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theamericans2014-03-12 07:45 pm
jae) wrote in theamericans2014-03-12 07:45 pm
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Episode discussion post: "The Walk In"
Aired:
12 March 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
16 March 2014 in Israel
29 March 2014 in the UK
This is a discussion post for episode 203 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 even if you're coming in late--and feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode three.)
Original promo trailers
Episode recaps
From the Washington Post
From Vulture
From Hitfix
From the AV Club
From the Huffington Post
From IGN
From Collider
From Television Without Pity
From Sound on Sight
From tv.com
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From the Houston Chronicle
From spoilertv.com
From showratings.tv
From The Cloture Club
More to come once they're available!
12 March 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
16 March 2014 in Israel
29 March 2014 in the UK
This is a discussion post for episode 203 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 even if you're coming in late--and feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode three.)
Original promo trailers
Episode recaps
From the Washington Post
From Vulture
From Hitfix
From the AV Club
From the Huffington Post
From IGN
From Collider
From Television Without Pity
From Sound on Sight
From tv.com
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From the Houston Chronicle
From spoilertv.com
From showratings.tv
From The Cloture Club
More to come once they're available!
First watch: Jae
I'm sure I'll have way more to say after second watching (which will be about 40 minutes from now), but for now:
• Opening with a flashback is new! It worked, I thought, but it'll totally confuse anyone who starts with this episode (who am I kidding--pretty much anyone who starts with this episode is going to be confused). The 60s "ladies' hats" were marvelous.
• We had some debate on Twitter over whether 'awesome' was an 80s-proper word or not. Anyone want to weigh in?
• It was really apparent that they were trying to fill in just bits and pieces of backstory for everyone. For Philip and Elizabeth most obviously, of course, and Emmett and Leanne, but we even got tiny bits on Stan, and on Gaad. This was the Official Backstory Episode.
• The guy in the factory was really, really quick to start suspecting something was up with Elizabeth. Yes, she's off her game, but she's not that off. He's got his own superspy-level senses, I think. *g* But that aside, that was such a chilling scene. It was Elizabeth's first real test for work-readiness: she had to weigh the cost of killing him over the cost of threatening him, and either was hard. The whole thing had shades of Viola, I thought. And the fact that he was a father made the whole thing worse for both of them.
• I did not actually jump up in the air and chortle at Philip's snarky "isn't that how you wanted it" in response to Elizabeth's "we don't have any real friends" line, but I did in my head. *g*
• Stan's second kill (that we know of)! How will that affect him, going forward?
• The Paige-looking-for-the-aunt storyline was telegraphed from miles off, but the reality of it was still somehow way more wonderful than I could have anticipated. I love that she actually got on a bus and got herself there, I love that she met someone on the way (and exchanged phone numbers! to have a phone call later! *g*), and I ADORE that there was a there there, that "aunt Helen" was based in layers of careful planning and that it wasn't just a flimsy cover story that fell apart once Paige checked it out. Right down to the photograph on the wall. That KGB sure knows how to cover its tracks! I am in awe at the intricacy of that.
• Which feeds right into my favourite scene of the episode: Intense!Philip and Paige. Matthew Rhys was masterful in this scene; this is going to turn into be my first "rewatch over and over again" scene of the season, I can already tell. His voice during the "lying will not be tolerated" bit bubbled just a shade over the top, just enough to give Paige cause to question why he was making such a big deal out of it. Holly Taylor held her own during this scene, too: she managed to make Paige come across as not bratty and and yet still not overly intimidated by her father, either. I give so many kudos not just to both actors, but to the director for the chilling success of this one. Just all-around brilliant.
• This is from the same scene, but deserves its own bullet point because it sparked Twitter debate: "I lost my father when I was six." Obviously Philip wouldn't be spontaneously coming up with stuff like that on the fly that's not part of his official cover story, but it still had the ring of truth to it--Misha's truth, not Philip's "truth." So I had to wonder whether this was a case of the KGB embedding a lie within a truth to make it feel more real, and if Philip's official backstory is a version of Misha's own real-life experiences. I suspect this isn't the last we hear of this, either, and that just thrills me. The slow reveals on this show are so awesome when they're this well done.
• Nina to Oleg: "I don't make the rules, I follow them." Jae: "Well...sometimes. Remember how you got into this mess in the first place, girl!"
• Script supvervisor Molly Nussbaum tweeted during the Nina and Oleg scene: "Oh my god, the text of Nina's report here is incredible -- wish it was featured." I implored her to tell us, but she wasn't budging. Wah. ;)
• "Here Comes The Flood" killed me dead. How much do I love how much this show loves Peter Gabriel? God.
• The scene with Elizabeth and Jared at the end was heartbreaking. I'm glad for her sake that she did what she did (also: good for her keeping it together), and it looked like Jared got something out of it as well. I was glad she didn't give him the letter, though; it may have been what his parents wanted, but it certainly wasn't what was best for Jared.
• I was thrown by the fact that Philip didn't seem to know about the letter and that Elizabeth didn't tell him about what she was going to do before she did it. This concerns me a little--she really doesn't need to keep things like that to herself anymore. They're closer now, they can talk! I hope she told him later, at least.
• I missed Lucia this episode! Yes, yes, there was no room for her, but still. Maybe next week.
Okay, off to rewatch! Excitement! :)
-J
Re: First watch: Jae
That was so great and fits perfectly with what you would expect from their characters. That Philip would want to (and be great at) make friends right away and Elizabeth who mistrusts just about everyone and would see it as work rather than something enjoyable for most people she tried to be "friends" with would balk.
Ditto all of this. Exactly! (And are they ever going to stop spelling his name "Mischa"? Because it's making me crazy...)
I thought he *did* know because of the line earlier about "you don't have to do this" when they were in the car. Like I didn't catch it the first time, but I noted it the second time. But then he seemed to ask about it when they were changing out of disguises. I need to rewatch, but I thought they had a little bit about "the police could still be watching the house" that indicated he knew what she was planning.
Misha/Mischa
Did Philip know about the letter or not?
-J
Edited post-rewatch to add: Yep, you called this one! She even says: "You KNOW what I'm going to do." Okay, that makes me feel better about it.
Re: Did Philip know about the letter or not?
Re: Did Philip know about the letter or not?
Re: First watch: Jae
The 80s had some weird-ass terms for "cool". "Awesome" is one of the less weird ones. XD
"Gnarly". Anyone remember that? :P
80s terms for 'good'
-J
Re: 80s terms for 'good'
Re: 80s terms for 'good'
Re: First watch: Jae
It was commonly used in the Valley in the eighties. "Hey, that's awesome, dude." Popularized maybe by movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The Bill and Ted movies. Didn't stick out for me at all.
I was more thrown by the idea that someone would be "overpaying" a baby-sitter the sum of $8.00 an hour in 1981. I'm a pack-rat and still have my old paycheck stubs. I was only making a little over nine bucks an hour then and I was an RN. With a degree. That figure was preposterous. Someone's superconfused about what they paid their sitter. Probably because it was their wife who did the actual paying.
Re: First watch: Jae
Me too, because I did babysitting a few years later and was happy to get $2.
Re: First watch: Jae
$2.00/hr would have been a fair wage for a 17-year-old. $3-4/hr would be extravagant. I'm guessing for not much more than $8/hr, you could get yourself a credentialed teacher.