Two Scenes, One Dialogue

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A mode of Exposition where the camera switches between two groups of people as they receive the same information.

Lines of dialogue carry across the two scenes, sometimes to the point of the two scenes answering the other's questions (or even Finishing Each Other's Sentences). For example:

Scene 1
"Tom Smith, Number One on the wanted list."

Cut to Scene 2
"Committed three murders, two bank robberies."

Cut back to Scene 1
"Considered armed and dangerous."

A variation seen in romances, usually just after He and She meet for the first time, has the camera switching between Her telling her friend(s) about Him, and Him telling his friend(s) about Her. Often, humor is generated by highlighting discrepancies between their accounts.

Anime often mixes this with Inaction Sequence and the Combat Commentator. It's not uncommon for Loads and Loads of Characters scattered far and wide to have the exact same conversation, explaining what's happening to the audience.

The musical version is Distant Duet. See also News Monopoly. Compare One Scene, Two Monologues, Finishing Each Other's Sentences. Contrast Twisted Echo Cut.

Examples of Two Scenes, One Dialogue include:

Anime and Manga

  • In Naruto‍'‍s filler Kurama Clan arc, Yakumo tells her story to Naruto while Kurenai tells it to Kiba, Shino and Hinata. There is an essential difference, though, Only Yakumo mentions that the Third Hokage ordered her powers to be sealed. Kurenai lies and says she did it out of jealousy.
  • Done in Death Note, where the scene switches between both of the morally ambiguous main characters claiming "I am justice". Also done in an earlier episode, where two main characters use the same dialogue to say that their respective worlds are rotting.
    • The 'justice' example is doubly interesting—Listen carefully to HOW the two characters each say "I am Justice."—the word choice says a lot about both of them.
    • Later in the show, L and Light have combined monologues - "Just one piece of evidence is all I need to find him" "Just one piece of evidence is all he needs to find me".
  • In a GaoGaiGar lead-in, the heroes and villains speculated on the weaknesses of a new weapon. A split screen and the exact same words were used but with completely different connotations.
  • The beginning of the L.X.E. arc of Busou Renkin involves exposition on the Big Bad done as two simultaneous conversations: Captain Bravo talking to Kazuki and Tokiko, and Doktor Butterfly talking to the Not Quite Dead Papillon.
  • Used in the manga chapter of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha that focuses on the Lightning Squad. Fate tells Signum the histories of Erio and Caro at the same time that Erio and Caro explains to Subaru, Teana, and Alto how they came to be adopted by Fate.
  • One episode of Detective Conan involes both Shinichi and Heiji solving a case at the same time before they even met each other at all. So, it ends up with Heiji coming into the room to reveal the crime scene, and Shinichi phoning in at the same exact time. Then the two proceed to say the same exact thing about the crime scene, ultimately coming to the same exact conclusion at the same time.
  • An early episode of Code Geass does this, having Lelouch and Suzaku each explain their motivations to their eventual partners (C.C. and Euphemia, respectively). The two rivals do this a number of times, sometimes varying it by having the two start out on the same page but going in very different directions. In one case, they achieve Three Scenes One Dialogue, when Zero lures Suzaku into a trap (a sand pit Zero's mecha can't move well in) using himself as bait, while Zero's Hot Scientist has rigged some technology that will paralyze Suzaku's mecha if it enters the pit.

Suzaku: Zero! I've got you-
Zero: -right where-
Rakshata: -I want you.

    • The Grand Finale takes this Up to Eleven, with everyone in the cast getting in on the conversation about justice, society, etc.
  • In Bleach, used as the hollow Shrieker tells Ichigo while Yuichi tells Chad and Rukia about the arrangement in which Yuichi acts as Shrieker's accomplice in exchange for bringing his mother back to life.
  • The Whole Volume Flashback in Fullmetal Alchemist is framed by three different people reminiscing about Ishbal.
  • The Twelve Kingdoms has this when Youko and Yuka are simultaneously informed on the governmental structure of the 12 kingdoms.
  • One chapter of Ah! My Goddess has something along the lines of:

Hagall (in Nifelheim): ...and Hagall will become known as...
(cut to Hild, on Earth)
Hild: ... "the greatest Daimaikaichou ever!" I'm sure that's what she's saying right now.

  • Mahou Sensei Negima has an awesome example in chapter 314 when Fate and Negi simultaneously declare they're going to protect Negi's friends.


Comic Books

  • A variation occurs in some of Alan Moore's comics, notably Watchmen, where the dialogue or narration in one scene carries on through, and seems to comment on, the panels in a second scene which alternates panel by panel with the first and has very little dialogue of its own. For instance, the sequence where Jon is subjected to a hostile TV interview while Dan and Laurie are ambushed in a dark alley.
    • Played straight and simultaneously lampshaded by Dr. Manhattan, who addresses characters who are not in the present scene but presumably will be when the dialogue is repeated ("Excuse me, Rorschach. I'm informing Laurie ninety seconds ago").
  • At the end of ElfQuest (TOS) #19, just as Leetah is telling Cutter "I lost", the scene switches to Two-Edge telling himself the same thing. They're each talking about losing a different kind of battle, of course.
  • Peter David's story "Coven" in Captain Marvel (not the one who is not Shazam) subverted this a few times by cutting off Rick Jones or Captain Marvel as they were saying something, then switching to the other to create a humorous non-sequitor.

Rick Jones: GET UP! GET UP SO I CAN -
cut
Captain Marvel: -now pronounce you man and wife.


Fan Works

  • The Smallville/Charmed crossover Charmed: The Boy From Smallville features a scene where The Charmed Ones and the forces of evil are separately briefed on Clark Kent's powers and abilities. Both sides mistakenly believe that he is a dangerous monster that needs to be taken out.
  • The deconstructive Glee fic Hunting the Unicorn uses three scenes and two dialogues in the twelfth chapter, denoted by then, now, and later. The "then" portions are a Flash Back where Blaine breaks up with the first guy he dated and lost his virginity to, while the "now/later" portions are where Blaine talks about it to Sarah[1] and Kurt.


Film

  • This is done twice in The Fifth Element. The first involves the revelation that the four elemantal Stones weren't stolen by the Big Bad's Mangalore mercenaries, while the second interchanges between a spacecraft launch, the Big Bad killing a blundering subordinate, and a sidekick character having sex with a stewardess, all at the same time. From the first scene:

Zorg: "...This case is EMPTY!"

(Cut to Leeloo in the Father Cornelius's home, where Leeloo is laughing)
David: "What do you mean, "empty"?"

(Cut back to Zorg with the empty case)
Zorg:"Empty -- the opposite of FULL!"

  • The Summer Nights number at the start of the film Grease is a good example of the "romantic" variation.
  • Done hilariously in Shrek 2, where the view cuts back and forth between Shrek and Fiona's conversation and the king and queen's.

"Everything's going to be-"
"-a disaster!"

  • First used in Fritz Lang's M, where the police and the mobsters have parallel discussions about the child murderer loose in the city.
  • Near the beginning of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film, the scene switches between the five winners each reading the instructions on their golden tickets out loud.
  • Trainspotting, the scene in the night club with Spud and Tommy by the dance floor and Spud's "girlfriend" and Lizzie in the ladies' room.
  • The romantic version is used in the theatre adaptation of High School Musical with the introduction to "The Start of Something New", with Troy claiming he met Gabriella snowboarding. It may be directly inspired by the Grease example mentioned above.
  • Used in the heist scene in The Dark Knight.
  • Used in Wedding Wars when the two brothers are describing to their significant others how they lost touch.
  • Quite a way into Marlin's adventure in Finding Nemo, many of the aquatic creatures (and some of the pelicans) start talking about this clown fish that's conquered such obstacles as sharks, exploding minefields, and anglerfish, and the scene keeps shifting from creature to creature as the exploits are recounted.
  • Barbie as Rapunzel has one such scene where while Rapunzel talks about her visit to the village after finding a way out, Otto reports to his mistress Gothel on the same thing.
  • Done in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, when Ryu talks with his girlfriend about finding the black market organ dealers who ripped him off and ruined everything, and Dong-jin speaks with a police detective about finding the man who (accidentally) killed his daughter. When both characters are asked what they'll do when they find the people they're looking for, they respond "Kill them."
  • Done in Annie Hall, in a pre-breakup variation:

[Alvy and Annie are seeing their therapists at the same time on a split screen]
Alvy Singer's Therapist: How often do you sleep together?
Annie Hall's Therapist: Do you have sex often?
Alvy Singer: [lamenting] Hardly ever. Maybe three times a week.
Annie Hall: [annoyed] Constantly. I'd say three times a week.

  • Used in the opening scene of 50 First Dates, as several women are all talking on the phone with their friends describing their encounters with Adam Sandler's character, culminating in this:

Woman 1: I'll never forget my week with....
Woman 2: Henry Roth.
Woman 3: Henry Roth!
Woman 4: Harry...Hairy pair of testicles.

  • During the preparation for the final campaign in Independence Day, the various Air Forces of the world lay out the battle plan they've received from the Americans, each scene showing combat planners from each Air Force discussing or briefing the next step of the plan.
  • Shaun of the Dead features the titular character sitting down to watch television. A news report comes on about the rising zombie apocalypse, but he boredly starts flipping channels. No matter what comes on, it sounds like a continuation of the news report.


Live Action TV

  • Disney's Austin and Ally has Austin mistakenly believing Ally has fallen for him when he reads her Secret Diary; meanwhile Ally elaborates on her crush on the Cell Phone accessory cart guy
  • An episode of Family Matters has this, with Waldo and Maxine explaining their first date to Eddie and Laura, respectively.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer does an interesting take on this in one episode: Giles explains the ancient lore of this week's demon, while the Initiative is briefed on the nature of the same "HST" (Hostile Subterranean) in military jargon.
    • In the season seven episode "Same Time, Same Place", this trope is both subverted and justified in a manner most awesome. For whatever reason, Willow and Buffy are unable to see each other throughout most of the episode. In the school basement, Buffy confronts Spike. Suffering from a slight case of crazy at the time, Spike carries on what seems to be a disjointed dialogue with Buffy, at times speaking randomly and out of turn. Minutes later, the scene shifts to Willow asking questions in the exact same room, with Spike repeating the exact same responses as before, only now the "blanks" from the audience's point of view are filled in.
      • Not exactly. We see Willow's version first, and we can assume from the dialog that Spike is also speaking to the First at the time. Then we cut to Buffy's version.
    • It's also featured prominently in "Graduation Day Part 2", where the camera cuts between the Scooby gang and the Mayor's evil army as they discuss and set up their battle plans for the moment of the Ascension.
  • Angel features this in the season 3 finale "Tomorrow". Angel and Cordelia get similar speeches, he from Lorne, she from the Groosalugg, that the two really are in love with each other, even if they haven't acknowledged it yet.
  • Red Dwarf did this during the time anomaly in Future Echoes. Rimmer walks in and has a very weird conversation with Lister - then walks in again, and says the exact same things, except now they make sense. The previous Rimmer was an 'echo' of this one, and couldn't see or hear Lister at all.
  • A regular staple of Battlestar Galactica episodes directed by Michael Rhymer.
  • Has been done so many times on Scrubs that it is difficult to pinpoint one specific occurence.
  • In the very first scene of the first episode of Spaced, Tim and Daisy appear to be talking to each other, but are actually having two separate conversations with other (unseen and heard) people.
  • In Doctor Who, in the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", when Martha and the Hath, and Doctor/Donna and the Humans, are looking at the holographic map.
    • Also in Doctor Who, in "Last of the Time Lords", when the identity of the toclafane is revealed in both Martha's scene in Professor Docherty's workshop, and the Doctor's scene with the Master aboard the Valiant.
  • A variation involving split-screen is used a lot on That '70s Show, having two people on each side (Such as Eric and Kelso/Donna and Jackie) discuss the same thing, sometimes echoing each other word for word.

Donna (to Jackie)/Eric (to Kelso): I mean you and Kelso/Jackie have done it, like, a million times!
Jackie (to Donna): Michael and I have never done it!
Kelso: (to Eric): Yeah.

  • Often played with for laughs in the British sitcom Coupling, mostly to show different interpretations of events between the men and the women.
  • Used in the House episode "Maternity". Foreman and Cameron have to explain a treatment to two different couples in two different places and using different medicine names (because House still isn't sure which of the two is working).
    • Used again in "Love Hurts" in the aftermath of House and Cameron's date. The scene switches between Cameron talking to Chase and Foreman and House talking to Wilson.
  • Criminal Minds does this a lot to cut down on time during briefing or interview scenes.
    • There's an especially neat version in "Nameless, Faceless", in which Reid, Prentiss, and Garcia make a decision not to tell the other team members that Hotch is missing in order to devote all of their concentration and resources to solving their current case quickly, instead of finding Hotch. As a result, Reid's explanation to the man they're trying to help plays very well over scenes of Prentiss searching Hotch's apartment for clues alone, without any help from the rest of the team: "This is about choice. The last time you made a choice, it devastated this killer, so this time, he's forcing you to choose again."
  • Firefly, "Bushwacked" - a Crowning Moment of Funny: when Zoe is asked about her marriage, she claims that she and Wash are "private people". Cut to Wash going on about what he likes about Zoe.
  • Dollhouse, "Spy In A House of Love"

Echo (to Ivy) : I'm just trying to narrow down your feelings about the Dollhouse.
(Cut to) Boyd: We're pimps and killers... But in a philanthropic way.

Woman: I am not a man, you silly billy.
Man on roof: I'm not in the street, you fairy!
Man: Well, er, speaking as a man in the street [car runs him over], Wagh!

    • And another one:

Pepperpot: Well, I think they should attack things, like that - with satire. I mean Ned Sherrin. Fair's fair. I think people should be able to make up their own minds for me.
Woman: Well, I think they should attack the fuddy-duddy attitudes of the lower middle classes which permit the establishment to survive and keep the mores of the whole country back where they were in the nineteenth century and the ghastly days of the pre-sexual revolution.
Stockbroker: Well, I think they should attack the lower classes, er, first with bombs and rockets destroying their homes, and then when they run helpless into the streets, er, mowing them down with machine guns. Er, and then of course releasing the vultures. I know these views aren't popular, but I have never courted popularity.

  • Used in the beginning of the Kings episode "First Night".
  • The Time Shifts from Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "All Good Things".
  • Skins did this in Katie and Emily's episode, with Katie and Emily, and Freddie and JJ, having the same conversation at the same time. There's even simultaneous spit takes from the potato moonshine they're both drinking.
  • Hilariously done on the Swedish comedy show Hey Baberiba during the Familjen ("the Family") segment (the segment, which featured once per episode, was a parody of the Swedish royal house). An interview with crown princess Victoria intercuts with an interview with her boyfriend Daniel Westling, and features them both getting really upset by something the other says in their interview, to the point where they start arguing and he gives her back the (gigantic fairytale style) key to the castle. There is absolutely no logic as to which interview took place first when Victoria gets mad about Daniel's response to her previous comment, and so on...
  • A particularly adorable one was done on Malcolm in the Middle, showcasing the similarities between the father Hal and estranged son Francis. Hal is here at his house and Francis is hundreds of miles away in Alaska.

Hal (lecturing a guy at a poker match): Did you ever stop to think that women are independent human beings who are capable of making their own -
Francis (lecturing his buddy from boot camp): -choices? I mean, you look at any good relationship and what do you see? Trust.

  • A first season episode of Mad About You had Paul telling Selby the story of his third date with Jamie, intercut with Jamie telling Lisa the same story, but with one major difference.
  • During the Two Crew Live Job of Leverage, Nate and his team are preparing for the heist just as the rival team are doing the same. Both Nate and his Evil Counterpart are also stating that they each have the right to the painting in almost exactly the same way.
  • Used for a Moment Of Heartwarming on a Las Vegas Christmas Episode, with several cast members simultaneously reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" in separate scenes, all over the city.


Video Games

  • Early on in the first Kingdom Hearts, the game intercuts between two simultaneous scenes unfolding in Traverse Town: Aerith is providing plot exposition about Ansem, the other worlds, the Heartless, and the Keyblade to Donald and Goofy, while Sora's receiving similar exposition at the same time from Leon and Yuffie. Each listener's follow-up question cuts to a character in the other scene giving the answer.
  • A very, very long cutscene in Last Scenario consists of three people giving the same speech to different groups, describing the real history of the war with the Havali.


Western Animation

  • Spoofed in Family Guy while parodying The Little Rascals. Both Peter and Quagmire cook up a plan to scare the other, and explain it to their two friends. However, the amount of dialogue they each say is disproportionate to the extent that Quagmire's scene only shows up for one second for him to say "The", where it then cuts back to Peter, who finishes off the rest of the exposition.
  • The Beatles parody episode of The Powerpuff Girls, "Meet the Beat-Alls", started off with Four Scenes, One Monologue.
  • Played with in Cats Don't Dance—see here, starting at 3:41.
  • An episode of Justice League uses this to great effect as Cadmus has a board meeting to discuss how to deal with their Justice league problem, while the JLA simultaneously works through their Cadmus problem. The similarity in the meetings serves to demonstrate how similar the organizations are.
  • WITCH, a shapeshifter infiltrates the Magical Girls' school, and tells the principal she heard them bragging about a missing girl. (In reality, of course, the girl is missing because of the villains.) Cue a set of quick cuts between each one of the heroines answering the principal's questions, and each giving a different answer (they weren't prepared for this). Now the heroines have to bring her back to Earth or they're headed to jail.
  • In the How We Got Here episode of 6teen, The job interviewers all ask the same questions, with the main characters giving their own replies.
  • Larry-Boy and The Rumor Weed does this between Larry-Boy and Alfred, ironically establishing that the radio isn't working and that they won't be able to communicate with one another.
  • One episode of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic has an impressive six scenes with one dialogue.

Twilight Sparkle: No!
Rarity: I've waited all my life...
Fluttershy: ...for this moment...
Pinkie Pie: ...and I'm not going to...
Applejack: ...let it slip by!
Rainbow Dash: If it's the last thing I do...
Twilight Sparkle: ...I'm going to make this...
All: The best night ever!

  • Archer is the absolute god king of this for comedic effect. It's spiritual predecessor Frisky Dingo is certainly no slouch either.


Web Comics


Web Original

  • Spoofed at the beginning of the Homestar Runner cartoon "Date Nite". The camera constantly cuts between Homestar scolding Marzipan for dating The Cheat, and Strong Bad scolding The Cheat for dating Marzipan. Eventually, Homestar and Strong Bad end up in the same place, yelling at each other, then getting confused while Marzipan and The Cheat go on their date.
  • This video.
  • In Suburban Knights, as the two groups of protagonists learn the location of the MacGuffin ("Oh, you..." "...got to be..." "... fucking..." "...KIDDING ME!")
  1. ↑ his therapist
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