Considering all that we two have to do today, we two are good.Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made · 2021 — Chapter 1 of 18 · 2'51" · B2
Interviewing for the Dead Letter Office, Explained: lose faith in
The Dead Letter Office is hiring a temp, and the only real applicant, Phoenix, makes a mess of the interview—and of a sticky letter. As the team tries to separate syrup-glued mail before a colleague's wedding, one of them insists they cannot let the nation's children "lose faith in the United States Postal System."
What happens
At the Dead Letter Office, the team interviews applicants for a temp job while preparing for a co-worker's wedding. The only candidates are Phoenix and someone named Charley, and Phoenix fails badly. Meanwhile, a food-truck accident has glued a bag of dead letters together with syrup, so the crew sets out to separate them.
Listen for
be in touchlose faith inkeep uptask force
00:00 / 02:51Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
lose faith in
to stop trusting or believing in someone or something
Oliver tells Norman they must save the letter so the nation's children keep believing in the postal service.
After two missed deadlines, the client started to lose faith in the team.
Also in this scene
- be in touch
to contact someone again later
- keep up
to move or progress at the same pace as others
- task force
a group set up for a specific mission
Everything marked in this scene
26 notes across 58 lines
have to for obligation
Considering all that we two have to do today, we two are good.I have a question about the wedding.to move or progress at the same pace as others
Rushing to the interview, Hazel warns the new hire to match their pace.
Oh. Well, you'll have to keep up.liaison
Oh. Well, you'll have to keep up.We're interviewing for the temp position today, and we're running late.We're an elite task force with wide powers of postal discretion.weak form
It's kind of sticky.Kind of smells like leftover breakfast.to contact someone again later
Oliver and Shane end Phoenix's interview politely, though they have already written him off.
You know, I think we have everything we need right here on your resume, so we will be in touch.Not everyone appreciates the glamor and mystery of our work, Oliver.Ah, then we should get busy.relative clause with that
A bucket of syrup fell off a Waffle Wagon that ran over the bag of dead lettersAnd now they're all glued together.Hence the aroma of breakfast.Oh, it looks as though someone less skilled than we attempted to separate themcomparison with than
Oh, it looks as though someone less skilled than we attempted to separate themAnd now we're left with just a few letters and numbers,and then the rest of the address is, well, stuck to this.liaison
and then the rest of the address is, well, stuck to this.Oh, well. It is a start, assuming it can be detached.Well, I have been developing a special separating solution specifically for paper preservation.present perfect continuous
Well, I have been developing a special separating solution specifically for paper preservation.But it's still in its experimental stages.Norman, from what I can perceive, a child's drawing is cemented in this envelope.to stop trusting or believing in someone or something
Oliver tells Norman they must save the letter so the nation's children keep believing in the postal service.
And we cannot allow our country's children to lose faith in the United States Postal System.Interviewing for the Dead Letter Office, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a workplace comedy about a very small office, and it gets its humor from taking that office seriously. The team calls itself "an elite task force with wide powers of postal discretion," and they mean it: a ruined bag of mail is treated as a matter of public trust. When the applicant Phoenix botches his interview, the letdown is delivered politely—"we will be in touch"—but the real passion shows up elsewhere. As they work on the syrup-soaked letters, one of them declares that they cannot let the country's children "lose faith in the United States Postal System." The joke and the sincerity are the same thing here, which is why the office feels like a family.
Theme
DutyThe tiny office treats a ruined bag of mail as a public trust it must protect.
FriendshipThe team's shared seriousness and inside jokes make the workplace feel like a family.
Listen for
- keep up — liaison
- kind of — weak form
- the rest of — liaison
Not everyone appreciates the glamor and mystery of our work, Oliver.A self-aware joke that admits the office is unglamorous while defending it anyway.
And we cannot allow our country's children to lose faith in the United States Postal System.A mock-heroic statement of duty, treating a sticky letter as a matter of national trust.
We're an elite task force with wide powers of postal discretion.The team's grand self-description, played completely straight for comedy.
You know, I think we have everything we need right here on your resume, so we will be in touch.A polite rejection that ends the interview without saying no outright.
Questions about this scene
Why is the office so busy?
They are interviewing applicants for a temp job and preparing for a co-worker's wedding on Saturday, while the team will cover the office during the honeymoon.
Why was Phoenix rejected?
He is the only real candidate besides Charley, and he makes a poor impression in the interview, even ripping a letter off the top of the sticky pile.
Why are the letters stuck together?
A bucket of syrup fell off a food truck onto a bag of dead letters, so the whole batch is glued together and smells like breakfast.
How does the team describe itself?
As an elite task force with wide powers of postal discretion, known to some people as "The Postables."
Why do they care so much about the ruined mail?
They say they cannot let the country's children lose faith in the postal system, so even a syrup-soaked envelope is treated as important.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2trust the timingThe Best Man's Wedding Checklist
Watching · Chapter 1lose faith inInterviewing for the Dead Letter Office
Chapter 2trust the timingThe Best Man's Wedding Checklist
Chapter 3not everyone's cup of teaOliver's Mother Stays Four Days
Chapter 4track him downThe Team Reads a Dead Letter
Chapter 5skedaddleNorman Meets the Pregnant Temp
Chapter 6is in my bloodShane's Mother Visits the Office
Chapter 7a handfulOliver Agrees With His Mother
Chapter 8made for each otherThe Fire Station on the Envelope
Chapter 9put her up for adoptionTracing Fred Back to Owen
Chapter 10any means necessaryFinding Fred and the Wedding Canopy
Chapter 11mean the world toOliver Finds Fred the Stuffed Toy
Chapter 12never looked backOliver Leaves the Bear at the Altar
Chapter 13hard to come byShane's Mother Visits the Office
Chapter 14beaten the oddsNorman and Rita Consider Adoption
Chapter 15love at first sightShane's Mom Interrogates Oliver
Chapter 16get your act togetherCharley Gets a Job and a Family
Chapter 17get it out of my headOliver Faces His Fear of Forever
Chapter 18have a way ofOliver Gives Shane a Wedding WatchChapter 1 of 18 · about 66 min to go