Wow, so much in this one! I don't even know what to say about it. Others have covered a lot of great things so these were just some things that struck me.
If I never see Desperate Travel Agent Philip again it will be too soon.
I like how this ep brings back the two men of God and has them act exactly the way they've always been. Pastor Tim basically covers his own ass while also keeping the secret. Paige was great...her parents were not. in. his. church.
Father Andrei was needy and clingy when Philip first met him and now that's their downfall. Dude insists on an in-person meeting and chats about marriage before casually mentioning they're probably under surveillance. Not that he understood that.
Loved the chase scene. Of all the little details I liked how Philip ducked behind someone on the street before running for just that split second extra.
Lots of Russians telling people it turns out they never "got them." Claudia to Elizabeth, Oleg to Stan, Elizabeth to Paige. Claudia really just is exactly who she always was to the end, calmly eating her soup. I think she'll survive. Elizabeth really did look lost at the idea of not having the Centre, but as ever Claudia doesn't understand the value of Elizabeth's family. I like how Paige just goes back to being the American kid they both always knew she was. Philip is the thing Elizabeth really does still have.
The Paige/Elizabeth scene...what I didn't like was it did feel hugely convenient for Paige to quickly have this conversation that gave her a clue at last. It is a bit of a shame for all her incompetence as a spy to maybe go nowhere, but maybe that was just always part of showing her attitude. And it might come up next week (tragically).
Other than that I really find Paige's weird mind fascinating. This scene seemed to just toss away the fiction that Paige has ever been Russian or even really into the Cause.
This season has had a lot of call-backs to S1. Here we had Elizabeth spitefully but accidentally sending Philip into a trap--he accidentally sent her into a trap in S1 (but not spitefully, and he had to save himself here). Plus S1 had Paige fighting with her mom about the separation and taking Philip's side. Not so much because she always really sides with Philip, but he's handy when Paige is angry at Elizabeth and so no longer currying her favor.
That's what I found so fascinating. Many have said they find it weird that *this* is what turns Paige off after being adjacent to tons of Elizabeth's murders and looking the other way. But it actually makes sense. Paige's obsession has never really been about spying. It's about her parents' marriage. She thought the spying explained it, but it doesn't. In fact her mother just threw her another curve ball with the honeytrapping.
She just confessed to Elizabeth that she has no friends and her biggest fear is being alone but she tells herself someday she'll meet her version of Philip. She's always been jealous of the bond they have. She told Elizabeth in S2 that she saw her and Philip looking out for each other more than the kids--she always understood that they were more deeply bonded to each other. She walked in on them having sex. She's mixed up sex and spying for several seasons. Here again she mixes up Elizabeth's telling her to not spy on her boyfriend with telling Paige who do date or accusing her of only dating people to get info. She imagined affairs for them left and right before she knew the truth.
With Matthew when she broke up with him she complained that he didn't know her at all and all they did was make out. Of course that referred to her not being able to tell him the truth, but in retrospect it's also maybe a frustration--why is she just making out with someone without feeling that closeness?
She's just really struggled, it seemed, with wanting the intimacy her parents have and also being unsure how these two very flawed people deserve it. Here she goes back to her season 1 attitude where Elizabeth is the bad guy. She's never been able to get into Philip's head about the marriage--she's never tried, even. (Even after walking in on them 69-ing it was Elizabeth she fixated on at breakfast.) She identifies more with Elizabeth, tries to be her like that will give her what she wants. All season she's kind of dismissed Philip, having never really seen his spy-side, adopting her mother's attitude. Now she swings back to her mom being a whore and Philip being the innocent partner who rightfully can't stand her.
Then here's Elizabeth telling her Philip knows this--Paige may or may not have understood that Elizabeth was saying that Philip did this too. All the lessons with Claudia can't explain it to her. Yes, people really do have sex for food. Paige really did think that was a joke. She wasn't just laughing out of nervousness or copying them.
I just really like how Paige's story, no matter how easy it was to push it as her being a future spy, is really about a kid obsessed with her parents' marriage and trying to work out that aspect of her life for herself via her mom. Now she's self-righteously going to be with Brian because they really like each other--her relationship is the pure one now. Her mother's is not what it seemed to Paige. Except it actually is. She just doesn't get it.
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timeasmymeasure
Sistermagpie's Thoughts on Jennings, Elizabeth
Date: 2018-05-25 12:10 am (UTC)If I never see Desperate Travel Agent Philip again it will be too soon.
I like how this ep brings back the two men of God and has them act exactly the way they've always been. Pastor Tim basically covers his own ass while also keeping the secret. Paige was great...her parents were not. in. his. church.
Father Andrei was needy and clingy when Philip first met him and now that's their downfall. Dude insists on an in-person meeting and chats about marriage before casually mentioning they're probably under surveillance. Not that he understood that.
Loved the chase scene. Of all the little details I liked how Philip ducked behind someone on the street before running for just that split second extra.
Lots of Russians telling people it turns out they never "got them." Claudia to Elizabeth, Oleg to Stan, Elizabeth to Paige. Claudia really just is exactly who she always was to the end, calmly eating her soup. I think she'll survive. Elizabeth really did look lost at the idea of not having the Centre, but as ever Claudia doesn't understand the value of Elizabeth's family. I like how Paige just goes back to being the American kid they both always knew she was. Philip is the thing Elizabeth really does still have.
The Paige/Elizabeth scene...what I didn't like was it did feel hugely convenient for Paige to quickly have this conversation that gave her a clue at last. It is a bit of a shame for all her incompetence as a spy to maybe go nowhere, but maybe that was just always part of showing her attitude. And it might come up next week (tragically).
Other than that I really find Paige's weird mind fascinating. This scene seemed to just toss away the fiction that Paige has ever been Russian or even really into the Cause.
This season has had a lot of call-backs to S1. Here we had Elizabeth spitefully but accidentally sending Philip into a trap--he accidentally sent her into a trap in S1 (but not spitefully, and he had to save himself here). Plus S1 had Paige fighting with her mom about the separation and taking Philip's side. Not so much because she always really sides with Philip, but he's handy when Paige is angry at Elizabeth and so no longer currying her favor.
That's what I found so fascinating. Many have said they find it weird that *this* is what turns Paige off after being adjacent to tons of Elizabeth's murders and looking the other way. But it actually makes sense. Paige's obsession has never really been about spying. It's about her parents' marriage. She thought the spying explained it, but it doesn't. In fact her mother just threw her another curve ball with the honeytrapping.
She just confessed to Elizabeth that she has no friends and her biggest fear is being alone but she tells herself someday she'll meet her version of Philip. She's always been jealous of the bond they have. She told Elizabeth in S2 that she saw her and Philip looking out for each other more than the kids--she always understood that they were more deeply bonded to each other. She walked in on them having sex. She's mixed up sex and spying for several seasons. Here again she mixes up Elizabeth's telling her to not spy on her boyfriend with telling Paige who do date or accusing her of only dating people to get info. She imagined affairs for them left and right before she knew the truth.
With Matthew when she broke up with him she complained that he didn't know her at all and all they did was make out. Of course that referred to her not being able to tell him the truth, but in retrospect it's also maybe a frustration--why is she just making out with someone without feeling that closeness?
She's just really struggled, it seemed, with wanting the intimacy her parents have and also being unsure how these two very flawed people deserve it. Here she goes back to her season 1 attitude where Elizabeth is the bad guy. She's never been able to get into Philip's head about the marriage--she's never tried, even. (Even after walking in on them 69-ing it was Elizabeth she fixated on at breakfast.) She identifies more with Elizabeth, tries to be her like that will give her what she wants. All season she's kind of dismissed Philip, having never really seen his spy-side, adopting her mother's attitude. Now she swings back to her mom being a whore and Philip being the innocent partner who rightfully can't stand her.
Then here's Elizabeth telling her Philip knows this--Paige may or may not have understood that Elizabeth was saying that Philip did this too. All the lessons with Claudia can't explain it to her. Yes, people really do have sex for food. Paige really did think that was a joke. She wasn't just laughing out of nervousness or copying them.
I just really like how Paige's story, no matter how easy it was to push it as her being a future spy, is really about a kid obsessed with her parents' marriage and trying to work out that aspect of her life for herself via her mom. Now she's self-righteously going to be with Brian because they really like each other--her relationship is the pure one now. Her mother's is not what it seemed to Paige. Except it actually is. She just doesn't get it.