So Paige still seems as confused about what she's doing as ever. She's still angry at her mother telling her not to do amateur spying that nobody told her to do.
Paige may be confused about what she's doing because Elizabeth and Claudia are withholding most of the truth from her. Claudia's 'culture/history' lessons don't mean squat to Paige except for how that all helps her to bond with her mom. Paige is doing all of this only for her mom's approval. She can intellectually understand that Elizabeth is doing it for her country, but Russia isn't Paige's country so no amount of 'oh poor Russia' stories are going to mean anything to Paige. She senses that there's more to spying than just following dudes around taking pictures, but neither Elizabeth or Claudia will tell her what else is involved. So she resorts to reading books on her own but her questions about honeypots, etc. get deflected by Elizabeth who is afraid to admit to Paige what she really does. Elizabeth basks in Paige's adoration but is trying stupidly to retain Paige's childish innocence. But Paige isn't a child anymore, hence her getting cranky about who she can/can't sleep with, etc. I've been thinking about how Paige hesitated and steeled herself before she entered Claudia's apartment. Possibly she was anticipating another lecture, but I suspect that Paige is getting fed up with being treated like a kid. She thinks she's a cool spy now but she's still being kept almost entirely in the dark by the very person (her mom) who should be being brutally honest with her right now.
Re: Paige losing control
Paige may be confused about what she's doing because Elizabeth and Claudia are withholding most of the truth from her. Claudia's 'culture/history' lessons don't mean squat to Paige except for how that all helps her to bond with her mom. Paige is doing all of this only for her mom's approval. She can intellectually understand that Elizabeth is doing it for her country, but Russia isn't Paige's country so no amount of 'oh poor Russia' stories are going to mean anything to Paige. She senses that there's more to spying than just following dudes around taking pictures, but neither Elizabeth or Claudia will tell her what else is involved. So she resorts to reading books on her own but her questions about honeypots, etc. get deflected by Elizabeth who is afraid to admit to Paige what she really does. Elizabeth basks in Paige's adoration but is trying stupidly to retain Paige's childish innocence. But Paige isn't a child anymore, hence her getting cranky about who she can/can't sleep with, etc. I've been thinking about how Paige hesitated and steeled herself before she entered Claudia's apartment. Possibly she was anticipating another lecture, but I suspect that Paige is getting fed up with being treated like a kid. She thinks she's a cool spy now but she's still being kept almost entirely in the dark by the very person (her mom) who should be being brutally honest with her right now.