The Royal Tenenbaums · written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson · 2001

Pagoda tells Royal that Etheline will not join Henry that night; Royal says they have him on the ropes.

Scene 85 of 143 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Royal

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Begins 1:13 into a 1:59 film

The story so farBefore scene 85

After losing his hotel room, Royal claims he has only weeks to live so he can move back in with his estranged family; as the truth unravels, he must find a way to be useful and earn a place in their lives.

Scenes 1–39
Royal is absent from the children’s adult lives, and their family remains shaped by his betrayals and abandonment.
Scenes 40–47
Royal wants a path back to Etheline and the children, and claims impending death will give him one.
Scenes 48–50
He returns to the house and openly asks his children for a chance to make things right.
Scene 63
Eli tells Richie that Margot is troubled by his love and reminds him that she is his sister, making the relationship an active family conflict.
Just before
Scene 82
Chas orders Royal to stay away from his children; Royal finds the missing stuffed boar’s head under a closet shelf.
Scene 83
Royal thanks Etheline for raising their children and admits his failures; Henry overhears him ask about her love life.
Scene 84
After Henry says he does not believe Royal is dying, Etheline declines their planned theatre outing and goes back inside.
Scene 85
This scene

85INT. CLOSET. NIGHT.

Royal and Pagoda stand together in the board-game-filled closet drinking Martinis and smoking cigarettes. Royal has a half-eaten cheeseburger in his hand. He whispers excitedly:

ROYAL

She said that?

Pagoda nods. Royal snaps his fingers.

ROYAL (CONT’D)

We got the sucker on the ropes.