Where do you think you're going, Mr. David Drayton?The Mist · 2007 — Chapter 8 of 11 · 2'25" · B2
Carmody Blocks the Pharmacy Run, Explained: leave well enough alone
The survivors are about to leave for the pharmacy when Mrs. Carmody plants herself by the door. 'Are you so anxious to make your boy an orphan?' she asks David. On the surface it is a fight about safety; underneath, it is about who gets to decide what the group does when everyone is terrified.
What happens
A small group volunteers to walk to the pharmacy next door for medicine, and David's son's friends are among those waiting inside. As they line up at the door, Mrs. Carmody blocks their way and warns that leaving will only bring the creatures back to everyone left behind.
Listen for
leave well enough alonetorn to shredsno concern of yourshubris
00:00 / 02:25Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
leave well enough alone
to stop interfering when things are fine
卡莫迪太太阻拦众人出门，大卫回她：你就不能别多管闲事吗？
The engine is running fine, so leave well enough alone.
Also in this scene
- torn to shreds
ripped into many pieces
- no concern of yours
not your business or responsibility
- hubris
excessive pride that invites disaster
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 58 lines
not your business or responsibility
My boy is no concern of yours.Listen up.liaison
Listen up.We're gonna bring back some supplies.Also, there may be people trapped over there who need help.We're not gonna take any chances. If there's any trouble, we'll come straight back here to the supermarket.We're not gonna take any chances. If there's any trouble, we'll come straight back here to the supermarket.And bring the fiends of hell down on our heads, thank you.to stop interfering when things are fine
Why can't you just leave well enough alone? Lady, is this what you call well enough?You better explain to Bobby here why we're not bringing painkillers and medicine back for his brother. No, I'm going.had better for advice
You better explain to Bobby here why we're not bringing painkillers and medicine back for his brother. No, I'm going.ripped into many pieces
You'll walk out that door and be torn to shreds, and then your hell-bound pride...Will have them come get the rest of us.Yes, they'll come back for all of us, just like this good lady said.it-cleft
Well, it is this kind of hubris that brought the wrath of God in the first place.Shut up, you miserable buzzard.You old bitch.Stoning people who piss you off is perfectly okay.tag question
They do it in the Bible, don't they?And I got lots of peas.David, please, if you want to go, now's the time.How 'bout it, Army?Any help from the armed forces?A pair of underachievers. After you, Jim.Shit.Single file, one by one, all right?Let's get this thing over with.liaison
Let's get this thing over with.After you.liaison
After you.Stay together.Mrs. Carmody, you're not helping.Shut the hell up.Save the batteries.Carmody Blocks the Pharmacy Run, explained
What's really going on
Nobody in the store can agree on the same facts, so the argument becomes about authority. Mrs. Carmody does not simply disagree with the trip; she frames it as sin. 'Well, it is this kind of hubris that brought the wrath of God in the first place,' she says, turning a supply run into evidence of human arrogance. The others try to answer her with logic — 'Why can't you just leave well enough alone?' — but logic is not what is being contested. What is really on the line is whether a frightened crowd will follow the person who sounds certain. Her threat that the volunteers will be 'torn to shreds' works because everyone is already imagining exactly that.
Theme
FaithCarmody turns a trip for medicine into a question of God's will, using faith to control the room.
PowerThe scene is a contest over who decides: David's group wants to act, Carmody wants the crowd to obey her.
What you'll learn
- Notice how "Listen up" changes the exchange.
- Listen for the attitude carried by "Listen up".
- Try the phrase in a comparable conversation.
Listen for
- Listen up — liaison
- get this thing over with — liaison
- After you — liaison
My boy is no concern of yours.David cuts Carmody off: his son is not her business, and he refuses to let her use the boy to control him.
Well, it is this kind of hubris that brought the wrath of God in the first place.Carmody claims the disaster is punishment for human arrogance, so the trip out is not brave but blasphemous.
Stoning people who piss you off is perfectly okay.A mocking reply that turns Carmody's Bible talk against her: if scripture excuses violence, then it excuses hers too.
Are you so anxious to make your boy an orphan?Carmody attacks David through his child, implying that leaving will get him killed and leave the boy alone.
Questions about this scene
Why does Mrs. Carmody try to stop the group from leaving?
She believes the creatures were drawn by human defiance, so she argues that walking out will anger God further and bring the monsters back to everyone still inside the store.
Is Mrs. Carmody right that leaving will bring the creatures back?
The film never confirms it. Her warning is a guess dressed up as certainty, and it happens to be useful to her because it keeps the group under her influence.
Why does David insist on going to the pharmacy anyway?
People are hurt and need medicine, and he refuses to let fear decide for him. When told to explain that to Bobby, whose brother is injured, he says he will go even alone.
Whom does David take with him on the trip?
A handful of volunteers line up at the door, including Amanda and the soldier Jessup. The scene lingers on how few people are willing to go.
Why does someone tell Mrs. Carmody to shut up?
She keeps pressing her religious warnings while the group is trying to organize, and someone finally snaps at her, which only makes the argument louder.
The Mist · 11 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9at bayDavid Plans His Escape
Chapter 1the end of daysThe Mist Reaches the Store
Chapter 2sense of proportionDavid Argues With His Neighbor
Chapter 3at stakeDavid Argues the Mist Is Real
Chapter 4meet one's makerMrs. Carmody Preaches the End
Chapter 5tightly woundThe Group Debates Seeking Rescue
Chapter 6for the bestAftermath at the Grocery Store
Chapter 7cut and runThe Crowd Turns on David
Watching · Chapter 8leave well enough aloneCarmody Blocks the Pharmacy Run
Chapter 9at bayDavid Plans His Escape
Chapter 10point the fingerThe Arrowhead Project Revealed
Chapter 11wait and seeDavid Promises Billy He'll Never LeaveChapter 8 of 11 · about 15 min to go