You changed the lock on my own goddamn house.Husbands and Wives · 1992 — Chapter 12 of 15 · 4'08" · B2
Jack Comes Back to Sally Drunk, Explained: wipe out
Jack shows up at Sally's house late at night, drunk, and finds the lock changed. He asks to come back — "I wanna start over" — and Sally refuses: "Too much has happened." The rest is a fight about the marriage, with each of them blaming the other until she tells everyone to leave.
What happens
Late at night, a drunk Jack arrives at Sally's house and discovers she has changed the lock. He wants to come back and to start over, but Sally says too much has happened. The two argue about the marriage, the lies, and the years they spent together, and she finally throws him and Gabe out.
Listen for
get uglytakes two of usslime bagwipe out
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Phrase of the scene
wipe out
to erase or destroy something completely
杰克醉闯前妻家求复合，质问莎莉为何能把两人共同度过的那些年一笔抹掉；莎莉反唇相讥，说当初是杰克自己毫不留情地要结束一切。谁对谁说：莎莉对回头看她的前夫杰克。
The flood wiped out everything they had built in a decade.
Also in this scene
- get ugly
to turn nasty or unpleasant
- takes two of us
both people are responsible for what happened
- slime bag
a contemptible, disgusting person
Everything marked in this scene
23 notes across 82 lines
It's none of your business. Please leave right now.to turn nasty or unpleasant
Hey, hey, listen. Let's not get ugly here.Wait a minute. Sally, listen. I wanna come back.Oh, man, my life is such a fuckin' mess.Jack, this is not the time and place to discuss this.- I wanna start over. - No. That's not possible.- Too much has happened. - Oh, God. I made so many...Hey, would you get lost? What is it with him?This was not all my fault, you know? Okay?both people are responsible for what happened
It takes two of us. Both of us screwed up.It takes two of us. Both of us screwed up.You don't know how hard you are to live with.What do you want me to say? Our marriage was full of problems.- Go ahead. Hey. - You deceived me. You cheated on me.Everybody has a tough time, you know?That's bullshit. It's total bullshit.Well... you know, you had no problem wiping them out when it suited you.I'm gonna feel like shit tomorrow. That's what I'm gonna feel like.How long are you just gonna leave me out there, right?God, I need to see a shrink, dating a slime bag!What's the big deal? I mean, so I did a couple of things wrong.I yelled, I misbehaved. Does it have to be irreversible?Jack Comes Back to Sally Drunk, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a break-up that will not end, because the two people in it keep changing the subject from the marriage to the blame. Jack arrives drunk and frames his request as regret: "I wanna start over." Sally refuses with the plainest line in the scene, "Too much has happened," and then the argument proves her point by reheating old injuries. Jack tries to spread the fault — "It takes two of us. Both of us screwed up" — while also admitting he was the one who lied and cheated. Sally's answer, "you had no problem wiping them out when it suited you," is about the years, and it is the one claim he never really answers. In the end he falls back on a plea instead of an argument: "I yelled, I misbehaved. Does it have to be irreversible?" The scene ends with her throwing everyone out, which is its own verdict.
Theme
MarriageA divorced couple relitigates their marriage at the door, and neither agrees on what went wrong or who caused it.
BetrayalSally's accusation is specific: he lied, he deceived her, and he cheated, and he wants to come back without answering any of it.
What you'll learn
- 'bullshit' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'swell' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
It takes two of us. Both of us screwed up.Jack spreading responsibility for the divorce, insisting the failure belongs to both of them rather than only to him.
You don't know how hard you are to live with.Sally's counterattack: the marriage was difficult because of him, and she says he has never understood that.
Well... you know, you had no problem wiping them out when it suited you.Her answer about the years they shared: he erased the past easily when it was convenient, so he cannot now ask her to honor it.
I yelled, I misbehaved. Does it have to be irreversible?His last plea: he admits bad behavior but asks whether it must mean the end, which is the same request as wanting to come back.
Questions about this scene
Why does Jack come to Sally's house?
He is drunk and wants to come back, framing it as wanting to start over. He still thinks of the house as his, which is why the changed lock sets him off.
Why does Sally refuse to let him back?
She says too much has happened, and she is not willing to reopen the marriage. She lists what he did — lying, deceiving, cheating — and will not relitigate it at the door.
Why does Jack say it takes two of us?
He wants to share the blame so his own behavior looks smaller. Sally does not accept it; her answer about how hard he was to live with turns the failure back on him.
Who is the man upstairs?
He is someone Sally is involved with now, which is why Jack is shocked to find another man in the house. Sally tells Jack it is none of his business.
Why does the scene end with everyone thrown out?
The argument has become loud and public, and more people keep arriving. Sally ends it by sending them all away, which shows how completely she is finished with the whole situation.
Husbands and Wives · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13in your cornerRain Critiques Gabe's Novel
Chapter 1grow apartJack and Sally Announce a Split
Chapter 2to the best of my knowledgeGabe and Judy's Late-Night Talk
Chapter 3a different ball gameSally Calls Jack During a Date
Chapter 4I meant it as a complimentGabe Praises a Student's Story
Chapter 5penchant forGabe's Kamikaze Women Theory
Chapter 6out of left fieldGabe and Jack Fight Over Sam
Chapter 7touch a nerveFriends Discuss Divorce Over Lunch
Chapter 8knocked out by itGabe and Rain Talk About Writing
Chapter 9Sooner or laterSally Stops Michael From Rushing
Chapter 10cleaned up my actGabe Meets Rain's Parents
Chapter 11out of lineJack and Sam Fight About Astrology
Watching · Chapter 12wipe outJack Comes Back to Sally Drunk
Chapter 13in your cornerRain Critiques Gabe's Novel
Chapter 14go sourJudy Tells Gabe It's Over
Chapter 15get the wrong ideaRain's Birthday Party in a BlackoutChapter 12 of 15 · about 10 min to go