Crazy Rich Asians: Part 2 - 5 Commandments of Storytelling

Last week, we began our analysis of the film Crazy Rich Asians, which debuted in 2018. Based on a 2013 novel of the same name, this was a highly successful film sold as a romantic comedy. But as you saw last week, there's a lot more to this movie than first meets the eye. This week, we're diving into the five commandments of storytelling and. And then looking at the four quadrants or acts of the film. This is the StoryGrid podcast. I'm your host, Tim Grohl, a writer and the CEO of StoryGrid. Joining me shortly is Rachel Arsenault, a Story Grid certified editor. We're spending four weeks looking closely at crazy rich Asians and how this masterwork story was constructed. We're going to use the StoryGrid methodology created and developed by our founder, Sean Coyne. If you would like to get a sneak peek into everything we're going to cover, you can go right now to storygrid.com crazy to download a PDF of our completed analysis of Crazy Rich Asians.

Okay, let's jump in and get started.

So let's look at the global five commandments. So the global five commandments are how we track change in story. Because we always say a story grid. You know, something has to change, a value has to shift, something has to change, and something. And this works on all levels of story from the whole manuscript, Right? The whole story from start to finish, but also at the micro level, at the scene level, something has to change. And if you ask, well, how do you. How do you make something change? That's where the global five commandments of storytelling come in. So we start with the inciting incident, and then signing incident is the thing that kicks off the story, knocks the protagonist's life out of balance. Uh, so what did you have for that?

Yeah, I just have that Nick invites Rachel to come with him to Singapore to his friend Colin's wedding.

Yeah, I had the same thing. And, yeah, I had the same thing there.

So for a turning point progressive complication.

It'Ll be interesting because at this point, I was still thinking love story. So what did you have for the turning point progressive complication? So this is the point when the protagonist realizes there's no going back. We're never going to get back to the way things were. But something has shifted fundamentally, and I've got to deal with this. So what moment did you have for that?

Yeah, I'm actually really interested to know what you said as well, because I pushed the turning point a little bit later than I normally would. So, so normally I've got the turning point happening right around the end of quadrant two, like the global turning point happening right around the end of quadrant two. But I think that it's shifted a little bit further down in the story because Eleanor tells so. So all this time Rachel has been sort of navigating Eleanor, right? She's like trying to like, be herself and she's trying to play it cool. And Eleanor looks her in the eyes and says, you will never be enough. And I think that this is where that initial strategy, like, fails because she's been trying to be like real cool and hope that everyone will warm up to her. That Eleanor, like, you know, oh, Eleanor just needs time to get to know me. It'll be fine. And then it's because it's also after this point, like when she sort of debriefs this experience with Paik Lynn, Paik Lynn tells her, no, you're trying to get her to like you. You need. What you need is for her to respect you. And so I was thinking about that as like a shift in the essential tactic that Rachel takes in, Right. Cause this is like when she like rolls up to the wedding and she's super fly and she's like, oh, excuse me, you're in my way. Right? And she is like playing the badass. And so I think that that's like that moment, that's where she is like official. That like, oh, this thing I've been trying to do is not working.

I had the exact same moment.

Yes.

Yeah. That happened at 1 hour, 13 minutes and 12 seconds. Because it's such a gut wrenching one too. Because you think Eleanor is finally going to come around because she tells this story about how she wasn't good enough for her mother in law and da, da, da, da, da. And you're like, okay, she's finally understands. And then when she's like, I've realized one thing. You will. And she takes her face in her hands, you know, she like brings her in close. You will never be enough. And. And I was just like, oh, man. But yeah, I had the exact same turning point. Because that's when she realizes, you know, when. This is what's interesting because I was, I was. I've actually been dealing with this a little bit with my own story, but also just talking through because for a little bit, Danielle and I were trying to. Trying to evaluate Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. And the turning point actually comes really early. And I was like, oh, I always kind of assume the turning point comes like right before the crisis, because it turns it and now we've got to deal with it. And it pushes to the question. And she's like, no, it's just the point where, you know, you can't go back. That's, that's the whole thing is like, once it turns, you can still have ongoing progressive complications that finally push to the crisis. But. But this one I felt like, came like right before and it was later than normal.

So the turning point pushes us into the crisis. And the crisis is always a binary question, this or that. It's either two irreconcilable goods or.

I always forget one of them. What's the other? Best bad choice, Best bad choice. And so, um, I had for the crisis just literally two minutes later, because the next scene is when Rachel and Pick Lynn are having lunch or whatever. And she basically says, I don't know what she says, I don't know what to do. And then a couple sentences later she says, I feel like I shouldn't even go to the wedding. And so I had it right there. And she's basically deciding between, do I just leave or do I. Do I go to the wedding?

So did you have the same thing?

I didn't. So when it comes to the global five Cs, I tend to have them spaced further apart, like to sort of create that. That whole arc now. And I'm also, like, I am obsessively like, formulaic about, like, it has to be in quadrant three, like, it belongs in this spot. So I also know that that is like a potential, like, positive and a potential negative here. But because the crisis usually happens like that global crisis tends to be connected to the all is lost moment. And so for the all is lost moment, I'm thinking that. So it's after Nick's family reveals secrets that Rachel herself didn't know. And then what she has to do is decide whether she's basically going to fight for her right to be with Nick or give it all up. And so this is even sort of prior to his proposal. And so because when she shows up to meet with him, she's sort of already determined how she's going to move forward. And so I think that, like, what, what she realizes is that it can't. Like, Nick can't have both me and his family, and I'm not going to make him choose. And so that sort of becomes the, the crisis that she's facing of whether she's gonna, like I said, fight for that right to be with him or if she's going to let him go to. To sort of save him from the. The conflict with his family.

So when did you put the crisis?

Right? It's sort of like.

It happens. So the. The all is lost moment is sort of like when. So right. They are like, we are in a private investigator and here's the truth about your family. And she's like, ah. And she runs off and she's crying and she's. So she's in bed and. And then she's sort of in this sort of liminal space while she's in bed and trying to process what's happened. And she's feeling really upset. And then her mom comes and her mom kind of helps her pick herself back up. And she's like, okay, but you still have, you have to go see Nick one more time. Like it's somewhere in that. That place with her mom that she comes to understand what it is that she needs to do. That's kind of the way that I saw that.

Yeah. So I put the crisis and climax at that. At that lunch with Pick Lynn. So I'm trying to do this off the top of my head because what I was. When. As you were. As we were kind of going through this and I'm like quickly trying to fix my answers in my head to match the correct genre.

I was thinking about, you know, if this is status and what she's pushing for is. Is. Isn't she pushing for like.

I'm not going to give up being me for you people.

Would you agree with that?

Yeah.

Okay. So I feel like if status is what we're looking at and tracking it is actually in the moment when they hand. When they, when they, you know, she is with him, with Nick, the grandmother and the mother, and they show the. They show the work, they show what they found. That, you know, her dad isn't dead, that her mom actually cheated on her dad, you know, and all that kind of stuff. And she said, I'm going off the top of my head. But I watched it several times where she's like, I don't want to be a part of your family. And it's like this level of like, she's been so degraded now that she realizes if I stay, I have to like break something in myself that I'm not willing to break to stay in this family. And so I, I started to think, again, this is off the top of my head. But it's almost like she doesn't want to take Nick away from his family and she doesn't want to make him choose. And I think that's true. But she also doesn't like want to give herself up to be a part of their family, right, because she could, she could just like completely succumb to it and do what Eleanor did, which was just take the next 30 years of an emotional beating, right?

And she could marry Nick and do everything. But she's like, I'm not going to step into this place where I have to be somebody that I'm not just, just to be with Nick. Like that's a non negotiable for me. And so I mean, again, off the top of my head, I put the crisis right there and the climax is like, happens at the same time because, you know, a lot of times we look at the crisis is like building throughout the story and we look at it as the crisis matrix. So as long as the crisis is really clear and I put the. I would put the. I wonder, I mean, again, off the top of my head. The climax is when she says, I don't want to be a part of your family and just steps away. Which is, you know, 99% of people would sacrifice anything they had to to be a part of that family.

What do you think of that?

I actually, I think that's a great point. And so I think just, just shifting that crisis because again, it sort of like connects right into the all is lost moment. Because that really is like everything sort of breaks down at that moment when she is like completely degraded. And so I think that, you know, thinking about it in terms of Status being being our global genre and her having to make. Right, because the, the climax, the core scene of Status is sort of that big choice, right, of whether they are going to reject the world that they were striving to join at the expense of some internal part of themselves or if they're going to like reject that world, right? And so I think that this like that crisis moment, I think that that that works for me, like right at this. Again at this all is lost moment when they sort of.

Reach the, the maximum level of degradation that she has experienced over this entire story. I would place the climax, like, I think that it's. I think that you're right that like, especially in that scene, right, it's like, okay, I don't want any part of this. I think the fullest execution of that climax is the rejection of Nick's proposal. So like she sort of, she rejects them in that moment. And then. Because the way that I think about it is like in quadrant three, right, all is Lost. The protagonist faces something, and they come to, like, on the other side. Right. If all is lost, usually they have that transformation. They know what they need to do. And then quadrant four is them executing what they know they need to do. And so I would sort of push the climax to its fullest expression when she rejects Nick's proposal, and then she sort of leverages that when she talks to Eleanor. So that's kind of. That's the way that I would see the crisis and climax relating to each other.

Well, why do you think what was driving. What value was driving her turning down the proposal? Because I feel like she could. She could retain who she was, which is. I'm. I'm enough. And just take Nick with her. And that would be another way to win. The. The. The. The society level is like, I just. I just took your son from you. So what value in her do you think was driving her not being willing to take Nick away from this family?

Yeah, I actually think this comes back to the integrity that she has because. And actually, Peik Lynn says this outright. She's like, you don't have money, you don't have connections, but you have integrity. And I respect that. Right. And I think that. And. And I think that it really. This is where that love story gets pulled in so beautifully, because she loves Nick enough that she knows that it would kill him to be like. To just leave his family like that. That's not. It's sort of like that all or nothing is not the right way to do this for Nick. That his family does need him, and that he cares about his family. And his mom sacrificed so much room because she does care about him. And so I think that it's this combination. So first it's that. That central integrity that she has as a person, but also that's where we tie in the love story, where that's like, she is motivated by that love for Nick to make that decision to say, I'm not taking you away from your family. And then it's that. And then when she goes to confront Eleanor, this is where she shifts the power dynamic.

Yeah. So what. Where do we see the resolution in this?

I think the resolution is when it's like, basically the resolution being that after. So Rachel's already confronted Eleanor, and so she wins Eleanor's respect, and Nick re. Proposes with Eleanor's ring. Right. The two get engaged. So it's that just that last little bit where she. Because she's already had her final confrontation with Eleanor. That's sort of like the climactic again, expression of, like, the choice that she made, we see it in its fullest expression. And it's also that. That sort of revolution scene for society, which is why that moment we basically layered, like, three obligatory moments. Because it's also. We see how she decided for that love story subplot, which was to reject the proposal. So basically layered, like, three different obligatory moments on top of each other in the same moment, which is why it's so impactful. And then right after that race, so, like, she and her mom give her, like, the scathing look over the shoulder, and then they. They walk out, and then that's. So then the ultimate. The ultimate outcome is that she wins Eleanor's respect. Right. We see that when Nick comes back, proposes with the ring, the two get engaged and all. All good things after that.

Yeah. Yeah. I thought it was interesting. Eleanor never spoke again after that meeting. Right. So when we go. When. I actually was surprised when I went back and watched, because I watched. You know, I just watched it straight through.

With my family. And then. And then I was kind of jumping around looking at all the wrong places, apparently. And. But. But when she. Eleanor goes to see Nick, no words are exchanged. That you see him open the door for her, then you see them standing outside on the balcony, and then you see her at the very end just kind of give this nod of respect to.

Rachel. So it's like she was, like, completely silenced. And these are those moments where I'm like, I wish I could be in the head of the people as they were creating these things, because even, like, I've had conversations with, you know, authors and screenwriters and stuff where, like, I asked them questions, but they're trying to remember what was going through their head while they were in the flow state, which is almost impossible even five minutes later. But they're trying. And so what happens is they build stories around what actually happened, where in these moments, it's like, I. You know, I haven't read the book, but, you know, at least the director made a conscious choice to, like, Eleanor doesn't get to talk anymore. And, like, was that conscious? Was that like, okay, she. You know, Rachel won, Eleanor lost. Eleanor doesn't get to talk anymore. Or was that just like. Or did she talk? And they just cut it out and it was like, the final cut. It just. They're just like, well, we don't have time for whatever she said. You know, Like, I always just wonder, like, what. You know, because we read so many things into these little mo. Connor was telling me he watched this whole video because he's really in the Tarantino movies. And so he's my 17 year old. And so in Pulp Fiction, one of the. One of the characters has a band aid on his neck and he's like, I saw this video like that went super deep into like mythology and like something with demons. I don't know. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, but he's like, there was all this stuff about why he had a band aid. And then Connor then found an interview with that actor and he's like, well, that morning I just like was doing something to my neck and cut my neck. So I just put a band aid on it. We just left it in. No, people are doing these like huge in depth dives into this band aid.

But anyway, okay, so that wraps up our global five commandments. So let's look at our quadrants. And so when we look at quadrants, you know, one of the things I love about story grid, and I've loved since the beginning is the way Sean takes this big arching story. You know, a friend of mine just finished his book and sent it off to his publisher and it's 220,000 words long, right? So this super epic long book. And, and he's, you know, we break it down into smaller and smaller pieces and we look at each one individually and what happens in each of those pieces. So when we're looking at story, we look at quadrants and we're breaking the story up into the. The beginning hook, the middle. Build up the middle breakdown in the ending. Payoff. And so.

What did you have as the beginning hook?

Yeah, I identified the beginning hook as. Right. It starts with the beginning of the movie, of course, and it goes all the way up until like Rachel has dinner with Paiklin's family and Paiklin like gives her the dress. Like she prepares her to go to Nick's house. So it's sort of like everything up until they are pulling into or like until they are going to Nick's house. Right. So she's sort of like equipping her sort of cross that. Cross that threshold.

Yeah, I would, I struggled with this one because, you know, I'm. I was looking at it through that when we look when, when she enters the new world. And so, and maybe it's just because I love this line so much, but when she gets to the Singapore airport and she's like, there's a butterfly guard or whatever and then it's so beautiful. And then she's like, JFK is Just salmonella in despair.

And if you've been to jfk, that is an extremely accurate.

Depiction. Although I sat in the Miami airport a couple weeks ago for like five hours and I'm like, why did they turn a bus station into an airport? It was the worst airport in the United States I've ever said authorized this. I know. I was like, it was, it was like weirdly creepy. I don't know. So if you just tip, if you're flying to South Florida, go to Fort Lauderdale. It's only like 30 minutes away. Anyway, so, yeah, so I, I, I put it when she entered the new world of the Singapore airport because that's when she meet. But I struggled because I'm like, well, is that really when she felt the impact that she was in a new place? Because even like, even though they immediately met up with Colin and I keep forgetting her name.

They still just, they like go out, they get food, they get beer. They're acting like normal people. Nobody recognizes Nick.

And then like she goes over to pick Lynn's house and it's just her friend and this crazy family.

But.

But how far into the movie was that point? Did you, did you track that at all?

Yeah, actually I, so I didn't have a fancy time calculator like you did, but I like broke it down into minutes and then I was like, what is like 33 minutes divided by 120?

And so that was right about, I think it was like 20, like when she go like when she and Piglin are driving to Nick's house was like 26% into the movie or something like that. But I was using the same operating logic. The way that I was thinking about it is she gets to Singapore and when she first. So like, you know, because you think about like crisis, like you know, whatever you agree to go or whatever it is. And so at the, like when she gets to Singapore, like you said, they hang out with Colin and Minzy. Like it seems like everything is going to be fine. This is sort of like when Bilbo first goes on the adventure and it's like the weather was nice and everything was good and he food and it was fun, right? And he's like, wow, maybe this isn't going to be so bad. And then right toward the end, right, Piglin and her family are like Nick Young. The Nick Young, right? She's like, I don't understand. And Paiklin's like, you're going to need a new dress. Like, we're going to need to get you situated. And then it's when they. They pull up to the mansion and she's like, oh, these are not ordinary rich people. These are super rich people. Because even Pig Lynn's family is really wealthy, right? They have this gorgeous house. It's gated. But even that is, like, you know, her family is, like, here, which, like, still pretty good, but, like, you know, Nick's family is, like, way up here. And that's where it begins to dawn on her the. The extent of, like, his family's wealth and the extent that she is out of her debt.

Yeah. I mean, and just a side note, you put awkwafina in any movie, and it just, like, goes up, like, three notches immediately. So true. So amazing because when she opens up the front. The trunk in the front of the car and she has the outfits in there, it's like, walk of shame cocktail party. She has all these outfits, like, just ready to go. Not to mention she already had on those shoes, those crazy, like, heeled shoes. Um, and, you know, it's just. It's just fantastic. But.

Yeah, okay, and so where did you have. So. So when they get to the party, that's what kicks us into the new world. So we're now in the middle build up. The first middle build. So where did that stretch to? Where. Where did you put the end of that one?

I had it ending with. So right after the bachelorette party and everything that takes place with that, she and Nick have that conversation, and she's like, oh, there was a fish, and it was gross. And I was frustrated, and why didn't you tell me? And they sort of determine like, okay, we're going to get through this together. Right? It's like, okay, later we're going to go do something on our own, but first we have to make dumplings, right? It's sort of. So by the end of quadrant two, it's sort of like, I see this as they're like, okay, so this is, like, harder than we thought it would be. But that's okay. Like, we'll work through it together. No big deal. Like, whatever. Mindy's friends suck, and you don't have to ever see him again. No problem. And so it sort of ends there. And that's right before the. The dumpling scene at the house. That's where I had the. That ending. What about you?

Well, again, you know, I'm kind of. I had an ending.

At the. When the fish was in the bed, because that was the point where she's like, what I'm doing is not Working. And then even as we talked more about it and I'm, like, trying to, like, catch up in my head, I'm like, should it be. Is it the moment that Eleanor tells her she's never going to be enough? Because you. The end of the middle build is when we hit the. Usually the all is lost moment, which, you know, we were talking about. The all is lost moment being when, you know, when she freaks out after the wedding because of the. The private investigator. But to me, it's like. It's that moment when she's like, everything I've done is not working right. Because the third quad, the. The first middle build is all about. I'm going to just keep doing what I've always done, and it's. It's going to. Even though I'm in a new environment, it's always worked for me before. I'm going to keep doing it. And then the third quadrant is all about, okay, everything I've done isn't working. I got to throw it out and start figuring out how to get through this. And so I feel like it's at that moment because at the dumpling lunch or whatever.

She'S still doing the same thing. She's still being super sweet. She's complimenting the ring. There's that up moment where, like, the grandmother really seems to like her.

And it's at the moment that.

It's at the moment that Eleanor says that. That, like, everything breaks for her and she. And then, you know, that's when we see her crying in the car, and then she's with Picklin, and. And it's like, you know, it's not working.

So, I mean, I guess that's where I'm putting it is because she still keeps doing the same thing after the fish, even though she realizes, like, okay, the friends aren't going to like me. But that's not really who she cares about. Like you said, it's Eleanor. And so she's still just, like, doing her performance. Like, look how cute I am. I'm super confident. I can take care of Nick. Look, I can do dumplings just like everybody else.

I don't know.

Yeah, I honestly. And as I mentioned that I'm, like, fastidious and meticulous about, like. No, it has to play by the rules. And the global turning point is at the end of quadrant two. So if we just shift the end of quadrant two up a smidge, then everything sits nicely in its spot, because the way that I was originally thinking. But I think you make a good point. Because the way I was originally thinking about it is middle build two kicks off with the dumpling scene at the house. And I'm also like, I was kind of thinking in terms of scene, and that sort of feels like it's, like, in the middle of a scene. But.

So quadrant three kicks off with the dumpling scene, and it's like.

This. This moment, like, she has no idea how much worse it's about to get. But I think that just pushing that back to the end of quadrant two again, because it does. You're. You're totally right. When she shows up to the. To the house, she's like, I can still do this. Like, I'm just right. And she's like, oh, Eleanor, your ring's so pretty. Your house is so nice. And. And Eleanor is like, no, like, not here for it. Boo. And so then, like, at that moment, you're right. Like, it forces her to change the way that she's approaching the family. And it's. Again, it's that thing where it's like, it's. It moves us into. I think it is a good midpoint because that. That's also our midpoint shift. I think it's a great midpoint shift because it's like the. The nature of the story is about to change. Like, she's not going to be accepted. She has to change the way that she's, like, going to do this. And she sort of, like, gets ready for war. Right. As soon as she figures out with Peik Lynn what she needs to do. So I think pushing the end of quadrant 2 to the end, like, to that dumpling scene where Eleanor says that to her, and then you sort of kick off the beginning of quadrant three with her sort of debrief with Peik Lynn and her sort of having to freshly strategize. I think that that works.

Yeah. And it's still pretty close to halfway. I just pulled it up. It's like, at an hour and 13. The movie actually doesn't get started until four minutes in because there's that kind of that opening scene that, you know. Anyway, I. Yeah, I think it works there. And the other thing I. You know, I've been going back through our heroic journey training, and it's been really interesting. It really struck me because Sean talks about how, like, the beginning is the. I'm going to mess up all the actual terms, but, like, it's basically the material we're working with. Right. The first. The beginning is just like, okay, here's all. It's almost like when you you know, if you're like making dinner, the first thing you're supposed to do is get all the ingredients out on the counter, right? So you don't, like, keep piecing it together. You get everything out at once. And so.

And so that's the prima material. And then the. The second quadrant is all about breaking it down. And then the third is when you put it over heat, right. And that's how they purify gold, right? They put it over heat and all the dross come to the top. You rake it off and you have pure gold. And so. And so that's the moment where, like, they break. And that's. You know, I've been thinking a lot about that middle moment is where. That's the moment where they're like, what I'm doing is not working. I'm going to throw everything out and just start doing other things to see what happens. And so that's where she's like, well, fudge it. I'm just going to show up like a baller and just see what happens, because what's the worst that could happen at this point, Right?

Yeah. All right, so we put the middle. The shift into the middle breakdown at the end of the dumpling scene. So where do you. Where do you think we actually kick into the ending payoff? Because originally I had the ending payoff beginning when she arrives at the wedding or like basically going to the arriving at the wedding, but nothing happens really, except her choosing to go to the wedding between the middle breakdown. So I, you know, again, going off the top of my head and not my notes, I would put it pushing all the way to the point where we hit the all is lost moment when she's given, you know, at the scene after the wedding. Because that's where now even though she shifted everything and she's just trying other things, it still didn't work.

Yeah. And I think that's. That's something I was going to mention about. That's what's important about quadrant. Like when you're moving into quadrant three and then through quadrant three is at the start of quadrant three, like you said, like, your protagonist is like, okay, none of this is working. Like, we're going to start over. But then what happens? And the reason that quadrant three is so maddening for the protagonist is that that also doesn't work. And that's how they get driven to that all is lost moment. And so. And the all is lost moment generally does belong in quadrant three. So I would say quadrant three goes all the way through that moment. And it's like, right before she sees Nick, like, so I have the ending payoff starting with her going to see Nick.

Because again, I see.

Oh, her going to see Nick. You think it goes all the way through, like, her time in bed and, like, trying to figure out what to do?

Yeah, because I think that. That the time that she's in bed, like, I think that that incorporates the all is lost moment.

Right.

Because this is like, we see her at the very edge of herself, right? She's been pretty. Like, she kind of bounces back. She's pretty perky. Like, she's like, okay, like, we're just going to try another thing. And she is just laid out in bed. And I think that that's very. I think that's pretty strongly indicative of like. Of like, all is lost. And it just sort of persists as she's sort of like, stuck in the pain of everything that just happened. And so that is. Again, it's her mom that helps her exit her all is lost moment. And that's where she has the insight that, like, full insight of knowing what she needs to do. And then quadrant four, like, like I said, is sort of where the protagonist enacts that final plan based on the transformation that they made in, like, at the end of Y' all is Lost.

Yeah, no, that makes sense. Yeah. I really like that. What happens between. Well, when she starts running through the crowd, because it's. We get a. Like, it's almost like we just saw the worst of what Eleanor will do, and then we get these little glimpse of, like, the worst of this world because everybody's just freak know, doing crazy stuff at this party.

Yeah, but that makes sense. So then. So when do you think it's when her mom. So you. You're saying when she goes to see Nick is when we kick into the ending payoff. Okay. And so walk us. Walk me through, like, the ending payoff and where we see the resolution.

Yeah, so. And I don't have, like, my.

Like, I don't have the video up. So I don't know what percentage that ending payoff is, like, how long it is, but I know that it's interesting because it's not a lot of scenes, but those scenes kind of stretch a surprisingly long period of time, like minutes wise.

Yeah.

And so, yeah, so I have it starting with Nick's proposal. And again, she sort of enacts her plan by refusing his offer of marriage and then going into that final showdown. And usually this cli. Like the climactic moment of your, like, your big choice scene, your revolution scene that generally happens in quadrant four, because it's sort of the. It's like the climax of the story when we see sort of the story and the conflict in all its glory as the protagonist shows down one last time. And so she faces down Eleanor. And that mahjong game lasts actually quite a while also, right? It's sort of like several minutes. And so she makes her declaration to Eleanor. She sort of sets the story straight with her. She and her mom walk out, and then of course, they get on. You know, they finish wrapping up, and Paiklen's like, oh, good job. I'll see you when I see it. And they go and they get on the flight, and then Nick proposes, right? And that's sort of like. That's the resolution, right? That's the true outcome of the decision that she made, is that she wins Eleanor's respect, and then Nick is able to propose again, knowing that they will. They will be able to find a way forward, and then celebrations ensue and all of that good stuff. So that's how I see the resolution of, like, this is the ultimate outcome of the choices that she made.

Yeah. Yeah, I like that. And I like that final scene where they go to the, like, the engagement party. And, you know, it just. It's, you know, again, as we do more of the story grid stuff, and you just pick up on all these things where it's like she gets, like, a final moment with everybody from the entire movie. Like, in the. In that world, at least all the helpers. Right? And.

Yeah, and then even just the nod of respect from the mom because the mom also doesn't show up and, like, give her a big hug or something. Right?

She's still very much Eleanor. She serves as this very, like, stoic background. Like, you know, that's. That's. But that. It seems like that from Eleanor is like, whoa, that's a. That's a big deal.

Yeah, you got a slight nod from her. A slight nod of respect, you know, that's so funny. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Story Grid podcast. As I mentioned at the beginning, if you would like to download the complete story grid analysis of crazy rich Asians, you can visit storygrid.com crazy. Also, make sure you visit storygrid.com to check out all of our free resources and articles if you would like to support the show. You can do that by telling another author about the show or by visiting us at Apple Podcasts and leaving a rating and review thanks as always, for being a part of our StoryGrid community. We will see you next week.