Episode discussion post: "The Deal"

[jae]

Aired:
26 March 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
30 March 2014 in Israel
12 April 2014 in the UK

This is a discussion post for episode 205 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 you should also 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 five.)

Original promo trailers

"Next On: The Deal" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans: Exclusive Scene from Episode 5" (Watch on YouTube)

Episode recaps

From Grantland
From The New York Times
From Time
From Vulture
From The Washington Post
From Rolling Stone
From The AV Club
From Hitfix
From the Huffington Post
From Collider
From Sound on Sight
From IGN
From Television Without Pity
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From Geekbinge
From showratings.tv
From screenrant.com
From GAMbIT Magazine
From Crave Online
From spoilertv.com
From tv.com
From Unreality Primetime
From Newsmanone

Comments

Katia's totally impressed thoughts

[katiac]

My absolute favorite episode so far to date this season. Favorite moments:

-The conversation between Philip and Elizabeth on the couch. Everything about that was just perfect from the way she tried to open the "Clark" conversation with a little joke, to the way he refers to "Clark" in the 3rd person (which I see as such a Philip thing to do), to the way she just slipped an arm around him when he lay down to be spooned and then their adorable little conversation about icicles. It was a tiny little scene and yet showed such beautiful intimacy.

-Loved all the little Russian things it brought up and especially that it was Philip they were focused on.

-The scenes between Philip and the Mossad agent were outstanding. Loved the little thing at the end where he said, "That's your wife who delighted in breaking my arm? She must be lovely to have in your bed," or whatever the line was because it was so wonderfully dry and had that great sting of sometimes-truth to it too.

-Arkady and the "we're good at vodka, they're good at cigarettes" or whatever it was. I love how the show pulls in little moments like that that make you kind of look at everything you're viewing in a different way.

-Elizabeth and Brad. That was such a great scene and so beautiful and painful as Elizabeth again revealed more truths to Brad. And it's interesting in one way that she did because she could probably have gotten away with a kiss and a lie that they'd meet again and then just not call without any real consequence. But it almost seemed to me like part of her needed to say it, or maybe that she wanted to get to that more honest place of looking at herself. She doesn't like to do that very often, so when she does, it really resonates.

-Not sure what I think of the new handler. I didn't really leave her scenes feeling much of anything about her, whereas Claudia left much more of an impression even after one episode.

-Liked Oleg more and more in this one. Still not sure I trust him, but I like the character.

The new handler

[georgley]

I agree that was an amazing episode!

The new handler is interesting. She seems like a complete contrast to Claudia given her lack of experience. I didn't get much of a feel from her either. I wonder if at this point they were hoping that The Millers might get cancelled and they could get Margo back!

Clark in the third person

[lovingboth]

.. because he's work. But like Elizabeth with Brad, he brings something of himself into it. For her, it was using the rape, and for him, it's his response to having a partner who wants him in a way that Elizabeth hasn't.

Re: Katia's totally impressed thoughts

[endeni]

/It was a tiny little scene and yet showed such beautiful intimacy./ - OMG, totally! It was so good seeing Elizabeth and Philip being intimate/comfy/comforting each other on the couch... ♥

Georgley's initial episode thoughts

[georgley]

Probably my favourite episode of the season so far.

- Loved Elizabeth and Brad. I've loved the "truth" that Elizabeth has brought to that character. It's so interesting to see that she is actually sharing pieces of herself with him. Loved her saying that she's only just learning how to feel again because that really seems to be coming across early in the season.

- "Jennifer" and Martha was both hilarious and heartbreaking to watch. It must be so hard for Elizabeth to have to sit there and tell Martha that "Clark" loves her and to hear Martha's thoughts on Philip/Clark's sexual prowess.

- Oleg. Yeah, I have no idea where this is going but I'm interested.

- Loved Arkady in this episode. Particularly the comment he made about losing his job if it meant keeping the Directorate S operatives safe. Echoes what we saw in The Colonel when he decided to spray paint the abort signals.

- This was such a great episode for Philip. Loved the little moments of him talking about life in the Soviet Union (with the Mossad agent and with Elizabeth). I can't even imagine how homesick he and Elizabeth must both have felt at times. It would be especially hard when the memories start to fade and you don't even have anyone to talk about them with (so it was nice to see him open up to Elizabeth).

Re: Georgley's initial episode thoughts

[katiac]

- Loved Elizabeth and Brad. I've loved the "truth" that Elizabeth has brought to that character. It's so interesting to see that she is actually sharing pieces of herself with him. Loved her saying that she's only just learning how to feel again because that really seems to be coming across early in the season.

I love that aspect of it too. And I really feel like in a way it was healthy for Elizabeth to do so, like she could finally verbalize some things that have been locked inside for awhile, even if it was in the context of work. I loved when she said all the stuff she did in this episode about learning to feel because I think there's so many places they can go with that. Feelings can deepen, making all the goods feel better but the bads feel more painful too. It's really the same direction I felt like she was going all last season too, slowly letting go of the parts of her past that weren't really feeling (the hard version that let no one in) and connecting with her husband and kids, and really herself, ultimately.

- This was such a great episode for Philip. Loved the little moments of him talking about life in the Soviet Union (with the Mossad agent and with Elizabeth). I can't even imagine how homesick he and Elizabeth must both have felt at times. It would be especially hard when the memories start to fade and you don't even have anyone to talk about them with (so it was nice to see him open up to Elizabeth).

Could not have loved that scene more. It was really the only one they had together like that, but much like in "Duty and Honor" it completely made the entire episode.

Brief Thoughts

[alisonx]

Probably my favourite of the season so far too.

1) The shot of Martha on her side of the bed and Elizabeth looking at the place Philip would sleep when he's not with her. That hurt.

2) The scenes in the safe house and in the car were so good! Y'all were talking about the EXACT thing in last week's discussion forum, about how these illegals would go back home for lie detector tests but in the canon, they haven't been home since they left and probably will never see it again. They're fighting for a place and for a people that exists in their memories. So well done. Matthew Rhys killed it yet again! I think the reason this Philip-centric episode was so effective was because it's kind of the first one since Duty and Honour.

3) The final scene will be up there in my all-time favourite Philip and Elizabeth scenes of the show. Matthew Rhys sighs beautifully. The "Another day" line totally reminded me of like, a Mad Men-esque episode or something?

Brilliant episode. Gotta say the Oleg and Stan scene was a bit confusing because I was confused at who knew what about the real situation? Can't wait to rewatch!!

Re: Brief Thoughts

[katiac]

3) The final scene will be up there in my all-time favourite Philip and Elizabeth scenes of the show. Matthew Rhys sighs beautifully. The "Another day" line totally reminded me of like, a Mad Men-esque episode or something?

It was so beautifully done. And so intimate the way they were quiet with each other and just cuddling and talking about home.

1) The shot of Martha on her side of the bed and Elizabeth looking at the place Philip would sleep when he's not with her. That hurt.

I liked that it wasn't the same side of the bed. I guess it's just 50/50 that it could've ended up that way but I immediately felt it as another sign of him always keeping it separate into "this is my real life with my wife" and "this is work and not real."

While watching thoughts

[lovingboth]

Oooh, who's that listening?

.. it's not Columbia House Record Club, that's for sure :) Code phrase?

Ah, Philip reckons it's Israeli agents who they've just had a fight with.. and it is.

Claudia's replacement is not exactly discreet, is she?

What a nice idea to have 'Clark's sister' turn up. Ah, it was a code phrase earlier, wasn't it.

'Family, temple, bathhouse' - snort! Were bathhouses used for anything other than casual sex between men at this point?

Ha, at the sex talk between the two women. That's going to lead to some interesting conversations later. Nice look at the bed from Elizabeth.

Let him shit in his clothes, because obviously this is going to be used as an escape attempt... Yes.

Sweet way of Elizabeth dumping him.

Nina is slowly dumping Oleg into it.

Is Oleg deliberately driving something that's easy to recognise?

Ha, at the betrayal of Anton by Mossad. How can Anton be so stupid as to not realise that part of the reason he is being grabbed is not to make him work for the Soviets, but to stop him working for the Americans?

Everyone is asking about families this episode.

How interesting that Elizabeth doesn't hug Paige.

Port security, what's that then? Ah, yes, he was driving to be spotted.

"Everything can be traded" - the episode in four words.

"Clark has some explaining to do" - to more than one woman...

Nice back to 'normal' life at the end of this episode.

General:

Is it just the download I have, or is this a really dark and washed out episode in terms of colours? Even the blue-ish bits of the sky at the beach are grey-tinted.

(The download also repeats Arkady listening to the radio news - was that either side of an ad break?)

Re: While watching thoughts

[quantumreality]

Ha, at the betrayal of Anton by Mossad. How can Anton be so stupid as to not realise that part of the reason he is being grabbed is not to make him work for the Soviets, but to stop him working for the Americans?

Interesting read! I hadn't thought of it like that, but it makes sense that if Israel is like the "wayward kid", then like wayward kids, they sometimes do something purely to spite the "parent".

Such as capture a bright scientist.

This kind of behavior certainly can't help Soviet ideological premises that Arkady and Philip both seem to believe: that Communism (or as they termed it "socialism") represented an ideal larger than any one person, while religious faith in the form of Judaism could not possibly match that and was a "tribal/national" phenomenon, so read in that light, handing over Baklanov in exchange for the release of Soviet Jews represents expanding the tribe for a net gain of 1499 people.

It seems more likely to me that sheer pragmatism was at work: the Mossad probably has an extraction plan in place for Baklanov down the road, but getting the door cracked open wider for larger Jewish emigration from the USSR was a more immediate concern.

Post-second-viewing: Jae

[jae]

Like everybody else I, too, loved this one (it was soooo looong, too! I'm sure some people's PVRs cut off the end, but I suppose that can't be helped). Specifically, I loved:

• The scene between Philip and the Mossad agent when the Mossad agent was trying to get him talking was just so, so layered. He was clearly trying to flatter Philip with his position in the hierarchy of spies (hiding what you do makes you "pure bronze," but hiding who you are makes you "pure platinum"), but I think there was genuine admiration there, too. He was also casting about, trying to figure out what makes Philip tick (the icicles, etc.), and surprisingly, actually getting somewhere during a couple of moments. And of course at the same time he was trying to get under Philip's skin in many ways (needling him about his vicious wife, the line about "your name isn't your name, is it? is your face your face? are your children your children?"). And Philip was a consummate professional throughout, of course, but there were still little bits of him that sneaked out throughout (e.g. "I like the cold," which you can read on at least three levels I can think of), and that was so perfect.

• One question from that scene: Mossad agent to Philip: "You miss it. You really miss it. Unbelievable." True or false? My read is that he was actually telling the truth when he said he didn't remember the icicles, and that's what he was actually missing--having memories, not the specific things he'd be able to remember if he still could.

• Which leads me into that scene at the end, which was just so heartbreaking, but also so lovely that there could be that moment of comfort despite everything else that had happened. This was Philip's worst mission yet--worse than Grayson, even, which he hated hated hated--and he needed her, and she was there with all the right things, helping him to remember (because she of course wouldn't forget). "We used to have swordfights." :D

• My favourite scene, though (and one of my favourite scenes on the whole show to date), was the one between Philip and Anton in the car. He says almost nothing, and doesn't even show any major emotions on his face, but you can still see how the tragedy of it all is affecting him in the tiny little subtle expressions. It reminded me of the scene in "Gregory" where Gregory tells Philip about his relationship with Elizabeth, and all of Philip's reactions are so tiny and understated, but just so, so brilliant and heartbreaking.

• And let's not forget Anton, too, god. He really thought he would be safe when he ended up in the hands of Mossad. He started by bargaining ("let me work for you here, I'll put you on the Arpanet"), then breaking down and trying to appeal to Philip's humanity, followed by the accusations ("you're a monster"). The writing here was impeccable, as was the direction: it went on just long enough to be excruciating, and then one step further. And then him on the boat at the end, standing up to look out the window as the land disappeared. Man.

• The scene between "Jennifer" and Martha was wonderful on so many levels, as well as all the stuff that led up to it (the phone tapping, the "Columbia Record House" code). And then Jennifer said all the right things, pushed all the right buttons, and struggled with the difficult parts of it, but managed to get the job done. I wonder how she got away with not drinking all that much, though (presumably she wouldn't actually get drunk while working?). I just loved Jennifer's little mannerisms and key phrases--this last pair of episodes were really Elizabeth's chance to shine in terms of getting to play actual characters!

• Speaking of which, like others above, I also loved the conclusion of the Brad Mullins storyline, though I also appreciated that it took a backseat this episode after being centre stage last time. It was really interesting to me that Brad had deduced that he would never see Elizabeth's character for that mission (did she ever get a name?) again now that she had the files she needed on the other guy. I suspect the fact that she stopped him clued him in, and then she talked about her recovery being an ongoing process, and her age, at which point he saw the writing on the wall. Young and inexperienced, that one, but not dumb.

• I guess this isn't a specific moment, but Arkady was just generally so perfect in this episode. The humour was wonderful (the line about vodka and tobacco was great, and the "is President Reagan personally scaling the walls in his cowboy hat?" was even better), but it was great to see him in "valiant" mode, too ("I'll get Moscow to make a deal with these people if it costs me my career!") We see more of what makes him tick every week, and I'm just loving it.

Littler things:

• The marvelous use of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" in an episode called "The Deal," and first thing, i.e. before there's ever even any hint of either of the deals in the plot. Such a sharply written script (by Angelina Burnett, by the way, who got a solo writing credit on this one).

• Also beautifully written: the way that the Rezidentura side and the Directorate S side of the KGB were working in tandem this episode.

• Philip pegging the Mossad agent as an Israeli based on his accent because he sang Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" in the scene with the police. There is nothing about that that's not awesome.

• I'd love to know at which point Mr. Mossad realized Philip was a KGB illegal, though. My read: he figured they were KGB during the fight, and when he heard them open their mouths to talk to the police, the rest registered (and he thought "oh, shit."). Thoughts?

• Also, the very realistic anti-Semitism in that scene ("is this what you Jews do, spy on your friends?")--followed by the little jabs later from Arkady back at the Rezidentura--is going to piss off some people, I'm sure, but I appreciated it because it would be an element in the relationship between any KGB agent and any Mossad agent at that point in time.

• It's hard to get a read on the new handler since she's had so little to do so far, but here's what we know about her: Kate, no Russian accent, young. It's unclear to what extent she was involved in the dealmaking, but she has to have at least been a go-between between the illegals side and the Rezidentura side of the KGB.

• I loved the little Paige scene, where she comes to her mother and says, basically: "this church thing isn't just me rebelling, this is me doing something for me." My read is that it didn't make Elizabeth less concerned at all (I'm sure the line about her "crazy life" only made Elizabeth feel worse), but Paige did manage to sense that Elizabeth was feeling like she failed them, and was trying to make it better by telling her she'd done nothing wrong.

• Nice to see Gaad get out of the office a bit! Even if the FBI's plot was ultimately foiled in what amounts to one of the worst possible ways. (Oleg is not a buffoon.)

• Mossad guy's ploy with the toilet was well executed, but not quiiiiiite good enough.

• The DOD trying to keep secrets from the FBI. Innnnnteresting.

• "I can get you onto the Arpanet. You don't have that in the Soviet Union!" Foreshadowing!

• Sandra doesn't have much to do yet this season, but it's not lost on me that the group she's fallen in with is est. Eek, Stan, EEK!

One last note: we've now come to the end of the episodes that the critics saw when they wrote their awesome reviews at the beginning of the season. Uncharted territory! Exciting. I trust them, though; I'm totally invested in the storyline as they've constructed it so far, and I can't imagine that changing.

-J

Re: Post-second-viewing: Jae

[quantumreality]

EST! Wasn't that a flash in the pan cult in the late 1970s and early 1980s? Now I know why I got a bad vibe when I watched that scene this morning. :O

Also, LOL @ swordfights with icicles! I'd forgotten about that line.

• Speaking of which, like others above, I also loved the conclusion of the Brad Mullins storyline, though I also appreciated that it took a backseat this episode after being centre stage last time. It was really interesting to me that Brad had deduced that he would never see Elizabeth's character for that mission (did she ever get a name?) again now that she had the files she needed on the other guy. I suspect the fact that she stopped him clued him in, and then she talked about her recovery being an ongoing process, and her age, at which point he saw the writing on the wall. Young and inexperienced, that one, but not dumb.

Yep. I think Brad realized that once, from his perspective, the girl he was interested in had the stuff she needed to get something on her attacker, she wasn't going to stick around to be in a relationship.

And he has plenty of reason to believe it: her skittishness at physical intimacy, her insistence that she still needs "time" (for him, as far as he knows, it's a recent thing and not something that happened in the 1960s), etc.

A small comfort will be that at least he's unlikely to get in trouble, since P & E likely have no intention of making those papers public.

[quantumreality]

So! I watched the episode this morning on the bus (Thank goodness for modern technology :P ) and it really drew me in. I didn't think I was going to like it that much, but I did.

Some notes as I think about it, in no particular order:

- Arkady and Oleg! Ha! I loved the way Arkady totally smacked him down. "Is the Rezidentura on fire? No? Then get the fuck out of my face, you piss-ant subversive music-listener." Well, okay, he didn't say that, but the effect of his facial expressions and tone carried that across pretty well.

- Unfortunately, it looks like Oleg's digging, plus Arkady being annoyed with him, is leading to him trying to find a way to backstab everyone as long as it means Oleg Igorevich Burov gets up on top. He manages to draw out Stan, which I grudgingly admit is well-executed trolling on Oleg's part, and he now has something to hold over Nina AND Stan. (-_-)

You know in Breaking Bad where Walter White cusses out Bogdan? Well, I want to say "Fuck you, Oleg! And fuck your smirking subversive-music ass!"

One does not simply mess with Nina Sergeevna.

- Gaad and that one-liner about the KGB! Ha! XD I also like how Stan took point on the investigation to slip Gaad in and then after his new boss is safely mollified, gets Gaad in on something way more fun than pencil-pushing at phone records.

- Wheeeeeeew those scenes with Philip! If it weren't for the remainder of the episode this could almost be a "bottle episode", exploring two spies cautiously evaluating each other and unwillingly, but almost organically communicating with each other because they have nothing else to do. And it draws out Philip so well: he denies remembering the Soviet Union (which he later admits he does), and both the Mossad agent and the scientist, in their own ways, point out how Philip living a lie writ large has been accompanied by a kind of inhumanity trained into him: that he can compartmentalize his family and how he'd protect them versus unconcernedly "following orders" to spirit another man away from his family, or how he will wholeheartedly adopt another nation's culture and customs to the point of utterly denying any commonality with his home country's culture and customs.

- Arkady and that big-ass grin at the end! And him being willing to put his career on the line and, contrary to Oleg's comments, able to think outside the box and on his feet as necessary! It's clear that at the very least he got the ball rolling on pointing out to Moscow that having one unwilling scientist was worth a lot more than keeping thousands of Jewish people cooped up in the Soviet Union. Smart move, buddy. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in line for a major promotion soon. Which means someone needs to be the new Rezident. * waves "Rezident Nina" sign XD *

- Those scenes with "Jennifer" and Martha! It was kind of interesting how Elizabeth kind of got "the other wife"'s perspective without Martha knowing it at all. I wonder how Philip, as Clark, is going to handle Martha bucking for a promotion and not being willing to commit a felony offence in doing so.

- The new handler looks like she's all starry-eyed at the whole Directorate S thing, but yeah, she doesn't have Claudia's gravitas. I think the show's writers were trying to convey the whole "rock star" phenomenon about illegals - how they were regarded as heroes for doing something so out there that only those who could hack it were sent out of the country.

=====

So yeah, all in all, a really good ep! :)

"Directorate S" and Kate's role

[jae]

The new handler looks like she's all starry-eyed at the whole Directorate S thing

Well, not quite, because she's from Directorate S too. :) Like, even if she didn't go through the full-on illegals training (though I think the Line N officers--i.e. the handlers--in this version of the KGB must have gone through some of it, at least, to be able to speak accentless English), she's been employed herself by not just the generic KGB, but Directorate S specifically, for at least a few years already.

But she did seem very keen, didn't she? My read was that she's very eager to please partly from her own initiative and partly because of what she said: their top illegals (i.e. the ones stationed in Washington D.C. itself) sent back the most experienced officer of her type already, so she's not only got big shoes to fill, she's got to do better.

-J

Bury me under a tombstone that says "Killed by Fictional KGB Show"

[apolla_savre]

I laughed, I screamed rude things in Russian, I ordered characters to do what they didn't, I shrieked "eww", I was on the edge of my seat...awesome episode!!

1. Ok, so Mossad, someone suggested this and good job!
2) "You miss it." God, that scene got me. I miss it too, Philip. I miss Russia.
3) I see why the Centre decided they would have children. (Yes, I'm talking about the bathroom scene). I spent most of this scene yelling at Philip, "IT'S A TRICK! HE'S GONNA TRY SOMETHING!"
4) "Is President Reagan personally scaling our walls in his cowboy hat?" Put that on a t-shirt, folks, because that was gold.
5) Oleg was right. The FBI would notice those two spots. I'm really hoping Arkady put Oleg as bait, though.
6) That scene at the docks - I just sat there and went, "God, Oleg, you look like Krycek!"
7) "I'm a budding capitalist. Everything has its price, yes?" *grabs Oleg and slams him against the wall* "WHAT IS YOUR GAME?!"
7) "Your brother's a gentleman but not in bed" - EW! Drunk or not, who says that to someone's sister?
8) "You're a monster! You're not even a man!" God, that scene was difficult and so great. I wonder how much of it really got to Philip. I almost expected him to cry when he got on the couch with Elizabeth at the end.
9) This show is so great at continuity and building from that. I love it.
10) "Did they have icicles in Smolensk in the winter?"
11) "I remember."

Here's the shovel, bury me, this episode killed me.

Guessing Mossad right!

[jae]

Ok, so Mossad, someone suggested this and good job!

Thanks! We actually found out for sure when the trailer came out, and I was quite chuffed (although to be complete, I did say "they've got to be either KGB or Mossad because of the fighting style").

-J

Episode timeline

[georgley]

A few of the recaps I've read have mentioned that the episode took place over one long night. I thought it was two? There were scenes in the middle that were in daylight (Elizabeth and Brad, Kate visiting Philip the second time). Although at the end Elizabeth said "I spent the evening with your wife" and made it sound like it was earlier that night.

What did everyone else think?

Re: Episode timeline

[soupytwist]

Maybe it went from [for example] midnight Tuesday through to early morning Thursday? That was kind of how I saw it, but it was confusing!

Powerful storytelling but grim

[wendelah1]

The only people who came out of this unscathed were the Soviet Jews who are being allowed to emigrate, and Oleg. Although, since nearly the same number of Jews had been allowed to emigrate the year before in 1981, I'm not sure if Israel made that great a bargain.

The Jewish scientist was betrayed twice, first by his mother country, and then by his spiritual homeland. I imagine the Soviets will threaten to do the same thing to his wife and son to get him to work for them.

Stan has walked right into the trap set for him. I'm not sure what Oleg wants from him but this isn't looking good for either Stan or Nina. I still hate this guy but he is smart.

Paige is hurting. Elizabeth doesn't get it and Paige as much admitted outright to her mother that her church attendance and bible-reading is a cry for help.

The new handler is a disaster in the making. Claudia by virtue of her experience and position could stand up for them, TRY keep them out of danger, talk Arkady into that abort signal last season. Do Philip and Elizabeth even realize what she did for them?

Martha totally got played.

I don't think there are enough hours in the day to do everything Elizabeth had to do. Kidnap a scientist, run home to supervise homework, head over to Martha's, pick up the files from Virgin Seaman. My head was swimming. And now they get to go to their day jobs.

There was nothing in this episode that gave me any warm fuzzy feelings, but then there rarely is.

Really, really, REALLY depressing episode.

Re: Powerful storytelling but grim

[jae]

I actually don't think Philip and Elizabeth do realize what Claudia did in the finale--and it's interesting that neither she nor anyone else has thought to tell them. They clearly still don't trust her, though. I'm not sure I agree that this necessarily means the new handler will be bad, though--I don't think Directorate S would employ someone in that role who's totally incompetent. I suppose we'll see.

It's funny, but the grimness is actually a net positive for me most of the time. I actually think there must be something wrong with me on that front, because it's not just this show, but pretty much all of them. (Case in point: you might be aware that The Good Wife had a bombshell of an episode last week, where something very emotionally difficult happened? my reaction to this is to look forward to next week when they're coping with the fallout. Like I said, something wrong with me.)

-J

[soupytwist]

Like seemingly everyone else, I LOVED THAT EPISODE. Wow. That was gorgeously done. I loved that we got a swap of the way around analysis has usually talked about Philip and Elizabeth: here we got Philip associated with the Soviet stuff, and Elizabeth with the American stuff. I love how that says they're both fundamentally conflicted, fundamentally multi-faceted, in their responses to these issues. Philip is more open to seeing the good in American culture, but he's still Soviet born and bred, he was the boy who played with icicles. Elizabeth is very consciously and deliberately Soviet in her approach, but she has an American daughter she loves and she can go and have stereotypically American girly nights drinking wine and talking about sex, and she can meet a nice American man and talk to him in a way that is at least partly honest. It was fantastic.

Other things:

I loved the actual spy plot this week even more than usual. My heart broke for that poor scientist. He just wanted a life, his own life of his own choosing, with his family. God. I loved the note of ambiguity brought by the radio broadcast - we ARE suppposed to think Arkady managed to wrangle a deal about the scientist for the refuseniks, somehow, right? - and how that didn't make it okay when the guy woke up and realised he was on the ship. And keeping the anti-semitism there, making it so clear WHY a guy who could otherwise have done reasonably well for himself WITHOUT risking everything fleeing to another country, would do that. So well done.

JENNIFER MEETS MARTHA omfg I have an embarrassment squick and I seriously had to keep stopping the show during that scene to shriek. OMG EEEEEEEK. I also had Jae's question of "how on earth is Elizabeth not falling over drunk?" I think probably Elizabeth was not drinking as much as she was pretending to, while giving Martha as much booze as possible, but the idea of Elizabeth, like, training on shots of vodka did occur to me.

(Also: when Martha wakes up, really, I feel like her first question should be WHAT KIND OF CREEPY SISTER ACTUALLY ASKS THAT QUESTION ABOUT HER BROTHER?! But I doubt she will. :) Luckily for everyone! And it does seem that the application form bullet has been dodged for now....)

I love that we got so much functional detail on how spy things work in this episode - the guy picking up Philip's messages and sending Elizabeth a warning, the multi-car tail of Oleg co-ordinated by walkie-talkie things. (Note my fearsome grasp of the correct terminology. :P ) We even got a note on how they might deal with people they're holding on to needing the toilet! Which, ok, wasn't all that great for anyone concerned, but it's the sort of sense of realism I love. I believe that people live in the world they're showing: real people, with bodily functions and thoughts and lives and sudden cravings for chips at two in in the morning.

(related to THAT, Philip's face when Elizabeth tells him Clark's got a lot of explaining to do was perfection. I have made that face. Usually it means it's four o'clock on a Friday and I skipped lunch and I've just been told about some big new piece of work I need to do, or something. That is "Oh god okay fine it's my job but not right now because I cannot, I am DONE" face.)

I don't quite know how literally I take Philip's not remembering the icicles and then remembering later... It did seem like he wasn't exactly lying, but I was thinking maybe it was more of a "I can't let myself remember that right now so I'm going to say I don't instinctively to protect myself" thing? But I do think that however that works for him, he looks to Elizabeth to keep the different sides of him together. And owwwww my heaaaaaaaaaaart.

(Also, my episode ended on Paige calling "mom? dad?" and I love that. Because it's true: the fact of their being parents, of having created these whole new people together, IS what draws all those opposing factions in their lives together. Everything else is up to debate, is nebulous - "your face is not your face" - but their kids ARE their kids.)

I love Paige's conversation with Elizabeth so much. it breaks my heart. they both LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH, but that doesn't actually mean they can magically communicate. I think they both got that the other cares, though, mostly. And I don't think Elizabeth got until right that second that Paige being suspicious means Paige feels like something is WEIRD AND WRONG. Because to her, suspicion means they have thought that I may be KGB suspicion, not I live in a house where weird shit is going on and I don't understand. Gaaaah. (Also, Elizabeth, Paige's point was kind of proved by the way that A PHONE RINGING was a massively weird jarring event in your house. Omg.)

I am loving to hate Oleg right now! And I am wondering... did he really "spot" the tail? Or is something else going on? Nina mentioning Oleg specifically could just be her keeping Stan in information, but I wonder. Multi-car/multi-people tails are supposed to be REALLY difficult to spot, even if you know to look. Especially while they were still in a populated area. I don't think Nina knew Oleg would try to play Stan that way (DUDE I THINK THAT IS A BAD, BAD CALL AND OMFG DON'T YOU DARE PUT NINA IN ANY MORE DANGER THAN SHE ALREADY IS, OMFG), but I wondered... could she have mentioned him hoping that the FBI would get to him and maybe make him a hindrance? Like, if she made him interesting enough to the FBI maybe he'd get sent back to Russia? It did smash cut right after Oleg asked "what's really going on here?", but presumably Nina must have answered...

I flailed at the mention of Arpanet, partly because I know at least one other person watching would too, and partly because I am so excited for what it might mean plot-wise!

Spotting the tail

[treonb]

And I am wondering... did he really "spot" the tail?

He obviously knew Stan was behind him. And so lucky for him it was Stan, otherwise he'd probably be in jail right now.

It's hard for me to accept that he spotted that tail. Maybe he didn't know he was being tailed, just assumed he would be?

First thoughts

[treonb]

I'm not as excited about this episode as everybody else.. I guess this goes back to the fact that the Anton story doesn't make sense to me, going back to the previous episode.

As for the deal itself, I'm very iffy about it. If Anton is such a prize, why give him up? On the other hand, Israel has a very strong 'leave nobody behind' tradition and having a Mossad agent in Russian hands is also very problematic, so there's certainly a lot of reason for the exchange. The only reason I can see for not saving the Mossad guy (Yossi, btw), would be to complete the mission, which obviously didn't happen. So why add those Refuseniks to the mix? It looked more like a way to keep everybody happy story-wise. If at all, I can see the Israelis demanding somebody of equal value. Like a very well-known Refusenik. The numbers game doesn't seem right to me.

Other than that:

1. Not for the first time - the promo had cut scenes. Grrrrr.

2. And the exclusive preview scene for some reason got into my head so much, that I could have sworn it was already aired in a previous ep. I had the weirdest deja-vu feeling watching it in the show. Maybe because it was picked from the middle of the ep.

3. The exchange in Hebrew, if anybody cares: "Are you OK, Yossi?" (said with the most Israeli intonation), "The best I've ever been" (the pronunciation's right, but something's off with the intonation of the sentence.. it's sort of like a question).

4. Shekels were very new at this stage, they were only introduced in 1980.

5. Brad - I think just gave up too easily. Unless it's so obvious that she just wanted the files and is not interested in him at all, in which case he should be getting suspicious as to why she wanted them to begin with.

6. Oleg and Arkady - love those two. I'm not sure which more. Though I don't get Oleg's deal (to be) with Stan. I'm assuming he's playing his own game here, and he's playing with fire.

As for Arkady's Russian-Israeli comparison: I don't buy that Arkady will do anything to save his men. I would assume, though, that if anybody killed off a Mossad family like what happened to Emmett's family, their friends won't rest until they got revenge.

7. Elizabeth and Martha - just wow. Martha is becoming much more human now. But to repeat a question already asked: who starts talking to somebody about her brother's sexual prowess? And which sister would actually want to know? Was Elizabeth asking because she wanted to know, or because she thought she should in-character? Anyway, the scene was done very well, and didn't seem as awkward as it could have been. "He just makes me his" - doesn't he?

8. The new handler - not what I expected, but there's a lot of potential there.

Re: First thoughts

[treonb]

The new handler - not what I expected

This was a question of the week, and so... turns out I did expect it :-)

Martha - slightly snobbish thought

[lovingboth]

She's the sort of person who keeps red wind in the fridge.

(From someone who barely drinks alcohol.)

Re: Martha - slightly snobbish thought

[jae]

But didn't she just have white wine, though? I seem to remember her looking and saying something whimsical like "you have a choice between white and...white." I might be misremembering that, though.

-J

Oleg and Nina

[apolla_savre]

I rewatched the episode with my mom and when Nina and Oleg were talking, I noticed something.

The subtitles say "says he recruited you but doesn't say how or why"

What he said was, "doesn't say how or when"

That's kind of an important difference....thoughts?

Re: Oleg and Nina

[treonb]

I agree it's an important difference, but many times I get the feeling we're not being given the most accurate translation.

[lindylou]

I've not read the other comments yet, but I will. I will also introduce myself whereever I see that intros are usually done. Suffice to say I'm a Canadian enjoying the Americans since the first episode was aired.

This last episode floored me in so many ways.
My reaction just now, after watching it for the first time? "wow. that was one of the most beautiful episodes of any TV ever."

Most striking line? "everything can be traded, yes?"
Next most striking line? "it's not you, it's me" tied with "you're a monster".

OK, wow. I don't smoke but I feel like I need one. Well, not really. It's quite the intensity, though.

[treonb]

Welcome :-)

Our intro post is here (it's linked in the profile)

Sistermagpie's Thoughts on Rewatch: The Deal part 1

[sistermagpie]

OMG this ep was AMAZING!!! Okay, now to watch closely...this is going to be super long.

* Interesting that there's no mention made of Elizabeth's loss of control at all. Not that they have a chance for that in this ep, but these two never waste times on detailing where the other one obviously made a mistake when they both know it happened.

* Love Elizabeth picking the lock to a hiding place. She's like Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey with her general thief skills. Also the secret knocks.

* That policeman really gets a good look at them.

* So it's Philip going for the gun in that scene--I couldn't tell on first viewing.

* Yossi's accent on his Gambler thick is not as clear as Philip says at all. But he is into accents.:-)

* I love Philip's "It's Washington, I mean..." in response to the gunfire.

* The cigarette exchange is so awesome. It just shows how much better the world is when we work together. You can have good vodka and good tobacco.

* George in his basement is fantastic.

* Elizabeth has learned to knock and wait in Paige's room.

* I wonder how that Columbia House code works. I mean, Elizabeth obviously gets specific info before heading to Martha's.

* If you went back in time and said KGB used Columbia House as a front people would find it really hilarious and perfect.

* You know, I was having this convo with someone on AV Club who at first I thought was being very judgmental and holding P&E to 2014 parenting standards where, as the author of an article I was recently reading said, a 10 year would have never spent more than 10 minutes out of adult supervision in her entire life. But then it seemed like they generally felt that P&E didn't love their children at all, that they just thought of them as a burden, I guess because we see them so focused on other things and sometimes the kids were an inconvenience to their plans. I have this theory that a lot of current TV is a backlash against that attitude in the way it has people be parents with concerns outside of their kids that they're actually passionate about.

* It's like I read comments elsewhere last week about how Henry is sad and neglected because he's alone in his room at the end and really he wanted to memorize all the constellations *with* Philip and a good father would have loved that project.

* Philip and Yossi get right down to their intimate relationship with Philip tying him up and also doing some quick first aid on his arm while noting Yossi's choice to avoid the police and Anton's mistress being well-trained.

* Also, Yossi, would you like a little casual anti-Semitism to go with your arm splint? Just what the doctor ordered.

* I wonder actually--and this is not meant to suggest that Philip's anti-Semitism isn't really antii-Semitism, but I wonder if some of that is an opening gambit to get a reaction from Yossi. It leads up to him finally saying: Mossad and then noting the accent.

* To be fair, Philip has earned the right to be smug about his superior English skills because they are mad superior.

* Okay, so to track the icicles theme, Yossi says it's cold--Philip says shock, Yossi says no, he's cold. He's not wearing a jacket and there are icicles on the windows. Philip notes the icicles, but they don't make an impression--and they really wouldn't.

* Is that what you Jews do, spy on your friends? Says the man who got really annoyed when his wife reported on him to the KGB...

* Yossi's little sum up of US/Israel relations is so great. And Philip's expression looks genuinely interested in what he's saying.

* I know next to nothing about the stuff Sandra's doing--EST is just something I think of as a 70s thing and soul retrieval sounds, well, like soul retrieval. But I really love that she's doing this stuff. She's stopped trying to remake the relationship she used to have with Stan and is working on herself independently, no matter how she's doing it. It's like Paige later says to Elizabeth--it's not just him, it's for her.

* I like that she specifically says she's finding the parts of herself that she's lost, like when she became Mrs. Beeman and that became central to her identity.

* Kate's fangirling is really kind of hilarious and weird in ways Philip can't really deal with right now.

* I love how Elizabeth's just looking all around for that job application at Martha's, I assume, to start the convo about it. (And also she must just be curious about the apartment.

* "Pulls a Clark." That Clark!

* "I mean, I love him to death but my lord." It's like MR started this midwestern thing in what he thought was a one-off character and KR and MM just run with it to make a broader impression more quickly because they have less time with Martha. Betty Buttinsky. It's like Clark is trying to cover that up in himself because he's in Washington now.

* Funny listening to Elizabeth say somebody else has a few missing notes when it comes to social graces. Hee!

* "If I'm saying too much you're going to stop me, right?" says Jennifer. Martha gives no such warnings!

* I would think it would be pretty easy to drink Martha under the table since she was already drinking in the last ep.

* So we never really learn the truth about Anton, if he was actually having an affair or knew who his girlfriend was and it was a cover. I assumed the affair was real, and a honeytrap, but others have said it's not for sure.

* Back to Yossi and Philip. Philip's looking out the window, and Yossi says they don't have icicles where he's from. Yossi's got the icicle obsession.

* I definitely don't take Philip's "I don't remember" as any real revelation or confession on his part. He's not giving the guy anything, and he's not thinking about "back home" because the guy talks about Israel. Though in that moment, like I said elsewhere, I don't think he's lying either.

* The caring of Philip for his charge here is wonderful the way it gets more and more intimate. It reminds me of the scenes with Amador and how there was the same eerie back and forth between greatest care and torture. Or in this case just hostility. And Yossi is actually on the offensive here, too. Elizabeth will later put Martha to bed, so they're both doing parent things with these other adults.

* Then Yossie brings up the connection between them as spies, though "we" in "we don't get to pick and choose" could mean people in general (don't get to pick where they die). The one thing he knows about Philip is that he's really Russian, and that's something they have in common (being foreign) and he's poking that connection for anything he can get. That also includes spy life in general.

* And he gets at least some reaction with "nothing's easy" in response to America allegedly being an "easy posting." Philip may be trying to choose words that shut him down, but his delivery gives away more warmth than that. Yossi can no doubt see this is someone who isn't completely cold.

* So Yossi then moves onto comparing himself to his mother--who survived pogroms so there's another connection and not. Back when Anton was first introduced he referred to the Jewish people as "invisible people" in Russia, but the term just as obviously applied to Philip and Elizabeth. Both these men (Yossi and Anton) are technically Russian (by heritage) but can't feel at home there--you can't pick a better country for an episode about home than Israel.

* Yossi's continues to work something of a softer side in Philip, suggesting that he's a wimp who is dying. Philip doesn't fall for it completely but he does point out that he's not dead yet, they'll make a deal. This said through a peanut butter sandwich, which was one of my favorite touches. He fed Yossi first.

* It's interesting the dynamic they slip into here. Yossi says he can't tell if Philip's being kind or naive ("kind" bringing up shades of him telling the busboy "It's okay") and Philip has no problem explaining to him exactly what's going on. There doesn't seem to be any hostility between them anymore. Philip may no longer be mad about the ambush.

* His "I don't know" about his own worth to his government also seems very sincere, like this is a conversation he's getting something out of--personally, I mean, as well as whatever professional stuff is happening.

* Yossi starts off with flattery, calling himself bronze to Philip's platinum, but he's circling around again to the biggest thing he knows about Philip--the thing most non-KGB people don't know about him. He's flattering him but he seems to have some genuine contempt there. Which makes sense--spies are usually mistrusted, and the "better" a spy you are the less trustworthy. When Yossi says he doesn't hide who he is he doesn't sound impressed, he sounds like he's saying he wouldn't. Which in some ways fits someone from a country of people who've been erased or sometimes hidden themselves to survive. And Philip definitely seems to hear it.

* How is Martha still standing with all this wine?

* Martha really just wanted somebody to pay attention to her to talk her down from this. I've read comments elsewhere saying maybe she didn't agree to not use his name, but she totally did imo.

* "God, you're easy to talk to!" says Martha--proof that Elizabeth has fully immersed herself in her role! Paige does not find this to be the case, Martha!

* The thing about the Clark persona that impresses me so much as a creation of Philip's is the combination of nerdy fussbudget and sex monster is just so perfect for Martha in ways that Elizabeth wouldn't immediately get but Philip no doubt did after spending time with her. She likes to feel like she brings that out in him.

* Now, I think that the "some of the things that he does" is a specific, sly reference to his actual job. I mean, like he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve that real Clark, monster or not, wouldn't have.

* Elizabeth's "What does he do?" is just the best thing ever. Martha's totally hooked her here and she just can't not ask. I feel like she's jealous but also deep down a little turned on or think she might be later.

* But I love that ultimately what Martha's really talking about is the emotional story of the whole thing which would obviously be so different from anything in P&E's emotional history. Elizabeth has never been his. The few times early on last season when he even tried to verbally claim her that way she shut him down sharply.

* I love how every government's opening position ever is that they don't know what you're talking about.

* Feeling silly, but I always thought "Russkie" was some straight American slur but when Arkady says it it seems like it's the actual Russian word for Russian? Or sounds like it?

* I love the line about principles vs. tribe because like so many things on this show, it's quickly contradicted by Arkady's own actions and the way he seems to behave. What was that line about the perfect Soviet? Here he goes again.

* He says Mossad agents are expected to be sacrificed on the altar which immediately calls to mind the many more extensive ways Directorate S agents are sacrificed--just as Yossi pointed out.

* Yeah, that big spot right there would be where Clark sleeps when he's not being an animal, Elizabeth.

* I love that both the FBI and the Rezidentura have people running secret private things on their own.

* Back to Philip and Yossi (Hurray!) Uh-oh, Yossi needs to shit. Well, we know how this goes. They both know how that had to go. I love the "Sorry" from Yossi, and that Philip's "yeah" isn't as friendly.

Re: Sistermagpie's Thoughts on Rewatch: The Deal part 1

[quantumreality]

* Is that what you Jews do, spy on your friends? Says the man who got really annoyed when his wife reported on him to the KGB...

*gigglesnorts* You have to admit, the juxtaposition there is kind of ironically humorous, seeing as that experience with Elizabeth should be proof enough to Philip that Soviets can and do inform on one another.

I think "Russkie" was appropriated in American slang as a slur, but I do seem to recall that in Russian, the word "Russki" (transliterated, obviously, from Cyrillic) is a neutral word that can mean something Russian.

Sistermagpie's Thoughts on Rewatch: The Deal part 2

[sistermagpie]

* Oleg is so tall.

* It is nice that Arkady seems eager to keep Oleg away from the Directorate S's.

* Wow, Arkady totally does mirror Lenin in that scene, only Lenin in the window is bright and Oleg is in shadow. I think one of the reviewers said this was like the ideal and the reality.

* Nina responds to Oleg's question with just a long look. I wonder how awkwardly that would play in real life where there's no cutaway. But this ep has had a lot of scenes that end that way.

* Stan says Anton's been missing for over 12 hours so there's a timeline check. That would make it the next day since it was night when they snatched him. So Elizabeth must actually be meeting this guy the next day.

* Her scene with Brad does seem a little out of nowhere. I mean, like it's suddenly giving her these files just so they can tie up that loose end and more importantly (because they could just as easily have just told us next week that the kid came through after the hand job) to have her explain her evolving feelings for Philip while dumping Brad. The "you're not too old" is really sweet there, though. It emphasizes how long these two have settled into these patterns and ways of living/surviving and how there's always hope they can change.

* People have said that Elizabeth really feels something about this kid but I don't think she really does. I think she's totally just doing her job here except where she's getting to articulate some feelings to herself. I don't think she dislikes him, but I think she more just appreciates him for being her first successful mission on her own after coming back. She's really just telling the end of the true rape story she started in the last ep.

* Nina makes sure to run in to Stan as if she's just missing him and isn't thinking about work at all because she knows Stan might ask about Anton-or whatever she knows about that.

* Btw, I realized that last week Philip's "Stan finally told me about the affair" was like a parallel to Nina's "Stan finally told me he loved me."

* Nina also sets up Oleg as a loose canon who's doing his own thing, so he might not be going rogue there at the end. Or something. They've been very tricky letting us know just what the Rezidentura is up to before the fact!

* Morning in the restaurant with Philip and Yossi so yeah, it's the next day.

* Yossi gets some water and tries a new tactic: Philip's a Communist, right? They do that better in Israel! Philip doesn't seem too moved by that, but it's got to be another attempt to draw him out.

* "I like the cold" probably doesn't have one specific meaning, but it's accompanied by the Russian flashback music, which to me says a flashback is happening that we're not seeing (and how typical of Philip to keep his flashbacks private!). Or at least that yes, Philip is being flashback Philip.

* Philip volunteers this information after a whole night of deflecting all attempts of Yossi's on this front. It's delivered in a way that rightly makes Yossi look at him. But the music, especially, seems like a heads up to us that this is a thing. It's like in the movie JAWS how whenever the shark was coming you heard the music even if you didn't see it. If it was a false alarm there might be panic but no music. The plunk of the Russian music is like the JAWS theme.

* Also I love that it's been subtly built up the whole time because Yossi genuinely does connect to Mediterranean weather. Being from a relatively cold place I know that some people from warm places assume that everyone would prefer it, and the writer's really awesome for introducing that simple idea and committing to it so much. Like yes, Yossi's trying to get under Philip's skin but he also really is a warm weather person made uncomfortable by cold and Philip has very different associations with it.

* I also love that this comes after he brings up Communism and it fizzles because again, whatever Arkady says, a lot of people relate more to home than ideas. If pressed, Philip would choose Russia with a Tsar over Communist Israel. Elizabeth would be so sad to have to do that.

* Yossi is thrilled over his triumph here, but Philip isn't caught out or anything. I love that it's not some big confession he accidentally let out and now feels exposed. He seems to just be telling the truth as a cold-weather lover, and maybe correcting the criticism of it being too cold in the USSR, but his thoughts are elsewhere--like maybe in the flashback we can't see.

* There's no way of telling what's going on in his head, but for instance, it's possible that while Yossi's points about the icicles went nowhere earlier (Yossi notices them because they're a novelty but Philip would just associate them with cold weather) perhaps at this moment after a whole night of this, Yossi's offhand comment and Philip thinking how he liked the cold brought a memory unbidden to his mind. Maybe one he hadn't thought about in years.

* So I guess I tend to read the scene less as Philip not remembering, wanting to remember and then remembering and more as Philip compartmentalizing and then suddenly having a memory pop up in his mind. Not quite as powerful as Proust's Madeleine, but one of those times when you're like--huh, weird. I haven't thought about that in years and now it's suddenly clear in my mind.

* But again, I love that it's not played as this big vulnerable moment for Philip because this is a spy show where people actually act like spies and self-protective people.

* Now it's dark again when they leave the safe house.

* Stan way underestimates Oleg, perhaps he feels a little too clever about having his own spy in the Rezidentura.

* Oleg plays right into that underestimation with that car.

* Poor Anton. The Russians claim their own, the Israelis claim their own and America, the country Anton claims as his home, isn't able to claim Anton.

* "I'm a Jew. I can't help lingering on ironies." Oh Yossi, you will be missed. Also nice bookend to Philip's ignorant Jewish stereotypes earlier with the "shekels" comment to have an actual Jewish man make a far more accurate and funny meta comment about being Jewish.

* I love that Yossi isn't simple enough to, like, suggest that the irony is so perfect that Anton is going to USSR without wanting to when Philip is the one who really wants to get on the boat. He knows that Philip has chosen/is choosing to be here, and if he thinks he has a family he knows this is his home now. He gets him in the true was that it's not really his home.

* And I also love Philip's "Enough." It's again so *not* melodramatic. Yet it's also not, like, bragging that what Yossi's doing is useless.

* And their last exchange is almost like a buddy movie in the making "It's not too late for me to kill you" just because he's like seriously, you are not now going to start making jokes about my wife.

*Though perhaps that is a subtle way of bringing Elizabeth's losing it up again.

* Yossi knows he's got a few seconds left to stick in what he hopes will be a festering wound to Philip with his comments about his name, face and children. It's like the most he can do for Anton here.

* But Philip gets him back good making sure Anton knows who matters to who here with his Passover comment. Yossi may have earlier said he knew his worth, but he and Philip have got to get a little satisfaction out of being backed up.

* Philip starts off having a little conversation with Anton the way he did with Yossi but he winds up having to just go behind the wall. Anton isn't a fellow soldier like Yossi. He's a civilian being kidnapped and sentenced to a terrible fate. Philip won't even look at him.

* I like that Paige starts out saying it's not *all* you to Elizabeth. It's a little you!

* I think Elizabeth is actually being genuinely open to Paige here but literally has no idea what "crazy life" she has. Her life really isn't crazy at all. I mean, it is but in ways she doesn't know. Feeling like there's something weird going on in her house and her parents are keeping secrets doesn't change that her life is well-ordered with a lot of support and her parents take an interest in her and care about her.

* I wonder if it's actually set up to really show that. Philip and Elizabeth have had the craziest two days and Paige kind of wanders in from a teen story where she thinks her life is just beyond weird and it's like...what?

* Still, I love that she tries to get something from her mom and then just realizes her mom wouldn't understand. She could never explain it and Elizabeth's just genuinely confused by the whole thing.

* See, the show just loves tricking us with what the folks at the Rezidentura are doing until they've done it this season!

* Nice surprise there yelling out there, Oleg, when Stan's in stealth mode.

* No idea if Oleg has authorization for this. Seems like he should, but the show takes liberties with that. I mean, he's playing the traitor here, so it's best not to just hope you can explain yourself after it works out.

* God, poor Anton.

* Nice cut from "human rights" to Anton in chains doing the reverse Ellis Island shot. (Not that he's leaving from Ellis Island, but it's a pretty iconic American image we've got here.)

* Did Philip walk around for hours until morning or was it just before dawn when he left the docks?

* Love that Elizabeth is basically waiting up for him. They haven't spoken all this time. Also love the detail of the light being on because she was.

* Man, it seems like hours since Elizabeth spent the evening with Martha. For me it has been--it's taken me like 2 1/2 hours to rewatch this. It's such a great ep!

* I wonder what papers Elizabeth has with her on the couch. Not like she'd have the Larrick files out.

* Sometimes even a sex animal needs to be the little spoon.

* So then Philip asks Elizabeth if there were icicles in Smolensk in the winter. And the music starts again. Again, I don't think there can any be one interpretation for exactly what's going on in Philip's head at any particular time, but he could have had this memory early this morning and now, home with Elizabeth, he remembers it again and can actually talk to her about it.

* And of course she can just say yes, there were icicles, because she doesn't have to automatically shut that down and say she can't remember. Though in the past she might have. One doesn't have to remember specific icicles to say whether or not they existed in your world.

* I love how well she understands what's going on. Like first he asks her that and she says "What?" in that way they do when the other is silent in a way they know they're thinking about something. And he says, "Naw," first, like he's assuring her that it's just silly he asked, but "we" (specific people-presumably other kids-left anonymous) used to have sword fights with them. And Elizabeth knows to share her own memory--or more important, she doesn't share her own memory, she reminds him of a shared memory.

* Now, it's also possible that only after Yossi was gone, maybe after the boat, Philip walked around and allowed himself to think about icicles and remembered this then, of course. Or even that he just allowed himself to talk about it now when he lay down with Elizabeth. If it was just about talking about it with her, the sword fights might not have been an actual memory--like a flashback in his head--at all, but just him being Misha who would naturally make that connection with icicles and talk about it. Like he remembers it intellectually but he's not having a specific memory at any point, it that distinction makes sense. It's like flashback vs. no flashback.

* I didn't originally remember just when he turned around but Elizabeth usually tells her memories face to face and it's actually a pretty consistent, iirc, quirk with Philip that he often looks into the middle distance whenever his own feelings (rather than someone else's) are being spoken of, by him or someone else. So he shares his icicle memory without facing her, but when she draws him back to a shared memory of the two of them it's like the perfect invitation to turn around.

* "I remember" is the most awesome thing ever. And I do take it as not so much a change from his earlier line as a sign of trust. Here, he can remember. He's not so lost as he may have seemed or felt earlier.

Re: Sistermagpie's Thoughts on Rewatch: The Deal part 2

[katiac]

* Sometimes even a sex animal needs to be the little spoon.

That was maybe the sweetest thing. Particularly the way they just sort of folded together and she put her arm around him. They're so comfortable together now.

Earworms

[jae]

I have to say, I far prefer the earworm that "The Walk In" gave me two weeks ago to the one that this episode gave me this week. Sigh.

-J

Re: Earworms

[sistermagpie]

You been reminding yourself to know when to hold 'em and fold 'em lately?

Anton's Mistress

[treonb]

I was looking up the episode in IMDB, and the actress Abby Nelson is a stunt performer who appeared several times on The Americans (Cardinal, The Walk In, A Little Night Music and The Deal).

I didn't realize until now how many stunt people there are on this show.

[shapinglight]

Very late to the party, but agree it was a stellar episode, which cemented my deep dislike of Oleg and made me feel terrible for poor Anton.

I'm glad it made Philip feel terrible too.

[jae]

I actually felt bad for both Anton and Philip--but yeah, worse for Anton, for sure.

-J