Episode discussion post: "Cardinal"

[jae]

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
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From Unreality TV (UK)

Comments

Re: be his girlfriend - Elizabeth and Gregory

[treonb]

On the one hand, I agree that it's hard to see Elizabeth breaking the rules. On the other, I think Stan is compromising himself with his relationship with Nina, and I don't see how that's allowed by protocol, even if it's with Gaad's permission / silent knowledge. What Elizabeth did was way way worse. Gregory could have been an FBI plant(I'd actually love to read an AU where he was.. I'd also like to read Philip's reaction when he realizes what Elizabeth did). Gregory could have been caught by the Feds and he wasn't trained like Elizabeth was to withstand pressure or torture or whatever. His gang saw her and can actually finger her, if only Stan would think of that option.

Anyway, to be heretical for a moment, I'm getting the feeling the writers didn't think this through.

Elizabeth's rule following exceptions

[katiac]

My interpretation of this is that Elizabeth did violate protocols--she just found a way to twist it around in her head so that there was an excuse for what she was doing.

My interpretation of Elizabeth is not exactly the same as other people's... like I feel she tells herself she always follows the rules, and that's a strong motivator in her head, but in reality? She just doesn't always. She violated the rules to let Gregory go. She violated the rules to go after Zhukov's killer. Allowing Gregory to know her real name and to tell him personal details about her kids was a real risk. And it was a selfish thing to do because like you said, he easily could've been an FBI plant.

But this is Elizabeth. She did what she wanted to for personal reasons and found a way to twist it in her head so it fit. It's the same way Philip having a one-night stand with Irina is somehow so much worse than her decade long affair. She insists they have to follow all the rules, but she is the one writing all the rules--and gives a good deal of leeway for herself in how they are interpreted, while not allowing the same for others.

Re: Elizabeth's rule following exceptions

[jae]

I do think your interpretation of Elizabeth as a rule-violator (and rule-maker) works in general, but I still don't think she could have broken official protocol in this case. I mean, it's pretty clear that Philip knew that Gregory knew her as Elizabeth and had regularly seen her (and probably him) out of disguise. It's also clear that their handlers (or at least Claudia) knew the same, even if they never knew she and Gregory were lovers. If there had been concern about Gregory potentially being an FBI plant, then Philip would have raised concerns about that early on, and we would have heard Claudia objecting to it too at some point. At the very least. So the KGB must have had good reason to believe they didn't have to worry about that.

My read is that Elizabeth must have gotten permission to set this particular employer-employee relationship up in the way she did, and that Gregory would have received an extra-long period of vetting as a result. I certainly agree, though, that the reasons why she wanted it set up that way were entirely personal, and that she would have justified it to herself on the basis of something other than the personal.

-J

Re: Elizabeth's rule following exceptions

[sistermagpie]

Here again I'd compare him a little to the right wing journalist guy in that not only do both of them see the two of them--or just Philip in the other guy's case so far--out of disguise, but they're also more actively involved in little stings and things they set up. Somebody like Fred seems to just pass info that he gets at his job to Emmett. Gregory knows about picking up a woman at X place, getting rid of cars etc. The journalist guy is part of the performance with the Polish exile. So they must have a certainly level that American agents can get to where they know this stuff. I don't remember if that guy ever referred to Philip as Philip, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Re: Elizabeth's rule following exceptions

[katiac]

I can see why the particulars of what name he knew, etc, could have some flexibility and that it's clear they give some agents more information than others. Charles Duluth seems to also have a higher level of trust--Philip sees him with no disguise. "Anne" too. And Dorwin knows Vasili is the Rezident and even calls him at the Rezidentura. But I still feel like it was probably a violation of protocol for Elizabeth to cultivate a romantic relationship with an agent she's recruiting for the risk she'd become as emotionally compromised as any of their honey pot targets. If she just wanted sex randomly, or had to have sex with him to keep him willing to work for them, I feel like it wouldn't be the same issue because it wouldn't be an emotional issue for her--but it's clear from the fact that she couldn't go through with KGB orders, and supported Gregory when he refused to go through with KGB orders that she was emotionally compromised by the relationship they'd once had.

Re: Elizabeth's rule following exceptions

[jae]

Well, when I said I didn't think it made sense to interpret her as violating protocols, I was specifically responding to your comment that "allowing Gregory to know her real name and to tell him personal details about her kids was a real risk, and it was a selfish thing to do because like you said, he easily could've been an FBI plant." I think it's very clear that everyone involved (Philip, their handlers, the Center) is okay with Gregory knowing her cover name and the fact that she has a family, and that in turn must mean they have reason to believe he's not an FBI plant. (And of course, if he had been an FBI plant, it wouldn't have mattered whether they were in a romantic relationship or not--it would have been just as dangerous either way.)

The romantic relationship itself, though--that I could see being a violation of...something? Probably not official protocols, because it's not the sort of thing that could be forbidden in their jobs, really. Someone like Elizabeth HAS to be able to have sex with someone like Gregory (I mean, Philip is clearly not violating any sorts of protocols with Martha), so you can't outright forbid "fraternization" with someone lower down the totem pole like you can in other kinds of jobs, and I'm sure the KGB isn't naive enough about these things to have it as an actual written rule that their agents are not permitted to have certain kinds of feelings. Behaviours you can make rules about, feelings not so much.

But just the very fact that Claudia doesn't seem to know that they were lovers during "Only You" (my read is that she suspects but has never been told) suggests that Elizabeth had reason not to tell her. So that could be very easily read as Elizabeth having violated some unwritten rule (or at least an ideal) by getting her feelings involved.

-J