Episode discussion post: "The Walk In"

[jae]

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

"Next On: The Walk In" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans: Exclusive Scene from Episode 3" (Watch on YouTube)

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!

Comments

Re: Philip and Elizabeth and the "I'm ready" scene

[sistermagpie]

Ah, I see what you mean. I mean, it's possible that he's not in love with her yet or how deeply--we don't know. I can't imagine he doesn't have some feelings for her by this point. It doesn't seem like it was something he needed later triggers for. It's like Zhukov said--it's not even so much about her particular traits but the act of being devoted to her, which I think he already is.

I think I do get what you meant by that now, though (and by the comparison to the knife scene, too, by the way). You weren't trying to say that Philip isn't really attracted to her/in love with her yet, just that that attraction and even that love are the very furthest thing from his mind in that moment when she comes to him and tells him clinically that she's ready and starts taking her clothes off. Do I have that right? And that when he says "are you sure," it's not even that he's double-checking to make sure she really is okay, but that he actually wants her to back out.

Yes! You put it across much better than I did-that's exactly what I mean. By the time we get to the pilot Philip's not only feeling the love, he's playing it, but here I don't think he is, at least not in this scene.

So yeah, I think he did want her to back out, which seems like another bit of irony in the scene, because this is about Elizabeth being ready and his state of mind's kind of irrelevant or just assumed.