

Episode 6
Season 1 Episode 6 | 43m 50sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Solving the case at the military school will impact Oskar and Max in unforeseen ways.
Suspicion at the military school falls on an elite group of cadets with a penchant for sadism and dangerous games. Solving the case will have a devastating impact on both Oskar and Max’s professional lives.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding for Vienna Blood is provided by Viking.

Episode 6
Season 1 Episode 6 | 43m 50sVideo has Audio Description, Closed Captions
Suspicion at the military school falls on an elite group of cadets with a penchant for sadism and dangerous games. Solving the case will have a devastating impact on both Oskar and Max’s professional lives.
See all videos with Audio DescriptionADProblems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Vienna Blood
Vienna Blood is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now

Discover Mysteries, Romances, & More
Explore our hand-picked collections of PBS dramas to find your new favorite show! Browse our catalog of sweeping historical epics, breathtaking romantic dramas, gripping crime thrillers, cozy family shows, and so much more.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipI'm sorry to break it to you.
Clara and I are no longer engaged, Mama.
(MAID SCREAMS) LEAH: Daniel?!
-Daniel?
-MENDEL: Oh, my God!
Who occupied this bed next to Daniel's?
Thomas Zelenka.
LANG: There was an accident.
He died.
They found his body in the river.
MAX: The name!
Zelenka.
A "Z"... ...that's what Daniel was cutting into his arm!
I would be grateful if you'd say what you need to say -and then go.
-I'm in love with you.
MAX: Zelenka was going to run away.
He was going to tell the world about his tormentors.
So, somebody stopped him.
We've stumbled into a murder investigation.
Welcome to the case, Inspector.
♪♪ ♪♪ PROFESSOR GRUNER: Classic case of delusion.
Fascinating patient.
Which one of you would like to conduct the preliminary examination?
Very well.
Dismissed.
Liebermann?
You're distracted.
Something on your mind?
No, nothing, sir.
Nothing?
What's the nature -of your research?
-It's a private patient.
Nonsense!
You don't have private patients.
What's the name?
If you're working on a case, then I wish to be kept informed.
Kindly submit a case report.
Yes, sir.
LANG: What do you boys want?
You told them.
You gave them our names.
I don't know what you mean.
You took them to the place in the cellar.
They already knew.
And now, get out of my way!
You've been making up a lot of stories, Master.
See, we can make up stories, too.
We're all very good at creative writing.
Bauer's going to make up a story, on how you hurt him.
You conniving bastard!
You can't kill a rumor.
It's like a...
It's like a hydra.
You cut off one head, two others grow back in its place.
It's dust.
(LAUGHS) Amelia!
What you're looking at - prehistoric samples.
But you're not here to discuss my work.
Well... Actually, I am.
I need to know the story of his last few hours.
Why come to me?
Well, you can tell the story of a specimen when it's been buried in the earth for centuries.
So, you can tell me what happened to this boy.
What happened on his final day.
Well, it says he drowned.
Water washes away most of the useful traces.
Well, the pathologist at the hospital, he's old-fashioned, his methods are out-of-date.
He thinks the boy drowned.
I don't.
Help me prove him wrong.
Help me prove that whole hospital wrong.
(THUNDER RUMBLES) What?
What have you done?
The pictures.
Her dresses, her shoes.
What did you do with them?
I thought, perhaps, there were other children who may...
Please don't tell me you got rid of them!
I gave them to a charity.
A poorhouse.
-Why didn't you ask me?!
-Oskar... Those things are all I've got left of her!
My only memories!
There's a moment, every day... ...when I wake up.
A moment... -...when I forget.
-Don't.
You need to move on.
You can't live with all the memories still in the house, -suffocating you... -Don't come back here telling me what I want and what I need!
Oskar, I didn't leave because of Mitzi!
I left because of you, because of this.
It's destroying you, Oskar.
You have to let go.
(SIGHS) (WAILING) (PATIENT CACKLES) (DISTANT SCREAMS) (DISTANT SHRIEKING) (SCREAMS ECHO) (SHRIEKS) -It's alright.
-(GASPS) Come on.
I'll need to take samples.
Thank you.
I know it was difficult for you, coming here again.
Goodnight.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) Shh!
(WHISPERS) How is he?
God help me, I don't recognize my own son, Max.
He feels guilty.
Guilt, more than anything, changes a person.
I couldn't persuade him to draw.
-I know you said... -It's alright.
He'll draw when he's ready.
That school, they never studied art.
Just calligraphy, technical drawing.
-Max...?
-I'm an artist, but art isn't on the curriculum...
He was working on a portrait in lessons... What's the matter?
Where are you going?
Are you going to make this a habit?
-(BREATHES HEAVILY) -(DOOR OPENS) My wife.
-Else, Doctor Liebermann.
-Hello.
Frau Rheinhardt.
Er, forgive me.
-What do you want?
-The painting!
The painting in the school, we have to find it.
Sorry, I have to go.
Can you tell me what you're looking for?
Be careful, Inspector!
So, where is it, the painting?
His sister told us that he was a painter.
But you told us the school doesn't teach art.
Which means you taught him privately?
...No.
-(CLATTERING) -Careful.
Please be careful.
Where is it?
A canvas doesn't just suddenly vanish.
Why would you need to hide it?
Why would you want to keep it a secret?
Don't!
His last painting, your brilliant protege.
Couldn't bear to destroy it, but you couldn't let anyone see it.
Why?
We know that girl.
Remember?
(BELLS CHIME) (KNOCK ON DOOR) (DOOR OPENS) Fraulein?
Were you expecting someone else?
Herr Becker, he is...?
My father.
And did you know Thomas Zelenka?
The boy that died?
I know his name.
What's this about exactly?
Fraulein... ...please, don't waste our time.
He must have seen me hereabouts.
Oh, I think you posed for it in this room.
No!
OSKAR: Don't lie to us.
That's the chair in the painting.
The boy is dead.
We need to know the truth.
There are strict rules.
I'm not allowed to interact with the boys.
I get...very lonely.
And then, Herr Lang approached me.
He said there was a student who wanted to paint my portrait.
I was very flattered.
MAX: Lang arranged the sessions?
How often were you alone with him together here?
You and Zelenka?
I can't recall.
Maybe four...five times.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) (FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) Gentlemen?
(SIGHS) Great talent.
So sad.
Such a loss.
These boys have no contact with women.
This sort of thing is only to be expected.
"This sort of thing"?
Youthful infatuation.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) A secret admirer.
Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention, but my daughter is not involved, Inspector.
Well, she must have sat for him for hours.
She knew the victim.
That may be so, but it has no bearing on the case.
They were going to run away together.
She's the "Beloved" in the letter.
I'm sorry.
I understand.
-You have to work.
-No, no.
I mean, I'm sorry.
You were right.
I... My grief...
Nothing?
No.
No traces?
If the body was in the water for some time, then anything incriminating would have been lost.
I'm sorry.
There's nothing I could find.
No, thank you for coming here.
I was eager to help.
Eager enough to risk seeing me again?
We're scientists, Doctor.
It's a language we speak.
Well, you'll stay for tea.
-No, well... -Please?
It's the least I can do.
Don't worry.
No prying eyes or wagging tongues.
You're completely safe.
Hmm, apparently, we're expecting company.
Max?
What are you doing?
Ah, Father, meet Miss Lydgate.
-Not right now.
-What?!
Fraulein, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave immediately.
Miss Lydgate is a colleague of mine and I've invited her to tea!
Max, why don't you do what you're told for once?!
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) Hello, everyone.
I asked Clara here.
I wanted to talk to you both.
You wanted to do some mending.
(TESTILY) I didn't know you'd be entertaining.
It's a professional consultation.
Well, shouldn't we all sit down?
Perhaps it would be better if I left?
No, please.
Stay.
Er, please...
Sit here.
Well, I see you wasted no time in moving on with your life.
MAX: Clara, please... Fraulein Lydgate...
Yes.
...you don't remember our first meeting?
You were hysterical when we met.
I carried you to an ambulance.
-Clara... -Clara, I am so sorry... Father, your involvement thus far has not been useful.
I really must be going.
Please, forgive me.
-No, please... -I understand you better than you think, Max.
Can't resist a mystery, can you?
-Always drawn to an enigma.
-Don't.
Perhaps I'm too blunt for you, too straightforward.
Well, here I go again.
You can go straight to hell!
(GROANS) Excuse me.
Sorry I'm late.
Clara?
What the hell were you thinking?
-We wanted some answers.
-If I'd known -she was going to be here... -Barely a week has passed since you broke off your engagement and already you're prancing around town with this other woman.
-Who is she?
-Her name's Amelia Lydgate.
-Is she British?
-Yes.
She's a scientist.
-She works at the Museum.
-And?
Are you going to marry her?!
Well, I've only known her a month.
And funnily enough, it hasn't cropped up yet!
Did you meet her at the synagogue?
-No, she's not Jewish.
-Oh!
It gets better and better!
I met her at the hospital.
She's a patient of mine.
On the ward?!
Please tell me you're joking...!
On the neurology ward?!
LEAH: I can't remember the last time we all went to the synagogue together.
Can you, Daniel?
Clean hands, clean thoughts... How does he know the school prayer?
What?
St Florian's.
The Christian prayer, I heard him recite it.
Well, does he attend chapel?
No, of course not.
But he knows it by heart.
Well, he must have learned it.
All the boys would know it, I suppose.
Why?
They never need to stare at the prayer book.
Just comes to each of them naturally.
I tried every book I could find.
The Bible, Daniel's school dictionary.
What are you talking about?
The code scribbled on Daniel's papers.
Go back to the beginning, Max.
What's this about?
The pairs of numbers, it's a specific schoolboy code.
The first number is a line on the first page of a book, the second number is the letter.
Counting across.
If you know the specific book, you can decipher it.
But it was never a book at all!
Every boy knows a verse by heart.
A prayer.
The school prayer.
That's what these numbers refer to, Oskar.
Look!
P... R... O... V... E... ...H... Y... OSKAR: OK, that's "worthy".
"Prove yourself worthy."
C...H... O...O... S... E. Z... E... L... E... N... K... A.
They received coded messages.
It was never a random choice.
It's not over.
There'll be others.
We have to catch them in the act.
Ah.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) (SCRAPING) (SQUEAKS) (DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) (FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) -What have I ever done to...?
-Shut up!
Don't talk.
What's that for?
(BULLETS CLACK) (BARREL WHIZZES) Tonight, we're going to teach you some courage.
Go on.
Put it in your mouth.
No.
Please.
Don't.
(CHOKES) -Do you want to belong?
-(WHIMPERS) Do you want to be one of us?
Do it!
Now, go on, Stoikjavic!
(SAFETY CATCH CLACKS) BAUER: Someone's coming!
Someone's here!
(GUN CLATTERS) (EXHALES) Haussman!
That one!
Ah.
The Ambassador will be proud.
WOLF: Get up, boys!
Up!
What did you think would happen?
That you'd be an officer one day?
All you had to do was drag someone weaker down to the crypt and torture them?
It's our tradition.
Rite of passage.
It's what we've always done.
You can't stop it.
Max!
For God's sake!
He's just a boy!
(MAX BREATHES HEAVILY) You can't stop it.
It's how it's always been!
(SAFETY CATCH CLACKS) Don't.
Put it down.
Don't be stupid.
PERGER: You think you're better?
You think you have the right to hurt us all?
Perger, please.
WOLF: Please.
Look at him.
He's just a boy.
He's just a frightened child.
(GUN CLACKS) It's alright.
It's alright.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) There's been a complaint.
General Wolf.
Excessive use of force against his son.
-Commissioner... -Dammit!
I warned you.
This is delicate.
Who is responsible?
I am.
Anything that happened, I take full responsibility for it.
This doesn't look good.
All eyes are on you for a possible promotion, Rheinhardt.
(DOOR OPENS) (DOOR CLOSES) MAX: I know what's hurting you, Daniel.
I know what you did to one another.
Can you tell me what happened the night Thomas Zelenka died?
-It was my turn.
-(BELL CHIMES) And Thomas was selected for punishment?
DANIEL: Yes.
-(SCREAMS) -(SIZZLING) (SCREAMS) (TINKLING) But he ran?
Yes.
-Zelenka!
-Boys!
MAX: He refused to submit.
So, he tried to get away... ...and he disappeared into the forest.
(ALL SHOUT) DANIEL: We were frightened he would tell.
-(BOYS SHOUT) -You can't escape!
We chased him down to the river.
Who dealt the blow, Daniel?
I don't understand.
MAX: Who hit him?
No-one.
No.
Please... ...let me go.
-(GAGS) -DANIEL: He was sick.
He was choking...
Unable to breathe.
(THOMAS COUGHS) He died... ...right in front of us.
None of us even touched him.
DANIEL: We thought... We assumed that maybe he'd had some sort of attack... MAX: Because of what you'd done to him?
DANIEL: Yes.
MAX: So, you threw his body in the river?
DANIEL: Yes.
I buried his clothes, so no-one would know.
What clothes?
DANIEL: His cape.
I...
I was the one who was trying to hide it.
Poor Thomas...
I watched him die right in front of me.
(SOBS) (LEAH SHUSHES) I know.
-I'm sorry... -I know, darling.
Zelenka was already dying.
I think I can prove it, Leah.
But I need Daniel to come back to the school with me one more time.
Please?
AMELIA: It's some sort of cyanide gas.
There's no marks on it, but you can smell it...just.
No, there's nothing to see.
It's colorless and odorless to some, but, to some, it has a distinct residue of the scent.
So, he was poisoned?
Yes.
-(SNIFFS) -His lungs?
Well, once the lungs were clogged with water, it would have been impossible to trace.
Well, how would you achieve something like that?
Well, you would need access to a laboratory or...
Specialist knowledge of chemistry.
Hm.
BECKER: I was in the Army Medical Corps...
I teach the boys chemistry and biology... Where's your father, Fraulein?
You were having an affair?
That boy?
No.
No, never.
He was...very kind.
Oh, God.
Poor Thomas.
We know about the letter.
One of the boys discovered it.
Those letters weren't from him.
What?
I should have told you.
Zelenka was just a messenger.
Gentlemen?
Herr Becker?
Forgive the intrusion.
I'm sorry, I thought you were finished here.
I have a class, but if you'll wait...?
We came to talk about your daughter.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) (BOYS MURMUR) Out!
-(MURMURS STOP) -Get out!
You left her alone in that tiny cottage every day, bored, discontent...
I'm sorry, what is this about?
Zelenka went there often to paint her.
An adolescent boy and your little girl, all alone.
Because of what he did to her, under your roof, right under your nose... You decided to punish him.
He sat in this room.
MAX: You must have offered him a quiet place to work in the afternoon.
(HISSING AND BUBBLING) MAX: You set an experiment... ...pumping out toxic chemicals.
She is everything to me, Inspector.
All I have in this world.
All the boys were laughing, calling her names, taunting us.
He defiled her.
Zelenka made a joke of my family.
Except the messages were from Lang... ...not the boy.
Lang arranged for Thomas to paint her.
He used him as a messenger.
Lang was her lover.
OSKAR: Zelenka was just a go-between.
You forced him to inhale that poison when the poor boy was just an innocent.
-(GLASS SHATTERS) -(FLAMES ROAR) (FIZZING) (BOTH COUGH) OSKAR: Becker!
-Stop!
-Stop!
-Becker!
-Stop!
Becker, give up!
Becker!
-Becker!
-It's over!
Becker!
OSKAR: Becker!
Stop!
Stop!
Please, don't!
(WIND WHISTLES) Think of your daughter.
Please.
She will remember me as I was.
A man of honor.
MAX: No!
Stop!
-No!
-(THUD) (BELLS CHIME) The school may not survive the scandal.
That's hardly our concern.
Very well.
Well, why don't you come and join us?
We are celebrating.
-Sir?
-Von Bulow's promotion.
He's been named my successor.
I was a pupil at St Florian's, too.
You didn't know that, did you?
Congratulations.
Thank you, sir.
Honored to be given the chance to replace the irreplaceable!
(ALL CHUCKLE) I will miss his sense of humor.
-Doctor Liebermann!
-(PATIENTS LAUGH AND SCREAM) A word!
Sir?
The morgue.
You arranged for samples to be taken from a corpse?
-Who was the woman?
-A scientist.
A research assistant.
Not an employee of this hospital?
No, sir.
I'm afraid this is very unorthodox.
You will be placed on suspension until this matter is investigated.
-But... -Go home!
You're no longer permitted on the premises!
Else?
(SIGHS) She's right, of course.
Impossible for us to be together.
We have so little time, Max.
If you have any chance at happiness, you should grab it with both hands.
Don't let the world hold you back.
If you love her, whoever she is... ...you should be with her.
And so you're the one giving me advice now?
Your nephew, when you introduced us, you told him I was your friend.
Was that true?
You really don't know by now?
So... (EXHALES) ...tell me, Inspector, what's our next case?
♪♪ TO ORDER VIENNA BLOOD ON DVD.
VISIT SHOPPBS.ORG OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS THIS PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO ♪♪
Amelia Returns to the Hospital
Video has Closed Captions
Max and Amelia secretly visit the hospital to collect samples from Thomas Zelenka. (2m 50s)
Video has Closed Captions
Solving the case at the military school will impact Oskar and Max in unforeseen ways. (30s)
Video has Closed Captions
Following the case, Max invites Amelia to tea but runs into Clara. (1m 38s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipFunding for Vienna Blood is provided by Viking.