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Uncle Frank · 2020 — Chapter 7 of 17 · 2'57" · B1

Frank Pushes Wally Away After the Call, Explained: push someone away

Frank takes a call telling him his father has died, and Wally offers to make the trip with him. Frank refuses: "it will be so much harder for me if you come." The refusal is really about what the family does not know.

What happens

Frank gets a phone call and learns his father died suddenly of a heart attack. He plans to travel to Greenville for the funeral, and Wally wants to come along. Frank tells him to stay out of it and refuses to let him join the trip.

Goodbyes & funeralsArgumentsSaying noConfrontingCoupleB1mediumamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

out of nowherestay out of thispush someone awaybreak your mother's heart

00:00 / 02:57
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Now
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Phrase of the scene

push someone away

to emotionally distance oneself from someone

沃利指责弗兰克又一次在关键时刻把他排在外面，用 pushing me away 说这种拒绝。

He pushes people away whenever he feels vulnerable.

Also in this scene

  • out of nowhere

    suddenly, with no warning

  • stay out of this

    do not get involved

  • break your mother's heart

    to make someone deeply sad

Everything marked in this scene

34 notes across 52 lines

Phrase · B1have you met someoneHave you met Barbara Stanwyck?
Phrase · B2someone is goneyour daddy's gone. He's gone.
Sounddied this morning

elision

What? [Mammaw] He died this morning.
Phrase · B2out of nowhere

suddenly, with no warning

Just out of nowhere, getting into the car. Okay.
Soundout of nowhere

liaison

Just out of nowhere, getting into the car. Okay.
Phrase · B2seem perfectly okayHe seemed perfectly okay, then he grabbed his arm. Mama...
Phrase · B2what am I gonna doOh, Frank, what am I gonna do?
Phrase · B2do you mind doing somethingDo you mind holding on?
Phrase · B1hold onNo, I'm okay. Hold on.
Phrase · B2not want someone to do somethingShe doesn't want me to fly.
Phrase · B2get hystericalUh, she's scared of it. She gets hysterical.
Phrase · B2the one doing somethingShe's not the one flying.
Phrase · B2make someone promiseShe made me promise I would take the train.
Grammar · B2She made me promise I would take the train

causative make with would-clause

She made me promise I would take the train.
Phrase · B1take the carYou can take the car.
Phrase · B2give someone a chance to do somethingIt's faster than the train, and it'll give you guys a chance to get to know each other.
Grammar · B2it'll give you guys a chance to get to know each other

give someone a chance to

It's faster than the train, and it'll give you guys a chance to get to know each other.
Soundget to know

flap

It's faster than the train, and it'll give you guys a chance to get to know each other.
Phrase · B2break someone's heart

to make someone deeply sad

Frank, that'll break your mother's heart. You need to go.
Phrase · B2stay out of something

do not get involved

You need to stay out of this, please.
Phrase · B2run away from somethingYou're not gonna run away from this your whole life, you know?
Slang · C1FuckFuck.
Phrase · B2a change of plansUm, okay, sorry. Uh, change of plans.
Phrase · B2take turns doing somethingWe can take turns driving.
Phrase · B2push someone away

to emotionally distance oneself from someone

You're pushing me away again.
Phrase · B2when someone needs someone the mostJust when you're gonna need me the most.
Phrase · B2respect someone's wishesYes, and I respected your wishes, and I didn't try to talk you into letting me.
Phrase · B1not the same thingIt's not the same thing.
Phrase · B2the stupidest ... aliveI have a question. Are you the stupidest man alive?
Slang · B2stupidestI have a question. Are you the stupidest man alive?
Phrase · B2look who ...Obviously. Look who I'm with.
Phrase · B2be there for someoneWally, I appreciate you wanting to be there for me, I do, but honestly,
Grammar · B2I appreciate you wanting to be there for me

appreciate + gerund

Wally, I appreciate you wanting to be there for me, I do, but honestly,
Phrase · B2harder for someone if ...it will be so much harder for me if you come.

Frank Pushes Wally Away After the Call, explained

What's really going on

The fight is not really about the trip. Frank is going home to a family that does not know who he is, and he is afraid to bring the man he loves into that house. Wally names the pattern exactly: "You're pushing me away again." Frank's answer is almost an apology, which is why it stings: "it will be so much harder for me if you come." He is not saying he does not want Wally; he is saying that the trip will force him to choose between two versions of himself. Wally, whose own father's funeral Frank skipped at his request, knows the difference between a private wish and a public exclusion. The scene ends with Frank getting his way, which is not the same as being right.

Theme

Family conflictFrank must go home to a family that does not know he is gay, and the trip forces the clash.
SecretsFrank hides who he is from the family, so he pushes Wally away to keep the two worlds apart.

What you'll learn

  • Use gone as a gentle word for death
  • Hear out of nowhere as no warning
  • Use stay out of this to block interference
  • Catch run away from as avoiding a duty
  • Refuse company with so much harder

Listen for

  • died this morning — elision
  • out of nowhere — liaison
  • get to know — flap
Just when you're gonna need me the most.

Wally's point that Frank is shutting him out at the exact moment he will need support.

it will be so much harder for me if you come.

Frank's quiet confession that taking Wally home would complicate the funeral, not that he wants to go alone.

You're not gonna run away from this your whole life, you know?

The challenge that Frank keeps avoiding his family and cannot keep doing it forever.

You're pushing me away again.

Wally naming the recurring pattern in their relationship, not just this one refusal.

Questions about this scene

Why does Frank refuse to let Wally come with him?

His family does not know he is gay, and he is not ready to bring Wally into that setting at his father's funeral. He says the trip would be harder if Wally came.

What does Wally mean by pushing me away again?

He has felt Frank shut him out before, and this refusal fits the same pattern. The word again suggests it is a habit, not a one-time choice.

Why does Wally bring up Frank's father's funeral?

Frank skipped it at Wally's own request, so Wally sees the difference: a private decision they shared versus being excluded from Frank's family now.

What is the change of plans?

Frank first agrees to take the train, then realizes Wally wants to join him, so he says he will take the car and tells Wally he is not coming.

Uncle Frank · 17 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8worth the troubleBeth Opens Up to Frank
Chapter 1pick on someoneDaddy Mac Mocks Frank's GiftChapter 2get to chooseFrank Lets Beth Rename HerselfChapter 3slave awayCharlotte Meets Frank's FamilyChapter 4try meBruce and Beth Meet at CollegeChapter 5take no for an answerFrank Comes Out to BethChapter 6in my bloodWally Pushes Frank to Come OutWatching · Chapter 7push someone awayFrank Pushes Wally Away After the CallChapter 8worth the troubleBeth Opens Up to FrankChapter 9there for meWally Shows Up at Frank's DoorChapter 10Nice always hides somethingWally Asks Beth About FrankChapter 11kept in touchMike Apologizes to FrankChapter 12make up her own mindBeth Defends Staying at the MotelChapter 13turn his back on youMac Bledsoe's Eulogy and ThreatsChapter 14the female frontAunt Butch Grills Frank at the WakeChapter 15nothing but disgustThe Will Humiliates FrankChapter 16say it to my faceFrank Breaks Down at the GravesideChapter 17so much in commonFrank Introduces Wally to the Family
Chapter 7 of 17 · about 27 min to go