You need to just... I'm sorry. OK. I'm sorry for feeding you to the eagle.The Proposal · 2009 — Chapter 9 of 14 · 6'29" · B1
Margaret and Andrew Trade Secrets, Explained: take this the wrong way
Two people forced to pass as a couple finally have a quiet room and the lights off. What starts as a checklist of facts turns into something more honest: "I took disco lessons in the sixth grade," one of them admits, and the learning that began for the immigration office starts to sound like a confession.
What happens
Night at the Paxton family home in Sitka. Margaret and Andrew, pretending to be engaged, share a room. After the awkward run-in over the dog and his shower, they lie in the dark trading small, embarrassing truths about themselves, from disco lessons to a book read every Christmas, while both pretend the exercise is only preparation for the immigration interview.
Listen for
out of nowheretake this the wrong wayWhat is it with you and ...for the love of God
00:00 / 06:29Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
take this the wrong way
don't misunderstand what I'm about to say
两人交换完一堆私密秘密后气氛松动，安德鲁想夸玛格丽特漂亮，又怕她以为自己越界，先说一句「你别误会我的意思」再开口。
Don't take this the wrong way, but your plan has a few gaps.
Also in this scene
- out of nowhere
suddenly, with no warning at all
- What is it with you and ...
a rhetorical question about someone's strange relationship with something
- for the love of God
an exasperated plea or exclamation
Everything marked in this scene
20 notes across 81 lines
for + gerund
You need to just... I'm sorry. OK. I'm sorry for feeding you to the eagle.Go, go. Just let me get a towel.That's right. Get on the carpet.Explain yourself, please.suddenly, with no warning at all
Then you just jump me out of nowhere. What's that?liaison
Then you just jump me out of nowhere. What's that?What is it with you and this dog?weak form
What is it with you and this dog?Oh, barely made it out with my life there.See the size of the teeth on that thing?So, uh, what's the deal with you and your father?embedded question
So, uh, what's the deal with you and your father?Ooh, I'm sorry. That question is not in the binder.relative clause
I'm sure there's many, many other things, but that's all I can come up with right now.weak form
I'm sure there's many, many other things, but that's all I can come up with right now.Just processing.That's a long time.Yeah, well, I've been a little busy.don't misunderstand what I'm about to say
Don't take this the wrong way.Margaret and Andrew Trade Secrets, explained
What's really going on
For all the talk of rehearsing their story, this is the first time the two of them stop performing for each other. The facts one of them lists — never played a video game, reads Wuthering Heights every Christmas, hasn't slept with a man in over a year and a half — are useless for an immigration officer. They are the opposite: things you only tell someone you are starting to trust. The reply that lands is "Just processing," which sounds deadpan but is really the sound of someone re-seeing the person beside him. The power balance has also flipped. All day she gives the orders; here she is the one offering up embarrassments, and he gets to decide how to answer. The romance is not in what they say but in the fact that they bother to say it.
Theme
SecretsIn the dark, the two stop trading prepared answers and start swapping private embarrassments, the kind you only hand to someone you're starting to trust.
RomanceThe fake engagement is rehearsed on paper, but a real connection forms here, away from the audience they have been performing for.
What you'll learn
- Ask personal questions with what s the deal with.
- Use come up with for ideas or details.
- Soften criticism with take this the wrong way.
- Hear the difference between out of nowhere and run into.
Listen for
- out of — liaison
- with you — weak form
- come up — weak form
Don t like flowers in the house cause they remind me of funeralsA tiny, oddly dark detail: flowers at home remind this person of funerals, so there are none. It's the kind of admission that tells you more than a résumé ever would.
Don t take this the wrong wayA warning before a compliment, used here to soften what comes next: the admission that the other person is very, very beautiful. It asks to be heard the way it was meant.
I know who they are I just wanted to hear you sing itAn admission that the whole question was a pretext. This person already knew the band name and simply wanted the other to say it out loud, a small, fond kind of teasing.
I took disco lessons in the sixth gradeThe first of many confessions traded in the dark: a harmless, embarrassing fact offered as proof of honesty. It sets the tone for everything that follows.
Questions about this scene
Why are Margaret and Andrew sharing a room?
They have to keep up the engaged-couple story while staying at his family's home in Sitka, so the family puts them in the same room. The scene leans on how awkward two people who barely know each other are in that setup.
Why does one of them keep saying the question isn't in the binder?
Because they have been drilling each other with prepared answers for the immigration interview. When the talk turns personal, the other protests that this topic was never on the list, which is exactly what makes the moment feel real.
Who is telling the truth and who is just going along with it?
Both are playing a role in public, but the secrets traded in the dark are genuine. The engagement is fake; the evening is not, and that gap is what the scene is built on.
What's the deal with the naked scene earlier in the chapter?
It's the comic setup: a dog attack, a rush to the bathroom, and an accidental encounter leave both of them flustered. It also breaks the ice, so the quiet bedroom conversation can happen at all.
The Proposal · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10a shamThe Paxtons Plan a Barn Wedding
Chapter 1let someone goMargaret Fires Bob
Chapter 2turn operations over toMargaret Announces a Fake Engagement
Chapter 3out of your hairMargaret Fakes a Marriage Interview
Chapter 4with cherries on topAndrew Makes Margaret Propose
Chapter 5a meal ticketMargaret Meets the Paxton Family
Chapter 6pulling your legAndrew Brings Margaret Home to Sitka
Chapter 7from the ground upAndrew Turns Down the Family Business
Chapter 8called it offMargaret Meets Andrew's Ex
Watching · Chapter 9take this the wrong wayMargaret and Andrew Trade Secrets
Chapter 10a shamThe Paxtons Plan a Barn Wedding
Chapter 11burst into tearsAnnie Gives Margaret the Heirloom Dress
Chapter 12off the hookThe Sham Marriage Exposed
Chapter 13get my head on straightMargaret Confesses at the Wedding
Chapter 14dawned on meAndrew Proposes to MargaretChapter 9 of 14 · about 24 min to go