Proposal Rejected—Labor Begins
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Andy's water breaks abruptly, shifting the focus from their emotional confrontation to immediate practical concerns.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Firm and resolute in rejecting what she sees as an incompatible future; transforms into startled urgency and vulnerability at the onset of labor.
Andy is blindfolded, surprised by the reveal, declines the proposal with forceful clarity about Toby's emotional distance, leaves the house to sit by the car, and abruptly reports that her water has broken.
- • Be honest about her needs and protect her future children from a depressive emotional climate.
- • Refuse a marriage she believes will repeat past harm or emotional withholding.
- • Regain physical space to collect herself after the confrontation.
- • Children need a parent who is emotionally available and warm, not burdened by sadness.
- • Toby's sadness is stable and unlikely to change sufficiently for the family she envisions.
- • A grand gesture cannot substitute for emotional intimacy and consistent warmth.
Not present on-screen; functions as a social marker and symbol of aspiration rather than an emotional actor.
Jefferson Wyler is invoked as the property's owner whose house Andy has long admired; he is the unseen origin of the 'dream house' symbol but does not actively participate in the scene's present action.
- • As owner, implicitly represents social status and the possibility of domestic stability.
- • His existence enables the proposal's premise (the 'dream house').
- • Ownership and social signifiers influence romantic imaginings.
- • Possessions can be markers of success that others covet.
Hopeful and anxious that his gesture will bridge distance; flustered and wounded when rejected; immediately shifts into alarmed caretaker when labor begins.
Toby drives Andy to the house, blindfolds and guides her, reveals he bought the house, proposes, suffers a blunt emotional rejection, and rushes outside when Andy announces her water broke.
- • Close the emotional gap with Andy and secure a commitment (proposal).
- • Demonstrate tangible change and readiness for family life by offering the house.
- • Recover the moment when Andy refuses and attempt to persuade or explain.
- • Material gestures can demonstrate seriousness and alter relational dynamics.
- • He can fix the relationship through concrete sacrifices (moving out, buying house).
- • If he shows commitment publicly, Andy will reciprocate emotionally.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Toby uses the blindfold as the core surprise mechanism — it creates suspense, denies Andy visual context, and heightens the emotional reveal when removed, turning the reveal into a staged theatrical moment.
The car functions as transport, staging platform, and the location where the crisis becomes immediate — Andy leans against it after rejecting Toby and then announces that her water has broken, forcing the private scene into urgent action.
The low-hanging chandelier punctuates the sequence physically and tonally — Toby walks into it while nervous, producing a comic, awkward beat that undercuts the earnestness of the proposal and exposes his clumsiness.
The front door is actively used by Toby to usher Andy from the car into the house and later to go outside after she leaves; it frames the threshold between staged intimacy and public exposure where the rupture and crisis play out.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The walkway is the liminal path where anticipation builds: Toby leads blindfolded Andy along it toward the house, converting ordinary neighborhood ground into the staged approach to a life-changing reveal.
The car's immediate exterior space functions as the scene of rupture fallout and the spot where Andy's labor begins — a public, exposed place that turns an intimate argument into an urgent, physical emergency.
Toby's apartment is mentioned as the domestic life he claims to be leaving behind; it functions narratively as the material sacrifice he has made to prove commitment but is not physically present in the scene.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Toby's romantic gesture with the house leads to Andy's rejection, revealing their marital issues."
"Toby's support during Andy's labor contrasts with their earlier marital conflict."
"Toby's romantic gesture with the house leads to Andy's rejection, revealing their marital issues."
"Andy's water breaking leads directly to the hospital scene where labor begins."
Key Dialogue
"TOBY: Um... will you marry me?"
"ANDY: You're just too sad for me, Toby."
"ANDY: My water broke."