“The highest-paid person at the camp was a priest.”
Por qué es buena
A dry fact about pay turns into a quiet indictment of the camp's values.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
The highest-paid person in the office was the consultant.
00:00 / 03:28
00:00 / 03:28
V Kills Bishop Lilliman, Explained
V for Vendetta · 2006
Capítulo 12 de 25 · 3'28"
Bishop Lilliman expects a girl from an agency for his "last little joy," but the one sent is Evey, who warns him a killer is coming. He treats her warning as a game — "A confession? I love the confessional game" — until V steps through the door.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:43–2:36
❝ Monólogo · 12 frases Evey Warns Bishop Lilliman
53s
V Kills Bishop Lilliman, explained
What happens
Investigators reviewing Larkhill's records find that the camp's highest-paid man was a priest, Father Lilliman, now promoted to bishop. That night, at Lilliman's residence, a girl arrives from an agency for his "last little joy" — it is Evey, who warns him that someone is coming to kill him. He does not believe her until V appears.
What's really going on
The bishop is the film's clearest picture of how the regime hides its appetites behind religion. Denis flatters him as "a noble example for all those who labor in the name of our Lord," yet Lilliman's only real interest is "my final remittance... My last little joy." He treats a warning of murder as entertainment — "A confession? I love the confessional game" — because he cannot imagine being judged. Evey offers him her own deal, saying she wants "some kind of protection or amnesty" and that her information should "balance it out," but he only hears a game and tries to assault her. V's arrival turns his own rhetoric against him: the man who wrapped himself in holy words dies with Shakespeare's lines about playing "the devil." His last words, "don't do this, I beg of you," are the mercy he never gave anyone else.
Key lines & what they mean
- “The highest-paid person at the camp was a priest.”
- The investigators notice that the camp's highest salary went to a man of God, hinting the regime's cruelty ran with the church's blessing.
- “To think that I doubted your loveliness for an instant.”
- Lilliman apologizes for doubting Evey's looks, a line that shows he judges her only as a body he was promised.
- “A confession? I love the confessional game.”
- The bishop hears a warning of murder and turns it into a game, revealing how little he takes anyone but himself seriously.
- “Someone's coming. I think he means to kill you.”
- Evey warns the bishop that V is on his way, trying to trade the information for protection rather than simply let him die.
- “Let me show you the firmness of my beliefs.”
- He twists the language of faith into a threat, claiming his beliefs justify what he is about to do to her.
- “...and seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”
- Lilliman's hypocrisy is summed up: he borrows holy words to look like a saint while acting as a devil.
- “I'm Evey Hammond. I'm-- I've been the prisoner of the terrorist V for the past several weeks.”
- Evey identifies herself and admits she has been V's prisoner, the confession she hopes will buy her amnesty.
Theme
- Power — V turns the bishop's own holy language against him, exposing authority built on cruelty.
- Corruption — Lilliman feeds private appetites behind church authority, the regime's rot in miniature.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel1/7
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“To think that I doubted your loveliness for an instant.”
Por qué es buena
The mock-repentant opener turns lust into a performance of regret.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
To think that I nearly skipped this trip.
“A confession? I love the confessional game.”
Por qué es buena
Calling confession a game strips the rite of meaning and reveals the man.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
You treat the interview like a game.
“Someone's coming. I think he means to kill you.”
Por qué es buena
A warning and a death sentence sit side by side in two calm clauses.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I think he means to take your job.
“Let me show you the firmness of my beliefs.”
Por qué es buena
He dresses assault as proof of faith, and the pious wording makes it worse.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
Let me show you the firmness of my patience.
“...and seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”
Por qué es buena
A Shakespeare line that names hypocrisy outright, and V uses it as the verdict.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
He seems a saint, but he plays the devil at work.
“I'm Evey Hammond. I'm-- I've been the prisoner of the terrorist V for the past several weeks.”
Por qué es buena
She trades her name and her captivity for safety, with everything on the line.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
I've been the prisoner of this deadline for the past week.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Evey warns the bishop
Your Grace, we don't have much time and I have to tell you something. A confession? I love the confessional game. Tell me your sins. This isn't a game, Your Grace. Someone's coming. I think he means to kill you. -I'm sorry? -I'm telling you this... ...because I want some kind of protection or amnesty. I had nothing to do with the Bailey and made a mistake in the Jordan Tower. -I think this should balance it out. -What are you talking about? I'm Evey Hammond. I'm-- I've been the prisoner of the terrorist V for the past several weeks. I'm telling you that any moment, he's going to come through that door. I unlocked the window in the room where Denis told me to get ready.
She escalates from warning to self-exposure, gambling her life on being believed.
Siguiente · 13let aloneLa escena: Evey Hides Out at Gordon'sIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- A pay figure quietly condemns the camp's priorities.
- The bishop hides cruelty behind a pious vocabulary.
- A Shakespeare couplet becomes the killer's verdict.
- Evey bets her life on being believed.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does V kill Bishop Lilliman?
Lilliman was the priest in charge at Larkhill, where the regime's victims were experimented on; V is working through the people responsible for the camp.
Why does Evey warn the bishop instead of letting V kill him?
She wants "some kind of protection or amnesty." She hopes that betraying V's plan will buy her freedom, but the bishop only treats her warning as a game.
Why does the bishop call the girl his "last little joy"?
He is talking about the girl the agency sends him, not about money. The line exposes him as a predator who uses his position to buy victims.
Why does V quote Shakespeare before killing the bishop?
He is using lines about hiding villainy under holy words, throwing the bishop's own hypocrisy back at him as he dies.
What does "mea culpa" mean?
It is Latin for "my fault." Lilliman uses it as a theatrical apology, and it becomes bitter when V finally makes him answer for his crimes.