So he's meeting Stan after a failed attempt at connection with another guy and when he says Robert was his friend he knows they didn't really get a chance to be that.
I always kind of got the same feeling... like I think it really serves to highlight how lonely their lives are as spies. Rob was the closest thing Philip could have to a "friend" and yet, it's obvious that's a pretty pale version of friendship if he doesn't share he has a wife, they probably only see each other occasionally for missions. And yet, that's really the best Philip can do. He's got a wife who won't let him get close, is grasping at straws with this "friendship" and has to lie to everyone else. You can really see why he would reach out to Stan a little bit in desperation even though it's obvious that's just such a bad idea on some levels.
So the scene in the kitchen where Philip comes onto Elizabeth--proof that they have a physical relationship outside of producing kids, but watching it now I think it plays as something that Philip is trying out rather than just a usual thing. That is, I assume that most of their encounters come from Philip giving it a shot and seeing if she'll go for it that time, but I hadn't remembered how his defection contemplation is all under the surface in this ep. So now I'm seeing it as he listens to the tape in the context of Elizabeth just having sex for her job, and then his later pass is trying out sex for affection/pleasure's sake with his "You're my wife" being less about possession/entitlement and more about the idea that they have this relationship that they can't enjoy.
That scene is still up in the air for me, although I could definitely see it that way. Like, I firmly believe they have some sort of regular sexual relationship, if only for the fact that Elizabeth doesn't seem surprised when he comes up behind her, and that Philip is so devastated when some of the later season revelations come out. I don't think Elizabeth would have ever initiated, or even participated much if at all, probably just lying there and sort of going along with it because they're married and she's expected to, but for me it would seem not to fit that he would've never gotten suspicious of her if there wasn't at least somewhat the ruse of her going along with it at times, tolerating occasional attempts at affection just enough to throw him a bone. I took the whole "You're my wife" less as a possessive thing and more as "You're pulling a knife on me? You're my wife!" (so don't attack me in our kitchen like kissing your neck is such a crime.)
It's got to be a big deal to Elizabeth, too, to realize how much it effects her that Philip is loyal to her rather than the KGB since her belief about herself was always that she needed someone who shared her loyalty to the KGB. Gregory would never have considered defecting, but he also would have killed Timoshev as a traitor rather than for Elizabeth.
In the car afterward I think Philip must be pretty wary/defiant of Elizabeth's reaction because he knows he's shown his hand about his potential disloyalty as a KGB officer, yet he's unapologetic about his devotion to her. He's not quite sure of her motives and intentions for a long time after she starts kissing him. Or maybe ever. He's really watching her the whole time, like other times where she's confessing her feelings to him.
Yes, this. Just watching Elizabeth's reactions in the garage and in the car, it's just absolute shock. Like she's seeing him for the first time, practically, and that the idea someone could put HER first rather than the cause could feel so good (like in a sinful way, from her POV, since everything's supposed to be for the cause, not personal.) You can still see her sort of reeling from that in their bedroom the following night when she reaches for his hand, the same woman who'd been ready to beat him up in the garage all shy and a little uncertain as she reached for his hand.
And I love the times when Elizabeth takes action and Philip just observes her because I think that just goes back to what a spy he is. Always trying to gather information about who the real Elizabeth is, little differently than he'd do in the field (except of course, here it's personal.)
God, I forgot even Zhukov is anti-Philip. Very big deal that Elizabeth vouches for him so dishonestly there (again, she's adjusting her loyalties/priorities).
That scene is weird for me, and hard to square in my head. It kind of makes me wonder if they couldn't get a handle on how they wanted Zhukov to come down on the whole Philip issue. Because here, you're right, he seems pretty anti-Philip. But in "Covert War" he couldn't have been more pro-Philip if he tried. Having little chats about love, constantly asking what Philip thought of their family, practically shoving Elizabeth towards him every time they met up over the years. I've never been able to get the two to fit.
One thing I noticed about the episode (and this is really shallow!) is how much better I liked Philip's hairstyle in the pilot and the early part of the season. I think it makes him look younger/fitter versus later in the season where they kept kind of combing it to get it halfheartedly to be fluffy when it really wanted to curl. Not my favorite look for him. I think it looks better curly, at whatever length, unless they're actually going to go full out and make it straight.
I liked the kid stuff a lot here, and I kind of missed the family dynamic at points in the season. Like the scene in the mall and the breakfast stuff added some levity at points that was nice. Certainly that won't be a good fit with the tone of every episode, but that was one thing watching that I really liked and missed later on.
And I LOVED watching Elizabeth in the garage scene because Keri Russell just played the heck out of it. So furious when she yelled at Philip, and so perfectly focused on Timoshev as she stood over him with the tire iron. You could really feel the raw emotion in that scene, and it was just great.
Re: So much better on rewatch!
I always kind of got the same feeling... like I think it really serves to highlight how lonely their lives are as spies. Rob was the closest thing Philip could have to a "friend" and yet, it's obvious that's a pretty pale version of friendship if he doesn't share he has a wife, they probably only see each other occasionally for missions. And yet, that's really the best Philip can do. He's got a wife who won't let him get close, is grasping at straws with this "friendship" and has to lie to everyone else. You can really see why he would reach out to Stan a little bit in desperation even though it's obvious that's just such a bad idea on some levels.
That scene is still up in the air for me, although I could definitely see it that way. Like, I firmly believe they have some sort of regular sexual relationship, if only for the fact that Elizabeth doesn't seem surprised when he comes up behind her, and that Philip is so devastated when some of the later season revelations come out. I don't think Elizabeth would have ever initiated, or even participated much if at all, probably just lying there and sort of going along with it because they're married and she's expected to, but for me it would seem not to fit that he would've never gotten suspicious of her if there wasn't at least somewhat the ruse of her going along with it at times, tolerating occasional attempts at affection just enough to throw him a bone. I took the whole "You're my wife" less as a possessive thing and more as "You're pulling a knife on me? You're my wife!" (so don't attack me in our kitchen like kissing your neck is such a crime.)
Yes, this. Just watching Elizabeth's reactions in the garage and in the car, it's just absolute shock. Like she's seeing him for the first time, practically, and that the idea someone could put HER first rather than the cause could feel so good (like in a sinful way, from her POV, since everything's supposed to be for the cause, not personal.) You can still see her sort of reeling from that in their bedroom the following night when she reaches for his hand, the same woman who'd been ready to beat him up in the garage all shy and a little uncertain as she reached for his hand.
And I love the times when Elizabeth takes action and Philip just observes her because I think that just goes back to what a spy he is. Always trying to gather information about who the real Elizabeth is, little differently than he'd do in the field (except of course, here it's personal.)
That scene is weird for me, and hard to square in my head. It kind of makes me wonder if they couldn't get a handle on how they wanted Zhukov to come down on the whole Philip issue. Because here, you're right, he seems pretty anti-Philip. But in "Covert War" he couldn't have been more pro-Philip if he tried. Having little chats about love, constantly asking what Philip thought of their family, practically shoving Elizabeth towards him every time they met up over the years. I've never been able to get the two to fit.
One thing I noticed about the episode (and this is really shallow!) is how much better I liked Philip's hairstyle in the pilot and the early part of the season. I think it makes him look younger/fitter versus later in the season where they kept kind of combing it to get it halfheartedly to be fluffy when it really wanted to curl. Not my favorite look for him. I think it looks better curly, at whatever length, unless they're actually going to go full out and make it straight.
I liked the kid stuff a lot here, and I kind of missed the family dynamic at points in the season. Like the scene in the mall and the breakfast stuff added some levity at points that was nice. Certainly that won't be a good fit with the tone of every episode, but that was one thing watching that I really liked and missed later on.
And I LOVED watching Elizabeth in the garage scene because Keri Russell just played the heck out of it. So furious when she yelled at Philip, and so perfectly focused on Timoshev as she stood over him with the tire iron. You could really feel the raw emotion in that scene, and it was just great.