"Look at me. LOOKATME!!! (he does) HOW DARE YOU! Close your eyes!"
As with other films directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the film has moments of Black Comedy.
- Sarah's Brutal Honesty of telling Queen Anne that her makeup makes her look like a badger, then telling her to go back to her room as you would a child.
- Right after that as Queen Anne heads back to her room, she accuses the footman of looking at her. She then yells at him to look at her, only to yell at him again for doing so.
- While Abigail is reading a book in the forest, Masham is hiding behind the tree where she's reading the book. Moments later, we see Masham frighten Abigail and they run after each other.
- When Queen Anne proposes giving Sarah her own castle:Sarah: It is a monstrous extravagance, Mrs. Morley, we are at war.Queen Anne: We won!Sarah: No, it is not over. We must continue.Queen Anne: (sheepishly) Oh! Oh, I did not know that.
- Abigail's wedding night. In line with the film's dismissive treatment of its male characters, all her husband gets is a distracted handjob while Abigail schemes aloud. He very much enjoys it, though, and after he orgasms, she absentmindedly wipes her hand.
- Sarah describing Harley as smelling like "a 97-year old French whore's vajoojoo"
- Lord Harley pressures Abigail for information on the Queen, despite her already telling him about the tax increase. Abigail responds by faking tears until Harley gets uncomfortable and makes a typically deadpan and awkward exit.
- Abigail recalls that her father lost her in a card game, forcing her to live with a fat German count. "Thankfully, I convinced him our periods last for 28 days".
- After Harley gives a speech thanking Queen Anne for not cutting the tax and ending the war, we wait for Queen Anne to give her speech, but instead, she faints, having been pressured by Harley's speech.
- As the men in the court meeting get into a heated debate, Harley strokes his cane mockingly.
- Abigail's shocked expression when she notices Queen Anne and Sarah in bed together.
- The dance scene. Particularly this moment
◊. - This exchange, when Sarah and Abigail are out shooting:Abigail: May I ask you something?Sarah: As long as you realize I have a gun.
- And the payoff, as Sarah fires an (unloaded) gun at Abigail, scaring her a lot, in response to Abigail saying she saw her get intimate with the queen.
- When Sarah finds herself at a bordello after being dragged through the woods:Sarah: Where am I?Prostitute: You're in heaven. (gestures at a pasty, unattractive man in the throes of sex) That's God over there.
- Harley quite literally throwing a tantrum and trying not to cry in front of Sarah and Godolphin. Sarah tells him that his mascara is running.
- Two words: duck racing. It's shot in slow-motion and made to look as awesome as possible, with the spectators screaming and cheering with excitement as these ducks waddle around in a circle.
- "I sent for some lobsters. I thought we could race them and then eat them."
- Harley and a group of other men throwing fruit at a naked man, apparently for entertainment. What really sells it is the look of faint, unimpressed disgust and bemusement on Abigail's face as she walks in on it. No explanation beyond the implicit 'it's the early 18th century and rich people had strange hobbies' (see the duck racing mentioned above) is ever given for it.
- When Abigail refuses to betray Sarah's confidence, Harley distracts her by pretending to see a bird, then pushes her into some mud and/or shit, with a very nonchalant, "Sorry!"
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: If you have seen My Cousin Rachel (2017), it is somehow funny to see Rachel Weisz's character being poisoned from drinking tea, then having a horseriding accident.
- After being ejected from the palace, Sarah tries to make amends with the Queen. She has some trouble getting the right tone of her letter."You...cunt."
- When Masham appears in Abigail's room, her mind of course goes to the obvious conclusion:Abigail: Are you here to seduce me, or rape me?
Masham: I am a gentleman.
Abigail: (in an incredibly bored tone) So rape then. (falls back on her bed, arms spread)
