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
From Geekbinge
From tvrage.com
From Unreality TV (UK)

Comments

[sistermagpie]

In one of the recaps linked to somebody said something really wonderful about Elizabeth this way. It was talking about how this ep, with the two separated, really showed you how they're both uniquely great spies in their own way in terms of how they relate to people. Philip is interested in people so is very good at going straight to their emotions--that's how he talks to Fred.

Where as Elizabeth "brings people back to themselves" with her demeanor. The Sandanista starts out hysterical and Elizabeth's manner just completely reinvests her and focuses her on the cause because she's so sincerely a symbol of it. The review described her as a human finger down the throat. LOL!

It's interesting, though, that we really don't see Philip or Elizabeth using this stuff on the other. At least not since their fight in the pilot over Timoshev and defection.

[jae]

I actually think they probably didn't use those sorts of techniques on each other even before they became a real couple. They're too well trained and would be able to spot it from a mile away, and they knew each other instinctively in so many ways even before that developed into a Grand Romance.

-J

[sistermagpie]

Yeah, I agree. And the one time when I could think of them sort of doing it...it didn't work at all! Like that was the only place I could think of where Elizabeth was reminding Philip of the motherland and her commitment to the KGB and Philip was telling her he'd seen how she hates how the kids are American etc. It's as close as they've ever come to playing that role with each other--though in that case I don't think it was manipulation so much as genuine fighting. And yet it didn't work. Philip didn't hit Elizabeth in her emotions hard enough to distract her, and she didn't snap him back to his mission. They know each other too well and were too convinced of their own position there.

ETA: Which of course in itself reminds us of why they're a good fit for each other, that they're both immune to the other's superpower.