Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The question is a reminder of rank disguised as a request for information. Queenie can switch from playful impatience to absolute authority without changing the subject, and everyone else has to accommodate it. Its force comes from that character: a childlike demand backed by the real power to make refusal dangerous.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BlackadderShow the scene
In ‘Head’, the second episode of Blackadder II (1986), Queenie asks Blackadder for a story. When he worries that he does not know any, she demonstrates the ease of invention with a story about an orange elephant. Blackadder objects to the creature's impossible colour. Queenie answers with the question that settles any disagreement at her court: she is the Queen, so she gets to decide what belongs in the story.
Sources (2)
- Head — episode subtitle transcriptBlackadder II — Head; quoted conversationReference checked
- Blackadder II — WikiquoteHeadReference checked
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