We'd like to see you one at a time.Knives Out · 2019 — Chapter 1 of 14 · 6'05" · B2
Police Question the Thrombeys, Explained: pass the torch
One by one, the detectives walk the Thrombey family through the night of Harlan's death, and every answer is a polished self-portrait. One of them stresses that she "built my business from the ground up," while others perform grief before the questions even start. The interviews look routine; they are already collecting motives.
What happens
The police interview the Thrombey family one at a time after Harlan's death. A daughter explains she "built my business from the ground up" and had "our own secret way of communicating" with her father; a son talks about running the family publishing company; a daughter-in-law pitches her skincare brand, Flam, as a way of life. Each is performing.
Listen for
show facemy rockpass the torchgutted
00:00 / 06:05Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
pass the torch
to hand over responsibility to someone else
沃尔特形容父亲把事业交到他手上，就像把火炬递过来，说的是 passing the torch。
The founder passed the torch to his daughter last spring.
Also in this scene
- show face
to appear briefly at an event
- my rock
a person who gives steady support
- gutted
extremely disappointed or devastated
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 118 lines
liaison
We'd like to see you one at a time.I'm assuming this will all be wrapped up before the memorial tonight.future passive
I'm assuming this will all be wrapped up before the memorial tonight.We'll do our best, ma'am.How you doing, kiddo?weak form
How you doing, kiddo?We're just gonna reintroduce ourselves as a formality.Now, um, I'm going to record this, just to make things easier.infinitive of purpose
Now, um, I'm going to record this, just to make things easier.We're very sorry for your loss.Thank you. That means a lot.to appear briefly at an event
Did anyone besides the family show face?We have no idea.I built my business from the ground up.liaison
I built my business from the ground up.You two were very close.conditional clause
and if you did that, and you played by his rules...Everyone idolizes their dad, right?Don't know why I said that.Wow, seems like all his kids are self-made overachievers.Dad trusts me to run it.Like, I won't spoil it for you but...Well, Dad said the plots just popped into his head, fully formed.a person who gives steady support
My wife, Donna, she's my rock.Very politically active.He's an alt-right troll dipshit.I mean, we're all gutted, but, uh, I was happy to have that night with him.to hand over responsibility to someone else
Passing the torch.I feel simultaneously freed by and supported by them.Yeah, it's skincare, but it promotes a total lifestyle.He got me and Meg through some tough times.He's a genuinely selfless man.Have fun.I think Linda was upset.Police Question the Thrombeys, explained
What's really going on
The interviews are staged as a formality, and that is exactly what makes them useful. Everyone answers with a sales pitch: one praises her own grit - "I built my business from the ground up" - another turns grief into brand copy, and a third insists on the family fortune as if it were a birthright. The grief is real for some, but it is performed for the camera of a police recorder. What the detectives are quietly doing is fixing each person to a motive: who needed money, who resented the old man, who was written into or out of the will. The scene's joke is that the family cannot stop auditioning for the inheritance even while being questioned about a death.
Theme
MoneyEach relative measures their worth against the family fortune and the will.
Family conflictThe polite interviews expose rivalries between siblings and in-laws over Harlan's estate.
Listen for
- one at a — liaison
- How you — weak form
- ground up — liaison
I built my business from the ground up.A boast that casts her as self-made, even as she is questioned about the family fortune.
Don't know why I said that.A rare slip that undercuts the polished story someone has just told.
I'm assuming this will all be wrapped up before the memorial tonight.A demand for the inconvenience to end quickly, showing more concern for image than grief.
We... We had our own secret way of communicating.A claim of special closeness to Harlan, offered as proof she is above suspicion.
Questions about this scene
Why do the police interview the family one at a time?
They want each person's account of the night Harlan died recorded on its own, so the stories can later be compared. The interviews are presented as a formality, but they build the case.
What is Flam?
Flam is the skincare brand run by one of the daughters-in-law. She describes it as promoting a total lifestyle, not just products, and links it back to Harlan.
What does "gutted" mean here?
It is a strong, largely British word for devastated or emptied out by grief, much heavier than simply sad. One relative says the whole family is gutted but was glad to have that last night with him.
Why does Ransom leave the party early?
He is said to have shown up at the gathering and then left early, which makes his movements on the night of the death something the police want to pin down.
Why does the family seem more worried about image than about Harlan?
Their answers read like auditions: they stress accomplishments, brand their grief, and hope the interviews wrap up before the memorial, as if the will matters more than the death.
Knives Out · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2at the behest ofBlanc Introduces Himself to the Family
Watching · Chapter 1pass the torchPolice Question the Thrombeys
Chapter 2at the behest ofBlanc Introduces Himself to the Family
Chapter 3the black sheep of the familyThe Family Recounts Party Night
Chapter 4a little bird told meMarta Fails the Lie Test
Chapter 5with a forked tongueReconstructing the Night of the Death
Chapter 6close the book with a flourishHarlan's Last Game of Go
Chapter 7stone-cold deadHarlan Coaches Marta's Alibi
Chapter 8conflateThe Family Fights at the Memorial
Chapter 9burn bridgesRansom Arrives Before the Will Reading
Chapter 10hold your horsesThe Family Learns About the Will
Chapter 11lay lowA Deal at the Diner
Chapter 12twist the knifeBlanc Reveals Who Hired Him
Chapter 13a shred of evidenceBlanc Explains the Vial Switch
Chapter 14in for a penny, in for a poundBlanc Reveals the Whole PlanChapter 1 of 14 · about 64 min to go