Million Dollar Baby Scene 9 Summary

Scrap Iron's Sock Theory

  • Maggie's in her first fight, and she's losing. In her corner, she asks Sally for help, but he doesn't offer much.
  • Scrap and Frankie watch from the back of the gym. Frankie doesn't like what he's seeing, and offers advice that Maggie can't hear.
  • Scrap suggests without suggesting (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) that Sally might actually want Maggie to lose this fight because it'll make it easier for him to set up the higher profile men's fight that he really wants.
  • Frankie busts butt down to the ring and tells Maggie to keep her left up. Then they fire Sally and Frankie tells the ref that Maggie's his fighter.
  • After that, Maggie knocks the other fighter out in about eight seconds. Frankie beams. Scrap's pretty pleased, too.
  • After the fight, as he cuts the bandages off of Maggie's hands, Frankie reminds Maggie of the rule: protect yourself at all times.
  • Maggie points out that Frankie wasn't exactly protecting her when he pawned her off on Sally, and Frankie promises to never leave her again.
  • Then he asks her if the restaurant where she works makes real, homemade lemon pie (they don't), and tells her to take the weekend off.
  • Cut to Fr. Horvak's church. Frankie's on his way out of mass and once again gives the priest a hard time. Fr. Horvak just walks away.
  • Scrap's narration tells us that all fighters are pig-headed. If they stop being stubborn, then they're not really fighters. Speaking of which…
  • Cut to the Hit Pit. Maggie's there practicing. On the weekend.
  • Up in the office, Frankie complains to Scrap that Maggie won't do anything he tells her to. Meanwhile, Scrap airs out his feet.
  • Frank offers to give Scrap money to buy some new socks, without holes in them, but Scrap says he can't guarantee that moolah won't find it's way to the track. These two old guys love to take the mickey out of one another. Just not the Mickey Mack.