How funny, I was just recently ruminating over the name issue while working on a chapter! They're so good about having the Russian names used in their various forms, nicknames, formal names, etc, but rarely do we see the American names done the same.
I think Philip is the an exception, though. Stan calls him 'Phil' all the time, and I believe in the scene where they meet Stan, Philip introduces himself as the same. I see that as indicative of his character--he slides into the skin of Philip Jennings quite easily and eventually starts to become him, identifying with him more than Mischa, where with Elizabeth, she's always putting on an act. She wouldn't relax and be "Liz" because that would be one little step closer to growing too comfortable as Elizabeth Jennings, when in her mind, she's always Nadezhda, playing a part in service to her country. And I don't think she'd call Philip "Phil" because that would kind of speak to the same fear she's had all along that he's getting too comfortable in their "fake" life too.
And now I'm trying to remember if Elizabeth called Robert "Rob" during the car scene... I need to rewatch! But I definitely agree with you that they've shown a fondness for formal names... an interesting topic to think about. They also call Matthew Beeman "Matthew" most (if not all, not sure) of the time, even though that's a name that's so commonly shortened. And a lot of the names they choose are ones that don't really have/need nicknames: Paige, Henry, Sandra, Nina, Claudia, Frank, Martha, Clark.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-08-04 02:00 pm (UTC)I think Philip is the an exception, though. Stan calls him 'Phil' all the time, and I believe in the scene where they meet Stan, Philip introduces himself as the same. I see that as indicative of his character--he slides into the skin of Philip Jennings quite easily and eventually starts to become him, identifying with him more than Mischa, where with Elizabeth, she's always putting on an act. She wouldn't relax and be "Liz" because that would be one little step closer to growing too comfortable as Elizabeth Jennings, when in her mind, she's always Nadezhda, playing a part in service to her country. And I don't think she'd call Philip "Phil" because that would kind of speak to the same fear she's had all along that he's getting too comfortable in their "fake" life too.
And now I'm trying to remember if Elizabeth called Robert "Rob" during the car scene... I need to rewatch! But I definitely agree with you that they've shown a fondness for formal names... an interesting topic to think about. They also call Matthew Beeman "Matthew" most (if not all, not sure) of the time, even though that's a name that's so commonly shortened. And a lot of the names they choose are ones that don't really have/need nicknames: Paige, Henry, Sandra, Nina, Claudia, Frank, Martha, Clark.