Chapter 23 of 23 · 2'25"
It's the night of the dance finals, and the family's nerves are all about money and luck. Jake frets over the bet, Pat gets a 'Excelsior,' and then Nikki walks in. Ronnie spends the scene lobbying for Pat: 'You gotta give him a chance.'
The Family Watches the Dancers
Nikki Shows Up at the Finals
❝ Monologue · 4 lines Ronnie Pleads for Pat's Marriage
At the dance competition finals, Pat and Tiffany prepare to perform. Jake worries about the bet, someone wants to collect on it, and a doctor wishes Pat luck with 'Excelsior.' Then Nikki appears, and Ronnie presses Pat's mother to give Pat another chance and not throw the marriage away.
Everyone at the finals is performing a role: the dancers, the nervous family, the man collecting on a bet. The scene's real subject is the marriage Pat left behind. Ronnie keeps pushing the idea that a single good night can undo the past — 'She'll see how well he's doing, maybe she'll lift the restraining order.' He even claims Pat told him 'you should never throw a marriage out the window,' quoting a sentiment Pat may never have spoken. Pat is off-stage for most of it, being managed by everyone else. The plea that ends the scene, 'You gotta give him a chance,' is aimed at Pat's mother as much as at Nikki: the family wants the old life restored, and the dance is only the excuse.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I want you to remember everything, all of the good stuff that we have here.”
It turns a simple request to remember into something tender and a little fearful.
Neutral
“He told me you should never throw a marriage out the window.”
Throwing a marriage out the window makes the waste of it vivid and almost physical.
Informal
“Said it several times. It's his chance. You gotta give him a chance.”
Three short sentences in a row build the urgency of someone pleading for a friend.
Informal
“She'll see how well he's doing, maybe she'll lift the restraining order.”
A dance as a chance: maybe she'll see, maybe she'll lift the order.
Neutral
“You can give me the money now, you know.”
He collects before the contest even starts: cocky and disarming.
Informal
- Oh, my God. Oh, my God. - (RONNIE) Pat told me. He told me you should never throw a marriage out the window. - He did not say that. - (RONNIE) Yes. Said it several times. It's his chance. You gotta give him a chance.
Because the family has money riding on the result, and Jake is nervous that the night will not go their way.
It appears to be the plan all along: if Nikki sees how well Pat is doing, she might drop the restraining order and come back to him.
He wants her to give Pat another chance and help restore the marriage, arguing that Pat has repeatedly said a marriage should never be thrown away.
It is the motto on New York's seal, meaning 'ever upward.' It is used here as a word of encouragement before Pat performs.
It is a court order keeping Pat away from Nikki after what happened. The family hopes a good performance will convince her to lift it.
