The first sitting of the new Assembly starkly showed how last week's election has changed the power dynamics at Stormont.
Sinn Féin as the largest party sits to the Speaker's right where the lead unionist grouping had sat for more than two decades.
The DUP as second-largest has swapped with Sinn Fein to now sit on the left-hand side.
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Alliance is still in the middle of the horseshoe but its numbers have swelled, encroaching toward the so-called "naughty corner" where TUV leader Jim Allister still sits as his party's lone voice.
There were other milestones too. Michelle O'Neill told MLAs she stands ready to "take on the leadership of the Northern Ireland Executive as a First Minister for all".
In a bid to reach out to unionists it was the first time the Sinn Féin vice-president has said "Northern Ireland" in the Assembly, a party source told the BBC.
Her Sinn Féin colleague Aisling O'Reilly delivered the first full speech in Irish in the chamber, making use of new simultaneous language interpreter facilities.
"Irish is not a threat to any member or member of society. It is something to be celebrated," the West Belfast MLA said as Gaeilge.
But proceedings were overshadowed before they had begun after the DUP confirmed it would block the election of a new Speaker, which requires cross-community support.
It was well signposted before Friday's sitting that the DUP would refuse to nominate a Deputy First Minister in protest against Brexit's Protocol, preventing the formation of a new Stormont Executive.
Ministers still in post from the old administration and re-elected to Stormont will remain in office in a limited caretaker capacity.
Electing a new Speaker would have allowed the Assembly to largely resume. MLAs would have been able to debate legislation in the chamber, bring forward motions and scrutinise the decisions of caretaker ministers.
Without the role being re-filled, the Assembly cannot function. The outgoing Speaker, Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey, remains in post until his successor is elected.
While there is no Assembly, MLAs will still collect their salaries. One by one, they filed into the chamber to sign the roll of membership for a chamber that will stay empty.
From a DUP perspective this is about upping the ante with the UK government and European Union to quickly resolve its concerns over Irish Sea trade checks.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's party also does not want a reinstated Assembly chamber being used as a pulpit from which political opponents can attack the party for vetoing devolved government.
It also buys time for the DUP to come to terms with the psychological blow of unionism having to accept the Deputy First Minister role with Sinn Féin in the First Minister post.
For most others in the Assembly, the DUP stands accused of holding Stormont to ransom against the wishes of the majority of the electorate.
Alliance Leader Naomi Long called for those who did not support the appointment of a Speaker to have their salaries withdrawn.
"To turn up here, to sign in, to take salaries and to refuse to take seats is a slap in the face for every family that struggles to make ends meet, for every person who sits on a waiting list," she told MLAs.
So what next? Caretaker ministers can remain in post for up to 24 weeks without a new Executive being formed.
If there is still no new government by then, Secretary of State Brandon Lewis is required to call a snap election within 12 weeks.
Provided Westminster does not move the goalposts, it means there could be another election by mid-January 2023 at the latest.
For now, the Stormont Assembly falls silent. For how long is anyone's guess.
Read more: A 'first day at school' feeling for new MLAs - but how long will term last?
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