Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A polite request that turns out to be a leash. The reveal rewrites every earlier mission as an order Jack could not refuse, and it turns the player's own obedience to the game's objective markers into the joke and the horror. It is the standard example of a twist that works because it is about the medium; fans use the phrase to ask anyone for a favour and to wink at the fact the favour may be a command.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BioShockShow the scene
In BioShock (2007), "Would you kindly" is the hypnotic trigger that makes Jack obey. Atlas, the voice on the radio who guides him through Rapture, prefaces many of his commands with it; the reveal comes in Andrew Ryan's office, where Ryan shows that Atlas is really Frank Fontaine, who conditioned Jack to follow any order carrying the phrase. A letter Jack read on the plane carried the same trigger, so he caused the crash that brought him there. Writer Ken Levine found the phrase while writing marketing questions for the game.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: BioShockPlot; DevelopmentReference checked
- Wikipedia: Andrew Ryan (BioShock)PlotReference checked
Context reviewed
