Chapter 26 of 27 · 2'25"
Vole is discharged and free to leave, beaming and thanking everyone. But Wilfrid, nursing his cocoa, refuses to celebrate: "We've disposed of the gallows, but there's still that banana peel somewhere, under somebody's foot." Outside, the crowd turns on Christine, while Wilfrid keeps joking about staying beyond his nurse's jurisdiction.
The Banana Peel Warning
The judge discharges Vole, who is now free to leave the court. Vole beams, thanks Wilfrid and the lawyers, and hurries to sign for his belongings. But Wilfrid is not triumphant; sipping the last of his cocoa, he warns that "there's still that banana peel somewhere, under somebody's foot." Outside, the crowd shouts at Christine, and Wilfrid tells Carter to clear them away before he leaves.
The verdict is a victory, and nobody enjoys it less than Wilfrid. He lets the applause wash over while he goes on thinking like a defence barrister: something is still unaccounted for. His line about the banana peel — "We've disposed of the gallows, but there's still that banana peel somewhere, under somebody's foot" — is the film's own warning that the case is not closed. Vole, meanwhile, is a picture of relief, right down to a small grievance about manners: '"Mr Vole." They didn't call me Mr when they charged me.' Even his jokes are about being seen as respectable. The crowd outside blames Christine instead, and Wilfrid only asks to have them cleared away — a hint that he is already thinking past the verdict rather than celebrating it.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“Chipper, isn't he? An hour ago, he had one foot on the gallows and the other on a banana peel.”
It pairs the gallows with a banana peel, shrinking a death sentence into a slip.
Informal
“Not yet. We've disposed of the gallows, but there's still that banana peel somewhere, under somebody's foot.”
It accepts the win but refuses to celebrate, leaving the danger still underfoot.
Neutral
“You ought to be very proud, Wilfrid. Aren't you?”
It flatters first, then closes the door on modesty with a two-word tag.
Neutral
“"Mr Vole." They didn't call me Mr when they charged me.”
One quiet contrast: the title now, the humiliation then.
Neutral
Up next · 27call someone namesThe scene: Christine Reveals Leonard Was GuiltyHe talks about a banana peel still lying under someone's foot. Even after the acquittal he senses an unseen danger, as if the real trouble has not played out yet.
He notices that people only call him "Mr Vole" now that he is free; while he was charged, they did not. The small complaint shows how much respect and status matter to him.
After the verdict, people outside shout that every word she said was a lie and call her a liar, so a guard has to keep her back until the crowd is cleared.
Not really. He stays calm, finishes the last of his cocoa, and warns about the banana peel, so his mood is cautious rather than triumphant.
Wilfrid jokes that as long as he is still in the courthouse he is outside his nurse's control, so he can finish his cocoa before she takes charge of him again.
