the singing to find Evelyn tucking a little boy into bed. She says goodnight to Sam, whishing him a happy birthday. From the hall, Sam silently sobs as he watches. He runs back downstairs but knocks down a toy on his way. He hurries to the cellar and is taken back to the modern day

Sam is frantic as he wonders what Jake did differently in the cellar. He sees a wine cabinet added, which changes the pressure. That's why he went to the future instead of the pat. He tries to tear it down but Jake stops him as he's babbling. Sam emotionally reveals that he saw the beautiful little boy they had but none of it can happen if he can't get back to her. He agrees to see a doctor if Jake helps him get everything out. When they finish, Sam locks the door behind him to avoid Jake. He rushes to the barometer and grabs it. He is suddenly taken to another place where the basement is flooding.

He rushes upstairs in search of Evelyn but can't find her anywhere. He runs to a home where he knocks on the window. She sees it's him and they run to the farmhouse together, hand-in-hand. By the time they get down to the cellar the water has risen to create an unsafe environment. He promises they'll be okay but they have to leave now. A beam collapses on Sam's leg, pinning him. They try to wrench the beam free to no avail. He stops fighting as he realizes this was meant to happen. He tells her about the son she has in the future. How he saw her singing to the little boy. She is happy they have a son, gripping his face happily. Sam tearfully reveals that she has a son, not them. He believes this was always meant to happen. She was supposed to make it and not him. She doesn't want that life without him, but he knows it's right. She was meant to live in 2019 even if it wasn't with him. Sam asks her to tell his brother he loves him, as Jake will look after Evelyn. She refuses to accept this and tries to lift the beam to no avail. She slips and is almost taken into the vortex of water, but grabs Sam's hand. He tells her that it's okay, he loves her, but she has to let go now. Their hands slip apart as she falls into the water.

Jake bangs on the door to the cellar looking for Sam. Evelyn yanks the door open and stumbles out, much to Jake's shock. When she looks to the basement everything is different. She's arrived in 2019 without Sam.

Evelyn sits downstairs as Jake joins her with food. She is still quiet but he brought her a change of clothes in the hopes they will fit. She recalls Sam's promise that there would be music in every room. Jake states that Sam really loved her and told him all about her. It wasn't what he said but how he said it. He'd never heard Sam talk like that before. He told Jake all about her singing and record collection. She corrects they were her brother's. She hid them from her mother, but Sam saved them for her the day they met. Jake remarks that the walls are originals. They pry apart the walls to find two letters stashed inside - they're from Sam. She realizes happily that he made it. Jake states in amazement that Sam is in 1919.

Evelyn opens her letter to learn Sam didn't die in the storm. He was saved by Henry and Grandfather Warren. He waited a year to get back to her but no storm came. He found the record collection in the walls. He was told another storm wouldn't come but hoped one would. He walks the streets as he watches a "votes for women" protest in the streets, smiling as they march. As much as she belongs in the future, this is where he belongs. He found where his place, and has a life at last. He came from a place with too many choices, while she had none. Now, Sam puts everything in the tin, placing it in the fireplace. He puts the pieces in place for their future to take hold.

Jake opens his letter to find a simple line saying "time to build your own home". Inside, is a Honus Wagner baseball card in mint condition, worth at least a million dollars.

Sam puts the letters into the wall, knowing Evelyn would find it, as they both look for each other. He tells her to stop looking as it's her turn now. Her life is waiting so she has to go out there and get it. She holds the letter close as she cries.

Evelyn emerges from the house in modern clothing, holding the letter as she does. She smiles in amazement at the world in front of her.

Sam loads up a cart and puts on a hat. He climbs into a "Sam Taylor Construction" truck, driving off into the fields. In the sky above, a storm begins to brew.

In 2034, little Sam asks his mother Evelyn if someone is there but she states no one is inside. She assure him everything is fine. She leaves the room to look over the balcony, but Sam isn't there. She turns around, placing her hands over her heart.

Starring

 * Dylan O'Brien as Sam Taylor
 * Victoria Pedretti as Evelyn Porter
 * Micah Stock as Jake Taylor
 * Sasha Alexander as Paula Porter
 * Gabriel Olds as William
 * Cullen Douglas as Henry Barrett

Co-Starring

 * Nandy Martin as Francesca
 * Brian Matney as Grandfather Warren
 * Michaela Russell as Mildred
 * Garret Kruithof as Shopkeeper
 * Luke Speakman as Little Sam
 * O'Bryan Neely as Bartender at Speakeasy
 * Daryn Kahn as Photographer

To Evelyn

 * Dear Evelyn, by the time you read this, I'll be long gone. But I needed you to know I didn't die in that storm after all. I was desperate to get back to you. I waited for a year, but no storm came. I was told one wouldn't, but I still hoped. Then I realized something. As much as you belong in the future...maybe this... this is where I belong. I found my place. And it was all thanks to you. I have a life at last. You know it's ironic. I came from a place with too many choices, and you had none. And now, it's for us to move forward. To put the pieces in place for our futures to take hold.
 * I know you'll find this letter, Evelyn. I know because like I look for you, you look for me. But it's time for you to stop looking. It's your turn now. Your life is waiting. Go out there and get it.
 * All my love, Sam.

To Jake

 * Time to build your own house.
 * Love, Sam