The main thing that really stands out to me is the kids factor. It's obvious that the kids are one area where they both agree on - at least in terms of parenting styles. They've put a lot of effort into it ("We swore! We swore we would never tell them!"/"I'm not finished with them, they can be socialists -" "They will never be socialists.") The way they look at Henry when he's describing the science stuff at the end...that was so cute.
I disagree with people who say there there wasn't any physical contact/romance on anyone other than Philip's part. The ice cream Olympics suggested that they'd done playful things like that before and she'd participated. Holding the coffee cup out suggests that they'd filled each other's coffee before. At the beginning of their relationship, he backed off really quickly when she shut him down. This time he kept it up despite hearing her say "stop", so rather than reading "disinterested", I think he thought she meant "not in front of the kids" or "not now". Her behavior is off, in this episode, but we don't know that upon first watch because this is our first time seeing her. But having her rapist locked in her trunk is upsetting her, I think he was trying to console her, that they'd get orders, that the mission wasn't a failure. Obviously he didn't know Timoshev raped her.
The car scene was easier to understand the second time around, I thought it was two because I got Rob and Timoshev mixed up (I have really poor facial recognition skills).
I liked the Western stuff for Philip, it kind of ties into the cowboy "law in your own hands" nature that spies have, especially with no direction coming from the Rezidentura then. They had to decide what to do. Plus, they arrived in the 60s and Bonanza was on for 14 years in addition to other westerns. Cowboys are also pretty well known in Russia/the former USSR. When I was there, one of my fellow tourists wore a pair of cowboy boots and every single Russian checked them out and several women complimented them.
The fact that her name is Nadezhda makes me want to cry. It's Russian for "hope". (I also named my Russian blue cat Nadezhda for Elizabeth's character. I'm disappointed nobody calls her Nadya.) I also hate not knowing her father's name, not knowing a Russian's last name feels like not knowing someone's last name here in America.
Sandra's character doesn't do anything for me in the pilot, but she does grow on me.
The NHL thing, mentioned above, I think it was just an aspect they'd never talked about before. They probably only met when they had to do joint missions and they couldn't talk to each other regularly because of secrecy, sports wouldn't be something they'd be able to bond over since months probably went by before they heard from/saw one another again. And they can trust each other without knowing too much about each other - they were fellow spies, each was just as responsible for other's life.
no subject
I disagree with people who say there there wasn't any physical contact/romance on anyone other than Philip's part. The ice cream Olympics suggested that they'd done playful things like that before and she'd participated. Holding the coffee cup out suggests that they'd filled each other's coffee before. At the beginning of their relationship, he backed off really quickly when she shut him down. This time he kept it up despite hearing her say "stop", so rather than reading "disinterested", I think he thought she meant "not in front of the kids" or "not now". Her behavior is off, in this episode, but we don't know that upon first watch because this is our first time seeing her. But having her rapist locked in her trunk is upsetting her, I think he was trying to console her, that they'd get orders, that the mission wasn't a failure. Obviously he didn't know Timoshev raped her.
The car scene was easier to understand the second time around, I thought it was two because I got Rob and Timoshev mixed up (I have really poor facial recognition skills).
I liked the Western stuff for Philip, it kind of ties into the cowboy "law in your own hands" nature that spies have, especially with no direction coming from the Rezidentura then. They had to decide what to do. Plus, they arrived in the 60s and Bonanza was on for 14 years in addition to other westerns. Cowboys are also pretty well known in Russia/the former USSR. When I was there, one of my fellow tourists wore a pair of cowboy boots and every single Russian checked them out and several women complimented them.
The fact that her name is Nadezhda makes me want to cry. It's Russian for "hope". (I also named my Russian blue cat Nadezhda for Elizabeth's character. I'm disappointed nobody calls her Nadya.) I also hate not knowing her father's name, not knowing a Russian's last name feels like not knowing someone's last name here in America.
Sandra's character doesn't do anything for me in the pilot, but she does grow on me.
The NHL thing, mentioned above, I think it was just an aspect they'd never talked about before. They probably only met when they had to do joint missions and they couldn't talk to each other regularly because of secrecy, sports wouldn't be something they'd be able to bond over since months probably went by before they heard from/saw one another again. And they can trust each other without knowing too much about each other - they were fellow spies, each was just as responsible for other's life.