Well, you can stay with Mischa, can't you?The Trip · 2011 — Chapter 2 of 20 · 3'39" · B2
Steve and Rob Share a Room, Explained: part of its charm
One room at the inn means the night has to be shared. The bed becomes a joke, a warren of corridors gets called charming, and dinner opens with soup. The talk then turns to home. "The North could be a different country." That line is less about maps than about a trip planned for someone who is not there.
What happens
At the inn at Whitewell, a phone call establishes there is only one room and that the companion is Rob Brydon, not Mischa. Magda shows Steve in. The bed is huge, or only average, depending on who is talking. Dinner starts with scallops and soup of the day, then becomes a quarrel over whether the North has as much identity as Wales.
Listen for
in a wayleave someone to itcan't go wrongmess up
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
in a way
to some extent; in a certain sense
对方问史蒂夫是不是库根的助理，他不愿完全承认也不好否认，就用这个词组含糊地应了下来。
In a way, moving away was the best thing that happened to me.
Also in this scene
- leave someone to it
to stop being involved and let someone continue alone
- can't go wrong
that choice is certain to work out well
- mess up
搞砸、弄错、把事情办坏
Everything marked in this scene
28 notes across 100 lines
tag question for confirmation
Well, you can stay with Mischa, can't you?I mean, I'd be happy to sleep here.In a way, yes.Now I'm left having to share a room with Rob for the night.be left having to do
Now I'm left having to share a room with Rob for the night.I'm sorry. I messed up.Make sure all the other hotels have got separate rooms, right?All right. Thank you. All right, love. Bye.All right. Thank you. All right, love. Bye.It's a bit of a warren here.liaison
It's a bit of a warren here.No, it's part of its charm.Very nice indeed.There we go. Come on. Up you jump.There we go. Come on. Up you jump.to stop being involved and let someone continue alone
Okay, I'll leave you to it.liaison
Okay, I'll leave you to it.Sorry, I didn't realize we were into Oprah Winfrey territory.that choice is certain to work out well
Soup of the day. Can't go wrong.elision
Soup of the day. Can't go wrong.Well, it tastes of tomatoes.Not a connoisseur, are you, with food?Look, the reason I was doing this trip was to bring Mischa along.She's the food buff.you know, the North, show her a piece of me.You could take her round and show her the gun crime sites.as much of a ... as
It has as much of an identity as Wales.Steve and Rob Share a Room, explained
What's really going on
The phone call is a humiliation. Only one room is booked, the person on the line still expects Mischa, and the caller has to say he is with Rob Brydon and, "in a way," an assistant. Someone apologizes that the booking was messed up, and later hotels are meant to have separate rooms. The same habit of renaming a problem shows up in the corridor. Called "a bit of a warren," the place is rescued with "No, it's part of its charm." A flaw becomes a feature before anyone can dwell on it. At the table, "Can't go wrong" defends an ordinary soup. Then the excuse for the whole trip arrives: it was meant "to bring Mischa along" and "show her a piece of me," the North. A jab about Manchester and "the gun crime sites" pushes the claim further. "The North could be a different country" is a comic boast about railways and Wales, from a man talking up home to the companion who came.
Theme
IdentityA plate of scallops and soup turns into the claim that the North could be another country, with an identity to match Wales.
Dark humorA shared bed, an altar boy joke, and gun crime as a Manchester tour all play as laughs before the North is called another country.
What you'll learn
- Use messed up to own a mistake
- Hear warren as a maze of corridors
- Can't go wrong as a safe order
Listen for
- bit of a — liaison
- leave you to it — liaison
- Can't go wrong — elision
The North could be a different country.A boast at dinner: northern England has an identity of its own, enough to stand as another country, at least alongside Wales.
No, it's part of its charm.The inn has just been called a warren. This refuses the complaint and treats the maze as the reason the place is appealing.
Sorry, I didn't realize we were into Oprah Winfrey territory.The altar boy question is turning too personal. This labels it talk show confession, and the next line asks about childhood abuse anyway.
You could take her round and show her the gun crime sites.A jab at the plan to show Mischa the North. If the tour is Manchester, take her to the crime scenes instead of a flattering version of home.
Not a connoisseur, are you, with food?The soup has just been described as tasting of tomatoes. This teases that thin verdict, on a trip that was supposed to be about food.
Questions about this scene
Why is there only one room at the inn?
Someone calls Emma from the inn at Whitewell and says there is only one room. The person on the line still thinks the companion is Mischa and suggests staying with her. The caller corrects that: he is with Rob Brydon. An apology follows, "I'm sorry. I messed up," and so does a request that every other hotel have separate rooms. The scene stops at the mix-up.
Who was this trip meant for?
Mischa. At dinner someone says the trip was "to bring Mischa along," because she loves food and is "the food buff," and the North was meant to "show her a piece of me." The phone call tells a slightly different story: someone had said he was only thinking of going with Rob. Mischa is the guest who is not there.
Why do they argue about the North and Wales?
Because one of them calls the North a place with its own identity, and the other says it is not like Wales. The claim then gets bigger: "The North could be a different country," and it has "as much of an identity as Wales." The first railway, in Manchester, is the proof offered when that is doubted. It is a comic quarrel about home, started after a joke that Manchester's sights are gun crime scenes.
Why does someone mention Oprah Winfrey?
Because a joke about sharing the bed has reached "Were you an altar boy?" "Oprah Winfrey territory" is how one of them names that turn, comparing it to a talk-show confession. The other person asks about childhood abuse anyway, and the replies are "Only verbally," "And physically," and "But not sexually."
The Trip · 20 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3take a long, hard look in the mirrorThe Michael Caine Impression Duel
Chapter 1have someone down asSteve and Rob Set Off
Watching · Chapter 2part of its charmSteve and Rob Share a Room
Chapter 3take a long, hard look in the mirrorThe Michael Caine Impression Duel
Chapter 4in a troughSteve Calls From the Trough
Chapter 5put someone on the back footCalls on the Road to Cartmel
Chapter 6the king of understatementBond Impressions Over Dinner
Chapter 7living the dreamTelling Steve He's Living the Dream
Chapter 8method in my madnessSteve and Rob at Greta Hall
Chapter 9contend withSteve and Rob Rank Their Careers
Chapter 10not unlikeTurned Away at Dove Cottage
Chapter 11at first lightSteve and Rob's Costume Drama
Chapter 12not a lot of people knowThe Michael Caine Impressions
Chapter 13Cut to the chaseSteve Takes His Agent's Call
Chapter 14don't come running to meShushed on the B Roads
Chapter 15a wee bitA Phone Call by the Lake
Chapter 16an albatross around my neckCoogan and Brydon Compare Careers
Chapter 17as empty experiences goDad Phones Joe About Drinking
Chapter 18stick the knife inMock Eulogy at the Grave
Chapter 19if push came to shoveHiring Divers for the Gesture
Chapter 20as broad as it's longSteve Leaves His ParentsChapter 2 of 20 · about 92 min to go