theamericans | Season one group rewatch: the pilot

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episode discussion

Season one group rewatch: the pilot

This is the discussion post for the pilot episode in the group rewatch of season one. When you rewatched the episode, was there anything you noticed that you didn't notice the first time (and any subsequent times) you saw it? What things about it did you perhaps view differently after having seen the later episodes?

You can expect spoilers for the entire first season in the comments.

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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.

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.

That was actually what I meant. Not that they don't really trust each other in some profound ways, but that they don't get to spend a lot of time together so they don't know the kinds of little quirks, details and preferences that, for instance, have become such second nature to Philip and Elizabeth. Philip's question, to me, shows that he's somebody who wants to know those kinds of things about Robert, who is interested in his friend as a person etc. but who hasn't had lots of time to just hang out with the guy. That's also reflected even in the way he's looking for ways to smooth things with Robert where he and Elizabeth have become a well-oiled machine through practice. So when he finds out that Robert had a secret life, he might be surprised at it, but he can't be too surprised that Robert hadn't confided in him, I don't think.

That just seemed important because the show's always looking at the ways that intimacy and familiarity can effect relationships or not. And seeing it again I realized that things I'd mistakenly thought were telling me these two guys were very familiar with each other were actually telling me that they weren't.

Ah, I guess I misunderstood. I agree with you then.

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.

I like your take on this, because I find it difficult to accept that Philip and Elizabeth had lived together for 20 years without developing some sort of relationship.

Like, I think they definitely had SOME sort of relationship, and I actually believe Elizabeth had some sort of feelings for him in there too. I doubt she was cold to him all the time, or that she was cold to the kids all the time. I could see things being hard at first, but the longer they lived together, he really wasn't "a strange man" and it really wasn't "a strange house" to her any more. I think they would've developed a comfort level around each other once Elizabeth determined he wasn't going to rape her like Timoshev had. And while I think a huge part of things for Elizabeth centers on control (of her feelings, of her behavior in order to control his behavior), I would find it harder to believe that she'd gone 20 years and NEVER felt any twinge of attraction or fondness for him and then suddenly was all hot for him in the car, versus that she'd occasionally had an inkling something like that could be there, but it scared her or upset her and the ramifications conflicted with control issues, and what they were there to do so she kept it locked away inside. And then the events of the pilot made it where that just wasn't possible any more.

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.

I actually agree with all of this. They were definitely comfortable with each other physically and there's no question they slept together outside of making the kids. And I think Elizabeth even enjoys some of Philip's soft touches at times--like the ice cream game with the kids. She was smiling at points before he got ice cream on her nose :). But I do think sex and staying in control of how close people can get to her is a huge issue with Elizabeth. It affects every relationship she has that we've seen except for the one with her mother (and that may or may not even be the case since we haven't seen them interact since she was a little girl.) So I think that's part of why Philip looks so shocked when she comes onto him in the car. Clearly the sex part wasn't new. The kissing him part looked like they never did it. The coming on to him part looked like it had never happened that way before, like he always had to initiate and she just sort of tolerated it.

Oh, definitely, she needs to feel in control for sex and closeness.

I don't know if she just tolerated it, but I think he was definitely the one to initiate. Sometimes Philip's love for her and the way he displays it is a bit creepy (listening to the tape, continuing to kiss her and play with her hair after he said stop) but I think it comes from wanting to know what she enjoys and she doesn't really respond all that often. I think the brownie/knife/kiss scene was after he'd listened to the tape where she'd told the guy she wanted him to be stronger, so I think he might have been playing on that, thinking that was what she wanted.

It's interesting because Philip is really left to just guess so much of the time. It's like he always has to be a spy, even at home, because his wife won't/can't just flat out communicate with anyone if it's about a topic that makes her uncomfortable.

The whole "stop" thing is interesting to watch from both their sides because from Elizabeth's you see it as one way because of knowing about the rape and how she's having some stress brought up again about it, and then it's hard to "unknow" that when looking from Philip's. In later episodes, they both seem to get in each other's space at times even after being told not to, like when Philip tells Elizabeth his injury "is fine" and she proceeds to lift his shirt up anyway, and it doesn't appear to be an issue.

Hey, welcome to the comm! :) It's great to see a livejournal user here.

-J

Thanks, I think I saw your posts about this comm on Tumblr (the gecko in your icon) so I headed over here. I need to discuss this show!

Forgot I wanted to say things about the rest of the post too!

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.

I agree and the more I think about it, this is a huge thing. I think it must form a huge part of their bond and affection for each other. Because I agree also that it doesn't seem like Elizabeth was just cold to Philip while he was affectionate with her. It's one of the things that struck me in watching the scenes with Robert is that I think there are hints that years of familiarity have probably changed the way they understand each other.

For instance, I think in a later ep Elizabeth has a line of something like "Well, I know it can't be too serious because you're still making jokes." It probably took her a while to get a handle on how and when Philip joked, what was behind it, because we know that she herself finds joking a little awkward (as we see when she tries to make one). But at this point she's clearly comfortable with it, it doesn't get on her nerves, and she actively enjoys it in relaxing moments, especially with the kids. I think for both of them watching the other person with the kids might show them the other person's best self and make them really value the other person.

So yeah, there's really no indication that Elizabeth doesn't have plenty of affection for Philip by the pilot, even if we're seeing her in moments when she's being standoffish. I don't think she often made specifically romantic gestures towards him simply because she's so truthful that way and she herself admits that she wasn't in love with him. But that doesn't mean she never showed him genuine affection or was never physically attracted to him.

I does still play to me that Philip pushing boundaries with her in that kitchen scene, but I don't think the boundaries he's pushing are sexual, if that makes sense. And in the ice cream scene he's trying to draw her out and sees it doesn't work, but not because he's never been able to draw her out. He just doesn't know what's weighing on her mind yet.

That seems like one of the unique things about the show, that the excitement doesn't come from newness. They're not two people who've just met, and they're not friends who've just now started thinking of each other romantically. They're an arranged marriage that worked really well and is just now getting more passionate.

Great analysis.

I agree with all of this, except for the boundaries he pushing not being sexual. I think, in a way, they are. He's looking for something that shows she returns his feelings and when he listened to the tape, he heard her say she wished that the guy would be stronger. I think he acted on that, believing it to be the truth for how she liked men in bed. I think she was telling the truth. If she had to see that guy again, she'd rather be able to hate him for being lousy in bed or distance herself from it by making it less...loving isn't the word I want. Having it feel less intimate by utilizing force? I can't word it very well.

But yeah, they already have a relationship and it's clear that there have been little things along the way that build on that. Like the necklace he gives to Martha, Elizabeth knows giving him *that* necklace to take to her will upset him because of what meaning it had between the two of them, no matter how often she wore it or didn't wear it. I wonder if we've seen her wearing that necklace in any of the episodes, I should go back and check.

I can see there being a sexual aspect as well--though to me it's always hard for me to imagine taking what she says on the tape as truthful because she's using it to trick the guy into impressing her with the information she wants. She tells him she needs him to be stronger and he immediately takes that as a hit on his manhood that he makes up for with bragging about the Russian spy he's got--and Philip shakes his head at how well it works, I thought. But then, Philip may actually figure he might as well try that out since he never had before. Like even if he knows that she's playing the guy on the tape, he can't help but wonder if she would respond to him being more forceful.

How they are with their marks is another system they've worked out--they don't tell each other the details of what they have to get up to out there. So Philip listening to the tape at all might be a breaking of the rules, seeing how she works, just as Elizabeth has that line when she sees the pictures Anneleise takes later and says "You didn't tell me she looked like that." There seems to be a mutual agreement about letting the other person have some privacy for their fake sex lives, so even after all this time there's a sense of the unknown there: what is Elizabeth like when she's the seducer? What is Philip like when he's with each of these different women? So Philip absolutely could be trying on a different sexual persona in the kitchen, just a bit, based on ideas he got off the tape.

I go back and forth on that point too (I think I've changed my mind every time we discuss it!) because on the one hand, I'm so reluctant to believe anything they say while honey-trapping. It's all tailor-fitted to coax information out of their marks, which is why Philip's different alter egos are completely different, even sexually, with Annaliese than we see him with Martha.

I kind of see the "stronger" aspect as maybe not intending to be directly true, but having some truth to it too. Like one aspect of Philip is that he's very shifty and slippery and hard to get a handle on. It's hard for Elizabeth to trust his motivations, and to trust that what he feels for her is special and unique, rather than that he seduces her as easily as he does the other women, so I kind of wonder if by "stronger" it could mean "steadier" or maybe "give me something I can trust about you." And I definitely think there's a "strength" component to it when he kills Timoshev and that's so meaningful to her, not that she couldn't have killed him herself, just that when put to the test, Philip wasn't slippery at all in his convictions. He's firm as a rock that he will defend and protect his family above all else and doesn't hesitate to kill the guy who raped her despite losing $3 million and giving up the security he's been arguing the whole time they need. Up until that point, it had to look to Elizabeth like he was a sellout who would betray their country for a payout, but that one act proved that in fact, it wasn't that he was a "weak" sellout, but that he was willing to do anything to protect her, Henry and Paige, an act of strength.

Edited 2013-09-01 19:46 (UTC)

And in the ice cream scene he's trying to draw her out and sees it doesn't work, but not because he's never been able to draw her out. He just doesn't know what's weighing on her mind yet.

That seems like one of the unique things about the show, that the excitement doesn't come from newness. They're not two people who've just met, and they're not friends who've just now started thinking of each other romantically. They're an arranged marriage that worked really well and is just now getting more passionate.

Wow!!! Bingo! Here you got the soul of the show!
I never thought their relationship was so cold as many people think.
We must know Elizabeth was upset from Timoshev in their car: he raped her and then defected, the worst of the worst for her!!!

I don’t buy Elizabeth can’t stand Philip or that she’s annoyed by him and then falls in love like lightning after he killed Timoshev.
They aren’t in love, of course, but I think they esteemed and appreciated each other, they were fine together.

When Philip killed Timoshev, Elizabeth opened her eyes and she realizesshe always comes first for him.
She guess Philip was a weak one due all that fighting about defect or not defect…but now she is going to believe he will give up everything for her; she realizes that someone has her back and truly cares about her, so everything changed.

I’m wondering about one scene with Elizabeth: after hitting Timoshev's head with a kick by crashing it into the wall, she drops the wrench to the ground and tells Philip to do as he pleases with him…
It seems that she agree with Philip to defect and she will stay with him… but I’m not sure…. Really I can’t read it.

Anyway, I loved this episode! There are many layers, things to say, many of which you have already talked about so well!

I love it when P&E drink vodka or basically do anything Russian

Ohhh, me too!!!

the scene in the kitchen
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

When she pulls the knife it is, I agree, a lot of "Why is it such a crime when you're my wife?" but that doesn't contradict the idea that he's basically saying why can't they have a husband/wife relationship that's basically real?

I agre. The problem was she said stop and Philip did’t. Do we remember? There are Timoshev downstairs in the car…she doesn’t feel good…

Zhukov seems pretty anti-Philip. But in "Covert War" he couldn't have been more pro-Philip if he tried

KGB’s guys are going crazy. Someone like Regan became US President. Cold War isn’t more so cold… Elizabeth reported bad news about Philip. Zhukov is worried and… Elizabeth told first lie to cover Philip.

The pilot's fascinating because they say it's a good idea to start every story by asking "Why is this night different from all other nights"
The story starts with Timoshev being taken and the boat being missed. That's the thing that changes their lives. So it's so hard to know how much of what they're both feeling is new. With Elizabeth you've got her stress over this man coming back into her life and seeing how that effects the way she interacts with Philip, as it would. With Philip it's Timoshev that starts him thinking about defection in a real way, because that's his ticket. Did he ever think about it before? Would he have reacted the same way without Stan moving in across the street? Does Elizabeth's current behavior play into it too? It's hard to tell what everything in their lives was like the day before the pilot starts since Timoshev sends both of them down different private thought patterns hidden from the other.

Great post, great question.
Again the core of the show.
First of all the show wants to explore the marriage! Everything happens serves to put pressure on the two partners and find out what will happen.
Then it wants to explore the relationships between people.
And it does it damn well!!

- Philip’s defection idea: oh yes… 3 milions dollars are good boost… but may be he wants other life for all the family. And if Elizabeth were on the same page I bet he would run asap!

- I liked the kid stuff a lot here. Also the family stuff

- i love Philip’s eyes as Elizabeth intertwined their fingers while she Is breaking the rules by telling Philip about her past and revealing her real name. My name is, was…

- “In the Air Tonight” love scene: Philip has always open his eyes: of course… hey Liz, what’s going on… is it true??? Are really you?

I love the after-sex make-up scene - it is so cute and intimate.
OMG, me too!!

She guess Philip was a weak one due all that fighting about defect or not defect…but now she is going to believe he will give up everything for her; she realizes that someone has her back and truly cares about her, so everything changed.

Yeah, I think this is incredible for her because everyone in her life has always told her she's important because of what she's willing to sacrifice. She won't even admit to wanting to be valued as herself--but here's this guy who obviously does, and he's not weak and he does care about the cause as well!

It seems that she agree with Philip to defect and she will stay with him… but I’m not sure…. Really I can’t read it.

This to me is really important and it seems like people often want to forget it. They want to just think that Philip wants to defect and Elizabeth doesn't. But in this scene, Philip *doesn't* defect--and he still could. Another man would have been sympathetic to Elizabeth but see no reason to not use Timoshev because of it. But with Philip it's like it brings him back to himself and he kills him.

But Elizabeth in this scene totally agrees to his defection! She doesn't kill Timoshev to make it difficult. She doesn't kill Philip to keep him from defecting. She tells him to go ahead and do it, which would mean her defecting too. I don't think that means she's planning to become American. Probably she'd kill herself or something. But it shows that if she thinks Philip really doesn't care and is abandoning her, she loses her ability to go on too. In that moment she maybe sees Philip as yet another betrayer, siding with Timoshev, and in thinking that she doesn't care about anything anymore. She really gives up.

- i love Philip’s eyes as Elizabeth intertwined their fingers while she Is breaking the rules by telling Philip about her past and revealing her real name. My name is, was…

That is one of my favorite moments too!

Yes! Everything you wrote really does make sense!

I rewached the scene in my lunch time.
Elizabeth realizes what’s goin on there and she says:

“So you were leaving me.”

At that moment she feels left, alone…betray!

But Elizabeth in this scene totally agrees to his defection! She doesn't kill Timoshev to make it difficult.

Kery's look at Timoshev before dropping the iron was scary!!!

Thank you, now I feel good!

Edited 2022-07-01 17:01 (UTC)

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Season one group rewatch: the pilot

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