Ladies and gentlemen, take only your carry-on items.Come from Away · 2021 — Chapter 7 of 22 · 2'50" · B1
Passengers Disembark into the Dark, Explained: left over from
Stranded passengers step off the planes into a dark, remote airport, where soldiers ask their citizenship and destination and buses wait to take them somewhere none of them can name. "We're scared," one voice admits; "They're probably scared too."
What happens
Passengers leave the planes with only their carry-on bags and walk into a dark airport that looks like a leftover from the Cold War. Soldiers question them one by one about citizenship, purpose and destination, and pay phones are blocked so the buses can leave. Nobody knows where they are being taken.
Listen for
out of orderleft over frompurpose of your triphave no idea
00:00 / 02:50Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
left over from
remaining from an earlier time
乘客走进机场，觉得这里像 something left over from the Cold War，冷战遗留的产物。
The custom is left over from colonial times.
Also in this scene
- out of order
出故障；停止使用
- purpose of your trip
the reason for your travel
- have no idea
not know at all
Everything marked in this scene
25 notes across 56 lines
Checked luggage will remain in the hold.liaison
Checked luggage will remain in the hold.tell someone to do
The captain and flight attendants tell everyone to take their blankets and pillows off the plane.No one has any idea where they're taking us.where-clause
No one has any idea where they're taking us.As we enter the airport, all those car lights are still aimed at us.The people here don't know what to expect off of these planes.remaining from an earlier time
The airport looks like something left over from the Cold War.-And Kevin's like… -Oh, my God. We've gone back in time.The whole procedure, the soldiers and all the formality, just makes me really nervous.the reason for your travel
Purpose of your trip?They're all lined up at the airport pay phones, so eventually we put an "out of order" sign on 'empassive voice
They're all lined up at the airport pay phones, so eventually we put an "out of order" sign on 'emflap
They're all lined up at the airport pay phones, so eventually we put an "out of order" sign on 'em-Our bus sits there forever. -While all the others leave.Someone says he got questioned.but they've got more important things to do than talk to me.They have no idea where they're going.appositive clause
They have no idea where they're going.I'm looking out the window, trying to see where we are, but it is pitch-dark.and it is just darkness, hardly any lights anywhere.Oh, my God. This is just so remote!liaison
Oh, my God. This is just so remote!-Into the darkness -Stars and the moonlightPassengers Disembark into the Dark, explained
What's really going on
The scene builds its feeling out of darkness and procedures. The airport is barely lit, described as a relic: "The airport looks like something left over from the Cold War." The passengers do not know where they are going, and the locals do not know who is coming, so both sides fill the gap with fear. One narrator names it plainly: "We're scared. They're probably scared too." The immigration questions — citizenship, purpose, destination — sound routine but land as a reminder of how little anyone controls. Even the phones have to be taken out of service to move people along. It is a night of strangers moving in the dark, each side guessing at the other.
Theme
SurvivalTired passengers are processed and moved through the night, relying on strangers to decide where they go.
TrustBoth the plane people and the islanders are frightened of each other, and the scene admits the fear openly.
Listen for
- in the hold — liaison
- out of order — flap
- so remote — liaison
No one has any idea where they're taking us.The passengers' shared uncertainty: they are being moved somewhere unknown, with no information and no control.
We're scared. They're probably scared too.A line that makes the fear mutual, recognising that the locals are as uneasy about the arrivals as the arrivals are about them.
The airport looks like something left over from the Cold War.A description that gives the airport a forgotten, frozen-in-time quality, adding to the sense of dislocation.
and it is just darkness, hardly any lights anywhere.The pilot's view from the ground: a landscape so empty and unlit it feels almost unreal.
Oh, my God. This is just so remote!An exclamation at how far from anywhere they have landed, mixing shock with a little wonder.
Questions about this scene
Why can't the passengers take their luggage?
They are told to take only carry-on items and leave checked luggage in the hold, so they can be processed and moved quickly.
What are the passengers asked at the airport?
Soldiers ask about citizenship, the purpose of the trip and the destination, the kind of routine questions that feel heavy on a night like this.
Why are the pay phones taken out of service?
Everyone queues to call home, so staff put up out-of-order signs to move people onto the buses and get them to shelters.
Where are the passengers taken?
They are bused to shelters across the region, not only in Gander but also in Gambo, Appleton and other nearby communities.
Come from Away · 22 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8hear a pin dropGander Finds Translators and Animals
Chapter 1a lay of the landGander Learns of the Emergency
Chapter 2shaking like a leafPlanes Land Unexpectedly in Gander
Chapter 3a state of emergencyGander Declares a State of Emergency
Chapter 4for the love of GodA Town Gathers Supplies
Chapter 5rumors start flyingPassengers Stuck on Planes for 28 Hours
Chapter 6make no mistakeWaiting on the Plane for News
Watching · Chapter 7left over fromPassengers Disembark into the Dark
Chapter 8hear a pin dropGander Finds Translators and Animals
Chapter 9speak the same languageLocals Drive Passengers to the Camp
Chapter 10to the ends of the earthGander Academy Becomes a Shelter
Chapter 11suit yourselfStranded Passengers Wait for News
Chapter 12make small talkGander Locals Take In the Passengers
Chapter 13praise be to GodThe Gayest Town in Newfoundland
Chapter 14there for meA Mother Waits and Tells Jokes
Chapter 15a moment of silenceA Gas Station Falls Silent
Chapter 16jump at one's own shadowA Fight Breaks Out in the Hallway
Chapter 17take the plungeThe Screech-In Ceremony
Chapter 18Don't be a strangerGander Says Goodbye to the Visitors
Chapter 19take seriouslyA Muslim Passenger Is Searched
Chapter 20seize the momentDiane and Nick at the Lookout
Chapter 21ground zeroThe Aftermath Back Home
Chapter 22a big breakGander Remembers the Plane PeopleChapter 7 of 22 · about 54 min to go