Close Encounters of the Third Kind Scene 23 Summary

  • An unknown amount of time later, Roy is a sweaty, muddy mess after building a huge plateau-looking sculpture in his living room.
  • After a quick commercial from our sponsors—Budweiser, the beer of choice for UFO-obsessed recluses the world over—a news broadcast comes on TV.
  • The anchorman reports on a train disaster that's released a dangerous chemical gas near Devils Tower, Wyoming. Devils Tower looks suspiciously like the sculpture Roy's constructed.
  • Roy gets a phone call from Ronnie, and he agrees to do whatever it takes to get the family back together.
  • Meanwhile, the audience is seeing Devils Tower on TV (with Roy's sculpture in the shot at the same time) and we're screaming at Roy to look at it.
  • After an eternity (it seems), Roy turns his attention to the news broadcast and notices Devils Tower. He has a shock of recognition.
  • So does Jillian. She's also watching the TV and recognizes Devils Tower as the same mountain she's been obsessively drawing for weeks. A look of relief and joy comes over her face. She seems to know that Barry will be there.