Poll: [POTENTIAL SPOILERS] "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt" to be gaming's next iconic phrase?

[Sight Unseen]

So after finishing Bioshock Infinite the other day, I can't help but feel like the phrase "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt" might become the next iconic phrase on the internet, similar to "would you kindly?" from the original Bioshock. The way that it is used in the game and the way that it is shifted towards the end really surprised me and made the phrase stick out to me as a really great one.

I wanted to see what everyone else though about this phrase, and whether you think it might become the next memorable internet phrase or not.

Discuss

 

[Averant]

I doubt it, though I don't really know why. It just doesn't seem as memorable or applicable for anything other than the context in which it was used, not to mention it's not quite as catchy as a four syllable phrase.

 

[Zhukov]

Mmm... don't think so. It just doesn't quite have that same pithy, quotable zing to it as "Would you kindly".

Time will tell I guess.

Personally I liked, "The universe does not like having it's peas mixed with its porridge." Fat chance of that becoming iconic though.

There's always, "He doesn't row." That still seems like a stretch though.

 

[hazabaza1]

Eh, not seeing it.
It's a good motivational thing within the game and it was cool for some of the revelations, but "Would you kindly" was more of the direct focus whilst Infinite shifted away from the use of its line to discuss/implement other themes.

Also "Would you Kindly" was said in a fantastic Irish accent that's easy to mock.
[sub][sub]GORR'AM SPLOICAS[/sub][/sub]

 

[Anathrax]

I voted other because THIS should be the next "iconic phrase".

 

[Robot Number V]

Mmm... don't think so. It just doesn't quite have that same pithy, quotable zing to it as "Would you kindly".

Time will tell I guess.

Personally I liked, "The universe does not like having it's peas mixed with its porridge." Fat chance of that becoming iconic though.

There's always, "He doesn't row." That still seems like a stretch though.

The weird thing is that (if I understand it correctly), "He doesn't row" actually sums up the game pretty damn well.

Still, I like "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt". I guess it's not particularly catchy, though.

 

[kailus13]

The thing is that "would you kindly" can be used in any context, thus ensuring a wide spread. Admittedly I haven't played Infinite so would you kindly tell me if "bring us the girl" could be used as such?

 

[Maxtro]

Doesn't even come close to "arrow in the knee."

 

[NightmareExpress]

No, because I can literally place "would you kindly" at the front of almost every persuasive/asking sentence I make or sneak it in there every now and then. It serves as a subconscious trigger phrase in the game that could be spoken by anyone to make Jack do something.

"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt" requires more context and abstract thinking.
For you to use it adequately, you must be half responsible for the situation you find yourself in and it must be spoken by the other person who is also half responsible.

Or...at least, that's what I think of it.

 

[Phlakes]

There's always, "He doesn't row." That still seems like a stretch though.

That's been a big one in the group I've talked about the game with. Lot of "do you even row" going around. I'd say it's a better analog to "would you kindly", being a simple phrase that you don't think anything of but that has a lot of meaning after the twist.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

It's not catchy enough to be a phrase, for one it's too situation specific. Would you kindly on another hand can be applied to an infinite number of situations.

 

[SadisticFire]

No, it's just too situational. You can't just go up to some one and say "Bring us the girl and whipe away the debt, and get me that pencile on the floor." though I guess I can see "Bring us XXX and whipe away the debt"

 

[Pinkamena]

It's too specific, doesn't have the same catchy zing to it as "would you kindly", and is way too long.

My favorite quote from the game is still "The seed of the prophet shall sit in the throne, and drown in flames the tower of men". I just find it really cool.

 

[scorptatious]

As cool as a phrase at it is, it is kinda of a mouthful and as others have said, it's too situational.

The weird thing is that (if I understand it correctly), "He doesn't row" actually sums up the game pretty damn well.

Really? How so?

 

[Robot Number V]

As cool as a phrase at it is, it is kinda of a mouthful and as others have said, it's too situational.

The weird thing is that (if I understand it correctly), "He doesn't row" actually sums up the game pretty damn well.

Really? How so?

Well, this is a total shot in the dark, and I could just be overanalyzing nothing, but I took that whole conversation to be about how Booker doesn't really have any choice in his circumstances. He has no control over the sequence of events that are about to occur, including his own inevitable death(Which is really what the game is all about...Canceling out Comstock). He's just along for the ride. Thus, he "Doesn't row".

Again though, I could be totally wrong. The phrase could be meaningless beyond "Booker literally does not row this particular boat at any time".

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Not as widely applicable, and not nearly as subtle. The thing that made "Would you kindly" such an amazing reference is that other people could see it and never know.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

It might become one for me personally because my friends and I tend to take the gist and just translate it.
For instance, my friend asked me if I got my license and I said "Yeah, I can drive this car" at which point we both said "I can break these cuffs" with UNCANNY synchronicity.
My sister and I use "How could you know those were there before you took off the tape?" (Breaking Bad fans know what I'm talking about) whenever we see someone claim to know something before they had a chance to learn it.
In any case, I still might end up saying "He doesn't row" more than anything else simply due to the number of times in the day you can hear "he/she doesn't X" rather than "Do X and Y will occur."

 

[Abomination]

As cool as a phrase at it is, it is kinda of a mouthful and as others have said, it's too situational.

The weird thing is that (if I understand it correctly), "He doesn't row" actually sums up the game pretty damn well.

Really? How so?

Well, this is a total shot in the dark, and I could just be overanalyzing nothing, but I took that whole conversation to be about how Booker doesn't really have any choice in his circumstances. He has no control over the sequence of events that are about to occur, including his own inevitable death(Which is really what the game is all about...Canceling out Comstock). He's just along for the ride. Thus, he "Doesn't row".

Again though, I could be totally wrong. The phrase could be meaningless beyond "Booker literally does not row this particular boat at any time".

Don't forget they frequently refer to the dimensional travel as an ocean. "He doesn't row" means he's simply caught in the currents, an object and not an agent.

So "he doesn't row" simply can mean an individual does not pilot his own destiny, is inactive or is at the whims of fate. It could even mean someone is inconsequential in a situation and can be ignored.

Edit: that being said the phrase itself of "Would you kindly" was a massive reveal in Bioshock and was completely overlooked until you are told it was indoctrination. "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt" was easy to understand as your goal but the history to the phrase was unknown.

 

[WanderingFool]

Doubtful. I feel there is probably something more memorable, but I really dont know what it would be.

 

[Asita]

Very unlikely. "Would you kindly" was short, subtle, could be tacked onto any number of phrases and had a certain beautiful irony in it that anyone who played the game would immediately recognize. "Bring us the girl and we wipe away all debt" - by contrast - is long, direct and the context is far too specific to see the same kind of use. It simply doesn't have the staying power of WYK.