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The Intern · 2015 — Chapter 10 of 18 · 2'49" · B2

Becky Breaks Down at Work, Explained: I happen to think

A younger employee finally voices what nine months of being overlooked feels like, and an older intern answers with patience instead of a lecture. The surface is workload and recognition; underneath is the fear that needing help proves you can't cope. One line reframes the whole complaint: 'I happen to think you do a lot of things right.'

What happens

In an office after hours, a younger employee admits she has spent nine months without being asked to review anything, then starts to cry. An older intern listens, offers to help, and later uses data to show which ad channels actually bring in high-spending customers. Someone then asks for a better plan, and he credits his colleague.

Office chatAsking for helpComfortingComplainingCoworkersB2fastamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

I hear youI happen to thinkbust my assI hate girls who cry at work

00:00 / 02:49
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Now
  16. ❝ MonologueBen's offer to help5 linesPractice page ↗
Tap a line to replay it

Phrase of the scene

I happen to think

I actually think

Becky is defending her worth with her degree and age; Ben answers with a deliberately understated bit of praise.

I happen to think you handled that client well.

Also in this scene

  • I hear you

    I get what you're feeling

  • bust my ass

    work extremely hard

  • I hate girls who cry at work

    I hate women who cry at work

  • out from under

    free from pressure

  • clean slate

    start fresh

Everything marked in this scene

26 notes across 60 lines

Phrase · B1take a look at something

look at something briefly

I've been here nine months, Ben, and she's never asked me To take a look at anything for her ever, okay?
Phrase · B1do something right

get something right

But I never seem to do anything right around here.
Slang · B1like 50 years

about 50 years older — Colloquial approximation; avoid it in formal writing.

And you're like 50 years older than me and you're deaf.
Slang · B2bust my ass

work extremely hard — Vulgar and informal; keep it out of formal settings.

I mean, I bust my ass for her 14 hours a day, And she never notices.
Phrase · B1as an experiment

as a test

How 'bout if you, just as an experiment, Try letting me help you.
SoundHow 'bout if you

Let 'How 'bout if you' run together; keep the t in 'bout soft.

How 'bout if you, just as an experiment, Try letting me help you.
Slang · B1How 'bout

how about — Casual suggestion between familiar people; use 'How about' in formal contexts.

How 'bout if you, just as an experiment, Try letting me help you.
Grammar · B2Once you're out from under this mountain of worry

time clause: 'Once' means 'as soon as', introducing the condition for relief, not a single occasion.

A lot of your stress is gonna be lifted Once you're out from under this mountain of worry.
Phrase · A2once in a while

sometimes

And maybe you should consider leaving here at a normal hour Once in a while.
Phrase · B1consider doing something

think about leaving

And maybe you should consider leaving here at a normal hour Once in a while.
Phrase · B2offer one's assistance

offer to help

Mm-Hmm. I can offer my assistance in this area.
Phrase · A2do one's job

do what one is employed to do

I just don't want her to think that I can't do my job And I need an intern to help me.
Grammar · B2want her to think that I can't do my job

complex object: 'Her' is the subject of 'think', so the clause describes what Ben does not want her to believe.

I just don't want her to think that I can't do my job And I need an intern to help me.
Phrase · B1not want to hear something

not want to hear this news

Okay, you're not gonna want to hear this,
Phrase · B1get through something

finish or survive something

Let's get through this stuff. Let's do it together.
Soundget through

Don't swallow 'through' in the t-plus-th cluster.

Let's get through this stuff. Let's do it together.
Soundlook at

Keep 'look at' light and linked; don't hit both words.

Hi. I took a look at the data purchase patterns.
Phrase · B1bring someone customers

bring customers to someone

It seems the most expensive place you're advertising Is actually bringing you the customers who are spending the least.
Grammar · B2the most expensive place you're advertising

relative clause: The reduced relative after 'place' tells us which place; it is not a separate statement.

It seems the most expensive place you're advertising Is actually bringing you the customers who are spending the least.
Phrase · B2add enormous value

create great value

And the channels you're least investing in Are adding enormous value in segments that currently appear to have low value But actually have the highest spending potential.
Phrase · B2spending potential

potential to spend

And the channels you're least investing in Are adding enormous value in segments that currently appear to have low value But actually have the highest spending potential.
Phrase · A2deal with something

handle that

Oh, Ben. Can you, like, deal with that for me?
Phrase · A2if you have the time

if you have time

I mean, if you have the time?
Phrase · B1a huge help

a very big help

And, Jules, Becky was a huge help in this.
Grammar · B1she has a business degree from Penn

object clause: The clause after 'You know' is the content being confirmed; rising intonation turns it into a question.

You know she has a business degree from Penn?
Phrase · A2say something to someone

mention something to her

I'll say something to her.

Becky Breaks Down at Work, explained

What's really going on

The scene keeps turning a simple offer of help into a question about status. The complaint is not just about hours; it is about being seen. Nine months without being asked to look at anything means being present but not trusted, and the tears arrive right after the admission that nothing seems to go right. The reply does not argue with the feeling. It offers a different frame: 'I happen to think you do a lot of things right.' That line matters because it separates performance from recognition. The harder confession comes later: asking for help feels like evidence of incompetence, as one line puts it, 'I just don't want her to think that I can't do my job And I need an intern to help me.' The data sequence then quietly reverses the power dynamic: the intern becomes useful, and the person who felt invisible gets named as a huge help. The scene's real tension is between needing support and fearing what that need looks like.

Theme

TrustA nine-month employee feels untrusted; the offer of help only works when it is framed as partnership, not charity.
GenerationsAn older intern proves useful through data and patience, not seniority, shifting who is teaching whom.

Listen for

  • How 'bout if you — Let 'How 'bout if you' run together; keep the t in 'bout soft.
  • get through — Don't swallow 'through' in the t-plus-th cluster.
  • look at — Keep 'look at' light and linked; don't hit both words.
I happen to think you do a lot of things right.

A low-key way to disagree with someone's self-criticism and offer a sincere compliment, without sounding like a manager giving a formal evaluation.

A lot of your stress is gonna be lifted Once you're out from under this mountain of worry.

The image is being crushed under a mountain of worry; the promise is that getting out from under it will lift much of the stress.

Let's get through this stuff. Let's do it together.

A practical offer of teamwork: instead of praising from a distance, the speaker suggests working through the backlog side by side.

Questions about this scene

Why does the younger employee feel overlooked?

She says she has been there nine months and has never been asked to look at anything for the person she works for. The complaint is about not being given work she can own, not simply about long hours.

What does 'bust my ass' mean here?

It means work extremely hard. The line adds '14 hours a day' and 'she never notices,' so the complaint is about effort that goes unseen rather than about the literal phrase.

Why is asking for help so difficult?

One line explains the fear: 'I just don't want her to think that I can't do my job And I need an intern to help me.' Accepting help could look like proof of incompetence.

Does the older intern's help change anything?

Yes, within the scene: the data work reveals ad channels are misallocated, and the colleague who helped is later credited as 'a huge help.' The change is recognition as much as workload.

The Intern · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11little does ... knowJules's Team Plans a Break-In
Chapter 1gave me the drillBen Meets His New BossChapter 2make the trains run on timeJules Is Told to Consider a CEOChapter 3goes without sayingBen Confronts the Drinking DriverChapter 4me timeTwo Parents Keep Dozing OffChapter 5slammedBen Arrives at Jules's HouseChapter 6stay-at-home dadJules Gets the Guacamole AssignmentChapter 7force of habitBen's Old Factory RevealChapter 8brownnoseIntern Sets Up Facebook ProfileChapter 9jumped the gunBen Gets His Job BackWatching · Chapter 10I happen to thinkBecky Breaks Down at WorkChapter 11little does ... knowJules's Team Plans a Break-InChapter 12no such thing asFake Alarm at Jules's Mom's HouseChapter 13above and beyondCoworkers Toast After a HeistChapter 14glass ceilingBen Takes Paige to a Birthday PartyChapter 15bowl of mushBen Comes Back FlushedChapter 16pull offBenjamin Opens Up About His MarriageChapter 17take the rapA Wife Reveals Her Husband's AffairChapter 18add upBen Talks Jules Out of Giving Up
Chapter 10 of 18 · about 22 min to go