“we think that it's best you don't come visit us anymore.”
Por qué es buena
It wraps the hardest request in gentle words, which is why it still hurts.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
It's best you don't drive tonight.
00:00 / 02:59
00:00 / 02:59
Adam's Parents Tell Him to Let Go, Explained
All of Us Strangers · 2023
Capítulo 14 de 15 · 2'59"
The parents do the hardest thing in the film: they ask Adam to stop visiting. "We think that it's best you don't come visit us anymore," they say, because seeing them "won't let you move on." Adam bargains — once a year, at Christmas — and the scene softens into a last trip to his favourite place.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:15–0:43
His Parents Say Goodbye
28s
Adam's Parents Tell Him to Let Go, explained
What happens
Adam's parents tell him they think he should stop coming to see them. They know he will keep coming anyway, and they say the visits stop him moving on. He refuses to accept it and offers to visit less, once a year at Christmas. When that fails, his dad takes him to a favourite burger place, where Adam finally asks the question he has been holding back: was it quick?
What's really going on
The scene is a goodbye disguised as a rejection. The parents frame it as care — "we think that it's best you don't come visit us anymore" — but what they are really doing is releasing Adam. They notice that he "keeps coming and coming" and that it "won't let you move on," and they insist he always knew this couldn't last: "You have to have known that this wasn't gonna last forever." Adam resists with arithmetic, bargaining himself down to one visit a year, at Christmas, as if he can buy time. His dad's answer is both firm and kind: "it never could be, could it?" Then the tone lifts — a trip to a favourite place, "the next best thing to Disneyland." The ending questions about whether the death was quick show what all the arguing was really about: a son still trying to make the loss bearable.
Key lines & what they mean
- “we think that it's best you don't come visit us anymore.”
- The parents' decision, phrased gently: for Adam's sake, the visits should stop so he can live forward.
- “You have to have known that this wasn't gonna last forever.”
- Their logic is that endings were always coming; Adam can't pretend the arrangement could continue.
- “It's the next best thing to Disneyland.”
- The father's joke and offer: the burger place is second only to Adam's dream destination, an attempt to lift the mood.
- “I'll come once a year. I'll come at Christmas.”
- Adam's bargaining: if he must reduce the visits, he tries to keep one fixed date, clinging to the ritual.
Theme
- Death & grief — The parents' request to stop being visited is really a lesson in letting go, which Adam resists.
- Family love — Even the goodbye is affectionate: they name what hurts him and end with a trip to his favourite place.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel4/8
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“You have to have known that this wasn't gonna last forever.”
Por qué es buena
The modal perfect turns comfort into an accusation he cannot answer.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
You have to have known that the plan was risky.
“It's the next best thing to Disneyland.”
Por qué es buena
A small local spot is promoted to Disneyland, and the exaggeration is the affection.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
A quiet evening is the next best thing to a holiday.
“I'll come once a year. I'll come at Christmas.”
Por qué es buena
He bargains with a visit schedule, and the more he gives ground, the more it hurts.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I'll drop by once a year. I'll come for the holidays.
Siguiente · 15get the words outLa escena: Adam's Parents Say Goodbye at DinnerIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- 'Move on' is what his parents want for him, not from him.
- The modal perfect in 'have to have known' quietly accuses.
- Calling a local spot 'the next best thing to Disneyland' is love.
- 'What difference does it make' shuts down a painful question.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy do Adam's parents tell him to stop visiting?
They believe the visits are preventing him from moving on. They say he will keep coming and that it won't let him move forward, so they push him to let go.
Why does Adam offer to come once a year?
It's his way of bargaining with an ending he doesn't want. If he can't keep visiting as before, he tries to hold on to at least one fixed visit, at Christmas.
Why can't Adam accept the goodbye?
He insists it "hasn't been long enough" and tries to visit less instead of stopping. He is still bargaining with his parents' death, not ready to move on.
Why does Adam's dad take him to a burger place at the end?
After the hard talk, he offers a last trip to Adam's favourite spot, joking it is "the next best thing to Disneyland." The outing lifts the mood and lets Adam finally ask his question.
What does it mean to "let go" here?
To let go is to stop holding on and accept what you can't keep. They put it gently: the visits, and Adam's grief, have to be released so he can live forward.