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Come from Away · 2021 — Chapter 6 of 22 · 2'29" · B1

Waiting on the Plane for News, Explained: make no mistake

Passengers sit on a grounded plane for over a day, kept in the dark and running through every movie. Two strangers trade fears — "I just wish there was some way to tell him where I am." — until the pilot opens the radio and the president's speech silences the cabin.

What happens

The passengers are stuck on the tarmac for more than a day, told nothing while movies play. Two strangers, Diane and Nick, talk about the people they are worried about, and Diane admits she cannot reach her son. That night the pilot puts the president's address on the intercom, and the whole plane falls silent.

Travel & hotelsSmall talkExplainingComfortingStrangersB1mediumother-accent
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Listen for

make no mistakeat the top of their lungsclue us inhide something

00:00 / 02:29
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  36. ❝ MonologueThe president on the plane6 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

make no mistake

别搞错；这一点毫无疑问

总统在讲话中安抚民众之后，用这句话强调美国一定会通过这场考验。

Make no mistake, this decision will change everything.

Also in this scene

  • at the top of their lungs

    as loudly as possible

  • clue us in

    tell someone what is going on

  • hide something

    keep something secret

Everything marked in this scene

26 notes across 41 lines

Phrase · B1nothing's wrongThe flight attendants keep telling us nothing's wrong.
Phrase · B2hide something

keep something secret

But I got kids, and I got grandkids. I know when someone's hiding something.
Grammar · B2when someone's hiding something

when-clause

But I got kids, and I got grandkids. I know when someone's hiding something.
Phrase · B1stop doing somethingAnd when parents need their kids to stop asking questions, they start playing movies.
Grammar · B2need their kids to stop

need someone to do

And when parents need their kids to stop asking questions, they start playing movies.
Phrase · B2run through somethingWe ran through every movie we had.
Phrase · B1do you mind if ...Do you mind if I sit here?
Phrase · B1get work doneI need to get some work done, and there's some drunk people at the back of the plane
Phrase · A2at the back of somethingI need to get some work done, and there's some drunk people at the back of the plane
Phrase · C1at the top of one's lungs

as loudly as possible

singing at the top of their lungs.
Soundat the top

flap

singing at the top of their lungs.
Phrase · B1some way to do somethingI just wish there was some way to tell him where I am.
Grammar · B2wish there was some way

wish + past subjunctive

I just wish there was some way to tell him where I am.
Phrase · B2somewhere in betweenSomewhere in between
Slang · B2damnAnd I'm so damn helpless
Phrase · B1nothing left to doThere's nothing left to do but drink
Phrase · C1clue someone in

tell someone what is going on

And wondering If there's someone going to clue us in
Phrase · B2in the darkTell us all what's happening Because the sun is setting And we're sitting in the dark Wherever we are
Soundin the dark

liaison

Tell us all what's happening Because the sun is setting And we're sitting in the dark Wherever we are
Phrase · B2go silentand the whole plane goes silent when the president gives his speech.
Phrase · B2join someone in doing somethingI ask the American people to join me in saying a thanks
Phrase · B2be testedThe resolve of our great nation is being tested.
Phrase · B2make no mistakeBut make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test.
Grammar · B2make no mistake

imperative for emphasis

But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test.
Phrase · B2God blessGod bless.
SoundGod bless

elision

God bless.

Waiting on the Plane for News, explained

What's really going on

The scene sits inside the waiting, and that is its subject: what people do when they cannot act. The flight crew repeats that nothing is wrong, and the passengers read the movies as a sure sign that something is. Strangers trade the small truths they can share — "I just wish there was some way to tell him where I am." — because being unable to reach the people they love is its own kind of terror. The scene's turn is the president's speech arriving over the intercom, ending the speculation all at once. In that quiet the film finds its real interest: not the attack, but how ordinary people hold themselves together while they wait to learn how bad it is.

Theme

LonelinessStranded together but cut off from family, the passengers can only wait and wonder what is happening.
CourageA president's call for resolve meets people who have already been holding themselves together for a day.

Listen for

  • at the top — flap
  • in the dark — liaison
  • God bless — elision
I'm hoping you're one of those people who laughs when English people say awkward things.

A self-aware joke that breaks the ice: she turns her own awkwardness into an invitation to laugh together.

I just wish there was some way to tell him where I am.

The central ache of the scene: she cannot reach the person she loves to say that she is safe.

There's nothing left to do but drink

A line from the song's mood of helplessness: with no news and no control, the only option left is to wait it out.

The resolve of our great nation is being tested.

The president's framing of the crisis, spoken in the broadcast that finally tells the passengers what is happening.

But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test.

The speech's turn toward resolve, which brings the plane to silence and steadies the people listening.

Questions about this scene

Why are the passengers stuck on the plane?

The planes are grounded after the attacks and the airport cannot yet take everyone off. The crew keeps them aboard and tells them nothing while they wait.

Why does everyone think something is wrong?

Because the crew's reassurances sound hollow and the movies are the classic way to distract children. The passengers know the signs and fill the silence with their own guesses.

Who are Diane and Nick?

Two strangers seated near each other on the plane. They talk about the people they are worried about, and Diane says she cannot let her son know where she is.

What changes when the president speaks?

The speech ends the speculation. Hearing what has happened, the whole plane goes silent, and the passengers finally understand the scale of the day.

What does "in the dark" mean here?

It means kept without information. The passengers are left in the dark about the attacks, which is what makes the waiting so hard.

Come from Away · 22 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7left over fromPassengers Disembark into the Dark
Chapter 1a lay of the landGander Learns of the EmergencyChapter 2shaking like a leafPlanes Land Unexpectedly in GanderChapter 3a state of emergencyGander Declares a State of EmergencyChapter 4for the love of GodA Town Gathers SuppliesChapter 5rumors start flyingPassengers Stuck on Planes for 28 HoursWatching · Chapter 6make no mistakeWaiting on the Plane for NewsChapter 7left over fromPassengers Disembark into the DarkChapter 8hear a pin dropGander Finds Translators and AnimalsChapter 9speak the same languageLocals Drive Passengers to the CampChapter 10to the ends of the earthGander Academy Becomes a ShelterChapter 11suit yourselfStranded Passengers Wait for NewsChapter 12make small talkGander Locals Take In the PassengersChapter 13praise be to GodThe Gayest Town in NewfoundlandChapter 14there for meA Mother Waits and Tells JokesChapter 15a moment of silenceA Gas Station Falls SilentChapter 16jump at one's own shadowA Fight Breaks Out in the HallwayChapter 17take the plungeThe Screech-In CeremonyChapter 18Don't be a strangerGander Says Goodbye to the VisitorsChapter 19take seriouslyA Muslim Passenger Is SearchedChapter 20seize the momentDiane and Nick at the LookoutChapter 21ground zeroThe Aftermath Back HomeChapter 22a big breakGander Remembers the Plane People
Chapter 6 of 22 · about 56 min to go