You scared me. I need you to knock.The Social Network · 2010 — Chapter 21 of 23 · 3'18" · B2
Eduardo Freezes the Company Account, Explained: let bygones be bygones
Eduardo's girlfriend finds his relationship status still says single, and the fight escalates into a breakup. Then Mark calls: Eduardo has frozen the company account to force a conversation, and Mark is furious — until he offers a deal. "And also, I'm breaking up with you," lands right after.
What happens
At his apartment, Eduardo is confronted by his girlfriend about his Facebook status, and the argument turns ugly. He has frozen the company bank account to get Mark's attention; Mark calls, angry that the site could collapse, then offers a way out: a new investor and papers to sign in San Francisco.
Listen for
let bygones be bygonestake it as a signone domino goesfickle
00:00 / 03:18Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
let bygones be bygones
Agree to forget old grievances
Eduardo 冻了账户又吵翻，Mark 说 I am willing to let bygones be bygones，提议把旧账翻篇，接着抛出好消息。
Let's let bygones be bygones and work together again.
Also in this scene
- take it as a sign
To interpret something as an indication
- one domino goes
A chain reaction in which one failure spreads
- fickle
Changing loyalties easily
- not even remotely true
Not true in the slightest
Everything marked in this scene
41 notes across 79 lines
When did you get back?Chris, it was kind of a rough trip and I was tired...I did, and I thought that was incredibly normal behavior.Are you mocking me?do-support question: Do-support carries the tense so the main verb stays bare.
Why does your Status say "single" on your Facebook page?To interpret something as an indication
It's embarrassing, so you should take it as a sign of trust that I would tell you that.- Go to hell. - Take it easy.- Go to hell. - Take it easy.liaison
- Go to hell. - Take it easy.flap
- Go to hell. - Take it easy.- Go to hell. - Take it easy.No, you didn't change it so you could screw those Silicon Valley slutsNot true in the slightest
Not even remotely true, and I can promise you that the Silicon Valley slutsPlease, open your present.Okay, this is gonna be tricky.- You froze the account. - I had to get your attention, Mark.Do you realize that you jeopardized the entire company?Do you realize that your actions could have destroyed everything I've been working on?could have + past participle: Could have marks a past risk that did not fully land.
Do you realize that your actions could have destroyed everything I've been working on?Without money, the site can't function.Let me tell you the difference between Facebook and everybody else.elision
We don't crash ever!If the servers are down for even a day, our entire reputation is irreversibly destroyed.If the servers are down for even a day, our entire reputation is irreversibly destroyed.zero conditional with passive: The zero conditional states a law, and the passive hides who destroys it.
If the servers are down for even a day, our entire reputation is irreversibly destroyed.Even a few people leaving would reverberate through the entire user base.Even a few people leaving would reverberate through the entire user base.The users are interconnected. That is the whole point.College kids are online because their friends are online and if one domino goes, the other dominos go.first conditional: The condition turns a network effect into a certainty.
College kids are online because their friends are online and if one domino goes, the other dominos go.stress
Holy shit.Holy shit.Did you like being nobody?That was the act of a child, not a businessman, Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.and it certainly was not the act of a friend.You know how embarrassing it was for me to try to cash a check today?Agree to forget old grievances
But I am willing to let bygones be bygones,so you gotta get your ass on the first flight back to San Francisco.so you gotta get your ass on the first flight back to San Francisco.And also, I'm breaking up with you.Eduardo Freezes the Company Account, explained
What's really going on
The scene turns a couple's fight and a business crisis into the same argument about honesty. The frozen account is admitted as a stunt — "I had to get your attention" — while Mark explains why the company cannot survive even a short outage. His speech about the network is the film's theory of what Facebook really is: "The users are interconnected. That is the whole point." Then the two men patch things up over money, using the phrase "let bygones be bygones" as if trust could be reset. It cannot. The final line, "And also, I'm breaking up with you," makes clear that the damage is landing on the people around them.
Theme
BetrayalFreezing the company account to force attention is a betrayal framed as friendship, deepening the partners' rift.
TrustThe couple and the founders both learn that trust, once broken, cannot be reset by an apology.
Listen for
- Go to hell — liaison
- Take it easy — flap
- don't crash — elision
- Holy shit — stress
Let me tell you the difference between Facebook and everybody else.Mark's setup for a speech about why the network is different: its users depend on one another.
If the servers are down for even a day, our entire reputation is irreversibly destroyed.The stakes of the frozen account: an outage would destroy the site's reputation for good.
The users are interconnected. That is the whole point.Mark's core theory of the product: its value comes from the connections between people, not features.
I am not going back to that life.A line about refusing to return to being poor or a nobody, which drives the character's choices.
And also, I'm breaking up with you.The blunt, delayed breakup that lands after the business crisis, ending the scene on personal loss.
Questions about this scene
Why did Eduardo freeze the company account?
To get Mark's attention. He felt ignored and wanted a response, but freezing the account put the whole site at risk and pushed the partnership further apart.
Why is Mark so angry about the frozen account?
Because the site depends on running servers and staying online. If it went down even briefly, users could leave and the reputation might be permanently damaged.
What does Mark mean when he says the users are interconnected?
It is his argument for why an outage is so dangerous: users join because their friends are there, so one person leaving can pull others with them, like falling dominoes.
What deal does Mark offer at the end of the call?
He says Peter Thiel has just invested half a million dollars and the company needs Eduardo's signature in San Francisco. He wants his CFO to fly back right away.
The Social Network · 23 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 22in all honestyEduardo Signs Away His Shares
Chapter 1speak in codeErica Dumps Mark at the Bar
Chapter 2take my mind offMark Builds Facemash
Chapter 3an awful lot ofMark Crashes Harvard's Network
Chapter 4make an example out ofZuckerberg Faces the Ad Board
Chapter 5a no-brainerWinklevoss Twins Pitch Their Site
Chapter 6in a stampedeMark Pitches the Facebook Idea
Chapter 7off the recordEduardo's Deposition Turns on Emails
Chapter 8bounce aroundFacebook Launches Relationship Status
Chapter 9give someone the fingerThe Winklevosses Debate Suing Mark
Chapter 10Facebook meEduardo Recalls Facebook's Launch
Chapter 11monetizeMark and Eduardo Argue About Money
Chapter 12the minimum amountMark Answers with Minimum Attention
Chapter 13written in inkErica Confronts Mark Over the Internet
Chapter 14the shoe's on the other footSean Parker Wakes Up at Stanford
Chapter 15make that callThe Winklevosses Meet President Summers
Chapter 16a dog in this fightSean Parker Wins Over Mark
Chapter 17stir the potEduardo's Chicken Deposition Story
Chapter 18once-in-a-generationSean Parker Meets Mark in Palo Alto
Chapter 19at our disposalThe Winklevosses Decide to Sue Mark
Chapter 20get left behindEduardo Confronts Mark Over Sean
Watching · Chapter 21let bygones be bygonesEduardo Freezes the Company Account
Chapter 22in all honestyEduardo Signs Away His Shares
Chapter 23lawyer upMark Dismantles Eduardo at FacebookChapter 21 of 23 · about 6 min to go