“Would you prefer a lie or the truth?”
Why it's great
It hands the choice back before answering anything, and that refusal to soften is the whole attitude.
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Would you prefer a summary or the whole story?
00:00 / 02:26
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Evey Confronts V About Prothero, Explained
V for Vendetta · 2006
Chapter 10 of 25 · 2'26"
Evey asks V outright if he killed Prothero. He answers with a choice — "Would you prefer a lie or the truth?" — then admits it, and defends himself: "There's no court in this country for men like Prothero." Meanwhile Finch pulls Prothero's military record and finds a gap: a detention facility at Larkhill that officially never existed.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:02–0:45
Evey Asks V If He Killed Prothero
43s - 2:07–2:24
❝ Monologue · 5 lines The major's brush-off
Five sentences of polite obstruction that reveal more the harder they try to close the subject.
17s
Evey Confronts V About Prothero, explained
What happens
Evey confronts V over Prothero's death, and he admits he killed him, arguing that violence can serve justice because no court would ever try such a man. She asks if he will kill again; he says yes. Elsewhere, Finch studies Prothero's military record, traces him to a detention facility at Larkhill, and presses a records officer who claims he cannot recall anything.
What's really going on
The scene splits into two kinds of truth-hunting. With Evey, V is almost playful: asked if he killed Prothero, he offers 'Would you prefer a lie or the truth?' before answering plainly, then justifies it — 'There's no court in this country for men like Prothero.' He even counts the Fingermen he killed to save her, noting he 'heard no objection,' which makes the violence feel like a favor. This is V persuading her that his war is justice, not murder. With Finch, the search is bureaucratic and cold: Prothero's file leads to Larkhill, but the paper trail is gone — 'Your records are either deleted, omitted or missing.' The records officer shrugs it off with 'We all did what we had to do,' the language of people who have buried an atrocity and call it necessity.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Would you prefer a lie or the truth?”
- V's way of admitting guilt without dodging it: he lets Evey choose, then tells her the blunt truth about Prothero.
- “I might have killed the Fingermen that attacked you. I heard no objection.”
- He counts the men he killed to protect Evey as another favor, half-joking that she never complained about it.
- “There's no court in this country for men like Prothero.”
- V's justification for murder: since the law cannot touch men like Prothero, he claims violence is the only justice left.
- “Your records are either deleted, omitted or missing.”
- Finch's accusation: the official files trail is scrubbed, so the records officer can keep claiming he simply cannot recall.
- “We all did what we had to do.”
- The records officer's defense for the past: he calls his role at Larkhill a necessity everyone shared, not something to answer for.
- “That's all I have to say about that.”
- A flat refusal to discuss it further, closing the subject the way officials end a conversation they do not want to have.
Theme
- Justice — V admits killing Prothero and defends it as justice, arguing no court would ever hold such a man to account.
- Secrets — Finch traces Prothero to Larkhill, but the records are deleted or missing, and officials hide behind 'we did what we had to do.'
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/7
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“I might have killed the Fingermen that attacked you. I heard no objection.”
Why it's great
He admits a killing almost casually, then turns it on her for not objecting, which is control dressed as humour.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I might have thrown out the old boxes. I heard no objection.
“There's no court in this country for men like Prothero.”
Why it's great
It justifies violence by removing the alternative, insisting there is simply nowhere to try such a man.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
There's no court in this town for people like that landlord.
“Your records are either deleted, omitted or missing.”
Why it's great
Three quiet options close every escape route, and the flat syntax makes the accusation harder.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
The receipts are either misfiled, lost or never written.
“We all did what we had to do.”
Why it's great
A ready-made shield that dissolves personal blame into a shared, vague necessity.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
It was brutal, but we all did what we had to do.
“That's all I have to say about that.”
Why it's great
The blandest closing line cuts off all further questions, and the eagerness to end says the most.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
We are not discussing my school years again. That's all I have to say about that.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ The major's brush-off
Before you go further, let me remind you things were very chaotic back then. Now we don't have the problems we had back then. We all did what we had to do. And in those circumstances, we did the best we could. That's all I have to say about that.
Five sentences of polite obstruction that reveal more the harder they try to close the subject.
Up next · 11a man after my own heartThe scene: Evey Tells V Her StoryTakeaways
What you walk away with- V justifies killing by claiming no court could ever try such a man.
- A missing ID turns into a confession before Evey can stop it.
- The neat official phrase detention facility hides what Larkhill was.
- The major's polite amnesia is a lesson in bureaucratic evasion.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does V admit to killing Prothero?
He doesn't lie to Evey. He offers her the truth because he wants her to understand his reasoning, and he believes Prothero's death was justice, not murder.
Why does V say there's no court for men like Prothero?
He means the legal system is corrupt and will never prosecute the regime's people, so in his view violence is the only way to punish them.
What is Larkhill and why does it matter?
Larkhill is a detention facility Prothero was put in charge of. Finch finds it in the records, but the files are deleted or missing, which points to a covered-up secret.
Why does the records officer refuse to help Finch?
He claims he cannot recall the facility and hides behind 'We all did what we had to do.' He is protecting himself and the regime from what happened at Larkhill.
What does 'Fingermen' mean?
It is the film's name for the regime's secret police, the black-clad enforcers who attack people. V says he may have killed the Fingermen who attacked Evey.