theamericans | Episode discussion post: "Cardinal"

jae posting in

Aired:
5 March 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
9 March 2014 in Israel
22 March 2014 in the UK

This is a discussion post for episode 202 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule. (Feel free to dive in to the discussion if you're reading this later and have already seen subsequent episodes, but please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode two.)

Original promo trailers

"Next On: Cardinal" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans: Exclusive Scene from Episode 2" (Watch on YouTube)

Episode recaps

From Vulture
From Hitfix
From The AV Club
From The Huffington Post
From IGN
From Think Progress
From SpoilerTV
From Zap2it
From Television Without Pity
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From Filmthrasher
From showratings.tv
From Newsmanone
From Screenrant
From the LA Times
From Geekbinge
From tvrage.com
From Unreality TV (UK)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

soupytwist

Just reading the links,a nd the AV Club speculates that Martha might be pregnant. Did anyone else think that? Cause I just shrieked with horror!

(I mostly think she was ill just to contrast with last week: last time Philipw as with Martha when he wanted to be with Elizabeth, and this time he left Martha by herself even though she was home ill. But good lord, just the idea.)

From:

treonb

She's pregnant because she has the flu? I think people are projecting.

From:

soupytwist

Pregnancy really can bring on some weeeeird responses, so I actually wouldn't find that too hard to buy? But yeah, I agree it seems unlikely! She was obviously deliberately written as being ill, but that isn't a way that most people would read as "pregnant". But the idea is just so awful, omg.

From:

treonb

They did mention in the past that they're using protection.

Though the idea.. actually sounds interesting. Would certainly put Philip in a very weird spot.

From:

soupytwist

Yeah there'd have to be "but we were careful!"/"THESE THINGS HAPPEN PHILIP!" scene if she ever is revealed as pregnant! And yeah, it really would be a way of upping the drama, if they decided to go that way. I mostly hope they don't? But it would be epic!

From:

katiac

It would up the drama, but I think it would be tough to get out of that scenario without really damaging Philip and Elizabeth as characters, and the show dances a fine line with that as it is. Some people can't handle the violence level. I nearly stopped watching in the pilot because of the rape scene. Some are very bothered by Philip and Elizabeth hurting people. I think if they do anything to a pregnant woman or an unborn child, it risks alienating even more people... and I hate the thought of the show being in more ratings trouble over a storyline I'm not excited about to begin with.

Martha talking about wanting to be pregnant is believable and could bring up the same issues without going all the way. Or even a pregnancy scare. But the only way out is to have her accidentally lose the baby and that seems cliched too.

And really, if "Clark" isn't going over there too often, if he's using protection (and I can't believe he wouldn't be if he isn't snipped), at Martha's age the chances of becoming pregnant accidentally are pretty low. Even if you're actively trying at that age, it can be tough to conceive. She's SO unlikely to get pregnant in an "oops" scenario I would find it implausible, particularly since Philip would be super careful and he's not there every night. That happens when you're 20 and super-fertile, not so easily at Martha's age.

From:

soupytwist

That's a good point about it being difficult to extricate the characters from that scenario. And I think you're right that Martha talking about wanting kids is by far more likely!

I am kind of amused by your last paragraph though, because I happen to have a family member who was told at 20 that she would never have kids, and then at nearly 40 ended up with an "oops" baby! (At nine months pregnant she apparently threatened to go round to the doctor who originally told her that and just stand outside his house with a big arrow pointing at her belly...)

From:

katiac

I think I didn't word my response very well... it's not that you *can't* become pregnant at that age. It's just that for most women, it takes a LOT more effort than at 20. Like you can try and try and try, and it can still be very hard. So if Martha and "Clark" were actively trying, sure, but I would assume unless Philip is the biggest idiot on the planet who doesn't care about kids (which couldn't be less like him) that he is using protection every time, having figured out over the years that his targets would love to "trap" him too. And then there's the factor that he's not over there all that often. So with those two factors, it just seems that much more unlikely. (I would assume once your family member was told she couldn't have kids, she probably wasn't protecting against it as intensively, or at least I wouldn't have, in her shoes.)

Like people have mentioned what are the chances Stan moves across the street from the Jennings when he's THE branch of the FBI looking for THEM. And that is a stretch, although one that works for dramatic purposes. But I think they can only have so many of those before it starts to feel forced. Like I thought the way they magically found Amador's ring so quickly to be off the charts in terms of luck and coincidence. I think it's stronger when they don't have to hinge plots off something like that.

From:

soupytwist

Oh no, you didn't say it could NEVER happen of course and I didn't think you meant that - I just thought it was funny because I have the exception in my own family! And I agree about it being better to minimise the number of unlikely things, because the more there are the more ridiculous it ends up seeming!

From:

sistermagpie

Also on top of all this, Philip's already got the love child baby potentially back in Russia, as if every time he has a relationship of any duration the girl's just going to get pregnant.

A baby's just a drag in so many ways, yet it gives Philip a thing he would have to start caring about, splitting his attention from his family etc. I would just hope it's considered dealt with through birth control beforehand so it's a non-issue. But you'd think that would be something they'd discuss before marriage. It seems like Clark's leading Martha to believe there's nothing to discuss, that if she wants kids he'll want kids.

From:

katiac

Also on top of all this, Philip's already got the love child baby potentially back in Russia, as if every time he has a relationship of any duration the girl's just going to get pregnant.

Right, like I feel like they just can't keep going to that same well without it starting to feel old or contrived. They already did the horror at the shock of it thing with Irina. How many times can they do that without Philip starting to look not very smart about the idea of where babies come from and how to prevent it? For it to happen way back when he was 18, understandable. Now when he's almost 40 and has been doing this for decades... it just annoys me to think about this even being an issue any more, like you said.

Yeah, there are pluses in what it brings up, but then the idea of it is a drag in so many ways, like you said. I can't think of any aspect of it I'd be excited to watch. I can see how they'd get out of having discussed it beforehand because the wedding was so impulsive, so I hope they can get all the issues in merely by having Martha propose the idea and keep pushing it rather than by actually having a pregnancy.

From:

jae

Yeah, I'm not buying it. I mean, she had a runny nose, for god's sake, and last I checked that wasn't a symptom of pregnancy. :)

-J

From:

sistermagpie

I thought that speculation was very silly. It was in response to her being "sick" and as several people pointed out, fever and sniffles are not symptoms of pregnancy even on TV. You might as well say she's pregnant because she's got curlers in her hair for how much one is tied to the other.

That said, I think Martha being pregnant would be an absolute terrible way to go that would annoy me to no end.