Original artwork, not a still
When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!
— Portal 2 · 2011
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science, is dying of moon-rock poisoning when he records this tape, and his answer is not to be brave but to be furious. It flips the proverb he has just recited, with GLaDOS (as his assistant Caroline) cheering him on in the version fans remember. Since then it has served as a rallying cry for sulky stubbornness and a template for rewriting any piece of advice as a complaint.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Portal 2Show the scene
Cave Johnson recorded this for Aperture's old test shafts late in his life, when moon-dust poisoning was killing him, and Chell hears it decades later while making her way through the abandoned lower levels. GLaDOS, now stuck in a potato battery and along for the ride, chimes in with every "Yeah!" as the rant escalates. By the time Cave vows to have his engineers invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down, GLaDOS has decided, "Oh, I like this guy."
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Portal 2Cave Johnson sectionReference checked
- Combine OverWiki (Fandom): Cave JohnsonDecline of health and death; Portal 2 appearancesReference checked
- Combine OverWiki (Fandom): Portal 2 storylineChapter 5, The EscapeReference checked
Context reviewed
