Well, thank you all for getting together like this.Knives Out · 2019 — Chapter 10 of 14 · 5'28" · B2
The Family Learns About the Will, Explained: hold your horses
Alan reads the new will and it names Marta as the sole heir: the house, the investments, and the publishing company. The family sit through the polite preamble and then come apart—"Were you in on this from the beginning?"—while a relative tries to calm them down.
What happens
After Harlan's death, his lawyer gathers the family to read a will that was changed a week before he died. It turns out Harlan left everything—the house, his investments, and his publishing company—to Marta, which the relatives cannot accept. They accuse her of scheming and turn on one another as she is pushed out the door.
Listen for
be in on somethingcool one's jetshold your horsesyada-yada-yada
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
hold your horses
wait a moment, slow down
局面正乱，有人喊 hold your horses，让大家先别急着下结论或行动。
Hold your horses, the contract isn't signed yet.
Also in this scene
- be in on something
to be part of a secret or plan
- cool one's jets
to calm down
- yada-yada-yada
and so on and so forth; used to skip details
Everything marked in this scene
54 notes across 122 lines
It isn't legally necessary, but I thought because you're all in town, and some of you are leaving soon...Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to gently request that you all stay in town until the investigation is completed.liaison
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to gently request that you all stay in town until the investigation is completed.Yeah, well, he's gently requesting, but I'm gonna have to make that an order.No one move until we figure this all out.liaison
No one move until we figure this all out.Can we ask why?No, it hasn't changed? Or no, we can't ask?The other reason I thought this gathering would be, uh, beneficial is because Harlan altered his willHe sealed it.He asked me not to submit it to the courts for probate until after his death.Although I don't imagine any of it is going to be that complicated.which he owned outright.sole ownership of Blood Like Wine, his publishing company.He also wrote up a statement when he was making the changes and he wanted that read first."Some of you may be surprised by the choice I've made here."And its purpose was not to sow "greater discord in the family, "quite the opposite."Please accept it with grace and without bitterness, "but do accept it,"it's for the best. Dad."Wow. Well, yeah, not too complex at all.This will be quick."I, Harlan Thrombey, being of sound mind and body" and yada-yada-yada...participial phrase
"I, Harlan Thrombey, being of sound mind and body" and yada-yada-yada..."I leave in their entirety to Marta Cabrera.- That can't be. - LINDA: No.This can't be legal.Aren't there safeguards...It's not possible.Are there safeguards against this?he was on a great deal of medication.- ...but she's not our family. - ...this piece of paper and shove it right up your ass, and get out!We need to fight this thing. We're not going anywhere.Oh, you little bitch!Did you know about this?to be part of a secret or plan
Were you in on this from the beginning?be in on something
Were you in on this from the beginning?What were you doing? Were you boinking my father?What were you doing? Were you boinking my father?to calm down
I think everybody just needs to cool their jets.liaison
I think everybody just needs to cool their jets.You had sex with my grandpa, you dirty anchor baby!wait a moment, slow down
Now hold your horses.I totally understand how you must be feeling right now.how-clause as object
I totally understand how you must be feeling right now.I don't know what to say. I don't know.Guys, I'm also confused. I need to think!I can't catch up!Marta, you have to understand.He is our father!So DM me on Instagram, okay?I think this could be the best thing to happen to all of you!What am I supposed to do?Grab the bumper with my teeth?The Family Learns About the Will, explained
What's really going on
The scene turns a legal formality into a family's worst hour, and the twist is not really the money: it is the revelation of what the family believed about itself. They assumed they were the natural heirs, and the will tells them otherwise in the flattest possible voice. The reading is deliberately calm—"I leave in their entirety to Marta Cabrera"—until it isn't, and the room snaps: someone asks, "Were you in on this from the beginning?", another insists they are "the Thrombeys, God damn it!", and the accusations get ugly fast. Harlan's final line in the statement, "it's for the best. Dad.", is the joke that cuts deepest: he knew exactly what he was doing to them, and he did it anyway.
Theme
Family conflictA changed will turns the relatives against Marta and then against each other within minutes.
MoneyInheritance exposes what the family really wanted, as they fight to overturn the will.
Listen for
- request that — liaison
- No one — liaison
- cool their — liaison
"it's for the best. Dad."Harlan signs off with the phrase people use to soften bad news, knowing his family will not forgive it.
I think this could be the best thing to happen to all of you!The comment greets the chaos with sarcasm, suggesting the shock might help a family that felt entitled.
No one move until we figure this all out.The police freeze everyone in place while the investigation is still open.
We are the Thrombeys, God damn it!A relative insists on the family name as if it still guarantees a claim to the house.
Questions about this scene
Why did the family gather at the house?
The lawyer wanted to read Harlan's will together, since the relatives were in town and some were about to leave, and he revealed it had been changed a week before Harlan died.
Who inherits Harlan's estate?
Marta does. The will leaves her the house, the investments, and the publishing company in their entirety, including the catalogue's copyright.
Why does the family turn on Marta?
They cannot believe an outsider would get everything, so they accuse her of being involved from the beginning and of scheming to get close to Harlan.
Why does the family suspect the will is invalid?
They suggest Harlan was confused or heavily medicated in his final days, and ask whether there are safeguards or grounds to challenge it in court.
Why does the family get thrown out of the house?
The arguments turn vicious and personal, and Linda orders the lawyer and the police out, refusing to accept that the house is no longer theirs.
Knives Out · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11lay lowA Deal at the Diner
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
Watching · 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 10 of 14 · about 21 min to go