“Serial killers are that nice.”
Why it's great
The darkest comparison flips a compliment, so niceness itself sounds fake.
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Informal
Use it yourself
He is that helpful, like a used-car salesman.
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00:00 / 02:23
Seth and Jay Fight on the Porch, Explained
This Is the End · 2013
Chapter 5 of 27 · 2'23"
Jay accuses Seth of abandoning him the moment they arrived, and Seth denies it: "I didn't ditch you." What starts as a small grievance turns into a fight about who was being unpleasant — and about whether Jonah's niceness is real or just "a thin veneer of kindness."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:48–1:10
Jay Accuses Seth of Ditching Him
22s - 1:01–1:21
Jonah's Niceness Gets Debated
21s
Seth and Jay Fight on the Porch, explained
What happens
On the porch, Jay tells Seth that he did the one thing he promised not to do, and Seth insists he never ditched him — he only stepped out to smoke. The argument widens to Jonah: Seth calls him a pain, Jay defends him, and the banter turns into jokes about how far anyone's kindness can really go.
What's really going on
The porch fight is really about a promise, and about which of them is the bad guy. Jay's complaint is precise — 'as soon as we got there, you did what you said you wouldn't do' — and Seth answers with a flat denial: 'I didn't ditch you. Are you kidding me, man?' From there the argument detours into Jonah, the room's designated nice guy. Seth says he went outside because 'Jonah was being a prick'; Jay fires back that Jonah is 'the nicest guy ever,' and Seth delivers the punchline that gives the scene its edge: 'that's a thin veneer of kindness.' When 'nobody's that nice' meets 'Jonah is that nice,' the rebuttal is pure deadpan — 'Serial killers are that nice.' Under the jokes is the old tension from the car: Jay still doesn't want to be here, and by the end he says so plainly, asking only to go back and drink some pop and smoke some weed.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Serial killers are that nice.”
- The deadpan comeback that ends the 'Jonah is nice' debate: the standard for being that pleasant is a serial killer's charm.
- “Oh my God, that's a thin veneer of kindness.”
- The line that names the room's suspicion: all that niceness is just a surface, and the speaker is done pretending otherwise.
- “What did I do? You just fucking ditched my ass.”
- The accusation at the heart of the fight: the speaker says he was abandoned the moment they arrived, breaking the promise made earlier.
- “I just want to drink some pop and smoke some weed.”
- Jay's plain verdict on the party, and what he actually wants: not the crowd, just a drink and some weed back home.
Theme
- Friendship — An old promise about not being abandoned becomes a fight, then dissolves into jokes — the bond is real enough to survive the bickering.
- Identity — The argument is really over who gets to be likable: Jonah's nice-guy image versus Jay's refusal to play along with the room.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level4/8
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“Oh my God, that's a thin veneer of kindness.”
Why it's great
Calling politeness a thin veneer says the warmth is only skin deep.
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literary
Use it yourself
His calm is a thin veneer of patience.
“What did I do? You just fucking ditched my ass.”
Why it's great
A question flips into a crude accusation, releasing a night of hurt.
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Informal
Use it yourself
What did I do? You just left me waiting outside.
“I just want to drink some pop and smoke some weed.”
Why it's great
Two small wants sum up his whole plan, which says how tired he is.
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Informal
Use it yourself
I just want to stay home and watch a film.
Up next · 06suck upThe scene: The Earthquake Hits the PartyTakeaways
What you walk away with- That nice flips praise into irony
- A thin veneer of means a shallow show
- Put in effort means to invest energy
- Kid friendly means suitable for children
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy is Jay angry with Seth?
Because Seth promised to stay with him, then left him on his own soon after they arrived. As Jay puts it, Seth did the one thing he said he wouldn't do.
How does Seth defend himself?
He denies ditching Jay outright — "I didn't ditch you" — and explains that his cigarette was only an excuse to get away from Jonah, not from Jay.
Why do they end up arguing about Jonah?
Seth calls Jonah a pain for driving him outside; Jay says Jonah is the nicest guy, which draws the retort that his kindness is only 'a thin veneer.'
What does Jay want by the end of the scene?
He says he isn't enjoying Franco's house and just wants to head back and have a drink and smoke some weed — the same low-key night he wanted before the party.